Parker 51 Special Edition 2002

[bluemax]

Hi

 

I picked up a P51 SE a while back and have discovered that it has a crack in the head unit, & subsequently leaks like a sieve. I've tried calling and emailing parker several times and have had no responses.

 

I figure that If I can get the nib unit out, I can probably seal the unit myself, but cannot work out how to do this. Has anyone got any ideas?

 

thanks

 

Bren

[MYU]

Hi

 

I picked up a P51 SE a while back and have discovered that it has a crack in the head unit, & subsequently leaks like a sieve. I've tried calling and emailing parker several times and have had no responses.

 

I figure that If I can get the nib unit out, I can probably seal the unit myself, but cannot work out how to do this. Has anyone got any ideas?

 

thanks

 

Bren

Hi Bren,

 

I wrote to Parker about the exact same problem, but I did get a response (it was the USA office). The first issue of these pens had very thin barrels that cracked quite noticeably soon after use. I had gotten mine replaced shortly after acquiring the pen--they were friendly about it and accommodated me rather quickly. Now, over a year later, I've discovered the nib section cracked as well (darn people didn't replace BOTH parts, as they should have). I hardly used the pen too, so it's definitely a manufacturing defect. Anyway, I heard back from them and they will service the pen for free as long as I can either provide a receipt copy or the warranty booklet. Otherwise there's a charge. I'm going to call them up anyway... I expect the nib hood should unscrew just as on the original (I haven't tried it for fear of making the crack worse). It would be cheaper for Parker (Sanford) to just mail the part, rather than taking the time to service the pen directly. I'm hoping I can get them to do it.

 

Regards,

~Gary

[Richard]

I expect the nib hood should unscrew just as on the original (I haven't tried it for fear of making the crack worse).

It won't. These pens were not made with the intention that they would ever be repaired, and the section assembly is fused together. As is typical with modern Parker products, the company has neither the parts nor the personnel to repair an existing unit. The only option is a complete swap.

 

Parker's attitude is that even the nib by itself is not a replaceable part. When I asked about removing the nib from a Parker 100 to repair it, they told me emphatically that the nib could not be removed without damaging the pen. When I later told them that I had developed a tool to remove the 100's nib without damage and asked if they were interested in my tool, they were rather curt in telling me they were not at all interested and that "tampering" with the pen in that way would void the warranty.

[MYU]

Hi Richard - thanks for filling us in. Wow, I am really quite shocked that Parker took this tact with their pen designs. Section assembly fused together? What an awful design. No wonder why this company has slipped off the proverbial cliff.

 

I bought the 51 LE specifically to have the Empire Cap--no other reason. But given this revelation of a mostly non-user serviceable pen, that I won't be able to replace the basic parts on, I'm very cooled off on ownership. I'm now doubting that they'll even honor the supposed "lifetime" warranty in the long run. Time to sell this thing.

Edited May 15, 2007 by MYU

[psfred]

It's all about cheap guys, nothing else. Quality doesn't count, service doesn't count, customer satisfaction doesn't count, just unit price and high profit.

 

Machine assembled, never touched by human hands until you open the box, not inspected other than an occasional glance at the line, and made for replace ony service to save money. If it doesn't work, there's the trash can.....

 

Welcome to the Global Economy!

 

Peter

[andyk]

I quite like Parkers and am a little shocked by this, I bought a Vista Blue one on Ebay last year mainly because I liked the look of them and managed to get it quite cheap around £60 from memory.

 

My brother in law had bought one about 12 months earlier (paid about £130) and asked me to check the pen out as he thought it was a bit 'light' compared with an original 51 which had been stolen and wondered if it was a fake, able to reassure him that modern materials were lighter than the old ones and I was convinced it was genuine.

 

Must admit I haven't inked mine but looks fine, but by the sounds of it a pen to look at rather than use which is a great shame as I like to use my pens.

 

Glad I didn't pay anything like retail for it and might explain why you can still pick them up relatively cheaply, amazing the poor quality given the price (at least full retail which was £250) and the publicity when it first came out, will be interesting to see what happens with warranty claims.

 

A few weeks back i sent a couple of Sheaffer Balance IIs back (a BP & FP) because the caps had cracked BP had cap replaced, but as they didn't have spares for the FP they sent me a new one in a different colour and returned the orignal which is still quite usable just need to be careful about clipping it to things in case the crack gets worse, can't imagine Parker sending me Duofold if they can't fix the 51, but then who knows.

[bluemax]

Thanks for the info all, I'll try mailing them again.

 

The good news is that I do have the gaurantee Certificate, but I wonder if they will still have the spares after all this time?

 

regards

 

Bren

[bluemax]

Latest -

 

Actually spoke to them yesterday. They want me to return it to their repair team. They didn't say if they could fix it or had spares, but I guess I should get it over too them.

 

I'll keep you all posted

 

Bren