A Parker 51 Aero, Made In England, Referb Question(S)

[djmaher]

I've just disassembled my 1st English-made 51, and I've got a couple of questions.

 

Did Parker use plastic breather tubes in some of their 51s? This pen is a 1953 vintage(based on the nib imprint, so I know it could be different). It has some kind of "plastic"(ebonite?) breather tube, with a larger bore than the stainless ones I've seen before. A stainless tube will not fit the bore in the feed, as the stainless tube is much narrower. The feed itself looks different, but externally the same diameter, as it will fit in a USA nib. The tube has a breather hole, and the ends of the tube look rather crudely cut, almost as if they've been snapped off. Is this typical, or just another of many variations of parts and manufacture through the years?

 

Secondly, I think I have a B nib, but again, cannot be sure. I did not write with it before disassembly. Nib has PARKER "Made in England" stamp. Bottom left has a what appears to be "B . P ." stamp. Bottom right is stamped 1953. Is this just a standard B nib, or, is it something else entirely?

 

Any ideas?

[Erik Dalton]

Yes, they did come with plastic breather tubes. Go to Vintagepens.com. They have a Teflon replacement product.

Copied this from the site for you:

Special thin-wall Teflon tubing will not corrode, low-friction surfaces resist ink residue buildup. Approximately .074" (1.9 mm) OD, cut to length and taper end to make replacement breather tubes for Vac-filling Parker 51s and later 51s with plastic breather tubes, Parker Vacumatics, Eversharp Skylines, and many other pens.

5 feet for $5, or 50 feet for $30.

 

ORDER

 

NOTE: for Parker 51 Aerometrics that use a long thin metal tube, replacements are listed here.

[djmaher]

Old Salt,

 

Thanks for the info and links. For some reason, I always forget David's website.

 

Any clue how to punch a clean breather hole in the tube? With not punching a hole through the other side?