The Parker "51" appreciation thread

[Keith with a capital K]

It's funny that a guy like me who works on so many Parker 51's so rarely slips one in the pocket... but I did just that yesterday.

 

These are an incredibly nice pen especially if you are looking for a dependable and nearly bulletproof pen. Their nibs aren't anything like the stubs, cursive italics, and flexible nibs I enjoy so much but they are still great writers. Another nice point is that even though they have increased in value they are still a better value than many moderns.

 

I filled this midnight blue (aero) and lustraloy 51 with Noodller's Legal Lapis as a bulletproof pen needs bulletproof ink that is a close match.

 

Perhaps I should slip the cedar and sterling vac in the pocket today as well... it had a custom stub and is filled with Capital blue so it's a little more thrilling to write with.

 

I bet I'm not the only person out there with a "51" in my pocket today...

[Maja]

Oh, you'll think of something, I'm sure, Rob

 

Rob, I have to agree with you on the Parker 51....It's dependable as heck, but personally I can't get past that hooded nib...I don't know...I want to see the end of the writing instrument I am holding in my hand and using! Parker 51 caps can be lovely though....

 

Not much of an entry for a P51 appreciation thread, sorry Keith....I am sure you will get many more people with nicer things to say, though

 

--Maja

 

PS. My favourite Art Deco building in New York is the Chrysler Building as well!

[Keith with a capital K]

Rob -

 

This may come as a shock but I am pretty much in agreement with everything you said and share many of the same tastes as you do and believe that I was born many decades too late.

 

I don't think I said the 51 was visually exciting as although they are nice to look at, they aren't going to be pageant winners when they're placed alongside many other conventional fountain pens.

 

As far as Patricians go, there are few pens that could be placed along side them and steal any of their spotlight.

 

The appeal of the 51 to me is it's simplicity of external design and fact that it is simply a great (albeit a little boring) pen to write with.

 

I do have an Eversharp Skyline with an uber flexy nib in the pocket too in case I'm in a thrill seeking mood later on.

 

[Karin]

Well, we certainly do seem to agree, Rob and Maja and Keith. I have a beautiful aeromatic with a smooth medium nib that I keep thinking of selling, but I just can`t bring myself to do it. I have trouble writing for extended periods with the hooded nib. I find it hard to stay with the "sweet spot" It`s just too teeny a nib for me. My vintage Aurora 88 is the right size of hooded for me. :ph34r:

[georgem]

As chance would have it, today I put my 51 Aero in my pocket. It has Waterman Black ink in it and has an extra fine nib.

 

It's been a thoroughly dependable writer, and I can say that with some authority since it is one of the vintage pens that were new when I got 'em!!!

 

I'm not old enough to remember the 1930's, although FDR was president when I was born.

 

I do agree that the art deco buildings and ornamentation of the era is quite elegant. Who knows?? We may even see a resurgence of neo deco (??!!)

[Guest Denis Richard]

Nodding...

 

I really love the design of my "51". I think the Cedar Blue and Sterling association is stunning. But like Karin (I love your re-designed avatar, btw) I have a hard time having a long writing session with it. Somehow it keeps rolling and I lose the sweet spot. I guess, like Maja, I miss the visual interaction with the nib. My motor skills are not the best (which makes my wife laugh to tears when I try to "dance" ).

 

I sometimes think there is something wrong with me that I can't use it efficiently. But I guess it is the tool that should adapt, not me.

[AlexS]

Please consider this an emoticon indicating attempted humor.

 

 

Dear List Members,

 

I must say that I am shocked, appalled, confounded, flabbergasted and thunderstruck (but not quite speechless) at the damning with faint praise of the Parker 51 in this thread!

 

Though the 51 deserves a better defender, I will attempt to respond to the insidious attacks to which it has been subjected in previous posts!

 

Let us take them one at a time.

 

How does the Parker 51 compare aesthetically with other pens? Beauty, of course, is in the eye of the beholder. Still, the mind boggles at a preference for those tawdry, frenetic, overblown pieces of pocket jewelry from the W sisters over the clean functional lines and understated beauty of the 51. The quintessential example of less is more, using only a few colors and a relatively small number of cap variations, the 51 transforms itself into everything from the quietly functional to the formally elegant. It's hard to imagine even a low-end Patrician or OS Doric in everyday use (it would be a distraction if nothing else) but a high-end 51 is quite at home in the pocket of royalty.

 

Beyond the visual the 51 shows even greater superiority. Compare the smooth, solid, sensuous feel of the 51 with the lumpy, irritating texture of those other pens, replete as they are with harsh angles and the jagged edges of extraneous bands, medallions and other frippery. And the balance - how many other pens balance as well posted as not?

 

Are they boring? For the aesthetic aspect of this see above, for the functional aspect read on. The *function* of those "exciting" pens was to impress people and they did that well. Did they write? Who cared? Would they last ten minutes if actually carried in a pocket (if you could find a big enough pocket to hold them)? Immaterial! The Krones of their day, their only real function was to say "Nyah, nyah, nyah. Look how rich I am." In contrast, from one end of the line to the other, 51s were made to put words on paper. And to continue doing so for years and years without fuss, without bother, without disintegrating if looked at sideways. Well, I suppose that *is* boring. Why, I'm told that even today you can post the cap of a 51 without the the exciting possibilities that it will either crack or leave unsightly ring around the barrel. Radical or boring - yours the decision.

 

As for those who have trouble with the hooded nib I have only this to say - invest in a good pair of contacts or else clean your glasses. I have spent an enormous amount of time fruitlessly trying to hold a 51 in such a way that I couldn't see the tip. My goodness, the whole front of the pen is designed to lead your eye to the nib tip. A bonus is that you are unlikely to be blinded by light reflected from an enormous expanse of gold and/or platinum placed just where you must look while writing.

 

Now we come to the real area of superiority of the Parker 51 - Values. The 51 exemplifies those values so dear to the hearts of all true Americans. *Thrift* - Those fine, dry-writing nibs conserve ink, that very lifeblood of our democracy. Contrast their ink usage with the profligate ink use of the wet-writing, broad, italic and especially wet-noodle flexible nibs of the so-called exciting pens. Don't even get me started on the topic of paper wastage due to use of those same nibs. *Egalitarianism* - You do know what the exciting nib indicates don't you? No? Well, I'll tell you, it tells you that the owner doesn't really need to write! And if they do write they can take all the time in the world to compose even the shortest note. Elitism in its purist form. *Family* - Which pen would you be more likely to let your 4-year old use? Be honest now. *Ingenuity* - collector,clutch; 'nuff said. "Prudence" - is it really prudent to use a pen that will go off like a bottle rocket if it gets within three feet of an open flame? I could go on and on.

 

By now I am sure that any open-minded person will be convinced that not only is the Parker 51 far superior to those "exciting" pens referred to by its detractors but that owning any of "that type" of pen is indicative of a severely flawed character or at best imperils the owners moral fiber. As a special service to those unfortunate enough to own such pens, and, I may add, at great risk to my own precious bodily fluids er, I mean moral fiber, I am prepared to relieve them of their burden. Contact me off-list and I will tell you where you may send them for proper disposal.

 

 

With most affectionate regards,

 

Disgusted in the Heartland

 

 

PS - If I have failed to offend any on the list please let me know how I might do so and I will attempt to edit the above so that you may be included.

[Keith with a capital K]

Alex,

 

Brilliant!

 

Please consider submitting this post to Denis in the Articles forum in the form of a contest entry.

 

Cheers!

 

Keith

[KCat]

ooops, alex. Not offended here.

 

i might disagree with you on all points... but I'm not offended.

 

seriously though - i'm in the "booooooring" camp but beyond that find no fault with these pens. Well, that and they've gone up in price just since I started reading pen groups about 3 years ago making them less a value than they were. I can get a very fine, stingy line that will last forever from a VP.

 

(or should I say nyah nyah nyah)

[Gerry]

Hey Rob...

 

Were those prices generally all in the same period, or is the '51 cost 10's of years later?

 

Wouldn't want inflation to account for the extra $2.50

 

Satire? What satire?

 

Gerry

 

PS: You forgot to quote an Esterbrook price....

[Keith with a capital K]

Rob,

 

You have to put some of those prices into context as the Oversize Wahl-Eversharp Doric , Waterman Patrician, and Waterman 100 Year Pen all pre-date the "51" and had they been sold in the same era, they probably would have cost more than the Parker "51".

 

My grandfather was making 25 cents an hour when the Patrician was released so a pen like this would have cost him a week's pay.

 

The Parker "51" was always a top of the line pen that also cost a great deal of money in it's day.

 

When the Parker "51" was released a registered nurse was making $17.00 a week and my mom recalls making $15.00 a week in 1950. My neighbour was an auto mechanic in 1950 and recalls that he was making $20.00 a week and had a mortgage payment of $80.00 per month. A PArker "51" would not have been in his budget.

 

Similarly, the Eversharp Skyline and Sheaffer Snorkel were also vying for top spot with the Parker "51" and these pens sold for similar prices. The Skyline was the top selling pen in the mid 40's if my information on this is correct and it was not what one would consider economical.

 

None of these pens were marketted at a price that made them readily available to the masses and common folk may have treated themselves to pens like Esterbrooks and lower priced Sheaffers,Parkers, Watermans, and Eversharps.

 

There's a reason why there are so many third tier pens like Wearevers out there and this is because these were the pens people could afford. Even the Wearever Zenith cost $1.95 whrn it was released in 1945 so if you were making 40 cents an hour in 1945 then you'd be looking at spending nearly half a day's pay on a pen like this.

 

In the present day, pens like "51"s, Snorkels, and Skylines are excellent values when you compare them to their modern competition. Nice examples of all can be found in the < $50.00 range and $50.00 won't buy you much in the way of a top quality new pen at all.

[KendallJ]

So let's see. If the average person makes $40K/yr. That's ~800/week or $160/day. So does that mean that today's $160 pen is still more accessible than yesterdays $12.50 pen was? (1 days wage vs. 1 weeks wage?) worth thinking about. Don't get me wrong, I'm still glad for mass pens, but certainly puts even today's higher priced pens in perspectives.

 

Course if you wanted to spend a weeks wage on a pen, you could probably afford that Namiki maki-e you've been wanting

[Maja]

Alex,

 

Brilliant!

 

Please consider submitting this post to Denis in the Articles forum in the form  of a contest entry.

 

Cheers!

 

Keith

I agree! Great stuff, Alex!

 

As for the "average" salary being $40 K....Well, perhaps the median salary would be more useful (in comparing what % of one's weekly salary a moderately-priced pen would cost)...Just a thought...The U.S. has a lot of millionaires and billionaires whose salaries would skew the figures (Mind you there are a lot of wealthy pen collectors out there, too )

[KendallJ]

Actually, if you look at the latest data, tthe US has a huge burgeoning middle class who would actually [/i]shift the average. The growing Poor - Rich wealth gap is a myth. (and if I go any farther I'd have to move the thread to Chatter so I'll stop at that)

[AlexS]

ooops, alex.  Not offended here.

 

i might disagree with you on all points... but I'm not offended.

Siiiighh! Well, I gave it my best shot.

 

Alex

[AlexS]

Hi All,

 

Thanks very much for the kind words, glad you enjoyed the post.

 

Rob - Sure the 51 cost a little more (if only in cheap '41 dollars ). After all, they had to pay for all that R&D didn't they? Oops, sounds sorta familiar, doesn't it?

 

Kendall - Thanks very much, I'm sure, for reminding me how much below average I am.

 

Seriously, we are very fortunate to live in a time and place(s)where so many well made pens that write well are available for so little.

 

Alex

[AlexS]

Hi, Alex,

 

Siiiighh! Well, I gave it my best shot. biggrin.gif

 

If you want I can give you lessons. I offend EVERYBODY!

 

Take care,

 

Rob Astyk

Thanks Rob, it's always an honor to sit at the feet of the master.

 

Alex

[Maja]

I think I mentioned this on another thread already but....I got the impression based on what I've read and heard from older fountain pen users that in "the old days", people only had 1 or 2 fountain pens....Perhaps paying (proportionally) more for a very good pen made up for the extra expense.... (does that make any sense? ) I mean if they didn't have ballpoints back then and pencils wouldn't do, what could one do, besides carry around a dip pen and a bottle of ink? I would think that a "portable" fountain pen was almost a necessity for many adults...In that case, I would have been willling to spend more money on one than I do now...Mind you, one week's salary is a lot of dough....

[Guest Denis Richard]

Even in the not-so-old days... In my far away homeland, many people still use FPs, and have usually only one, and may be a few old ones sitting on their desk. I usually had one FP during my school/hisghschool/college years.

 

FPs used to be also a popular choice of gift for special occasions, and I think this maintained a market of high-end models, that average income people would not really buy for themselves, but would buy as a very special gift to someone dear.

[Guest Denis Richard]

Must be a know fact, but I just learned that the material the 51 is made of, the famous Lucite®, is nothing else than polymethyl methacrylate, also sold under the name... Plexiglas®