Would love to get this restored soon (Parker Duofold Vacumatic)

Would love to get this Parker Duofold Vacumatic restored when I can actually afford to (especially if the person restoring it happen to have a similar nib meant for that model handy to put in.)

Picked this up on my wedding day (several hours beforehand when I was told to stay away while my bride got ready) from an Antique shop in my in-law's town.

It's going to need a new diaphragm and maybe some internal cleaning where parts of the old hard diaphragm is stuck to the inner wall. And while the nib seems usable under writing pressure I'll want to replace the nib eventually as the left tip was bent exactly 90 degrees to the left until I pushed it back gently with my thumbnail (you can see it somewhat where it happened on the inside of the slit).

Other than that, very clean, flushed out with pretty decent translucency between the stripes. I just don't have the tools or experience to do it myself (I'm much more familiar with restoring sac pens like Sheaffer Touchdown, Snorkels, Eversharp Skylines, Conklin Crescent Filler, etc etc)

The date code appears to be "2" with a single dot.

https://i.imgur.com/4kGUxNR.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/A5S6wRd.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/3Mwa0MD.jpg

That gold nib looks good enough to write to me, and it wouldn't take very much to line up the tines perfectly again. A couple of tweaks and a polish and no-one would ever know it had ever been bent. :)

Ron Zorn could probably do the required repairs to that pen in his sleep. :)

That looks like a very nice example of the Duofold Vacumatics , a great candidate for restoration

Congratulations on your wedding and you lovely pen find

I really enjoy my Vacs.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chrissy

That gold nib looks good enough to write to me, and it wouldn't take very much to line up the tines perfectly again. A couple of tweaks and a polish and no-one would ever know it had ever been bent. :)

---

Seems that way until you get close up :
https://i.imgur.com/foXwGkI.jpg

Repairable but difficult.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Deb

Repairable but difficult.

---

Hence the desire to replace it for now, and hold onto it for when I do have a chance (and funds) to have it repaired/tipped/etc. Because knowing my luck it may 'write', but then I'd be in a deeper hole if the left tip snaps off.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KBeezie

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chrissy

That gold nib looks good enough to write to me, and it wouldn't take very much to line up the tines perfectly again. A couple of tweaks and a polish and no-one would ever know it had ever been bent. :)

---

Seems that way until you get close up.

---

OK I agree that looks worse, but still repairable. :(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chrissy

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KBeezie

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chrissy

That gold nib looks good enough to write to me, and it wouldn't take very much to line up the tines perfectly again. A couple of tweaks and a polish and no-one would ever know it had ever been bent. :)

---

Seems that way until you get close up.

---

OK I agree that looks worse, but still repairable. :(

---

Just a matter of which cost more or would be of more benefit, replacing it, or repairing it. (replacing could be quicker and I'd have an idea of how it writes from most people who sell loose nibs). But at least that model doesn't seem horrible on nib prices. It would be interesting if it would take some of my #2-ish nibs (wahl, conklin, etc). The alternative is finding a beat to hell DuoVac that somehow didn't bend the nib.

Replacing the nib would be better all the way around. There is a crack, as you can see. It might be possible to straighten the nib without it breaking all of the way and the tine falling off, but I have my doubts. Even if you did get it straightened out, I would expect it to fall off sooner rather than later. The best repair would be laser welding, which is going to cost a bit more.

A replacement nib, even at the high end, would likely be under $75. That would be the starting point if you sent the nib in for laser welding, plus shipping to either Mottishaw or Minuskin.

As to whether it will take a Wahl #2, measure the length, measure the shoulder width, measure the diameter of the feed. If they're close, you might get a way with it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ron Z

Replacing the nib would be better all the way around. There is a crack, as you can see. It might be possible to straighten the nib without it breaking all of the way and the tine falling off, but I have my doubts. Even if you did get it straightened out, I would expect it to fall off sooner rather than later. The best repair would be laser welding, which is going to cost a bit more.

A replacement nib, even at the high end, would likely be under $75. That would be the starting point if you sent the nib in for laser welding, plus shipping to either Mottishaw or Minuskin.

As to whether it will take a Wahl #2, measure the length, measure the shoulder width, measure the diameter of the feed. If they're close, you might get a way with it.

---

Thanks for the information and ballpark on pricing (especially the welding ), and I'm in the same thought, since the metal has already been stressed, it's more likely to snap down the road than an undamaged nib.

Far as sizing, it seems to be slightly smaller (and thinner), than either my Wahl #2 and the Conklin Crescent filler nib (currently my Wahl semi-flex needlepoint sits in the crescent filler, while the conklin nib gets stored with the small wahl gold filled pocket pen).

So while I could put the parker nib into either the Wahl or Conklin pen, the reverse, not so much so.

https://i.imgur.com/kzWVZDb.jpg

I had a similar situation with my Conklin crescent filler, the nib it was sold with had cracks on both ends of the breather hole as a result of being abused/overflexed. The nib above is the replacement I purchased from FiveStarPens for about 45. A standard firm EF which I'm fine with to have an original-to-pen nib to keep with it. I like the Wahl nib a lot more in combination with the large/long size of my C/F (a 20CNL that measures 17cm posted, 12.5mm uncapped, unposted).

It's going to help that I'm not too picky on the Parker nib, anything between an EF to M would be nice, and if it has spring that would be great, though I've always had nails when I found a vintage Parker anyways (especially in the Vacumatics).

I think it would be a shame for the pen to not have a Parker nib, even though it looks like it's going to be better value for money to replace your nib than to try and repair it. :(

Look at Vacumatic nibs too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chrissy

I think it would be a shame for the pen to not have a Parker nib, even though it looks like it's going to be better value for money to replace your nib than to try and repair it. :(

---

Agreed, which is why I got a Conklin nib that was 'correct' to the period for my Crescent Filler, even though I've swapped the nib between my Wahl and Conklin for my personal use. I don't have anything in my possession that would currently fit the Parker, but I would certainly want to keep it as a Parker nib since I remember them having a very specific quality/feel and keeps it non-fraken-pen.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ron Z

Look at Vacumatic nibs too.

---

Wasn't aware that they would probably be of the same size (I'm assuming that includes some of the arrow nibs).

Its a Vacumatic filler pen, using the same feed and sections, so nib sizes would be the same. I don't know whether yours is Jr or Sr size.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chrissy

I think it would be a shame for the pen to not have a Parker nib, even though it looks like it's going to be better value for money to replace your nib than to try and repair it. :(

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ron Z

Look at Vacumatic nibs too.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ron Z

Its a Vacumatic filler pen, using the same feed and sections, so nib sizes would be the same. I don't know whether yours is Jr or Sr size.

---

Based on the cap rings and what I found thru https://parkerpens.net/duovac.html I'm thinking a junior. The nib sizes out at 25.4mm long from tail to tip, 6.8mm at the shoulder, 5mm wide at the tail, 2.3mm height (measured the curvature). Using a digital caliper.

Seems to match closely to an identically inscribed nib on fivestarpens as "Parker Pen, Medium & firm, larger version of this nib, 26.5mm x 6.8mm, $34" (since there's a whole section of just "Parker Pen" inscriptions). Most of the others are a little shorter and slightly narrower on the shoulder.

5 inches long capped, 5.3 inches long posted, 4 inches uncapped/unposted (to the section edge), barrel is 11.5mm thick.