A very special Parker 21 (button filler)

[tamas]

Dear Parker experts! I searched the whole internet, but unfortunately I couldn't find a Parker 21 fountain pen similar to this pen. If anyone has any more information about when this was made, I would appreciate it.

Tom.

[I-am-not-really-here]

That button fill looks like what was on the AF Duofold.  A Parker 21 would have an arrow clip?  I think you have a frankenpen.  But I am not a veteran Parker collector so I'll wait for others to chime in.

[shalitha33]

I am no expert so can be wrong. That parker 21 imprint is in the barrel rite? if it was in any other place I would say its a franken pen.

 

Edit : Given its imprinted in the body, it has to be a 21. I don't believe it would be possible to cut a 21 barrel in two and then cut the threads to screw in the button filler. barrel is unlikely to be thick enough to do that.

[Jorge]

Yes, it looks like a frankenpen: Parker 21 section/feed/nib + Parker VS body/filling system.

[joss]

9 minutes ago, Jorge said:

Yes, it looks like a frankenpen: Parker 21 section/feed/nib + Parker VS body/filling system.

not really because the body has a Parker "21" imprint ...

[I-am-not-really-here]

8 hours ago, shalitha33 said:

Edit : Given its imprinted in the body, it has to be a 21. I don't believe it would be possible to cut a 21 barrel in two and then cut the threads to screw in the button filler. barrel is unlikely to be thick enough to do that

A frankenpen creator does not need to adhere to such standard?  Glue it in, whatever works....  

[Ron Z]

I don't think that if that is 21 stamped in the barrel, that it is the model number.  It could be a date code.  Hard to read and at an angle.

 

The barrel, filler and blind cap are all correct for an AF.   I went down to the shop and pulled out a 21 connector bushing and an AF body.  The threads are close, but the AF is single lead, and the 21 is I believe, triple lead, so you have to cross threads to get it into the barrel.  The diameters are close though, and if worn enough it is possible to  screw the 21 connector bushing in the AF barrel. 

 

I'm not saying that the pen isn't original Parker, but think it unlikely.  The pen could be a model shop lunchtime special, or someone just seeing what they can do with some parts that they have around.  But nobody does that, right?

[FarmBoy]

It is not a franked up pen. It is a Parker product. I can’t remember where the article on these was published. 
 

 

[Ron Z]

If you find it, and it's in the PCA library maybe a link is possible?  That is a decidedly weird pen.

 

Somebody should do a podcast on "The wierd pens of Parker."

[oztech]

This Not a Franken Pen nor is it a Parker lunch time project. It is a Parker 21 Test Market Pen from 1948 or the first production version of the Parker 21. The pen is described  in an article published in the Spring 2016 issue of the Pennant. It is also pictured in early 1948 newspaper ads for the New "21". Yours even has the correct cap...covered by a US patent.

These pens show up every now and again. As Frank Dubiel once told me when describing this pen, " a rare pen...but not worth a whole lot"

Ron, you were President of the PCA in 2016, maybe you have a copy of the article you could post.

Oztech

[joss]

That is great info! I was not aware of this earliest version of the Parker 21.

[tamas]

Thanks for all the information! I suspected it was an original pen, as it was used by someone in an important job since the 50s. If it's not worth much, I'll keep it.