Some weeks ago, a very good customer asked me to look out for a Parker 65 for him.  To be honest, I’d never really noticed this pen before.  During the 60s, at the height of the Parker 61’s popularity, there was a demand for a more open nibbed pen with some flexibility.  The Parker 65 was the response.  It’s Son of Parker 61, with a distinct similarity to that pen.  My customer didn’t want the flighter version, which is much more common, but the plastic barrel version with a gold-filled cap

When I went looking for them I found that they fetched a pretty high price.  I bid on several without success but eventually managed to snag this one.  There is good gold filling on the cap because it’s still in excellent condition after all these years.  It’s very 61-like until you look at the nib, which is beautifully shaped.  When I tested it, it was a smooth medium and there is a tiny bit of line variation there.  This is the version that has the Parker converter which I always think is a minor work of art itself.

I don’t know how it was that I missed these pens for so long but having examined this one I will be buying more of them.  Unlike my customer I like the flighters too and I hope that they will make an appearance in my blog before too long.  This period, I think, was the last time that Parkers were producing truly excellent pens.  After this the decline set in.  I’ve been looking at some of the more modern Parker pens (more of this anon) and I can’t say that I’m impressed.  I’m afraid that for good Parkers I must continue to dwell in the 50s and 60s and earlier.