The Pencil Parker Should Have Built All Along

It's no secret to readers of The Catalogue that I'm not much of a fan of pre-World War II Parker pencils.  Out of the "Big Four" writing instrument manufacturers in the United States, Parker comes in a distant third behind Wahl Eversharp and Sheaffer (who were neck and neck for first) chronologically to get into the pencil business.  As far as quality is concerned, in my opinion Parker came in dead last. 

I can already hear the angry mob of Parker devotees, pitchforks and torches in hand, pounding on my door as I make this statement.   But think about it:  how often do you find an Eversharp, Sheaffer or for that matter, a Waterman pencil that doesn't work?   For every one of these that is our of commission, you'll find ten Vacumatic or Duofold pencils broken down by the side of the road with its owner thumbing for a ride.

With the Vacumatic pencils, it's usually a problem with a cracked drive tube.  Vac clutch pencils tend to jam and freeze up as if they were superglued.  Streamline Duofolds are the best of the bunch, but when there's a problem with one of them it's a bear to get into it for the repair (I spent about half a day at the DC Supershow a few years ago entertaining myself by repairing the marine green pearl one shown on page 112). 

With the first generation of Duofold pencils, the "bell top" flattops, the problem (in addition to a cantankerous screw drive) is that the tops are so fragile, it's a real challenge to find one that isn't dented or deformed.   While Parker was advertising a Duofold Pen that was so sturdy you could drop it from an airplane, the pencil that accompanied it would dent, as I commented at the Mechanical Pencil Museum, in anything more than a stiff breeze.

There is one exception, and it's taken me a few years to track one down.  Here is a picture of a Parker "Big Bro" pencil from around 1923-1924 . . .

NOTE:  This article is now included in the print version of The Leadhead's Pencil Blog, available anywhere you buy books, or also from The Legendary Lead Company.

To order, here's the link:  Volume 1 at Legendary Lead Company