New to the fountain pen world

I have recently caught the bug and purchased what I think is a Parker
Vacumatic circa 1935 or so. I saw it in an antique mall for $14 and
thought I'd take a chance. Don't know if it works till I clean it up.
The nib is steel color with the Parker arrow in gold and the # 1 at
the base. Can anyone tell me what is the best way to clean it and or
take it apart to repair if necessary. I also saw an old Parker
vacumatic ad that said Guarantied for life. Is this so? Can I send it
back to Parker for Repairs? Or if it needs to be reconditioned Who
does it and about how much should I expect to pay?

Thanks for the info
Ed

From: radarman

have recently caught the bug and purchased what I think is a Parker
Vacumatic circa 1935 or so. I saw it in an antique mall for $14 and thought
I'd take a chance. Don't know if it works till I clean it up.
The nib is steel color with the Parker arrow in gold and the # 1 at the base.
Can anyone tell me what is the best way to clean it and or take it apart to
repair if necessary. I also saw an old Parker
vacumatic ad that said Guarantied for life. Is this so? Can I send it back to
Parker for Repairs? Or if it needs to be reconditioned Who does it and about
how much should I expect to pay?

Thanks for the info
Ed

Ed, first welcome to the world of vintage pens. And you most likely made a
good buy for 14 bucks, assuming nothing is broken.

The Parker Vac most likely has a date code at the end of the inscription, you
might take a look and see if there is a number there. Most likely, this pen
will require restoration, and it is simply too difficult and too good a pen for
you to learn on, if you have no pen restoration experience. Others will post
qualified repair folk out there. Cost will vary, but should run in the $35
range plus or minus, depending on what is needed. Still at $50 you will have a
great pen.
Randy

On 31 Aug 2004 20:08:55 GMT, (RAClifford) wrote:

From: radarman

have recently caught the bug and purchased what I think is a Parker
Vacumatic circa 1935 or so. I saw it in an antique mall for $14 and thought
I'd take a chance. Don't know if it works till I clean it up.
The nib is steel color with the Parker arrow in gold and the # 1 at the base.
Can anyone tell me what is the best way to clean it and or take it apart to
repair if necessary. I also saw an old Parker
vacumatic ad that said Guarantied for life. Is this so? Can I send it back to
Parker for Repairs? Or if it needs to be reconditioned Who does it and about
how much should I expect to pay?

Thanks for the info
Ed

Ed, first welcome to the world of vintage pens. And you most likely made a
good buy for 14 bucks, assuming nothing is broken.

The Parker Vac most likely has a date code at the end of the inscription, you
might take a look and see if there is a number there. Most likely, this pen
will require restoration, and it is simply too difficult and too good a pen for
you to learn on, if you have no pen restoration experience. Others will post
qualified repair folk out there. Cost will vary, but should run in the $35
range plus or minus, depending on what is needed. Still at $50 you will have a
great pen.
Randy


Don't forget Da' Book.

From: Earl Camembert

Don't forget Da' Book.

LOL, well that is a given, I have two copies.

radarman writes:

I have recently caught the bug and purchased what I think is a
Parker Vacumatic circa 1935 or so. I saw it in an antique mall for
$14 and thought I'd take a chance. Don't know if it works till I
clean it up.

For $14 it's a very reasonable risk!

The nib is steel color with the Parker arrow in gold and the # 1 at
the base. Can anyone tell me what is the best way to clean it and
or take it apart to repair if necessary. I also saw an old Parker
vacumatic ad that said Guarantied for life. Is this so? Can I send
it back to Parker for Repairs?

NO, they haven't had the parts to fix that pen for 50 years. The
Vacumatic is one complicated pen to fix, requiring special tools and a
degree of fiddling. Not the pen to start learning on.

Or if it needs to be reconditioned Who does it and about how much
should I expect to pay?

There are lots of pen repair people accessible through the Internet.
I've never used any of them other than Nathan Tardif, and he's cut
back on his repairs to concentrate on other projects. But there are
many with excellent reputations. Others here can recommend some of
them.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my questions. I sent Richard
Binder an email to see if he can do a restoration for me. Looking at
some of the prices for similar pens I think I did make a really good
buy. The date code on the pen is just a single digit and a period
"1." So I thnk this means it was made in 1941. I already can't wait
to get started using it.
Ed

radarman wrote:

Thanks to everyone who responded to my questions. I sent Richard
Binder an email to see if he can do a restoration for me. Looking at
some of the prices for similar pens I think I did make a really good
buy. The date code on the pen is just a single digit and a period
"1." So I thnk this means it was made in 1941. I already can't wait
to get started using it.
Ed

Where is the inscription? Is it near the top of the barrel or down on
the blind cap at the other end of the barrel?
-Bruno

Its at the end of the barrel away from the nib end about a half inch
from the blind cap. The print reads from nib to plunger

Geo.s Parker Vacumatic Made in 1.
Parker U.S.A.

I'm sending a JPG of the pen as well.
ED


On Wed, 01 Sep 2004 14:04:18 GMT, Bruno wrote:

radarman wrote:

Thanks to everyone who responded to my questions. I sent Richard
Binder an email to see if he can do a restoration for me. Looking at
some of the prices for similar pens I think I did make a really good
buy. The date code on the pen is just a single digit and a period
"1." So I thnk this means it was made in 1941. I already can't wait
to get started using it.
Ed

Where is the inscription? Is it near the top of the barrel or down on
the blind cap at the other end of the barrel?
-Bruno

Its at the end of the barrel away from the nib end about a half inch
from the blind cap. The print reads from nib to plunger

Geo.s Parker Vacumatic Made in 1.
Parker U.S.A.

Ed



On Wed, 01 Sep 2004 14:04:18 GMT, Bruno wrote:

radarman wrote:

Thanks to everyone who responded to my questions. I sent Richard
Binder an email to see if he can do a restoration for me. Looking at
some of the prices for similar pens I think I did make a really good
buy. The date code on the pen is just a single digit and a period
"1." So I thnk this means it was made in 1941. I already can't wait
to get started using it.
Ed

Where is the inscription? Is it near the top of the barrel or down on
the blind cap at the other end of the barrel?
-Bruno

"radarman" wrote in message
...
Thanks to everyone who responded to my questions. I sent Richard
Binder an email to see if he can do a restoration for me. Looking at
some of the prices for similar pens I think I did make a really good
buy. The date code on the pen is just a single digit and a period
"1." So I thnk this means it was made in 1941.

It was made during the 3rd quarter of 1941 according to the date code
explained on Richard Binder's webpage, "Design Features: The Parker
Vacumatic."

Kewl.

--
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