
The Parker “51” (2018) - astdb
http://www.richardspens.com/ref/profiles/51.htm
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gattilorenz
Slightly off topic, but I want to share this.

I've recently started using fountain pens again, after a... long break
(secondary school, I think).

The way they glide on the paper and the pleasure of holding such a beautiful
(well, arguably, but I love both how nibs look and how they work) device made
me improve my handwriting, and I started to take more notes just to use the
pens.

I highly recommend the experience, if you're not familiar with them. Some good
modern ones are also pretty cheap.

Like with vinyl records, there is a certain satisfaction in taking care of the
pen, cleaning it when switching to ink or a different color, and so on; and
it's a mechanical object that helps me detach from the digital world. Unlike
vinyl, it is actually a practical thing to use everyday :)

~~~
dcl
They glide on the paper?

I have a Lamy 2000, Pilot Vanishing Point and some other highly recommended
pen (can't remember the name, it was a few years ago) and they are all
scratchy as hell. Absolutely not as nice as even a cheap ball point...

~~~
nextos
That depends a lot on the nib, plus how it has been finished. And perhaps more
importantly, and easier to change, paper and ink.

My vintage 146 M nib is incredibly smooth on some heavy papers with Iroshizuku
Konpeki ink. So smooth I was tempted to look into details. It turns out
Konpeki ink has tons of lubricants. Even different ink colors from the same
manufacturer make a difference. And some alternatives make the setup not
smooth at all, quite scratchy indeed.

Try changing inks and paper. Worst case, you might need to send your nibs for
adjustment if you want different behavior. If they are small, particularly the
VP, you may not be able to get a really smooth experience.

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diablerouge
Crazy to see Richard Binder here. He's one of the big fish in the fountain pen
community (though now mostly retired as a restoration expert.)

For anyone who is interested in seeing what these are like, I can heartily
recommend the Wing Sung 601 - it's a very respectable $15 Chinese homage to
the P51. You'll need some bottled ink as well. I use Parker Quink plain black
(<$10 on Amazon).

eBay link: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wing-Sung-601-Steel-Cap-
Vacumatic-F...](https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wing-Sung-601-Steel-Cap-Vacumatic-
Fountain-Pen-F-Nib/233044559925?hash=item364289c835:m:mEVrGUupBligdHdQ1JMJlvA)

~~~
themodelplumber
Thanks for the recommendation. I don't have that Wing Sung model yet, but as a
beginner in the hobby I have had a blast buying Chinese fountain pens over the
last year. To the degree that I'm annoyed that my local big box office supply
store has such a sub-par (for the price) selection. About all I buy there is
Quink, which has been really great writing and drawing ink.

~~~
arkades
Have you tried the Moonman M2 yet?

~~~
themodelplumber
I haven't. That looks like a really nice pen, do you like it?

~~~
arkades
Quite a bit. It scratches and stumbles on nice paper, but for everyday printer
paper, it gives a reasonably smooth glide and looks much more impressive than
its price merits.

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jstanley
I used to enjoy using fountain pens, but now use almost exclusively "Uniball
Eye" pens, they look like this:
[http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/251258168346-0-1/s-l1000.jpg](http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/251258168346-0-1/s-l1000.jpg)

They write just as smoothly as any fountain pen I've used, and are much more
robust.

They're not refillable, but a pack of 12 costs less than £10 and lasts (me)
for years.

~~~
osullivj
I'm something of a pen fetishist, and swear by the Mitsubishi Uni-ball. I've
tried Pilot and other brands, but nothing beats the Mitsu. Other pen
obsessives might want to check this site:
[https://www.penaddict.com/top-5-pens](https://www.penaddict.com/top-5-pens)

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Abishek_Muthian
The 'Hero' fountain pen was extremely popular in India during the 90's, it is
a copy of Parker51 by Shanghai Hero Pen Company[1].

I was using those for few grades, I have some hand deformities so writing was
hard & I didn't like the pen much.

Then by 10th grade my sister gifted me a Parker. It was a new experience,
smooth & helped me write much better. 10th grade has board (public) exams in
India, I spent a year before the exams in bed rest due to surgeries. So,
writing the crucial board exams with the Parker pen was a remarkable
experience; I scored good.

[1]:[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Hero_Pen_Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Hero_Pen_Company)

~~~
puranjay
I remember how coveted these were. They were all called "Chinese pens".

This was before ball pens, and eventually, gel pens became the norm.

~~~
Abishek_Muthian
Common middle class birthday gift for children for grades 6 & above.

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akavel
In case you are, or want to become, a fountain pen addict... I mean,
afficionado! — the fountain pens subreddit is a great community & time sink:
[https://reddit.com/r/fountainpens](https://reddit.com/r/fountainpens)

~~~
hartzell
And, if you're feeling acquisitive, there's also the Pen Swap subreddit:

[https://www.reddit.com/r/Pen_Swap/new/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Pen_Swap/new/)

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spectramax
Completely tangent question: Does anyone know how a website such as this is
created? It has that "old" vibe to it. Perhaps, I am guessing it was created
using one of those software in a box that you buy a physical copy of it, and
it allows a non-techy person to create a website. I am curious because I see
this similar type of web-design in old websites.

~~~
NeedMoreTea
After 23,000 Bootstrap single page sites, it has a refreshing vibe to it.
Reminds me when the web was useful rather than marketing. (Only partly tongue
in cheek). :)

~~~
brianpgordon
Oh, don't worry, there's a Bootstrap theme for that:

[http://code.divshot.com/geo-bootstrap/](http://code.divshot.com/geo-
bootstrap/)

~~~
NeedMoreTea
lol. That is equal parts awful, and marvellous. :)

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mcguire
Here's another link, if you're interested in how the "51" works:
[http://www.richardspens.com/ref/anatomy/51.htm](http://www.richardspens.com/ref/anatomy/51.htm)

Richard for a while sold printed copies of his "Anatomy of a fountain pen"
pages; I've got them framed. :-) He also has (what I believe to be) the best
current book on pen repair and restoration.

The "51" is a loose successor to the most beautiful and pleasant to use pen
ever made, the Parker Vacumatic. Unlike the Vacumatic (and the vacumatic-
filler "51"s), the aerometric filler 51s (screw it) have latex (?) sacs, which
last much longer than rubber sacs common in other pens; quite often an
unrestored vintage 51 will work fine once cleaned. When Parker closed down
their Chinese factory, which made 51s, they left the machinery in place---
leading to the initial pens from Chinese pen companies to be 51 clones.

This concludes today's random pen facts.

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crispinb
I had a 51 many years ago. Much as I liked mine, it never occurred to me that
people would write articles about them.

I've always preferred writing with a fountain pen, but can't see myself having
one again (or at least a good one). I have the same problem with them as I do
with sunglasses: they always get lost or broken.

~~~
braindouche
Disposable fountain pens are a thing now, and shockingly good writers. You can
have all of the writing with none of the guilt.

~~~
crispinb
Yeah I see that reading through posts here. I've ordered myself a couple to
try out. I hate disposable things but seem to have no choice with pens or
sunglasses.

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cyberjunkie
Quick guide - Really affordable stuff to start with - Jinhao 992, Jinhao X450,
Jinhao X750, Platinum Preppy (all of them range between $5 - $8)

I've progressed to the slightly pricier Lamy Safari now. Excellent experience
and good to see my handwriting improve, while being a soothing, gratifying
experience.

~~~
arkades
My favorite cheap garbage pen is the moonman m2. It’s joined the lamy safari
as my daily driver.

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rlue
I wonder how much this post will drive up the price of Parker 51s on eBay (or
spur the market for modern knock-offs, if one exists), and for how long.

~~~
ecspike
Likely not. There are so many modern Parker 51 inspired pens already.

The vintage P51s are priced all over the place from $60-7500 depending on the
features of that pen....$7500 was a pen that Cartier commisioned to sell in
their stores.

Their past popularity makes supplies of low to mid ranged models pretty
plentiful.

P51 is "out of print." I find reliable P51-inspired writers for $2-4 a pen so
I have no desire to try and buy a vintage one that might not work.

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pavel_lishin
I was really hoping Matt Parker made another amusing-yet-educational mistake
somewhere, like his famous square.

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mrbill
I love my Parker 51s. All of them older than I am (of course) but the ones
that still work (aren't cracked, etc) work wonderfully (filled with Noodler's
inks).

~~~
LyndsySimon
I’m fond of my 61s as well, with their capillary reservoir, and being one of
the first commercial uses of Teflon.

They’re a pain to clean thoroughly, though, so they’re best used as a pen for
someone who doesn’t change inks very often. That person is _not_ me :)

~~~
mrbill
Protip: cheap ultrasonic jewelry cleaner.

You wouldn't believe some of the gunk i've gotten out of pens that sat in a
drawer for 20 years....

~~~
LyndsySimon
Of course! I've got a couple actually, they're useful in my other hobbies.

The capillary filler is still a beast to clean, though. It's not so much a
matter of it getting crusty with dried ink as it is that it's designed to hold
the ink inside.

I've built two things to address this: the first is a rubber bulb with a
length of clear medical tubing that just fits over the back of the reservoir.
This lets me force water and cleaning solution through the reservoir with a
modest amount of pressure, flushing it out. The second is a felt-lined holder
with a spot for a rag or paper towel in the end. I can chuck that in my lathe,
put the pen in it with the nib facing away from the chuck, and turn it on low
for a few minutes. Centripetal force forces the ink (or water) out of the
reservoir, through the feed, and into the paper towel - aided by capillary
action, of course.

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nickdothutton
I recently reviewed some of my old notebooks (Moleskin, graph) for information
for a blog post. Noticed how bad my handwriting had become. Have since
rediscovered fountain pens. Writing is now much improved, I put this down to
the necessity to write more slowly or at least more smoothly with a proper
pen.

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cogs
I can see the appeal of these. Just holding one makes you feel you can soak in
attention to detail and beautiful handwriting through your fingertips. But the
reality is different. I don't have the patience to wait for the ink to dry
when I want to turn the page, nor to muck about with blotting paper.
Everything just ends up smudged.

But it seems I'm not alone here in being a pen geek, so maybe it's a good
place to share a discovery that has been revolutionary for me: Erasable gel
and ballpoint pens!

Bright colours, no sharpening, easy and effective erasing of my mistakes.
Yayyy. I've tried quite a few, my favourite at the moment are Pilot Kleer.

Now I'm no longer afraid to write in a new moleskin!

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hartzell
At the higher end there is also Ariel Kullock's "Fantasy" 51's [1]. I believe
that he's no longer making them, but it's not uncommon to see his pen parts
for sale (e.g. [2]).

[1]:
[http://www.penhero.com/PenGallery/Parker/Parker51FantasyPart...](http://www.penhero.com/PenGallery/Parker/Parker51FantasyPart1.htm)

[2]:
[https://www.ebay.com/str/arielkullockpens/Parker-51/_i.html?...](https://www.ebay.com/str/arielkullockpens/Parker-51/_i.html?_storecat=2011743017)

