Parker 51 Fountain Pen, Midnight Blue Barrel, Chrome Trim, Fine Nib, Black Ink Cartridge, Gift Box

The new Parker 51 is an excellent homage to the original 51, produced from 1941-1972 in the US, and into the 1980’s in Argentina on American equipment. The new pen is not an exact reproduction as there are a few minor differences between the two. I have three refurbished 51’s, and the new pen looks and feels like the original, but it’s about a half inch shorter. The cap doesn’t close with the familiar thunk sound as it now has a screw-in cap. While some people think that this method won’t last long, I have a Duofold from the 1920’s and a couple of other Parkers from the 1930’s with screw-in caps and they are still going strong. Granted, today’s plastic is not as solid, but you don’t need it to last almost a century. The classic arrow clip on the metal cap is long gone, along with the jewel on top, and it’s a shame that Parker didn’t bring them back. Finally, the primitive feeder systems have been replaced by a modern cartridge, but some the original 51 had cartridges from 1961-1963, so that’s not entirely different. Nevertheless, Parker should have included a converter along with the two cartridges. The good news is that the original 51’s write differently from other pens, and the new 51 carries over that tradition. The hooded nib works great although there is more separation from the cover. It’s just a great pen to write with and has excellent ink flow and a really nice script, so Parker has done a great job of reimagining the 51 for a new century. Just remember that it’s not the same pen, which I’m sure would be really expensive, and you will be really happy with your purchase.

There are some reviews foe this pen for not a premium pen. I agree with some of them 1 the material is cheap. Thing and light(actual not bad feeling when you write with such a writing instrument) 2 no converter included. I suppose that Parker has abandoned the converter since Parker itself has no good ocnverter Expect that. All other are good for such a pen in such a price With the cartrage on print paper. Very Happy to writing with it. Smooth, fluent. All in all. Worth the money and suggest to have one

I have been drooling over Parker 51 pens my entire life ( minus a few years), and I was thrilled when I found that a new , more modern model was available. I just got it today, and I think my expectations were too high. The pen writes really well, smooth, but there is nothing extremely special in comparison to my Pilot, or the Wings Sung 601. Yes, it looks good overall, but the gap between the hood and the nib gives that feeling of unfinished work, and takes away from the writing experience. In addition, not coming with a converter is a big minus in my eyes. Of course I will use it, but when thinking about price and quality, the value and the thrill are not truly there.

Love this Parker pen - the mid mod look and the great color scheme brought me back to an era when my grandparents had avocado green furniture and a hifi stereo that played Petula Clark's "Downtown." I have had a few hard starts, which is to be expected given the hooded nib and that I'm using a cartridge and letting it sit too long between uses. But for the most part, this pen rests smartly in my daily planner and while light weight, is still a pleasure to write with and drafts a nice smooth line that's not too wet. If you're a beginner with fountain pens, I'd start with something softer and with more ink flow, like a TWSBI. But if you're a veteran and a collector of sorts, this is a fun addition and has that retro look and feel that invokes nostalgia with each pen stroke. Great purchase here on Amazon.

It's an injection molded plastic body with a twist cap that has vent holes in it for some reason. I can't understand why you'd put vent holes in a twist cap. All they do is allow air directly into the nib, which will dry out the ink. A press cap, like the original, could use them to prevent a vacuum problem, but this seems like a dumb choice. The metal is extremely cheap and of low quality, and the threads look like a lower quality resin. I can easily see missing a thread and screwing them up, ruining the function of the twist cap. For $85 I would expect this pen to ship with a converter, but it does not. It ships with a blue and black cartridge. The writing field is okay and the ink flow is rather smoothly.

This pen is my favorite. It writes every time, is durable. It is the perfect size and has great ink flow. I would recommend getting a converter to help with the functionality and use of bottled ink. The cartridge that the pen comes with is very functional as well.

Be careful. I ordered a teal blue pen. A burgundy pen arrived here. The box did not look right, appeared somewhat dirty, and under the tray the instructions were folded in half horizontally, even though the lower tray has a fit slot for it. There were no quink cartridges except the one I found installed (as expected). The pen appeared dull and was slightly sticky. I wiped it off with water and it became brighter and smooth. Then I tried writing with it. I could not get any ink flow. I put a loose tissue around the end and gave a sharp snap of my wrist, which almost always gets things started. No ink through the nib although a cartridge was installed which appeared ~1/3 down compared to other quink cartridges I had handy. Using a 30x magnifier, it appeared there was dried ink in the nib. I rinsed the pen under running warm water, and after a minute or so ink started to flow. Putting it all back together, I tried writing with it. My father had had a Parker 51 given to him in 1960, which he treasured and I remembered fondly. This example skipped and had uneven line widths. I wrote several pages of nonsense on some rag paper and it ultimately began to feel and respond smoothly. It now writes as I expected in ordering it. I ordered another pen to give to my wife for valentine's day. I requested teal blue again. A few days later, a teal 51 in a pristine box arrived. Out of the box it wrote smoothly and beautifully, at least as far as my handwriting allowed. The instruction sheet was in its proper slot in the lower tray and everything was neat and clean. Why the difference? I'm not sure, but I would be prepared for a bit of TLC to get the Parker 51 experience.

The are very cheaply made and break easily. I would not recommend as a working pen, cool history, but not robustly made. Broke two and gave up and buy high quality disposable pens.