Please Suggest Me Parker Models To Collect

[mitto]

...but then you also have the Vector in the all steel body.

[DrCodfish]

Given your criteria:

• Pieces under $100
• The three brands, Parker, Sheaffer, and Cross
• And you want to make a collection ...

My recommendation is you start with Parker 45's. Here is my rationale:

 

First, there are plenty of variants and color options so that you can put together a collection composed of many pens representing the model.

 

Second, you should be able to find many if not most of the different variants under $100 each in good to mint or NOS condition, you wont have to double the cost of the pens with repairs.

 

Third, these are very user friendly pens, you could easily disassemble and reassemble these pens yourself and thus make minor repairs or parts replacements yourself.

 

Fourth, they are easy to come by, you could quickly build the basic collection and then spend time seeking the harder to find variants.

 

And finally, these pens are great writers for the price.

 

Starting this collection could help you get a better sense of what to watch for (and what to avoid) as you start to think about the Sheaffer and Cross models you might want to collect.

[mitto]

+1

[cabbie]

mitto,

Now I know why it is getting harder and harder to find Parkers--they're all at your house.

 

Let me know when you open that store, I want to be the first in the door!

 

 

amk,

I'm kinda following your philosophy. Instead of going with black, I try to get a different color for each so even if I only have one of each, my collection is a little more rainbow-y and shows the variety of colors Parker offered.

(51-cedar blue; 21-forest green; 61-turquoise; big red-orange; jotter-olive green; 180-red; 25-blue flighter; frontier-bordeaux;,arrows-black and grey; sonnet-cisele; vector "end of day"-burgandy/white; 45s-about 1/2 thru completing the rainbow.)

[cabbie]

The problem is not where to begin, but where to stop.

 

STOP????

 

One of the reasons I'm hooked on Parker's is they were made for so many decades in so many colors, styles, and options in EACH model.

 

I like collections that I can't complete in a few months. Part of the fun is constantly being on the look out for the next pen and the delight of holding it in your hand after it's traveled for weeks from the other side of the world to your door. Just when you thought you knew everything about a model, you discover a variation that was only made for a short time in another country. What great fun it is to add that new discovery to your wish list (almost as much fun as systematically checking off new acquisitions to your collection). Best of all is the constant search for that "Grail Pen"-the one you've been searching for years in just the right year, right color, right condition, right style, right trim, right nib (right price).

 

STOP???? It's the journey, not the destination.

[cabbie]

Not trying to get off topic (still kind of relevant):

 

I am looking for a list of the Parker models in order of release and the time frame each was produced. I have not been able to find any similar list. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks,

CAB

[mitto]

Not a list but a write up on each model with the production timeline. You would have to do a lot of readings and go through a lot of pages.

 

https://parkerpens.net/

[cabbie]

Not a list but a write up on each model with the production timeline. You would have to do a lot of readings and go through a lot of pages.

https://parkerpens.net/

Thanks,Mitto.

 

Unfortunately that's what I'm in the process of doing now. I was hoping for a shorter route.

[thx1138]

I really am surprised that there are so many differing opinions on the best Parker pens to collect.

When it is obvious to all but the most biased observer that it is 180’s followed by 75’s.

[mitto]

PLEASE let me know when that store is scheduled to open! I doubt I could drop many rupees but I would love to see all those pens laid out in the old glass cases before the doors open to the customers. That would be a grand site, and what better reason to see your part of the world.

 

I have alrady bought a truckload of seasoned (30-40 years old) Indian rosewood timber for use in the store firniture. Looking now for a proper place in the commercial area of the capital - Islamabad - where to set up the store. See you soon in my pen mall.

Edited December 4, 2017 by mitto

[cabbie]

I really am surprised that there are so many differing opinions on the best Parker pens to collect.

When it is obvious to all but the most biased observer that it is 180’s followed by 75’s.

That's what is so great about collecting Parkers, there's something for just about everyone. I don't care much for the 180s because they're too slim for my hand and I'm not a huge fan of the flighters, but I still have one in my collection because it's such a unique pen (of course mine's red).

 

So many years, so many styles, so many colors and finishes-just about something for everyone and we're all happy to profess the virtues of our favorites.

[AL01]

Who knows???

 

Whad if someone suggests to collect Sonnets and Jottas??

 

Everyone is different, so inevitable everyone will have their own preferences...

[thx1138]

Ah, I am afraid I somewhat clumsily tried to be ironic.

[AL01]

No no no...

 

No worries!