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Hi Everyone Recently my Mom gave me her USA made Parker 51 Aerometric fountain and Jotter ballpoint pen set with 270-M case. It was given to her new as a gift by my Dad before they were married in 1956. He had purchased it while serving in the USAF in England. I recall the fountain pen from my youth but it hasn't worked for as long as I can remember. When I got the set last week, I immediately started learning about the fountain pen. Soon found it was an standard Aerometric pen in Burgundy. While the pen is not dated, it was likely produced in 1955/56 since the Jotter ballpoint was introduced in 1955 (or so I understand, some sources say 1954 for the Jotter). The 12k gold filled cap is in good shape with no dents or major scratches and has the "Made in USA" impression. Unfortunately the pen was found in two pieces. Someone had apparently gotten too aggressive taking the barrel off. The section (or connector/coupler) was broken at the hood opening. Dried ink had clogged most of the pen including the barrel threads. After a lot of reading and watching YouTube videos, I was able to get it disassembled with water and cleaned up. The gold nib and other parts are in great condition. The stainless steel sac cage states "press 4 times". Getting the remaining piece of section out of the hood was a challenge. I used hot water to heat up the hood treads and pressed the point of a pick partially into the broken end. It took a few cycles and some patience but I was able to get the piece to back out without damage to the hood or feeder. Can't say this technique is good all the time but it did work. An O-ring came out with the section piece and the hood has the recess for the O-ring. The plastic feeder tube measures about 31 mm from where it enters the feeder. Hopefully I'll find a replacement section from a parts pen or other source. It looks exactly like the sold out part on David Nishimura web site. Mine measures 29mm without the sac and has 5 fine threads on the feeder end and 6 fine threads on the sac end. http://www.vintagepens.com/images/cat/parts/6704.jpg Looking to have some fun and own a few more of these great writing instruments. Cheers Rich

As I understand it there are the following 51 aero connectors (for full size Mark I pens): 1) Threaded shroud, no O-ring groove. 2) Slip fit shroud, no O-ring groove, no shoulder for barrel recess. 3) Slip fit shroud, O-ring groove, no shoulder for barrel recess. 4) Slip fit shroud, O-ring groove, shoulder for barrel recess. Did I miss any? Is it correct that I can: - Use an o-ring hood on a non-o-ring connector (without an o-ring of course)? - Use a recessed barrel on a non-recessed connector? If so, can I use Connector #2 to replace #2, #3, and #4 ? How about using #2 to replace #1? Can I press fit a threaded shroud onto connector #2? Maybe sand down the diameter of the connector a little first? Thanks, Brian