1945-1946 French made Parker button filler

[georges zaslavsky]

Hi everyone

 

Here is my review of a not so common pen on FPN, the 1945-1946 French made Parker button filler. I am not sure I have seen people here who own a french made vac or a french made aerometric let alone a french made button filler. Those indeed existed and were made in France. They were different from their American and British counterparts because they didn't use a 14ct nib but a 18ct nib on which was written parker 18 carats. On the barrel of the French made parkers there were those inscriptions :made in france Reg T.M. They were sober of appearance, robust and very reliable. Parker has installed one of their manufacturing plants since 1945-1946. It is from this plant that French made Parkers were manufactured and assembled. Mine is a perfect example of what is a sober and great pen which was made when Parker installed their manufacturing plant. Now let's review the pen

1) Appearance:

The pen itself is not small, it look like very strongly to vacumatic golden web in its fattest version. It is not a small sized pen it is a big as my 146 or my 2002 duofold. My pen is black and the cap on mine has two bands. The pen has no scratches, the clip and the two bands on the cap are in perfect condition almost like new. You could easily confuse that button filler for a vacumatic. To make it short, it is a sober and elegant pen

 

2) Filling system:

Having an aerometric, a vac and two button fillers. I opted for the button filler because like the vac it holds a very good amount of ink, it is easy to refill and you write more pages with it than with an aerometric. I find it always a pleasing thing to remove the blind cap and refill the pen, it is the charm of a button filler or a vac.

 

3) Weight/

Not too leight not too heavy, that pen is verycomfortable and never tires the hand. It was a well concepted and very ergonomic pen. It is always a pleasure to have it in the hand.

 

4) The nib

Despite being very discrete in terms of appearance, the nib is a first class quality item. It is a 18ct nib which has nothing in common with its English or American counterparts. It has a very good amount of flex, it writes very smoothly and the ink flow is very consistent. The nib is comparable in terms of performance to my Omas 360 magnum medium nib or my 1966 MB 149 medium oblique nib, so a very good performance here.

 

Conclusion: At the price of the 120euros, this pen was a nobrainer for me which is why I have bought it and I am happy. French made parkers are very good pens offering a lot for the money. The pics will be posted this evening or tomorrow at best.

Edited January 4, 2008 by georges zaslavsky

[omasfan]

Very nice review, Georges! Can we see pictures, please?

[georges zaslavsky]

Very nice review, Georges! Can we see pictures, please?

Tomorrow at best, I will take pictures of it in comparison with the French Vac.

[georges zaslavsky]

here are the pics comparing my 1950 french vac and my 1945-1946 button filler. Both are oversized models, and my french vac is a french made oversize maxima model

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/georges2/dcp_0184.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/georges2/dcp_0185.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/georges2/dcp_0186.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/georges2/dcp_0188.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/georges2/dcp_0189.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/georges2/dcp_0190.jpg

 

 

 

 

[rroossinck]

George, I'm a little late to this party, but thanks for a great review! Good lookin' Parkers, to be sure.

 

Question/request for you...if you have a Vac Major in your collection, could you compare section sizes, perhaps with a side by side pic? Those sections look decidedly larger than those of the Vac Major - might be more comfortable for my hand!

 

Thanks again!

[Ondina]

Very nice review and beautiful pens....Thanks you.

[georges zaslavsky]

George, I'm a little late to this party, but thanks for a great review! Good lookin' Parkers, to be sure.

 

Question/request for you...if you have a Vac Major in your collection, could you compare section sizes, perhaps with a side by side pic? Those sections look decidedly larger than those of the Vac Major - might be more comfortable for my hand!

 

Thanks again!

Hi rroossinck

 

The diameter of the pens is the same, they have the same diameter of section than a 146 or than a a modern duofold centennial. They are comfortable writers that are oversize pens. French made Parkers are not so common, their nibs are smooth and very well made. They are totally a different product from US and UK made vacs and button fillers. In terms of quality, they are very well made and cost less than an american made Vac Maxima. I wonder if there were any Duofold button fillers fountain pens made in France in the 30's-40's but who knows? Maybe I will run again into something unusual.

Edited April 2, 2008 by georges zaslavsky