Everything You Need to Know About the Parker 51 unsharpen.com/pen/parker-51-fountain-pen/

So looking back at the parker 51 2021, I do feel that a lot of the reviews were unrealistically hard on it for the reason that it wasn’t just a rerelease of the 51 from the mid 90s. But to be fair, if they did try to recreate the pen from the mid 90s, people would still pick it apart because things nowadays just simply are not the same as they were back then

I'm a Parker fan. Especially of the 51. So, I thought this pen would be one of my purchases this year. But all the bad reviews, and an analysis of the pen itself, made me decide to skip it. Parker really dropped the ball in just about every area of this release.

P.S not including a converter at that price is also just plain tight assed. Even a cheap 25 and a Vector came with one back in the day. They don’t cost much and it is little things like this that you notice when you are paying premium prices. My Cross fountain pen came with one included as have most of my Indian ebonite pens. I ordered a Platinum 3776 from Japan and it’s a gorgeous pen but no converter just a few cartridges: not a good move for so called “premium” pens.

So basically Parker remade a classic but made it worse, it bogles my mind

FURTHER DETAILS: 1. The 2021 "Core Collection" is based on the original (somewhat lower priced) Parker 51 "Special" fountain pens: octanium (i.e. steel) nib + steel cap. 2. The "Deluxe Collection" reprises the former Parker 51 "Custom" pens: gold nib + gold-filled cap with vertical lines. 3. The last incarnation of the Parker 51 (Mark IV) pens indeed sported a metal cap jewel, either chrome or gold depending on the cap. 4. The silver or gold band around the 2021 pen sections is reminiscent of the original 51 clutch ring. 5. Not all Parker 51 pens featured a vacumatic/aerometric filling system. Although not a commercial success, Parker marketed a cartridge/converter 51 pen from around 1961-1963. 6. The section and barrel plastic of the new 2021 pens appears to be thicker and of higher quality than that of the last Parker 51s (and all 45s and 61s). Because of this lower quality, the sections of these pens were subject to "dimpling" and the barrels were prone to cracking. 7. There is no one single version of the original 51. Variations in nib materials, filling systems, clips, cap jewels, and general design abounded throughout the pen's successful 30+ year run (1941-1973?). PERSONAL REACTIONS: 1. My 2021 teal blue Parker 51 is a nice smooth writer and a high quality pen. In terms of both performance and manufacture, it is worth the money I paid for it. (I installed a Parker press-bar converter, so the pen looks and functions very much like a Parker 51 aerometric filler.) 2. Unlike some other reissue offerings (e.g. Esterbrook "J" pens, Aurora Duo-Cart), Parker has done a faithful job of closely replicating the look, feel, and quality of the vintage Parker 51s. 3. In my opinion, Parker France should be applauded for its relaunch of the "Next Generation" Parker 51 writing instruments. Let's hope they continue the run, perhaps adding additional colors and materials along the way! Thank you for your interesting video, Unsharpen!

I regret spending 80 dollars for my 51. Skips quite a lot and dry start after sitting awhile capped. I should have done some research first.

Thanks for your review! It looks like it's not a bad pen, it's just that there are so many other pens in that price range that make my heart pitter patter so it's more toward the bottom of a long list.

Great review

Thanks for the video, Sal. It appears they could have done a good pricing or at least could have included a good converter which could have justified tge price.

It seems to me the nib design is more like a Parker 88 or Railto series with an extended plastic part hovering above the nib to resemble Parker 51. However, the feeling of writing with Parker 51 is affected by the fact that the nib itself is small in size and supported by the plastic tube that has contact with the nib. I don't expect the feeling of writing would be similar to the original Parker 51.

The elegance of the original 51 design has been compromised beyond what is acceptable as far as I'm concerned. This NOT the 51 I know, own and love; and is there a valid reason why Parker couldn't have reissued a replica of the original design? They did the same with the Duofold 'Big Red' which bears only a passing resemblance to the 1920s original. I suggest it would have sold well.

I love mine I write with it everyday very smooth to write with

Looks completely different from the one I've got the nib seems hidden Great video

Are all Parker converters compatible with all models? I mean, are for instance old Parker converters from the 90's (i.e. Parker Sonnet) compatible with current 2021 Parker 51? I'm asking because I tried to fit a converter from a 90's Sonnet into a modern 2021's 51 and it looks like I need to push hard (slimmer body on the 51? / thicker diameter on the old converter?), but I didn't to avoid damaging any of both.

I think it would have been nice with a piston fill mechanism.

I tried steel nib version, it is nice, I cannot say anything bad about it, maybe that I cannot get medium nib anywhere, and Parker is at least quality assurance that Chinese copies of Parker 51 don't provide. That said, I have really nice Jinhao 51A with wooden barrel, it had leaky convertor but with cartridge, it writes really nice, in line with this pen. But 51As are hit or miss, from 3 I bought, only one wrote without issues from the start.

Great review to enforce why I shouldn't buy a Parker 51 reissue. From where did you get the white Platinum Preppy? I can't seem to find one. Thanks!

Idk if it's just bad luck for me but every Parker I have that was bought after 2015 have the same problems. Hard starts, drying out, questionable build quality, and like an "OK" writing experience. And I've tried the urban Im, sonnet, vector and the new duofold. Meanwhile my grandpa's vector which he got when they first came out still writes smoothly and reliably to this day.

Yay! Left hander’ Just how I like my guitars and pens : P-Mc

I have one of these from the 50's or 60's

I agree; there's nothing about this pen to the eye that warrants its price. For me, I like its simple and vintage style and appreciate the pen's history. I prefer screw caps as I find them less likely to fall off and takes the worrying out of the cap coming off when I'm pulling the pen out of a pen case/loop or when taking the pen out from a shirt/pant pocket. I purchased both the gold and steel nib (had to have both the Plum [gold nib] and Teal [steel nib] barrels). The difference between both nibs is negligible, in my opinion. Several times I've experienced the 51 not writing as soon as the nib hit the paper, especially with an upstroke line. I also have to say, that to my surprise, my Jinhao 51A nibs feel smoother across paper, pens I only paid a few bucks each for. The gold/black Parker 51 would pair up nicely with an A4/A5 Maruman Mnemosyne notebook, making great "grab-and-go into a office meeting" items for any working professional. Thanks for the video!

I would have got it had they not tampered with the slip cap. That makes a difference. The screw cap is nice and all, but it is not a Parker 51 then

The nib and hood looks nothing like a Parker 51. It is just a normal jotter nib with a weird looking section to pretend to look like a Parker 51. The arrow clip also looks cheaply made than the original. I don't mind if they just changed the filling system, but they should have kept the other parts true to the original. The original's clutch ring looks much better (more streamlined) and made of a higher grade metal than the cheap looking metal band and a step.

Sir, poor paper selection!

What do you think about the price 90€/103$ for this pen of coarse considering the shipping costs for delivering it into europe and the fact that the selling shop has to make some money as well

Bro you said you weren't comparing to the old one and you did for the whole video! Haha

How to by this

Dónde compro por internet y cuánto cuesta

This is my favorite pen of all time. I can't believe how they ruined it with these bad design choices.

The screw cap is a total deal breaker for me. This is a $40 pen, at best.

id rather buy jinhao 86 or hero 616

Sign!! 😒 Will wait for the Parker 51-2022 when the errors/oversights are corrected!!

Why no slip-on cap? I could go on and on about the negative differences this has compared to a vintage "51" and the fact that no revival ""51"" has been technically successful. I'd advise people to look at a brilliant vintage Aerometric example, so much variety to choose from--my favorite is the "51" Flighter... regardless, an elderly "51" when nicely tuned, writes with buttery smoothness :-) PS: the reviewed example more closely resembles the cheap original Parker "21".

Have both the gold and steel nib and also the vintage 51. The modern pens are miles much better than the vintage one. Better writers, better made. Don’t listen to the reviews. Ink flow, nib, much better as it should be because it’s a modern pen.

A blatant attempt to cash in on a classic. The old US, Canadian and UK made Parkers were exceptional quality. I tried one of the new French ones and stopped using it. It was little things like the Parker Vectors I used as a kid used to auto puncture the cartridge when you tightened the barrel but not the new ones. I also felt they were made of cheaper lighter plastic. You can get two classic refurbished Parker 51s from websites like writetime and penamie for the price of the new one.

As far as I understand, most negative reviews towards this new 51 come from the fact that it (in the steel nib version) has the same nib, feed, cartridges and materials as the Jotter Originals FP, but for almost 5x the price and up. Pure marketing as it is.

Immediately disappointed that you have to unscrew the pen.

I can't wrap my brain around the fact that that pen costs more than I paid for my Pelikan M200s. Of course the price of those has shot up, too, since I bought mine. 😲

Yikes a TWSBI 580 seems a greater value at 60% of the price. As far as a gold nib goes this appears nowhere close to as nice as a Lamy 2000.

If I wanted a cheap pen I'd get something from a Chinese company, doesn't come with that brand tax, and they usually are of higher quality anyway, and hell some of them make better 51s then what parker has done with the 2021 remake. The new 51 is literally a reskined jotter, same nib, for over double the price, and all that made the original 51 soo good is completely absent from the new 51. Gift brands are just have terrible value modern day, and are mostly a joke. If you want an actual modern version of the parker 51, the Lamy 2000 will fit that role perfectly. It follows that perfect workhorse pen design, and basically has all the features of the old 51 but are even better.

Am I the only one not listen😫😖

Parker, unfortunately, has long been a purely souvenir company, that has nothing to do with quality writing.

Very sad. I so wanted to like it, as I love the 'Forest Green' finish, but I was taken in by the repackaged 'Duocart' and, as the Who sang, "I won't get fooled again!" Parker deserve to be roundly condemned for the arrogance of simply trading on a famous name but without any added value. Sheer corporate greed. Surely the Chinese master forgers could have come up with an authentic clone at the right price.?

Historic baggage? Poor word choice.

This pen equates to an OEM knockoff, especially compared to the original when writing. I can only refer to it as a cash grab since Parker just seemed to use what was laying around and pulled the Parker 51 design out of drawer and said lets make this. Not worth the asking price. If I had paid $30, I don’t think I would have enjoyed how the (fine) writes any more; but I’d feel better about throwing it away. At ~$80, it just takes up space in a rarely opened drawer. So disappointing.

Hero 565 is better and affordable

ot Not your grandfather's Parker anymore.

Put simply this is now a shockingly disappointing pen. I’ve had the original, bought the new 2021 because I thought would be good. It’s not. It’s cheap feeling, it rattles, when you unscrew it squeaks! Parker you could not have made a worse job at destroying your brand in one fell swoop that’s you did with this reinvented pen. Sent back to Amazon within 10 minutes!

So you have a successful product (the original 51), you have lots of clamor for Parker to reissue the 51, which you failed in the Paker 51 a few years ago. So then you tease everyone with a remake only to find out it to is not a true Parker 51. The last one you tried selling for around 350.00. Some people bought it until the reviews came in that is not a 51. So now you come back with another look alike 51 that again fails. I am assuming that a true reissue of the Parker 51 would be more than anyone could ever afford because you dang well know the numbers of people wanting to have the orignal pen, with all it's internals, has been requested for decades. Please stop producing these fake 51's, its embarrassing and mean spirited for us fountain pen lovers. Just stop.