Vintage Pens with Nib Size: FLEXI

It is the height of the Great Depression. Parker's annual sales have crashed from $5M a year to just over $1M. Most of the competition has folded under the strain. Unwilling to discount the flagship luxury Duofold pens from $10 to a much more affordable $3.50, Parker created a new "thrift" pen for those who still want a good pen but cannot afford the opulent Duofold of just a year or two ago. Thus was born the Parker Duette. This is a Parker Duette Jr. set that has been fully restored with a new ink sac. Parker barely even advertised these pens, and they are a little harder to find than Duofolds. Brassing and discoloration detract from the vintage pen. However, it comes with a very flexi 14k gold nib that goes from extra fine to roughly 2mm! It is scratchy, but a worthy sacrifice for 2mm flex. Pencil works and has spare leads. Each is engraved with "Buster Brown Shoes." We suspect this was set for a top shoe salesperson or from corporate headquarters. Pen measures 11.2cm capped.

Cartridge fillers are not a new phenomena in fountain pens. The first ones date back to around the turn of the 20th century. However, those early ones were not entirely practical and prone to their glass and clay cartridges breaking. On the American market, Waterman C/F pens introduced what we have come to know as the first cartridge pens with disposable plastic cartridges. These pens were Waterman's last hit in the 1950s and until the company was revitalized in the 1980s. This rare New Old Stock set is unused and pristine. From the "Fine Flex" chalk mark on the barrel of the pen to 4 unopened, still waxed shut original cartridges, this vintage pen belongs in a museum. Click the headline for close-ups. The steel nib doesn't feel flexi to us, but that is how it was advertised.

Grail pens such as this Waterman 0322 "Chased" pen from the early 1900s are intoxicatingly rare. What has become known as "repousse" in many pens Waterman called "chased" in its early turn-of-the-century catalogs. This taper cap with gold-filled overlay is a once-in-a-lifetime pen for us. Its 14k gold nib writes an extra-fine to 1mm flexi line, but the slender hard-rubber pen is so delicate, we don't really recommend writing with it much. Filling this eyedropper pen will be difficult as the section seems firmly screwed together and not wanting to separate. Engraved on the barrel cartouche are the initials E.H.L. You can see a couple bite marks on the end of the barrel and tip of the taper. Its biggest flaw is an upside-down "L" crack from the lip of the cap. Clear imprint on the taper cap. Overall, a very good vintage pen for its age. Click the headline for close-ups. 14.7cm capped.