Parker Duofold Big Red

[ade51]

Can I ask for some help. I have a Big Red, which came from my father and I have no background information. It is 136mm long, so a Senior. The nib should be from 1923. The rub test indicates that the body is hard rubber. Now the but - the Parker engraving on the body is gone - completely. I guess someone in the past must have polished it away. Perhaps minor in comparison there is also a crack in the cap.

 

I am including some images, but are people able to confirm my thinking and perhaps comment on if the lack of the Parker identification on the body and the crack completely trash its value?

 

Thanks

 

Tony

[PAKMAN]

As far as value, I don't see the worn off imprint on the body as that big of a deal, but the cracked cap would tank the selling value in my opinion. The sentimental value of it being your Fathers far outweighs the crack in my mind. 

[Lam1]

Sentimental value = priceless.

 

Resale value = not much. To sell the pen you would have to sell it for parts, and really, it is just the section/nib and clip/cap top. That has some value, but it is not great at all. And then, the platform where you sell takes a big bite too.

 

The greatest return for this pen is if it where kept as a memento of your father. IMHO, of course.

[ade51]

Thanks for your input. I replaced the sac and it writes really well, but I am not sure keeping it is an option. There is my brother to take into account and we have another 8 pens that we will need to look at as well. Fortunately they all seem to be intact and working.

[Beechwood]

I looked on ebay to see if I could suggest buying a cap on its own, I cannot believe the advertised prices for a complete pen, three times the price that I paid just a few years ago.

 

 

[Paul-in-SF]

On 7/29/2025 at 9:13 AM, ade51 said:

I replaced the sac and it writes really well

 

That's good to know, but the crack in the cap means that air is probably able to get into the area where the nib is, and so the nib would dry out fairly quickly. If you wanted to keep it and use it, you could possibly fill the crack to seal the air out, but I don't know if you would be able to disguise it cosmetically. 

 

On 7/29/2025 at 9:13 AM, ade51 said:

There is my brother to take into account

 

Sorry to hear that, inheritance disputes are no fun. I don't think 9 fountain pens are going to bring in a life-changing amount of money. 

[ade51]

I am puzzled why the crack in the cap should cause drying of the ink when the cap is vented anyway. Is this a known issue? The cracking seems tight and it would concern me that I might do more damage, trying to find a suitable adhesive.

 

There is no real inheritance dispute, just my desire to make sure we split things equally. I did have a look on Ebay, as did China Light. There were Big Reds being advertised with cracked caps and it did not totally trash the asking price. Whether they sold is another matter of course. I might just have to put it on and see what happens.

[Ron Z]

Repairing the cap would be difficult.  There are at least three issues.  One is that there is schmutz in the crack that needs to be cleaned out to glue the crack.   Many adhesives don't stick well to hard rubber,  especially on oxidized surfaces.   If you can clean that off and do have an adhesive that sticks, the repair will be quite visible.  There would be a color difference, but I think that you would be better off looking for a celluloid cap. It'll be darker than hard rubber, but it's better than investing the time in an iffy repair on hard rubber, and it's far cheaper than any celluloid cap will be.

[VacNut]

If sentiment is not important, the only items of value are the nib, feed, clip, and end cap. It is an “parts” pen. All of these items are not of great monetary value, as there are numerous Duofold parts available.

 

Within the broken cap is an inner cap that is part of the top cap that holds the clip in place. The “flared” end of the section just below the nib should seal against the inner cap. This delays the nib from drying out.  The holes in the cap should align beneath this seal when the pen is capped. The holes moderate air pressure.

 

I think EinSF is correct that the nib may dry out faster since there is a crack.

You can search for “sold” items  on a popular auction site to assess value.