Hello. I have signed up here solely for the purpose of either diagnosing the leakage problem in my 1945 Parker 51, or finding the right other person/store to do so.

I'm a textbook editor, among other things, in Columbus, OH. I have used fountain pens for several years (primarily a green Waterman), and discovered the Parker 51 when I found one left by my grandfather in his desk on the day of his funeral. Now it's my favorite pen for daily use; but not wanting to put much more wear on my grandfather's pen (it has his name on the side), I've been looking for a 51 to use in its place each day. I have, however, gone through several of them to find the one that writes and feels right for me, which this 1945 model seems to be. Now that I've found it, it has suddenly begun leaking.

I know how to repair many things, particularly electronic musical instruments, so I'm frustrated in not being able to fix a pen. But I know my limitations and don't want to ruin a great pen by disassembling it without knowing what I'm doing. So I will start reading up around here first!

Hello! Welcome to FPN!

It's interesting how many times we hear of folks coming to this forum after finding or inheriting a vintage fountain pen from one of their parents or grandparents. Using an older pen is a great way of connecting with the past.

In regards to your grandfather's Parker 51, I'd say to just leave it alone and send it off to a good FP repairperson. Fountain pens are reasonably complex items, and unless you have experience in dealing with them, it is fairly easy to ruin a pen. In my previous hobbies, I eventually learned to

1) disassemble a bicycle down to the individual parts
2) disassemble and reassemble a variety of computers, both desktop and laptop

However, none of those skills are transferrable to the disassembly and repair of a vintage fountain pen, so I have left most of those repairs up to the experts.

Good luck and welcome to the party!

TMann

Absolutely. My college study was in history, so I'm already predisposed to this kind of connection with objects from my family's past. The one that my grandfather used (quite a bit, apparently; my father remembers the pen well) is safely put away in my desk, which is why I've tried out several other 51s over the last couple of years. The leaky one I have now feels and writes the best of any of them, so it's worth it to me to get it repaired.

So thanks for the tip. I will look for a pro to check it out. It just goes against my nature; if I can take apart and rebuild an old tube amplifier, why can't I figure out how to open up a pen? Again, it's all about realizing my limitations!

You could do a search of these forums to find names of good FP repair people. Or you could just wait and see what responses you get to this thread.

Anyone out there have any suggestions for our new member about where to send his P51?

TMann

If you're patient, Richard Binder does great work, but his lead time is quite long as he is booked solid. Last I heard it was around 13 weeks. He can be reached at www.richardspens.com. In addition, we have some of our very own who are very qualified, but I'll let them speak for themselves.

Welcome to our little corner of the wierd and wacky web!

I'd start with Binder as well. Although there is usually a wait. He's scheduled at least 9-10 weeks out

Hello Palthegiraffe and welcome to the FPN.

My original major in college was history, but I switched and became an English major, but kept history as my minor. I have always been interested in my family's history and find it hard to throw away old mementos, especially pens.

I have used Richard Binder before and he IS the standard, in my book when it comes to modern and vintage pen repair. I recently sent him two pens, a modern Waterman Expert II and vintage Sheaffer Snorkel. I just just about ready to give up on the former of the two, but after it came back from Richard, it writes like a hot knife in butter: extremely smooth! I feel you can't go wrong with him, and neither can your Parker 51.

Hi, There are several pen repair people who have done wonderful work for me, on vintage pens. I have not used Richard Binder, but his credentials, reputation, etc are impeccable. For Parker pens, I have had several repaired by Ron Zorn of Main Street Pens, several by Joel Hamilton and some done by Rick Propas. I have been very satisfied by the work done by all of them and in addition, they have quite rapid turnover. I think that there are great repair folks out there.
I am sure that you will have success with the repairs--there is nothing like a perfectly-writing fountain pen, either vintage or modern. Fountain pens have to write much better than the disposables out there or are put in a desk drawer to be left unused.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I was able to contact the person from whom I purchased the pen, and he has offered to take care of the repair. So hopefully the 51 will be writing again soon!

In its absence? Call me uncultured, but I'm happily using a green Parker 21 as my day-to-day pen. While it was the "student"/inexpensive model in its day, it's quite a smooth writer and is very comfortable. Plus, its shade of green is nostalgic in that pre-1975 hospital/government building/church office kind of way.

So sorry for the late welcome!

Welcome to FPN, palthegiraffe!

Please let us know how the Parker 51 repair turned out. Even though they may not seem very complex (most are really not), some pens can be very tricky to repair! You need the right tools, the right technique, lots of patience...and some luck, too. I think my main worry when I try to resack a pen is that I will break something. If a pen belonged to someone dear to me, I would send it to a repairperson unless it was very easy to fix....

Hi,

Welcome to the forums!

Dillon