A 1956 Canadian Arrow

here are in fact three models of Parker pens that goes by the name of Arrow.
The first one was a Canadian pen, produced during the 1950's, with
many similarities to both the Parker "51" and the Vacumatic. It was in fact very similiar to the Parker "VS" which sold in great numbers and also was an open nib alternative to the Parker "51". The Canadian Arrow was also an attractive pen indeed. It came with a solid color barrel, probably black, green, red and blue and possibly grey. They sported a Parker "51" style body ring and a black section. The nib was the Vacumatic style in gold with an engraved arrow. The cap was the early style with a (vac filler) Parker "51" clip, and a brushed lustraloy cap. It was an aerometric filler and had the additional imprint Canada Arrow as an addition to the normal filling instructions on the pli-glass ink sac-container. Although it was clearly a pen that was manufactured from left over parts from discontinued models, and by right should fall into the category Frankenpen, they are by no means second grade pens and are much sought for by collectors.

he second Arrow was a version of the Parker "45".
On the introduction of the Parker 45 Arrow in 1964,it had the name in white (which was instantantly rubbed off at first use) on the body. The name survived only for a short while and was soon replaced by the denotation CT (Chrome Trim). This pen didn't have the steel cap, found on the other Parker "45", but was solely made out of plastic. This made production cheaper, partly beacuse metal was more expensive than plastic, but also because of a new production process in which the entire pen could be made up from the same dyes, which sped up the production. A breakthrough that economized production costs. It was continually produced in the standard colours Black, Burgundy,Grey, Light Blue, Dark Blue and Green.
The body of the Parker 45 , introduced in 1960, was tapered at both ends, creating a slimmer and lighter pen than the Parker 51. The body also sported a metal ring and a completely new kind of nib. The nib was triangular and very small, compared to prior Parker nibs. The complete nib/feed could be unscrewed and easily replaced and many styles of nibs were offered. The 14 carat gold nib was very unusual on a pen that initially cost only $5.

A 1964 Parker "45" Arrow

he third, and the only true designed model of the Arrow, was introduced in 1982. It was a all metal gift-range school pen that sported a clean, straight cap with no cap rings and a newly designed clip, taken from the Parker roller ball pen "RB1". It had the appearance of a chiselled-out arrow with three facets. It had no engraved feathers and was a very modern and clean design. It has since made it on to other Parker models, noteably the Vector, which succeeded the "RB1". The Arrow also had a metal tassie- and clip screw. The body had a broader body ring, which served to hold the cap in place. The nib was gold plated stainless steel and was of an almost tubular design with a black rounded cap-lip, which was part of the section. It had the imprint "Parker" in a semi-circle. It came in three designs: Brushed stainless steel, Anodized black matte and 12 carat rolled and silver plate. in 1983 the line was updated with a stainless steel and chrome plated trim model. In 1985 came the Costum Arrow with a matte black barrel and 12 carat rolled gold cap. In 1986 laquered finishes in Marbled green, Marbled blue, Marbled red, Marbled grey and one in Solid black were introduced. All models had gold plated trim, except the stainless model which sold with chrome trim as an option. In 1988 the pen was slightly redesigned and renamed the Parker "95".


A Parker Arrow Flighter from the 1980's