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A couple of weeks ago I spotted a lovely burgundy vintage Sheaffer on the website of a well-known and reputable British vintage pens dealer, at a very attractive price. I ordered the pen, but as fate would have it, the dealer sent me an email that upon final inspection he'd found a hairline crack in the section, so the deal was off. We corresponded for a bit and I shared my small collection of vintage pens with him and inquired what he felt was needed 'to complete my education'. Among the pens he kindly suggested was the Parker 51. I've never been a Parker fan, based on looks that I don't care for, bad associations with my 70s/80s school days and less-than-stellar impressions left by modern Parker pens since the '90s or so. I researched the 51 a bit online, on FPN and in Andreas Lambrou's book and took the plunge. I then spent a few days agonizing over which one to buy. The dealer in question has a large number of them, all fully serviced and restored, with a wide variety of nib-, colour- and era-choices. He suggested a wonderful burgundy oblique italic because it was in great shape and a real writer's pen. I hesitated, because I'd prefer to try a nib like that before I buy. In the end, primarily based on the wonderful writing samples that were included along with photographs of the pens, I chose this: Boxed, with matching mechanical pencil, fully serviced and at a very good price. There are fancier colours for this pen, but I always force myself to make choices based on writing, not aesthetics. The writing sample of this pen just seemed to match my style of writing. Once it arrived, I decided to ink it up with a dark ink (I'm partial to filling pens with ink of the same colour as the pen). I'm very impressed with the quality of this pen. They just don't make 'em like this anymore. I don't find the design to be particularly attractive, but it does have a certain Sputnik-age late'40s/early-'50s charm. It must have been quite modern at the time. Ergonomically, it's wonderful. It just melts into my hand. The nib is a medium. It's smooth and wet, but not sterile. There's texture, some subtle feedback. There's not much character in the writing, as line width is identical in all directions. The wetness of the pen prevents shading, but there is some to be seen. As a writing machine, this pen is marvellous. I can do long sessions with it without any fatigue. It won't make me forget my '59 Sheaffer PFM-III, though. That pen has subtle variations in line width, offers more shading, has slightly more pleasant feedback and is a stunner to look at. As far as black cigars go... wow.