Jump to content

New To 51S, Need Some Answers ...


Avocet

Recommended Posts

... and doing my 51 homework. After losing nearly 15 Fleabay auctions due largely to the fear of making a poor auction decision, I developed some testicularity and assured myself of my worst fears ... perhaps. I simply could not wait any longer, to own a vintage 51, albeit a modest one.

 

My auction yielded a 51 Special set (with pencil), described as Burgundy. 1st question: Does it ever come to pass that a burgundy turns out to be a plum? I absolutely love the color of these two pieces, but they are awfully dark ....

 

image.jpg

 

The photo quality is of little help, as are most of course. Were specials ever turned out in plum (48 - 49, right?). Does the black jewel of this pen place it in 1950?

 

It does not have the gold nib, perhaps makimg it an early Special?

 

Also, have been reading the debate about whether to first disassemble a vintage 51 sold unrestored or first soaking and flushing the pen aggressively as a first step. I've chosen the latter as I'm still waiting for some orange shellac in the mail. The pen is flushing a fair quanity of blue-black ink, but the sac is supple and responsive.

 

Another question, under magnification, the barrel shows absolutely no stamps. Is it possible they are worn away? The color match between the pencil and the pen barrel are exact, but the pencil yields "Parker. Made in U.S.A." The pen's cap offers the same, but there is nothing embossed anywhere on the barrel.

 

Lastly, the pencil is the twist fill mechanism. The eraser was slightly used and the pen was full of 0.09mm Hard led, and made me GIDDY when I unwrapped it and wrote with it.

 

I think no matter the outcome, I'm overjoyed to finally own a vintage 51, and will try to ink it up after an overnight soak. I'm very curious as to what condition the breather tube is in and hoping it doesnt quite need to be replaced, just sayin...

 

Many thanks in advance for your collective expertises ...

 

(Staying positive, I'm flushing my Meisterstuck 146 tonight with the hopes that the 51 can give it a siesta for a while) 👀. 🙏

"Tis true, men are destined for short, brutal lives ... and women - long, miserable ones." :yikes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 9
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • OcalaFlGuy

    3

  • TimGirdler

    2

  • Florida Blue

    1

  • Avocet

    1

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

Congrats on your first 51! The burgundy is a nice color.

 

The Special was never made in plum since it was not introduced until 1950.

 

The marks on the barrel may be very faint, but sometimes they do wear away. Try using a small light and a jewelers loop.

Parker: Sonnet Flighter, Rialto Red Metallic Laque, IM Chiseled Gunmetal, Latitude Stainless, 45 Black, Duovac Blue Pearl Striped, 51 Standard Black, Vac Jr. Black, 51 Aero Black, 51 Vac Blue Cedar, Duofold Jr. Lapis, 51 Aero Demi Black, 51 Aero Demi Teal, 51 Aero Navy Gray, Duofold Pastel Moire Violet, Vac Major Golden Brown, Vac Deb. Emerald, 51 Vac Dove Gray, Vac Major Azure, Vac Jr. Silver Pearl, 51 Vac Black GF Cap, 51 Forest Green GF cap, Vac Jr. Silver Pearl, Duovac Senior Green & Gold, Duovac Deb. Black, Challenger Black, 51 Aero Midnight, Vac. Emerald Jr., Challenger Gray Pearl, 51 Vac Black, Duofold Int. Black, Duofold Jr. Red.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

... and doing my 51 homework. After losing nearly 15 Fleabay auctions due largely to the fear of making a poor auction decision, I developed some testicularity and assured myself of my worst fears ... perhaps. I simply could not wait any longer, to own a vintage 51, albeit a modest one.

 

My auction yielded a 51 Special set (with pencil), described as Burgundy. 1st question: Does it ever come to pass that a burgundy turns out to be a plum? I absolutely love the color of these two pieces, but they are awfully dark ....

 

 

No. The American burgundy and the plum are easily confused for one another. In natural light, they look quite different, however.

 

To my knowledge, the Plum was never offered in a special. The Plum was only offered in the Mark I phase of the Aerometric run and only in the years 1948 and 1949. The special was introduced in 1950.

 

So, it probably a burgundy. Note, however, that the American burgundy and the British burgundy were, in fact, two different colors.

 

Tim

 

Tim Girdler Pens  (Nib Tuning; Custom Nib Grinding; New & Vintage Pen Sales)
The Fountain Pen: An elegant instrument for a more civilized age.
I Write With: Any one of my assortment of Parker "51"s or Vacumatics

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To make it maybe more clear to the OP, your pen could never be a Plum if that filler is original and they almost always are.

 

But as others have said, the Plum IS notoriously difficult to photograph showing it's correct coloring.

 

As has also been noticed, the key is direct natural sunlight. The Plum will look almost like eggplant with a definite purple look to it while the Burgundy will show red tones.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Love digging this picture out when this topic comes up every so often ....... :lol:

 

Not in direct sunlight but is a gray card white balance setting, so is very accurate.

 

DSCF5908.JPG

 

L>R Cordovan, English Burgundy (Blood Red), Burgundy, and.......Plum

 

 

Rick

Edited by talkinghead

MY-stair-shtook eyn-HOON-dairt noyn und FEART-seeg (Meisterstuck #149)

"the last pen I bought is the next to the last pen I will ever buy.."---jar

WTB: Sheaffer OS Balance with FLEX nibs

porkopolispennerslogorev1.jpg

Porkopolis Penners Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Be glad the prior owner did not use purple or even worse RED ink.

I have spent almost 2 weeks of soak, empty and blot cycles to clean out RED ink from a 51.

Even in your case, expect to spend several days of soak, empty and blot cycles to clean and draw out the old ink. The collector on the 51 is not easy to clean. Using a 1:10 mix of ammonia and water will help disolve out the old ink faster than just water.

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Love digging this picture out when this topic comes up every so often ....... :lol:

 

Not in direct sunlight but is a gray card white balance setting, so is very accurate.

 

DSCF5908.JPG

 

L>R Cordovan, English Burgundy (Blood Red), Burgundy, and.......Plum

 

 

Rick

 

I LOVE the "Bloody British Burgundy!" Thanks for digging out that picture!

 

I'm hoping to have a complete Aero set someday. I have a coco with a gold cap and a forrest green with a gold cap. The British Burgundy is VERY high on my list. But, it'll take a pretty penny!

 

Tim

Tim Girdler Pens  (Nib Tuning; Custom Nib Grinding; New & Vintage Pen Sales)
The Fountain Pen: An elegant instrument for a more civilized age.
I Write With: Any one of my assortment of Parker "51"s or Vacumatics

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am missing the green one. Plum and Forest Green are real dark, though, almost black. I wonder why Parker couldn't have made the colors a tad more obvious. I don't use the plum much, the color is too hard to enjoy, except that not absolutely everybody has one. I keep mine with the red Montblancs, that way I don't have to get out a flashlight to pick it out from the other dark P51s.

 

fpn_1368085895__hpim0885.jpg

 

Edited by pajaro

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I LOVE the "Bloody British Burgundy!" Thanks for digging out that picture!

 

I'm hoping to have a complete Aero set someday. I have a coco with a gold cap and a forrest green with a gold cap. The British Burgundy is VERY high on my list. But, it'll take a pretty penny!

 

Tim

 

Tim, it's like Willie Sutton supposedly said, "I rob banks cause that's where they keep the money." So it is with BBB 51's.

 

UK Ebay is your friend. Only 1 of 3 BBB did I pay more than regular 51 prices for there and that one has a Rolled Silver cap. You still have to watch the colors in the pics though as England had both the usual Burgundy And the BBB. Be sure the colored parts are serviceable, it's more likely that Ernesto has a parts Plum hood than a BBB hood.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Paul that's a great pic.

 

'cept all the caps clacking together is giving me the heebie jeebies. :P

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33501
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26627
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...