Retro 51.. Saying Good Bye?

[GardenWeasel]

I bought my 4th one this year. Since retiring, Ive found a Retro 51 to be a comfortable pen for pocket carry when out-and-about.

Edited January 25, 2020 by GardenWeasel

[langere]

What? No more Cherry Blossom special editions? I will miss them...

 

Erick

[Theroc]

I bought my 4th one this year. Since retiring, Ive found a Retro 51 to be a comfortable pen for pocket carry when out-and-about.

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Every couple of months I tell myself I should add a Tornado Einstein to my Breakaway. But I never do as I know it would get very little use. Now, with this news, the urge to get one is stronger than ever.

How does the paint hold-up on yours?

[Parker51]

Perhaps they will refocus to only produce special editions. I have read a variety of texts on how to maximize ones efficiency in regard to ones business, and one alternative to retirement if one is in business is to identify which of your accounts provides you with the most sales and least sales and which of your accounts provides you with the most problems and least problems. Then do a ranking and only keep the ones with the lowest scores. The result can be that you may be able to maintain upwards of 70% of your sales with 30% of your workload. The idea is at least in the short term, that being a few years, most of your sales are by organizations which are well run and give you few problems and it is the poorly run organizations with few sales which give you the most trouble and work.

Edited January 25, 2020 by Parker51

[Honeybadgers]

I've just always been thoroughly uninterested in every single body they've made, and a bone stock JoWo nib in them made them all the more unappealing.

 

It's a shame, I do want to support american companies, but there are just better, more innovative ones out there like tactile turn and karas.

[GardenWeasel]

Every couple of months I tell myself I should add a Tornado Einstein to my Breakaway. But I never do as I know it would get very little use. Now, with this news, the urge to get one is stronger than ever.

How does the paint hold-up on yours?

I’ve carried the one in the photo for a while and see no wear. Tough pens!

[Bibliophage]

I've seen ads for Retro 51 pens in my email regularly. I've never seen one that caught my eye to be worth the money.

 

For ballpoints, I have Vectors, No-Nonsense, and Jotters, and those are good enough for me.

[inkypinkies]

I've seen ads for Retro 51 pens in my email regularly. I've never seen one that caught my eye to be worth the money.

 

For ballpoints, I have Vectors, No-Nonsense, and Jotters, and those are good enough for me.

I really find the Tornado a well-balanced and very pleasant rollerball. The EZ Flow 9000 refill also writes very nicely.

Edited January 27, 2020 by inkypinkies

[mikerph]

There is an article in the Feb. Pen World magazine that contains a statement from the founder(s) of Retro 51 detailing what is happening; it sounds like they are retiring and the company as we know it will cease.

[Intensity]

There is an article in the Feb. Pen World magazine that contains a statement from the founder(s) of Retro 51 detailing what is happening; it sounds like they are retiring and the company as we know it will cease.

 

[Intensity]

I've recently added an artist series Vannes-exclusive beautiful etched copper with color accents rollerball (now sold out), already fitted it with a Zebra Sarasa vintage color refill. Some of these pens have fairly basic designs, and some are very intricate and beautiful in person.

Edited February 25, 2020 by Intensity

[taike]

My reaction was to get off the fence and buy one. It does look like the brand will likely disappear and I want a piece of the story. Gave me a chance to add an EF Jowo to my collection and the P51 design has gotten appreciative reviews.

[Misfit]

I have 6 of their fountain pens, 5 rollerballs, and 2 mechanical pencils. I want the crossword mechanical pencil, and the Smithsonian Discovery rollerball pen.

[Helen350]

That makes my Retro 51 Tornado a real treat. Wish I had purchased

the Cat Paws fountain pen. Hate to hear this news.

[Misfit]

I bought the Smithsonian Discovery rollerball pen while at pen club this evening. It’s a numbered edition, with a nice tube. It isn’t smooth. It seems almost like you feel tiles.

 

 

I’m glad to add this to my Space collection. Shuttle Discovery launched the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a scale model of the Hubble Space Telescope on the Marshfield, Missouri County courthouse lawn. Edwin Hubble was born in Marshfield, and lived there for 9 years.

 

[Misfit]

Well, if you delay you pay more. I could have bought the Crossword mechanical pencil for $36. Now the only in-stock online stores charge $45.

 

But I ordered one anyway, along with a bottle of Private Reserve Arabian Rose.

 

Edited to add I suppose I ordered these items. The confirmation email from fountain pen hospital has yet to arrive. That and I ordered a pen from them a few years ago in November and got it in February.

Edited March 1, 2020 by Misfit

[thudthwacker]

I really like a lot of their designs. As soon as I heard about the retirement, I got a Tornado Big Shot Sherman Tank rollerball, because I like tanks. Alas, turns out I *really* can't use rollerballs. Don't really know why, but I've tried a bunch of what are supposed to be high-quality refills (Schmidt 9000 easyflow, Parker Quink gel, a Monteverde hybrid-type, and of course the Schmidt roller refill it comes with) -- they all come out looking like I was writing while riding on a stagecoach. I wish they did more fountain pen models -- a Sherman Tank fountain pen I'd buy in a hot second. I'd fight you for a fountain pen version of their Bioworkz design, if they'd ever made one. I kind of like the Mustang, Corsair, and Lincoln fountain pen models, but not overhwelmingly.

[dan in montreal]

It's too bad to see them go, but as the owners seem to be retiring, I guess it's a happy ending.

I still have a few Tornadoes, but I rarely use them. I've always been weary of the cap threads which are made of a rather soft plastic and are at risk of being stripped. I've had them for years, so I'm not sure the more recent models have this unfortunate feature. I wish they had focused more on fountain pens but I guess the more upscale rollerball market was their main target. Their packaging was always rather interesting and original.

[Intensity]

I really like a lot of their designs. As soon as I heard about the retirement, I got a Tornado Big Shot Sherman Tank rollerball, because I like tanks. Alas, turns out I *really* can't use rollerballs. Don't really know why, but I've tried a bunch of what are supposed to be high-quality refills (Schmidt 9000 easyflow, Parker Quink gel, a Monteverde hybrid-type, and of course the Schmidt roller refill it comes with) -- they all come out looking like I was writing while riding on a stagecoach. I wish they did more fountain pen models -- a Sherman Tank fountain pen I'd buy in a hot second. I'd fight you for a fountain pen version of their Bioworkz design, if they'd ever made one. I kind of like the Mustang, Corsair, and Lincoln fountain pen models, but not overhwelmingly.

 

You can use more than that. Some require modification. I use filed and trimmed Zebra Sarasa gel refills in mine (~0.5mm) and a 0.38mm refill from a Uni-ball Signo RT1 UMN-155 Gel Pen. Those are G2-style refills that also needed to be filed at the front to fit well through the front of the pen. There are sites that give instructions on how to use G2 refills in Retro 51 rollerballs and some others. In particular if you don't care about the twist-retract mechanism, it's very straightforward to just trim a G2 refill. If you do, then it requires some care and gradual trimming and filing.

http://geekandgirliestuff.blogspot.com/2015/12/retro-51-pen-with-g2-pen-refill-hack.html

Edited March 10, 2020 by Intensity

[Misfit]

When I wanted a red ink refill for the Mission to Mars rollerball, the pen store employee sold me a Private Reserve refill. It works well once you get it to settle all the way in.

 

Another great resource on refills comes from The Well Appointed Desk blog

https://www.wellappointeddesk.com/2014/06/epic-refill-guide-rollerball-gel-and-ballpoints