Parker Jack-Knife 28, BHR & Red Bakelite, #8 14k Lucky Curve Flex Nib

HM2603002

📒 History/Provenance

The Parker Jack-Knife 28 sits in a particularly strong position within Parker’s pre-Duofold lineup: large No. 28 format, Lucky Curve feed, Safety-Sealed button-filler construction, and an early Bakelite barrel. That combination gives it both mechanical and material significance. This washer style clip was introduced in 1916, and used all throughout the 1920's especially for the Parker Duofolds.

Parker’s Lucky Curve system was the company’s defining technical claim in this period. In Parker’s own literature, the feed was designed to draw excess ink back into the barrel by capillary attraction when the pen was carried upright, reducing ink accumulation at the nozzle. Whether approached as engineering or marketing, it is one of the core ideas that made early Parker pens distinct.

The Jack-Knife line also belonged to Parker’s Safety-Sealed era. The button-filling models were promoted as cleaner and more secure in carry than ordinary lever fillers, with the rear protected by a blind cap and the front sealed by an inner cap over the nozzle. That practical, utility-driven positioning is central to the appeal of the line and fits the Jack-Knife name well.

The Bakelite material adds another layer of importance. Parker introduced transparent Bakelite pens in 1914, initially as demonstration pieces for salesmen and dealers so customers could see the ink level and the workings of the Lucky Curve and self-filling mechanism. Demand quickly pushed them into regular sale. Parker described Bakelite as amber-like in appearance, tougher than glass, less inflammable than celluloid, and suitable for fountain pen barrels as a distinctly modern material.

By 1918, Parker had expanded Bakelite across much of the line. Surviving period summaries specifically list the No. 28B at $9.00, offered in long or short form, as either self-filler or eyedropper, and noted for its large ink capacity. That places the 28 among the larger, more serious models in the Bakelite range rather than among the novelty or ring-top variants.

The red Bakelite examples are especially desirable today. Period references note green and red-pink shades within Parker’s Bakelite production, and the larger red models are far less commonly encountered than standard hard rubber counterparts. In collector terms, this pen checks the right boxes at once: oversized No. 8 platform, early Parker engineering, cataloged Bakelite production, and a materially distinctive colorway. It is the kind of pen that stands on both scholarship and visual impact, which is exactly why examples like this tend to command serious attention.

🧪 QA & Recommendation

Tested on Rhodia 90 GSM lined A5, inked with Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black.

A superb large-format Lucky Curve writer that balances authority with control. The No. 8 nib lays down a refined Fine under light pressure, but opens with confidence into expressive, well-shaped swells up to 1.95mm. What makes it especially appealing is that it does not behave like an unruly wet noodle; at 370g it sits in a very usable Semi-Butter Flex range, giving you meaningful line variation without demanding the constant delicacy or technical concentration required by softer nibs.

🔧 Restoration Commentary

Crisp barrel and nib imprints, good imprint on cap, and clean trim. Black ebonite section rejuvenated and hand polished, "softness" of ebonite restored. Coated with carnauba wax to shield from moisture, UV, and elements. Pen fully disassembled and cleaned throughly, with new latex installed and tested. Nib heat set and tuned for smoothness.