The Most Interesting “51” In The World…

[RalphP]

Or not ~~ interesting, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

 

 

This custom "51" features the following:

 

Four “quick change” threaded cap top jewels: 1) a Solid Gold Crown – ideal to have on the pen in your pocket when going to see the dentist – this one is also of course known as the Crown Jewel; 2) .45 solid lead – ideal for high caliber meetings; 3) 9mm Brass Jacket suitable for lower caliber meetings or casual writing; 4) 146/9 Mont Blanc White Star - ideal for highly pretentious meetings with status conscious individuals or groups… etc.

 

 

 

 

 

The stainless steel cap has been bead blasted and strongly resembles titanium. The war time Vermeil Blue Diamond clip is bent in such a fashion that it would hard if not impossible to duplicate – it is definitely crooked… but, I have not ever found it to be dishonest in any respect. The hood or shell is dark blue and the barrel is black – reminiscent of two-tone cars in the ‘50s & 60’s. The filling unit and blind cap are oversized slightly. The longer than standard ink pump rod is brass and is housed in one excellent red anodized bushing. The added vacuum pressure sort of supercharges the filling system. The end of the rod contains a silver disc with the Parker Halo encased in translucent red plastic from the Parker Model Shop – the same exact red plastic used to make the Parker T-1 red jewels – it took way too long to make but that’s just hindsight. The nib is an 18k 61 nib which was made in the UK. Don’t know the reason why but 51 and 61 nibs made in the UK are just better writers and smoother than those made in the US – just a fact.

 

 

 

 

Like it – Love it – or Hate it – you’ve got to at least agree it’s interesting…?

 

Life’s too short to always take Pens too seriously.

 

 

ralph prather

[pajaro]

Clever the way all that stuff was integrated.

[Aysedasi]

Interesting..... Hmm. Sorry, but I'm in the 'hate it' category on this one......

[mariom]

Just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD ....

[crescentfiller]

Well, I still think it is hilarious!

What a great send up of the pretentiousness of some pens (and pen owners?).

 

Hats off to Mr. Prather!

[hbdk]

Never seen anything like it! Not sure how to feel about it but thanks for sharing.

[DonLeone]

Awful taste but great execution

[pajaro]

Indeed. The, ah, shall we say "ParkMont" mixes the best fountain pen on the planet with one of the most pretentious. And one can do so much more with this creation! The integration is actually very well crafted, and gives the owner options.

[eckiethump]

I like it, apart from the crooked clip☺

[CarrotBasket]

This is great, I love it. Impresively done too. I wish I could get my pens to that level of customization craziness.

[Tom Heath]

with the passing of time some things just grow on you.

 

Enjoy

Tom

[Inkysloth]

Its a work of art! I think its hideous but at the same time, oddly compelling. Nice work

[Lagavulin16]

I have a perfectly functioning, but well worn one I found in a farm auction box of junk, I can appreciate the fun of this and gives me something to aspire to.

 

Warning- More silliness follows:

 

Unfortunately my clip has the less valuable single curve to the left, compared to the more valued re-curve on your reproduction of the highly collectible Model 51-VW-Ht. Though unconfirmed, the model designation stood for Parker 51, Variable Weight, Hoity Toity model. The original models from Parker came out shortly after WWII. It quickly became apparent, that Parker's marketing brains of the day over evaluated the love of the Colt 45 slug jewel. Though the Colt model 1911 45 was at its hey day shortly after the war, it paled to the misguided mistrust of anything relating to Germany (other than rocket scientists of course) and the designation "VW" caused sales to plummet. For years following the war, a few of these could be found in South America, but all of those had "Lost" the 45 slug jewel for another popular 9 MM bullet.

 

OK, I actually do have the well working old 51 from the early 40's that still works fine today. The body looks to be dark blue with a silver cap. The fact that it still writes well should say something about the design and materials used. It was found in the old box of junk as stated, and the clip is curved to the left, which is why I like. That said the tiny little skinny section hurts my hands after about 3 minutes of writing. Lean a little closer to Helium than Lead every day. You will move faster, sound funnier, and not die of lead poisoning.