Decades after the fact, Parkers are the most desired? I guess Parkers are the best then.
I find the fact that Parkers scarcely evolved a wonderful thing. In today's world when everything must be new and improved each month and none of us will buy a box of laundry soap that doesn't say "20% More!" it's great to think of a time when a company could stay in business for over 70 years doing the same thing.
It's also part of why Parkers are so popular - no other SxS company had the continuity of Parker. Fox, LC Smith, Lefever, Itahaca - all went through so many changes in name, ownership and quality that every gun must be evaluated before you know if it's a 'good one' or a 'bad one'. A lot of companies made good double guns for a short while; Parker did it for the long haul.
