Parker 45 vs. Parker 51

July 1, 2009

This is an off-centered comparison:

- the P51 was a high-end pen, a "gift-pen". The P45 was an everyday every-person pen, a school pen.

- The P45 was not intended to compete with the P51. It was intended to supersede the Parker 21, and to be the best "school pen" and mass-market fountain pen of its day. It happens that the Parker 45's "day" lasted from 1960 to 2006, making it one of the all-time champions.

- in 1960, the P45 was introduced at about $5. The Parker 51 was still selling, since the P61 had pretty much failed to gain a market. The P51, I believe, then sold for about $15. The 51 was about three times the price of the 45, and was intended to be given for Christmas, anniversaries, other special occasions.

- The 51 is a superb pen, and at auction sells for about ten times the price of a 45. However, given the age of the 51, you are far more likely to find a random 45 that writes decently than to find a similar 51. If any part of the 45 is bad, you get another and swap the parts: nib, section, barrel, cap, all of it. There are very few normal "owner serviceable" partts of a 51, and that's how pens were designed when the 51 was created. You took you 51 to a Parker dealer who sent it to a Parker service center, where a staff made the repairs with special tools.

February 12, 2014

I have both pens. Both write well and if you use the same ink you will not see the difference. I write this today because its the first time I see this article, and I thought that I could write about both pens.

There is no doubt that the Parker 51 has a better quality, it is also far more expensive than the Parker 45. But one thing you have to consider is the design. The design of the Parker 45 is very simple, and simple sometimes means durable. Someone in the forum can tell me Have you ever cleaned thoroughly a 51? The answer is no. Why? Because it is a difficult procedure to disassemble the hood, the sac,the section, the breather tube inside. So now, what happens if you leave the 51 without writing for a period of time, let's say 1 year? You are going to to have a messy glue in the sac, the ink will have clogged in the feed, in other words : the pen will not write, and you probably will have to send it to a repairer, This is going to cost money,!!. I know, because I have bought all my 51's on Ebay, and have had the problems that I have described. And I have disassembled the 51 and that takes time. YOU HAVE TO FULLY DISASSEMBLE (AND THOROUGHLY CLEAN) A PEN IF YOU ARE GOING TO STORE IT FOR A LENGTH OF TIME!!!

Now let's talk a little bit about the humble 45. The nib is very easy to disassemble from the section, is just a matter of unscrewing it with the feed. I takes no time to disassemble the feed and nib which then can easily be cleaned with water. You can then swap nibs and feeds if you wish, it's a snap, and you need no tools. You can always change the cartridge, or get a new converter and just press it in. That means you have a new pen, clean, and ready to ink and write. For ever.!!! The 51, with all its beauty, its design, its feel, has the problem that you cannot disassemble it readily. And therefore it will not last long, unless you know what you are doing or send it to costly repair.

So, its up to you. If you are a hands-on person, both are for you, and both write well. I have never found a new 45 to be scratchy as some forum members say. The 45 is a very good writer, it was designed for college students which did not have the money to get a 51, and these students could service the pen themselves. (Just change the cartridge or the nib)

If you have a scratchy pen you can fix it in 5 minutes. Just hold the pen as you would writing normally, and do some letters "S"or "8's" on mylar paper. This is abrasive enough that you will not ruin the pen and will give you the smoothness you are looking for. This is true for any nib.

So 45 or 51? Status will say 51, but intelligence will say 45. Always. Even if its not as pretty.!

Cheers!

February 12, 2014

Edited February 12, 2014 by frolland

February 13, 2014

A bizarre comparison. I think the 51 is the smoothest pen in use, in capping and uncapping, in writing and filling. The pli-glass sac will outlast the 45 converter by decades.

I have one 45 that came from someone now passed on. Looks nice and will not get knocked around.

The 51, though, is just about forever.

February 13, 2014

... I want to know which Parker pen is better.

The answer is "it depends" on how you define better.

As has been said above,

For build quality the 51.
For higher original cost, the 51.
For lower original cost, the 45.
For resale price for the seller, the 51.
For resale price for the buyer, the 45.
For flexibility of changing parts by the owner, the 45.
For the ability to be fully cleaned and maintained by the owner, the 45
As measured by length of production, I think the 45.
As measured by other pens, well...
- P51: Hero 616, Lamy 2000 (for the hooded nib, although that could be from the Lamy 27)
- P45: Lamy 2000 (for the general shape)
Since beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, one cannot say one is better looking than the other.
- The Lamy 2000 looks like a bigger next generation 45.

So what I am saying is, since you did not define what you mean by better.

The answers will vary as peoples perspective varies.

Edited February 13, 2014 by ac12

February 13, 2014

QUOTE (AndyH @ Feb 22 2009, 08:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hmm... I've never had that problem with any of my 45s penmanila. I do have a couple where the body cracked just above the gold band though. But both the 45 and 51 are among my very favorite pens.

RevAaron - I didn't know P45 nibs could be swapped easily. Is this a DIY procedure for the fairly handy pen owner? Any instructions on any of the pen forums or websites? thanks!

45 nib units unscrew from the section. As to the original question, I never have warmed up to the 45. If I had to choose I'd take the 51.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/166648-parker-45-disassembly-in-easy-steps/

I only have a 45 Flighter - never tried a standard nor a 51, but love the one I have. (late 1960's with 14k nib) It is a sweetheart.

February 13, 2014

"If you have a scratchy pen you can fix it in 5 minutes. Just hold the pen as you would writing normally, and do some letters "S"or "8's" on mylar paper. This is abrasive enough that you will not ruin the pen and will give you the smoothness you are looking for. This is true for any nib."

____________________________________________

Frolland, I appreciate what you wrote. I was just wondering where I might obtain "mylar paper." Thank you.

Edited February 13, 2014 by Bradley

February 13, 2014

To froland:

I have bought scores of 51s. No matter how much ink was caked in the collector, a soak was always enough to restore the pen to perfect writing. Disassembly not required.

There are those who feel that unless you take something apart to its component parts and put it in a vibrating device, you have not cleaned something. I haven't found this necessary. Bought lots of 51s on ebay. The ink came out with patient soaking for a couple of days.

The 45 is like an upscale school pen. Something like a Sheaffer Cadet, but the Cadet is a Touchdown filler and it's sac seems to last longer than the ones in 45's converters.

I have 51s I have used for as long as 44 years. Still on the original sac. Nothing is like a 51.

Edited February 13, 2014 by pajaro

February 13, 2014

I think that Act12 member has the correct answer.. I am not saying that the 51 is no good. It is a superb pen and sold more than others and the quality is very high. It has been manufactured in the UK and in Argentina too. The design of the 45 though is a simpler design and anybody can fix a 45 without the need to go to a repairer. Also you know exactly how much ink is left in the cartridge or converter. You do not know that with the 51 and if you are careless you might be left without ink when you need it more. That is why the 45 was aimed to the student's market.- simpler, cost effective and easier to maintain.

As Act12 says: 'The answer is "it depends" on how you define better." -

February 13, 2014

"If you have a scratchy pen you can fix it in 5 minutes. Just hold the pen as you would writing normally, and do some letters "S"or "8's" on mylar paper. This is abrasive enough that you will not ruin the pen and will give you the smoothness you are looking for. This is true for any nib."
____________________________________________

Frolland, I appreciate what you wrote. I was just wondering where I might obtain "mylar paper." Thank you.

Mylar paper is the original paper used to draw designs and plans , it is transparent so that you can copy the contents with a copying machine for blueprints. (These were developed with ammonia). It is abrasive enough to act on the nib, but is is forgiving enough that you cannot ruin the nib as a sand paper grit 150 would.(or Micromesh 10000). If you want to know everything that is to know about smoothing nibs that are scratchy, please look at this excellent article in the INTERNET (press here) . Also could be miss-alignment...read..the article please.

February 14, 2014

"If you have a scratchy pen you can fix it in 5 minutes. Just hold the pen as you would writing normally, and do some letters "S"or "8's" on mylar paper. This is abrasive enough that you will not ruin the pen and will give you the smoothness you are looking for. This is true for any nib."
____________________________________________

Frolland, I appreciate what you wrote. I was just wondering where I might obtain "mylar paper." Thank you.

Before I start removing material from the tip, I would FIRST check and fix any tip alignment problem. If the tips are not in alignment you can spend months doing S and 8s on mylar lapping film and the pen will still be scratchy, and you will be needlessly be removing tipping material from the nib. I have fixed a few scratchy pens that only needed to get the tips aligned, and then they were fine.

February 14, 2014

Interesting, the scratchy pens I have had in my possession all were resolved by using a mylar or a high grit sand paper or Arkansas honing stone. When you write you normally take the nib tips out alignment, and everyone has a different way of holding a pen. It is only if you press hard that you will take a good nib out of alignment. So, if in the next 5 minutes of passing the nib on mylar it does not resolve the problem then you have a miss-alignment that probably you do not have tools to solve. This is particularly true with oblique and italic flexible nibs.

Anyway, this has been my experience, Act12.

Moreover, if you have a very expensive pen, like a Mont Blanc 149 or Pelikan 800 /1000 and is scratchy I would not doubt to have it repaired professionally or custom fitted for my handwriting. A slight miss-alignment is only seen well with a microscope and the tools and skills to work on a nib are very specialized.

FER

Edited February 14, 2014 by frolland

February 14, 2014

When I get used pens off eBay, the tips have ranged from perfect to broken.

So one of the first thing I do is to check the condition of the nib, and see if the tips are aligned.

Many times they are fine.

But more than a few times, I fount the tips out of alignment with each other. Sometimes just a little, sometimes a LOT. How that happened I do not know, but seeing as these are used pens, they were likely subject to mistreatment of various sorts.

So I try to get the tines into alignment with each other before going on to abrasive materials.

My 8x loupe is not enough magnification for working on tips. I really need to get a 20x loupe so I can see the alignment better, as some times I can feel the misalignment, but I cannot see it.

I stoke the pen L->R then the other direction L<-R and feel for a difference in how the tip runs on the paper. This normally tells me which tip is lower than the other.

So far I have only worked on standard round tip nibs.

I would not know were to begin with any of the specialized nibs.

February 15, 2014

Sometimes i worth it to buy a new nib, If your efforts don't produce good results and the pen is scratchy even with the Mylar or honing stone procedure and/or hand alignment then you ask yourself : Is the pen worth it? If yes, and you cannot fix it, try to buy a new nib.

That's why I like the 45 so much, changing nibs is a snap, and you can always get a good one, that writes smoothly cost effectively.

With specialized nibs I always go to the pen fitter. I do not do it myself.

FER

February 16, 2014

I have 2 45s and one 51all in great condition and all used everyday the nib on the 51 is perfect in every way,the 45s are good but the extra fine one is more to my liking then the fine nib,I love the ease of changing nibs and cleaning the 45 and after almost losing my 51 on the way to work are more inclined to carry the 45's and leave the 51 for writing at home.So i guess i like them both as much

February 17, 2014

I have 2 45s and one 51all in great condition and all used everyday the nib on the 51 is perfect in every way,the 45s are good but the extra fine one is more to my liking then the fine nib,I love the ease of changing nibs and cleaning the 45 and after almost losing my 51 on the way to work are more inclined to carry the 45's and leave the 51 for writing at home.So i guess i like them both as much

I find that very smart Patos. As I said before the 51 is an ionic pen, expensive and a collector's item. The Parker 45 is a practical pen, and the design so simple that is very clever, bordering geniality!

FER