Parker "51" Demi

[Maruk]

First off, I wish to apologize for taking so long to review this. I have been working some interesting hours and no one that I know has a working Digital Camera. Additionally, all of the scanners available to me have only one color - solid black. So I must write out my review without any pictures or samples.

I would like to thank Daniel for the pen, it is in excellent shape with some deskwear and normal use. The closest pen that I have to this is my Parker "21" Super

Appearance:
It is the classic cigar design, and it is about 1/2" shorter than the Parker "21" Super. It is quite sleek in person and it is a very elegant design. The seam for the vacumatic filler at the rear blends in very well, though it does need to be cleaned a bit after filling or the seam will be more evident. Compared with the "21" Super, the breather hole in the front is very open.

Filling System:
This is a vacumatic, which is probably the most loved and hated system. Being a vaccumatic, it holds a lot of ink with no sac and is extremely easy to fill. The bad part is the vaccumatic is a pain to clean or change ink with. I will probably have to construct a salad spinner centrifuge so I can perform maintenance in under a day. The reason for this is that the vacumatic creates a vacuum that sucks in the ink, but it is not good at letting the ink go. Couple this with a spacious reservoir and it turns into a day's job.

Richard Binder has an overview of the Parker Vacumatic on his site if you wish for more detailed info.

Nib:
The nib is a firm fine,, maybe a tad thicker than that. It is very quick to start and is not a very dry writer (I am using Pelikan Royal Blue), perhaps a 4-5 on the wetness scale. It is not scratchy at all on Rhodia or general paper, but it does scratch on Clairefontaine - usually on horizonal strokes. The tines are aligned, but it looks like it is wearing a bit low on the tip material. I'll need a magnifier to actually make a call though.

Conclusion:
This is an excellent writer and gives me a very good idea about why Parkers are so valued and sought after. The vacumatic is not my most favorite of systems, but it works and I can find ways around it. Overall, I am quite impressed with the performance of this pen - even if my fellow students ask how I can write with a "stick".

[dannzeman]

Filling System:
This is a vacumatic, which is probably the most loved and hated system. Being a vaccumatic, it holds a lot of ink with no sac and is extremely easy to fill. The bad part is the vaccumatic is a pain to clean or change ink with. I will probably have to construct a salad spinner centrifuge so I can perform maintenance in under a day. The reason for this is that the vacumatic creates a vacuum that sucks in the ink, but it is not good at letting the ink go. Couple this with a spacious reservoir and it turns into a day's job.

I should really make one of those salad spinner centrifuges. I would cut down the time testing Vacs after repairs or nib adjustments.

Great review, btw. Glad you're enjoying the pen!