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How Many '51's' Is Too Many?


octatonic

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I had over 200 at one point, all aerometric. They were in boxes, and too much trouble to do anything enjoyable with. I cut that down, and now I have 36. Actually a few Vacumatic types, five of those, three of which I have resacced. I have a plum, a stub, a few mediums and the rest EF or F. I only use two midnight blue aeros, one the stub and the other my first 51, a fine. Have a few colorful Kullocks and some pencils I used to do crosswords with. I think I have more than enough at 36 "51" fountain pens. I have been doing this a long time, and I have had some fun doing it.

"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.

 

 

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Pajaro-

 

Is the stub the one that Parker listed as 'for heavy pressure writing or music writing'? In the Parker nib size chart (that I have hopefully attached), it is the 12th one down. I am trying to find the size of this. I am a professional composer and would like to eventually find one, or have a nib made into whatever the factory size was.

 

Thanks for any info you might have!

 

-Octatonic

post-106042-0-22787700-1417504520.jpg

Octatonic

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The stub is one tipped by Minuskin. He did well with this nib, because upside down it writes with some line variation. It's a good Christmas card pen, and I use it to write stuff that's just for me, verse and so on. The nib is about 1.2 mm.

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.

 

 

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I had to go count. I Think I got them all. :blush:

 

I'd be lucky if I could come within 10 pens on a total.

 

I kept track for a few years until I checked the total ($) one day.

 

 

That cured That.

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

You don't want to cogitate about the dollar value or you will start thinking of selling them and such. I have sold a good number of pens, but mainly because I didn't want to have to look at them any more, once I had decided they weren't fun to use. Pelikan M1000s, M800s, MB 149, junk like that. I like pens in the size from a 51 demi to a Waterman Phileas, and the lighter the better.

"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.

 

 

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Well, I'm up one more....currently waiting on a gray Parker 51 vac. My gray collection is slowly coming together.

 

Now....for the gold cap version...

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Well, I'm up one more....currently waiting on a gray Parker 51 vac. My gray collection is slowly coming together.

 

Now....for the gold cap version...

Hmmm, I remember someone selling me a 51 cap because they weren't going to be collecting those... Now looking for gold caps?!?!

 

Like crack, I tell you.

 

Brian

One test is worth a thousand expert opinions.

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Hmmm, I remember someone selling me a 51 cap because they weren't going to be collecting those... Now looking for gold caps?!?!

 

Like crack, I tell you.

 

Brian

 

Don't think I haven't thought of that. LOL.

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In the room that I am in now I can see 3 P51 desk pens [ 2 vacs ] and in a Parker counter display case that can hold 12 pen cases there are 9 P51 pen sets in it. I would have to check the other 3 rooms that have pens in them to see what I all have.

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Hmmm, I remember someone selling me a 51 cap because they weren't going to be collecting those... Now looking for gold caps?!?!

 

Like crack, I tell you.

 

Brian

Ironically, I remember reading someplace that some stores sold just the caps to people -- so those people could have what *looked" like a Parker pen in their shirt pockets, as a status symbol (so where are all those extra caps now when I need one for the Burgundy Aero -- which admittedly, was tagged as a Parker Frontier and priced at $15 US....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Looking at all my P51 Vacs that don't write, I'm ever tempted to switch their blue diamond gold clip caps over to my P51 Aeros that do write, the combination being the best of both worlds, IMO. Maybe raffle off the leftover parts? Purists would likely disparage the resulting frankenpens, though they be in my mind the highest union of form and function. YMMV.

Nihonto Chicken

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I'd be more than happy to take one or two of those non-working P51 vacs off your hands and try to do a little CPR. ;)

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Ironically, I remember reading someplace that some stores sold just the caps to people -- so those people could have what *looked" like a Parker pen in their shirt pockets, as a status symbol (so where are all those extra caps now when I need one for the Burgundy Aero -- which admittedly, was tagged as a Parker Frontier and priced at $15 US....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I was at an auction this fall and stayed just to buy the GF P51 cap that was there. That was the only Parker item there. I was wondering why there was no pen for the cap? The cap was bundled with a few other low level pens, paid $5 for the small lot.

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Looking at all my P51 Vacs that don't write, I'm ever tempted to switch their blue diamond gold clip caps over to my P51 Aeros that do write, the combination being the best of both worlds, IMO. Maybe raffle off the leftover parts? Purists would likely disparage the resulting frankenpens, though they be in my mind the highest union of form and function. YMMV.

Sell me all your left overs. I always like large piles of 51 stuff. You can never have to much.

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

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I only own 2 51's. A forest green & gold-filled cap w/0.6mm stub, and a minty turquoise & lustralloy XF pen and pencil set. I like the idea of a massive collection of 51's, but oddly I feel satiated with just these two. I'll live vicariously through the rest of you's.

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Looking at all my P51 Vacs that don't write, I'm ever tempted to switch their blue diamond gold clip caps over to my P51 Aeros that do write, the combination being the best of both worlds, IMO. Maybe raffle off the leftover parts? Purists would likely disparage the resulting frankenpens, though they be in my mind the highest union of form and function. YMMV.

I've considered swapping the gold filled cap on the Teal Aero for the Lustraloy one on the Plum Demi, because the gold and Plum would look good in combinatinon. But I don't think I will actually do it because I'm sort of a purist: the caps should stay with the pens they came on....

As opposed to the black 51 Vac -- it's a UK made one, and it came with the cap for a US made 51 Special on it (which may have been part of the reason I was the only bidder...). I've been able to acquire a generic 51 cap, but someday I'd really like to find a UK made cap for it (it's going to be a Frankenpen as is, though, because I needed to get another hood -- there was a chunk broken off under the feed; I've gotten the replacement, just need to get it put on).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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I've considered swapping the gold filled cap on the Teal Aero for the Lustraloy one on the Plum Demi, because the gold and Plum would look good in combinatinon. But I don't think I will actually do it because I'm sort of a purist: the caps should stay with the pens they came on....

As opposed to the black 51 Vac -- it's a UK made one, and it came with the cap for a US made 51 Special on it (which may have been part of the reason I was the only bidder...). I've been able to acquire a generic 51 cap, but someday I'd really like to find a UK made cap for it (it's going to be a Frankenpen as is, though, because I needed to get another hood -- there was a chunk broken off under the feed; I've gotten the replacement, just need to get it put on).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

But in the day, and PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong (and new), when you bought a '51' you could choose your cap, nib etc., so is it really a Frankenpen if you swap things now? It was just a choice that the original owner made of all the choices, but that seems different to me from putting a different cap on a pen that only had one cap for that particular model/pen...

Just curious of everyone's thoughts on this-I have thought about it myself and am still not sure how I feel...

Octatonic

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But in the day, and PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong (and new), when you bought a '51' you could choose your cap, nib etc., so is it really a Frankenpen if you swap things now? It was just a choice that the original owner made of all the choices, but that seems different to me from putting a different cap on a pen that only had one cap for that particular model/pen...

Just curious of everyone's thoughts on this-I have thought about it myself and am still not sure how I feel...

 

You have a point, plus there are many 51s out there that have had parts replaced due to damage and/or loss. Are these Frankenpens? of course not.

The other thing to remember is that, during the first 5 years or so of the 51 production, materials were in short supply and you often find genuine 51s with missmatched parts (see David Shepherds book on the 51).

Edited by Matlock

Peter

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~ There is a sextet of Parker 51s sitting on the sideboard of my desk. They more than hold their own relative to 4 Lamy Safaris, 5 Montblanc Meisterstück 149s, and 2 Meisterstück Classiques.

 

Each is inked with Diamine inks, including poppy red, vermillion, grey, China blue, indigo and burnt sienna.

 

1. 1943 M nib cedar blue Vacumatic with a sterling silver cap

2. 1946 B nib cedar blue Vacumatic with a gold-filled cap in the wavy line pattern

3. 1948 B nib India black Vacumatic with a gold-filled cap

4. 1949 M nib burgundy Aerometric with a gold-filled cap

5. 1949 F nib burgundy Aerometric with a gold-filled cap

6. 1954 F nib forest green Aerometric with a gold-filled cap

 

All are a joy to use, smoothly writing, without skipping or excess ink flow.

 

Although my right hand is fairly large, they're comfortable to hold and use, especially for fine work on high grade paper.

 

The pet is the 1946 cedar blue Vacumatic with the wavy line pattern. It's elegant design is complemented by the exceptional writing quality, closer to an F nib than expected.

 

Each morning when glancing at them, there's considerable gratitude for the care of their previous owners, enabling me to enjoy such fine tools today.

 

Reading about all of your 51s brings a smile of recognition at using such a well-designed fountain pen.

 

 

 

post-112103-0-69878900-1417799808_thumb.jpg

Edited by Tom Kellie
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