Eversharp Skyline durability/compared to Parker 51

[Flatiron]

I'm not experienced with Eversharp but recently decided I'd like to get a Skyline. Many of the reviews I've read have complained about the quality of the plastic in the solid color models. I only buy pens I can use, and have the most experience with Parker. I keep a 51 inked for notes and diagrams, letters, and occasionally notating sheet music. I'd like to use a Skyline the same way.

My pens stay on my desk and never leave my home, but I understand that the plastic on 51s is some of the best. I don't want to accidentally break or damage a Skyline. If you have experience with both models (51 and Skyline) I'd like to hear if you think I'm being overly cautious.

[jchch1950]

Skyline pens can be of three periods. The original ones that are lever filled, then there were others made with fixed converters some decades later and the pens that you can buy new now. The first group is the more easily found in the market. My experience with the later pens is very good in quality and the after-sale service is first class. I stand to be corrected by the experts in this section who will add much more information, dates and technical evaluations.

[FarmBoy]

Skylines are undervalued and excellent pens.  A good companion to the 51.

[Flatiron]

Thanks, this is encouraging. I'm considering the models from the 40s.

[Penguincollector]

  I have both, and currently have both my Skyline and a 51 desk pen in use. The Skyline is a gorgeous writer, available in many nib widths and types. Mine is a fine flex, with a blue barrel and section, and the gold cap. While the plastic is not as robust as the 51’s Lucite, it’s not the flimsiest. I shirt pocket carry mine, or put it in a leather pen sleeve upright in my purse pocket and use it pretty regularly. It’s a nice wet writer. 

[Lam1]

In my experience, the problem with the solid color Skylines is that the plastic is very brittle and prone to break during repair if one is not very careful (sometimes, even if one is very careful). Once it is repaired, unless one plans on playing darts with them 😀, they should be reliable. If you are concerned, you can get one of the Moire colors: they are gorgeous and the plastic is very good, IMO.

 

Even though I don't like to repair Skylines, due to what I mentioned above, I much prefer them to the P51 for writing. The Skyline nibs are some of the best out there, even the stiff ones - but if you get one of the flexible ones, then it is simply wonderful.

[welch]

The Skyline wrote beautifully: delicious nib and well-balanced. They were nowhwere near as rugged as a Parker 51. I had one shatter just from rubbing it down with sunshine cloth. 

 

As a "saty on the desk" pen, they are just fine. That's where mine live. 

 

I got into Eversharps more than 15 years ago, after re-saccing a bunch of Esties, and then scavenging EBay for groups of third-tier pens. Back then, a J sold for around $20 raw, and you could find an assortment of Arnolds and such also for about $20. 

 

The Skylines were such great writers that I was hooked. The filling system looks easy, but the trick is to remember that the barrel and cap are fragile.

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

Skylines are good iconic pens, but they're kind of a mess structurally honestly. The plastic is very fragile, particularly compared to the nigh-indestructible Parker 51s. And their caps are a nightmare, particularly the most common variety with the gold-fill overlay. The gold fill is woefully thin (I've never seen a "mint" example of one of these), and the overlay is almost always loose (and Eversharp's fantastic official instructions for fixing it was to punch a divot into the overlay so it snags on the inner liner and rotate the clip to hide it).

 

That being said, again, they're very iconic. And Eversharp's nibs are among the best out there when it comes to vintage, particularly the ones on the Skylines. And the "moire" celluloid models that other people have mentioned don't have the above issues (but they cost a pretty penny). And they're generally a fair bit cheaper than a Parker 51 (other than the moire or rare varieties).

 

I think the Parker 51 is an objectively better and more well-built pen but it doesn't make the Skyline a "bad" pen (well... personal feelings aside). And any vintage collection worth its salt should have an example of both since they're two of the most iconic vintage pens out there. 

[jchch1950]

The fragility of the Skyline makes them risky to repair, but some have a nice combination of striped colours in the caps with solid ones in the barrels.