Greetings All,

I am new to the FP world and loving it; thanks for this wonderful forum. I have recently acquired 2 Parker 51s. One, a cedar blue "Special", is in almost perfect condition and writes very well but the med. octanium nib is bent up slightly (I got the pen for $15). I like the way it writes and do not plan on selling the pen. Would you advise leaving this alone? How much would it cost to have a pro bend it down? Should I try to bend it with a padded needle nose plier (I am somewhat handy and have just restored my first Sheaffer Touchdown and have ground and smoothed an italic nib on an iridium nib pen from Europe)? What is the risk factor of hurting the nib on the 51?

The other 51, a burgundy gold cap with fine nib, is also in great condition and writing well--I got it friday night at a flea market for $5 , along with a nice Sheaffer Craftsman lever-filler that needs restoration (also $5). The cap has about 6 small dings in it. It is a beautiful pen that I might sell, but I do like the fine nib for making notes in the margins of books. At first I thought it might have a breather tube problem, but I adjusted the nib and the flow seems to be very nice now. I know that getting dings out is a real pro job. Has anyone had success doing this yourself? If so, how did you do it? How much can I expect to get for such a pen if I do decide to sell it?

George

On the first pen I'd just leave it alone as long as its writing well. You'll be opening yourself up to a world of problems trying to bend the nib back into shape. It would prolly be cheaper to just buy a new nib than have that one worked on by a pro, nib work isn't that cheap, but 51 special nibs aren't that expensive.

You might be able to reduce a couple of the dents on the second pen with a chopstick or wooden dowel, as long as they are in the space between the inner cap and the clutch, but really thats not a job thats very approachable without the right (and expensive) tools and some experience. I would guess that you could get 45-60$ for that pen, assuming that its in good condition besides the dents. You got a pretty sweet deal for 5$.

Thanks, Pete. I appreciate the feedback.