Parker 51 vs Parker 21 vs Modern Clones 

Interesting thank you. I love my 21s and 51s. The 616 is something of a naff one due to that awful filler. A far better homage (rather than clone) is the Jinhao 51A. I have tons of them. Cheap, ultra reliable, smooth as glass yet available in modern swirly acrylic body designs if that's your thing, or demonstrators, or solid colours. I can't recommend them highly enough.

the 21 is crazy good for copying on absorbant paper (smudging). I used one in grade 5 and still use it for crazy exam seasons

Something triggered me a couple of days ago to start using my Parker 51 aeromatic again. My parents gave it to me around 1963. It's made in England, rolled? gold cap, gold medium nib. I used it a lot in high school, university and the start of my business career. I started flying a lot in 1972 and got some leaks. I've only used the pen in bursts of enthusiasm since then. The last time I used it seriously was probably 1998 to 2000. I was expecting a disaster, but I ran warm water from a tap over the nib area for a couple of minutes and then blue stuff started to flow. I squeezed the filler bar a few times and even more blue stuff flowed out. It seems to be working. There was enough ink left in the reservoir for me to use the pen. I haven't been able to try filling it yet because I don't have any ink. I live in a small town on the east coast of Australia. Pacific ocean views, etc. The local newsagent didn't have any Parker ink, but he did have a refill for my matching ballpoint. There's still some lead in the matching propelling pencil, but the rubber/eraser was diamond hard. I might be lucky. Fingers crossed, eh. The pen writes beautifully. The nib is soft, adapted to my hand shape, and just flows across the paper. The nib is feeding well, but it could probably benefit from a more thorough cleaning.

This was most fascinating! Thank you Sal for the education.

I've added really nice 1963 Parker 21 into my collection just a week ago, green with silver cap, to go with my older, burgundy one with chrome cap, and after writing with them exclusivelly for some time, I completely get, why they were so popular. They are at the end of the day fuss-free, no-nonsense instruments that just work. You fill them in a second, they are not messy, especially fine nibs are usable even on bad paper, they are durable and I didn't experienced leaks even in a hot weather. Chinese copies (especially Jinhao 51A) can recreate most of these positives but they have some quirks and from my experience, nibs are hit or miss. Both of mine took some work to write properly and they are fussy with convertors, they work the best with just cartridges. The only thing, and maybe that is a personal preference of mine, I don't enjoy them for longer writing because of their grip but they are perfect everyday writers. With good ink, they can replace ballpoint or gell pen easily.

I have a Parker 21 Mark 1! I accidentally dropped it on it's nib but, with about a week of correcting and tweaking, I got it back to its original smooth state.

Hey Unsharpen Dude! Nice video, I like all the writing you do! I have a Wing Sung 618 that I really really like! The barrels crack easily though... With 'dry' pens, you can take a spark plug gapper and floss the nib, gradually going thicker and thicker... quite fun to do! You can definitely make something too wet, so, proceed with caution :) I wouldn't be surprised if you've experimented with that already but, give it a shot! It's definitely breathed new life into some pens that really were unpleasant to write with! I've over done it with some, and it's hard to reverse... Thanks again for the videos! -mike

Back in Kenya, in the 80's, I used to have the Hero pens. At that time I had never heard of the Parker 51. Than I came to England and never saw the Hero being sold here. It was not until the internet was invented, so to speak, in the 2000's or late 90's, that I first heard about the 51. And that was the first time I came to know that the Hero can be purchased online only. Anyway, I never bought the Hero again but today have four 51's - they are superb. And extremely practical.

Great video. I don't have any 51s, but I have a 21 Super that is one of my favorite fountain pens and actually made me a fan of hooded nibs.The cap on my 21 slides on and off like butter, but stays on securely. I also have a couple of Hero 51 clones. They do feel lighter than my 21, but they write nicely enough.

I got my P-21 at an estate sale today for five bucks along with two other pens. I may go back tomorrow as they did have Conklin, Shaeffer and the like in pearlescent.

Comprehensive, detailed report, just add something about the plastic or resin of the main body. Thank you!

Love my jinhao 911, EF NIB writes smooth

I have saw some very mixed reviews about the Hero 616 on Amazon, so anyone thinking about buying, keep that in mind. The Wing Sung 601 on the other hand is definitely on my radar. That particular model has a hooded nib and a Vacumatic style mechanism and the write-ups online seems to be pretty positive. Might be worth checking out.

I apologize in advance that I am not wedged in the subject. I have a question about reffil to a Montblanc ballpoint pen. Which handle of this sigment is suitable for this reffil? Thanks for the info.

Can you check if the plastic parts are interchangeable between the chinese copy and the 21 ? I would like to replace some cracked plastic parts from a 21 !

Hey, I think your 51’s blind cap may be for the “51” demi, these were smaller and slimmer, and yours seems to be on of those, whilst you have a normal sized 51

Somethings wrong with the fit of the blind cap on the 51. There should be no seam showing.

They sell 616 pens in 10 packs so that maybe you’ll get one that writes. Thankfully the Chinese pen quality has moved beyond that for most brands.

There's an old pen shop whose owner is planning to retire next year. He has some brand new P 51 but he wants US$250 for one. Any idea what's a fair price for a genuine brand new in inked P 51?

my 51 runs dry and i cant figure it out

There is no clutch on Parker 51, it is rather another type of friction fit. True clutch should be the one that hold in only one position like in Parker Frontier with noticeable click.

I wonder if you released this video because of the confirmed (by Parker HQ) leak of the upcoming re-release of P51 within 2020.