new pen day Finally, the new Parker 51. Is it (bleep)?

March 27, 2023

I have 2 of the original Plum 51 full size pens. Both are amazing writers, although 1 is far more dry than the others. I would love to own a Vista Blue 51 but have never found or even SEEN one of those. That being said, I like the colors of the Vista Blue NG51, but I simply cannot justify its price point. Retail on that one is more than I paid for several original 51’s together…..

Anyone have an original Vista blue MKIII they want to trade or sell? 😁😇

March 27, 2023

I have three of them-black and blue standard and a plum deluxe. The plum is very similar in color to my original plum.

They're fine pens in and of themselves, and I think a lot of the hate comes from them really only sharing the overall shape and general dimensions of the original.

The screw cap in isolation would not bother me, but it does annoy me on this pen because I nearly always have a couple of vintage ones in rotation and I "expect" them to be slip caps.

BTW, since people always mention original nibs being stiff-I'm obligated to mention that originals do turn up with nibs that at least have a bit of springiness and can give some line variation with pressure. I've posted about one I have, and have been told by several people that they've encountered similar nibs on English-made 51s.

March 27, 2023

3 hours ago, Mercian said:

As far as I know (n.b. my knowledge is by no means ‘definitive’) no ink will actually dissolve the ‘pli-glass’ sac of an aerometric “51”.

Support for this belief can be found in the fact that so many of the pre-owned ones found ‘in the wild’ only need to be flushed, and still work perfectly. Whereas pens with rubber sacs often ‘fall victim’ to alkaline inks.

However, most inks will stain the sacs in aerometric “51”s.

E.g. I had to get a new nib fitted to my first “51”, so asked for it to have a NOS sac fitted at the same time.

While I have found that Rohrer & Klingner Salix and Noodler's Black don’t stain the sac, to my amazement the ‘safe’ ‘washable blue’ Waterman Serenity Blue did stain my the sac of my “51” 🤷‍♂️

Luckily, my next fill of Salix removed all the traces of WSB 🙂

If one is using the pen all the time, the staining isn’t that big of an issue - after all, it’s only like having a converter that has an opaque rubber/plastic sac. And one will soon learn how long a single fill will typically last for.

I have seen people advocate the ‘ritual’ re-filling of one’s aerometric “51” e.g. every Sunday evening, so that it never ‘runs dry’ at work.

I though am a persnickety fusspot, and like being able to see how much ink I have left.

I therefore limit my “51”s to Salix, and to Noodler’s Black.
Although I am now thinking of ‘going crazy’, and trying some Parker Quink ‘Blue’ in one. If that ink causes any staining in the sac, I shall try another fill of Salix, in the hope of removing it 😉

Thanks for sharing you experience Mercian. I haven't been using my 51 much for the last several years because I was limiting it to Parker inks to protect that 60+ old sac, but it looks like I don't need to do worry about it. Just filled it with Noodlers Black Swan in Australian Roses. 😉 Feels free suddenly not having to baby that pen with ink choices.

March 27, 2023

11 hours ago, Carguy said:

I have 2 of the original Plum 51 full size pens.

I am Jack’s raging jealousy!

Have you seen the prices for those here in the UK? ☹️

And I only want one that has a ’boring’ Lustraloy cap! None of your fancy gold-filled stuff!

March 27, 2023

I have no idea when caps with significant air holes developed, but I have a copper Esterbrook SJ which has one, as well as a Welsharp button-filler. Both are screw-cap sac fillers.

I also have a c/c Duofold Centennial pearl and black, and it will write after a week of neglect, when filled with Noodler's Purple, to boot. Its cap has a 1mm or so hole under the clip.

My suspicion is that the design and manufacturing tolerances of the inner cap is what has the largest effect on a pen's tendency to dry out.

March 27, 2023

22 minutes ago, Arkanabar said:

My suspicion is that the design and manufacturing tolerances of the inner cap is what has the largest effect on a pen's tendency to dry out.

Seems like a pretty sound suspicion to me 👍

Edited March 27, 2023 by Mercian
Stupidly used wrong word first time. Doh!

March 27, 2023

1 hour ago, Arkanabar said:

I have no idea when caps with significant air holes developed, but I have a copper Esterbrook SJ which has one, as well as a Welsharp button-filler. Both are screw-cap sac fillers.

I also have a c/c Duofold Centennial pearl and black, and it will write after a week of neglect, when filled with Noodler's Purple, to boot. Its cap has a 1mm or so hole under the clip.

My suspicion is that the design and manufacturing tolerances of the inner cap is what has the largest effect on a pen's tendency to dry out.

I know a lot of the old pens had those little holes in the cap; I've read that they were there for flying... before cabins were pressurized... or not pressurized very well... the little holes helped equalize the pressure and prevented ink from being pushed through the nib and into the cap.

I don't know if this is the case, or not; I never flew back then, but it sounds logical to me.

The holes are much larger today, because now they must comply with anti-choking regulations in the E.U. and the U.S

- Sean

March 27, 2023

I have also old pens with cap holes, but it was the larger hole size that Congress and others in the EU made...for caps small enough' to swallow.

IMO so as not to anger the politician's rich donators.

Pre-24 MB Safty pen, some '20's Wateman 52's and I guess most of my pens.

Taking a couple seconds did find some '50's Pelikans with no hole and a couple other no name pens from that era.

Before that law, my silver P-75 that I'm using right now has no holes. Posted that is such a well balanced pen.....back in the day when I bought it, back when many still had at least one B&W bedroom TV, balance was still a big selling point. As it had been before Large pens became popular.

March 28, 2023

My impression was that the vent holes were a way(not necessarily the only way) to keep the act of uncapping the pen from sucking ink out of it.

A lot of older celluloid and hard rubber pens had two prominent vent holes in the sides of the caps. Parkers, Sheaffers, and Montblancs I have made of this material have them. I've also noticed that these pens really like to be used every day, and dry out can be an issue if they sit for a day or so. I mostly use my pens during the week, and often have some reluctant starters if I have celluloids inked Monday morning. Other pens, like Parker 51s and resin Montblancs, start right away.

The vent hole on the first two generations of modern Duofold had a single one "hidden" under the clip, and this was a lot of the dry-out issue with them. The current gen fixes it.

Many modern pens too use a more complicated inner cap construction that seals to the section when the cap is in place and breaks the seal quickly before the cap is removed. Modern caps are quite complicated. It's also been my understanding that some of the issue with early Sonnet dry-out related to a tendency for inner caps to crack.

March 28, 2023

On 3/27/2023 at 8:50 AM, Mercian said:

I am Jack’s raging jealousy!

Have you seen the prices for those here in the UK? ☹️

And I only want one that has a ’boring’ Lustraloy cap! None of your fancy gold-filled stuff!

I understand my friend! Find me a Vista Blue 51 and we can trade… 🤓