Parker 51 Photo Thread

[VacNut]

Did we mention 51 Nibs?

 

The Broad Nib is 1.5 Stub Nib.

The Ex-Broad Nib is ??? Stub Nib.

 

I have yet to fit them onto a 51 for a test drive. The Ex-Broad Nib may be obstructed by the hood.

 

[Targa]

On 4/19/2025 at 5:07 AM, jchch1950 said:

Parker 51 in plum colour is a hard pen to find, but it is available in the new edition that the company is offering. Are both pens similar in colour, or is there a difference among them colour-wise?

The new 51 is nothing like the original.  Aside from being softer plastic, and a shorter barrel, the cap is very poorly made.  It leaks air, so your ink dries up quickly, and at least in my case, the end of the cap and clip just fell off after about 2 years.  

[Targa]

On 4/10/2025 at 10:28 AM, donnweinberg said:

 

Right.  The best advice I’ve seen when there is no glue and when one wants to restore a 61 is to use some rubber cement to secure the hood.  That way, some moderate heat can loosen the hood.  But, once a hood has been glued (e.g., super glue), forget about it.

 

 

Right.  When restoring the 51 Vacs, it is easy to over-tighten the filler unit and/or to fit into the upper barrel a collector that has too-tight a fit.  When there is a certain amount of friction resistance placing the collector, I’ll use a little bit of either diaphragm lubricant or silicone grease to help ease the collector into place.  However, some barrels just resist, so I keep trying different 51 collectors in the hope that at least one will fit; there are subtle-enough differences among some “identical” collectors.  I have found that the Kullock 51 Vac barrels present the most frequent difficulties in that regard; they tend to be a bit thicker and thus to have smaller openings at the barrel top.

Absolutely agree on both counts

[Targa]

On 4/9/2025 at 10:22 AM, donnweinberg said:

I have one Bexley-made Parker 51 Aero in a yellow color.

Back when Howard was making those, I supplied him with big bunch or 51 internal parts.  I subsequently had several of the Levy-51s in several colours including yellow, but foolishly gave them away as marketing freebies, believeing I could just buy more.  I wish I could go back in time like our famous 51 hoarder colleague.

[Glenn-SC]

15 hours ago, Targa said:

The new 51 is nothing like the original.  Aside from being softer plastic, and a shorter barrel, the cap is very poorly made.  It leaks air, so your ink dries up quickly, and at least in my case, the end of the cap and clip just fell off after about 2 years.  

I am sorry for your experience with the current production 51, but my two (one of which is the Plum) write and perform perfectly.  
PS, and the 2025 Ford Mustang is nothing like the original either. 

[jchch1950]

I want to add my 2 Parker 51, new edition, to the well-behaved pens mentioned here.

[VacNut]

A few sample caps with different banding. Clean, simple design work, perhaps a bit too garish for the “Modern” 51.

[donnweinberg]

I just assembled parts to create this “shorty” Parker 51 Vac:

    

 

    

 

I’m impressed with the Lockdown filling unit mentioned in my writing sample.  It seems durable, and the diaphragm pellet fits right into the metal opening without the need for a separate cup.  As you can see, the 14k Stub nib is great and writes beautifully.  Because I had to use superglue to seal a large crack, the glue is visible to the naked eye, even if not in the photos.  The “Ariel Kullock” red pearl barrel is beautiful and much shorter than the regular-sized barrel.  I didn’t have a reddish hood or blind cap left over from previous creations, so I used these black parts.  A nice addition to my personal collection.

[PAKMAN]

Love the look!
 

[PAKMAN]

51 Flighter with cap actuated matching pencil. 

[donnweinberg]

Nice Flighter set.  I don’t have the 51 Flighter.

[VacNut]

You may consider an original Parker plastic filler or a Speedline filler if you do not want to mess with the pellet cups in your next venture. They will likely fit better into original Parker barrels.

(The original threaded collar were cut from the Parker dies, which have a proven track record. I am assuming the reproductions are computer scanned from a collar, and it would be difficult for the user to confirm the fit).

 

The filler never contacts any ink or liquid if the diaphragm is properly maintained. We read about the corroded fillers because the diaphragm has failed and the ink has been left in the pen to corrode the filler.

I could not see the crack  in the barrel, is it on the filler or section side?

[Carguy]

Nice! I love making pens from Kullock parts.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

On 6/21/2025 at 11:51 PM, PAKMAN said:

51 Flighter with cap actuated matching pencil. 

 

Man, i sure do love a flighter…

[donnweinberg]

14 hours ago, VacNut said:

I could not see the crack  in the barrel, is it on the filler or section side?

 

Filler side.  The crack is slightly diagonal and about 1” long.

 

 

[VacNut]

1 hour ago, donnweinberg said:

 

Filler side.  The crack is slightly diagonal and about 1” long.

 

 

Sorry to hear that. Was the filler stuck? 

[donnweinberg]

I just received from the Kullock folks in Argentina some new creations and various parts.  They are now making what they call “Baby” Parker 51 fountain pens, in both Vac and Aero versions.  To show you, from my collection of Parker 51s, the size differences between different iterations, here’s a photo of 4 different sized-pens:  From Left-to-right, the Baby (Aero in this case), the Demi (original Parker), the regular-sized, and the Giant-sized (longer barrel):

 

 

The Baby 51 is considerably shorter than the Demi.  The Baby length is the same, whether in Vac or Aero format.  When I made the purchase, the Vac version was available in Demonstrator or Black (with various short caps), and the Aero version was available in Yellow, Orange, or Beige (what they call Cocoa, but which is lighter than the Parker cocoa).  Here is a photo of the pens in the Aero colors:

 

 

They came with filling systems and nibs, fully assembled.  I’ll provide photos of the Baby 51 Vacs sometime later, but I can tell you that the feeder tube is cut shorter to fit properly into the shorter Vac barrel.  They tell me that the plunger and diaphragm are the standard, regular size, so it’s just the feeder tube that is shorter.

 

I also procured from them various regular-sized 51 parts, so I can create different combinations of the regular-sized 51s.  Here are some photos of those parts (ignore the non-pen parts that I used to keep things in place for the photos):

 

 

 

 

I’ve also obtained from another source a lot of 14K English-made Broad 51 nibs, which I’ve been substituting in many of my 51s and will use in many of the “creations” I’ll work on.  Anyhow, I’m looking forward to lots of fun with the parts.  

 

[donnweinberg]

On 6/23/2025 at 12:01 PM, VacNut said:

Sorry to hear that. Was the filler stuck? 

 

Not that I’m aware.  I purchased the barrel part itself, but it arrived with the crack.  Perhaps it cracked from someone trying to remove a stuck filler before it was sent to me, but I don’t know.  Your question is a good one, as I’ve cracked some wonderful 51 Vac barrels being a bit impatient in removing a filler.  I think I’ve learned my lesson.  🫤

 

[christof]

It seems like I haven't been here in a long time. Surprising, considering Parker “51” pens are my favorite fountain pens. Well, here are a few of my latest photos.

 

 

 

 

 

[donnweinberg]

Here are some interesting Parker 51s that I’ve bought, assembled, and/or modified from parts obtained from Ariel Kullock recently.  I haven’t tested any of these in their current form.

 

 

The Cocoa one, of course, is the Parker cocoa color and is an aerometric.  Kullock provided a Parker 51 “Special” aerometric filler for it.  I substituted a Broad 14k (English) nib and a clutch ring with a black center.

 

The second one has a Kullock-made Dark Grey barrel with an aluminum jewel.  I selected a white hood and a clutch ring with a GP center.  Its filler is an “Argentina” Parker aerometric filler.  I substituted a Broad 14k (English) nib.

 

The third one has a Kullock-made, slightly greenish demonstrator barrel.  I selected a medium green hood and a stainless-steel clutch ring.  It sports a regular P51 full-size aerometric filler (“squeeze 4 times”).  I substituted a Broad 14k (English) nib.

 

The final two are two new Kullock designs that I mentioned in an earlier post a few weeks ago.  They are representatives of the “BABY” Parker 51 Vacumatics.  These two are full demonstrators, and I have a third one not pictured here.  I substituted a Broad 14k (English) nib in each.  Before substituting the broad nibs, I tested each.  One of the two didn’t fill as readily as the other.  Eyeballing the pens through their transparent surfaces, I detected that the plastic filler tube of the one seemed to come in direct contact with the rubber diaphragm when the latter was fully plunged in.  In opening each pen for nib replacement, I cut a tiny bit of the “offending” filler tube off so that it wouldn’t be blocked when the diaphragm was fully plunged.  Before opening the pens, I filled each and wrote for a few days with their fine nibs.  Each had somewhat dry flow.  I’m hopeful that the broad nib will improve the smoothness and flow of each.

 

Kullock had to modify the Parker collectors to fit the Baby versions, by shaving off the lower half or so of the plastic fins.  Here are two views of the collector with feed, tube, and broad nib inserted:

 

        

 

I also want to provide you with better views of the second pen in the first photo, to better represent the dark grey barrel color and the aluminum jewel.  As mentioned already, I selected a clutch ring with a GP center.  

 

 

    

 

 

 

I continue to work on more and will share as I complete them.