Parker Three-Fifty Modernistic True Blue Fountain Pen, new sac, restored, flex

Parker True Modernistic Blue

This is a rare Parker True Blue, also known as the Three-Fifty, or the Modernistic Blue.  It has been conservatively restored.  In restoring this pen, I have grown to love it and its nib.  I am reluctant to sell the pen, but I can not afford to hold on to so many fountain pens.


The pen was disassembled, cleaned, and rebuilt with a new sac.  The pen has a new bladder, sized 21 x 2 N (correct factory sizing).  Everything here is original.  All the black portions have been treated with a special formula to restore its color.  The cap has bite marks, please refer to the appropriate photos.  Unlike other Parker Streamlines I have taken apart, this section is friction fit.  The barrel is inscribed with "GEO. S. PARKER - PEN - MADE IN U.S.A. PATENTED"  The inscription is faded.   There are micro scratches throughout the barrel from normal use.  The blind cap has three markings on it, in the form of an 'H' appearance.  Please refer to the appropriate photos.


Now, the most exciting part of this pen is its Lucky Curve # 3 nib.  This is vintage flex at its finest.  I would say that this pen has a flexible, bordering on super-flex nib.  The tines eagerly snap back and the feed is large enough to accommodate periods of heavy flexing.  The nib is straight, and the tipping is intact.  The maximum I have flexed this nib in the writing sample above is 2.25 mm.  I am hesitant to take it past this point.   In the first photo, I used MiquelRius paper, where five squares on the writing sample equals approximately 2 cm. There was no railroading. The ink used is Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue.


Please remember, however, that this pen was made in the late 1920s to early 1930s.  Although there are not cracks in the pen, abuse in the form of over-tightening the cap and maybe even posting, can lead to fractures in this 80+ year old pen.  This pen is not for a beginner learning to flex.

About Its Flexing Properties

I applied about 275 grams of weight on this pen to induce 1 mm spreading of the tines.  In comparison, a Noodler's Ahab will use around 350 g to spread its tines by 1 mm, and a Noodler's Flex Piston Filler will use 280 g.  A flexible Wahl Eversharp Skyline uses 320 g.  A Moore Number 2 nib will use only use 160 g of weight to spread its tines 1 mm.  These numbers were derived from inducing a nib's flex over a scale 10 times, then taking the average of these measurements.  I feel by doing this, I can portray a better sense of flexibility, versus merely indicating "semi-flex" or "flex."


Price: $143.50
SOLD - 4/08/12