Hello Chris, thank you for this video. I know you made it a long time ago but this is the world of pens; it transcends time. Your expose of the pens is just as valid and even more valued today. Thank you Carlo
I finally took the plunge and bought a 51 on eBay. It arrived today and I fell so quickly in love that I just bought another. I'm with you on the 45. I have a fistful of 45s and every one is excellent.
@@chrisrap52 yes I think the 45 is an underappreciated pen. You can get them here from eBay in excellent vintage condition for very little outlay yet they are clearly built to last. Easy to disassemble and service. Readily available and often with a very competent nib too. I am also finding the 17 and 21 to be solid choices as well. Parker, the gift that keeps on giving!
Hello there, Chris. I have this Parker 21 (Burgundy, Medium tip ) that my dad gave to me in 1964 for my High School exam, that was given to him by HIS dad in circa 1952. It still works like a charm, even though, I never disessembled and cleaned it. I am from old school, when Bic was not around, and hence, no Ball point pens. My first few pens, had a clip showing outside on the barrel, that you had to pinch and lift to press a spring clip inside to squeez the tube a few times to fill it. Haven't seen those on internet so far. I did have some with button in the tail that you pressed to pump in the ink. and a couple with converter type piston that you would twist to pull the ink in. Your this clip is an inspiration, may be I'll open mine give it a good clean. I wonder if I could find a Fine tip nib for it, and replace it. Back in the days, I used to use Quink ink, sometimes Blue black, and sometimes Terquis. Don't see Terqois any more. Wonder if Parker have stopped making that color.
I own a entirely gold plated Parker 45 with an 18k gold nib in fine. It is the pen I use when I practice on my penmanship : it writes amazingly well! Probably my best buy.
Thank you, Chris. I had a Parker as a child and I had a fondness for Pan Am (just because of the clipper ship in Kubrick's 2001) so I know would have flipped for that pen at the time.
Very informative video! Thx for this. I am new to vintage pens and I am eager to know as much as I can before making a purchase. This is just perfect for me! Thx
Thanks for this! I got an E-mail today offering a trade for a Parker 51. So, I'm excited for that. Also Peter Kotrčka suggested a 45, so that was good to see the three pens. There is something about pens of this era and idea that are appealing to me. I actually bought an Aurora 88 from this time which sadly was on the receiving end of a heavy object while in transit. I'm sure one will come up eventually again. Just so interesting to see the thought that went into the design of these pens and the different philosophies in the different companies.
I just bought a Parker 21 set. Red barrel with silver cap and gold clip. I can’t wait to get some ink and write until my Heart’s content. Also have the mechanical pencil. Nice set.
I very much agree about the 45 being a great writing pen. I think they are often underrated. I have a collection of around 5-6 of them and to me they are great to use. I still have one that I used in school in the 70s and it writes fine and the aerometric converter still is absolutely fine without any issues.
Just a warning on the Superchrome ink. NEVER use this ink in any pen. It is extremely corrosive. Apparently works ok with the early P51 aerometrics, but really damaged other pens. Parker quickly dropped the ink.
chrisrap52 Please take it as a FYI: the 45 is very different from other Parkers, you an even say it's a bit of an oddball, because it was not designed by Parker at all; it was the last Eversharp. At the time Eversharp was in grave troubles and was going to be sold to Parker, so Parker inherited the design and called it the 45, but some earlier examples were also made under the Eversharp brand. It's a totally modular design which was the first successful implementation of the cartridge filling system, and the nib is in a screw-in unit allowing the user to change the nib easily. The finned collector is fixed in the section and takes up a lot of ink, and a surprising amount of ink can hide inside the small "stem" in the nib unit. Apart from the collector it can be completely disassembled easily by the user for thorough cleaning, both section and the "stem" need prolonged soaking for a good clean; it is not a pen that can be cleaned with flushing alone. Hope this is of some value.
Thanks. I did not know the Evershatp source. Similar design for the 75 early models. Parker got a lot of mileage out of this design. Eversharp was a great buy for Parker. I will take note of the cleaning required.
@@chrisrap52 It was indeed a good move by Parker to acquire Eversharp; it was instrumental for the cartridge pen to become what is arguably the mainstream filling system for quite some time. Early cartridges and converters were co-branded with both names, but as Eversharp gradually faded from memory they started to be branded as Parker only, even though the cartridge dimensions standard remains to this day. I had some Eversharp-branded ones, which were somewhat lower on the price scale, and were often branded as promotional items.
chrisrap52 yes. It has aerometric filler and came with some cartridges with the special reservoir end. My grandmother gave to me when I was 12 years old.
It's your fault, Chris... 😁 I have a Vacumatic 51, a 21 and an early 45 flighter (black end to the barrel.) All because of your reviews. I might add the 1950s Parkette, as it's basically a 21, but a lever filler. Great thanks for great videos!
Was hoping for more info on the 21. Still an interesting video. Surprising Pan Am had a 51 advertising pen. The 51 was not an inexpensive pen. Any idea if passengers got the pen with their ticket, or as a reward after so many flights or air miles on Pan Am, or if the passengers received a discounted cash price? I read in 1947 the Parker 51 cost $12, compared to the 21 at $3 or $4. Parker brought out the 21 because "most" people could not afford the high end 51. The 21 was an affordable "every man's" pen, that looked and performed like a 51.
OMG, those waterman pens appeared in Tom and Jerry! I remember seeing those filling systems in an episode and I was like I never seen a filling system like that before. And now I finally see a pen with that filling system! www.dailymotion.com/video/x495x5s around 4 min and 15 sec of this video
Hi Chris. Wondering if you've seen the 2021 re-launch of the P51. I'm undecided but I don't really feel a burning urge to hand over all my money for one at the earliest opportunity. It looks .... okay ... But just another generic hooded cartridge converter. I've ordered a couple of Jinhao 85s which seem to be a clone, so will see if they convince me. As for the original, I can never have too many 17/17 super/17 lady/21/25/45/51 so I'm sure I'll be keeping PayPal nice and happy for a while yet ...
I've watched many new P51 reviews. I am not interested in the pen. I also have many 21/51/45 etc. And many other hooded nibs that I like. ODE did a good comparison with 85. I am very happy with my 85. Stay safe & healthy.
the 51 came from the factory as a dryer writer. back then pens were really the only way to get words on paper except for typewriters and pencils, so to get the most words per fill most manufactures made there nibs more dry.
@@Brunkvic either baby bottoming or if it hasn't been flushed out properly could be build up. Or a more rare chance that the nib tines are too close together causing hard starts and even severe skipping. the 51 is a robust thing but it need maintenance every other month with a flush if used daily and if not used daily flush it every time you think you're done with it for a while. soapy warm water should do it, if not put it in warm plan water for a few days to break the old ink up and flush it again. I had to do that process for one that still had that Parker super chrome ink (I believe that what its called) for 40 years. took a week to clean the thing out completely.
These are vintage American & European pens. Price will vary, from $20 to 200 USD. Need to look at used market, your local eBay, other places on the web - www.protopens.com/ & www.vintagepens.com/Parker_51.shtml
I have not bought 51's from dealers. I buy usually from eBay. I see restored 51's for $70 & up for auction. For dealers, I like www.peytonstreetpens.com/parker/parker-51.html. I have bought from them & it was a good experience. There is also parker51.com/. From what I see Peyton Street has better pricing.
I guess I got it for a reasonable price, then.. I always buy pens to use, at least occasionally and the Parker 51 is highly regarded. One reviewer called it the "greatest fountain pen ever made". His opinion, anyway.
Glad you got one. I wouldn't call it the greatest pen ever made. maybe the best engineered pen ever made. It was groundbreaking when it was introduced in 1941. The stiff small nib feels more like a ball point then I like. One main feature of a fountain pen is the nib. On the 51 & 21, the main feature is the design & look, the nib is hidden.
I'll give it a test run and let you know. I have two partially hidden nib pens that I like but this will be the first that is almost completely hidden.
In 1950 a new system for the date coding was introduced where the two digits only indicated the year, not the quarter hence "50" means made in 1950, this system was used in the US until 1955 and in Canada a few years longer. I do not have any Parker's where I have seen a 50's date code.
