Filling Mechanism: Vacuum Filler

Due to their unique filling systems, Parker Vacumatics remain a perennial favorite for us. We restored this World War II era vintage pen with a new ink sac and really went to town wet-sanding it to restore its factory luster. No cracks. No brassing. No deep scratches. The only imperfection is an impression on the cap where the pocket clip dug into the celluloid. The blind cap aligns with the barrel about 99% of the way it should. You will write a wet, fine line with its 14k gold nib. The lighter your touch as a writer the less feedback you will feel. We can get it to be almost feedback free, but if you are more heavy handed you will feel a little more. Made in 1944, this one is a beaut that should work well for decades to come. Click the headline for close-ups. 12.8cm capped.

Here's a Sheaffer Triumph from the 1940s that you don't see in working order all that often. In the rarer carmine (red) design with the wide cap band these pens are notoriously tricky to restore. Happily for us...and for you...we had this one restored by the fabulous Sheaffer maven Sherrell Tyree. It is a Vacuum-Fil pen. Unscrew the tail's blind cap, pull back the blind cap as far as it goes and then dip the nib all the way in ink and push down on the blind cap all the way. The whole barrel fills with ink. Its conical nib is made of 14k gold and writes a really firm fine line. You can seem some light wear on the cap and barrel. A shallow barrel imprint. No cracks. A little brassing on the ball of the clip. Click the headline for close-ups. 13.2cm capped.

Parker Vacumatic Maxima pens in burgundy can be difficult to find, but a matching set is tougher. These fully restored writing instruments hail from 1937. They look divine with minimal wear, no brassing, no cracks and with crisp imprints. The vintage pen is missing some of its original silvery plating from its 14k gold nib. Click the headline for close-ups. We dipped said nib and it is a very hard starter that writes a fine dry line. If you want to make this pen a daily user, you'll have to break in the nib a bit. It isn't difficult, it just takes a little time and practice. The barrel of the pen is ambered, but you can still see through it. The vintage pencil works great and comes with an original lead cartridge case in the tail.

Parker Vacumatic nibs are notoriously rigid and fine, but this Parker Vacumatic Maxima from 1937 sports a tasty two-tone 14k gold nib that writes a semi-flex line from medium to about 1mm wide! Also awesome is the fact that this vintage pen has some great barrel clarity. Yeah, it's a little ambered, but you can still see through it easily. Click the headline for close-ups. Minimal, if any wear. Has a working diaphragm. The tail cap is about 98% flush with the barrel. The only warning we have about this pen is that its long nib snags on the cap if you overtighten it. Never close the cap tighter than the first evidence of snugging up. 13.6cm capped.

Behold this likely once-in-a-lifetime vintage pen. New Old Stock Parker Vacumatic Maxima fountain pens complete with their original price sticker don't come along very often. Our "golden pearl" stunner has seen minimal if any use. Click the headline for a close-up. You can easily see through the pale-green-yellow barrel with factory fresh clarity. It has a working diaphragm, but we aren't sure who would use such a magnificent museum piece. No cracks, scratches or noteworthy wear for a pen made in 1939. Its aluminum shows a touch of wear. The double jewels are golden pearl. The sticker says this is a medium point nib, and you can see the 14k gold nib still retains almost all of its original two-tone plating. We didn't dip this one, though someone might have in the past 85 years. 13.6cm capped.

Blue Parker Vacumatics seem more difficult to find these days, but we lucked out with this Debutant-size double-jewel model from 1941. We restored its aluminum speedline filler with a new diaphragm. The barrel is too dark to see the ink, but it is working well. The pen has some wear from use and visible brassing on its cap band and jewels. Click the headline for close-ups. We tuned the nib after shooting the nib photo. You will find it writes a smooth medium line. The clip is on tightly. A great vintage pen daily user. 11.9cm capped.

Persian blue is one of our Sheaffer favorites. This Sheaffer Sentinel is an especially attractive vintage pen. The vacuum-fil filling system has been restored and works well. However, we are noticing an issue with it as it writes. The firm extra-fine 14k gold nib writes nicely, but it seems to deposit a little blob of ink every couple words. There is a dent on the right side of the cap, too. The rest of the pen looks fine with a little wear from use. This pen sports its White Dot on the tip of the blind cap! Really neat feature. 12.7cm capped.

The original Sheaffer Valiant came with a vacuum-fil filler system. The color is a rarer umber brown. There is a little light wear from use. There is no brassing, no cracks or deep scratches. You can see in the photo that the cap pushed a little of the softer barrel plastic back where it closes. This vintage pen was restored by the great Sherrell Tyree, who is a renowned Sheaffer expert. You will write a smooth fine-medium line with its two-tone 14k gold Triumph nib. Oh, and it has nice ink-view window clarity. Click the headline for close-ups. Wide bodied and 13.3cm capped.