Despite my historically deplorable luck with vintage pens, I don't think I can resist the siren call of the 51 much longer. Would someone please tell me the widths of the 14K nibs? Any info on ink flow would be lovely as well.

I generally prefer a firm broad stub or a fine chock full of flexy goodness, but I'm always open to new pen experiences. Any recommendations on which to select?

Thanks,
Kate

Unfortunately, the two nibs you have mentioned are going to be real tough to find in a 51. 51s tend to have stiff nail like nibs... it is the nature of the beast for a hooded nib. Most 51s found in the wild will most likely be fine or fine/mediums. If you are fortunate enough to find a good English made 51 you can find a broad medium and sometimes even a broad nib. The English nibs seem to write broader than the American ones... so a medium English nib would be closer to an American broad.
Even though Parker made nibs ranging from a Needle Point to a Broad stub (including a medium and broad arabic) it seems that most pens were sold with a fine or medium nib only. Parker made 13 different nib sizes for the 51.
Now of course if you find a nice English Medium, you could always get Richard Binder to make a sweet stub out of it for you. In fact, he is the one person I would contact to find the pen you are looking for with a nib of the sort you like.

My P51, which was NOS (British, still chalk marked) when I bought it at an antiques fair a few years back has a nib I always assumed was 'broad, oblique'. The width at the tip is 1.0mm, near as dammit. Does this mean it is rare and somebody is going to offer me a fortune for it? I hope so (serious vintage 'looking at' collection to support)! It writes fantastically well with the Diamine ink I am currently using.

Andy

Kate

PM on way. Not for sale BTW - just loan

Regards,
R

I am not sure how wide the 51 Broad Oblique nib was. But if you have a 51 with that nib, I would definately say it would bring a premium price to a collector, at least IMHO.

Here is a chart of the Parker 51 nibs that were available... This is copied from the Parker 51 book.... a book that is an absolute necessity for anyone interested in Parker 51s.....

Thanks Griz, that nib chart is really useful!

Does indeed seem to be a broad oblique, see pretty poor attached picture!

Andy

(Edited to include marginally better picture of the nib!)

Someone was cleaning out the inventory of an old jewelry store on eBay recently and selling two stub "51" nibs. One went for $50 and the other for $127 (nibs only mind you).

What I like about the "51" nib is it's reliability. When properly tuned, you uncap the "51" and it starts writing with no hesitation, skips, blobs, or any other bad habits. If it is tuned to be fairly wet, you do not need much pressure at all to get a consistant line of writing. It was originally designed for its own ink....

Just some early morning random thoughts....

Steve

Andy,

It may be the angle, but that nib looks either an English Medium or a US Broad, it also looks to have a slight twist to it, but that may be a trick of the light.

The picture in my Avatar is an English Broad nib.

Jim

Jim, I guess it's just the result of me putting my pen on the scanner bed and hoping for the best! Next time I get the camera out I'll try and take a proper close up.

The nib is undoubtedly cut on the angle, I would say about 20 degrees. This is not wear, the whole pen was NOS when I got it! Width of the nib at the tip (measured at 90 degrees to the centre line of the tines with a vernier) is a tad over 1.0mm.

The nib appears to be much more chisel shaped than the one in your avatar, and the iridium tip doesn't have the same ball-like appearance at the back as yours, the coating follows the profile of the gold much more closely. The nib isn't twisted at all, though it is a little inky and (mea culpa) it does have a couple of small cosmetic scratches around the front side, though nothing that affects its performance.

Anyway, no matter either way, and I shouldn't hijack Kate's topic any further with it. I just happened upon it when I was placing the 'Missing pens' notice and thought my nib might be relevant!

Andy

I've had great luck with "51"s - moreso than a few other vintage pens - and their reliability and durability is one of the main reasons for their popularity.

But broad and flex as Griz mentioned are not words generally associated with "51" nibs - at least the vast majority in the wild that haven't been modified. I think there was a black English aero filler user grade "51" described as a medium for sale this morning either here or on the pentrace green board for a very reasonable price, FWIW. I did not recognize the seller and I believe they are overseas but the price included shipping to North America.

Edited to add: and Dennis Lively ("DWL" a well known and reputable seller here) has a couple "51"s listed with medium nibs as well in the marketplace.

That looks like a nice Broad Oblique... mmm, my favorite nib style (so far...)

Great Chart OldGriz! Of course, the stub will go for a premium, why can't I ever prefer the least expensive thing?

There's a gold triple broad parker 51 nib on ebay for $99. I've already blown my pen budget for the month which is probably a good thing. I need to set a reasonable limit on how many pens I have anyway. Time to rehome some, as my writing instruments thread mentions.

I love this forum, but it’s far too enjoyable a procrastination tool. I will now exert some self discipline and haul myself over to Home Depot. Because, I apparently have too much money. If I’m nice I’m sure they’ll take some off my hands.