65

Maker: Parker.

Judge for yourself! The 65 is nearer the camera.

This is a product of the thinking of the UK branch of Parker.  While unhooded designs were absent from the US line up between the wrapping up there of the VS and the 1962 entry of the VP, they had never been altogether removed from the European line-up.  It seems that someone in Newhaven got the notion that there was not an open-point analog to the 61, and the response to that perceived lack was the 65.  From the trim-ring to the tail, there really isn’t much to tell these pens apart.

I have seen this pen described as a “flex” version of the 61, and I can’t say I agree.  The unhooded point certainly has more spring to it than the older design, but the flat back of the point means that even when under pressure the tines don’t really separate.  It is a very nice pen to write with, all the same.  It is also just about as resistant as a hooded pen to drying out while uncapped, as the feed has almost no exposure to the air other than the breather hole in the point.  Note also that trying to make it flex will put stress on the vestigial hood and will also tend to lift the tines from the feed, leading eventually to flow problems.

The 65 was never lumbered with the capillary filling system, but was initially fitted for reasons that boggle the imagination with a reincarnation of the flimsy quasi-converter system which had appeared previously in the VP and was likely the reason for that pen’s very brief run; in its appearance in the 65, the user was never told it was removable in the hope it would be treated as a regular press-bar filler.  This was replaced in short order with a regular cartridge set-up.  As with the 61, there were various levels of trim available for the 61, including gold and steel-bodied versions.

There are a couple of things about the 65 which a prospective buyer should be aware of.  The first is that there is a small reputation for flimsiness in the cartridge-piercing component so one should not be too reckless in banging home a fresh supply of ink.  The second is a seam which runs from one side to the other of the underside of the section, just where the point emerges from the hoodling, and which can be a source of ink seepage.  The seepage can be addressed by resealing the seam with wax, but to do so properly requires dismantling the section quite thoroughly– an enterprise that calls for both experience and specialized tools.

Production Run: 1967 – 1983

Cost When New: I have seen prices for 1979 showing £12 for the Flighter, £20 for a rolled gold Insignia, £22 for some decoratively-etched steel body models, but missing the base model and giving only “You’ll have to ask” for the solid gold Presidential models (about $27, $45, and $49 respectively; for modern value, try this calculator).

Size: 13.3 cm long capped, 14.2 cm posted, 12.3 cm uncapped.

Point: 14k gold.

Body: Polystryrene (with metal cladding in several models)

Filler: Semi-removable press-bar thingy for the first year or so, replaced by the regular Parker cartridge, capacity approx. 1.2 ml.

Parker 65 base model

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