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KBeezie
August 16th, 2014, 11:20 AM
My first Parker 51, and of course an 'impulse' buy for me. (Pray for my bank if I ever make it to a Pen Show... seems having tried it in person makes it harder to refuse).

I don't have much information about this particular one just that it has the following characteristics:

Cap: 1/8 14K Gold Filled Made in USA
reddish/brown barrel/section (Cordovan Brown?)
vac filler with a yellowed plunger (black band filler)
Barrel's stamp : Parker "51" Made in U.S.A
Next to Stamp: A tiny '8' with three dots under it (1st quarter of 1948?)
Clear (with faint amount of blue tone) Jewel on top


It's a fine nib, very smooth, purchased from a local seller here in Grand Rapids (I got an Eversharp Skyline in Burgundy from him off eBay and noticed he was located in Grand Rapids, so decided to meet up for a local pick up).

A P51 has been sort of on my 'wish list' for a while but never got around to getting one until I could actually look at one and feel it.

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/p51_gold_brown/uncapped.jpg

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/p51_gold_brown/write.jpg

Hawk
August 16th, 2014, 02:07 PM
Nice pen. I always liked the older Vacumatics and turned up my nose on 51's. pretty soon I will have more 51's. Why, I dunno. So far they are fantastic writers. Don't buy all of them.

KBeezie
August 16th, 2014, 02:23 PM
Nice pen. I always liked the older Vacumatics and turned up my nose on 51's. pretty soon I will have more 51's. Why, I dunno. So far they are fantastic writers. Don't buy all of them.

Yea I'm still looking out for a blue or emerald Vacumatic that has that striated going accross with see thru in between the band's. Not sure what model that is, but you might know what I'm talking about.

The seller I met up with had a red and blue one in his case.

I went ahead and got some closeups, and could not find my white/black/grey card set so I balanced off a 97 bright sheet of paper.

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/p51_gold_brown/nib.jpg

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/p51_gold_brown/nib_bottom.jpg

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/p51_gold_brown/cap_close.jpg

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/p51_gold_brown/capfill.jpg

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/p51_gold_brown/section.jpg

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/p51_gold_brown/button.jpg

KBeezie
August 16th, 2014, 10:43 PM
Cleaned it up... (the nib/feed was clogged), and going to meet up with him later to go over some issues.

Anywho, here's a shot next to my grey card (finally) to get an accurate view of the color after I got it reassembled (soaked the feed and collector, etc).

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/p51_gold_brown/reassembled_crop.jpg (http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/p51_gold_brown/reassembled.jpg)

Crazyorange
August 17th, 2014, 05:32 AM
Beautiful job. The color is great.....one classy pen.

Sailor Kenshin
August 17th, 2014, 10:39 AM
Woot! Congratulations...is it really a Cordovan Brown, and how does that differ from Burgundy?

KBeezie
August 17th, 2014, 11:10 AM
Woot! Congratulations...is it really a Cordovan Brown, and how does that differ from Burgundy?

Burgundy is dark red, not brown.

Down near the bottom there's a Cordovan Brown right next to a Burgundy being listed.

https://vintagefountainpens.co.uk/category/parker-51/

pajaro
August 19th, 2014, 08:14 PM
Darned nice pen for a first one.

KBeezie
August 19th, 2014, 09:51 PM
Darned nice pen for a first one.

... what should my second Parker be? :P

Farmboy
August 20th, 2014, 06:09 AM
Darned nice pen for a first one.

... what should my second Parker be? :P
Get a Red Giant.

KBeezie
August 20th, 2014, 09:45 PM
Get a Red Giant.

Been eyeing those before I even looked at a P51. Though aren't they called Big Red? (The one from the 30s or something which has a re-design in the 70s I think).

Also in regards to the Parker 51, just to be upfront since I found out some new information, just going to bullet-point it.

* The Feed and Collector was in serious need of cleaning, had to soak it overnight in some diluted vinegar just to get most of it out, it's still stained pretty black on the collector but much better, and the feeder tube up to the feed isn't clogged anymore
* The diaphragm was twisted inside the barrel (note video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5eBTk-EiJY )

He did attempt to straighten out the diaphragm, but perhaps being short on time or some other reason he folded over the sac, didn't grease the lip, and talc'd it on the ink-exposing side. I haven't attempted to fill it and I suspect the sac already slipped again so I'm waiting til around this weekend when we both have more time for him to come back and do it correctly while I watch (as opposed to shipping it off to the guy I trust to do it). Since for the price I paid, it should have already been in working/filling condition.

So with any luck it'll be straightened away by this weekend.

The Eversharp Skyline I purchased from him prior is working great though, especially after I replaced the cap.

KBeezie
August 23rd, 2014, 10:18 AM
An update. Met up with him this morning over at the local coffee shop where he replaced the sac completely. Turns out the one I had in there had a pinhole where the little red bead is. Watched him do all the steps and measure off the sac to the right length, and talc the correct side and what not. I had already taken care of the front of the pen so was no need for him to venture there.

With the water test, it's consistently taking up and spitting out around 1.7 to 1.8ml of water into a sample vial (tried it about 6 times), and that's not counting what I whisked away from the collector afterwards.

So far I'm impressed, just trying to decide which ink to use in it. I'm thinking something a bit more mild and free-er flowing like maybe one of the Akkerman samples I have (Binnenhof Blues maybe?), though I could do something like Diamine Saddle Brown or Noodler's Texas Pecan (both of which a brown that may match the body but they also run a little dryer). Though I would probably want to pick an ink that I have a bottle of since I'd like to avoid having to flush out the vac just to ink change. (got bottles of Noodler's Black Eel, Liberty's Elysium, Apache Sunset, Texas Blue Steel, Texas Pecan, Texas Live Oak, Diamine Imperial Blue, Saddle Brown, Grey, Syrah, Eclipse, and R&K Salix).

gbryal
August 23rd, 2014, 11:13 AM
I just nabbed my first 51 yesterday on eBay. It'll be a little bit of a fixer-upper but I hope to learn more about them by exploring this particular one, an aerometric filler.

Sailor Kenshin
August 23rd, 2014, 12:01 PM
I just nabbed my first 51 yesterday on eBay. It'll be a little bit of a fixer-upper but I hope to learn more about them by exploring this particular one, an aerometric filler.


Oooo, what color? Nib?

Wanna see!

KBeezie
August 25th, 2014, 08:50 AM
So would seem after getting the collector and all cleaned up the nib as some suspected is a little bigger than an EF/F, it's somewhat in between a western Fine and Medium.

Currently got it loaded up with Noodler's Liberty's Elysium, in the line up compared to the rest on some possibly mead loose leaf paper.

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/inked/mead_aug_25_2014.jpg


And same on some Rhodia 80g (No.16 pad).

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/inked/rhodia_aug_25_2014.jpg

Farmboy
August 25th, 2014, 09:15 PM
Get a Red Giant.

Been eyeing those before I even looked at a P51. Though aren't they called Big Red? (The one from the 30s or something which has a re-design in the 70s I think).

Nope, not called Big Red.

No to vinegar unless you are making salad and then try Balsamic.

KBeezie
August 26th, 2014, 01:06 AM
Get a Red Giant.

Been eyeing those before I even looked at a P51. Though aren't they called Big Red? (The one from the 30s or something which has a re-design in the 70s I think).

Nope, not called Big Red.

No to vinegar unless you are making salad and then try Balsamic.

I'll force myself to pick up some straight ammonia tomorrow.

Jon Szanto
August 26th, 2014, 02:13 AM
I got my 1st AND 2nd 51 in SF over the weekend. I was all ready to go for one that spoke to me, from noted Bay-area pen person John Strother, when another friend strong-armed me and insisted I pop my cherry with a 51 that he had. For a song.

I came for none. I figured on one. I ended up with two.

Why no photos. Ummm.... Yeah. I left a three pen / fieldnotebook case while chatting with Paul Erano (and buying a pen). It had three new purchases from the show, including this to die for cedar blue with a wavy line gold cap. But I can't post photos until it gets mailed back to my by a friend. <sigh>

Soon.

These, once in shape, are bomb-proof pens. Certainly worthy of the iconic status, which is why I've waited but still felt compelled to get one. Or two.

KBeezie
August 30th, 2014, 03:04 AM
One of the sample vials of ink someone sent me along with a Pelikan M250 and Vanishing Point was Parker Quink Blue.

After I had de-inked it of that Liberty's Elysium, I left it uninked until I came accross a ink I wanted to use with it (Quink Blue was one of those on the list).

Had 3ml in the vial, started pumping that vac, it sucked up 2ml. :P

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/p51_gold_brown/quink_blue.jpg

Very smooth.

welch
September 7th, 2014, 08:42 PM
KB, you P51 vac write a line that looks like a US medium...which is a good thing (I have never been able to write with a fine nib.) Also unusual: the great Tom Mullane once guessed that about 80% of US P51s were fine or finer, based on the number that passed through his shop.

KBeezie
September 8th, 2014, 03:03 AM
KB, you P51 vac write a line that looks like a US medium...which is a good thing (I have never been able to write with a fine nib.) Also unusual: the great Tom Mullane once guessed that about 80% of US P51s were fine or finer, based on the number that passed through his shop.

Are you basing 'medium' by the latest write sample on a very small Rhodia pad, or based on the Liberty Elysium ink in the earlier write sample which wrote even thicker?

I ask because it writes closer to a fine than it does a medium for me.

It's currently de-inked as I'm trying to figure out what ink to put in it, and because it matches my Platinum Century 3776 with a 14K Medium nib almost exactly in line thickness (Diamine Syrah in that pen, and Quink Blue in the P51).

I'm thinking of using either Aurora Black or Pelikan Brilliant Black (4001), but I've not had much experience with either brands of ink. Waterman Intense black would be very well behaved, but it would take a while to dry and it's not waterproof.