Streamlining

[Chuck Naill]

Is a hooded nib an example of "streamlining" ?

[Deb]

Taken together with the shape oif the rest of most hooded nib pens - yes. The Parker 51 is the obvious example.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Kermit the Frog loved his.

Here is Loewy in a couple of later Studebakers he helped design, though these are post-streamline. That's him behind the wheel of the Starliner, and standing next to the Avanti with his hands behind his back.

...I don't like the Skyline. An extreme design like that will work for some but not for everyone.

I don't either; the tapered barrels have always been a turn-off for me. They remind me of tadpoles. Alas, Loewy's work on the Symphony pen wasn't enough to save Wahl-Eversharp. Same for Studebaker, come to think of it.

Someone living near us has an Avanti. 💕 Love the way it looks!

[Chuck Naill]

I learned the streamlining of the Parker hooded nib was to prevent the nib from drying. So, besides good looks, there was a practical application.

[Deb]

Nib drying is not a problem with most open-nib vintage pens. Like many other fountain pen "innovations" it solves a problem that doesn't exist.

[guyy]

But the write-out on the Parker 51 is pretty good & better than open nib pens with similar capacity.

[Deb]

You may find it so. I use open-nib vintage pens constantly and I don't have a nib drying problem. It is possibly true that the Parker 51 can be left lying around uncapped for a longer time than an open-nibbed pen, but unless one feels a compulsion to do that it's of no consequence. In this respect, as in others, the Parker 51 is the precursor of the ballpoint.

[Sandy]

It is possible that streamlining was used to reduce the manufacturing cost of pens?

If using moulded, early plastic (that were not cheap), then maybe streamlining meant less plastic was used per moulded pen, as opposed to blocky unstreamlined pens.

So, you probably got less pen for more money and the advertisers made you feel good about it.

Is it possible that P51's can be considered the 40's equivalent of the 90's first generation of brightly coloured iMac's

[Deb]

I'm not any kind of expert on the way pens were made but I don't think early celluloid pens were moulded. I think they were machined from the block. Later they were made from wrapped sheet.

[guyy]

You may find it so. I use open-nib vintage pens constantly and I don't have a nib drying problem. It is possibly true that the Parker 51 can be left lying around uncapped for a longer time than an open-nibbed pen, but unless one feels a compulsion to do that it's of no consequence. In this respect, as in others, the Parker 51 is the precursor of the ballpoint.

Frank Dubiel did some write out tests with various pens. If i remember correctly, the 51 came out on top. The Snorkel did well too despite its small capacity.

I agree that the efficiency of these pens is not a huge selling point now, but you and i are collectors/enthusiasts and rather different from users back in the day. I think the long write out would have been a selling point to someone who had one pen and filled it the morning. Unless you were doing an extraordinary amount of writing, you could count on not running out of ink.

Another design issue was the notorious Superchrome ink, which was more volatile than regular ink. With an open nib, the Superchrome ink would have evaporated much more quickly. Of course, Superchrome was horrible stuff that should never have gone to market, but Parker was aiming for some ink-pen “synergy” with it and the 51.

[Deb]

How far a pen will go on a fill of ink depends on several things, including nib size. I assume that Dubiel's test must have excluded the ink-in-barrel pens.

[Chuck Naill]

"One reason to go with a hooded nib is the nib doesn’t tend to dry out so often. That’s because less of the nib is exposed to the outside air. So if you leave your pen sitting out uncapped, it doesn’t dry out as quickly. This is a major perk for those using it in a classroom setting that requires quick notes, as you don’t have to cap and uncap each and every time. The nib will remain wet and ready to write when the need arises."
https://blog.gouletpens.com/2017/10/...-of-hooded-nib

[azkid]

Nib drying is not a problem with most open-nib vintage pens. Like many other fountain pen "innovations" it solves a problem that doesn't exist.

Though I agree that many open nib pens don't dry out very quickly, the "51" hood and feed were designed in part to prevent Parker's new, fast drying, alcohol-containing Superchrome (originally "51") and ink. (Source: Wikipedia)

"The 51 was innovative, with its hooded, tubular nib and multi-finned collector, all designed to work in conjunction with the pen's proprietary ink, allowing the nib to stay wet and lay down an even line with either the ultra-fast drying ink or more traditional inks." (Source: Wikipedia)

See also US Patent https://patents.google.com/patent/US2223541A/en:

"Another object is to provide an ink feed mechanism adapted to control the flow of ink in such a manner that a uniform and smooth writing performance is assured. tendency of ink to leak from the pen at any time is practically eliminated, and tendency for the writing end of the pen to dry out when exposed to the atmosphere is reduced to the minimum."

So if we wish to question the utility of the Parker "51" hood, we would need to see sufficiently strong evidence that counters the reasons for its design in the patent and we would need to perform scientific tests to determine if the hood increases the time it takes the ink to dry out on the nib and by how much.

Maybe such information exists. I am kind of curious to try the experiments mentioned, though, for fun.

[Deb]

"One reason to go with a hooded nib is the nib doesn’t tend to dry out so often. That’s because less of the nib is exposed to the outside air. So if you leave your pen sitting out uncapped, it doesn’t dry out as quickly. This is a major perk for those using it in a classroom setting that requires quick notes, as you don’t have to cap and uncap each and every time. The nib will remain wet and ready to write when the need arises."
https://blog.gouletpens.com/2017/10/...-of-hooded-nib

There may be some truth in what you say but your argument makes it clear that the Vanishing Point is a far better pen.

[Chuck Naill]

"One reason to go with a hooded nib is the nib doesn’t tend to dry out so often. That’s because less of the nib is exposed to the outside air. So if you leave your pen sitting out uncapped, it doesn’t dry out as quickly. This is a major perk for those using it in a classroom setting that requires quick notes, as you don’t have to cap and uncap each and every time. The nib will remain wet and ready to write when the need arises."
https://blog.gouletpens.com/2017/10/...-of-hooded-nib

There may be some truth in what you say but your argument makes it clear that the Vanishing Point is a far better pen.

Perhaps better for students and quick note taking, but the cost would put it out of reach for many I suspect.

[guyy]

"One reason to go with a hooded nib is the nib doesn’t tend to dry out so often. That’s because less of the nib is exposed to the outside air. So if you leave your pen sitting out uncapped, it doesn’t dry out as quickly. This is a major perk for those using it in a classroom setting that requires quick notes, as you don’t have to cap and uncap each and every time. The nib will remain wet and ready to write when the need arises."
https://blog.gouletpens.com/2017/10/...-of-hooded-nib

There may be some truth in what you say but your argument makes it clear that the Vanishing Point is a far better pen.

Far better pen? I don’t think so. In my experience, the trap door mechanism will last 15-20 years. In contrast, my aero 51s are still going after ~70 years. On top of that, the 51 is a more comfortable, more ergonomic design.

I’ll give you that most 51 nibs aren’t very exciting, but neither are Capless nibs. There are stub options for both, 2 for the 51 and one for the Capless. I’ve tried all 3 and much prefer the 51 stubs.

[Jon Szanto]

I do NOT care how iconic the venerable Parker 51 is. I know it is important in pen history, I know the design is innovative and the design has it's fans. Because of the relative significance of this pen, I have about half a dozen of them, decent examples.

As a writing experience and as an entertainment for the eye, it bores me to death, and I never use them.

In many realms, this is heresy. One of my very, very best friends in the pen world will probably punch me in the nose next time he sees me. That is life, and that is just how this pen strikes me. The glorious thing is that we all don't have to have the same desires and interests, and there a so many pens out in the world.

[Deb]

In your experience? How many Capless pens have you had for 15 or 20 years?

[Chuck Naill]

In my research I discovered the hooded nib was copied by other pen brands. http://www.richardspens.com/ref/design/hooded_nibs.htm

Whether it is design or function, I've been drawn to the look. I've opted for the 2019 Wing Sung 601 rather than chase a vintage. I carry it with one of the Esterbrooks each day.

[Deb]

I do NOT care how iconic the venerable Parker 51 is. I know it is important in pen history, I know the design is innovative and the design has it's fans. Because of the relative significance of this pen, I have about half a dozen of them, decent examples.

As a writing experience and as an entertainment for the eye, it bores me to death, and I never use them.

In many realms, this is heresy. One of my very, very best friends in the pen world will probably punch me in the nose next time he sees me. That is life, and that is just how this pen strikes me. The glorious thing is that we all don't have to have the same desires and interests, and there a so many pens out in the world.

Wear a motorcycle helmet next time you meet your friend.