Parker 17

[richardandtracy]

This review is of a blue Parker 17 pen. The Parker 17 came in at least two different nib types, a Duofold nib style and a Parker 51 hooded nib style. The hooded nibs were the later style, and this pen is one of those. It dates from the late 1960's or early to mid 1970's. The Parker 17 was aimed at the low end of the market, but was intended to have enough gold visible to make it stand out from the general range of pens available at the time.

 

I had a Parker 17 'Lady' as my school pen in 1973. It lasted, after a fashion, until 1978 when I trod on it. In some ways this review is an attempt to see with adult eyes something I liked as a child. I will compare the pen with others that I have experience with, because the P17 does not seem to be a widely known pen any more. In this review I have compared the P17 against the Parker 61, the Parker 51 and its modern price point competitor, the Hero 330. All these pens are superficially similar in look, so I think a comparison is valid.

 

The pen was purchased on E-bay for the princely sum of £4.64, putting it very much at the bottom end of the collector's cost spectrum, and (including postage) slightly cheaper than I can get a Hero 330.

 

First impressions of the pen were slightly disappointing. The pen is made from injection moulded polystyrene, which is nowhere near as hard as acrylic, so scratches more easily. The surface was dull and tired, exactly like well used Parker 61's from the same era. A quick polish livened the surface up a great deal. In isolation, the gold plated clip and cap band looked good, but next to a Parker 51 and Parker 61 the gold looked brassy and tired. Next to a Hero 330 lid, the gold accents look restrained - the Hero 330 is really rather gaudy. At one point on the cap band, the plating had worn away entirely - indicating the level of use the pen has had.

 

Whether capped or uncapped, it is striking how similar the Parker 17 is to its more expensive sibling, the Parker 61. The shell and barrel have almost exactly the same shape, length, diameter and curvature. The biggest difference between the two is that on the P17 the clutch ring is the same distance from the nib as on a Parker 51, rather than the longer Parker 61. The end of the barrel on the P17 has the same profile as the jewel on the P61, but is part of the barrel moulding, as in the Hero 330. The P17 is lighter than the P61 by a good margin, and when capped is about the same weight as a Hero 330. The Hero 330 has a particularly light cap, so its body is heavier than that of the P17.

 

The cap on the P17 has the same profile as the P61's, but due to being made from plastic, it's thicker to retain its robustness. The robustness is illusory; in about 1977 I dropped my P17 Lady cap onto flagstones and the end cracked into 6 or 7 fingers, which were all retained by the cap band. It remained functional, but very fragile after that. The pocket clip is very short, at 35mm. Even the short clipped P51's are longer, at 41mm. The clip is a one piece stamping, bent over and secured by the cap jewel. The Parker arrow fletching is clear in the stamping, even though it's more cluttered than on the P51/61.

 

On removing the cap, the nib end of the section is rather more blunt than the P61, and almost exactly matches the shape of the P51. The nib protudes more on the P17 than in the P51, P61 or Hero 330. The black moulded clutch ring is not as attractive as the gold or silver coloured rings found in the other three pens.

 

When the barrel is removed the P17 aerometric filler is exposed. This is the point at which the low price point of the pen is glaringly evident. The filler consists of a chrome plated tube with a hoop of stainless steel press bar protruding, between which the sac may be squeezed. The volume of the sac is similar to a Parker cartridge. The plating on the aerometric filler is showing signs of tarnish, and at the end closest to the pliglas sac, there is a certain amount of corrosion through to the base metal. The filler on this pen is the cheapest and least robust aerometric filler I have seen. It is considerably worse than the one on the Hero 330, as the sac is much more vulnerable to being trapped, punctured of sliced. The sac itself is still flexible, while showing moderate staining.

 

The moulding of the lid, section and barrel has a high colour saturation with no colour variations or moulding striations, indicating that the plastic was injected with the correct process parameters, and that it's not just luck that enabled the pen to last at least 30 years. Unlike the P61, this pen's plastic does not seem to be subject to self destructing micro-cracking - so Parker did get something right at that time!

 

Right. That's the physical side covered, what's the pen like to write with?

In the hand it's like a lightweight P61, but due to the lightness of the body, I find I prefer the cap to be posted. The weight is light enough to be used for many hours.

The gold nib on this example has been bent up a little, so the top of the nib is level with the outside of the section, and it may be affecting the way the pen writes.

Initially, I tried the pen with the ink in it when it arrived. The pen started well every time and laid down a very wet medium width line. It didn't blob, but due to the amount of ink laid down, the writing took ages to dry. Even when dry, the ink smeared badly. The nib was scratchy on the lateral strokes.

Once the initial charge had run out, I flushed the pen out a large number of times, getting out lots of dried ink. I then re-filled with Parker Quink, black, for further writing trials. The pen starts well occasionally, and lays down a very wet medium width line when it does start (every time the nib is taken off the paper there's a 50-50 chance it won't re-start). It doesn't blob unless shaken, but due to the amount of ink laid down, the writing takes ages to dry. The nib is slightly scatchy on the lateral strokes in all orientations I can hold the pen in. It is not a joy to write with, and to be honest, it's not far off being as irritating as a Parker Vector - though it's more comfortable to hold and the gold nib is somewhat more flexible than the stainless steel of the Vector. I much prefer my daughter's Hero 330. I think the nib will need work with brown paper or micromesh before it becomes usable on a regular basis, and the gap between the points will need to be seen to. I think much of the dried ink in the pen was actually acting as a temporary feed to the nib, enabling the widened slot to work reliably.

 

Overview.

What's the value for money, is the pen a good one, and is it a classic?

Value for money, the pen's not bad. The price I paid leads me to doubt I could get any reasonable pen for better value for money. It does need work to be done on it, but that shouldn't cost anything. The Hero 330 works well straight out of the box, for just pennies more, and as such is better value.

Is the Pen a good one? It was a cheap pen when new and some of its shortcomings are evident when inspecting it. The writing from this pen makes me reluctant to call it 'Good', but I'll work on the nib before making a final decision.

Is it a classic? The use of polystyrene as the body is a design flaw in common with the P61. The plastic cap is unfortunate, and I think is the thing that makes it an ordinary pen rather than a classic.

Overall, I'm glad I got this example, but there won't be any more on my wish list.

 

Regards

 

Richard.

 

[richardandtracy]

Some further information I'd like to add.

 

On the day I wrote the review I recieved a Parker 51 with a stirling silver cap and a 35mm long pocket clip, identical in length to that of the P17.

 

In order to deal with the nib I removed the section. There is no finning on the feed at all, the innards of the pen are nothing remotely like a P51.

 

Anyway, after straightening the nib, the pen writes nicely, starting every time with a nice wet medium line. The scratchiness has gone entirely. The pen now does what it's meant to, without flair or particular style.

 

Regards

 

Richard.

 

[JimStrutton]

Interesting review Richard. There are two of the 17 beasties living at the Mansion. One belongs to SWMBO and is around 30 years old and has been very gently used and is in almost pristine condition. However herself maintains that it does not write as well as her Sonnet, even though I have tried tweaking it. But then she is not a fan of hooded nibs, so my "51"s and 61s are safe I hope

 

I also snagged a 17 on ye Olde Fleabay for about the same sort of money you paid, certainly under a fiver delivered. In a box and with a factory fitted Oblique Italic nib, which was my main interest. Hard to say how well it writes as the nib takes a bit of getting used to, but once I get used to it, then it does write a very nice interesting line.

 

I agree on the quality comments, but then again it was pitched as a cut above a school pen I recall, so all in all, a reasonable writer with an interesting nib, but not a "51" or a 61 by any stretch of the imagination. YMMV :hmm1:

 

http://www.strutton.free-online.co.uk/Pictures/Pens/a8_1.JPG

 

Jim

[bedlam]

I bought a 17 on a whim, I'm not big on extremely hooded nibs but for about 10 usd I could afford to experiment. The first impression out of the shipping wrapper was same as yours, you get what you pay for, the plastic of the barrel seems pretty flimsy. True to it's parker heritage though I gave it a good bath, checked over the ink sac and it was ready to write, and writes fairly well. The one thing that really had me going is the ring around the pen that seals with the cap is silver while all the other metal decoration on the cap is gold color. My first impression was the seller had cobbled together two different pens and passed it off as original, but as I looked into it on the net all the other example pens (as in your photo above) were like this too. I haven't seen parker do this with metal colors before, is this more common than I knew or what?

Edited April 6, 2008 by bedlam

[seymour]

Hallo all

 

I have three Parker 17s. In each case, it was sold with another pen that interested me. One of the pens had a bent nib, so I used its sac in a Parker 51 Demi which I picked up cheaply, because the owner of the stall in the market didn't know what to do with it without a sac.

 

I gather, Richard that you would recommend working on the two with good nibs?

 

Thanks

 

Chaim

[Jerome Tarshis]

At the risk of making a fool of myself or seeming contentious, let me weigh in: I've never owned a 17 Lady, but I do own a 17 Duofold, the early model with an open nib. That nib is almost breathtakingly smooth. The filler, which is in virtually pristine condition, seems no flimsier than, possibly identical to, the filler of my Aerometric Duofold Junior. Nor does it seem inferior to the fillers of my two 51 Specials. Granted, the 51 is a wider pen and so is

its filler unit, but the general quality of manufacture seems about the same.

 

For me the exterior plastic is a weaker point. That does seem flimsy by comparison with the 51 Specials and the UK Duofold Jnr. The cap of the 17 series, with its diminished clip, is the most disheartening feature for me. I agree with Richard that these weren't meant to be classic pens.

 

On the other hand, I have read postings to one or another pen message board by Britons who wrote their way through school and university and possibly beginnings in one of the professions with a Parker 17, and found the pens both lovable and durable. I feel sorry about Richard's eBay ugly duckling. For whatever reason I was luckier.

[richardandtracy]

I have worked on the nib a little, smoothing it off and generally trying to get the pen up to a good standard.

 

I have been repaid handsomly for my efforts. I now have a pen that is nice to use and has some small amount of flex in the nib. It isn't a P51/61 & never will be. It is a nice cheap pen. In fact it's good enough to be used in my normal rotation and not seem too bad in comparison to the higher spec pens.

 

Since writing the review I have succumbed and got myself two Parker 17 Lady's and a Parker 17 Super. All four pens are nice, however the P17 Lady is tiny - barely longer than my middle finger. All exhibit the same slightly flexible nib and are nice rather than spectacular pens.

 

Finally I got another P17 Lady to give to my youngest daughter (age 8). She Loves it, and the size is perfect for her.

 

Regards

 

Richard.

 

[MichieMiche]

Hello,

I recently celebrated my 25th Birthday and treated myself to 5 vintage pens of including the Parker 17 lady Insignia. I got it at a way cheaper price than the one listed by this seller (http://cgi.ebay.com/PARKER-17-LADY-INSIGNIA-1-10-ROLLED-GOLD_W0QQitemZ250344534941QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116). I am a novice collector and would like to know how rare it is.

 

Any info will be sincerely appreciated.

 

Regards,

Ms.Miche

[richardandtracy]

  MichieMiche said:

Hello,

I recently celebrated my 25th Birthday and treated myself to 5 vintage pens of including the Parker 17 lady Insignia. I got it at a way cheaper price than the one listed by this seller (http://cgi.ebay.com/PARKER-17-LADY-INSIGNIA-1-10-ROLLED-GOLD_W0QQitemZ250344534941QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116). I am a novice collector and would like to know how rare it is.

 

Any info will be sincerely appreciated.

 

Regards,

Ms.Miche

From the description you'd believe it's very rare. I admit I've not seen many, but 'rare', no. I'd have thought 'Not as common as the standard' rather than 'rare'. I have seen 5 or 6 on UK E-Bay in the last 18 months.

Parker UK & Parker Denmark did appear to do some oddities. There are gold capped, silver capped & Insignias floating around. They are not common, but they do crop up every now again. For some reason the gold caps seem to originate in Australia more often, and the Silver caps in Germany.

I'd never consider paying anything like US$300 price for the pen, possibly US$30-60 depending on condition. I've recently paid £10 (US$15) for a silver capped P17, and double that seems reasonable for an Insignia to me. Anything more than US$30, and you are getting into the P61 Insignia price bracket, and the P61 is a much better quality pen (though P61 Insignias can go towards $100 for a good one). However, that is my view, and I am no authority - just a very partial observer.

 

Regards

 

Richard.

Edited February 6, 2009 by richardandtracy

[tsunami31]

I'm about to list a 17 on eBay, having tweaked the nib which - as others have found - changed it from a scratchy writer to a wet smooth one.

 

My question is that there appears to be a band of what might be wear on the section, possibly where the cap 'grabs' the section when posted. On the other hand, it assists gripping the section and seems to appear on most of the 17s I can see on photos on the Web. The pen is otherwise in pretty good condition, showing light wear.

 

Was this band of indentation part of the original design - or is it wear, as I first surmised ?

 

Thanks Richard

[richardandtracy]

  tsunami31 said:

...Was this band of indentation part of the original design - or is it wear, as I first surmised ?

 

Thanks Richard

I think it's likely to be wear. The inner cap seems to mark the section about an 20mm up from the nib, and also marks the barrel when posted. It can usually be polished out if the marks aren't too deep.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

[tsunami31]

  richardandtracy said:

  tsunami31 said:

...Was this band of indentation part of the original design - or is it wear, as I first surmised ?

 

Thanks Richard

I think it's likely to be wear. The inner cap seems to mark the section about an 20mm up from the nib, and also marks the barrel when posted. It can usually be polished out if the marks aren't too deep.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

 

 

Richard,

 

I'm sure you're right. I've taken a photo of it now:-

 

 

 

What had me baffled is that it must have taken a lot of use to do that and the rest of the pen shows little evidence of that level of use.

 

Interesting that we both found the nib scratchy until adjusted (good writer now) - wonder if that was a common issue with 17s.

 

Regards Richard

[dexaco]

As a new member I've been wandering through the reviews and came across this one. I was given a Parker 17 as a 21st birthday present way back in 1964. I still have it. While it was used quite often for the first few years, I'll admit that it had little use over the later years, usually languishing in a drawer. Probably because I was working in the computer field and 'wrote' with a keyboard! Mine is the basic 17, not the 17 Super as illustrated in the previous message. Medium nib, a lovely smooth writer and has been all of the time I've owned it. There is no visible wear on the section of my 17 that I can see. I certainly don't see any wear on the body from posting - only a light pressure is needed to secure the cap so that it stays put when writing, so I wouldn't expect any wear. The pen is one of the smoothest-writing pens I have and would get more use if I hadn't become more fond of a finer nib as I got older. The only problem I had with it was a split sac, which I had replaced, and some clogging from disuse when I resurrected it - cured with a dilute ammonia solution and lots of flushing.

 

Derick

Edited January 25, 2010 by dexaco

[richardandtracy]

Nice to hear when a much used & loved pen is resurrected.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[CraigR]

Interesting that this thread re-surfaced today. I have a Parker 17 (English) with me today. The nib is medium and it is loaded with Private Reserve Black Magic Blue. I purchased this pen at an estate sale several years ago for $5. The conditionis excellent and all it needed was a good cleaning and flushing. Since then it has been a regular writer in rotation. Although unremarkable, the pen is one of my favorites. /Craig

[Mags]

Thanks to Ebay I have purchased a 17 with apparently gold.nib for the price of $23 delivered to Canada. I assumed it was a cheaper version of a Parker 51. Now having the benefit of this FPN thread I was right and seems I paid perhaps the high side on the price for the pen.

 

I will see it in 2013 and see if I like it.

 

Merry Christmas all.

 

Mags

[richardandtracy]

I hope you like it. The nibs can be very nice, it's just that the rest of the pen is not top notch.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[pkotrcka]

I love this tiny pen :-D