Hi all,

I have recently acquired a Parker 51 Aeromatic fine point, from the late 1940s, I think. My first 51.

I've noticed when writing with it, even though it was restored (I bought it on the 'bay from a vender I trust), it doesn't write very easily. I have to actually press fairly firmly on the nib to get ink to flow consistently. If I write as lightly as I am used to with my other fountain pens (Pelikans and a Waterman Phileas), the flow is fairly sporadic.

How normal is this? Is it that 51s are different in the amount of pressure they require?

Thanks.

No, they usually write with a fairly wet line and zero pressure.

It is not adjusted correctly, or was not restored properly (if someone doesn't know, the hood really has to come off and the collector, feed and nib need to be aligned properly, or you get sparse flow).

A "51" that has dried up Superchrome ink in it will have to be disassembled and cleaned.

Peter

Hello and welcome to the forums.

On the "51" issue, what ink are you using? That could be part of the problem.

Cheers,
John

I agree with the other two. All of my parker "51"s are extremely reliable writers with great lines that require no pressure. There has got to be a problem in there somewhere. It may also be a severe case of "baby bottom" on the nib, or while he may have cleaned everything out, you may have a corroded breather tube.

As to my ink, I'm using Noodler's ottoman Azure, which I've not had problems with in a Pelikan or a Waterman phileas.

Can you recommend any good pen repair places? Price is something of a concern, as I'm still in grad school, and the parker was a special purchase.

Hi napaxton

I too have started buying "51"'s based on curiosity and recommendation.

Restored may not include a throrough clean out but may be replacing seals, breather tube, sac etc.
You will find that FPN is exactly like StarWars in bad times "Remember to see the Force, Luke".

In our case it's "Remember to flush out the nib".

Get some lukewarm washing up water (freshly made! ).
Flush out the pen in this SEVERAL times as though filling and unfilking ink.
Then unscrew the bottom section, unscrew the nib. Soak in new soap solution overnight or longer.
Flush out again in clean water.
You might need to do this more than once.

I got a burgundy "51" last week that would just not write. Did the process now it is great.

Good luck. I've never used "51"'s before a fortnight ago and now like them a lot. A collegue saw me with it at work and almost started crying (like in Citizen Kane (Rosebud) and Amelie (the old guy with the toy car). He had a "51" when he was a lot younger but lost it. Now he wants me to get one from ebay.

Armchop

THis is all good.

``Floss'' the tines? As in with dental floss?

And with washing water, what kind of soap are we recommending here?

And we're not talking about taking it apart anymore than simply unscrewing the writing section from the plastic barrel, right?

Thanks, everybody.

Yep!
The bottom section with the nib hood unscrews very easily. Then nib and feed unit follows very easily after it.

Face it mate - now you are on FPN you will very rapidly find yourself doing all sorts of things you never expected.

ONE OF US ... ONE OF US ... ONE OF US ... ONE OF US ... ONE OF US ... ONE OF US ...




Armchop

Sorry. should have been a bit clearer. There's no need to remove the nib and reservoir assembly from the hood, though, right?

Many "51"s were used with Superchrome ink, and it tends to solidify into insoluble, flakey stuff that clogs both the nib slit and the feed slit. I've also had to run a sheet of aluminum foil through the small slot in the collector, it was crudded up too (although you must not remove the small piece of hard rubber from the end of that slot, it's there to keep it open when you push it into the section!).

Poor ink flow is most likely a clogged up slit in the nib or solidified ink between nib and collector or nib and feed.

I've come to the conclusion that "51"s really should be taken completely apart when obtained of eBay or "in the wild" -- of the seven or eight I have, only one has actually worked correctly just by flushing it.

On older aerometrics, the silver breather tube is almost always corroded -- this causes particulate matter to collect in the feed and nib slots, and prevents proper filling. An aerometric in good condition should blow out a good cloud of bubbles each time you press the filler bar until it's full. If you get just a fizz of tiny bubbles after the first press, the breather is out or broken off (or full of holes). It's fairly easy to replace once the feed is out.

Peter

Hmm. I'm a bike mechanic (in the effort to sometimes avoid my dissertation), but I don't think I feel quite up to taking apart the 51 quite yet.

I've soaked it all day, and I'm going to let it dry out overnight, then fill it and see what happens.

Thanks all. I'll post more as there is more

I think I may have seen another problem. It has been known that some "51"s don't like the thicker inks that Noodlers has. Try some Wuink washable blue, or anything from Waterman's. The older formulations sometimes make all the difference

How abotu Private Reserve? That's always seemed pretty wet to me.

Get David's new tubing. I used stainless steel hypodermic needle tubing (thin wall 0.050") which works fine once you get the remains of the silver tube out (a pain), but it's a real devil to drill a hole in and no more resistant to corrosion that teflon tubing.

I believe you can also use the spray tube off a can of WD-40 or somthing like that if you sand it down to fit, but I think David's tubing is really the way to go. That's what I would have done, except I'd already bought the SS when he told us he had the plastic.

Peter

check the nib, maybe the tip is uneven, one up and one down.

Hmm. I think I'll get some 0.045" SS thinwall next time then -- the 0.050" is a VERY tight fit. I'll have to make a jig to drill it then, but once in the SS tubing is great.

Try some fine sandpaper to hold the plastic, or a rubber gripper pad for opening jars -- it's likely rather slippery on top of being floppy.

Peter