Parker 51 Comeback 2020?

[TheRedBeard]

12 hours ago, corniche said:

Hi all,

 

Sorry I've been MIA; had to resolve a problem with one of my out of state commercial properties. 

 

I flushed the pen before I left and re-inked it when I got back home this afternoon. 

 

 

It seems to be working fine again; I hope that continues to be the case; unlike before. But for now, a wet, smooth line with no skipping or hard starts.  I want to see if it still performs this well in a few days; when it's no longer "freshly inked up."

 

- Sean 

Hi Sean,

Nice to hear you sorted out all the issues with both your property and your new NG51 :)

[TheRedBeard]

7 hours ago, corgicoupe said:

....

 

My Dad was mechanic on a friend's hydroplane, and the driver would come back to shore and say..."Change the prop and move the motor aft one inch." Dad's response was... "Make only one change at a time or you'll never know what fixed the problem." That foes for fountain pens too.

Brilliant advice, indeed :)

[TheRedBeard]

4 hours ago, corniche said:

 

 

Thanks, Red. I needed a laugh.

 

- Sean 

And on a practical note: based on your experience as well as the one of some other guys here on FPN  we see that a "new" P51 requires some minor tweaks in order to make it working well. Sure, it is not an issue for experienced fountain pen users.

 

But now I wonder if Newell has ever bothered to think about newbies who may have a "new" P51 as their first fountain pen?

[WJM]

12 minutes ago, TheRedBeard said:

But now I wonder if Newell has ever bothered to think about newbies who may have a "new" P51 as their first fountain pen?

 

Probably not. Nor does any other major fountain pen manufacturer.

 

 

[TheRedBeard]

7 minutes ago, WJM said:

 

Probably not. Nor does any other major fountain pen manufacturer.

 

 

Thank you, WJM.

I come to the same conclusion much time ago after Parker was acquired by Newell...

[Estycollector]

I doubt it was the Serenity Blue ink.  

[Glenn-SC]

6 hours ago, Ferocity said:

So this is up for sale

"Members are not allowed to direct other members, either through hotlink, through comments or otherwise to any live eBay auctions or other auction sites. No information such as URLs, item numbers, or seller IDs may be posted unless the eBay sale is strictly a "buy it now" sale with no bidding options available, or unless it is available through an eBay store. "

[Ferocity]

4 hours ago, TheRedBeard said:

And on a practical note: based on your experience as well as the one of some other guys here on FPN  we see that a "new" P51 requires some minor tweaks in order to make it working well. Sure, it is not an issue for experienced fountain pen users.

 

But now I wonder if Newell has ever bothered to think about newbies who may have a "new" P51 as their first fountain pen?

it's going to be a sad day for a few of those folks. 

 

 

 

To be fair, Sean, if it wasn't a "Demi," without a fluted cap I wouldn't be so cool about letting it go hahaha If this new Parker 51's cap is anything like my Parker 21 mk1's then I'll take it over the lustalloy capped demi 51 every single day of the week 🤷🏻‍♂️

The lines on the cap of the new Pandemic Plum 51 I imagine FEEL absolutely SUBLIME💖💖🤤💖💖

Back in early December 2020 I got a Mark 1 Parker 21 and a Mark II Parker 21 together for a few bucks. The mark 1 has the cap covered in little lines that feel so sweet! I think it's called having a "fluted," cap when they come with a the little lines.  I could be wrong. Any-who this texture created with those lines is freaking awesome! Feels super~! As if the pen itself is a high quality object simply by virtue of having them on there. Works for even a humble Parker 21. So yes I'll take the new full sized pandemic plum 51 over this little one that just popped up for 51 dollars... because on top of having a non fluted cap, YOU knowwww there's no way it's going to stay at 51 dollars for long hahahahaha

[Ferocity]

29 minutes ago, Glenn-SC said:

"Members are not allowed to direct other members, either through hotlink, through comments or otherwise to any live eBay auctions or other auction sites. No information such as URLs, item numbers, or seller IDs may be posted unless the eBay sale is strictly a "buy it now" sale with no bidding options available, or unless it is available through an eBay store. "

 

if the moderators have a problem with it I'll gladly take it down or amend it or anything.

I read the rules ❤️ it is available through an official ebay store that I have absolutely nothing to do with. I've never bought anything from them either so I'm not biased or in cahoots with them trying to make them a bunch of money on this 1 item 😃👍 They're just lucky they put up an item we're all talking about so I brought it here for people to appreciate.

[inkstainedruth]

15 hours ago, Ferocity said:

I bet that Ebay dude is going to be supper happy for the free publicity hahahah 

Looked at the listing.  Pen is described as a "Debutante" which is kind of a weird description for a 51.  Guess the seller means it's a Demi size pen.  Current price (as of 2/24/21 about 3:30 PM EST, is not bad -- a little more than I paid for my Plum Demi roughly eight years ago, but a very good price -- at least at the moment -- for a full-size Plummer).  And if it *is* a Demi, your price estimate is still over-valued, IMO.  Although I may send the seller a message asking about the length to know for certain if it's a Demi or a full sized pen (and also ask for a date code...).

While I'm sort of in the market for a full-size Plummer, having my Demi is good enough for the time being -- it's one of my best writing pens.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Estycollector]

I can pass since after 1942, I have no interest. That said, If Glenn is South Carolina is not a moderator, what's he or she doing??????

[Glenn-SC]

2 hours ago, Estycollector said:

That said, If Glenn is South Carolina is not a moderator, what's he or she doing??????

Pointing out that there are rules for the forum.

 

[inkstainedruth]

I've done the same thing in other threads (particularly when posts start veering into politics or religion).  

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[corniche]

On 2/23/2021 at 9:11 PM, ajcoleman said:

Sean, I may have experienced something similar.  My pen started out reasonably wet, but seemed to get dryer after a day or two.  I took the cartridge out, flushed the pen with water, and that seemed to fix it for a bit. (I had briefly flushed the pen before I filled it the first time.)  Then it happened again. The pen wrote dry, almost faint, and was more prone to skipping. I finally took a razor blade to spread the tines just a tiny bit, flushed it again, and switched inks. I was using Waterman Serenity Blue before so I don't think the ink was to blame. I switched to Pilot Blue just to try something different. Not sure what did the trick, but nonetheless, I seem to have it in a happier place now. It is writing more consistency than it did before. I don't know if I fixed anything or if in reality it was fine and would have worked itself out as I ran more ink through it. My suspicision is some dust or something worked loose and partially blocked the feed and just had to be flushed out.

 

Is it a bit disappointing? Perhaps, but not surprising.  Is it a problem on Parker's part? Maybe. I have bought new pens that haven't had problems like this, but this is certainly not unusual. I am still happy with the pen.

 

Hi Adam, Everyone, 

 

The pic says it all:

 

 

So far, so good.

 

- Sean   

[lionelc]

43 minutes ago, corniche said:

So far, so good.

 

- Sean   

same here - bit of nibwork, have gone through both the blue and black cartridges - nib performance on par with vintage 51

[corniche]

3 hours ago, lionelc said:

same here - bit of nibwork, have gone through both the blue and black cartridges - nib performance on par with vintage 51

 

That's great, Lionelc,

 

I'm glad to hear that. 👍

 

Although, I have to wonder, like Red Beard and others; where is  Newell's mindset with this whole thing? 

 

They must not be intending these pens for neophytes - perhaps that is why there is absolutely NO literature included and why the advertising has been so subdued?

 

- Sean 

[TheRedBeard]

4 hours ago, corniche said:

 

Hi Adam, Everyone, 

 

The pic says it all:

 

 

So far, so good.

 

- Sean   

That looks good, Sean :)

So now you can enjoy your new P51 :)

[TheRedBeard]

30 minutes ago, corniche said:

 

That's great, Lionelc,

 

I'm glad to hear that. 👍

 

Although, I have to wonder, like Red Beard and others; where is  Newell's mindset with this whole thing? 

 

They must not be intending these pens for neophytes - perhaps that is why there is absolutely NO literature included and why the advertising has been so subdued?

 

- Sean 

Hi Sean,

Perhaps we may try to  find some clues to Newell's mindset in a slogan "A Classic Reimagined"? 

It seems they also "reimagined" an approach to launching new products...

Though low-profile product introduction is not uncommon marketing technique especially when a company is not confident of immediate success.

[corniche]

17 minutes ago, TheRedBeard said:

Hi Sean,

Perhaps we may try to  find some clues to Newell's mindset in a slogan "A Classic Reimagined"? 

It seems they also "reimagined" an approach to launching new products...

Though low-profile product introduction is not uncommon marketing technique especially when a company is not confident of immediate success.

 

Hi Red,

 

The fear of failure and low key marketing I can give you, but why no literature? Not even simple instructions on how to fill and flush the pen - something any neophyte would need; no warranty card... nothing.  No converter, either; even in the "high-end" Deluxe model - it's all quite strange. 

 

- Sean 

 

 

[Heinkle]

Not usually one to promote social media, but Parker's Instragram page at last references the Parker 51, including an admin comment indicating it's a permanent addition to the line-up:

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLrlIgBrgiJ/

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLuJ3grL49s/