What Parkers Have Joined Your Collection Lately?

[inkstainedruth]

On Sunday, at the Commonwealth Pen Show, I picked up a Parker 45 Arrow (I think the color is Aqua Blue from what I was reading) and a (modern) converter for it.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Mercian]

On 9/14/2021 at 7:44 PM, Mercian said:

The italic nib on that Vector made me want to buy a Vector calligraphy set. So I have succumbed to Temptation, and have ordered one from eBay.

Well, my calligraphy set has now arrived. Safely, too, thanks be to great Cthulhu! 😊
(I think that Cthulhu is the deity who presides over the UK postal system, although I’ll admit that I cannot be certain about that.)

 

The set contains a black Parker Vector with a ‘IY’ date stamp, and a ‘M’ ball-tipped nib.

Plus three italic nib units, marked ‘F’, ‘M’, and ‘B’. The ‘B’ nib seems to be slightly wider than the nib of my 1.5mm Rotring ArtPen.
It originally contained six Parker cartrides; two black, two red, and two blue (or perhaps ‘blue black’). One of the black cartridges was inside the ‘M’ italic nib unit & pen when it got to me. It had been used-up, apart from the ‘reserve’ in the ‘tap tank’ at the distal/rear end of the cartridge (which I found out when I started to clean-out the pen).

 

Most noteworthy though (imo) were:
1- the box in which it was supplied, which seems to me to be very like the outer box in which a VHS cassette would have shipped;
2- the fact that the original owner appears to have used only that one cartridge before putting the pen away and never using it again, and;

3- the slide-converter that came with the set.

 

The slide-converter does not contain a ball-bearing that serves as an ink-agitator; instead it contains a short metal tube, which has actually been shaped to fit the very end of the inside of the converter. Its end is ‘collared’, like that of the converter. I’ve never seen one of those before.

 

I presume that the ‘IY’ date code must be 1996, and that the converter has sat unused since it was manufactured.
Its piston was a bit stiff, so I have greased it.

 

Now that I have this set, I have a good way to use-up my remaining cartridges of Quink ‘Washable Blue’, Quink ‘Black’, and Quink ‘Blue Black’ 🙂

[Carguy]

A nice little 51 Demi in burgundy. I didn’t know it was a Demi as the seller didn’t measure it. I didn’t need another maroon 51, Demi or otherwise, but once I flushed it out and wrote with it…WOW, What a wet nib!

 

May still go up for sale or trade, but this nib…..😁

[inkstainedruth]

What's the nib on it?  And is it one of the earlier (?) style ones with the fully enclosed sac and squeeze bar, or one of the later (?) hoop filler Demis?  (I have one of the former and my husband picked up one of the latter at an antiques fair a couple of years ago but has squirreled it and the other two pens away somewhere -- I had wanted to see if it was Teal or Midnight Blue).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Carguy]

48 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

What's the nib on it?  And is it one of the earlier (?) style ones with the fully enclosed sac and squeeze bar, or one of the later (?) hoop filler Demis?  (I have one of the former and my husband picked up one of the latter at an antiques fair a couple of years ago but has squirreled it and the other two pens away somewhere -- I had wanted to see if it was Teal or Midnight Blue).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

It’s the later hoop style. The nib LOOKS fine but definitely writes M.

[senzen]

I'd given up hope given its rarity but by chance...

 

 

It took a lot of cleaning but seems to work fine.

 

[Hbanger]

I just received this in the mail today, my first Canadian, I already had his bigger cousin!

[Carguy]

Very nice! Like you I have his blue striped cousin but am on the hunt for a red one 

[Hbanger]

This one was a spur of the moment buy (I prefer vacumatics) and I’m glad I did, it was priced right, it has a name but it presents well, I had to look with a loupe to find it,  it is a very nice writer, and as far as red goes  I would very much like to find a red stripped vacumatic but…

[Carguy]

1 minute ago, Hbanger said:

This one was a spur of the moment buy (I prefer vacumatics) and I’m glad I did, it was priced right, it has a name but it presents well, I had to look with a loupe to find it,  it is a very nice writer, and as far as red goes  I would very much like to find a red stripped vacumatic but…

You and me both, but the prices on those Vacs are just crazy!

[mitto]

[JotterAddict62]

Score 5 more for mitto.

[jmccarty3]

Recently found a dark blue 51 Aerometric with a gold-filled cap, in NOS condition, on the Bay. Writes beautifully with its fine nib, and I love the color combination.

[TheRedBeard]

24 minutes ago, jmccarty3 said:

Recently found a dark blue 51 Aerometric with a gold-filled cap, in NOS condition, on the Bay. Writes beautifully with its fine nib, and I love the color combination.

Beautiful pen... just gorgeous.... Congrats!  

[Doug1426]

Wow, great find,  beautiful pen.   My congrats also. 

[inkstainedruth]

26 minutes ago, jmccarty3 said:

Recently found a dark blue 51 Aerometric with a gold-filled cap, in NOS condition, on the Bay. Writes beautifully with its fine nib, and I love the color combination.

Midnight Blue was one of the colors I wanted from the get-go.  But weirdly was one of the hardest to get (honestly it was EASIER -- and slightly less expensive -- than the Plum Demi ).  Mine of course does not have the box, and only has a Lustraloy cap (I agree with you -- the cap on yours does look FABULOUS against the barrel), but I think mine might have a medium nib (most of my 51s are Fs, with a smattering of Ms and EFs, plus the one OB).

Very nice find!  (Mitto doesn't have ALL of them...  although I know he's trying hard to.... )

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[NumberSix]

10 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

Midnight Blue was one of the colors I wanted from the get-go.  But weirdly was one of the hardest to get (honestly it was EASIER -- and slightly less expensive -- than the Plum Demi ).

 

Hey, I have a Plum Demi now, too! I picked it up a month or so back from parker51.com, so you know it wasn't cheap. But it sure is purty. 🥰

 

I have been eyeing some Vacumatics. But I am a little gunshy because the one I have - a debutante, I think - is so dang tiny. It's even smaller than my Vac 51 Demi. It writes beautifully and looks gorgeous, but I am scared that they're all gonna be that small. 

 

So instead, I impulse bought a black Vac 51 this morning. Why? Because the three in my collection are not enough. I don't have a black one yet. . .

 

 

I got the Vacumatic book, so I guess I should start studying. 

[inkstainedruth]

Vacumatics came in a whole range of sizes, from "Sub-Debutante" to "Oversize".  And besides the concentric stripes in various colors (the "Pearls") they made lower-tier (pricewise) ones in the "Shadow Wave" sort of brushed multicolor pens -- as well as the Golden Web design (I've heard rumors that there was also a Silver Web, but have never seen one, except as a pencil someone got a couple of years ago in I think an auction lot).

My personal favorite of my Vac stash is a 1st Generation (Lockdown) Red Shadow Wave, followed by a 2nd Generation (Speedline filler) Azure Blue Pearl Vac which I *think* is a "Slender".

Have a look at the article on Vacs here: http://www.parkercollector.com/vacumatic.html

I know that there was a thing in progress to ID various specific models of Vacs, but don't know what state that part of the website is in (the last time I looked, a couple of years ago, Tony hadn't really gotten past the Lockdowns.

Hope this helps (Tony's site is the first place I go look for answers about all things Parker pens).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[NumberSix]

47 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

Vacumatics came in a whole range of sizes, from "Sub-Debutante" to "Oversize".  And besides the concentric stripes in various colors (the "Pearls") they made lower-tier (pricewise) ones in the "Shadow Wave" sort of brushed multicolor pens -- as well as the Golden Web design (I've heard rumors that there was also a Silver Web, but have never seen one, except as a pencil someone got a couple of years ago in I think an auction lot).

My personal favorite of my Vac stash is a 1st Generation (Lockdown) Red Shadow Wave, followed by a 2nd Generation (Speedline filler) Azure Blue Pearl Vac which I *think* is a "Slender".

Have a look at the article on Vacs here: http://www.parkercollector.com/vacumatic.html

I know that there was a thing in progress to ID various specific models of Vacs, but don't know what state that part of the website is in (the last time I looked, a couple of years ago, Tony hadn't really gotten past the Lockdowns.

Hope this helps (Tony's site is the first place I go look for answers about all things Parker pens).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

 

Thanks for the tips! I feel better now. 

 

The size comparison image from http://www.richardspens.com/ref/profiles/vac.htm helps a lot, too. The Majors seem to come up a lot for sale, and they're definitely bigger than my Deb. I'll have to get some. LOL

 

I am now drooling over the Burgundy Pearl finish. 

[Carguy]

I picked up a Navy Grey Special, with a rough steel nib that I switched to a gold one after I cleaned the pen out. This steel nib reminded me of everything I didn’t like about Parkers 51 Special nibs