Parker 51 Oblique

[xinglongneo]

I'd like to know about other people's experiences with Parker 51 oblique nibs. The one I own is the finickiest nib I've got.

[ac12]

The problem with oblique nibs is that you have to hold them just right, so that the oblique cut is evenly on the paper. And do NOT rotate your hand, or you will roll off the sweet spot on the nib.

 

The other problem is that the hooded nib, which hides most of the nib, makes it difficult to get a visual reference on the nib, so it is difficult (for me) to get the nib level on the paper. This would be 2x more difficult with an oblique nib.

 

I had 2 obliques (left foot), a Lamy and Pelikan, and did not like how they wrote, so I changed the nibs on both pens.

Edited August 1, 2016 by ac12

[FarmBoy]

Do you have an original Parker nib or a modified nib?

 

I have had original Parker nibs and found them to be quite nice. I have also had modified nibs and found most to be bunk.

 

FB

[Kenlowe]

With all respect to other posters my experience is different. Because I always rotate any nib around 30 degrees anti clockwise I find that obliques suit me very well, I have only ever owned tow Parker 51 obliques, one LH the other RH and was surprised that the RH nib worked well.

 

By contrast I cannot use an itallic, I end up ploughing a furrow into the paper. If you are finding an oblique to be finnicky, try the rotation and then write large C and O and lower case g and y, you should soon manage this sort of C in terms of line variation..

Edited August 2, 2016 by Kenlowe

[mariom]

The only (left) oblique I've ever tried was a 51. Just couldn't get the hang of writing with it, so I ended up selling it.

 

I suspect that 51 obliques might be harder to write with than pens with open nibs since the hooded style makes it harder to judge the correct alignment to the paper.

[xinglongneo]

Do you have an original Parker nib or a modified nib?

 

I have had original Parker nibs and found them to be quite nice. I have also had modified nibs and found most to be bunk.

 

FB

I'm not sure if it's an original or a modified. I can't find any date codes on the pen, and at the time of purchase, my grandparents would have been living in South Africa (the pen was my grandmother's). Based on what else I know of their lives, it was likely bought in England. So there's a chance it has an original Parker oblique, but I can't be positive.

 

I do also know that someone fiddled with the pen at some point and put in the feed/collector in backwards and then forgot the spacer. So...the nib's history is a bit murky.

[mitto]

I have two 51s with oblique nibs but somehow I couldnt make myself at ease writng with them. Same is the case with one of my 75s that too has an oblique nib.

Edited August 9, 2016 by mitto