Parker 21 vs 51

[rsx]

I've been using my old Parker 21 today. It is a great writer, quick and very smooth.

Aside from some cosmetic differences and similarities, what are the internal differences between the 21 and 51?

[Rufus]

I've been using my old Parker 21 today. It is a great writer, quick and very smooth.

Aside from some cosmetic differences and similarities, what are the internal differences between the 21 and 51?

 

Depending on its age a P51 will have either a vacuumatic-filler or an aerometric-filler, whereas the P21 will have a squeeze-filler. A P21 Super will have a "non-bulbous" feed similar to the P51's, whereas a regular P21 will have a"bulbous" feed. Looking at my P21's and P51's, those are the "internal" differences I see.

Edited April 24, 2009 by Rufus

[Jimmy James]

The nib on the non-Super 21s is extremely different from the 51/41/21 Super nib. The latter are true hooded nibs. The former are normal nibs obscured by a hood to give a similar appearance. You can see the much wider nib in the non-Super 21s very readily.

[Zeroblade]

21's use steel nibs (I've never seen one outfitted with a gold nib)

51's use lucite while 21's use plastic

The arrow clips are different.

 

[RevAaron]

Plastic

21: Polystryene. Prone to cracks, chips, and heat deformation. Scuffs easily. IMHO, feels rather cheap in the hand.

51: Lucite (a kind of plastic) Very durable, much less sensitive. Less sensitive to scuffing. IMHO- feels great in the hand, a more substantial feeling ala celluloid or cellulose acetate.

 

Nib

21: Usually steel, though there are 21s with gold nibs. The steel nibs don't write as nicely, though I imagine with some professional attention that could be helped.

51: People love the 51's nib, though it isn't my thing. I'd take one over a 21, though. The 51 Special's steel nib has the same rough feeling as the 21's nib, at least in my experience.

 

Filler

21: Simple squeeze sac filler. I can't remember if the 21 has a breather tube or not.

51: Fancy pants Aero-metric or Vacumatic fillers. Vacumatic holds more than the other two, not sure what the functional differences are between the Aero-metric and 21 filler.

 

Richard has a page with some of these differences.

[Zeroblade]

Just checked the mint Super 21 I had in the drawer - there wasn't any breather tube I saw in the sac, so it seems to be just a plain squeeze filler.

[richardandtracy]

Just checked the mint Super 21 I had in the drawer - there wasn't any breather tube I saw in the sac, so it seems to be just a plain squeeze filler.

The P21S has a moderately short breather tube, which doesn't usually project beyond the end of the tubular section of the sac guard. This means it's difficult to fill much more than 45% of the sac. This, in turn, means that when held nib up in a pocket the breather tube is always above the level of the ink and the pen is automatically aircraft safe without needing the P51 Aero hole.

 

The P21 Super has a nib that is interchangable with a P51 Special. And, if you want to, you could fit a P51 gold nib, or modify a P61 gold nib should your P61 have given up the ghost. You cannot do this with either the Mk1 or Mk2 P21's.

 

The 'Lucite' used in the P51 is actually a type of acrylic, and the same brand that was used in WW2 aircraft cockpit canopies. It's good, hardwearing stuff.

The P21 is rather less fortunate in that it uses a type of polystyrene. This is softer than acrylic & scratches more. The plastic was a relatively early polystyrene and, well, it's not very good. The plastic shrinks, bends and cracks. It's attacked by moisture and many chemicals contained within inks. It warps with heat and can shrink or crack if exposed to temperatures above 140F. It goes brittle at about -5C (don't use where you need Noodler's Polar Black). I also think it's slowly attacked by some of the colouring dyes used. Burgundy P61's always seem to have more degraded plastic than the black ones (sigh, guess which colour I prefer).

This plastic was also used on the P61 and the P17.

 

If my experience is correct, Parker eventually got the polystyrene sorted (possibly by alloying it with acrylic) and post mid-1980's pens have plastic that's harder and more durable than the stuff they used in the P21/P61/P17. Their plastic is not brilliant, but it's better than it was, even the cheap Vectors now seem to have plastic that's better than the stuff used in the P21/P61.

 

If you hold a P51 & P21 or P21S, there will be no doubt in your mind which is better. You don't even need to use your eyes. The P51 feels a more substantial & better built pen.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

 

[Zeroblade]

Thanks for the lesson!

 

And being the owner of both the P21S and P51, the 51 is indeed superior in every aspect.

[goodguy]

I want to add something from my own experience.

I had both P51 and P21.

The P21 body indeed felt much more brittle anc cheap and sadly it tend to crack while my P51 (both Vac and Aero) were booletproof but the nib on my P21 felt much better then any of my P51's I had.

Maybe just luck I dont know but my P21's nib was silky smooth while the P51 was just ok.

[rroossinck]

I've enjoyed a couple of 21s over the years (none right now), but none of them took as much of a beating as my "51"s. Amir is right, though; lots of 'em are terrific writers.

[goodguy]

I've enjoyed a couple of 21s over the years (none right now), but none of them took as much of a beating as my "51"s. Amir is right, though; lots of 'em are terrific writers.

Yes the 51 can get everyday beating and then ask for more but the 21 is a finiky bugger.

My favorite black 21 which was actualy the first FP I bought years ago had an ugly crack on it.

[Rufus]

I have a 1947 P51 (vac.-filler),a 1952 P51 (aero.-filler) and a 1962 P21 Super. The two P51's feel and look substantially more robust than the P21 Super. As well, the ink destroyed the nib hood on my P21 Super and I had to replace it. Nonetheless, in all other respects my P21 Super has been a fine pen that still writes very well after 47 years. Both my P51's look almost pristine, but I did pay substantially more for them the I paid for my P21 Super. Too bad Parker doesn't make pens up to the P51's standard today; another fine marque gone by the board.

[prisonrodeo]

Agree with everything above. That said...

 

...I wonder if Parker didn't start using better plastic in some of the later P21 Supers. I have a half-dozen or so of those, and they seem every bit as robust as my P51s. I've been using late-model P21 Supers for my "everyday" pens for about six months now, and absolutely love them. To my mind, the difference between a standard 21 and a Super is greater than that between a 21S and a 51. (It's also nice to know that I can replace any I lose for $10 or so...).

[skybird]

My very first Parker was a 21 with a fat bum.

My grand dad must have got it cheeep as it had to have been old stock somewhere.

I was disappointed as I wanted a 51 Lustraloy. Mine had the recessed V clip.

So no arrow, no lustraloy and a fat bum. Didn't like the look as it wasn't what the other boys had :-(

HOWEVER it wrote like a dream.

Smoooooth medium nib. Wonder what I did with it??? Was 10 at the time.

[Ernst Bitterman]

To my mind, the difference between a standard 21 and a Super is greater than that between a 21S and a 51.

 

The difference between a 21S and a 51S(pecial) is the shape of the clip.

 

...and possibly the durability of the plastic. Under the hood, they're the same thing.

 

My 21 Mk.II has very nearly the smoothest XF point I've yet run across-- I don't want to be seen as running down the non-Supers.

[gyasko]

You know how on a very cold day you can hear the cracking of trees? Well, 21s will keep you up at night with the sound of their spontaneous cracking. If you do dabble in 21s, keep them far away from the bedroom. Take it from an insomniac!