Parker 51 Pen and Super Chrome Ink

[psimpson130]

I have my father's old Parker 51 (circa 1962-64) which he was given. After removing the shell, it says to squeeze it 5 or 6 times to fill the bladder and to use Super Chrome ink. I know that Super Chrome ink is very corrosive even in pens it was "designed" for. I am tempted to not use it as I have had if for almost 45 years and never wrote with it. My mom gave it to me when my father passed back in 1980. If I wanted to use it, would it work with a modern day ink? It currently resides in a leather pocket protector with the two mechanical pencils my father used, plus the Parker mechanical pencil my 9th grade biology teacher gave be for helping out

 

Side note - Normally I prefer to use cartridges for convenience, but in t his case, the bladder appears not to be removeable.

 

Thoughts?

[PPPR]

Absolutely use the pen with other inks, and stay away from Superchrome. Because of its unusual chemistry, it will clog the collector and feed if mixed with regular inks.

 

Good luck getting it up and running, and I hope your enjoyment of the 51 is similar to mine.

 

Addendum:

Something else came to mind. A thorough flush or two is recommended, especially if your Dad used Superchrome.

Edited June 26, 2024 by PPPR
addition

[welch]

The issue was that Super Chrome eventually aite holes in the silver breather tube of the 51. That's why Parker stopped selling Super Chrome, about 1955, give or take a year or so. While it is unlikely that your dad used much Super Chrome, it is always a good idea to do as PPPR suggests: just give the 51 a flush with plain water. Nothing fancy.

 

[sandy101]

Fill the pen with luke warm water first. Before you flush, look for any sign of any damage to the bladder - is there any water dripping out. 

 

Then fill it with ink.

 

 

[Mercian]

On 6/26/2024 at 6:02 AM, psimpson130 said:

If I wanted to use it, would it work with a modern day ink?

The “51” was made as Parker’s ‘flagship’ pen to sell to Executives, in the days when everyone used fountain pens all day long at work - so it is almost ‘over-engineered’ by modern standards.
It is very robust and very reliable.
E.g. I own two that were made in 1954, and both are still going strong after 70 years.

 

• The filling system is simple, holds a good amount of ink, and its sac will seemingly last for ever (unless one rips it);
• the pen’s balance in the hand is unsurpassed (whether one ‘posts’ its cap or not);
• the pen is lightweight enough that one could easily write with it all day long;
• the hooded-nib means that it won’t dry-out while taking notes in a meeting (or a lecture).

 

I would not put a ‘shimmer’ ink or a ‘glitter’ ink in a Parker “51”, and nor would I use a pigment-based ink in one, or a heavy iron-gall ink (i.e. a Registrars’ Ink) in one - but this is only because a “51” is a pen that is difficult to completely clean out.
I happily use Rohrer and Klingner Salix (a light iron-gall ink) in mine, but once left some in the pen for a month unused (due to a family medical emergency). Cleaning it all out afterwards was very time-consuming.
But I do still use Salix in my “51”s - I just make certain that I never let any dry-out in the pen again.

 

The hooded nib is a ‘nail’, so won’t give you any ‘flex’, and it doesn’t qualify for the ‘nib-as-jewellery’ class of pens (unlike e.g. my Pelikan M800 & M805)

 

But: if you are ‘only’ thinking of using a ‘normal’ (i.e. dye-based) ink in your pen, and aren’t intending to swap colours all the time like some daft fool (hello!), but just want a pen to, you know, write with, then (in my opinion at least):

 

the ‘aerometric’-fill Parker “51” is still ‘the ultimate writing-machine’.

 

Slàinte,
M.

 

P.S. for more-expert opinion than mine, do have a read of this thread: