Parker 51 Nib Widths Compared To Other Brands...

[The Tool Guy]

Couldn't find any useful information on comparing Parker 51 nib writing widths to other brands. How does a Parker 51 Fine Nib compare to a Pelikan Fine, or a Pilot Vanishing Point? How about Medium?

[richardandtracy]

There is a problem with this idea, starting from within the P51 stable of pens.

 

The widths of P51 mediums vary a fair bit. I have a US medium which is not much wider than a fine (line width 0.35mm), and a UK medium that isn't far off a broad (line width 0.7mm).

So, I'm not sure it's possible to answer the question objectively with any useful precision.

 

Subjectively, I think US P51's are similar in with to European sizes. UK P51's run half a size (or more) wider. Japanese/Far Eastern sizes seem to run about a size narrower than the US size.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[pajaro]

  On 5/18/2011 at 3:59 PM, richardandtracy said:

There is a problem with this idea, starting from within the P51 stable of pens.

 

The widths of P51 mediums vary a fair bit. I have a US medium which is not much wider than a fine (line width 0.35mm), and a UK medium that isn't far off a broad (line width 0.7mm).

So, I'm not sure it's possible to answer the question objectively with any useful precision.

 

Subjectively, I think US P51's are similar in with to European sizes. UK P51's run half a size (or more) wider. Japanese/Far Eastern sizes seem to run about a size narrower than the US size.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

+1. My experience with Parker 51s is the same.

[dcpritch]

Is there an official list of the Parker 51 nibs that were available during its production run?

[talkinghead]

  On 5/18/2011 at 4:56 PM, dcpritch said:

Is there an official list of the Parker 51 nibs that were available during its production run?

 

dc....

 

 

This has been posted before but I'm too lazy to find the threads so I'll just repost the jpg...

 

 

 

 

 

Rick

 

PS....how's that Sailor Music stub?

Edited May 18, 2011 by talkinghead

[dcpritch]

  On 5/18/2011 at 5:45 PM, talkinghead said:

... I'll just repost the jpg ...

 

PS...how's that Sailor Music stub?

 

Thanks Rick, I had seen something like that chart before but didn't know where to look for it - just what I was wanting to see.

 

So, back to the OP and my interest in Parker 51 nib sizes: I bought a couple of months ago a P51 with a "BBB" nib, and it is huge. I was wondering if those of you who know way more about this than I could advise if there is any way the nib on my 51 is original, based on its size - line width of about 1.3mm. It doesn't appear to have been retipped or worked on. From the chart Rick provided above I would guess my nib to be a "Broad Stub". Here is a picture and writing sample:

 

 

(Off topic now, but I'll be brief) As to the Sailor - it is fantastic! Funny thing, I was selling my little Sailor Sapporo Mini recently and prepared a writing sample - see picture below - and I had three back channel offers to buy the Sailor 1911 before anyone was interested at all in the Mini (which did sell). The 1911 with Mike's stub is a great writing instrument - thanks.

 

DAVID

 

[The Tool Guy]

Any one have pics of Parker 51 writing with a Fine and Medium nib?

[wpb]

I have the same question. I just completed my first Parker "51" restoration and this is my first Parker nib. It seems very broad to me. Hopefully the image helps.

 

It's too wide for me and I may grind it to be more narrow, but before I do...does this look like a medium?

 

Thanks,

Bill

 

 

 

Edited: Oops..guess I won't modify it...thanks for the advice OldGriz.

Edited June 12, 2011 by wpb

[OldGriz]

  On 6/12/2011 at 4:28 PM, wpb said:

I have the same question. I just completed my first Parker "51" restoration and this is my first Parker nib. It seems very broad to me. Hopefully the image helps.

 

It's too wide for me and I may grind it to be more narrow, but before I do...does this look like a medium?

 

Thanks,

Bill

 

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT grind down that nib....

Parker broad and wide medium nibs are getting harder to find...

If you want a finer nib, I would be glad to trade nibs with you... I have fine nibs in my restoration supplies ....

Also without a reference there is no way to state how wide that nib is..

I generally write using a Rhodia 5x5 graph pad so there is a size reference for the line width...

[wpb]

  On 6/12/2011 at 5:05 PM, OldGriz said:

Also without a reference there is no way to state how wide that nib is..

I generally write using a Rhodia 5x5 graph pad so there is a size reference for the line width...

 

Thanks for the prior tip..one more question,

 

I plan on buying digital calipers. Should I measure the width of the nib or the width of the line?

 

Bill

[OldGriz]

  On 6/12/2011 at 5:23 PM, wpb said:

  On 6/12/2011 at 5:05 PM, OldGriz said:

Also without a reference there is no way to state how wide that nib is..

I generally write using a Rhodia 5x5 graph pad so there is a size reference for the line width...

 

Thanks for the prior tip..one more question,

 

I plan on buying digital calipers. Should I measure the width of the nib or the width of the line?

 

Bill

 

The variation in size on Parker 51 nibs being what they are since they were hand ground makes the use of calipers iffy sometimes....

Richard Binder has awonderful chart that shows nib widths comparing western style and Japanese style... that should be a lot easier to use

[pajaro]

  On 6/12/2011 at 5:23 PM, wpb said:

  On 6/12/2011 at 5:05 PM, OldGriz said:

Also without a reference there is no way to state how wide that nib is..

I generally write using a Rhodia 5x5 graph pad so there is a size reference for the line width...

 

Thanks for the prior tip..one more question,

 

I plan on buying digital calipers. Should I measure the width of the nib or the width of the line?

 

Bill

 

If you are going to measure something, it makes more sense to measure the width of the written line rather than the nib, wouldn't you think (rhetorical question)? Measuring the nib rather than the resultant written line width could be misleading.

[welch]

...and note that Parker didn't mark the nib width anyplace you can see; often I hold up a nib and compare, saying, well, this US nib is wider than that one, so...

 

Also, there seem to have been more medium UK nibs than medium US nibs. Nobody can say why, other than. of course, Parker was selling what each market wanted. There has not been a convincing explanation of why English tastes ran to wider nibs. Fashion? Why the difference in fashion?

 

However, to repeat Tom Mullane's warning: broader P51 nibs are rare, so don't cut one!

[CS58]

  On 5/19/2011 at 11:18 PM, The Tool Guy said:

Any one have pics of Parker 51 writing with a Fine and Medium nib?

 

G'day,

Have attached an image comparing writing samples of three Parker "51" Flighters using Noodlers Electric Eel Blue ink.

 

Most of my "51"s are mediums. Even so, they often have their own distinct characters--eg. the last pen in the sample produces some line variation between fine and medium.

 

The 1949 Flighter at top is my finest "51" having what might be an x-fine nib. It produces a perfectly inked, moist smooth line of about 0.25 mm. The mediums run about 0.45 mm. Compared to modern pens, my impression is a "51" medium is generally about the width of a fine nibbed Visconti Van Gogh, and is finer than a medium Visconti Homo Sapiens...

 

Mike

 

 

Edited October 3, 2012 by CS58

[DrCodfish]

" ..and note that Parker didn't mark the nib width anyplace you can see; often I hold up a nib and compare, saying, well, this US nib is wider than that one, so..."

 

Now this is the part that makes me crazy! As a newbie I feel I am fumbling my way through a dark room with a pen light. My new century sensibilites cry out for the simple notion that products ought to carry labels. Fortunately most all the 'pen people' I have encountered have been very helpful and patient with me (thank you all for that).

 

Still, as I search for that broad or stub nibbed Parker 51 which is lurking out there in the shadows (seeming to avoid me) I often find the answer to my inevitiable question thus: "it's a fine, but tends toward mediumm', or "a medium leaning toward broad". Now I understand why, which eases the frustration a little, but only a little. I am also learning that if and when I see it I better not think twice. I know what I want, I am figuring out how hard it is to find, so when it presents I should not hesitate!

 

Thanks from a newbie,

 

Dr Codfish

[DrCodfish]

Sooo, I went home from work early today to get a few more things done in the yard. Befor launching into more cleanup in the Koi pond I thought I would just check a couple on-line pen sellers I watch because, you know, something good might just fall from the sky into my lap (Hey, it could happen!)

 

imagine my suprise when I found this little gem calling out to me:

 

 

I'm usually the guy who shows up to the dance a day late. Needless to say I was fumbling the keys on the keyboard pretty good trying to get across that I would be happy to give this pen a good home. Well, long story short I got lucky and this time next week this one should be comfortably tucked in with the few others I've managed to snag.

 

It's uncanny, I actually followed my own advice! I knew in advance what I was looking for, so when I saw this pen I didn't have to think twice. all I really needed to do was decide if it would fit in the pen acquisition budget.

 

To be sure, this isn't the perfect reflection of the pen I have been hunting for, but it is pretty darned close. I'm excited to get my hands on it and take it for a test drive.