Parker "51" Vacuumatic question

[vicpen123]

I found a "51" Vacuumatic in an antique store in Napier NZ for $28NZD (c.$18USD) in a poor condition.

 

The nib is skewed and the filling mechanism seems not to be able to fill the pen with water. For the price, what should I expect?

 

Soaking in water releases a small amount of blue ink and the pen writes very well otherwise. But cannot be filled.

 

Any ideas to rectify?

[Paul-in-SF]

It probably needs to have a new diaphragm, and to have the nib un-skewed of course. The diaphragm is not super difficult to do, but it requires a couple of specialized tools, so you might be better off to spend the bucks to have someone who knows how do that. The nib work is a question, it depends on in what way it is messed up. If it writes well, it can't be too bad, I reckon. 

 

What color is the barrel? If it's one of the more rare colors (Nassau Green, Buckskin Beige (or Tan), Yellowstone (or Mustard) or maybe Blue Cedar) it's potentially worth more than if it is one of the other colors (Black, Dove Grey, or Cordovan Brown). If it has a second "jewel" on the blind cap, then it is potentially worth even more. 

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

That's a pretty good price for a non-operational Vacumatic IMO. By skewed do you mean the nib hood is off-center? That can be easily fixed when you get it restored, they just need to rotate the hood a bit.

 

I don't know what the pen repair scene is like in New Zealand but in the US most people charge $30-$50ish bucks for a vacumatic repair. A Parker 51 Vac in good working order is worth like $80 or more depending on the color, cap, etc. So at $18 plus however much it costs to get it restored (assuming the prices are similar in NZ), that's a good deal.

[vicpen123]

The pen is black and does not have a jewel on the blind cap. Just a standard "51".

 

The nib is noticeably skewed to the right but seems to write well.

 

I will be home in Australia by Friday so will look up repairs here. The postage to send it to the US is prohibitive (mainly back to Oz).

 

Any suggestions for pen repairs in Australia?

[shalitha33]

I'm not sure about repairs here in NZ. I have seen one advert in trademe but haven't actually used them myself.

 

I often ends up sending the pens to Australia to get repaired if its something I cant handle myself  

I have used http://pensmith.com.au/ in the past, but not sure if they are doing any repairs now though. This was years ago.

 

I often get a friend to do repairs in Australia, although I doubt he is going to take any commercial work.

pensmith is the only other place I have dealt with in the past that is still around.