What Happened To The Parker Vector?

[hvargas6505]

I lost a fountain pen one day that had sentimental value to me. A friend of mine gave me a pen from his collection as a replacement. That pen turned out to be a 1994 Parker Vector. I liked it so much that I wanted to buy a few more.

 

Unfortunately, I can't find them in the Parker store and the ones found on Ebay and Amazon appear to be cheap, Indian-made knockoffs. Was the pen discontinued? If so, where online can I find ones that are genuine? I hear they come in multiple colors and styles.

[Mike 59]

The Vector isn't included on the Parkerpen website now, but in the UK it is available in any supermarket or stationary shop, and has been for many years. Normally only in black or blue, and always with medium nib. Price is around £12.

The last one I bought was in 2013 and was made in France.

But there are always many for sale online, used or new, made in France UK or USA.

[FerDS]

Yeah, I always see them being sold online, I think I've seen some with fine nibs but I can't recall any broads

[sciumbasci]

If you're into the Vector, I suggest you take a look at a Parker 88/Rialto NOS

[PensandPencilsDotNet]

Sanford has discontinued the Parker Vector Fountain Pen in the USA since 2012 but they are still selling them in European markets.

 

However, you can definitely still find lots of Parker Vector Fountain Pens in the USA.

 

If you are specifically looking for made in UK or Made in France. Just Google "Parker Vector Made in UK" or "Parker Vector Made in France"

 

We actually just got in some Parker Vector Pink Fountain Pens Made in France but you can find many different colors elsewhere online.

[PAKMAN]

They seem to be readily available on ebay.

[JotterAddict62]

I did see a bunch at the local auction in Janesville WI on 11-20. Just check ebay in a 50 - 100 mile radius of Janesville WI. They will turn up when the new owner puts them up for sale. I believe there were about 50 that sold that day, all NOS. Don't ask me who bought them as I did not see who the big spender was.

[PaulS]

I seem to have acquired five - all different colours - four all with M nibs and a 'Made in U.K.' cap imprint, and a white example with a figure 3 on the feed, but minus any imprint as to origin................. perhaps like the P25, white ones are rare

So why don't I have one with a fine nib??

[Dutchpen]

Parker vectors are still Being sold in The Netherlands. I have a lot of new nib units (and other parts) available in F, M and size, also some calligraphy.

[parkergeo]

If you want to stay away from Luxor versions (the licensed manufacturer of the current Parker Indian imports) but would like an unused pen, you can look online for NOS Vectors that are in the old school black/magenta Parker packaging. As mentioned above, the Parker 88/Rialto is aesthetically a glorified Vector that is built around the same fairly bulletproof feed/nib system. If you like a slim, reliable no-frills workhorse pen like the Vector, another pen to look at is the Parker 15 (sometimes called the Jotter fountain pen). The feel and writing of this model is very similar, but the cap posts normally, so it is more classically contoured and doesn't have the stepped barrel or section of the Vector. People seem to either love or hate the distinctive profile of the Vector...

 

In the quick pic below, the top pen is a P15, the next two are US-made Vectors and the bottom Vector with gold trim is a recently imported Luxor. At the very bottom is a P61 included as a size reference to show the slim nature of these pens.

 

[PaulS]

may I have the 61 at a Vector price, please - I do so love that cap pattern But seriously, they are nice pens, congratulations.

[inkstainedruth]

may I have the 61 at a Vector price, please - I do so love that cap pattern

 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Mike 59]

Yesterday (1 Dec) I looked for which Vector fountain pens are on sale in my local shops.

There are black, cobalt blue and claret red, with medium nib and including one blue Quink cartridge on the display card, prices varied from £10 to £12, and I would guess these are made in France, only going by the the last one I bought from the same shop.

Also the 'Jotter' FP is being sold in the new grey boxes, at £17, but also not shown on the Parker website.

Edited December 2, 2016 by Mike 59

[FerDS]

may I have the 61 at a Vector price, please - I do so love that cap pattern But seriously, they are nice pens, congratulations.

Hahahahaha, I love the color of the 61

[dojocho]

In the Antwerp area Vectors are readily available in blue, black, red and flighter. I like the nibs but find the section to slender. The plastic barrels are also prone to crack when twisted just a tad too hard on the metal section.

 

regards,

Hugo

[hvargas6505]

Thanks for the help, everyone. It's a shame there are no pen shops locally in my area. I almost wish I lived in Europe due to the abundance of Parker pens!

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the help, everyone. It's a shame there are no pen shops locally in my area. I almost wish I lived in Europe due to the abundance of Parker pens!

 

Ironic, isn't it?

You can sometimes find Vectors at pen shows. There may be one somewhere near where you live, although you may have to wait a few months. I've been trying to find a replacement barrel for my first one (which I guess is cobalt blue), after the barrel cracked at the threads. It's a UK-made one from 2003 (according to the date code) and I didn't realize that it would be that hard to match.... Right now I've got the (non-matching) barrel from a Vector rollerball on the pen (picked up the rollerball for a buck at the Ohio Pen Show last month) but I'd really like to get a matching one -- if for no other reason than it's my first "good" pen and and I'm sentimental about it.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[pajaro]

ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Parker-vector-spare-fountain-pen-roller-ball-pen-barrel-new-never-used-blue-/322325275514?hash=item4b0c15637a:g:RMwAAOSwFdtX0Gma

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Parker-Vector-Standard-CT-Fountain-Ink-Pen-Blue-Body-4-Blue-Ink-Cartridge-/152079277999?hash=item2368a19faf:g:UDkAAOSwrXdXKq-R

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Parker-Vector-Dark-Blue-Fountain-Pen-CT-M-steel-Nib-converter-box-LOOK-/132019827849?hash=item1ebcfeb489:g:8CEAAOSwt6ZWVSJZ

 

Some inexpensive enough to think about.

[inkstainedruth]

ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Parker-vector-spare-fountain-pen-roller-ball-pen-barrel-new-never-used-blue-/322325275514?hash=item4b0c15637a:g:RMwAAOSwFdtX0Gma

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Parker-Vector-Standard-CT-Fountain-Ink-Pen-Blue-Body-4-Blue-Ink-Cartridge-/152079277999?hash=item2368a19faf:g:UDkAAOSwrXdXKq-R

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Parker-Vector-Dark-Blue-Fountain-Pen-CT-M-steel-Nib-converter-box-LOOK-/132019827849?hash=item1ebcfeb489:g:8CEAAOSwt6ZWVSJZ

 

Some inexpensive enough to think about.

 

I think I'm currently watching all those listings. The one for just the barrel might be my cheapest option, but photos on listings are often so bad that you can't tell the actual color.

But thanks for posting the links.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[PaulS]

this was from a local charity shop - unfortunately, it's a rollerball and not a f.p............ the caption under the plane says 'Jaguar GR1A'.

When I looked in the shop some days back, they had a dozen or so of these rollerballs, mostly it seemed with pictures of different aircraft and I made a point of not buying any - but curiosity eventually won the day and so I bought just this one. The clip etc. are in matte black.

 

As most folk here will probably know, the workings of the f.p. and r.b. are almost completely interchangeable, so I thought I'd create something unique and replace this r.b. workings with a set of f.p. innards ........... unfortunately, although the barrel contents are identical in fit, it seems that there's something just a tad non-identical with the caps, and so I had to revert and leave the bits and bobs as they were. The cap fit was just slightly not quite right for some reason.

 

The intended market for these 'aircraft' r.bs. appears to have been just the U.K., but could be wrong .... the box, which I've now binned, implied that these airplane related pens were for collectors, and unsure of when they were made.

Edited December 3, 2016 by PaulS