The same ideas were true during the 1960’s when the Parker “61” was selling in great numbers. Its design was based on the Parker “51”, which was still being offered, but the Parker “61” had a slimmer body and of course the legendary capillary filling system with non-moving parts. Well, this filling system had caused the Parker repair department much trouble when the filler units got old and many pens clogged up, rendering them unusable.

Nevertheless Parker in the UK decided that there was potential for a new style of pen, based on the Parker "61" and in 1967 the Parker "65" was introduced. It was very similar to the Parker "61", but had a semi-flexible open nib. The ball point pens offered were made to compliment both the sister lines Parker "61" and "65".

The Parker "65" models in 1967:
     Consort (rolled gold cap with brick pattern)
     Custom (gold filled cap)
     Classic (lustraloy cap)

The colours available were:
     Black
     Vista Blue (turquoise)
     Rage Red
     Charcoal Grey

The first Parker “65” (MK I) unpredictable enough had a filling system which was developed for the Parker “VP”, a short lived model that was introduced in 1962 and discontinued in 1964. With the "VP" Parker had tried a new kind of “clean” filler, a removable converter that, as opposed to the standard converters, ended in a long, thin tube that the user would insert into the bottle, compress the sac inside the filler and then replacing the filler into the pen.

Parker "65" from the top: Solid gold Fine Barley (Gain d'Orge), Waterdrop (Perlé), Flammé (fountain pen, pencil and ball pen), Chevron (Basketweave); gold filled Insignias: Cirrus, Stratus and Cumulus; Consort Insignia, Custom Insignia and Flighter DeLuxe.

It was replaced with a model (MK II) that had a Parker "61" style, longer feed, with an integral piercer, to accommodate the standard cartridges, but it was still not identical to the Parker "61" and, again, not interchangeable, since the threads for both the barrel and shell were finer than on the Parker "61".

In 1968 a Consort Insigna was introduced for both the Parker "61" and "65" lines, it was an all gold model in the Consort design.

Also a Parker "65" Holy Water dispenser was offered. It was an ordinary pen, but had a small chalice instead of a nib.

A Parker "65" Holy Water dispenser.

In 1970 a Flighter deLuxe in brushed stainless steel with rolled gold trim was introduced for both the Parker "61" and Parker "65" lines. Two additional Presidential designs were also offered:
     Perlé (Waterdrop)
     Grain d'Orge (Fine Barley)

These are more common than the Flammé and Chevron, since the 9c Presidentials were made in all four designs, while the 18c Presidentials were made in Fine Barley and Waterdrop finishes only.

In 1972 the Consort and Consort Insignia models were discontinued, together with the old workhorse, the Parker "51".

In 1975 the Classic model of Parker "65" were discontinued in favour of a new all 22c matt gold plated Insigna model named after a cloud, Cirrus. It sported fine, thin lines which gave it almost a brushed gold look. It was offered as a Fountain pen, Ball pen and Mechanical pencil:
     Cirrus Insignia

The gold and gold filled pens all had black sections.

In 1976 two new cloud designs were introduced:
     Stratus Insignia
     Cumulus Insignia (with clear patches as clouds)

These were offered only as fountain pens and ball pens. The felt-tipped Parker "65" was also introduced, but of the cloud models, the Felt tip was offered as a Cirrus, only.
The Presidential Parker "65s" and the cloud collections were also produced in the French Parker factory in Merú, and there are small changes in the finishes within the same models.

Top: the "VP" filling system. Bottom: the converter filling system.

Already in 1979 the felt-tipped Parker "65s" were being phased out, only the Cirrus and Flighter DeLuxe fibre tip pens remained. Also the Custom Parker "65" was discontinued.
The complete line had substantial price bumps:
     Cumulus £60
     Stratus £55
     Cirrus £50
     Custom Insignia £42
     Flighter DeLuxe £25

The Parker "65" line in 1980:
     Presidential 9c (Price on request) FP, BP, MP
     Presidential 18c (Price on request) FP, BP, MP
The finishes were still: Fine Barley and Waterdrop for the 18c versions and all four, Fine Barley, Waterdrop, Chevron and Flammé for the 9c version.
     Custom insignia FP, BP
     Flighter DeLuxe FP, BP, FT

The Parker "65" with time showed two design flaws. One was in connection with the small, gripping section lip that covered the top of the nib. The relative flexibility of the open nib eventually created a separation between the nib and lip, rendering an ink flow problem. Also the space between the ink connector and gripping section had to be sealed with wax to prevent leaking. This wax wasn't always re-applied when the pens were eventually cleaned, which made them leak in the crack. Also an un-experienced repairer that tried to remove the nib without using the special tool (the connector is un-screwed from the inside of the gripping section) would inevitable crack the section lip. Hence many Parker "65s" has this lip missing or cracked.

Parker "65"

In 1982 all the Parker "65" models, except the Presidentials were discontinued.
1983 Parker attempted a reconstruction and early retirement plan in Janesville in the US and Newhaven in the UK and they also recentralised the research and development department to Janesville. Several pen models also saw price reductions in 1983.

In 1983 both the 9 and 18 carat solid gold Presidential Parker "65" were discontinued. They were the last of the Parker "65"s.

The Parker "65" are very much collectible, especially the solid and gold filled models, and since they were sold maily in Europe and in the Commonwealth, they fetch rather high prices in the US, although rather common in the Classic and Custom finishes in Europe.