Dry Parker 51

[jtadcock]

I recently acquired my first Parker 51, an aerometric demi with an extra fine nib. Not having much experience with the Parker 51, I’m not sure if the behaviors I’m encountering are normal quirks of the pen or if they are real issues.

 

The main issue is that the pen writes very, very dry. I’ve tried using Parker Quink Black and Noodler’s 54^th Massachusetts. The Quink was nearly unusable and the 54^th was only marginally better. Both inks resulted in very light writing and some skipping if I wrote at anywhere near normal speed. If I slow waaaay down, the flow improves some. Both inks also had consistent hard starts if the pen had been idle for more than 5 seconds, but the 54^th was much worse in this regard (it is like this in my other pens as well). Additionally, and this may be my inexperience talking, but the feed doesn’t appear to be in contact with the nib near the tip. I would estimate that there is about a millimeter gap between the two at the point where the feed ends.

 

Is this behavior to be expected in an extra-fine 51? I got the pen from a site that I’m pretty sure cleans/restores the pens before selling. Before contacting them, I wanted to get an opinion from the folks on here. Thank you for any and all assistance!

[hood]

You shouldn't get skipping and hard starts if it's correctly adjusted even if it is an extra fine. You'd need to post a picture of the nib and feed really to be able to comment, but a millimetre gap sounds wrong if I'm understanding you correctly. From what you've said about the vendor, I assume they don't make a clear statement in the sales listing or any Ts & Cs about ensuring the pen(s) they supply are in proper working order ready to write?

[OcalaFlGuy]

There is a pinned thread in the start of this forum that might fix your issue.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Sasha Royale]

It is an old pen. Time for a professional cleaning.

[jtadcock]

Thank you for the replies. I've included a picture of the nib and a simple writing sample. The vendor where I purchased the pen seems reputable, but I don't think it is within forum rules to mention their name here. And Bruce, I did read through your pinned post at the top of this forum. I need to get some ammonia. It was a very helpful read! Thanks!

 

http://i.imgur.com/YwO76Bk.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/0hmw5Aq.jpg

[OcalaFlGuy]

Something is not right there with that feed.

 

Need mobetta pics 360 degrees of the hood/feed and nib.

 

That space between the feed and nib isn't right (shouldn't be there) unless I'm missing something.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[pajaro]

Something is not right there with that feed.

 

Need mobetta pics 360 degrees of the hood/feed and nib.

 

That space between the feed and nib isn't right (shouldn't be there) unless I'm missing something.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

I second this. Too much space between nib and feed, probably there's poor nib to feed contact. Feed might have rotated out of position.

 

If you disassemble the section, check the feeder tube while you are in there. See if it's broken.

[hood]

There's that millimetre - it looks as wrong as it sounded. I think your first step should be to establish whether the pen was supposed to arrive in tip-top condition or not - from what you've said, you seem to think it should have so check the terms. If it was the sale of an old second-hand item with no warranty expressed or implied (as is most often the case with ebay purchases), then the situation is that it's an old pen that needs a bit of tweaking and adjusting and you can either take it on yourself or send it to a professional. But if it was sold as restored and fully working then you should have some redress with the vendor and you should contact them - if you start pulling it apart then you'll lose any warranty.

[Mike 59]

Hi, Just replaced the feed in my '51', it should be pressing up against the nib.

Not sure mine could write any better than it does, it's a UK broad nib, ink here is Cross black, but I have tried Quink and Waterman and all wrote very well,

not much to choose between them.

[jtadcock]

The pen was purchased as restored and with a 100% guarantee (not on eBay). I've contacted the seller and I'm awaiting a response.

[NibDog]

I had the exact same experience a couple weeks ago. All I did was unscrew the hood (heat is the trick - I used some hot water to soak for a min) then floss the nib with a brass shim. I think it just had a little build up on it. Now it's one of my best writers. Give it a try if the seller is giving you a hard time. Also I am by now means a pen expert so just take you time and be careful I'm sure you can do it.

[jtadcock]

I might be willing to try removing the hood and cleaning out the collector/feed/etc... I'm a bit scared of distorting the hood, however...

 

The seller has contacted me back and is willing to take a look at the pen. The seller did incidate that the feed not touching the nib shouldn't be a problem because the design of the 51 has the large collector so close to the nib.

[OcalaFlGuy]

 

The seller did incidate that the feed not touching the nib shouldn't be a problem because the design of the 51 has the large collector so close to the nib.

 

That indicates to me the seller doesn't know what he's talking about.

 

Unfortunately, IMO, that also complicates the decision on whether to let him "fix" it or not.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[jtadcock]

Well now I don't know what to do... I suppose I could send it elsewhere to have it repaired (if need be) but that would cost money, whereas the seller is offering to do it for free. I think (I'm not sure) that the seller has a pretty good reputation in this community.

 

Additionally, I was fiddling around with the pen a bit today and discovered that the flow gets much, much better if I squeeze the filler bar a bit so that I can see ink coming out around the end of the feed. The flow remains much better for about 3-5 lines after doing that. Obviously I realize that squeezing the filler bar gets more ink closer to the nib, but it also seems to indicate that there might be a clog or something... I'm going to try giving it a thorough cleaning myself first I suppose.

[Flounder]

 

That indicates to me the seller doesn't know what he's talking about.

 

Unfortunately, IMO, that also complicates the decision on whether to let him "fix" it or not.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

This.

[hood]

It could also indicate the seller hopes the OP doesn't know what he's talking about - if he's not terribly invested in the concept of custer care then he could be trying to fob the OP off.

 

As far as sending it back or not, for me it would probably come down to what it cost - if it was cheap then I'd probably keep it (and you still might have money left within the envelope of the pen's value to send it to a professional repairer if you didn't want to attempt it yourself), but if I paid a fully restored and working amount then I'd expect a fully restored and working pen.

 

 

... the flow gets much, much better if I squeeze the filler bar a bit so that I can see ink coming out around the end of the feed. The flow remains much better for about 3-5 lines after doing that.

 

Getting ink to the nib will always make a pen write, but the reason you get that many lines with a Parker 51 is that the hood itself also feeds ink over the top of the nib, so when you squeeze the ink down, it's filling the hood and giving the nib enough for it to write for a few lines.

[jtadcock]

I'm going to return it to the seller and see what happens. I purchased it as fully restored, hopefully it can be repaired to that condition. I didn't end up trying to do anything on my own.

[OcalaFlGuy]

In your position, having paid for a fully restored pen, that is probably the best idea. Since you are having to now foot the return shipping bill, ask the seller After he fixes it, to do a prolonged writing test with it Before he returns it to you to Be Sure all is as it should be.

 

Let us know how it works out.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[jtadcock]

Well, I got my 51 back today!

 

It is much, much better! They ended up replacing the feed as the original feed was not making enough contact with the nib to facilitate adequate ink flow (as I had originally hypothesized... ).

 

Anyway, the turn around was quick, the results were as expected, and I am happy. I'm expecting my second 51 (from a different vendor) this week!

 

Thanks for all the help!

[Flounder]

Glad it all worked out. Heat setting a 51 feed is not that difficult, I'm mildly surprised they swapped it out.