Parker 51 — what is the appeal?

[upupup]

For me the appeal of the vintage "51" lies first and foremost in its timeless design.  The others are bonuses -- the build quality, the durability, the nib that writes ever so flawlessly each and every time I use it, the way it does not dry up so fast even when left uncapped for a long time, and even the experience of the way it caps and uncaps are just so satisfyingly unique to the pen.  All these come together as one to bring a smile not only to my face, but to my soul as well.

[inkstainedruth]

Yup, that.  
I know there are people who treasure their Ariel Kulloch "Fantasy 51s".  And I've met him and he's a really nice guy.  But one of the things I really like about my 51s is that they're understated -- they're not "bling-y".  They were designed to be superb writing instruments.  And that's exactly what they are.  Every design element has a purpose, from the hooded nib to the collector.  

And while they were probably really "modern" (or even "futuristic") looking when they first came out, they don't look old-fashioned even now.  Just streamlined.

Mind you, there are people who don't like the look of the hooded nibs.  But that's okay -- means that there are that many people who I don't have to compete with.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[amk]

inktainedruth that's exactly why I love my OTT custom 51's - the clash between the streamlined, understated, businesslike original pen and the zany materials.

That's probably also why I don't love the customized caps; the contrast only works for me if you keep the other aspects of the 51 exactly the same.

 

There's one other pen that is also iconic and that also got this treatment; the Lamy 2000. Available in black, brushed steel, sort-of-black and almost-black-blue, and ....

 

[Carguy]

3 hours ago, amk said:

inktainedruth that's exactly why I love my OTT custom 51's - the clash between the streamlined, understated, businesslike original pen and the zany materials.

That's probably also why I don't love the customized caps; the contrast only works for me if you keep the other aspects of the 51 exactly the same.

 

There's one other pen that is also iconic and that also got this treatment; the Lamy 2000. Available in black, brushed steel, sort-of-black and almost-black-blue, and ....

 

They make a RED 2000?? I NEED ONE…..

[miwishi63]

On 6/8/2022 at 7:49 AM, upupup said:

For me the appeal of the vintage "51" lies first and foremost in its timeless design.  The others are bonuses -- the build quality, the durability, the nib that writes ever so flawlessly each and every time I use it, the way it does not dry up so fast even when left uncapped for a long time, and even the experience of the way it caps and uncaps are just so satisfyingly unique to the pen.  All these come together as one to bring a smile not only to my face, but to my soul as well.

Your last sentence is the key to this discussion and can apply to any pen, not just the P51. Does using the pen bring a smile to your face and your soul? I LOVE that image!!! I have a couple of pens that do this for me. I'm still learning to love my P51, which I inherited, but we'll see what the future holds.

[amk]

Sorry to break it to you Carguy but they made ****one*** red Lamy 2000 set. IIRC it sold for about $25k.

[Carguy]

Holy Christ well I don’t need one that badly!

[inkstainedruth]

11 hours ago, Carguy said:

Holy Christ well I don’t need one that badly!

I felt like that when the Pelikan M600 in Pink first came out and the *original* price was giving me nosebleeds....  The last time I looked on eBay, the prices were practically giving me a heart attack (and I'm not sure whether those were even NOS ones).

Whereas, the MOST I've ever paid for a vintage 51 was (with the buyer's premium at a pen show auction a few years ago) around $120 US (English made Navy Grey Aero with an OB nib).  Most of my other 51s were in the $50-80 range, including any repairs (mostly getting the diaphragms on the 51 Vacs replaced if needed, and one of the Cedar Blue 51 Vacs had an EF nib which needed the tines opened up a bit some it wasn't scratchy); the other outlier to screw the average was the Forest Green Aero (an estate sale super-find -- $2 for the pen and another $20 IIRC for a checkup and a bit of nib work...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Barry Gabay]

This continues to be such an interesting thread. The Parker 51 holds great appeal for so many people. Asked numerous times why I am so crazy about the model, I usually mention its design, materials, performance, and place in writing instruments history. Recently it occurred to me that there may be another seemingly unconscious reason from the deep past.  As a child, I was fascinated by adults' fountain  pens. We children had our clear Sheaffer slip-cap cartridge  pens (in colorless, green, red, or blue) which we used at school.  On my parents' desk at home was a Sheaffer Snorkle in pale blue and a gray Parker 51. There were other 51s in my extended family and among my friends' parents. Maybe somewhere in my deep memory there are encounters with 51s I no longer recall.  In any event, my childhood memories are yet another reason to use and cherish this great model.

 

Recently, in this thread there has been some discussion of nib widths on 51s. From the experience of many writers, UK 51 & 61 nibs are generally wider than US nibs. Shown here are my three widest US-made 51s. All are on aerometric models.  I have owned all three for more than a decade. One came from eBay, one from a  Florida flea market, and one was a gift from a friend who had no interest in it.  It had belonged to his late father, but he had other possessions of his father's which were more precious to him. Also shown are two custom 51 nibs made by Greg Minuskin. I put these on vacumatic-51s because I usually find it easier to remove the hoods from vac-era 51s than from aero 51s.  Greg calls these B stub and BB italic, which I mislabeled in an earlier post.  There is also a 51 nib chart from "Parker 51" by Shepherd & Shepherd (2004). Surprisingly, 6 of the 13 nibs shown are either broad, stub,  or oblique.  Hope the photos attach. Thanks for looking.