Vintage Pens with Nib Size: F

At the height of the Great Depression, Parker needed a lower tier pen to help meet market demand for new pens that weren't as expensive as its flagship Vacumatics. Enter the Parker Challenger. This is actually a slightly higher-end version known as the Parker Challenger Deluxe. It is a slightly larger pen using the old Parker Duofold filling mechanism. It also has some sweet art deco design. We restored this one with a new ink sac. It has minimal brassing and no cracks. Only light wear and discoloration, too. You will write a dry, fine line with its 14k gold nib. 12.9cm capped.

Often overshadowed by its more famous brothers and sister of the Parker Pen family, we find the Parker Royal Challenger set a fantastically handsome pair, especially in this bronze-colored celluloid. It isn't quite mint, but it is a superb example. No cracks. Only light wear and a touch of brassing can be found on either writing instrument. The fountain pen is fully restored with a new ink sac. You can still see through its slightly ambered ink-viewing section, too. You will write a dry, smooth fine line with its nib. The pencil works great. Twist the tail cap to advance or retract its 1.1mm lead. A semi-fresh eraser and spare leads are under the cap. Pen is the larger size at 13.1cm capped.

Easily one of our favorite vintage pen designs of all time: the Parker Duofold Geometric! Who doesn't want a pen covered in flying toothbrushes?! Fully restored and ready for action, the fountain pen has a new ink sac. No cracks in the cap or barrel but significant brassing on the trim. You'll also find some wear from use and that the barrel is discolored a couple shades darker than the cap. You'll write a nearly buttery smooth fine line with the 14k gold nib. Cracks won't effect the performance of the nib, but there is a short sideways crack on each side of the nib just above where it enters the section. Click the headline for close ups. The matching pencil shows brassing and wear, but it is in good working order with spare 1.1mm leads.

Parker mastered marketing during the Great Depression. Instead of reducing the price of flagship Vacumatics and Duofolds, Parker Thrift Time pens were essentially Parker Duofolds with bargain-basement pricing. Barely even advertised, these pens were actually decent sellers at stationary and pen shops and helped keep Parker afloat during the darkest days of the Depression. On the collector market, they can be a little difficult to come by. Here is a fully restored green marble Parker Thrift Time with a still-working grey-marble pencil. Click the headline for close ups.

Jade green is the sticky wicket of vintage pen collectors. It is so beautiful, but it is so rare to find perfection in it on vintage pens. This Parker Duofold Junior is an excellent example of great jade, but even it has some discoloration. Happily, it is nowhere near as bad as it can be, and the pen is free of cracks and other serious flaws. In fact, the end caps have some insanely good milling. Nice crisp imprint, too. Some light brassing. Our pen has been fully restored with a new ink sac. You will write a fine line with its 14k gold nib. Also included is a Christmas tree inkfeed. There is a little feedback when you write with it, but we didn't find it particularly distracting. 11.6cm capped.

Emerald pearl dazzles on this 1946 Parker Vacumatic. The green really pops, and the celluloid viewing window is still easily seen through, even though it is slightly ambered. No cracks, brassing or significant wear. It is a beautiful pen for display or use. You'll write a fine line with its 14k gold nib. Its matching pencil is from 1942 and looks stunning. However, you can feel a little warping near the top of the tail cap. You can extend and retract its 1.1mm lead easily with a twist of the tail cap. Click the headline for close-ups. Pen measures 12.9cm capped.

One of our favorite vintage pen innovations was the Parker Vacumatic. Inverting the ink sac into a diaphragm, the pen could fill the whole barrel with ink. Its golden pearl celluloid is very attractive. Our vintage pen is amazing looking. No cracks. Minimal wear. A little brassing on the cap band. It was restored with a new diaphragm by the famed Stuart Hawkinson. The two-tone arrow nib is amazing looking, with only a little wear to the platinum plating. You will write a fine line with a little feedback. It has a 1942 date code. The matching pencil was likely from 1937, and the jewel looks just like the golden pearl design. Twist the tail cap to advance and retract its 1.1mm lead. The cap is engraved "Rev. B C Stine." Pen measures 13.4cm capped.

One of the last great filling system innovations was the Parker 61 capillary filler. A passive filling system, all you do is dip the Teflon-coated filler housing in ink, wait a few seconds and you have a full pen. A very clever filler but it is difficult to change ink colors with this pen. When first released in the late 1950s, most people only wrote with one color ink, which made this pen easy to use. Our turquoise set has some issues. Click the headline for close-ups. There is a big crack in the barrel, and the hood is chipped just above the nib. Its 14k gold nib writes a fine line with feedback. The pencil is a Liquid Lead pencil, a fun innovation of the 1950s that never quite caught on. 14cm capped.