Parker 51 Worth It?

[OcalaFlGuy]

I understand Special Ops Team 51 may be assisting Mr. Scully.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[FarmBoy]

Used 51 nibs and good caps seem to be in demand. Paying <$50 for a working 51 might take a bit of work unless you are buying a collection or in bulk.

[inkstainedruth]

Best part? Someone on ebay labled it as "pen". It had blurry pictures, and no description. I bit thinking it was either a 21 super or 51 (the pictures were too blurry to tell). When I got my pen in the mail it was a MINT dark blue Parker 51. I snagged it for $21.00 after shipping!

Nicely done. I'd love to be able to sumgai a 51, but it's unlikely to ever happen. OTOH, all of mine were in the mid $50US range except the Plum Demi (while not a sumgai, it was a pretty good deal and I was shocked that I wasn't outbid -- I didn't even hit my intermediate maximum on it). It wasn't "minty" (as Bruce puts it) but it works great, and I think it has a medium nib (as compared, visually, to my other Aeros -- one of which is an EF that I got from Pendleton Brown at the Ohio Pen Show last fall). My first one, I think, has an F nib -- I thought the pen was Midnight Blue at first; am now thinking it might actually be Teal (but that's okay); it has a GF cap and was the best deal of the weekend when I got it: every other pen on Ebay at the time either went for more money or was in worse shape or both. Go figure....

@ scully012 -- Have Bruce help you scope out decent ones on Ebay. He helped me immensely in estimating condition and on what questions to ask the sellers and what a good price should be (and also told me ones to *not* bid on, due to condition issues).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for typos

Edited June 27, 2014 by inkstainedruth

[J English Smith]

In a word - yes. Keep at it. Most of my 51s were acquired on the 'Bay for between $35 - 85. There are many good sellers who have buy it now prices around $80 for a restored vac model. Either keep bidding and sweep in on an auction in final 30 seconds, or save up and buy one from one of the restorers for a little more.

 

Your 51 is out there somewhere - and it's worth the wait.

 

One word of advice - if a certain color of the basic 51 colors speaks to you - go for it the first time. Otherwise, you'll just be hungry again.

 

I've been a pen fan all my life and I can't believe I got to ~ age 48 without owning a 51. Then I made up for lost time.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Used 51 nibs and good caps seem to be in demand. Paying <$50 for a working 51 might take a bit of work unless you are buying a collection or in bulk.

 

Good caps...

 

You AREN'T going to get a nice clean GF cap Aero for $50. Probably not an 8-9 grade Lustraloy capped one (on a 1-10 scale). But there are Lustraloy and Chrome Special capped ones that are undented and the finish is just use worn, user grade pens, still available for $50. But yes, it may take a few days to a week to Hook and Land one for that price. For the really clean Lustraloy capped ones, yeah, you're getting closer to $70-80 even on Fleabay.

 

Just today I had to shake my head, there was a nice clean pen that I would have graded a 7.-7.5. Except that it had a smilie almost All The Way around the cap. Some dumbass had to use that pen a Long Time with a spinner clip for that to happen.

[EDIT] See, this one. Still a perfectly decent user grade Aero for a whopping $54 shipped.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171363592711

 

It could just be me, but I am seeing a lot of fairly clean, user grade 51 Aeros with poor descriptions that you really gotta look close at and ask some questions. (Desciprtion = Rare Vintage Parker 51, no cracks, <and I'm getting REALLY Tired of> we have no ink so cannot test the pen out> and then maybe 4-5 more sentences about the case or box. ) OR somewhat better listings, with really clean pens with very nice caps on them, 8-9 grade pens. Doesn't seem to be as many In The Middlers.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Edited June 27, 2014 by OcalaFlGuy

[Komitadjie]

I picked up mine for $45, with the lustraloy cap (no dents, scratches or anything), it just needed a really good cleaning. The deals ARE out there!

[pajaro]

Frankly, today, if I were one of you young people, I would buy something more contemporary, used. A Parker Sonnet with whatever nib it comes with. Eventually I would buy one of Dutchpen's of penpartsstore's 18K two-tone fine nibs. It's a lot easier to disassemble a Sonnet for cleaning. Sonnet, $20 to $40. Two Tone 18K nib < $46.

 

I would eschew the inferior pens, the 21s, 45s. The 51s are keepers if you get a deal on them.

 

About buying from collectors: sometimes they are downsizing, but mostly they are improving the condition of a collection by buying constantly better samples and selling the ones that have something wrong with them. Collectors tend to want a lot for their stuff also.

[OcalaFlGuy]

I can't believe you would recommend a Sonnet unless maybe a very newer one to a newer pen person.

 

You yourself swore them off for awhile and that was only after Massive frustration on your part trying to make them work.

 

You were an order of magnitude more persistent with them than the average newer pen person would want to be.

 

Your low opinions of the 45 are mostly based on your two pens that may never have been cleaned sufficiently and isn't comparable to the average P-45 user I don't think.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[bsenn]

I have bought at least 5 user grade 51s for under $50 on ebay in the past three months. Two in the $20 range (and one of those had a gf cap). None of them were marked as 51s though. Keep looking.

 

I regularly use a couple of 21s. The one I use most is from 1949. I keep waiting to open my backpack and find it cracked, but so far so good. Perhaps the batches of plastic varied, and if a 21 is not cracked or shrunk by now it is less likely to crack or shrink in the future.

 

Good luck finding a pen!

Brian

[pajaro]

I can't believe you would recommend a Sonnet unless maybe a very newer one to a newer pen person.

 

You yourself swore them off for awhile and that was only after Massive frustration on your part trying to make them work.

 

You were an order of magnitude more persistent with them than the average newer pen person would want to be.

 

Your low opinions of the 45 are mostly based on your two pens that may never have been cleaned sufficiently and isn't comparable to the average P-45 user I don't think.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

You think a brand new pen needs cleaning? The 51 worked brand new. The new 45s should have worked better.

[OcalaFlGuy]

I was under some impression your 45's were used.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[pajaro]

The main question of "is the 51 worth it?" Yes. It's as good a pen as about anything else out there.

 

Because the whole model of pen making seems to have gone to cartridge/converter or piston fillers, new users might be better served by buying into the modern model. The concept of making a pen easier to maintain seems to be fulfilled in the C/C pen. Nibs and feeds are either friction fit or screw in in modules. The filler is throw-away. As long as the company remains in business, you can likely get parts.

 

The 51 takes more skill and knowledge to maintain. Yes it's the best pen ever as far as I am concerned, and it is worth the price. Should you invest in this technology? That's another question, and the answer will vary from individual to individual. Buy older technology pens like those from the 40s-50s-60s generation of technology, and you are committing yourself to either mastering the repair techniques or paying professionals to do it. Buy current technology piston and fillers other than C/C, and you make the same commitment. Buy C/C and do it yourself with off the shelf replacement parts. You pay your money and make your choice.

[scully012]

I'm happy to report that with the help of Bruce a 51 with my name on it is on the way sometime this week

[OcalaFlGuy]

You did exceptionally well IMO Especially for what you paid. Good job and Welcome to Club 51.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[pajaro]

You should now enable three others. Welcome tio the Club 51 Pyramid.

[Runnin_Ute]

Just won this 51 Special set.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nice-PARKER-51-Special-black-aerometric-fill-fountain-pen-pencil-set-working-/201115477081?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ed36aa459&autorefresh=true

[OcalaFlGuy]

Good Deal Ute.

 

As is this. Perfectly decent user grade Special. $27 shipped. On a Sunday. AND even included on today's Sunday Fleabay picks.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Parker-51-Special-Fountain-Pen-Maroon-With-Black-Jewel-on-Cap-/251565522054

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Runnin_Ute]

Good Deal Ute.

 

As is this. Perfectly decent user grade Special. $27 shipped. On a Sunday. AND even included on today's Sunday Fleabay picks.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Parker-51-Special-Fountain-Pen-Maroon-With-Black-Jewel-on-Cap-/251565522054

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Thanks, Bruce. My first 51.

 

If budget allowed I would have tried a little harder with this one as well. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Parker-51-Aero-Matic-Vintage-Fountain-Pen-Original-Box-One-of-my-best-/380939082873?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58b1bd1c79

[OcalaFlGuy]

How about this really clean Special. A whole $43 shipped.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Parker-51-Special-Cedar-Blue-Barrel-M-Nib-Restored-Fountain-Pen-/380939088725

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[OcalaFlGuy]

Thanks, Bruce. My first 51.

 

If budget allowed I would have tried a little harder with this one as well. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Parker-51-Aero-Matic-Vintage-Fountain-Pen-Original-Box-One-of-my-best-/380939082873?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58b1bd1c79

 

Congrats.

 

Heck, even a Black one, not a damn thing wrong with a $92 nearly NOS P-51.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl