I just "won" (funny how they make it sound like you won the lottery or something) a 1948 Parker "51" steel cap blue diamond clip vacumatic fountain pen, medium(ish) nib.

I have a very small collection at the moment (Pelikan M200, Lamy 2000, and Namiki VP), and thought it would be nice to have something a bit vintage. The price was $41, and it needs a new sac but otherwise is mint. I guess the seller makes a living by going to estate sales and then using ebay ...

Anyway, if anyone would like to share some information on this pen, I'd be interested in hearing it. I hope I made a good purchase for my first vintage pen.

Stephen

http://parker51.com/

Stephen, let me be the first among many to tell you that you got the BEST vintage pen for your first one. The price is about right, getting it re-sacced will probably run you $25 and you'll be using it for the next 50 years happily alongside your other pens (which form a quite nice bunch themselves). Richard Binder has a good profile on the Parker 51 (his personal favorite pen) in the "Reference Info" section of his site and quick turnaround on this pretty basic repair can be had at Pentiques or The PenDen. Watch yourself though, they say that Parker 51s are quite addictive and you can't have just one

Very nice pen!
I have a handful and thay all write very well.
None of mine (and I have soem older than yours) have needed to be resacked.
I have a new SE and it writes great too!
Congratulations. (and on the Lamy and VP, too)

Welcome to the dark side, 51's are addictive pens.

Bill

nmb said it, really, the "51" is the best pen of them all. (Note to the new "51" collector: Always put quotation marks around "51" except when you're talking about the modern 51 SE -- these are the ways Parker trademarked the names.)

Blue Cedar rules. If you've been around here any length of time at all, you've seen my postings with pix of my Blue Cedar "51". It's gone through something of a metamorphosis: when I got it, it was a single-jewel pen with Lustraloy cap whose clip has no Bue Diamond:



But I've always liked double-jewel pens better, so when the chance to convert my pen popped up, I took it:



But my ultimum desideratum in the pen world has always been a Blue Cedar with a sterling cap. While I haven't allowed that Lustraloy cap to escape, I've set it aside in favor of this cap:



This pen is one of the twelve "51"s in my collection, and my collection is small. You have taken the first step toward total assimilation. Welcome!

My blue "51" will soon be home! Just received a note from Barbara Binder that it and my MB are ready to return. What a great b'day present! (The blue one has a companion pencil that's been lonely for a long time.)

I have another "51" - a black one that I bought off the green board - that is probably my 2nd favorite writer. It was my fave until I got my Sheherazade.

Now the hard part - what to fill that gorgeous blue with? Maybe Noodler's Blue-Black? PR's Black Magic Blue? Maybe order some Diamine Prussian Blue just for it? Oh, the agony...

Here's an original Cedar Blue, double jewel (bottom is Al), Sterling Cap, Blue Diamond, no date stamp.


A (sort of) matching pencil and a new SE!

My advice is to avoid heavily saturated "boutique" inks like Noodler's, PR, or Levenger.

So that leaves the Diamine Prussian? Would Aurora Blue be all right? That is a beautiful blue, imo. Or Waterman violet? I love deep rich colors, so I might need to buy a couple more bottles of a less saturated ink (awww, darn ).

What's a good dark blue (that's not Noodler's, PR, or Levenger)?

Congratulations on your new acquisition. My first vintage pen was a Pelikan 140. My second vintage pen was an aerometric 51. Just like others have mentioned, I really like writing with the 51 and use it everyday. And yes, I think I am addicted to the 51 since I am already thinking about which model should be my next 51.

This makes me miss my Midnight Blue Aero very much . It's spending the winter with Richard, but I'm sure it will be well worth the wait! In the meantime, I have my own Cedar Blue/Sterling cap to keep me company. Only problem is this one has a midnight blue section - I need to find a cedar blue section to complete this beauty.

Yes, the Diamine inks have great characteristics and are, in my experience, very easy to flush and clean out of a pen, when necesary.

So Diamine 'Prussian Blue', 'Presidential Blue' LE, 'Blue-Black' (and maybe 'Indigo') and 'Imperial Purple' should fit.

Great pen you got there. I have a couple of vacumatics and a couple of aero filler - I swore I would get just one! Enjoy!

It's nice to hear that the warm fuzzies I got from the purchase are shared. What to ink it with is indeed a good question. Maybe this is a good reason to track down some Diamine royal blue.

Here is a picture of the pen from the auction:



Stephen

Welcome Stephen to the "51" addiction

Now although your pen looks very nice, it does look lonely to me, surely it needs a companion ?

What about a nice example of an Aero to go with it so that you can compare and contrast?

On the ink front, I use either Quink or Diamine in my "51"s. I do use more saturated ink in the Aeros sometimes, as they are easier to clean out.

Regards,

Jim

Diamine is good. Aurora is okay. If you like the Aurora color but want Waterman, try mixing Waterman Florida Blue and Waterman Violet. I use a 50/50 mix, and it has a color halfway between Aurora Blue and Tanzanite. Someone told me recently that he mixes 3 Florida Blue to 1 Violet and gets a color almost exactly like Aurora Blue.

Welcome to the addiction! Like a lot of other folks have already said, becareful. "51's" are very addictive. Some would say much worse than crack...lol. I don't think you could have starter off with a better color or model for your first "51". There is just something about that deep rich Bluecedar color I really dig & like Richard I love a sterling cap on it too. I would love to find a hand hammered silver cap for mine. I think that would REALLY set it off.

Here are a couple of pics of my new Sergio Kullock "51" reproduction in sterling silver. I managed to work a trade with a bud of mine to get this one. It's one of the very few pens I've ever connected with the instant my hands touched it. Have to say I'm in love here.






A close up of the pattern. MMMMMMMMM MMMMMM MMMMM! This pen is soooo nice.


If you need someone to restore your "51" drop me an email at penman09242aol.com. I'll be happy to help out.

Dennis

Dennis,

That is one terrific pen, I am a sucker for silver pens, just happen to have the silver caps though. That is a Super Flighter I reckon

What is about the Cedar Blue pens, with a silver cap they are something special.

As we are having a show and tell on "51"s here is the picture of my favorite Cedar Blue, a custom pen with copper rings and a polished silver cap made for me by Ralph Prather.



It is sitting filled with Quink Permanent Blue on my desk today, never seems to drop out of my rotation

Jim

Jim,

Zounds that's a killer "51" as well. Love the effect the rings bring to it. Is your cap smooth unlined silver?

"What is about the Cedar Blue pens, with a silver cap they are something special"

Not so much special as they just really appeal to me.
I'm a Sterling fan in general. Pretty much all I wear is sterling, from my big chunky 4oz. bracelet, my necklace with turn of the century whistle or my family masonic ring from the 20's that I was given when I was raised to master mason 10 years ago, all sterling.
There is just something about the way it glows when it's developed a light patina that speaks to me. Not the polished super shiny look but the patina you get from daily wear/use. I just dig it.

Dennis

Dennis,

As you are probably aware, the lined silver caps do not always fare so well. Once they lose their plating it is the long road to the scrap bin for many. But Ralph takes them if they are not too dented and turns them into the polished delight you see in the picture.

I just give it a quick wipe with a silver polishing cloth once in a while to keep it bright.

Seems that certain colours and caps go well, all personal taste, but the Cedar/Silver works well as does India Black/Gold. I also have an English Teal Blue with a rolled silver cap that looks good too.

Still think your Silver Flighter is the business though. I am a silver freak, I have a number of silver Victorian pocket watches that I use with a silver Albert, a silver money clip, silver bookmark and various other silver items, napkin rings, silvered dial clocks, etc. etc. One thing I don't wear are rings though, silver or not, comes from being a sailor, rings and rope don't mix. Not that I spend 24/7 on my boat, not that I would not like too, but I just don't wear a ring so I don't need to remember to take it off

Jim

If I ever buy a used pen, uhhmm I meant a vintage pen , it will be a Parker "51", but not because everyone claims it to be such a great pen. When I was a teen, I took over my mother's red "51" that she wasn't using anymore, but I somehow destroyed it . I can't remember whether I dropped it, cracked it, or flushed it with something I should not have used. I sometime still feel bad about it even though my mother couldn't care less about the pen. So that's why I might get one, perhaps even a red one

Hi Stylo,

Destroying a "51" eh! 50 lashes with the cat o nine tails for you then

Seriously, if you still have the remains around I am sure that it could be fixed. I bought a whole bunch of "51"s on 'fleabay' last year. There was a black example with a cracked hood, bent nib and a GF cap that somebody had used for a hammer. I sent it off to my pen repair guy with some other pens, thinking he could use it for spares. Back came a note, "hey Jim I can fix that for you", he removed the dents from the cap, sorted the nib and put a replacement hood on it. Result, what I thought was a heap of spares is now a nice upscale user.

Anyway, you should get a "51", everybody needs one or two about.

Jim

"As you are probably aware, the lined silver caps do not always fare so well. Once they lose their plating it is the long road to the scrap bin for many."

Yep, like many other 's I've seen my share of nasty looking lined sterling caps that have/are losing the plating. I never could think of a way to make them look much better w/o destroying the remnants of the plating or making it worse in geneal.

"But Ralph takes them if they are not too dented and turns them into the polished delight you see in the picture."

Thats just AWESOME! I REALLY need to get a lathe so i can try out some of the great projects i've been seeing over he past few months. I want to create works like this. I have so many ideas but just need the tools to get them in motion.

I have to ask, what does he charge for this? I dig that smooth look, very clean & elegant.


"Seems that certain colours and caps go well, all personal taste, but the Cedar/Silver works well as does India Black/Gold. I also have an English Teal Blue with a rolled silver cap that looks good too."

I couldn't agree with you any more than I do right now. Cedar/Silver & India Black/Gold are my all time 2 fav color/material combos with Cordovan Brown/lined gold as well. Well Mustard & the heritage caps are nice as is ANYTHING with an imperial cap....lol


"Still think your Silver Flighter is the business though."

Thanks again. I'm really proud of this one.

"I am a silver freak, I have a number of silver Victorian pocket watches that I use with a silver Albert, a silver money clip, silver bookmark and various other silver items, napkin rings, silvered dial clocks, etc. etc."

Same here. I prefer silver anything to gold for the most part. One of my nonpen grail items is a pair of necklaces with a coin from both the 1715 Plate Fleet & one fron the Atocha. (major treasure hunting/metal detecting junkie here)

"One thing I don't wear are rings though, silver or not, comes from being a sailor, rings and rope don't mix. ......"

I know exactly what you mean. When I was very young, I lived next to a kind older gent. who was missing a finger for that very reason. A rope caught it when he was on his boat & off it came. (YYYEEEOOUUCCHHH!!!!!)


Have a great day everyone!
Dennis

Funny you should mention my three favorite "51" color combos, and in the same order of preferencece, too. From my collection:







If I ever run across a hammered sterling cap, I'll offer it to you first. The hammered look on silver leaves me cold.

The Empire cap rules, but I don't care for Mustard. This is a pen I restored about a month ago:



There's a little tip envy here, the broad nib in that sucker was wicked nice when I'd realigned and smoothed it. <_<

We are talking about 22-25 years ago! But miracles do happen sometimes and I may one day discover it in some box. But I am not holding my breath for it

Btwy, it is only now that I did some poking around about sources for Parker "51s" and I found two sites: gopens and Rick Propas' Penguin, who both seem well established and well recognized vintage pen restorers/sellers. While I didn't have a chance to do any careful reading, I also discovered that there are all sorts of different models for the "51", including the demis that have a slightly shorter barrel.

Hi Dennis,

Don't know how much exactly Ralph would charge to do just the cap, I got the whole thing as a deal, I bought an unrestored Vac and he rebuilt it and made all the parts, I also traded him a GF cap for a Silver he had in stock, so best you ask him, he is going to LA I believe.

Hi Richard,

Re the hammered silver, it can look really good, but you just need it to develop the patina of old english, especially Commonwealth Silver, so that the high points are bright but the low points develop a tarnished sheen. Highly polished it just looks like 'why did you bother' I agree.

Just as a note to both of you Ralph Prather did mention to me that he was going to experiment with a hammered silver cap, don't know if he ever got there. He was really taken with Ernestos hammered copper cap and we did talk about it, but it went no further than that.

Jim

Hmmm, well I suppose if you rescue a few needy "51"s then you may be forgiven

Take a look at:

http://www.parker51.com/

and

http://www.wetinc.com/pens/

Both have loads of "51" stuff and pens for sale. I bought a "51" Flighter from Rick, he is a real gentleman, one of the good guys and I bought one from Ernesto on parker51.com too, another really helpfull guy. If you want more info on the range of "51"s then Richard's site has loads more stuff too. Now that Silver Flighter that Dennis has, that you just have to admire.

Jim

ENVY ENVY ENVY

Jim

Thanks a lot Jim. I had also stumbled on parker51.com, but not wetinc.com!

A question for anyone who is willing to answer it: when a "51" is listed as "never inked,", and if that is indeed true, how reliably can the seller (assuming an expert) claim that is is functional and that it won't need a restoration job after the first time I ink it?

Any seller who asserts tbat a never-inked pen is functional either doesn't know what he is talking about or is lying. It is impossible to know for certain, without inking it, whether a pen writes at all, let alone well. Blocked feed, scratchy nib, pinhole leak in diaphragm...

An honest knowledgeable seller will not claim more than that the pen appears to be in working order.

Richard,

Without trying to dance a jig on the head of a pin, wouldn't a water test confirm the filling action, as well as allow a general writing test while still maintaining the 'non-inked' classification? I recognize that the smoothness would likely be hard to judge with water, as it doesn't flow like ink, but, well, most of the pen's properties would have been demonstrated reasonably adequately.

Or would a collector lump water tested pens right there in with the inked ones on principle?

And how would a collector classify a pen tested in the factory before delivery? Is that inked by definition, or considered unused/uninked?

Gerry

What is the concern? Clogging or staining?

Richard,

Hope I don't sound too "green" but when you say that you "converted" your "51" to a double jewel, do you mean that you actually physically changed the pen; that you added the jewel to the pen in the first picture that you show? Or do you mean that you changed out the first pen for another pen that came into your possession?

Pat8

Hi Pat8,

Not that I answer for Richard, but I think he just switched the blind cap. Vac-filling 51s all have screw on blind caps over the filling plunger, and I think he swapped his standard one for one with a jewel on the back. Now if I could only find a jeweled blind cap

Regards,
Ryan

Ryan,

Thanks for the information. I'm learning. I've been wondering what a blind cap was and hadn't gotten that far in my reading. I've been trying to work through a page at a time at Richard's site.

Pat8

... and I hope that if he ever sells that particular "51" that he either:
1) returns it to its original condition, or
2) discloses to the Buyer that the pen has been altered to the double jewel & silver cap configuration.

Water cannot test flow because it is not as wet as ink. A pen that is set to write very dry may not even pretend to put water on the page.


Probably not. Ink contains non-water substances that simply cannot be entirely cleaned out of a pen without disassembling it. You can come very close, but I'll lay you odds that no matter how thorough you are about flushing -- or even cleaning ultrasonically -- I can find ink in the pen after you're done.


Why do you think so many pens don't work well out of the box? Most condition collectors of new pens do not want pens that have ever touched ink, so manufacturers save costs by not testing them. It's like collectible firearms. The John Wayne Colt .45 ACP shipped untested. Had even a single round been fired through it at the factory, it would have been necessary to tear the weapon down to component parts, clean everything -- and I mean everything, because cordite can get into every crack and orifice during the recoil/ejection cycle -- and replace the barrel because you can't remove the wear caused by the bullet. Replacing the barrel, of course, means that you'd have to test-fire it again...

I have the original blind cap and cap. They'd go on the pen were I ever to sell it. (You will notice that I have phrased the previous sentence in the subjunctive. Language mavens are free to explain the meaning of that phrasing to the uninitiated. )

You selling that commemorative 1911?

Richard -

Could your 51 have left the factory in its current configuration? Does that answer matter?

I guess I'm not familiar with the what blind caps were available in which years.

Yes, it could, given that in 1946 the "51" was available in a double-jeweled Blue Cedar version with a lined sterling cap.

Does it matter? Yes, it does. I'm anal retentive enough that I don't want my pens -- with a couple of specific exceptions such as my Filcao Columbia, which I've refitted with a very nice 14K nib -- to be in configurations that could not have been sold at retail.

That's what I thought, but I wanted to state it in a less direct way, in case I was missing something

Edit: PS: I must confess that after a more careful reading of the description of the pens I saw on a site that thankfully I did not name, it is clearly mentioned on the first page that the guarrantee of getting a functional pen is only for the restored pens and that never-inked pens are not tested. This should have been quite obvious to me and I should have sought this info more carefully.

So now we know which type of collector is our ennemy

You are now an addict.
It is possible to have lots of pens but once you've got your hands on a 51 there is no turning back.
Frank Dubiel also refers to it as the greatest pen ever made in "Da Book"
I have Duofolds, Pelis, VPs, MBs, Auroras etc but
I only have one Parker 51 - a teal/lustraloy that I was given by a dearly loved uncle many years ago.
Oh, sorry forgot about the black/lustraloy vac.
...& the G/F set
...& the blue diamond silver capped one that's on its way to Daniel K for treatment
and....

You see what you've gotten yourself into ??

ENJOY !!