Vintage (1954) Parker 51 Fountain Pen Restoration and Review
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- Опубликовано: 20 янв 2020
- This is a vintage (1954) Parker 51 fountain pen restoration and review. Use the timestamps below to skip through the sections of the video. Watch a timelapse of me getting this 66-year-old fountain pen working again. I show the parts and features of the pen, size comparisons, dimensions and a writing sample.
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Skip to various parts of the video with these timestamps:
Start and Pre restoration 0:38
Restoration Timelapse 2:05
Compare restored 51 with the ballpoint and pencil 4:48
Parts and Features 5:42
Dimensions and Size Comparisons 11:57
Writing Sample 12:22
Let’s connect:
Instagram - douglasrathbun
Twitter - @djrathbun
Music: Me playing my guitar and singing. Listen to the full cover recording of the Paul Simon song here:
soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=1... 
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ERRATA: The graphic indicates the body weighs 4g when it is actually 14g.
Exceptionally interesting video, thank you. 🙏
Glad you enjoyed it
Great job
Really interesting, thanks. Am thinking I need a vintage pen of some sort. 🙂👍🏻 I really like the Parker 51, however the Parker Duofold Centennial has my eye for sure.
Go for it! You should keep an eye on fountain pen restorer and eBay seller tbickiii as he has Duofolds and 51s almost weekly. tinyurl.com/yckm7mfv
Thanks you so much. I’m going to try to restore my Father’s Parker 51 Fountain pen. Thank you so much
Awesome!
Be careful I just destroyed my dad's 1950 pen gutted.
Doug, nice video and a great restoration job. Some observations follow. I always thought the Chinese pens with arrow on the section were actually homage to the Parker 61. All 51s contained 14K nibs, except the 51 Special, which used steel nibs to cut costs, and even some of them used gold (those produced at the Special's end-of-life).
Thanks, Joel. That's what I love about this hobby and community! I learn something new each day. I had no idea about the Parker 61. More research fodder - yay! I have a Hero 565 on the way which I now understand is probably a Parker 61 tribute. Thanks for the confirmation about the gold on the 51s. Oh and, thanks so much for starting another collecting spree... Parker 61 here I come!
I chuckled when you had the pen upside down, because I have that exact same problem. I have a hard time orienting that little nib. For that reason, the Wing Sung 601A is my EDC. It has the very comfortable Parker 51 body, but has the Sheaffer-like nib that is much easier for me to see and orient. Thanks for another great video.
Hey Trace! Yeah, I bought the gold wave cap and burgundy body version of the 601A and my wife loved it so much, I don't have one anymore. :)
Wonderful work on the restoration, you made it shine again! Write and shine! The song was very enjoyable too! I don’t know why anyone would put this pen in a drawer and use a ballpoint instead, if they didn’t have to.
Thanks, KA! It is a beauty. I will be hard to part with it.
Great video and impressive restoration work.I guess working on guitars comes up handy when working on pens, LOL, really nice work.
Great video. Thank you!!
Glad you liked it!
Simplemente maravillosa. Me suscribo inmediatamente. Tengo esa misma pluma y es espectacular. Muchas gracias. desde Colombia.
¡De nada! ¡Muchas gracias por suscribirte!
Another good one Doug, the 51 is a classic. I have a gray one with standard cap, gold fine nib found at estate sale, good flushing and cleanup and it was ready to go. FYI the sac is made from PVC, not latex, so it could handle the corrosive Parker Superchrome ink, That also means sacs that are over 70 years old still work fine today! No such thing as planned obsolescence then. Can't wait to see your next project!
Thanks for that pete! That actually makes more sense to me. PVC will be fine with almost all modern inks although I doubt it would be a good idea to put anything shimmering into one of these!
@@InkquiringMinds That is true, trying to flush out shimmering ink from that feed and huge ink collector would be a job and a half!
I watched Steph at Grandmia Pens three part video on taking one apart, restoring it and putting it back together again and it is a huge project with lots of minefields. I'm so glad I didn't have to take it apart. One drop of J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor in this puppy and it would be toast.
@@InkquiringMinds Got that right!
Hey Doug, perhaps a Jeweler's polishing cloth for the cap, just to keep your hard work looking pretty...Very nice.
Thanks Star! I might have gone further if it were my own property. But I worry about how deep that gold is.
@@InkquiringMinds hi douglas, I use a jeweler's cloth on these plsted / rolled caps, it never ever goes through. Very nice video well documented and a very nice pen, I love my p51s. All the best.
@@conradsmith9332 Yes, I have a trusty jeweller's cloth as well! Very useful!
For daily writers, I don't think they ever got better than this.
I think a LOT of people would agree with you John. I peeked into the Parker 51 threads on the FPN and oh my gosh people have collections of thousands of these things! Good thing Parker made them by the gazillion!
John Matthias I agree, these are fantastic pens!
Agreed, they are my favorite pen ever made hands down as far as the writing side goes.
My pens almost identical but teal coloured
Fyi. The instructions mention superchrome ink. This is one of the very first aerometrics built, so most probably closer to 1950 than you think. By mid 50's Parker dropped the superchrome ink as it totally destroyed non P51s. There may also be a date stamp on the barrel somewhere that indicates date of manufacture. These often got faded or rubbed out over time. One other thig about the aerometric system, Parker used an indestructible sack. I got several P51s and never had a problem with the filling system.
Thanks for this very useful information. As to dating, I wrote to Tony Fischier at parkerpens.net/ specifically about this Parker 51 set. He figured '54 was a good guess because of the pen but also because of the pencil and ballpoint and also the faux ostrich case, placing it in Canada in 1954. There were no dates or codes anywhere on any of the pieces. It is good to know that PVC sack is indestructible. I was getting warnings from others about using Iroshizuku. Not worried now.
II just bought my first 51. I got it from a lady on fakebook market, and apparently it is actually a parker 51 Demi, so slightly shorter than the regular. 14kt nib with a 12 kt gold filled cap. I think it's a medium nib, and it's incredibly smooth. Seems to be in fantastic shape, a fair bit of dried ink, but i got it clean with just some warm water. I got it for $75, I don't know what the going rate is for these but it seemed fair to me.
That's a good price!
I just got a full size 51 along with a pencil, date code on the pencil is 1953. I was wondering what mechanism the one in this video uses, twist or click? It’s proving more difficult to find info on the pencils compared to the fountain pen. Mine is a twist pencil and I think it takes 1.1mm lead, my 0.9mm is smaller than the broken pieces that were in the barrel. It also has a metal rod with a hooked end in the lead compartment, I thought it might just be for clearing jams but from what little I could find it may be for pushing the lead out after it gets too short for the mechanism to grip. If that’s the case then it’s fallen out from where it’s supposed to be and it’s going to be a real pain trying to get it back in.
And I’m very happy with the pen, the line is about 0.9mm and has that felt tip pen sort of feel. Plus I got the set for $40 along with a Sheaffer box!
@@coreyjs55 Awesome! The 1954 P51 pencil in my set is a twist.
Man I've been writing with this pen since my godfather's gave me a set with the fountain and rollerball pens. The rollerball is still in the same place (in the box) with the same ink as it came and still writes. That was 45 years ago. The fountain pen was with me for this long until last year I fall and the pen broke in the middle, right where the back section screws into the bottom section. My pen was the stainless steel brushed version and I've been looking for one ever since everywhere. Just can't find it... I bought a green/grey body, and a black body one also. Looking for a burgundy/brown? also. But the stainless steel one is just eluding me and I'm heart broken missing my dear pen. I've got a lot of other fountain pens that I use daily, even Montblanc 149, but none matches the pleasure of writing with my Parker 51. By the way if someone knows of a brushed stainless steel available somewhere please, please, notify me.
Thanks for sharing!
great video. ive just inherited my fathers parker 51 fountain pen and pencil. its engraved 1953. can you tell me if theres a difference between my 1953 and your 1954?
Probably not much difference.
I just followed a restoration vid to get my dad's one serviced. Now the nib is offset, please help?!
I just inherited a parker 51 pen and pencil set the pen looks just like the one you showed in your excellent video. I am trying to figure out the value as I believe a well known collector in the world of vintage pens may be trying to low ball me if anyone here could give me some general information I'd be grateful. The pen looks e exactly like the one in this video it has 1/10 12k gold filled on the cap and the body is etched made in usa with a tiny 8 after it. It came in a box with a metal plate that says parker with 51 on each side and on the back the box says no254. If anyone could tell me what I have and its possible fair price value I'd be greatly appreciative.
Is the 51 a vacumatic or aerometric filler? If aerometric, does the filler sleeve say "press six times" or "press four times" on it? Look at this page for details about the 51 and clues to dating it. The "8" on the barrel might mean fourth quarter of 1948.
@@InkquiringMinds Hey I tried to reply to your message earlier but it may have not gone through if so a apologize for spamming you. So it is a aerometric the print inside reads " To fill press ribbed bar firmly 6 times. Use dry - writing superchrome ink.
Probably 1948
Are you going to Scarborough fair..... great video I need to add a Parker 51 to my collection for sure great job 👍
Thank you, Louise!
Great ...reveal.. Actually I was just cleaning up...on the Parker 45 set guess should be of same era....Black n gold Green n gold n maroon gold ..,..even though I was younger ... Parker pen was one of our more favourite I gaz...still cant let go....maybe if someone values it..⌛🕰️🕰️Thanks Douglas hope you sing more songs
Thanks!
Great video Doug! Could you tell me what is the model of your ultrasonic cleaner, please?
Oh God, who knows? Some $20 Chinese thing I bought on eBay.
excellent work doug ,the comparison with the other two really showed the effort was worth it (when it comes to restoring my hero 616 i think i,ll use an angle grinder and mallet ) as an aside do youtube demonitise for trad.arr ?
Thanks, Paul. They demonetize if you hum a tune for longer than fifteen seconds! Go easy on that 616! LOL
I do have a vintage Parker 51 given by my grandfather and it had not sucked ink for almost 7 decades.
I don't know what color of Parker ink does usually sucked by this Pen. Can I use any color of Parker ink and give it a try?
Try Waterman Serenity Blue as a safe ink for a vintage pen.
@@InkquiringMinds Can I also use black ink or just the blue one? Thank you for replying to my query, I'm all the way from. Philippines! ❤️
@@henryfordtuazon3746 All of the Waterman inks are safe.
*Maybe there is a mistakes with my English. 英語って難しい！(Japanese)*
I also have a aerometric Parker 51, one of it is gold filled and the normal one.
I have a question, everytime when I take the cap off there is a scratch on the body.
Is this also been like me? I'm bothering to polish these scratch.
This is typical of the P51 capping.
If you are not to bothered about aesthetics just put a pin sized dot of gold paint at the tip to show where nib is.
Well it is a 66 year old fountain pen that is part of a unique pen, pencil, fountain pen matched set that is worth a good deal of money, so I'd say the gold paint might be ill-advised. :)
what is the prize
???
What if i sell one of those could you help me
Help you sell one? Try Facebook vintage pen groups or selling on eBay.
2 parker and 2 Shepard pen's
Thank you, Star Maker!
So, I was right. Fingerstyle guitar players are 82 percent more likely to also be pen lovers. Wife owes me 1 dollar.
Apparently, the Parker 51 was Queen Elizabeth's favourite pen, and apparently, she used it to her dying day (though I can't verify that as a fact).
That is true. It was given to her by her Father, King George VI.
Douglas, I have an opportunity to pick up a burgundy Parker 51 (1965) for $220.00 Cdn. It’s in mint condition but no box, nor papers. Is this a reasonable price for a pen ?
There are a LOT of variables, Richard. Is the cap gold plate? Is the nib gold? Is it vacumatic or aerometric? Take at look at this website for help in identification and some pricing equivalencies. parker51.com/
Douglas Rathbun Thanks Douglas, I checking these out now.
i just did the measurements the hero 616 is exactly the same size and shape and filling mechenism as the parker 51 which if you couldnt afford one thats a cheaper way to pretend you have one i have one in green its beautiful although i hate the filling system
Yes, I've seen the 616. I have a Hero 565 (which I now understand is an homage to the Parker 61) which will be here shortly. And I LOVE the WingSung 601a which I gave to my wife and which is just like this Parker 51 except the nib is tubular like the Sheaffer Triumph. I don't really hate the aerometric as much as I thought I would. The PITA is cleaning the damned thing.
Another alternative is Wing Sung, 601. It's more expensive than Hero 616 but it's a way better quality
I have (wife has) a 601a with the Triumph style nib.
@@InkquiringMinds Personally I prefer the standard hooded nibs and have three regular 601, with hooded nibs like the 51. Unfortunately the regular 601 doesn't come with these beautiful gold plated caps.
@@w.j.m.91 I know. It is a trade off. I'll have to pickup a regular 601 WS as soon as Bobby gets back from vacation. :)
Heck id send to you if you can help?
should not use the superchrome ink
Is that still available? Why would anyone want it?
I am surprised that you post the lid on the pen.
It is designed to post.
@@InkquiringMinds Okay - I just figured the metal would wear on the body of the pen.
A pic of mine I would like to share but utube won't let me. Nobody within 300 miles of me helps fix them when an idiot like me tried to rinse them. My pens gold filled too. It was dad's I'm gutted. I'm 53 learned to write with this pen. Help? Do you know anyone in England who will help ?
Send a photo to inkquiringminds@gmail.com and I'll have a look.
I have a pen. Would you like to get one?
I have this pen and i sell it