This isn’t the perfect way to describe this, but suffice to say capping and uncapping the P51 is quite satisfying compared to a typical friction-fit snap cap that just gets smooshed onto the pen. The cap is a clutch mechanism–the cap is “locked” onto the barrel’s clutch ring with “lugs” on the inside of the cap, which is sort of opposite of the Lamy 2000 that has lugs on the pen that lock onto the cap. There is also a smaller version of the 51, called the Demi. They came in twelve or thirteen different colors during their production, with gold trims or not. Mine is dove gray and has a few areas of discoloration, which isn’t entirely uncommon on the lighter materials. It doesn’t feel cheap in any case, and the material has a proven track record of durability. Compared to a celluloid or ebonite material, it feels cold, hard, and lifeless. ![]() When compared to injection molded plastics, it feels high quality and robust. Parker 51s are made from Lucite, a brand of acrylic. Parker also produced 51 Specials, which are the same pen but with high-quality steel nibs. Vintage American pens tend to be ground finer than modern German equivalents, so a medium Parker 51 is going to appear pretty fine on paper. The nib is a fairly rigid 14k medium, or it was sold to me as a medium. Vacumatic pens hold a ton of ink–my P51 holds a whopping 1.6mL–but are impossible to clean out. Many of the original aerometric fillers are still functional today whereas vacumatic filled pens invariably fail and require specialized tools to replace. ![]() In ’48, Parker introduced the aerometric filler, which is a simpler, more durable filling system. My P51 is a vacumatic, dated to 1948, which is late for a vacumatic. This isn’t a philosophy of aesthetics blog: love it or hate it, it’s hard to argue that the Parker 51 didn’t revolutionize fountain pens and set the trend for fountain pens in the 1950’s and 60’s. Some people accuse pens like this–the Lamy 2000, Pilot Vanishing Point, vintage Montblancs, Auroras, and the titular Parker 51–of being glorified roller ball pens because of their aesthetic. I love the streamlined fountain pen aesthetic and rigid, hooded nibs, but that’s not for everyone. If we define “best” as “a no bull-shit pen that writes a consistent line every time, holds a crap load of ink, is virtually indestructible, and has otherwise stood the test of time” than the Parker 51 is easily in the top ten, maybe the top five. So, do I think it’s best? “Best” is subjective. ![]() Some say that the Parker 51 is the best pen ever made.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |