Parker 51 Ballpoint Pen Questions

[CowboyBlue]

I am interested in learning more about the Parker 51 ballpoint pen. Until just a few days ago, I didn't even realize that there was such a pen! Then I did some searching and saw a few online, and as usual, my pen appetite has been whetted.

 

My questions: First, do any of you have and regularly use a 51 BP? What do you think of it?

 

Second, where can I get one, and how much should a good one cost? I realize that is an awfully broad question, but I am willing to hear some awfully broad answers!

[Glenn-SC]

I got one as part of an Argentinian Set (FP, BP, Pencil).

 

Sorry but I don't use it.

[baz666]

Hi

 

Here are a few for you to peruse.

 

http://freespace.virgin.net/paul.barrell/pics/51bp.JPG

 

The first is made in Canada, fifth in U.S.A. and the rest in England.

 

It`s probably not too wise to use them regularly, you will kick yourself if you loose or break it,

also the early ones suffered from the problem that number 4 has (bush comes loose inside, whole cap flies off).

 

Prices range (broadly) £15 for badly listed or poor condition, to £100 and up, for mint in box, early brass barrel threads, uncommon colours.

(I know of 1 that was had for 10p at a garage sale)

 

The last 3 are obviously pencils (10 brownie points for spotting the uncommon one)

 

Regards

Paul.

[welch]

I a P51 ballpoint and use it regularly. Small, it is fundamentally a Jotter with a push-down cap rather than a button. Very similar to a P45 ballpoint. Very light-weight.

 

(I use a Frontier brushed-steel bp every day as my "utility bp" when I need one. I like the size and the rubber grip...plus that it has lasted 11 years and seems about as good as new. P51 bp goes to work about once a week, but it's too small and light to be a favorite.)

[rroossinck]

I've been looking for one of them, too; haven't found the right one yet, though. Would love to have a blue one like number 5 in your collection, Baz!

[brownargus]

Parker ballpoint pens have been common for many years in the UK and I suspect elsewhere. I bought my first stainless steel flighter 45 years ago and I still have it. However, I gradually got fed up with ballpoint refills and much prefer a fountain pen, or a rolling ball, but the new Gel refills make using a ballpoint pen much better. The Monteverde gel refills which I get for my Sheaffer ballpoints are very good but I'm not sure they're available for Parkers.

 

Cheap Parker ballpoint pens called jotters in the UK (usually a coloured body with a chrome top, which I think are not part of the range of Parker Jotters I see on FPN that include fountain pens) are a common promotional item in the UK, usually given away with "expensive" insurance quotes, but it is not that long ago that they were giving them away when you purchased fuel for the car.

 

John

[pajaro]

I have bought a few on ebay. The first one, probably an early model 51 ballpoint, sort of exploded when the cap jewel and the brass screw it screws into came loose and flew apart . I haven't been able to properly fix it, but it still clicks and writes. The two later models work nicely, and I like them.

 

I also have an Ariel Kullock version of a 51 ballpoint. Looks like a fountain pen. Uncap it and it's a ballpoint. A stiff spring holds the refill in the section, like a Big Red. This is nice because the wider barrel is more comfortable.

 

And, there is this: http://www.parker51.com/newbps.html

Edited May 5, 2011 by pajaro

[CowboyBlue]

YOu know, those original 51s look about the same size as a 45 bp or a Jotter ... is that abut right? I was kind of hoping the 51 bp was a little heftier ... maybe one of those Franken-pen 51s is the way for me to go ... but $200??? Wow ....

[welch]

YOu know, those original 51s look about the same size as a 45 bp or a Jotter ... is that abut right? I was kind of hoping the 51 bp was a little heftier ... maybe one of those Franken-pen 51s is the way for me to go ... but $200??? Wow ....

 

The P51 bp is about the same size as a Jotter, and I think it is just like the P45 bp only with a P51 clip. Exactly the same size as the P75 push-down cap version of the P75 bp. I paid about $75 for this one, but I wouldn't pay for another. The P51 fp -> bp is a good size, and handsome, but, yes, that's a whopping big price.

[pajaro]

YOu know, those original 51s look about the same size as a 45 bp or a Jotter ... is that abut right? I was kind of hoping the 51 bp was a little heftier ... maybe one of those Franken-pen 51s is the way for me to go ... but $200??? Wow ....

 

Yessir, $200 is a show-stopper. The 51 ballpoints are like cap-actuated jotters. I bought one recently on ebay foe $41, but I think that was a fluke, and prices around a hundred or better are more usual, I think. The 51 ballpoints are not very common. You don't see them every day on ebay. Sometimes you see them in a set with a fountain pen, sometimes in a trio set with fountain pen and pencil. Usually pricey--over $200. Makes the show stoppers look more attractive at $200 for a new pen.

[nxn96]

51 ballpoints come up on eBay, but usually don't go cheap- particularly if they're in good mechanical and physical condition. Much like you, I read about these pens and decided I needed one to match one of my "51" fp/mp sets. As it's probably my most expensive ballpoint, I don't use it. For a Parker ballpoint you can use on a daily basis that is both reliable and won't break your heart or wallet if something happens to it, I would recommend looking at a vintage cap actuated 45 or Super 21 ballpoint. The 45 Flighters are particularly durable and often go on eBay for not much over the opening bid. I really think they're a great value pen.

 

Keep in mind, even though one has a "51" cap and the other the more pedestrian 45 cap, at the end of the day, both are simply cap-actuated Jotters.

[pajaro]

51 ballpoints come up on eBay, but usually don't go cheap- particularly if they're in good mechanical and physical condition. Much like you, I read about these pens and decided I needed one to match one of my "51" fp/mp sets. As it's probably my most expensive ballpoint, I don't use it. For a Parker ballpoint you can use on a daily basis that is both reliable and won't break your heart or wallet if something happens to it, I would recommend looking at a vintage cap actuated 45 or Super 21 ballpoint. The 45 Flighters are particularly durable and often go on eBay for not much over the opening bid. I really think they're a great value pen.

 

Keep in mind, even though one has a "51" cap and the other the more pedestrian 45 cap, at the end of the day, both are simply cap-actuated Jotters.

 

It's true that you can get a 45 BP at a reasonable price. What goes through my mind after doing just that is something like "51 fountain pen, 51 pencil, 45 ballpoint in my pocket. Not a matched set." So, I would put them away and use my MB 144, 164 BP and the pencil and/or rollerball." The unmatched group would be like a thorn in my finger. I suppose this is a sign of an obsessive-compulsive person. Sometimes I wish I were well-balanced.

 

I had a trio set in navy gray, but the ballpoint cap came apart, and now the clip hangs loose, like a broken-down derelict. Useless, useless. . .

Edited May 9, 2011 by pajaro

[nxn96]

51 ballpoints come up on eBay, but usually don't go cheap- particularly if they're in good mechanical and physical condition. Much like you, I read about these pens and decided I needed one to match one of my "51" fp/mp sets. As it's probably my most expensive ballpoint, I don't use it. For a Parker ballpoint you can use on a daily basis that is both reliable and won't break your heart or wallet if something happens to it, I would recommend looking at a vintage cap actuated 45 or Super 21 ballpoint. The 45 Flighters are particularly durable and often go on eBay for not much over the opening bid. I really think they're a great value pen.

 

Keep in mind, even though one has a "51" cap and the other the more pedestrian 45 cap, at the end of the day, both are simply cap-actuated Jotters.

 

It's true that you can get a 45 BP at a reasonable price. What goes through my mind after doing just that is something like "51 fountain pen, 51 pencil, 45 ballpoint in my pocket. Not a matched set." So, I would put them away and use my MB 144, 164 BP and the pencil and/or rollerball." The unmatched group would be like a thorn in my finger. I suppose this is a sign of an obsessive-compulsive person. Sometimes I wish I were well-balanced.

 

I had a trio set in navy gray, but the ballpoint cap came apart, and now the clip hangs loose, like a broken-down derelict. Useless, useless. . .

 

I understand your point, and I think that's my point too- a "51" bp is a somewhat pricey pen- particularly for something that's essentially a Parker Jotter, and it hurts- the pocketbook if nothing else- if it breaks. As much as I like the 45 pens, the financial investment is much less, so the risk is less if you want to use it on a regular basis.

 

I get around the fact that they're different pens by making sure the clips are the same color when they're in the pocket. The only time anyone has noticed the difference was at a pen show. However, once again, I see your point.

[pajaro]

51 ballpoints come up on eBay, but usually don't go cheap- particularly if they're in good mechanical and physical condition. Much like you, I read about these pens and decided I needed one to match one of my "51" fp/mp sets. As it's probably my most expensive ballpoint, I don't use it. For a Parker ballpoint you can use on a daily basis that is both reliable and won't break your heart or wallet if something happens to it, I would recommend looking at a vintage cap actuated 45 or Super 21 ballpoint. The 45 Flighters are particularly durable and often go on eBay for not much over the opening bid. I really think they're a great value pen.

 

Keep in mind, even though one has a "51" cap and the other the more pedestrian 45 cap, at the end of the day, both are simply cap-actuated Jotters.

 

It's true that you can get a 45 BP at a reasonable price. What goes through my mind after doing just that is something like "51 fountain pen, 51 pencil, 45 ballpoint in my pocket. Not a matched set." So, I would put them away and use my MB 144, 164 BP and the pencil and/or rollerball." The unmatched group would be like a thorn in my finger. I suppose this is a sign of an obsessive-compulsive person. Sometimes I wish I were well-balanced.

 

I had a trio set in navy gray, but the ballpoint cap came apart, and now the clip hangs loose, like a broken-down derelict. Useless, useless. . .

 

I understand your point, and I think that's my point too- a "51" bp is a somewhat pricey pen- particularly for something that's essentially a Parker Jotter, and it hurts- the pocketbook if nothing else- if it breaks. As much as I like the 45 pens, the financial investment is much less, so the risk is less if you want to use it on a regular basis.

 

I get around the fact that they're different pens by making sure the clips are the same color when they're in the pocket. The only time anyone has noticed the difference was at a pen show. However, once again, I see your point.

When the gray ballpoint from the trio set went to pieces, I sold the fountain pen and pencil on ebay. The whole trio set was NOS when I bought it, and I dusted it off to use on a new job. It was unquestionably the worst and most unpleasant job I ever had, and so I got rid of the pen and pencil on ebay. No takers on the lamed ballpoint, it's still in the pen drawer. Darned thing clicks and writes, though. It is an early sample of the 51 ballpoint and I have been told they had issues. Something about the screw in the top of the cap that holds the cap jewel. And, so maybe the early 51 ballpoints would be something to avoid, if you could identify them.

[APPLEMAN]

I to thought I wanted a 51 ballpoint but after looking at the prices this is what I came up with.

 

http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr15/APPLEMAN320/IMG_2497.jpg

 

http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr15/APPLEMAN320/IMG_2496.jpg

 

 

Chris

[Rockyrod]

That is a new take on it. I like it.

[pajaro]

I to thought I wanted a 51 ballpoint but after looking at the prices this is what I came up with.

 

http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr15/APPLEMAN320/IMG_2497.jpg

 

http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr15/APPLEMAN320/IMG_2496.jpg

 

 

Chris

 

I like your solution. That looks like a Montblanc rollerball refill. I like that also, it has been a good refill for me. What is the section?

 

[APPLEMAN]

I to thought I wanted a 51 ballpoint but after looking at the prices this is what I came up with.

 

http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr15/APPLEMAN320/IMG_2497.jpg

 

http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr15/APPLEMAN320/IMG_2496.jpg

 

 

Chris

 

I like your solution. That looks like a Montblanc rollerball refill. I like that also, it has been a good refill for me. What is the section?

 

 

 

It is one that I made up to match the cap as well as the body of the 51.

 

Chris

[APPLEMAN]

My Friday night in the shop

 

 

I had a couple of these desk pens with the ends broke off and the inside missing, so after locating a cap this is what I ended up with. It takes a Pilot G2 long refill and I was quite pleased with it.

 

http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr15/APPLEMAN320/IMG_2498.jpg

 

http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr15/APPLEMAN320/IMG_2499.jpg

 

http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr15/APPLEMAN320/IMG_2500.jpg

 

So from a broken pen I now have a pen I really like a lot.

[Rockyrod]

So from a broken pen I now have a pen I really like a lot.

Very nice indeed, you have a talent for this.