Ode to the lowly Parker 21

[purplepen]

Have three "51's" in a box on my desk. My four Super "21's" are always out and ready to go at a moments notice. Always reliable, always smooth writers. Love those 21's!

[dgturner]

I bought a Green MkII, had it develop a crack. I sent it off for a hood transplant, only to have the new hood also develop crack. It was a very smooth writer. So today I saw a 21 at an antique store, they allowed me to examine the pen with their 10X loupe -- no cracks! So I now own another MkII 21, this time a medium. They write too well to not keep trying them.

[Amberjack]

Nice review of an oft-overlooked pen.

I have a Parker 21 Spherix desk set on my desk that I use every day. Loaded with Noodlers Liberty's Elysium, it is a great writer and always performs well.

 

 

AJ

[gordonhooker]

I just opened a package containing my first Parker 21 it is the blue one and is without cracks - slightly smaller in the hand and just a little lighter than my Parker 51.

[Dr. Saleem Ali]

I like parker 21 because the design is classsic ,economical and a trust-worthy writer .Its itself a collectible item.I have found the fine nibs quite scratchy but becomes quite smooth after few days .The steel cap slides rather glides on the barrel while you post it and great ink capacity .Last but not the least it reminds me of my college days when this pen was quite easily available and I still search for this model and willing always to purchase it.

[dixiehellcat]

At a flea market today I went digging through a case of stuff & asked the gentleman tending it if he had any fountain pens. He pulled out a black pen with a silver cap, popped the cap off & showed me the hooded nib, then pulled out a piece of paper and commenced writing. He said he had cleaned the pen up and inked it before he put it up for sale. I could see the Parker name, but was puzzled because being a noob, I'd only ever seen the caps with the classic arrow; and I'm not crazy about hooded nibs but I really liked the feel of this pen when the seller let me write with it. Then he cut the price from $30 to 20 and I was sold. Brought it home and did a bit of research, and now I know I am the proud new owner of a 21 Mark II. I think I'm going to be using it a lot. It seems like a terrific little pen!

[Lexus77]

Received a parker black 21 in the mail today. It's a good day: Three of the pens I was expecting, arrived. (also a beautiful black Parker Frontier and my sterling silver Baker the Mascot.)
The plastic is in excellent condition, it seems. Barely even a scratch on it. But the nib... it's absolutely horrible. It seems to be bent toward the right a little bit (or is that just a misalignment?) and it is scrathcier than a cat's nails... I mean, it just digs into the paper deeply. I'm actually afraid it might tear through my notebook. It does write reliably, though... never skips, never has a hard start, never lays down too much ink.

So, there's a bit of work to be done. Anyone who can point me to some info on realigning the nib? Do I just pull it out or... ?

Edited April 25, 2017 by Lexus77

[NumberSix]

Thanks to this old thread and a few others like it, I was inspired to order a blue Super 21 today on ebay. I am looking forward to receiving it soon, cleaning it up, and seeing how it writes. (As well as my Vac P51? One can only hope!)

[basterma]

They are great pens. I enjoy mine a great deal.

[Estycollector]

I've had two and gave one away to a friend. These are affordable and write well. Apparently the plastic is thin and easily cracked. I've noticed mine likes to unscrew on it's own and perhaps overtightening is the reason for the damage. Just be careful.

[AL01]

They do tend to crack easily.

 

However, I have gotten lucky, and was able to disassemble a Super 21.

[NumberSix]

Doing a little research, I realize that my ebay purchase is more likely a 21, not a Super 21 as described in the auction. I suppose I could complain, but it's not much money either way. I will chalk it up to a learning experience.

 

It's still a new model to me, and I look forward to receiving it soon.

[Estycollector]

I preferred the look of the chrome and gold cap Deluxe. I wouldn't mind to find a pencil, but I've discovered Autopoint so a color matching one might suffice.

 

I carried the '42 "51" today which has a nice fine point and makes my handwriting look good. I like the very old "51"'s and the Deluxe 21's over all other Parkers at this point.

Edited May 4, 2020 by Estycollector

[NumberSix]

I carried the '42 "51" today which has a nice fine point and makes my handwriting look good. I like the very old "51"'s and the Deluxe 21's over all other Parkers at this point.

 

I didn't realize P51's went back that far!

 

I thought my delightful Vac 51 was about 1948 and that it was fairly early.

[Estycollector]

 

I didn't realize P51's went back that far!

 

I thought my delightful Vac 51 was about 1948 and that it was fairly early.

 

Here is a good resource for the Parker 51, http://www.richardspens.com/ref/profiles/51.htm

[welch]

Here is Tony Fischier's resource for all Parker pens.

 

https://parkerpens.net/

[NumberSix]

Thanks for the links. I do visit those sites a lot. I just was remembering wrong about the P51's age.

[Freddy]

Absorbing.............Thanks......

 

 

Fred

 

What's the amount of the insult?

~ The Great Man..said

 

That'll be 35¢.

~ Waitress

[NumberSix]

Well, bad luck maybe. My newly-arrived P21 (mk II, I believe) looks great. Holds ink great. Writes a great M/F line with the Waterman Mysterious Blue I fed it -- smooth with a little feedback.

 

And when I then remove the cap, it also bleeds ink great -- all over the section.

 

It's not residual ink in the cap, I don't think. I washed the cap out when I was flushing the sac, and both items air dried well. It looks to be suction caused by the cap's un-sealing when it's removed.

 

Any thoughts?

Edited May 11, 2020 by NumberSix

[AL01]

This happened to me with my Super 21 when the Shellac failed.

 

If this is the case, the hood should unscrew fairly easily.

 

Just clean up the internals of the pen and add a little bit of shellac on the threads.

 

I have also had a Super 21 that did the same thing due to a hairline crack in the hood...

 

Let's hope that the issue is the first one...