Parker 51 Pan American Green

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

The best way to guarantee someone wants to do something, is to tell them they aren't allowed to...

 

On that note...

 

Parker "51" Ink Pan American Green

 

An ink so deadly to pens, they had to invent a new pen just to handle it!

 

Imagine a time when the only writing implements around were dip pens, pencils and fountain pens. It was called the 1930s!

 

Ink and Pen manufacturers are in a race to make the fastest drying ink. Everyone is carrying around a blotter, they are so common that they are used for advertising the way match books and ballpoint pens are now. Smearing ink is an everyday inconvenience. To get an edge, manufacturers need a faster drying ink. First, Parker invented Quink (a portmanteau of quick and ink) but then, they invented the fastest drying ink they could. It didn't really "dry" by evaporation so much as it soaked into the paper.

 

There was only one little tiny problem... It ATE PENS. Especially celluloid pens... oh, and it also dried out on nibs... Of course, the only OBVIOUS solution was to invent an entirely new pen just to handle this one ink! (available in 4 colours)

 

And boy did they. The Parker "51" was so successful that after making the first 12 million or so, they just stopped counting.

 

Learn more about the ink here: http://www.richardspens.com/ref/care/51_ink.htm

Learn more about the pen here: http://www.richardspens.com/ref/profiles/51.htm

Too bad the ink was still semi-deadly to that pen too... so it was only made from 1941 to about 1948. (when it was replaced by the SLIGHTLY less deadly Superchrome MTF on that...)

 

That makes the bottle in question at least 72 years old.

 

Now then, in Monty Python fashion GET ON WITH IT!

 

Obligatory "artsy" glamour shot (yeah... it's no where near PenHero's level, I know. #photographygoals)

 

 

There was some sedimentation... but don't worry, I shook the bottle vigorously to ensure all the dyes got back into suspension (obviously not solution...) After all, we need as true of a representation of it's original colour as possible!

 

 

And now the writing... My handwriting is bad enough that I may as well have just written out the first 6 pages of Lorem Ipsum... legible text typed out below the page

Rhodia Notebook

Parker "51" Pan American

Green 3oz Bottle bought

on eBay April 2020.

But the ink is over 70

years old. "51" ink

was only made from 1941 to 1948!

The ink was designed to

dry quickly. It was so aggressive the "51" pen had

to be developed just to

handle it. This bottle doesn't dry especially

quickly (actually, it's pretty good) The colour is

not saturated by today's

standards

 

Would buy again? Not Applicable

 

Shading: OK, not great

Saturation: Low

Feathering: Low/Nil

Spread: Low/Nil

Bleed: Low

Cleaning: (not evaluated yet as it is still in the pens)

 

Water test Results: Water Resistant to a reasonable degree as can be seen

 

I take it back,

dry time is pretty

good. Especially in

dryer pens.

 

 

You can't / shouldn't realistically buy this ink... but but... but what if i LOVE the colour? Well have no fear, a reasonable approximation of it can be achieved by mixing Noodler's Squeteague 7:5 Water:Ink

Yes, it says 7:1 in BOTH scans... that's a "typo" it should be 7:5 water:ink

Clairefontaine Notebook

 

Clairefontaine Notebook

Legible text typed out below... Lorem Ipsum caveat from above applies here

Parker "51" Pan American

Green

TWSBI Eco Medium nib

Wing Sung 601 Fude nib

This ink is new old

stock.

 

The bottle is nearly full,

accounting for only a little evaporation

 

The ink does not seem

to be drying at any

kind of special rate.

 

It's not a "slow" drying

ink by any means,

but it's not excepti-

onally speedy either

 

By today's standards

this does not qualify

as very saturated

But 70 years may have

had some effect on that

 

 

 

Notes:

 

I initially put this ink in a Wing Sun 3006 (a cheap copy of a "51"/61 CC). The nib dried out over night... but then again, the cap on these is not great. Still, the irony was not lost on me.

 

So then I put it in a TWSBI Eco, it was fine.

I wrote with it for a couple of days. Today I refilled the TWSBI and then eyedropper filled a Wing Sung 601 with a fude-esque nib (not wanting to stick the pen in the ink and risk contaminating it, and not having a decent sized sample vial... I pulled the hood, and collector from the 601, dumped some ink in and reassembled the pen.) That was a couple of hours ago.

 

The 601 is now experiencing hard starts and general dryness at the nib. The irony of this happening to a pen that is a VERY VERY faithful reproduction of a Parker "51" is, again, not lost on me. It should be noted, I think this particular pen writes relatively dry in the first place. But still...

I will leave it capped, horizontal on my desk overnight, and update this thread WRT dry out.

 

The Eco is fine. Seems to really like this ink, Most of the review above was written with the Eco.

 

Conclusion:

 

So there it is. the Colour of Parker "51" Pan American Green.

 

It's like a pale Noodler's Squeteague that will kill your pen in the long run and cost you a ton of money for the privilege!

 

My curiosity is satisfied... for now

 

The bottle of Tunis Blue is already on it's way ...

[NumberSix]

You're really taking one for the team with this ink.

 

*bows down*

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

You're really taking one for the team with this ink.

 

*bows down*

I couldn’t help it. I NEEDED to know what the colour looked like.

 

Figured I’d share and save anyone else the trouble

[NumberSix]

I love the fact that this ink basically ate pens.

 

And they still sold it for 7 years.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

Well, in fairness it didn’t eat 51s. But it did ossify diaphragms rather quickly. Apparently.

And besides most of the box’s surfaces are covered in warnings. If you ignore them, it is kind of your own fault

[carlos.q]

And besides most of the box’s surfaces are covered in warnings. If you ignore them, it is kind of your own fault

 

That is very interesting. Could you please post a picture of some of the box's warnings?

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

as requested:

Front

Top

Side

Side

Rear

Text reads: For Parker "51" pen only. Warning: It is harmful if used in any other fountain pen. Dries almost instantly Completely permanent.

BOTTOM!

Rear of bottle

 

All six sides of the box indicate to ONLY use it in a Parker "51", and Three of those sides tell you it is HARMFUL to other pens.

Then they also put it on the back of the bottle.

 

At this point, anyone who ruins their pen (that's not a Parker "51") is on their own, it's their own fault.

 

 

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

UPDATE on the Wing Sung 601

This morning the nib was considerably dryer. to the point of not writing reliably.

Then I accidentally left the cap off for 10 mins or so... the nib completely dried out.

The pen has now been cleaned.

CLEANING: Not Bad. A little residue left that a quick wipe got rid of. It helps that a WS 601 can be easily completely disassembled.

The TWSBI Eco remains unaffected and writing perfectly

[Erik Dalton]

What a unique and educational review. thank you for that.

[carlos.q]

Thank you for the pictures!

[inkstainedruth]

As the poem says "You're a braver man than I, Gunga Din!" (And I don't think twice about using vintage Quink from the 1940s....)

My understanding from what I've read is that Superchrome is the really nasty one -- like it dissolved the silver feeder tubes on early 51 Aerometrics. I don't know enough about the Parker 51 ink itself in comparison to Superchrome.

The first photo makes the ink look more teal blue than green. Anyone know offhand what the other "Parker 51" ink colors were?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

What a unique and educational review. thank you for that.

You’re welcome. Glad you liked it

 

Thank you for the pictures!

You’re welcome

 

As the poem says "You're a braver man than I, Gunga Din!" (And I don't think twice about using vintage Quink from the 1940s....)

My understanding from what I've read is that Superchrome is the really nasty one -- like it dissolved the silver feeder tubes on early 51 Aerometrics. I don't know enough about the Parker 51 ink itself in comparison to Superchrome.

The first photo makes the ink look more teal blue than green. Anyone know offhand what the other "Parker 51" ink colors were?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Superchrome is known for eating breather tubes but everything I’ve read suggests Superchrome was developed as a less lethal version of the ink in order to try and reduce warrantee claims. So theoretically at least Superchrome should be the less damaging of the two. The Aerometric and Superchrome hit the market at the same time so likely very little 51 ink was used in Aerometrics

 

The 51 ink colours were:

Pan American Green

Tunis Blue (my bottle is on its way)

China Red and

India Black

 

And yes it’s kinda teal-ish that’s what made me realize how close it is to diluted Noodler’s Squeteague

 

And thank you but it’s not so much bravery as informed risk taking and limited exposure. I have no intention of making this a regular use ink.

 

I have half of a 32oz bottle of 1950s Waterman Blue Black that I use regularly. Vintage Skrip BB and vintage Quink BB and Permanent Royal Blue are all on my list of inks to buy

[BlueJ]

As the poem says "You're a braver man than I, Gunga Din!" (And I don't think twice about using vintage Quink from the 1940s....)

My understanding from what I've read is that Superchrome is the really nasty one -- like it dissolved the silver feeder tubes on early 51 Aerometrics. I don't know enough about the Parker 51 ink itself in comparison to Superchrome.

The first photo makes the ink look more teal blue than green. Anyone know offhand what the other "Parker 51" ink colors were?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Ruth,

Sorry to be OCD as usual, but the correct last line from Kipling's poem is,

You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!

Cheers,

J

[inkstainedruth]

My experience with Kipling is limited to The Jungle Book and Kim -- and both of those was when I was about 8 or 9. And no, you're NOT allowed to ask how many years ago that was....

So, I paraphrased. Sue me....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[GreenMountain]

Thanks for the interesting post. And I like to color and handwriting too!

[inkstainedruth]

@ IThinkIHaveAProblem --

Oh, I have no problems with the idea of using other vintage inks (vintage Skrip Peacock is glorious) and I really like Quink Microfilm Black, a lot. My experiences with both vintage Skrip Royal Blue and vintage Quink Royal Blue, though, is that they're both kinda boring.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

Thanks for the interesting post. And I like to color and handwriting too!

You're welcome. And thank you for the compliment!

 

@ IThinkIHaveAProblem --

Oh, I have no problems with the idea of using other vintage inks (vintage Skrip Peacock is glorious) and I really like Quink Microfilm Black, a lot. My experiences with both vintage Skrip Royal Blue and vintage Quink Royal Blue, though, is that they're both kinda boring.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I know you're a huge fan of Microfilm black, so i figured you were generally ok with vintage ink

 

Thanks for the heads up on the royal blues! maybe ill just look for both of their vintage Blue Blacks then