Parker 51 Photo Thread

[donnweinberg]

Thanks.  Each one was filled and used, and each one wrote smoothly and reliably.

[Carguy]

On 1/29/2026 at 6:48 PM, donnweinberg said:

Five 51 Aeros recently purchased from Ariel Kullock; all caps supplied from my collection:  Navy Pearl * Orange Pearl * Yellow Demonstrator * Light Brown Pearl * Purple Pearl.

 

        

 

    

I have 2 variations of the purple and love them both.

[donnweinberg]

13 hours ago, Carguy said:

I have 2 variations of the purple and love them both.

 

What are the 2 variations?  Would you provide photos of them here?  All the best.

[Carguy]

3 pens and one cap

[donnweinberg]

1 hour ago, Carguy said:

3 pens and one cap

 

Nice!  Thanks for showing them.  🤩

[carlos.q]

Where is it that you guys buy these Kullock P51 parts?

[donnweinberg]

21 hours ago, carlos.q said:

Where is it that you guys buy these Kullock P51 parts?

 

Often from eBay.  There are two seller names in Buenos Aires — but the same source — Pen Parts Store and *everything.  There are U.S. sellers of Kullock pens on eBay.  It is best to search under “Kullock” so you’ll see what’s available.  

[carlos.q]

Where is the “thanks” button when you need it?

[donnweinberg]

20 minutes ago, carlos.q said:

Where is the “thanks” button when you need it?

 

👌  You're welcome.

[donnweinberg]

Interesting purchase from Peyton Street Pens — an ebonite “orange” 51 Aero.  The seller is very reliable and described it as made of ebonite, and it feels like it.  By color comparison, I’d say it’s more in the “mustard” family, in between the Kullock dark mustard and the Parker Yellowstone Mustard.  See below, where you can see, from left-to-right, Dark Mustard, Ebonite Mustard (my name), and Yellowstone Mustard.  I used the Photos app lighting modification to highlight the differences; I realize that it makes the Yellowstone Mustard look more like Buckskin Beige.

 

    

[inkstainedruth]

Interesting comparison between the three pens!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[donnweinberg]

I assembled this Aerometric combination, using a Parker-made Navy barrel and a Kullock-made hood that is a medium pearlescent blue with orange and brown swirls.  I mated it with a medium 14k nib that I smoothed out a bit.  It writes beautifully.

 

        

 

 

[donnweinberg]

Here’s a 51 Vac I assembled today:  Parker Dove Grey barrel ; Bright Yellow Hood/Section ; gold-plated center clutch ring ; “Egg Yellow” Blind Cap ; Red Anodized Pump Filler with diaphragm installed (not shown) ; 14K F-M Nib.

 

     

 

I should point out that I have enough of the standard all-Dove Grey versions (as with several other standard-colored versions) that in many cases, I want to experiment with different combinations with additional examples of the same color.  The only 51 Vac standard colors that I won’t experiment with are Nassau Green, Yellowstone Mustard, and Buckskin Beige, as they are too rare/valuable.  The only 51 Aero standard color that I won’t experiment with is Plum, for the same reason.

[Glenn-SC]

12 minutes ago, donnweinberg said:

Here’s a 51 Vac I assembled today:  Parker Dove Grey barrel ; Bright Yellow Hood/Section ; gold-plated center clutch ring ; “Egg Yellow” Blind Cap ; Red Anodized Pump Filler with diaphragm installed (not shown) ; 14K F-M Nib.

 

     

 

I should point out that I have enough of the standard all-Dove Grey versions (as with several other standard-colored versions) that in many cases, I want to experiment with different combinations with additional examples of the same color.  The only 51 Vac standard colors that I won’t experiment with are Nassau Green, Yellowstone Mustard, and Buckskin Beige, as they are too rare/valuable.  The only 51 Aero standard color that I won’t experiment with is Plum, for the same reason.

The blind cap appears to be a different diameter than the barrel.  

[VacNut]

I do not own Kullock 51s, but it appears the color of the acrylic  is not as deep or intense as the original 51s. Are the inner workings visible?

[Carguy]

2 hours ago, VacNut said:

I do not own Kullock 51s, but it appears the color of the acrylic  is not as deep or intense as the original 51s. Are the inner workings visible?

In some cases they are. Primarily, I’ve noticed this in the hoods, you can sometimes see the ink. I still love his work because he offered colors that you just couldn’t find anywhere else.

[donnweinberg]

14 hours ago, Glenn-SC said:

The blind cap appears to be a different diameter than the barrel.  

 

Good eyes; the blind cap’s open-end diameter is very slightly larger than that of the barrel’s bottom.  I have other blind caps the open-end diameter of which is considerably larger, and some of those larger blind caps can fit the older Parker Vacumatics.

 

14 hours ago, VacNut said:

I do not own Kullock 51s, but it appears the color of the acrylic  is not as deep or intense as the original 51s. Are the inner workings visible?

 

12 hours ago, Carguy said:

In some cases they are. Primarily, I’ve noticed this in the hoods, you can sometimes see the ink. I still love his work because he offered colors that you just couldn’t find anywhere else.

 

Agreed.  The transparent and translucent hoods made by Kullock were made that way by design, and he also made completely opaque (and color-saturated) hoods in non-Parker colors to match barrels and, when applicable, blind caps in those non-Parker colors.   

[donnweinberg]

New assembly today of a 51 Vac, using a Parker Dove-Grey barrel, a Kullock clear demonstrator section/hood, a GP clutch ring, a Forest Green Blind Cap (yes!), and a new red anodized aluminum filing unit (with new diaphragm not shown because now inside the pen).  The nib is a 14K medium left-oblique (good for right-handed writers).

            

 

The Forest-Green BC was part of a rare complete Forest Green 51 Vac that I purchased (at a premium) from Kullock a year or so ago, knowing that I’d have to replace the diaphragm.  There is historical Parker 51 documentation of the existence of such variations, such as when Parker had extra Lucite and didn’t want to waste it.  Well, I learned a very painful lesson when I thought (incorrectly) that I was careful enough in trying to remove the diaphragm and filler unit; the bottom of the barrel cracked and a piece of the barrel came off.  I should have been more patient and soaked/heated a few more times (at least) before trying to remove the unit.  I was able to retain the undamaged section and blind cap, but the barrel was too damaged.  I used the section on another 51, and now I’ve used the BC on the one pictured here.

[OCArt]

Nice nib!

[Carguy]

3 hours ago, donnweinberg said:

New assembly today of a 51 Vac, using a Parker Dove-Grey barrel, a Kullock clear demonstrator section/hood, a GP clutch ring, a Forest Green Blind Cap (yes!), and a new red anodized aluminum filing unit (with new diaphragm not shown because now inside the pen).  The nib is a 14K medium left-oblique (good for right-handed writers).

            

 

The Forest-Green BC was part of a rare complete Forest Green 51 Vac that I purchased (at a premium) from Kullock a year or so ago, knowing that I’d have to replace the diaphragm.  There is historical Parker 51 documentation of the existence of such variations, such as when Parker had extra Lucite and didn’t want to waste it.  Well, I learned a very painful lesson when I thought (incorrectly) that I was careful enough in trying to remove the diaphragm and filler unit; the bottom of the barrel cracked and a piece of the barrel came off.  I should have been more patient and soaked/heated a few more times (at least) before trying to remove the unit.  I was able to retain the undamaged section and blind cap, but the barrel was too damaged.  I used the section on another 51, and now I’ve used the BC on the one pictured here.

That’s a beautiful pen! I feel your vac pain as  I have done that more than once, and am gun shy about it with more rare versions.