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Thread: Parker Duofold - Made in England

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    Default Parker Duofold - Made in England

    Good evening folks!! hope you are all doing well.
    I have had this pen for decades, all I know is that it is a Duofold. Big deal, it is written on the pen barrel. I bought it at a flea market in London many years ago, I was there very early with a friend of mine around 6 AM. He bought his things and I bumped into this pen. It has always worked, from the first day. I just filled it again today and I have noticed that the sac is a bit gooey.
    It fills and writes very well.
    What I don't know is the year it was produced by Parker and what its real model name is.
    Is it possible to change the sac with a new one? Thank you for you support.

    Duofold 1.jpg

    Duofold 2.jpg

    Marco

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    YamSoloin (July 8th, 2022)

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    Default Re: Parker Duofold - Made in England

    I believe the nib is marked with 25, and the cap band seems to be wide, which is a Duofold Standard, from the 50's.

    http://parkerpens.net/ukduofold.html

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    Default Re: Parker Duofold - Made in England

    @usk15, thank you for your input. Indeed there is a 25 on the nib and then separated a 9 what does this number mean? Anyone knows?
    ciao
    Marco

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    Default Re: Parker Duofold - Made in England

    have a look here for more info: http://parkerpens.net/codekey.html

    It looks like is made on the last quarter of 1959, but I'm not sure.

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    Default Re: Parker Duofold - Made in England

    Hi, this is a very interesting pen, though I won't be able to tell the exact age...

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    Default Re: Parker Duofold - Made in England

    Hello

    A great everyday pen to be used and enjoyed. Getting it fitted with a new sac should take about three minutes and will last, probably, for another fifty odd years.

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    Default Re: Parker Duofold - Made in England

    @oblique_and_inky, the way to replace this sac is similar to the Parker 51? I have used for many years but as the collection keeps growing the rotation period is more extended 😊

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    Default Re: Parker Duofold - Made in England

    I wouldn't worry too much about the sack feeling "sticky."

    These sacs are the same "Pli-Glas", AKA PVC, used on 51 Aeromatic sacs(although I don't know if they're standard or Demi size-I'd guess standard). They pretty much last forever. Stickiness could indicate some plasticizer loss and that it may split in the future, but I also have a 21 that's felt that way as long as I've had it and I've never felt a need to replace the sac.

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    RobJohnson (July 10th, 2022)

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    Default Re: Parker Duofold - Made in England

    As others in the thread note, if it works, you shouldn't need to do anything. If in doubt, have a look on the WES website (Writing Equipment Society), you'll be able to find your nearest repairperson.

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    Default Re: Parker Duofold - Made in England

    Quote Originally Posted by bunnspecial View Post
    I wouldn't worry too much about the sack feeling "sticky."

    These sacs are the same "Pli-Glas", AKA PVC, used on 51 Aeromatic sacs(although I don't know if they're standard or Demi size-I'd guess standard). They pretty much last forever. Stickiness could indicate some plasticizer loss and that it may split in the future, but I also have a 21 that's felt that way as long as I've had it and I've never felt a need to replace the sac.
    The tacky feel to the sac should have no real impact on how the pen works. As I recall I removed the stickiness with a household spray polish on both the sac and the inside of the squeeze bar.

    The plastic on the Duofold responds very well to polishing and can return to looking like new quite simply but it is worth masking the imprint before doing so.

    The metalwork looks like it could do with improving, it could be bright and shiny with a little application of metal polish, only use a tiny amount, smaller than the size of a pea.

    My only cautionary note is to be gentle with the cap lip, the plastic can crack and your pen shows signs that the cap has shrunk a little by the scratches on the barrel.

    Good luck and I look forward to seeing the end result.

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    Default Re: Parker Duofold - Made in England

    @RobJohnson, thank you for the advice. As far as I recall the scratches on the barrel, where the cap screws on, have always been there. The cap opens and closes without issues. Which plastic polish do you suggest? I will not be tempted to change the sac then 😊
    Thank you to all 👍🏻

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    RobJohnson (July 11th, 2022)

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    Default Re: Parker Duofold - Made in England

    Quote Originally Posted by MarcoA64 View Post
    @RobJohnson, thank you for the advice. As far as I recall the scratches on the barrel, where the cap screws on, have always been there. The cap opens and closes without issues. Which plastic polish do you suggest? I will not be tempted to change the sac then 😊
    Thank you to all 👍🏻
    Hello Marco

    I hesitate to suggest a pen polish because there are so many different opinions on the best, we all have different experiences. My best advice is to do a search on here and look at what the experts advise, there are also some very good YouTube videos on polishing a pen.

    I am not an expert, just a bumbling collector but if I had your pen I would start with a good soapy water clean, then mask off the threads on the barrel and the imprint and then use a gentle plastic polish, I use the word gentle because the plastic on English Duofolds is soft, good results are easily achievable, a metal polish such as Solvol Autosol is a bit of 'hammer to crack a walnut'. I would go for the gentle approach for this particular pen in this condition And keep the metal polish for the sac protector but keep it away from the cap bands and clip.

    You might get perfectly good results from using a Sunshine yellow cloth from Amazon.

    I don't want to sound insulting, I don't know your skills, when it comes to doing some tasks such as removing the Jewel and making sure that the nib is working well a that the flow is spot on. The restoration of your Duofold is simple but for not a lot of money you could send it off to a Uk pen restorer who will produce a pen to whatever standard you seek. I say this following a clumsy attempt of my own to remove a jewel from a Duofold clip, I followed advice but still managed to break the head off the threaded shaft which had been glued in place leaving me with the problems of removal of the thread from the cap and finding a new Jewel, which took some months as I recall and cost me a lot of money in comparison to the value of the pen.

    It all depends on what you would like, some people like the look of a pen that shows its 50 years of use, preserved as opposed to restored, in which case I would suggest that you dive in after considering advice.

    Others want a pen that is close to its new state, If that is your goal I would invest £30 on a professional, I would say that you would probably get your money back and more if you wanted to sell the pen at some point.
    Last edited by RobJohnson; July 11th, 2022 at 03:35 AM.

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    Default Re: Parker Duofold - Made in England

    @RobJohnson, thank you very much for your answers. The pen has always written well, IMO. I never take pens apart in order to avoid damaging them. I read on FPN and FPG pf people dismantling and reassembling good looking/writing pens just for the fun of it. I'm not like this 😊 If it works I'm happy. If it looks old, same as above. I'm always curious to learn new ways to better pens when possible so that if I manage to get cheaply a battered pen I can always give it a go 👍🏻 Sunshine cloth I have so I could give a shine to the clip and gold band and nothing more for now. The stickiness of the sac, now that you said is not important as long as it works, will not bother me anymore.
    Thank you
    Marco

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    Default Re: Parker Duofold - Made in England

    I think that is very prudent Marco, so many pens have been damaged in the best of intentions.

    In the event that the sticky sac bothers you then some spray furniture polish, just on your fingers and rubbed into sac, should fix that problem.

    Regards

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