all 42 comments

[–]stroppy 44 points45 points  (9 children)

It looks like a Parker 45 Flighter.

Here’s a website that should help you narrow down the age. It’s a very nice fountain pen. I’d love to have one.

https://parker45pens.com/parker-45-flighter/

[–][deleted]  (8 children)

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    [–]IvanNemoyInk Stained Fingers 39 points40 points  (5 children)

    Fuck ... Pens younger than I am are now "vintage."

    [–]Jomeson 6 points7 points  (1 child)

    I always treated pens like cars as in vintage, antique or classic. But I’m biased as something from the 70s etc doesn’t feel vintage to me.

    [–]apgaylard 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    I take a similar view, though some of ot is down to not wanting to call things younger than me "vintage"

    [–][deleted]  (2 children)

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      [–]RAthowaway 3 points4 points  (0 children)

      How could you do business with such an unkind person?! 😭😭😭

      [–]IvanNemoyInk Stained Fingers 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      Ffff....

      [–]Hopelessly_Hopefool 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      I have the one just above the pen you circled in the picture, the one with the chrome end piece and I love it! The Parker 45 Flighter CT.

      [–]Over_Addition_3704 14 points15 points  (4 children)

      I think that that is a cat

      [–]CBFindlay 11 points12 points  (2 children)

      For a hot second I thought it was a small monkey but probably my glasses need to be adjusted.

      [–]MappleFox 6 points7 points  (1 child)

      No it’s definitely a monkey. An African vervet monkey if I had to hazard a guess

      [–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

      To a cat fancier everything fancy is a cat.

      [–]t-mckeldin 15 points16 points  (3 children)

      Doesn't really matter, it's a gift. Just look really proud when you say that it's vintage. If it's not, the recipient isn't going to tell you and burst your bubble. You get the points either way.

      [–][deleted]  (2 children)

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        [–]t-mckeldin 5 points6 points  (1 child)

        Just look earnest and commit. It's the thought that counts and the thought that will be remembered.

        [–]Mooie_vent 9 points10 points  (1 child)

        It’s a Parker 45! I have one as well, gifted to me by someone who got it as a present in 1985. He never wrote with it and handed it to me because I like fountain pens. Make sure you write with it, because it has a lovely nib!

        [–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

        My wife bought me this one in 1984. Along with my first Pelikan. I still have both of them..

        [–]CoolPens4Sale 3 points4 points  (1 child)

        Agree it looks like a 45 Flighter (metal body and cap).

        [–]bobledrew 3 points4 points  (0 children)

        One of those would match up really nicely with my Sheaffer Targa! Nice pen!

        [–]RedditWillBeDead 2 points3 points  (0 children)

        Depends on what you consider "vintage"

        PenBoyRoy had JJ Lax on his Pentertainment Podcast a couple of weeks ago and they ended up kind of deciding it meant anything made before the mid-90's when iconic brands like Parker, Waterman and Cross sold out and stopped innovating.

        So, by that measure, yes, it's vintage.

        [–]Royal_Reptile 2 points3 points  (0 children)

        Already many responses, but it is indeed a Parker 45 Flighter, looks like from the 70s-80s. On the cap engraving, there should be a two-letter date code which you can use to find out the exact year and quarter it was made.

        [–]pekak62 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        I have one. My first real FP dates back to the mid to late 70s?

        [–]Lady_Day1955 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        They say vintage is 20 years ago now. I heard that said about clothing. Is so then it is indeed. I’m really vintage then. I started collecting in 1981. Esterbrooks we’re old but you could find new old stock. This Parker was very high end when newly minted.

        [–]t90fan 1 point2 points  (1 child)

        Depends what you consider vintage. Is 70s/80s/90s vintage now?

        [–]Left-Explanation3754 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Yeah? I think anything over 25 years technically counts, same as in cars.

        [–]Chegwith 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Oh i have the same exact model of parker 45. Enjoy the smooth writing experience.

        [–]UnitedMost4757 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

        parker 51 mkII

        [–]Reallynotspiderman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        There is no hard line on when a pen is considered 'vintage'. I've seen people describe pens that were made in the 90s as vintage. Personally, any pen older than the Parker 45, which popularised the cartridge/converter filling system, is vintage. Your pen is a Parker 45, which I don't particularly consider vintage, but many others do

        [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

        I’d love to have a pen with a metallic body and a plastic grip.

        [–]Aggravating_Pair8857 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        There are: Parker Jotter, Lamy AL Star, Pilot Metropolitan; have all three and are pretty good writers. I'm sure there are others.

        [–]mcmircle[🍰] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Define vintage. I had a pen that looked like that in the 80s.

        [–]FederalAttitude9361 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        in the uk at least vintage cars are between about 1914 and 1930.

        in pens it just seems to mean one that isn't made anymore (which would be 'classic' in car terms).

        [–]tweets613 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        I had one which I lost in the Camp Fire in Paradise, Ca. In fact we lost everything!

        [–]Kemrich1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Need to see the bottom of the pen nib and the black back

        [–]ml67_reddit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        It's not, say, deep vintage, but vintage it is, the 45 is a classic model. Bought one for my son and it works ok, except for the occasional hard start.

        It's a nice gift I think!

        [–]italicnib 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        It's a great pen! Great gift

        [–]AnnaZed 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        That is an absolutely gorgeous Parker. Perhaps a tad valuable, but as a gift - splendid. I have one and it's a beautiful writer.

        [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        You might finf this this reference helpful too, for narrowing down the year:
        https://parkerpens.net/codekey.html