"Married" pen? Parker "51"

Hello -

I took the plunge and purchased two Parker 51s to start off a humble
collection of pens. The Vac has arrived; the Aero is on the way.

I successfully disassembled the pen with no tools. I'm confindent the
Vac will need a diaphragm job, but not by my fault...

Now to the heart of the matter. It's a late 1947 Vacumatic. The pen
barrel says made in USA. However, the GF cap says made in Canada.

Is this a "married" pen? Regardless of the fact (and its less than
stellar condition, but that's for another thread), it's a keeper -
trashing a 56-year-old pen would be a crime. To me, anyway.

Thanks for your reply.

Marcos Hedges wrote:

Hello -

I took the plunge and purchased two Parker 51s to start off a humble
collection of pens. The Vac has arrived; the Aero is on the way.

I successfully disassembled the pen with no tools. I'm confindent the
Vac will need a diaphragm job, but not by my fault...

Now to the heart of the matter. It's a late 1947 Vacumatic. The pen
barrel says made in USA. However, the GF cap says made in Canada.

Is this a "married" pen? Regardless of the fact (and its less than
stellar condition, but that's for another thread), it's a keeper -
trashing a 56-year-old pen would be a crime. To me, anyway.

Thanks for your reply.

Every pen ever made is nothing but a marriage of parts that originally
came from Who Knows where. Very few, if any pen companies ever made a
entire pen in their own one single factory. Don't worry about it. It
may be a later mis-match, it may be a dealer mis-match, it may be
perfectly original from either Parker of Canada or Parker USA when
either ran out of the other parts and called across the border for
whatever they needed at the time. No one can ever know for certain. No
one cared back then--they sold PENS. Period. End of story.

But the realities of collectors and nit pickers being what they are,
even if you had a document signed by God Himself saying the pen is
exactly how it left the factory to many people it will be worth less
than one where the country imprints match.

But why would anyone "trash" the pen for this?? Properly restored its
still a complete and great pen no matter what the imprints say. To
those who know better, just want a great pen to use or don't spend their
time nit-picking for the most tiny of details the imprints won't matter
one bit. Frank

But why would anyone "trash" the pen for this?? Properly restored its
still a complete and great pen no matter what the imprints say. To
those who know better, just want a great pen to use or don't spend their
time nit-picking for the most tiny of details the imprints won't matter
one bit. Frank

I guess I should have said "thrash". As in someone complaining it's a
Frankensteined amalgamation of pieces. Apologies to those who were
looking forward to sifting through the garbage can

Like I said, it's a keeper; I'm not complaining, just curious and
early in the learning curve. After cleaning with water, cotton swabs,
and a bit of Novus #2, the pen looks much better than when it arrived.
Looking forward to its "first" dip in ink!