What Parker is this?

[Laurie]

I have just purchased this Parker.
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/st-le...pen/1087840992

I am not sure what it is. I am not sure of my Parkers but thought the nib resembled a Parker 51. I know that it was given as a gift in England in 1951. So could this be a Parker 51 Vacumatic. It appears to have the long thin clip.

Any help would be appreciated.

[jar]

Impossible to tell from those pictures but most likely a 21, maybe a 51 aero.

[mhosea]

1951 seems a bit late for a Vacumatic "51", but I don't know about England and dealer stock and such. There is a perceptible discontinuity in the reflection on the barrel about where the seam for the blind cap would be. The clutch ring is not clear, but there are artifacts consistent with the "51". Yes, I think it could be a late Parker "51" Vacumatic.

[pajaro]

The slope of the nose makes it look like a 21, and not a Super 21. The cap looks like a 51 cap. LOK, but it might be a 51

[mhosea]

I tried to duplicate the shot (higher res, on the right) with a "51" Vac, inverted, and processed the photos slightly. Judging from the slightly fatter appearance of the barrel in the ad photo, I probably needed to get a little closer to the table and a little closer to the pen, and my pen is slightly rotated clockwise compared to the other.

IsItA51Vac.jpg

[Laurie]

Thanks guys. I am hoping it is a 51. Seems like there is a chance. Just have to wait a few days to have a closer look. The price was $35 AUD which is about $20 USD so even if it is not a 51 it is not going to break the bank. BTW when it does arrive what are the ID points that I should be looking at

[Laurie]

I was just googling the Parker 21 and the cap of the 21 seemed to be just a smooth cap whereas the Parker I have purchased has a design. As Pajaro said above, the cap does look like a 51. I read where the Super 21 changed to a different cap which was a similar cap to the 51 but I think that occurred after 1951. Fingers crossed. BTW was the Parker 21 a decent pen?. Also when it arrives should I be giving it a good flush. Can you damage these old vintage pens with flush? Any other suggestions for preparing it for writing?

[whych]

I guess you will discover when you get the pen what it is.
The old press bar Parkers are pretty indestructible. Flush the pen with warm water with a couple of drops of dish washing liquid. Use an ultrasonic cleaner if you have one and cycle it, flushing the pen regularly between cycles.
The normal 21 had a plain clip, the super 21 had an arrow clip. The P21 was only made in the US. The P51 was made in England as well as the US. The P21s write well, but beware of cracks in the plastic around the section area.

[mhosea]

Thanks guys. I am hoping it is a 51. Seems like there is a chance. Just have to wait a few days to have a closer look. The price was $35 AUD which is about $20 USD so even if it is not a 51 it is not going to break the bank. BTW when it does arrive what are the ID points that I should be looking at

Certainty is elusive, but if I were a betting man, I could not be persuaded to put money on any other bet. If that's the seam of the blind cap that is sort of peeking in the inverted photo, slightly north of where it is on mine perhaps from the distortion of the different shot, I'd say identification will be very easy: if a blind cap unscrews there, you're done. If the barrel screws off instead, read what is imprinted on the filler cover. Done. But if I were you, I'd be figuring out who I was going to send it to for vac restoration, unless you want to buy the tools and start restoring Parker Vacumatics (bit of an investment there, more than you paid for the pen).

[pajaro]

Pure speculation until you have the pen. Supposed blind cap separation line, could be anything. Let's hope it's a big bargain. The arrow seems to have too few feathers to be a Vac cap. Of course, it could just be any cap that somebody put on the pen, while another pen somewhere sports also a strange cap. Letting speculation run rampant, maybe it's a first year pen.

[mhosea]

The arrow seems to have too few feathers to be a Vac cap.

It appears to have the same number of feathers as the 1947-48 Vac cap pictured here, not that I'd bet a nickel on the identification of any "51" based on the cap. Interchangeable caps have too often gotten interchanged.

[HughC]

I'm putting my money ( all 2 cents) on an aero 51. UK made vacs are not common, only made for a couple of years near the end of the vac run.

Regards
Hugh

[Laurie]

Thanks again for the input. Probably wont be until Wednesday until the pen arrives. Very exciting when you are not sure what you are getting.
I have just done a bit of research myself. It appears the Parker 21 just had a plain clip until about 1956 when the 21 Super came out with feathers on the clip. As this pen is engraved as a gift in 1951 I doubt that it would be a 21 unless, of course, as you all point out above, that going by a cap is not reliable. The 21 had a more opened hood but it is hard to see from the photographs.
It does not appear to be a Demi as its length seems the same as a 51 as per Mike's photo comparison.
Hopefully it will be a 51 Aero but I am a realist. Can you polish the barrels on this old Parkers?

[mhosea]

Can you polish the barrels on this old Parkers?

Yeah, they polish nicely. But I hope you're just talking about shining it up. That's a kind of a cool inscription.

[Laurie]

Yes Mike. I didnt intend to remove the engraving . I suppose it was a presentation night at Norwich Soccer club. Maybe they gave all players a pen each season or maybe they won something. Might be a bit of history behind that.
It is a bit like hunting for buried treasure when you buy these unknowns but if the price is right you arent going to get too burnt are you.
After the above advices, some more research and a view of the comparison you did my money is on a 51.

[mhosea]

It does not appear to be a Demi as its length seems the same as a 51 as per Mike's photo comparison.
Hopefully it will be a 51 Aero but I am a realist.

I'm not sure that length comparison is instructive, insofar as I cropped and scaled them to have identical length for comparison purposes.

Aero makes the most historical sense for sure. I looked at the other pictures and could still see the artifact, but I'm not sure it's in precisely the right place for a blind cap seam, so it might just be a nicely circular scratch. Not sure what does that, as the none of the 51's I've restored had a posting mark like that. Don't know if you can do it by spinning the cap while it is posted.

[Laurie]

Hi Mike. What is the story on the blind cap. I am a bit confused. Obviously a Parker 51 has a blind cap but the 21 does not appear to have had one. Is that correct.

[mhosea]

The "blind cap" is what covers the Vacumatic pump filler button. The Vacumatic and (rare) button-filled 51s are the ones that have blind caps. The Aerometric "51" and 21, OTOH, just unscrew where the barrel meets the clutch ring to reveal a "squeeze" filler underneath. In some sense, the entire barrel is a "blind cap", I suppose, but that's a stretch.

[Laurie]

Hi Mike
Yes I just did a search and was about to edit my post as I can now see that the blind cap is only for the Vac. I am not sure there is a blind cap on the one I bought so I suppose it is a 51 aero or it is a 21.

[Laurie]

Yes!!!!I emailed the seller a few hours ago and she just replied. She said it has 51 printed on the barrell. I asked if it was working and she said she hadnt used it but it looks in good condition on the inside.
So I have a Parker 51. That blind cap doesnt look too clear in the picture so I am thinking it may be a 51 Aero.
I am so thrilled. The sacs in the Aeros seem to have a good reputation for longevity according to my research. I tdhink I read 30 years but something about many still going strong. Cant wait to get hold of my little treasure.