Parker "51" Titanium custom by Ralph Prather

[J-san]

Ever since I bought a "51", I've been thinking of how cool it would be to have one in some exotic material like carbon fibre or titanium. I already have a carbon fibre pen (the Tombow Zoom 101), but have yet to get a titanium one. Until now. The Ralph Prather custom Ti "51" is a real work of art. I don't consider myself an expert of writing instruments by any means, but I know enough to say that I have a really great pen in my collection. Partly due to the materials used in its manufacture, but also because it is among the most famous of pens in the world and is an excellent writer.

 

 

--- Design Fit & Finish ---

 

I normally have a section to talk about the packaging, but in this case, the pen arrived in a USPS mailer box, securely packed in a PVC pipe. I give Ralph points for that as a cardboard box can be crushed, but a thick PVC pipe will withstand such abuse a lot better. But hey, the pen is made of titanium anyways!

 

Design is that of a regular double jeweled “51”, but everything aside from the collector, feed, diaphragm, and nib are handcrafted from metal. All parts fit together impeccably without any wobble. There are no tooling marks as far as I can see and the metal surfaces are an attractive satin finish. The only shiny bling comes from the highly polished sterling silver cap. Personally, I never liked shiny finishes as they tend to collect scratches and fingerprints, but the cap was in perfect condition and so clean and sparkly. Mike from Wet Inc. was kind enough to send me a Lustralloy cap to go with the “51”. I haven’t included it in the photos, but I think it makes for a more attractive package being that both have a satin finish. (I also didn’t want to risk scratching that beautiful silver cap during daily wear) The very end of the cap sports a jewel made from aluminum. It doesn’t have the cool translucent look of the celluloid ones, but this adds to the cool “technical” look of the all titanium body.

 

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On the tail end of the pen is a neat little gold-trimmed posting ring that separates the body from the blind cap. The inner cap grips this ring and provides a secure post – no more lost caps! The blind cap is also made of Ti and has an identical aluminum jewel on the end of a gold-trimmed tassie (is that what they call it??). Under the blind cap, is a solid brass vac filler pump and it works just like any other vac. Of note are the threads used on the vac retaining collar – they are a different pitch than what is standard. Ralph graciously includes a specific tool to allow self-service of said filler, eliminating the need to search high and low for the correctly threaded one.

 

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The hood is slightly different that the plastic version. It has a mildly boxy appearance with the lines angling away at a wider angle. This gives the Ti “51” a more stout look than its plastic cousins. Not sure how much I like the boxier look, but there seems to be a good bit of titanium left around the hood that I could possibly round out some more in the future. We shall see. The area around the hood opening is polished smooth and has a bit of shine to it, but not as much as the silver cap. No need for section sealer or shellac here. The titanium hood screws onto the titanium body and locks up nice and tight with the titanium clutch ring pinched in between. Ralph suggests a dielectric tune-up grease to lube and seal the threads. Being that I monkeyed with the nib, I added a small dab of super thick Tamiya Anti-Wear grease that I used to lock the differential gears in my R/C cars back when I used to race. Should make for super tight seal there.

 

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--- Nib & Writing ---

 

I asked Ralph to give me the finest nib he had. The pen arrived with a smooth XF that laid down a thin, but wet line when ink with Noodler’s Black. Having been spoiled with Sailor XF nibs, I felt the 51’s nib was a tad on the fat side. Being that I was already in the lab today finishing up a gold crown and had all my gold polishing tools out, I decided to remove the tiniest bit of tipping from all sides. The result was a nice XF nib that rivaled a Sailor XF. (you can probably see some of the polishing I did on the nib underside)

 

The Ti “51” writes like any other “51”, but it has significantly more heft to it. It isn’t like a heavy metal rod in your hands, but feels a lot more substantial in your fingers. It feels like you are holding an expensive pen. Balance is good with the center being in the middle part of the body. Posting doesn’t alter the balance by much if at all. I like pens that balance a bit behind my writing fingers and even a little bit towards the back end. This pen behaves quite well when writing quickly and the added heft seems to tame my wild scribbles.

 

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--- Filling ---

 

It is a vacumatic and works just like one. I’m very fond of the vac filler and I think the solid brass pump really adds a cool touch. I didn’t have any issues with the pen burping up an ink blob. The satin Ti finish tends to trap ink and stain if you simply wipe off the excess with a dry tissue, but is easily cleaned off with a damp cloth.

 

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--- Final Thoughts ---

 

I am truly awed by this awesome customization of an already awesome pen. I am finally able to add another of my favourite ”exotic” materials to my pen collection. I don’t know how many more Ralph plans to make, but if you’re into titanium and love vacs, take a look at this one. Wetinc.com has the pen listed under the vacumatics section. I’m glad I found it when I did. This one will find itself serving an extended tour among the pens in my regular rotation.

 

 

 

[Shelley]

Very nice, having just got my own P51 DJ I know how great they are-but I would love a brass vac pump to replace my original one!

[rroossinck]

Holy cow, Jay!

 

I'm gettin' in the car right now. I'll be knocking on your door in 4 hours to see it.

 

[jmkeuning]

Holy cow, Jay!

 

I'm gettin' in the car right now. I'll be knocking on your door in 4 hours to see it.

 

I'm not that crazy, but I want to see it too!

 

My Pencraft gets here next week, we'll have to get together after that.

[alvarez57]

Very, very nice pen. What year is that model?

Glad you like it.

[J English Smith]

Now...that's a pen.

 

And not a Montblanc diamond in sight.

 

I have lust in my heart.

[greencobra]

I keep coming back to this review to look, an interesting pen, no doubt. I like the idea of a titanium "51", very industrial, but damn, that price tag. Way, way over what I'd go. Do love this pen though. Thanks for putting up the review and pics, I enjoyed them.

[J-san]

I'm glad you all liked the review and pics. Yes, the price is a tad high, but I knew the moment I had laid eyes on it, I would not rest till I bought one. Once you hold one and write with it, you will see why it commands such a price. I also understand titanium is a difficult metal to work with due to its toughness and can require specialty tools and more skill to produce a similar product.

 

no worries, Ryan. I'll be sure to let you try it out the next time we meet. James, I'd love to see your new Pencraft.

 

Alvarez, not sure what year the pen is based on, but the nib is dated 1944. I assume it is a war-era vac since it has a pump that is identical to the plastic ones. From what I understand, the filler is entirely modern, but the feed system is original.

[greencobra]

Yes, the price is a tad high, but I knew the moment I had laid eyes on it, I would not rest till I bought one.

We all know that feeling.

 

Once you hold one and write with it, you will see why it commands such a price.

Are you kidding, I don't want to get near one. I'm looking for a credit card that's empty at the moment.

 

I know you're enjoying that "51", use it in good health.

[Hoarder68]

Great looking pen. Is this a figment of some ones imagination or is this pen really available?

[PAKMAN]

WOW what a sweet looking pen! The sterling cap looks great on it. Could he make a Ti cap too?

[Dillo]

Great looking pen. Is this a figment of some ones imagination or is this pen really available?

 

Hi,

 

This pen is really available. It looks stunning.

 

Dillon

[J-san]

WOW what a sweet looking pen! The sterling cap looks great on it. Could he make a Ti cap too?

 

 

I'm sure he could make a Ti cap. I've put the sterling cap away because I'm too afraid to get scratches on it. So far, I've only been using the lustralloy cap.

[Rush1]

I recently received #19 directly from Ralph Prather, so there are not a lot of these in circulation. He is a great person to deal with and it was nice talking with the person actually making and setting up my pen.

 

I also specified an XF nib but is closer to a F. It puts down a nice wet line and is incredibly smooth for such a fine nib. Oddly the hood on my pen seems to taper significantly more toward the nib than a standard "P51".

 

I like your idea of the lusterloy cap. Sadly all of mine looks like well used spoons. I am concerned with maintenance of the silver cap. They are suppose to be fairly durable and easy to maintain. Personally I'm not a fan of precious metal, except platinum which has very good properties.

 

Thanks for the great review. I feel guilty for not doing a review on some of the pens i have recently received.

 

Rush

[lightweaver]

Very Very nice

 

Great review too

[SquelchB]

How much was this beauty?

[georges zaslavsky]

one of the nicest customs pens I have ever seen

[jmkeuning]

How much was this beauty?

 

3rd pen here

 

[goodguy]

Ohh man this is too sweet.Even though I do have few Parker 51 in my colection I was never a huge 51 fan but this is just AMAZING.

[jmkeuning]

goodguy' next grail?