Engraving A '51

[pajaro]

These days if I buy a 51 that has an engraved name on the barrel, I buy another barrel for the pen and keep both, the engraved barrel goes into the parts box. The last couple of 51s with names on the barrels became fantasy pens by way of a Kullock hood and barrel. I don't like haunted pens.

[Ernst Bitterman]

These days if I buy a 51 that has an engraved name on the barrel, ...the engraved barrel goes into the parts box.... I don't like haunted pens.

 

Those parts are all going in one box? I'd be concerned at very least about disconcerting whispering coming from it when the house is still. Worst case; an angry homunculus composed of cast-off engraved parts, chasing you around the house, shrieking for its lost nibs.

[Muncle]

Personally, I like engraved pens. It doesn't change the pen any, and it's obvious I'm not the first owner of these pens I think it is a good idea, provided you have given it the runthrough and realized that it is indeed one that you plan to keep.

 

And just think, someday somebody might find it an interesting (post-2000AD engraving? so sharp!) pen on holoBay or eBay3D, or whatever :roflmho:

 

That all being said, where does one go for a pen engraving?

[Laura N]

You are right. There are thousands of 51's. Of course there are thousands less than there used to be and in the future there will be thousands less than there are now. On the other hand I have a Rembrandt etching. There are thousands of those too and heck they still have the plates so they could make more if they wanted to. I think I'll take some Bay State Blue and draw a mustache on Mary. It's MY print. I can do whatever I want. I don't ever plan to sell it either.

 

 

I wouldn't worry. According to Richard Binder, Parker sold 20 to 50 million 51s.

 

Many of the 51 caps have a wide band or a blank area expressly designed for engraving. Parker retailers offered that service. If someone wants to engrave a 51 today, splendid.

 

The Parker 51 is one of my favorite pens. It is also just a pen.

[OcalaFlGuy]

You were doing so well right up to your last 6 words.

 

Now, we're just going to have to burn you at the stake.

 

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[Laura N]

You were doing so well right up to your last 6 words.

 

Now, we're just going to have to burn you at the stake.

 

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

 

 

Uh oh.

 

I think I might hide out in the Lamy Forum for a while.

[DrCodfish]

"I have only one exception, but a quite exquisite one: I have a Wahl-Eversharp Doric where all previous owners have engraved their names on the pen. So I am going to engrave my name, too. I think it's part of this pen's history."

 

 

 

That is SO COOL! and puts me in mind of a project I have been contemplating:

 

Every time I pick up my 1926 Parker Big Red Duofold Senior I cannot help but think two thoughts:

 

1, Just amazing that this simple but classic 86 year old piece of communication technology works, just as it did the day it left the pen shop in the hands of that proud first owner. I wonder if this Gateway computer I am currently using to communicate with will be in such fine form when it is 86 years old? (which will be LOOONG after I am dead and gone - I doubt it).

 

2. What would this pen say if it could talk? What great or trivial thoughts has it laid down? What lofty or underhanded purposes has it been applied to? How long has it languished in the back of a desk drawer, or an old coat pocket or writing box in the attic? What oceans has it crossed, what prairies, plains or mountain passes has it traversed.

 

And as much as anything: Who has carressed it, cursed it, stolen it, or gifted it? Who are all the people in the chain of custody from the time it left the factory in Janesville Wisconsin in 1926 who passd it forward until it landed in my little podunk post office box in a down at the heels, soggy logging town a few miles from the Pacific Ocean in the rural wilds of Washington state?

 

 

This is the project that tantalizes me. I will be retiring in the not too distant future, and when I do I will want something to occupy my time. It could be a bust, but it could also be quite fascinating to try to document the provenance of an American icon from the 20's or 30's. I even have a working title in mind.

[kimmers]

I'm one of those folks who thinks engraving can be a neat touch, but it depends on the engraving!!

 

I'm attaching a picture of my mom's Super 21 that she got as a gift from her sister for doing well in school or something major back in the mid 1950s in Taiwan. it's engraved with my mom's name and something about using the pen and working hard.

 

she took really good care of it so it still writes like a boss!

 

how did the engraving go?

 

edit: I forgot to add the pic!

 

Edited March 25, 2015 by kimmers

[Cryptos]

Well, seeing as we are resurrecting dead threads allow me to fork some lightning too. If anyone is going to engrave a pen please try and have it done professionally. I've seen some truly awful amateurish engravings. Ugh!

Edited March 25, 2015 by Cardboard_Tube

[mitto]

I wouldn't go for the engraving either on barrel or cap unless I first ensure I have a spare barrel / cap . That would the safest way.