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What Makes Parker 51 So Great?

WhoCares1537

By WhoCares1537
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Snargle Rare

Snargle

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For the longest time, I thought Parker 51s were ugly and I had no desire to own one. Then I stumbled across one in a flea market, mixed in with a bunch of throw-away ballpoints. For literally pocket change, I had myself a P51! After a good flushing, I filled the aerometric converter, started writing, and then I knew what all the fuss was about! I have several more now, and they are some of favorite writing instruments.

Larry

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amk Collectors Item

amk

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Fascinating - what's coming out of this thread as I read it is just how many of us never believed the hype, but have had the 51s grow on us... it's a real workhorse pen, isn't it? Which just happens also to be collectable.

Too many pens, too little time!

http://fountainpenlove.blogspot.fr/

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SockAddict Extremely Rare

SockAddict

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If Pajaro ever gets off his butt :D and sends out the replacement hood, I have a 51 Demi here that you can have for free.

 

 

If that's me you're talking to, thank you. That's very generous. Be assured I'd give it a good home. :)

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SockAddict Extremely Rare

SockAddict

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Aaaahhh, g'wan....you want to. It shows. ;)

 

Yeah, yeah. Just, the longer I take to decide I want any one pen in particular, the less broke I feel! :D

 

I can feel myself shifting from a pure user to a user with collector leanings … I've just got to keep those "collector" feelings from getting too strong!

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inkstainedruth Ancient Artifact

inkstainedruth

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There's a 707 about 10 miles from here, fully flight ready.

 

It's parked in Johnny Travolta's back yard.

 

 

 

No, Really, it is.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

I guess he has a big back yard (I"ve flown on 707s in the past and they are *not* small planes, though not as large as 747s or the direct computers to 747s. the DC-10s.

I'm not sure how 707s even came into this conversation. That really is a case of apples and oranges -- a fast fighter jet vs. a large civilian passenger plane.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstaindruth

 

edited for typos

Edited by 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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DrCodfish Collectors Item

DrCodfish

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There's a 707 about 10 miles from here, fully flight ready.

 

It's parked in Johnny Travolta's back yard.

 

 

 

No, Really, it is.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

I didn't say they weren't out there. the thing that first put the 707 on the map was when test pilot Tex Johnson barrel rolled one at the 1955 Gold Cup hydroplane races in Seattle. I wonder if Mr. Travolta has rolled his? Watch this.

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Mr. Pink Collectors Item

Mr. Pink

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That'll work well enough with pink ink.

Then I am in luck. I just got some pinkish ink from our friend in Lost Wages. It looks just lovely.

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pajaro Museum Piece

pajaro

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If that's me you're talking to, thank you. That's very generous. Be assured I'd give it a good home. :)

 

Still trying to find where I put the replacement hood after I found a sturdy carrier for it. We are cleaning up the house to sell it, so I might find it yet.

"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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hood Rare

hood

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I'm another who was entirely uninterested in them until one day I saw one cheap and went for it just to see what everyone was on about. And I discovered they were right.

 

What's so great? They just work. They're the most no-nonsense, robust and reliable fountain pens I've used, they just don't seem to suffer from any of the foibles and annoyances that most fountain pens do in general daily-life use. And by that I don't mean the just-so, ideal setup for practicing pretty writing or artfully noting down profound deliberations; I mean the stop-start, down-and-dirty scribblings of notes you have to record whilst a hundred other things are going on around you. They don't get in the way of what you're using them for.

 

Actually, now I've said those things, I've just realised they're the qualities that gave the ballpoint the strength to conquer the world (excepting cheapness).

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gweimer1 Antique

gweimer1

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It was a Parker 21 that got me on my way down this twisted road. I like the looks of the hooded nibs, and I don't have to worry about getting ink on my fingers when I don't pay attention to how I hold the pen.

 

That said, all my Parker 51s are nicely balanced, reliable and quick starters (when they have been restored correctly), and one of the smoothest writing pens I've come across. They have an inherent consistency, which speaks of their value and desirability, along with the quality of Parker's manufacturing.

 

...in other words, pretty much what's been said in the past three pages. I find myself now in possession of four Parker 51s - two aerometric and two vacs, with an even split of diamond and arrow caps.

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inkstainedruth Ancient Artifact

inkstainedruth

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I'm another who was entirely uninterested in them until one day I saw one cheap and went for it just to see what everyone was on about. And I discovered they were right.

 

What's so great? They just work. They're the most no-nonsense, robust and reliable fountain pens I've used, they just don't seem to suffer from any of the foibles and annoyances that most fountain pens do in general daily-life use. And by that I don't mean the just-so, ideal setup for practicing pretty writing or artfully noting down profound deliberations; I mean the stop-start, down-and-dirty scribblings of notes you have to record whilst a hundred other things are going on around you. They don't get in the way of what you're using them for.

 

Actually, now I've said those things, I've just realised they're the qualities that gave the ballpoint the strength to conquer the world (excepting cheapness).

I'm going to disagree with you on the description of ballpoints, there. I remember when I was a kid, there were several times when my mom had to take a match to a BP point to warm up the ink and ball enough to flow without skipping. The only time that happens on my 51s is when they're almost out of ink. And then they just get either refilled, refilled with distilled water when I'm too lazy to flush, or get flushed to be either taken out of rotation or filled with a different ink.

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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