You've Got Your First Found In The Wild Parker 51 In Your Hand, Now What?

[DanD]

  On 2/6/2018 at 6:11 PM, CS388 said:

 

Use it.

Over the years the scratches and imperfections will be forgotten

 

 

Thanks, that's exactly what I decided to do, using it every day. You totally right about having a bunch of 51's, already up to three.

[Methersgate]

Just got my first 51.

 

(What took me so long?)

 

Following the advice... my word - what a lot of ink that pen still contains!

 

At the moment it is writing superbly, on what ought to be ammonia solution but seems to be pure blue black Quink!

[coinlvr]

Where can I buy the original jewel of Parker 51 or do I need to make one? I mean have you heard of real Ruby or Amethyst jewels that are custom-made?

[goodpens]

I found mine, which had belonged to my father, when I was in college. I took it out and inked it up this weekend while showing FPs to my cousin, getting him interested in them. Among the dozen+ that I had inked and which he tried, he seemed to love the 51 the best. He immediately recognized the quality of the design, the smoothness, the balance. It also made me recognize how amazing it is that the pen has required virtually zero TLC and continues to perform amazingly well. It is a great diplomat that represents fountain pens well. (My cousin remembered that he has a FP at home. He inherited it from his grandfather, but has not used it. I am waiting for pictures to see what it is and what condition it is in. I am glad that my cousin may now be hooked!)

[Glenn-SC]

  On 6/10/2018 at 1:21 AM, Penlvr said:

Where can I buy the original jewel of Parker 51 or do I need to make one? I mean have you heard of real Ruby or Amethyst jewels that are custom-made?

There are a number or eBay and Sellers here who can sell you an original or a reproduction or a Custom Jewel.

The Jewel is not just an ornamental stone set into the clip.

It has a threaded stem that screws into the double (inner and outer) threaded nut that holds the clip in place.

Double threaded nut holds the clip to the cap and the Jewel screws into the nut to hide it and make the cap look nice.

I believe that they can be made from just about anything that you can thread.

There is a Youtube video that shows how it works.

[Dip n Scratch]

Methersgate: Did you have to buy a big bottle to get some Ammonia to clean your pen with?

I am expecting my P51 to arrive any day now.

Hopefully it was not left with a charge of ink inside it, forcing me to buy the Ammonia to clear it.

What colour did Parker make the Pli-Glas sacs for the aerometric P51?

I just wondered if they used a grey variant like the sac on the Vacumatic P51.

Some inks stain, it's like an unavoidable consequence of a really saturated colour of ink.

Of the inks I have in my drawer, there's two that stain cartridge converters and the sacs on my aerometric fill Hero pens. Makes me reluctant to use them in the Parker without something effective to flush the pen with every so often

[mana]

Staining of the Pli-Glas sacs has no effect on the functionality of the pen, it is purely cosmetic. The sacs themselves are made of PVC, hence the color & longevity. Unused sacs are mostly translucent white/greyish color. Used? Have seen everything from rather clear to black and everything in between depending on how gunked up the sac has been. There was a pic of a red sac here a while back but that was deemed to be due to staining.

 

The sacs on the vacumatics are made of black rubber (the same that is used for inner tires of bicycles etc.) so they are fully opaque and charcoal grey/black. If new/unused they can look grey because they are often coated with talcum powder to help in installing them.

 

If staining bothers you then just don't use inks that are prone or known to cause staining. Personally, I have found that Parker 51s work the best with Parker Quink, especially vintage Quink (with Solv-X) to be more precise. The same applies to other pens too, like vintage Pelikans which seem to love Pelikan 4001 series inks. Might have something to do with the pens being designed with the manufacturers inks in mind etc.

[Glenn-SC]

  On 8/22/2018 at 10:23 AM, mana said:

The sacs on the vacumatics are made of black rubber (the same that is used for inner tires of bicycles etc.) so they are fully opaque and charcoal grey/black. If new/unused they can look grey because they are often coated with talcum powder to help in installing them.

Vacumatics don't have a "sac", they have a diaphragm.

[mana]

Yes indeed, good sir, you are correct, diaphragm is the more appropriate term. It is just that the person whom I replied to used the term "sac" so I went with it (and those have been used interchangeably before as the rubber parts are basically the same, sans the nipple with regular sacs).

[hood]

  On 8/22/2018 at 9:56 AM, Dip n Scratch said:

Methersgate: Did you have to buy a big bottle to get some Ammonia to clean your pen with?

 

You can get Jeyes Kleen Off brand fairly easily in the UK, you'll find it on ebay and amazon for a few pounds.

 

[Glenn-SC]

  On 8/22/2018 at 12:16 PM, mana said:

(and those have been used interchangeably before as the rubber parts are basically the same, sans the nipple with regular sacs).

Respectfully, they have nothing in common, other than being part of a "51".

 

A "sac" is a flexible container that is used to draw ink into a pen and then hold it. It's compression and subsequent expansion (due to its elasticity) creates a vacuum that is used to draw ink into the pen.

 

A "diaphragm" is a moving barrier which acts as a piston to expel air from the barrel of a pen when moved in one direction and to draw ink into the barrel by the vacuum created within the barrel when the diaphragm is moved in the opposite direction. The diaphragm also creates a moving seal with the barrel which creates the push/pressure and draw/vacuum and prevents leakage.

 

The sac and diaphragm are attached differently to the pen and are made of different materials.

 

The vacumatic diaphragm is basically a "piston filler" (like a piston converter) which (due to the limited length of throw of the diaphragm) fills using multiple strokes rather than on a single stroke as does the converter.

[mana]

Yes, the functions of a sac and a diaphragm and how they are employed as parts of their respective filing mechanisms are naturally wholly different.

 

I never said that the filling mechanisms (as a whole) operated in the same manner or were the same mechanically/construction/operation wise.

 

What I said was that an ink sac (made of latex) and a Vacumatic diaphragm (also made of latex) are pretty much the same item, as in, latex tubes enclosed on one end.

 

There is only one major difference in their design: a diaphragm has a nipple at the end that is used to house the pellet that keeps the end of the diaphragm in place. A diaphragm of proper size and length can for example be used as an ink sac. The other way around? Naturally, not.

Anyway, hope this clears this on my end.

[Glenn-SC]

Sorry, but

 

the diaphragm is rubber and the aero "sac" is made of "pli-glass", totally different materials.

 

the diaphragm can not be used as an ink sac, totally different functions.

 

Mana Said:

What I said was that an ink sac (made of latex) and a Vacumatic diaphragm (also made of latex) are pretty much the same item, as in, latex tubes enclosed on one end.

 

There is only one major difference in their design: a diaphragm has a nipple at the end that is used to house the pellet that keeps the end of the diaphragm in place. A diaphragm of proper size and length can for example be used as an ink sac. The other way around? Naturally, not.

Anyway, hope this clears this on my end.

Edited August 22, 2018 by Glenn-SC

[Dip n Scratch]

I have got the pen and my goodness there's been a lot of fine specks of dried ink ejected from the pen. It must have been blue ink. It seems like there's a good bit of c**p in the collector.

I have only being using 'Fairy' dish washing liquid.

What is special about using an alkali, like Ammonia in weak solution? There's something happening

 

The cap on my pen has a plain chromed arrow and a strange hole bored through the Lustraloy cap.

It is at the eight o-clock position if I look from the jewel end, with the clip at twelve.

The aerometric unit is marked "press 4 times", and also mentions the use of Superchrome Ink.

It is my understanding that ink was nasty stuff chemically, to make it soak into the paper ultra-fast.

Probably why the Pli-Glass tube had to be made so strong.

[Glenn-SC]

I would only use warm water to clean a "51".

It may take many many flushes and much soaking time to achieve "clean" but you've waited 40 to 70 years to get to this point, what is a few more days?

Edited August 22, 2018 by Glenn-SC

[Dip n Scratch]

As I said in post #214... What is the special effect of using dilute Ammonia? Does an alkali break down the dried ink better than a detergent?

Why not use Washing Soda in de-ionised water? It is also an alkali.

Easier to find than Household Ammonia?

[inkstainedruth]

I suspect it depends on where you live which is easier to find. Here in the US, clear ammonia is easy to find in most grocery stores and is pretty inexpensive -- just a few bucks for a gallon, which will last a great while, since you're not using very much at a time. Not sure I've ever seen Washing Soda for sale (although admittedly I haven't ever looked). Ah -- just Googled it and it's available at Walmart, apparently -- but appears to be a powder (it seems to come in a box, rather than a jug). So the advantage of clear ammonia is that it's already in liquid form (and already diluted as well), so easier to mix with distilled water to begin with.

Hmm. Reading further, washing soda is considered in California to contain chemicals which are carcinogens and can cause birth defects.... Think I'll stick to adding baking soda to my laundry instead (a cheap an effective water softener). And to stick to dilute ammonia solution for flushing pens except for using dilute white vinegar for acidic inks like iron gall ones....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Dip n Scratch]

First picture: Here is the state of play as of 22nd August 2018. Just using dish cleaning liquid.

First few flushes squirted out pale blue. Since then it has been ejecting these particles.

I did get some ammonia, and I have been five days working on the pen in total. Not always using the diluted ammonia, just yesterday. It is still ejecting some. I am not sure where the particles come from. Out of the reservoir?

How long did you keep on flushing your pen before you inked it?

Did you wait until the last particle of dried ink had been ejected?

 

Someone did this to the cap, they didn't even hold the drill steady..................

 

Fortunately the nib is OK.

[Glenn-SC]

Too bad the tip of the hood is broken.

[Dip n Scratch]

Yes. You are right I looked at the hood with a lens and it does look like the tip of it got broken off. From looking at other 51 fountain pens it ought to come to a point.

I don't really care as it doesn't affect the operation of the pen.

I am more bothered about what some a-hole did to the cap. WTH would you do something like that? Needless to say I didn't pay top dollar for it.