Is it worth it? Parker 51 2021 Edition

[davidtaylorjr]

Ok, So I have seen a lot of opinions about the new Parker 51. I want to hear from people who actually own one. Is it worth it? Does the Converter/Cartridge really rattle around in the barrel? Is the steel a good writer for the money? How does the Gold perform?

 

I'm looking to buy one of these and wondering if it is worth it to get an original or if the new ones are good as well. I am more interested in the LOOK but do not want one of the knock off brands.  I've never had a vintage pen before so getting an older one scares me a bit with the sacs and everything.

[FarmBoy]

I have an original.  Not that this should surprise anyone.

[Karmachanic]

Type "new parker 51"  including quotation marks in the search window, top right. There are several threads.

 

Or better yet:

site fountainpennetwork.com, new parker 51

In your browser

[Ron Z]

The vintage aerometric 51s have a PVC (synthetic) sac.  No worries about reliability there.

[inkstainedruth]

Ron is right.  

If you get a vintage 51 Aerometric, the odds are good that all the pen will need is a good flushing out (see the thread about finding your first 51 in the wild, which might be a Pinned Thread).

Not sure what the current prices are like (most of mine were in the $50-$80 range).  The two outliers were the English made Navy Gray (high end, because it was at an auction at a pen show and I was bidding on the OB nib at $120, but that included the buyer's premium), and the Forest Green with the EF nib (absolute steal at an estate sale roughly 3-1/2 years ago, about an hour northeast of where I live) at $2 plus another $20 at a pen show to have the nib worked on a bit.

51 Vacs are more likely to need some work (such as replacing the diaphragm) but the Cedar Blue one that Ron repaired for me and opened up the tines a bit (it was also an EF nib) on that one as well?  That's the pen I reach for if I have to do a lot of research involving copious note taking.... 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[Checklist]

Another vote for the vintage.  I have not tried the new 51, but I got my 60ish year-old 51 Aerometric FP/Pencil set a year and a half ago for ~$80 on That Worldwide Garage Sale; it was in great condition and pretty much new.  The Aerometric version, as others have said, is dang near bulletproof (not literally; please don't try that) and holds much more ink than a modern Parker converter.  And, the nib is legendary and designed for its pen, instead of the pen being adapted to what I hear is an off-the shelf nib.

 

Long story short, there is very little risk with the vintage Aero 51, several advantages, and it's about the same price.  It's your choice, of course, but that's why I've never considered the modern version.

[Carguy]

Agree with all the above. I have many, many vintage 51’s, but have no intention of buying one of the “new” ones. There has been a great deal of discussion here about this, so I won’t revive all the reasons why, other than to advise you not to bother with a “new” one.

[es9]

Someone please correct me if I’m mistaken, but I think the new 51s are basically just a standard nib covered by a largely nonfunctional hood. The original 51, by contrast, has the incredibly innovative ink collector. 
 

[OCArt]

If you are hesitant to buy vintage (really no risk with he P51) you might try a Wing Sung 601A for under $20, it really is what the modern 51 should've been. Piston filling and ink window.

[jchch1950]

I have the new Parker 51 with steel nib and some old 51.I use the new one , no problems at all and if I loose the pen I will be able to buy a new one. The only thing that I will like is more variety of nibs and not only fine and medium but in the old 51 is not easy to find broad nibs either.

[Michael Jennings]

I have both a Vintage Vacumatic [ With RonZ now for a refresh ] and a new 51 Deluxe. The Vintage 51 was given to me by my Granda when I was in 4th grade (as I remember) and writes very well, but the filling has gotten a bit finicky hence the trip to RonZ. The new Deluxe with the gold nib, I use cartridges in rather than the converter. It writes very well and I have to say I prefer the screw on cap to the "snap on". Looking forward to getting the vintage one back!

[davidtaylorjr]

2 minutes ago, Michael Jennings said:

I have both a Vintage Vacumatic [ With RonZ now for a refresh ] and a new 51 Deluxe. The Vintage 51 was given to me by my Granda when I was in 4th grade (as I remember) and writes very well, but the filling has gotten a bit finicky hence the trip to RonZ. The new Deluxe with the gold nib, I use cartridges in rather than the converter. It writes very well and I have to say I prefer the screw on cap to the "snap on". Looking forward to getting the vintage one back!

Does the cartridge rattle like I have seen in some reviews?

[Mike B]

Let me try to answer the questions you have asked.

 

I do have a new Parker 51 -- the steel nib version. The current price for one of these is between $80 and $100.

 

The convertor does not rattle around in mine. I have not tried a cartridge and doubt I ever will (unless I'm just trying to clear out the ol' ink drawer someday...).

 

The nib is actually quite nice on the new pen. I have a fine, and it is pretty close to the F nib on a Pelikan, or the EF nib on a Lamy Safari. It is quite smooth and a pleasure to use.

 

I find no significant writing difference between the steel nibs and the gold nibs on Pelikan pens -- if anything, I prefer steel. With the old '51' pens, I also found no writing difference -- it was more a matter of esthetics to me. But I don't know how the new 51 gold nibs write.

 

The gold version of the new 51 is now generally selling for north of $250.

 

When I check eBay these days, I find the final sales price of a clean-looking Aerometric old-style '51' is in the $120 range. When I bought stuff from eBay (now about a dozen years ago) I found that the majority -- not all -- of the pens were in decent order (and a lot cheaper). But they did not look shiny and new -- that may be important to you. Note that these pens are going to be gold-nibbed.

 

If you like antique shops and estate auctions you might well find a '51' for less. But you can expect to be doing a fair bit of searching.

 

Some of the people who post here have their own websites and occasionally sell refurbished '51' pens. The prices are usually north of $130, and can go to nearly $200 for a truly great example with an unusual cap. And of course you are getting a properly refurbished pen.

 

So, your preferences are going to determine what you do. If you need only a plum 51 to complete your collection of the colors for the model barrels, then I think the new gold nibbed 51 is a wonderful solution to your problem. If you love gold nibs, then I think you get better value with a used '51' pen. If it is important to you to have something new and perfect, then the new model might be the way to go.

 

Or you could do what most of us here are going to end up doing -- buy both options and guarantee both satisfaction and poverty!

[davidtaylorjr]

1 hour ago, Mike B said:

Let me try to answer the questions you have asked.

 

I do have a new Parker 51 -- the steel nib version. The current price for one of these is between $80 and $100.

 

The convertor does not rattle around in mine. I have not tried a cartridge and doubt I ever will (unless I'm just trying to clear out the ol' ink drawer someday...).

 

The nib is actually quite nice on the new pen. I have a fine, and it is pretty close to the F nib on a Pelikan, or the EF nib on a Lamy Safari. It is quite smooth and a pleasure to use.

 

I find no significant writing difference between the steel nibs and the gold nibs on Pelikan pens -- if anything, I prefer steel. With the old '51' pens, I also found no writing difference -- it was more a matter of esthetics to me. But I don't know how the new 51 gold nibs write.

 

The gold version of the new 51 is now generally selling for north of $250.

 

When I check eBay these days, I find the final sales price of a clean-looking Aerometric old-style '51' is in the $120 range. When I bought stuff from eBay (now about a dozen years ago) I found that the majority -- not all -- of the pens were in decent order (and a lot cheaper). But they did not look shiny and new -- that may be important to you. Note that these pens are going to be gold-nibbed.

 

If you like antique shops and estate auctions you might well find a '51' for less. But you can expect to be doing a fair bit of searching.

 

Some of the people who post here have their own websites and occasionally sell refurbished '51' pens. The prices are usually north of $130, and can go to nearly $200 for a truly great example with an unusual cap. And of course you are getting a properly refurbished pen.

 

So, your preferences are going to determine what you do. If you need only a plum 51 to complete your collection of the colors for the model barrels, then I think the new gold nibbed 51 is a wonderful solution to your problem. If you love gold nibs, then I think you get better value with a used '51' pen. If it is important to you to have something new and perfect, then the new model might be the way to go.

 

Or you could do what most of us here are going to end up doing -- buy both options and guarantee both satisfaction and poverty!

Thank you, this is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for!

[Michael Jennings]

Davidtaylorjr: No rattle at all with cartridges in my 2021 Parker 51 Deluxe.

[Mercian]

16 hours ago, es9 said:

Someone please correct me if I’m mistaken, but I think the new 51s are basically just a standard nib covered by a largely nonfunctional hood. The original 51, by contrast, has the incredibly innovative ink collector. 
 

The new 51s have a nib that is the same shape as those that are on the current edition of the ‘Jotter’.

The nibs on the new 51 might be polished better than those that are on the Jotter - and there are certainly no Jotters that have a gold nib! - I don’t know.

The hood on the new 51 is moulded in a shape that leaves a noticeable gap between the hood and the pen’s nib.

I personally got put-off from buying a new 51 by reading reports from reviewers and owners that said that the cap actually scratches the pen’s grip-section, and by reports from owners that the holes in the cap allow the ink in the pen’s cartridge/converter to evaporate.

 

FPN members who have bought new 51s have had mixed results - some love their new 51s, others were disappointed by the two things that have put me off from buying one.

 

I infer that, IF you are going to write all day long, every day, they are good pens.
But also that, if you are going to leave them unused for a few days they will - like the Parker Sonnet -  hard-start, and if you leave them alone for e.g. a month, the ink in them will dry-out.

I have also read owner reports that say that they are not as well-balanced as the vintage “51”s are (note that the vintage pens include the “ “ marks around the numbers in their name).

 

I own two Made-in-England (in 1954) aerometric “51”s.

They start-up perfectly first time, every time.

Their hoods are moulded to be very close to their nibs - which makes them perfect for use for taking notes in meetings/lectures, as it means that they do not dry-out as rapidly as exposed nibs do.

The plastic from which they are made is tough, and has no scratches on it. 67 years since production.

Do they offer any ‘flex’? No, but then neither do the nibs on current-production new 51s.
Vintage “51”s are perfectly balanced when writing with the cap ‘posted’, or with the cap off the pen.

The sacs in the aerometric pens nearly all still work perfectly, despite being ‘vintage’.

 

They are a PITA to clean-out fully if one lets an ink dry-out in them, but IMO they are without peer when it comes to reliability/utility for the task of making notes in a meeting and/or writing all day long.

 

The new 51 might be a really good pen for you, depending upon your ‘use-case’.

The vintage “51”s are no good if you want a flexy nib, or want to use glitter-loaded inks, or nano-particle pigment-based inks.

But, if you wish to use a fountain pen at work, with one dye-based ink, IMO the vintage aerometric “51” is still the ‘ultimate writing machine’. Only the Lamy 2000 is in the same league.

[davidtaylorjr]

25 minutes ago, Mercian said:

But, if you wish to use a fountain pen at work, with one dye-based ink, IMO the vintage aerometric “51” is still the ‘ultimate writing machine’. Only the Lamy 2000 is in the same league.

This is good to know, it is something I would use at work and glad you compared it to the Lamy 2000 as that is what I currently write with all day long.

[inkstainedruth]

The advantage of a vintage 51 over a Lamy 2000 is the weight (I tried someone's 2000 at a pen club meeting a few years ago and found it a bit too heavy for me -- but have NO problems with any of my vintage 51s).  

YMMV....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[davidtaylorjr]

2 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

The advantage of a vintage 51 over a Lamy 2000 is the weight (I tried someone's 2000 at a pen club meeting a few years ago and found it a bit too heavy for me -- but have NO problems with any of my vintage 51s).  

YMMV....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I find that true if I post the Lamy, but I'm an unposted kind of guy  

[TitoThePencilPimp]

They are junk. Either go vintage, or buy the Wing Sung model.