Is it appropriate to leave a comment 4 years later? This is my 1st RUclips comment :) Thank you for creating such a pleasant and informative video. My husband got me a 1948 Parker 51 for Christmas. This is my first vintage fountain pen. I enjoyed following along with you - filling it (as per your directions) and writing along. Flintain pens are so fun. Thanks again for the great video.
Dear Stef, Thank you so much for showing up once again! This video was like a breath of fresh air for me. It had all the enjoyable elements that I always liked and valued: an interesting subject, a nice rhythm of presentation, a warm familiar and musical voice sound and a loving heart to connect all those things in a nice harmonic whole. Once again I could notice your preference for black and I meditated a little on that subject. I concluded that black could have numerous different shades. Looking back at my observations I made in time, I would say that the black of the Priest's or Monk's clothing is quite different from the elegant black of the clothing a beautiful woman would wear at a prom. Black is present in the nature as well, being the colour of the swallow's feathers for instance. Being so glossy after your exquisite restoration, the black of the Parker 51 Vacumatic in the video looks more like a cheerful colour than like a pious one. I listened 'with three ears', like an old Romanian saying suggests, your very interesting explanations on the vacumatic filling system and I tried to make a comparison between that and the aerometric one, which was more familiar to me. I am not entirely sure, but as I could see, they both are good, but different relatively to restoration and maintenance work. Maybe the vacumatic version would be more complicated and not as straight as the aerometric one seems to be. However, who cares which one is more complicated, if it is understood the procedure of cleaning it inside and of preparing it for a nice writing session ? By the way, in time I learned to evaluate the nibs you were writing with in your videos by their sound. Well, this one seemed to me of being particularly smooth! Additionally, since I am in a personal endeavor of cleaning and restoring a small bunch of pens (as an amateur, of course), I am more sensitive to some things that, previously, I would not of noticed. This time, I was able to properly admire the cap jewel of the Parker 51 Vacumatic you restored and wonder how you were able to make it so clean and clear! Also, I think I heard a nice encouraging sound when you uncapped / capped the pen, showing that the cap and the clutch ring were not worn out at all. Speaking about the lustralloy cap, I would say that I do not seek all the time for gold filled caps, but when the circumstances require, I would gladly accept a nice usual cap like that one in the video, as being the most appropriate to the term 'workhorse' you used to depict the outstanding reliability of the Fountain Pen. Thank you for making this video after your prolonged absence since the 'Sheffield Pen Show 2017' (which I desperately watched numerous times) and I wish you to have enough pens for many other new videos, not taking into account whether the kind of Fountain Pen was previously the subject of other videos. Links at the upper part of the picture would do a lot of good. Besides, talking about vintage Fountain Pens is the essential thing to do, not to be somehow original all the time. Thank you again and have a nice day! Best Regards Anton-Mihai
Hi Anton, im glad you enjoy the video as always. And thank you for your comments as always. Unfortunately due some of my stock of pens not selling i am having difficulty in restocking on different pens. I may not be able to review as often as i would like. Thanks
I agree Stef, a beautiful pen indeed. A timeless iconic design and in such fabulous condition. Looks new despite being nearly seven decades old. Thanks for sharing this with us Stef, I always enjoy your vintage pen showcase videos!
Thank you Stef for another lovely pen video. I don't own a Parker 51 but my father, who is 85yrs old now, offered to give me his. I couldn't accept his kind offer because his 51 was given to him by his late mother when he was still at high school. Bearing in mind it must have been a lot of money for her to buy it and the sentimental value it must hold, I felt it was right that he should keep it. Nevertheless, his Parker looks pretty much identical to the one in this review. However, I believe his model uses the aerometric filling system. It also struck me that there really is a world of difference between a genuine Parker 51 and those cheap Hero 616 replicas.
Hi David, as mentioned the aerometric 51s came after the vacumatic pen. Apart from the filling system they look similar. I would not consider the Hero pens anywhere near as good as a Parker 51. Thanks
David Anderson The Hero copies are absolute junk, and their price reflects that.You basically have to get 10 pens in order to find one that is useable.
My experience of the Hero 616 is the same as yours. I saw some good reviews of them and decided to buy one. It was very poor indeed. I hear there are actually some 'knock-offs' of the original Hero and I suspect I have one of those fakes.
had one of these for years, had no idea what it was. it has the blue diamond and a gold arrow clip, black body. I think it may be one of the shorter version, from size yours appears to be. I hadn't even noticed the stamping until you mentioned it. mine says _Parker "51" Made In U.S.A._ then what appears to be a small .T.6
When you first press the plunger you will see bubbles in the ink. After about 10 presses you will not see any more bubbles and the pen is full. That is if everything is working correctly with your pen. Good luck.
Based on all the videos you've done on this pen, I don't understand how the vacumatic is able to fill the pen. With the hood in place, doesn't this cover the breather hole and the feed mechanism? Can you really fill from just the nib exposed to the ink? Thanks! Great video.
Hi Earl, yes the aerometric pens are a lot more easier and maybe reliable than the vacumatics. However the vacumatic pens are still nice and if serviced correctly are also reliable. Thanks
Hi Keith my web site was closed a while ago as i was mainly uploading these videos only. If your interested in any thing you can always email me or send me a PM. Thanks
Is it appropriate to leave a comment 4 years later? This is my 1st RUclips comment :) Thank you for creating such a pleasant and informative video. My husband got me a 1948 Parker 51 for Christmas. This is my first vintage fountain pen. I enjoyed following along with you - filling it (as per your directions) and writing along. Flintain pens are so fun. Thanks again for the great video.
There are many more videos to watch and comment on, so take a look around Hannah. Thanks for watching and enjoy your pen.
Dear Stef,
Thank you so much for showing up once again! This video was like a breath of fresh air for me. It had all the enjoyable elements that I always liked and valued: an interesting subject, a nice rhythm of presentation, a warm familiar and musical voice sound and a loving heart to connect all those things in a nice harmonic whole.
Once again I could notice your preference for black and I meditated a little on that subject. I concluded that black could have numerous different shades. Looking back at my observations I made in time, I would say that the black of the Priest's or Monk's clothing is quite different from the elegant black of the clothing a beautiful woman would wear at a prom. Black is present in the nature as well, being the colour of the swallow's feathers for instance.
Being so glossy after your exquisite restoration, the black of the Parker 51 Vacumatic in the video looks more like a cheerful colour than like a pious one.
I listened 'with three ears', like an old Romanian saying suggests, your very interesting explanations on the vacumatic filling system and I tried to make a comparison between that and the aerometric one, which was more familiar to me.
I am not entirely sure, but as I could see, they both are good, but different relatively to restoration and maintenance work.
Maybe the vacumatic version would be more complicated and not as straight as the aerometric one seems to be.
However, who cares which one is more complicated, if it is understood the procedure of cleaning it inside and of preparing it for a nice writing session ?
By the way, in time I learned to evaluate the nibs you were writing with in your videos by their sound. Well, this one seemed to me of being particularly smooth!
Additionally, since I am in a personal endeavor of cleaning and restoring a small bunch of pens (as an amateur, of course), I am more sensitive to some things that, previously, I would not of noticed. This time, I was able to properly admire the cap jewel of the Parker 51 Vacumatic you restored and wonder how you were able to make it so clean and clear!
Also, I think I heard a nice encouraging sound when you uncapped / capped the pen, showing that the cap and the clutch ring were not worn out at all.
Speaking about the lustralloy cap, I would say that I do not seek all the time for gold filled caps, but when the circumstances require, I would gladly accept a nice usual cap like that one in the video, as being the most appropriate to the term 'workhorse' you used to depict the outstanding reliability of the Fountain Pen.
Thank you for making this video after your prolonged absence since the 'Sheffield Pen Show 2017' (which I desperately watched numerous times) and I wish you to have enough pens for many other new videos, not taking into account whether the kind of Fountain Pen was previously the subject of other videos. Links at the upper part of the picture would do a lot of good.
Besides, talking about vintage Fountain Pens is the essential thing to do, not to be somehow original all the time.
Thank you again and have a nice day!
Best Regards
Anton-Mihai
Hi Anton, im glad you enjoy the video as always. And thank you for your comments as always. Unfortunately due some of my stock of pens not selling i am having difficulty in restocking on different pens. I may not be able to review as often as i would like. Thanks
I agree Stef, a beautiful pen indeed. A timeless iconic design and in such fabulous condition. Looks new despite being nearly seven decades old. Thanks for sharing this with us Stef, I always enjoy your vintage pen showcase videos!
Thanks Steve, glad you like it. Thanks for watching.
Thank you Stef for another lovely pen video. I don't own a Parker 51 but my father, who is 85yrs old now, offered to give me his. I couldn't accept his kind offer because his 51 was given to him by his late mother when he was still at high school. Bearing in mind it must have been a lot of money for her to buy it and the sentimental value it must hold, I felt it was right that he should keep it. Nevertheless, his Parker looks pretty much identical to the one in this review. However, I believe his model uses the aerometric filling system. It also struck me that there really is a world of difference between a genuine Parker 51 and those cheap Hero 616 replicas.
Hi David, as mentioned the aerometric 51s came after the vacumatic pen. Apart from the filling system they look similar. I would not consider the Hero pens anywhere near as good as a Parker 51. Thanks
David Anderson The Hero copies are absolute junk, and their price reflects that.You basically have to get 10 pens in order to find one that is useable.
My experience of the Hero 616 is the same as yours. I saw some good reviews of them and decided to buy one. It was very poor indeed. I hear there are actually some 'knock-offs' of the original Hero and I suspect I have one of those fakes.
Thank you for the review. Mine is aerometric and is one of my favorite pens.
Both the Vacumatics and Aerometric pens are great pens. Thanks Darold.
Thank you, Stef.
Thanks Anzan.
had one of these for years, had no idea what it was. it has the blue diamond and a gold arrow clip, black body. I think it may be one of the shorter version, from size yours appears to be. I hadn't even noticed the stamping until you mentioned it. mine says _Parker "51" Made In U.S.A._ then what appears to be a small .T.6
Im glad the video was helpful William. Enjoy your pen and use it. Cheers
Hi, how do you know if a vacumatic Parker 51 is properly filled? There is now way how much ink went into the sack/tank.
When you first press the plunger you will see bubbles in the ink. After about 10 presses you will not see any more bubbles and the pen is full. That is if everything is working correctly with your pen. Good luck.
Based on all the videos you've done on this pen, I don't understand how the vacumatic is able to fill the pen. With the hood in place, doesn't this cover the breather hole and the feed mechanism? Can you really fill from just the nib exposed to the ink? Thanks! Great video.
The breather hole is not touching the hood and with the help of the breather tube inside these pens fill fine. Thank you for watching.
excellent review,end of the line for the vacumatic pump ......... the aeromatic filler is far simpler & easier to repair ...if needed;
Hi Earl, yes the aerometric pens are a lot more easier and maybe reliable than the vacumatics. However the vacumatic pens are still nice and if serviced correctly are also reliable. Thanks
would it be possible to include your website in the show notes?
Hi Keith my web site was closed a while ago as i was mainly uploading these videos only. If your interested in any thing you can always email me or send me a PM. Thanks
You say that you cannot shift some of your pens, how can you be contacted about what you have available? Your website appears to be down.
Hi Nick, you can send me a PM here or email me. See this video at 7:52 ruclips.net/video/360c5xM0ck0/видео.html