Pen Model: Parker Lucky Curve
Trying to describe Lucky Curves’ history is perhaps the most complex task in fountain pendom. They were Parker’s branded invention, a turn-of-century curved feed that provided a cleaner nib and cap by enhancing capillary action in the feed, accomplished by the curve actually touching the inside of the barrel. In the 1910s, pens were branded as Lucky Curves, sometimes Jack Knife pens with Lucky Curve imprints, sometimes Lucky Curve pens into the early 1920s. By this time, the curved feed was buried inside a latex sac but still helped create improved ink passage. These later pens were the evolution from Jack Knifes into Duofolds, both with Lucky Curve in their imprints. In the later 1920s, after Parker started producing Duofolds in high volume, Lucky Curve imprints were found on Duofolds and the final Lucky Curves looked like Duofolds, a strategem Parker used repeatedly in transitioning brands. Lucky Curves finally disappeared from production in the early 1930s, with Duofold having proven its success.