Parker 51 Compared To Parker 21

[Estycollector]

Is the primary difference a smooth writing nib?

[PAKMAN]

Typically gold vs steel nib and the materials in the 21 are cheaper and tend to shrink or crack more than you would see in a 51.

[Estycollector]

Typically gold vs steel nib and the materials in the 21 are cheaper and tend to shrink or crack more than you would see in a 51.

 

Thank you. I have been unable to find a similar nib. Perhaps this one has been damaged.

[PAKMAN]

You may be right, it doesn't look exactly right.

[pajaro]

That nib looks slightly bent. With these hooded nib pens, the 51 and 21, correct contact nib to hood is necessary for good ink flow. The Octanium (Parker's name) steel alloy nibs in the 21 are the same as the Octanium steel alloy nibs used in 51 Specials and sometimes as replacement nibs. Many people say the Octanium nibs are as good as the 14K nibs. The 21 nibs are good nibs if undamaged. The 21 plastics are subject to shrinking and cracking. I have a couple of 21s that still seem good. I think they are 1950s production, but they might be early 1960s. Desk pens as well. They are not bad. If I don't use them much, it is because I have too many pens to get around to all of them.

[Estycollector]

That nib looks slightly bent. With these hooded nib pens, the 51 and 21, correct contact nib to hood is necessary for good ink flow. The Octanium (Parker's name) steel alloy nibs in the 21 are the same as the Octanium steel alloy nibs used in 51 Specials and sometimes as replacement nibs. Many people say the Octanium nibs are as good as the 14K nibs. The 21 nibs are good nibs if undamaged. The 21 plastics are subject to shrinking and cracking. I have a couple of 21s that still seem good. I think they are 1950s production, but they might be early 1960s. Desk pens as well. They are not bad. If I don't use them much, it is because I have too many pens to get around to all of them.

 

Thank you for looking. The ink flow is good and the pen performs well. Interesting bent if so. I've decided its a Dizzy Gillespie nib.

Edited February 15, 2020 by Estycollector

[Jerome Tarshis]

Parker 21 is the name of a model that is substantially different from the Parker 51 or the Parker Super 21. All of the above discourse seems to be about the Super 21. But we do not know which pen the OP has in mind.

 

The 21 is generally thought of as a smooth writer, as indeed are many other Parker pens. But except for the appearance (though not the reality) of maybe having a 51 nib, they are different pens. The 21 is a plain fountain pen of the 1940s or 1950s encased in plastic so that it looks something like a 51. That's all it is.

 

For that matter, the 2002 Parker 51 Special Edition was a smooth-writing plain fountain pen, although without the tubular nib or the collector of the 51. Those are not worthless pens, but they are not technically continuous with the 51, whereas the Super 21 is.

[FarmBoy]

OP pictures a 21 though one can not discern which version. It isn’t a Super 21.

[pajaro]

 

Thank you for looking. The ink flow is good and the pen performs well. Interesting bent if so. I've decided its a Dizzy Gillespie nib.

If it works, don't fix it. Sometimes a bent nib gets bent back to working shape but not perfect cosmetic shape.

 

It doesn't look like a Super 21, so my comment about the nib was incorrect, it is not the same as the 51 steel nib. Still, these nibs can be pretty good writers. I like the writing qualities of the 21.

Edited February 16, 2020 by pajaro

[Estycollector]

This pen appears to me to be a second generation 21 with the "trough" clip from the resources I've read and from the photos I've found. Yes, less expensive plastic and steel nib seems to be the basic difference between this very popular Parker model and it's 51 cousin from those same resources.

 

If the nib is bent, it was bent perfectly as in in line with the hooded tip. That said, it does write smooth enough, but not the same as the Esterbooks.

[Jerome Tarshis]

Yes, less expensive plastic and steel nib seems to be the basic difference between this very popular Parker model and it's 51 cousin from those same resources.

 

 

Whatever these resources may be, they are not getting the message across. Or else there is some difference of opinion about what "basic" means.

 

As indicated in my post above, the 51 and the 51 Special and the Super 21 are fundamentally different pens from the various 21s and other fountain pens. The 51-style nib, whether gold or Octanium, is fundamentally different in form from other fountain-pen nibs. Although in the years since 1941 a number of other manufacturers have supplied a feed somewhat resembling the 51's collector, the Parker 21 has no such thing.

 

It's possible to make a good fountain pen that doesn't technically resemble a Parker 51. But the Parker 51 is a different pen in ways other than the quality of the plastic and the metal the nib is made of. A source that doesn't make that clear is not an entirely helpful source.

 

[Estycollector]

Whatever these resources may be, they are not getting the message across. Or else there is some difference of opinion about what "basic" means.

 

As indicated in my post above, the 51 and the 51 Special and the Super 21 are fundamentally different pens from the various 21s and other fountain pens. The 51-style nib, whether gold or Octanium, is fundamentally different in form from other fountain-pen nibs. Although in the years since 1941 a number of other manufacturers have supplied a feed somewhat resembling the 51's collector, the Parker 21 has no such thing.

 

It's possible to make a good fountain pen that doesn't technically resemble a Parker 51. But the Parker 51 is a different pen in ways other than the quality of the plastic and the metal the nib is made of. A source that doesn't make that clear is not an entirely helpful source.

 

 

You may mean well, but have offered little if any useful information. A Parker 51 is not beyond my reach if I find a good one of interest. That said, "As others have mentioned, it was that the pen wrote when the nib touched paper and it wrote well. All that you can ask of a pen."

 

Incoming...

Edited February 16, 2020 by Estycollector

[welch]

The P-21 is not close to the P-51 or to the P-51 Special. The 21 and the 51 Special both used steel ("octanium") nibs, but the nibs seem shaped differently. I had a couple 21's, and the nibs seemed to extend farther beyond the hood. The 51 Special is pretty much a 51 with the steel nib and without the guard around the sac.

 

The P-21 was an entry-level pen. The P-51 was Parker's top-line pen, sold as a gift pen for someone who had graduated college or for executives. The 21 seemed marketed for students. The Super 21 certainly was a student pen, the immediate predecessor to the great Parker 45.

 

Is there another question? One I didn't see?

 

If the underlying question is which is better, I think both versions of the 51 are better than the 21. I've had all three, and kept about two dozen 51's.

 

Here is Tony Fischier's account of the 21:

 

https://parkerpens.net/parker21.html

Edited February 20, 2020 by welch

[Estycollector]

The P-21 is not close to the P-51 or to the P-51 Special. The 21 and the 51 Special both used steel ("octanium") nibs, but the nibs seem shaped differently. I had a couple 21's, and the nibs seemed to extend farther beyond the hood. The 51 Special is pretty much a 51 with the steel nib and without the guard around the sac.

 

The P-21 was an entry-level pen. The P-51 was Parker's top-line pen, sold as a gift pen for someone who had graduated college or for executives. The 21 seemed marketed for students. The Super 21 certainly was a student pen, the immediate predecessor to the great Parker 45.

 

Is there another question? One I didn't see?

 

If the underlying question is which is better, I think both versions of the 51 are better than the 21. I've had all three, and kept about two dozen 51's.

 

Here is Tony Fischier's account of the 21:

 

https://parkerpens.net/parker21.html

 

Now that I have a nice '42 "51", I can agree with your comparisons regarding the nib. That said, the "21" ain't half bad. Thank you for the linked information.

[FarmBoy]

You may mean well, but have offered little if any useful information. A Parker 51 is not beyond my reach if I find a good one of interest. That said, "As others have mentioned, it was that the pen wrote when the nib touched paper and it wrote well. All that you can ask of a pen."

 

Incoming...

I think Jerome does point out differences but in a way you may need familiarity with the Parker pens of the line.

 

The 51 Special, the 21 Super, and the 41 all use a tubular tipped nib made from Octanium. The 51 used an identical nib but made from gold. The filler units had some internal differences but all pens have the same collector and feed arrangement.

 

The 21 (non Super) family of pens had a standard looking open nib merely shielded by the hood and they have a more or less standard feed. The hood pays little to no role in ink delivery, not the case in a collector based pen.

 

The Parker 51 was expensive to make. Parker invested significant R and D effort into the 10 dollar and the 5 dollar 51 projects to make a pen that would appeal to a greater audience.

[Estycollector]

I think Jerome does point out differences but in a way you may need familiarity with the Parker pens of the line.

 

The 51 Special, the 21 Super, and the 41 all use a tubular tipped nib made from Octanium. The 51 used an identical nib but made from gold. The filler units had some internal differences but all pens have the same collector and feed arrangement.

 

The 21 (non Super) family of pens had a standard looking open nib merely shielded by the hood and they have a more or less standard feed. The hood pays little to no role in ink delivery, not the case in a collector based pen.

 

The Parker 51 was expensive to make. Parker invested significant R and D effort into the 10 dollar and the 5 dollar 51 projects to make a pen that would appeal to a greater audience.

 

Thank you. Your post is most useful. I have since corrected the nib angle on the 21 so that now it writes more smoothly.