Looking For An Unfashionable Good Writer - Parker 45? 21?

[ac12]

BTW, to me, the popular Lamy 2000 looks like an overgrown Parker 45; longer, fatter and heavier.

So, from that perspective, the Parker 45 is still a "today" pen.

[amk]

Parker 45 - reliable, indestructible, I've had ones that looked dire and yet after a bit of an external cleanup and a good soak for the section, were writing as if they'd just come out of the box. Huge variety of nibs available (I have seen a very broad italic and stupidly didn't get it, at a pretty low price. Sometimes I can be too stingy for my own good). Expensive in some of the colours and steel versions, but the basic black is often cheap as chips.

 

Parker 65 - no one seems to love this one. I have a couple and they write beautifully. Will cost a bit more than the 45 and there aren't so many around, but they are worth it for the good solid shape, and the unusual nib which seems, to me, more like a Lamy design than the usual Parker.

 

Parker Slimfold - a steal. Really lovely nibs. Quite a small pen, but solid. Aero filling, robust, what's not to like? (Found one in a box of junk for a single euro a while back, and for some reason, job lots of pens that I buy often seem to have a Slimfold in - always burgundy! My father has one, too - again in burgundy! will I ever see a black one?)

 

Parker 21 - they may be lovely pens but they are prone to chipping and cracking. I have often seen them with part of the hood missing, which is really ugly.

[pajaro]

The slimfold is a really good pen. The ones I had were too wet and medium for me, but that's what many people like. They were inexpensive. I wished they had been finer.

[Bentlink]

I really like my high-mileage 45. I've bought a handful of 21's and manage to mix-and-match 3 serviceable pens. They write very nicely, and cost about the same as a happy-meal. I think the look much better than the 45, but that's just my taste...

[inkstainedruth]

ISR --

I agree and don't agree. 61's are really nice pens, and to the extent that my experience of owning 4 over time is at all representative, I'd say the capillary ones are just too finicky with ink and require too much maintenance. As you note, they are wonderful if you stay with the same ink, but for me that's too much to ask, so I keep selling them off (may keep the one I have, a Legacy, for awhile, though). 51s suffer the same issue to a much lesser degree -- they are hard to empty completely and a job to flush, but it takes a few minutes rather than the forever it seems to take to flush a 61. Finally, you can have a 51 go dry and put it away, then use it again easily. Capillary 61's need to be rehydrated first, then flushed of the water, then filled. Aerometric 61's are a great answer, for sure, and eliminate the maintenance issues. I've never had one of those, though.

Also, all four of my 61's have been dry writers. Two only ran on Eel ink, and the other two needed Waterman's or Aurora, nothing even a little thick or dry. This is not a disqualifier for me, but it adds to the finicky-ness quotient.

 

 

Tim

I haven't found that to be the case with at least the one 61 (haven't tried the other one out since it got it's final flush). I didn't know the capillary fillers had to be rehydrated. So I didn't. I just put in Eclat de Sapphir, figuring it would be a relatively trouble-free ink. And every now and then I refill it when it seems to run dry. It sat for about six months after the old ink was finally flushed out, before I pulled it out a month or so ago. And so far the pen is working great.

I haven't tried any of the Aerometric 61s either. But IMO, if I was to go that route, I'd just get another 51 and be done with it. I got the first 61 simply *because* I thought the capillary filler system seemed kinda neat. And then picked up the second one just because the first one wrote pretty well on whatever I was flushing out of it (looked to be some sort of black or blue-black in each one of the pens).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[pajaro]

A chacun son gout.

[ximhot]

I find that each Parker model has its distinctive writing character and it is hard to say which one writes the best. A great deal is dependent on the type of paper, your writing style, and the size of letter. Sometimes a 45 works better than a Duofold, but it doesn't mean that it is better than a Duofold. It would be best if you can have a few to try them out. I have Duofold, 51, 21, 75, 45, Slimfold, Vector, Sonnet, and I love them all.

 

If you can post some writing samples, people maybe able to give you better suggestion. If your lines have no variation, then the hard (flex-less) nibs like the 51, 21, Vector, may suit you better. If you like some variation, then the Sonnet maybe to your liking. Simply put, no perfect pen. You can only try and only your experience counts.

[FLZapped]

I have 21s, 45s, and a 75. The 45 is a workhorse and better than the others in my opinion when it comes to actual writing. It is also easy to maintain. My medium 45 has the smoothest nib of all my pens, including a modern Duofold.

 

-Bruce

[richardandtracy]

Parker 61 c/c = nib as good/better than a P51, without the inconvenience of a capillary filler.

They seem to go for a little more than a P45, but I am very partial to them. I have a P65, and it is a really good pen too. However I always expect more flex than I get from the nib. Cap & barrel of the later P65 & c/c P61 are interchangeable.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[pajaro]

As you go up the Parker ladder to higher priced pens, they generally get much better.

 

Super 21s pretty good except for the reputation of the plastic.

 

Parker 45s I can barely get to skip along.

 

51, 61 . . .way better.

 

21 and 45 should be quite fashionable, as the hoi poloi can easily afford them.

[mitto]

Right now I am using a green 21 super that came with a gold 51 stub nib. Plastic quality aside the super 21 is truly a little brothr of P51.

[Runnin_Ute]

Well lets see....

 

I am a big fan of the 45. Right now I have a desk pen, a Flighter (and another on its way from the UK) and two others. A black one with Octanium nib and a burgundy with gold nib The burgundy made a trip through the wash and now has a large hole in the barrel. Still writes as good as before that happened. I just need to get a new burgundy barrel. (or a parts pen I can get one from)

 

I also have a 51 Special - you can get one of these for about $50 in good shape (mine was just under shipped) it doesn't get near the use my 45's do.

 

I even have the 45 Flighter in ballpoint and mechanical pencil. That is where I fell in love with the 45 - with the ballpoint in Flighter style. I have other Parker bps - and mps - every one is a Flighter.

 

And my 45's write better than my 51 Special.

Edited September 10, 2015 by Runnin_Ute

[pajaro]

An interesting pen you might try is a Parker Insignia. I have bought never used Insignias for under $30 US. Insignia uses a gold plated nib unit interchangeable with Sonnet. You can put 18K Sonnet nib units into them if you want to. Many have gold plated caps, some have lacquered caps. You can find ballpoints and rollerballs also. These are somewhat unfashionable and not run of the mill Parkers. They work pretty well, but you might have Sonnet-like issues if you don't keep them in use or let them dry out with ink in them. Then you have to do some rinsing out to get them to start. Just like a number of other modern C/C pens.

[ink-syringe]

A better fit for your answer than all those already given, BY FAR is the Parker VS. In fact your post almost perfectly describes the VS.

 

The 45, 21, 51, etc. etc. & co. are supercharged rocco futuretastic sexy whatever pens compared to the blandest thing Parker ever produced. It is like someone at parker asked a child to draw a generic pen with no distinguishable features and then gave it to their plant to produce. It is stale white break with no crust. They didn't even bother to put the arrow clip on it.

 

It also happens to be a pretty good writer.

[ink-syringe]

Srsly, at the risk of seeming like a jerk IGNORE EVERY OTHER ANSWER given. I am telling you the exact answer to your query is the VS.

 

Look at this thing. Nothing on the nib at all but Parker. No scrolls no heart breather hole, look that barrel and cap. Totally bland and generic.

 

The only interesting thing about the pen is hidden (the button).

 

A very odd outing by Parker. I oddly like it but it is the most generic pen of the era, but it writes like many other open nib pens by Parker of the time. It's fantastic but it is a no-fills as a mid century pen can get.

 

 

http://www.penhero.com/365_2010/ParkerVS80001.jpg

 

 

[ink-syringe]

Honestly they could have call this model "the pen"

 

Though VS is also plenty generic and boring. I swear the had a contest at the Parker headquaters. Someone held up a 51 and a Vacumatic and said, take everything interesting about these 2 pens and remove them. The person who comes up with the most generic nondescript pen wins an extra week's vacation. Bonus points for bland name to match.

 

[pajaro]

The VS does look like a lot of cheaper pens. I had one once but I thought it looked too much like a Wearever I bought for 29 cents when I was in the fourth grade. It might be a good writer, and it would satisfy the criteria quite well. Blingless, but having a dedicated following, I absolutely guarantee I will not buy another VS. Surely unfashionable but efficient.

[Chouffleur]

I just took a quick look at eBay and saw Parker VS in this range $29.99 - $150.00 (following my usual practice of ignoring all GORGEOUS pens from Turkey - otherwise the top would be $250.00).

 

Since there is a definite bling deficiency, what is the part of the pen to zero in on when looking at pictures? The shape of the clip? I'm looking for a distinguishing characteristic that tells me "this is a VS" on an unidentified eBay listing with a blurry picture.

 

Thanks

Edited September 11, 2015 by Chouffleur

[pajaro]

I just took a quick look at eBay and saw Parker VS in this range $29.99 - $150.00 (following my usual practice of ignoring all GORGEOUS pens from Turkey - otherwise the top would be $250.00).

 

Since there is a definite bling deficiency, what is the part of the pen to zero in on when looking at pictures? The shape of the clip? I'm looking for a distinguishing characteristic that tells me "this is a VS" on an unidentified eBay listing with a blurry picture.

 

Thanks

 

I would suggest learning the shape of the VS or keeping an easily accessible picture of it, electronic or a print.

 

With blurred ebay pictures you are on your own. Sometimes you cannot tell what is in the picture.

[Cryptos]

I have one Parker 45 left. It's a Kullock. I do not use it. At all. I also have only one Parker 51 aero left. I do not use this one either. While both will lay down a consistent line for miles and miles, they are not what I am looking for.

 

Why does your quest have to be for an unfashionable Parker?

 

I think the 51 is a nondescript pen. It certainly would not attract any attention from people who know nothing of pens.

 

Soon as I can get rid of mine, they're gone.

Edited September 12, 2015 by Empty_of_Clouds