Parker Challenger-review

[goodguy]

Parker Challenger,this is a very interesting vintage pen that not many people consider when they think of a writer and they make a BIG mistake.

This Challenger is the big size,its slightly over 5" and after I got the sacreplaced,the nib tweaked and the body polished I saw how good this pen is.

 

I got this pen as an only bidder from eBay and the whole deal after shipping and getting it fixed was around 50$.

 

The first thing that struck me was that this pen is very comfortable in the hand,its wider then I expected it to be and very light.

The green body/cap looks as if it just came out of the factory,its shiny and looks like you can look deep into the barrel.

 

The filling mechanism is Parker simple but yet very reliable button filler.

this filling system is one of my favorite (more then a lever filler).The button is sitting under the blind cap and so the whole pen looks smooth and homogenic.

 

The gold fine nib is very simple and you are not sure what to expect until it touches the paper.

I was very happy to see how good this nib is,first it is wet and smooth but more then that there is a ton of feedback coming from the paper but again not at the expense of smoothness,it is surprisingly flexy and with a bit of pressure you can get some line variation even though this nib is not a real Flexible nib,I would say its a semi flex nib.No doubt this is one of my best nibs.

 

The balance of this pen is like all light weight pen perfect and due to the nice size and wideness of the body this pen makes a wonderful everyday user.

Its not a rare pen but for its price you just cant beat this pen.

[LedZepGirl]

Very nice find there. I've always liked the look of Challengers, especially the ones with the ball clip and I need one to fill in a space of my collection of Parkers. Every Parker I have has a great nib and nice looks, that's why I have a collection of them going. But I've had no luck of finding any decent Challengers that I can afford. The prices they've been going to on ebay is frightening considering I got my Duofold there for only $45.00 USD.

[david i]

Hi,

 

A nice review of a pretty pen. As I've had chance to own and handle more than a few of these and have a rather long chapter/section in process about the Challenger Family, I thought i'd add a bit of background here

 

Parker's Challenger Family appeared in 1934 and ran through 1940.

 

Three core series within the family include :

 

Challenger, proper 1934-1940

Deluxe Challenger 1934-1940

Royal Challenger 1937-1940

 

Regular

 

http://removed.xyz/websitesalespics/pen1538sm.jpg

 

Deluxe

 

http://removed.xyz/websitesalespics/pen2036sm.jpg

 

Royal

 

http://removed.xyz/websitesalespics/pen2017sm.jpg

 

Each of these series featured two models:

 

Standard (about 5 1/8")

Slender (about 4 5/8")

 

The Challenger appeared in five "mottled" colors:

Black

Gray

Green

Red

and- for just one year- Blue

 

Deluxe Challenger had four "plaque" colors

Black

Gray

Green

Red

 

Royal Challenger had three Chevron colors

 

Gray

Brown

Red

 

 

Regular Challenger (your pen) saw two core types/generations, marked mainly by the switch from Ball Clip to Blade Clip. Deluxe Challenger saw similar evolution.

 

First Generation Deluxe pen with ball-clip. Note the plaque-on-black color

 

http://removed.xyz/websitesalespics/pen1775sm.jpg

 

Second Gen regular Challenger with blade clip in fairly uncommon Blue. Note the mottled pattern

 

http://removed.xyz/websitesalespics/pen1536sm.jpg

 

 

Royal Challenger had three types squeezed into a three-four year period.

-------

 

Condition is important for value, as is preservation of color.

 

Often these make nice quite writers.

 

regards

David

 

 

[LedZepGirl]

Just wondering- but did Parker manufacture pens for the Waltham company? I have a pencil that has the same kind of cone- shaped black end as the regular model Challenger and the clip is really close in shape, as well as the steel end of the pencil- looks a lot like the one on the Challenger pencil

[goodguy]

Wow thank you David for the interesting information.

I have leanred yet another piece of Parker History.

Thanks

[jszh]

oh yeah really beautiful writer for 50 bucks!!

[georges zaslavsky]

quite nice pen but a litte bit short for my tastes

[gyasko]

Mine is the 1935 version of the reviewed pen. It's a great writer.

[philm]

Wow, I had not seen this post in a while. It is a nice review. As David's photos (no doubt much nicer than mine) are no longer available, I thought I would post this grouping of Challengers from several years ago. Note the replacement cap on the second from the top.

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/munsonhsr/parker%20pens/DSC_0001copy.jpg

 

Phil

[jnd]

I would wholeheartedly agree that the Challenger is a great pen to write with. I've got five Challengers: 2 standard from the first run (1937-41), with ball clips; 2 standard from the redesigned edition, with blade clips; and 2 Royal Challengers. Overall, the redesigned Challengers are the best writers. They're not quite as responsive as Vacs, but they're really robust, chunky pens, beautifully balanced and comforting to hold. They hold a good deal of ink. The button filler is the same as the Duofold--just a simple pressure-bar that really pumps ink. They're easy service and they look great. The Challenger is a classic muscle pen, as far as I'm concerned.

 

I do have one question: what is up with breather tube on the later Challengers with the ink view window ("Visiometer")? Does it serve any purpose? Is this just a "fake" breather tube? Because, when I've resacced my Challengers, so far as I can tell, no air could pass through that breather hole in the feed. Anyhow, I'd really appreciate someone who knows Challengers to address the breather tube issue.

 

Thanks,

 

Jan

[breaker]

nice review thanks!

[ThirdeYe]

quite nice pen but a litte bit short for my tastes

Then you definitely wouldn't like mine. Mine is even shorter, I'm guessing it's the Ladies' version of the Challenger. Mine has an interesting blind cap though. It almost looks like a black plastic/rubber sheath rather than a cap that screws off.

Edited December 20, 2010 by ThirdeYe

[M@rtin]

Beautiful pen and nice review.

 

Saludos