Parker 51 Comeback 2020?

[Ron Z]

 

 

The problem with the Parker 51's is that in my opinion they are flawed pens.

 

There's a host of people who disagree with that statement, me right in with them! I think that they're one of the best made pens of all time, especially the aerometric, and I've handled and worked on a heck of a lot of pens over the years.

[Estycollector]

 

Well the answer is not to buy a Lamy 2000. (Whatever that is). New pens out perform most if not all "vintage" pens in my opinion. Not that I have tried that many of either. I have vintage and modern and there is a clear winner - MODERN. But that is just my very biassed opinion.

Vintage pens are not for everyone. I began with pre 1955 Esterbrook pens and performed restorations. Ive yet to have a suboptimal experience.

[Mercian]

If they produced a new (and perhaps improved) Parker 51 how would it compare to say a modern Pelikan M400? If the P51 was priced in the £190 area I would buy the Pelikan. If the P51 was priced at about £80 I "might" consider it, if it was worth it. Otherwise, forget it.

 

IIRC the intended price for the relaunched 51 with the c/c fill & screw cap was around €120 for the models that have steel nibs & caps, and €230 for the ones with gold nibs & caps.

If the €/£ exchange rate stays the same, when they launch in February of 2021 the price of the steel-nibbed ones in the UK would be about £120 & the gold ones about £230 (because by then we will be having to factor-in the standard 10% WTO Import Duty on imported products). Obviously the exchange rate may fluctuate in either direction, but those prices equate to somewhere in the current Sonnet range.

 

How do you intend to determine whether or not the new 51 is ‘worth it’? I suppose that you may well be able to find them in bricks-&-mortar stores in London, and that some of those stores might let you dip-test the pen.

 

I’m quite interested by the idea of the new pen; I have (& like) two vintage aerometric “51”s, and I am keen to see what the re-launched pen is like.

Sadly though (given where I live) I can’t think of any stores anywhere near me in which I’ll be able to ‘try one out’ I presume that, in order to be able to even physically handle one, I’ll need to actually buy one online

Edited October 30, 2020 by Mercian

[Fermata]

 

There's a host of people who disagree with that statement, me right in with them! I think that they're one of the best made pens of all time, especially the aerometric, and I've handled and worked on a heck of a lot of pens over the years.

 

 

Absolutely, the most discussed and sought after pen. A design masterpiece, especially when you consider what else was around at the launch.

 

The bottom line is that the new pen is not a Parker 51, it is something else that has been rebadged,

[Ron Z]

You can't even call it a Parker "51," because that's what Parker did with the original. "Faux 51?"

[Mercian]

You can't even call it a "Parker 51," because that's what Parker did with the original. "Faux 51?"

 

 

I think that they’re calling it the 51, and I don’t mind, on the grounds that the original pen was called the “51” (including the speech quotation marks).

 

Edit to add: because this kind of ‘legerdemain’ - making it look very like the same name, but without actually being identical - gives the Joyless Pedant within me a chance to pretend that his buzz-killing drudgery sometimes - just sometimes - might bear fruit.

 

Another addition: I do of course realise that this kind of alteration-of-tiny-details is exactly the sort of nefarious ‘sharp practice’ that enables sneaks, chancers, and charlatans to practice their deceptions upon the populace without leaving themselves open to lawsuits, and as such ought to be execrated by all right-thinking people.

Innit marvellous?

Edited October 30, 2020 by Mercian

[shostakovich]

I thought I might get some strong but interesting reactions from my post. I should add that at the time (around 1956) I thought it a very good pen, and I still do think it's not a bad pen at all. For me I don't use it much mainly because it seems to not hold that much ink, OK for a day or two - but my Pelikans can go twice as long for the same amount of writing. But a new 51 might improve on some of those things and particularly the amount of ink it can hold. Although I will be interested if a new 51 comes out I think I would still be comparing it to a Pelikan or maybe something else, and therefore the chances of buying it would probably be less than another pen.

[Ron Z]

It may be your particular 51. There are some with shorter breather tubes, and the amount of ink that the pen takes in depends on the breather tubes length.

 

Did you know that all Pelikans, 100-1000 (the 350 being the exception) use the same piston and piston seal? The pen may be fatter, but its because the barrel wall is thicker. There are some differences in length, but it isn't significant, which means that they all hold pretty much the same amount of ink.

[Mangrove Jack]

Pelikan pens are mostly piston fillers and hold more ink than the cartridge / converter pens. Eye droppers will hold an even larger capacity of ink.

Two of my favourite pens are a Pelikan M200 and a Parker 51 aerometric. Both lovely, ergonomic, reliable pens. They feel different in the hand and I enjoy using them both.

Nothing has significantly changed in the last 50 years where fountain pen technology is concerned. I cannot see why one would think that modern FP's are better than the older ones.

Variety is the spice of life.

[shostakovich]

It may be your particular 51. There are some with shorter breather tubes, and the amount of ink that the pen takes in depends on the breather tubes length.

 

Did you know that all Pelikans, 100-1000 (the 350 being the exception) use the same piston and piston seal? The pen may be fatter, but its because the barrel wall is thicker. There are some differences in length, but it isn't significant, which means that they all hold pretty much the same amount of ink.

 

Many thanks for that useful information. With all this praise for The P51 I'm tempted to get mine out and fill it, something I have not done for several months. Maybe I will be surprised! In fact I need something to take my mind off some bad news I heard this morning. A relative phoned about her dog having just been put down at the vets. I'm saddened beyond tears.

Edited October 31, 2020 by shostakovich

[manolo]

Today I was just looking at my most stalwart, most tried-and-true fountain pens. . .

 

http://zobeid.zapto.org/image/pens/stalwarts_01.jpg

 

And I found myself thinking, how does it make any sense that the Pilot Vanishing Point and the Lamy 2000 are still in production today, but the Parker ‘51’ is not? And then I came here to gripe about that, and I immediately found this thread instead.

 

And then, of course, I immediately transitioned to hoping this new 51 will be really good and not a bit of a joke like the overpriced limited edition novelty pen that they produced some years back.

 

I absolutely don’t accept this theory that Parker can’t do it, that it would be too expensive, that it wouldn’t be viable in the market. If Pilot can do this, and Lamy can do this, then Parker can do this. They’ve got the most iconic and successful fountain pen design in history. All they need to do is tool up and start making them.

 

Today’s VP is not produced exactly identical to the original 1963 Capless. Neither is today’s Lamy 2000 exactly like the ones they made in 1966. However, the fundamental nature of them hasn’t changed, and I don’t know anybody who thinks a modern VP or 2000 is cheaped-out or crummy in any way. And these are not just symbolic collector’s LE pens. I know Lamy sell a (bleep) ton of 2000s, year over year with no end in sight, and people use the hell out of them. And as for the VP… Does anyone know how much it costs Pilot to manufacture this complex, solid and finely-finished pen? There’s no possible way that a high quality 51 couldn’t be produced at lower cost than the VP, provided the production engineering and tooling is set up right to begin with.

 

So, no question in my mind a new 51 is possible. But it’s got to be done right. A new Parker 51 with strange proportions, C/C filling, screw cap, vestigial ink collector, cheap plastics that break, micron-thin plating, etc., is not going to do the trick. It will earn nothing but scorn. It doesn’t have to be made exactly like the old ones in every detail, but it does need to be made well.

 

And this idea that nobody needs a new 51 because there are lots of used ones still in circulation… Guys, I have been through the hunt for a decent 51, and it’s no cake walk. Nice ones are starting to become scarce, and there are an awful lot of not-so-nice ones. For a dedicated fountain pen collector it’s okay, but for newbies or casual collectors? They need a new-in-box with factory warranty pen from a catalog with their choice of color and nib, etc.

 

really great post!!

[Estycollector]

I consider myself a Newby and a casual collector. Over the past year I have found two 42 models off eBay below $80 each. One I had restored did an additional $45. Considering the cost of the new ones, I think I did better going with the real Parker 51.

[mitto]

I will stick to the real vintage P"51"s unless someone gift me one of the new C/C 51.

[shostakovich]

I inked up my P51 again after quite a while. A reasonably smooth nib but not a nib that I particularly love. A reasonable amount of ink but not as long lasting from a fill as my better pens. Overall I would give it 6 or maybe 7 out of ten. That's also partly because it is 1956 vintage and I used it then, so it has sentimental value.

[pajaro]

I inked up my P51 again after quite a while. A reasonably smooth nib but not a nib that I particularly love. A reasonable amount of ink but not as long lasting from a fill as my better pens. Overall I would give it 6 or maybe 7 out of ten. That's also partly because it is 1956 vintage and I used it then, so it has sentimental value.

 

Not all of the 51s that I have write as smoothly, or as wet. The only one I bought new in a store is the best one I have used. No one else ever wrote with it. I don't know if that makes a difference. None of the many I bought used have ever been as nice, but I like to take care of stuff.

[Ron Z]

How do I put this..... I find the idea that any pen of a brand or model of pen, or nib, will write the same across the board to be both entertaining, and erroneous. Broad generalizations like "these pens write wet..." or smoooth (spelling intended) or dry and toothy are just that, too broad and one might argue, invalid. Maybe your pen, or the pens you've tried are that way, but not all by any means. A safer way to put it is that my pen, or the pens I've tried write or writes a certain way.

 

I've likely repaired hundreds of 51s over the years, and every one has it's own personality. Some are wonderful, and a dream to write with. Others write, as one customer so eloquently put it, like a chicken foot, or as dry as the Sahara. It all depends on how the pen has been set up, and it may not have been that way when it left the factory. Maybe it got dropped, the owner played with the nib, the pen is clogged, or they had a pen mechanic adjust it to the way they want it to write.... who knows?

[crescentfiller]

How do I put this..... I find the idea that any pen of a brand or model of pen, or nib, will write the same across the board to be both entertaining, and erroneous. Broad generalizations like "these pens write wet..." or smoooth (spelling intended) or dry and toothy are just that, too broad and one might argue, invalid. Maybe your pen, or the pens you've tried are that way, but not all by any means. A safer way to put it is that my pen, or the pens I've tried write or writes a certain way.

 

I've likely repaired hundreds of 51s over the years, and every one has it's own personality. Some are wonderful, and a dream to write with. Others write, as one customer so eloquently put it, like a chicken foot, or as dry as the Sahara. It all depends on how the pen has been set up, and it may not have been that way when it left the factory. Maybe it got dropped, the owner played with the nib, the pen is clogged, or they had a pen mechanic adjust it to the way they want it to write.... who knows?

 

 

 

Yes. And yes again. In bold and underlined! Yes.

[thx1138]

I still see a gold nibbed plum 51 in my future. As far as the name, Parker can call it what they want. They own the name.

[Estycollector]

I apologize in advance, but the new "flighter" Wing Sung at $22 is worth every penny if one wants to experience a Parker 51. I bought and gave away three of the plastic ones to family and friends before getting my 51's. Not the same entirely, but close in form and function. 

 

I have to agree with Ron Z regarding generalizations.  This is why I don't pay much attention to either pen or ink reviews. I do pay attention when someone writes that an ink is wet or dry as a general comment. 

[OCArt]

A member of Fountain Pens Oceania posted this photo of the new Parker 51s. The photo was supposedly taken inside a Australian store.