Parker 51 Comeback 2020?

[TheRedBeard]

33 minutes ago, Glenn-SC said:

 

It seems unfair to compare a "51" Lustraloy cap to the current gold filled cap.

The brush stainless steel caps always looked cheap to me when compared to the original solid and gold filled versions and also does compared to the current gold. 

IMHO Lustraloy only looks worse as it gets scared during use.
The current stainless steel caps looks cheap compared to the gold (old or current) as well.

 

BTW, the clip on the "original" "51" was fabricated by stamping as well.

Yes, I agree with you on stainless steel caps, and I have never liked them on original P51s either.

All my P51s and P61s are with RG caps.

[lovemy51]

18 hours ago, corniche said:

 

Lovemy51, you have to learn how to live life on the razor's edge, like me.

 

- Sean 

haha... i just don't see the need of a $250 hooded nib with a cartridge system, when i own a few vacs and aerometrics P'51"s. a friend is sending me the Jinhao 85... that's is living on razor's edge.

[corniche]

58 minutes ago, lovemy51 said:

haha... i just don't see the need of a $250 hooded nib with a cartridge system, when i own a few vacs and aerometrics P'51"s. a friend is sending me the Jinhao 85... that's is living on razor's edge.

 

Oh, I'll probably agree with you about the $250 Deluxe model, but I think the Core model isn't such a dumb choice, especially if you get it on a reduced price.

 

Both of mine are great writers and they cost a lot less than some of the other pens out there I've bought that are straight-up garbage. (I'd love to name names, but I don't want to be the one who starts WWIII.

 

In sum, I prefer the c/c system; they're a sweet dream to clean.  (Even though I have several 51 Aeros and keep buying more).

 

- Sean 

[TheRedBeard]

1 hour ago, lovemy51 said:

haha... i just don't see the need of a $250 hooded nib with a cartridge system, when i own a few vacs and aerometrics P'51"s. a friend is sending me the Jinhao 85... that's is living on razor's edge.

Of course, the one using Chinese rubbish doesn't need a "new" P51, no argument...

 

[maclink]

34 minutes ago, corniche said:

 

Both of mine are great writers and they cost a lot less than some of the other pens out there I've bought that are straight-up garbage. (I'd love to name names, but I don't want to be the one who starts WWIII.

 

I agree that the price isn't really that high for these pens.  It's OK. 

 

1 minute ago, TheRedBeard said:

Of course, the one using Chinese rubbish doesn't need a "new" P51, no argument...

 

 

You're a Chinese FP fan aren't you? 

 

[TheRedBeard]

5 minutes ago, maclink said:

 

I agree that the price isn't really that high for these pens.  It's OK. 

 

 

You're a Chinese FP fan aren't you? 

 

Yesssss :)

 

[lovemy51]

4 hours ago, TheRedBeard said:

Of course, the one using Chinese rubbish doesn't need a "new" P51, no argument...

 

quite rightx2

[lovemy51]

4 hours ago, corniche said:

 

Oh, I'll probably agree with you about the $250 Deluxe model, but I think the Core model isn't such a dumb choice, especially if you get it on a reduced price.

 

Both of mine are great writers and they cost a lot less than some of the other pens out there I've bought that are straight-up garbage. (I'd love to name names, but I don't want to be the one who starts WWIII.

 

In sum, I prefer the c/c system; they're a sweet dream to clean.  (Even though I have several 51 Aeros and keep buying more).

 

- Sean 

nah, i wouldn't call getting any P"51" a "dumb choice", if that's what the fan wants... but i can't justify buying it myself... call me old fashion (vintage)

[corniche]

21 minutes ago, lovemy51 said:

nah, i wouldn't call getting any P"51" a "dumb choice", if that's what the fan wants... but i can't justify buying it myself... call me old fashion (vintage)

 

Perfectly understandable. We all have our preferences. I happen to like both vintage and modern, but I lean towards Moderne -  - but that's just me. 

 

- Sean

[enuhski]

Hello, all!

 

For those who were asking, the discount was automatic. I had to key in a code for an additional discountCertain pens go on sale for a week, but this particular instance, the retailer offered an additional discount for certain categories of regulars - in my case, I was classified as a gold user. So from a $250+ discounted price, the item was on sale for the usual regular customers but as a gold user, I was given an additional 28% discount on top of the discounted price.  Another equally tempting pen was on pre-order - a Sailor Nebula 2021 limited edition release, but I went with Parker 51.

 

I hope that the deluxe plum will be a lovely writer. I have no point of comparison yet in terms of the vintage 51 but I hope I will enjoy the pen on its own merits. That it's a plum color is a plus for me as I love purple pens  

 

 

 

 

 

[Aysedasi]

21 minutes ago, enuhski said:

 

 

I hope that the deluxe plum will be a lovely writer. I have no point of comparison yet in terms of the vintage 51 but I hope I will enjoy the pen on its own merits. That it's a plum color is a plus for me as I love purple pens  

 

 

I think that's probably the best position to start from.  Not having that standpoint could well be a significant advantage.  

[maclink]

10 minutes ago, Aysedasi said:

 

I think that's probably the best position to start from.  Not having that standpoint could well be a significant advantage.  

I agree. I did a comparison review, but then reflected and thought it would be different if I simply did a review of the pen on its own.  

[corniche]

Post deleted by author. 

 

- S.

[inkstainedruth]

On 3/11/2021 at 2:56 AM, maclink said:

Why is it that Parker stopped the P51's production for 40yrs?  I know that ballpoint pens became the rage, but Pelikan and MB soldiered on with success. 

I suspect it had less to do with ballpoints and more to do with the success of c/c pens: the Parker 45 was a complete game changer in the market.

Remember that ballpoints were invented at about the same time as the heyday of pens like the 51, and were at first expensive (and my understanding from what I've read is that they weren't originally all that reliable writers).  It wasn't until companies like BIC started doing mass production that BPs became the go to pen (I had an art professor who liked BICs because if one died on him before it ran out of ink he'd ship it a couple of towns over to the BIC facility (headquarters?) in Milford, CT and get a free replacement one sent to him -- whereas an off-brand BP just went in the trash for the garbage he thought it was; okay, this was the late 1970s -- no clue if BIC still does that or not).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[eciton]

Following up my earlier first impressions, I did manage to get enough of a shim into the slit to open it up, and the writing experience of my teal 51 is notably improved. I'm warming to this pen: it doesn't seem to dry out when capped, the cap unscrews quickly, and it's a very fuss-free writing experience that's ideal for jotting notes during meetings. 

[TheRedBeard]

19 minutes ago, eciton said:

Following up my earlier first impressions, I did manage to get enough of a shim into the slit to open it up, and the writing experience of my teal 51 is notably improved. I'm warming to this pen: it doesn't seem to dry out when capped, the cap unscrews quickly, and it's a very fuss-free writing experience that's ideal for jotting notes during meetings. 

 

21 minutes ago, eciton said:

Following up my earlier first impressions, I did manage to get enough of a shim into the slit to open it up, and the writing experience of my teal 51 is notably improved. I'm warming to this pen: it doesn't seem to dry out when capped, the cap unscrews quickly, and it's a very fuss-free writing experience that's ideal for jotting notes during meetings. 

Thanks for sharing more impressions   Are you about to write a review on this new P51 in your blog anytime soon? It would be interesting to see a detailed opinion of an experienced user not "haunted" by a "Shadow" of the original P51

[Estycollector]

Back home and picked up the ‘42 51 and made weekend notes....enough said!!

[corniche]

Hi all,

 

I got my Deluxe model early:

 

 

The weights are identical, but the gold cap "feels" heavier. When I first took the cap off (and on); I was royally pis**d because it felt like they used two different sized dies to thread the barrel and cap. But after a few cap removals, it was noticeably smoother; my Core model caps were silky smooth from the start. But it had left a bad taste in my mouth at this price level.

 

The pen is a wet and smooth writer, but appears to need a half a stroke to get started - a modern era pen trait, it seems; none of my O51s have this problem... but, then again, neither do either of my Core models.

 

To be fair, this pen has not been flushed and what you see here is only its second writing sample. So, I have to cut it a little slack and give it a chance for the feed to get saturated and broken in.

 

Well, we'll see how things go. 

 

 

- Sean 

 

[corniche]

Hello, again,

 

I looked at both nibs with my loupe and the steel nib has a large round ball; whereas the gold nib looks flatter top and bottom and has more of a stubbish tip, unfortunately, it cannot be perceived in the writing sample.

 

I'll post a pic later if my smartphone can capture the detail.

 

- Sean 

 

[corgicoupe]

9 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

 

Remember that ballpoints were invented at about the same time as the heyday of pens like the 51, and were at first expensive (and my understanding from what I've read is that they weren't originally all that reliable writers).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I can remember Milton Berle getting into a tank of water on stage in a live broadcast to demonstrate that the ballpoint could write under water.