The Parker B5 was a somewhat strange ball pen made in the Newhaven factory in the UK, introduced in 1979. It came in a matte black polished finish and sported a huge chrome clip with six very large feathers and a chrome button. Rare nylon finishes has also been found. The pen itself was about 134 millimeters long. It was offered and advertised with a black refill, but this could be changed at the counter to other standard Parker refills. It was also featured in the 1979 dealer catalogue in the US but Janesville very carefully stated that this pen was made in England, although th refill was US-made.
Since Parker at the time was already offering a number of ball pens; Parker "25", Parker "45", Parker "50", Parker "75", Parker "180", Ms Parker, Classic, Big Red, Systemark, Swinger/Slinger and of course the Jotter, one could only speculate about Parkers strategy to offer yet another design. The Parker B5 cost $6 and was advertised as "Bold, Black and New. High tech performance. Writes fine... writes long... writes black."
Well it turned out not to write for very long since it was discontinued already in early 1981. It is of course quite rare and rather collectible in spite of it's bulky appearance.
A Parker B5, from the 1979 Parker catalogue.
