Parker 51 Midnight Blue Fountain Pen

Not good enough. I purchased a Parker 51ct fountain pen with medium nib,the ink flow is worse even than a cheap Parker frontier fountain pen, i preferebly use Waterman hemisphere ss GT fountain pen with medium nib i.e much much better than the Parker 51. Really sad to say total wastage of 💰. I don't know why so much poor quality nib & ink flow in such a costly one, don't buy

2021 "Parker 51"

I love the original Parker 51. To me, the Parker 51 is the "Grail" pen. The first fountain pen I ever used was a very inexpensive Hero clone of the Parker 51. It wrote beautifully, and I was hooked on fountain pens. I have two aeromatic Parker 51s, two Parker 61s, three Parker 21s, and numerous knock-offs by Hero, Wing Sung, and Jinhao. I have Parker 45s, and the Moonman 80 clone. I find the hooded-nib pens beautiful, so I have a Waterman 519 and the new Aurora Duo Cart. I have several vintage Sheaffer integrated-nib pens, too. Some of the Chinese pens, particularly the cheap Hero pens have quality-control issues and don't take up ink or the ink doesn't feed correctly, but when they are good they write very well and are extremely dependable pens. I even have a ... MoreI love the original Parker 51. To me, the Parker 51 is the "Grail" pen. The first fountain pen I ever used was a very inexpensive Hero clone of the Parker 51. It wrote beautifully, and I was hooked on fountain pens. I have two aeromatic Parker 51s, two Parker 61s, three Parker 21s, and numerous knock-offs by Hero, Wing Sung, and Jinhao. I have Parker 45s, and the Moonman 80 clone. I find the hooded-nib pens beautiful, so I have a Waterman 519 and the new Aurora Duo Cart. I have several vintage Sheaffer integrated-nib pens, too. Some of the Chinese pens, particularly the cheap Hero pens have quality-control issues and don't take up ink or the ink doesn't feed correctly, but when they are good they write very well and are extremely dependable pens. I even have a sub-$20 Parker Jotter that was made in France. Before choosing to buy the new, 2021 release of the Parker 51 I watched the reviews of it on YouTube, and although they excoriated the pen, I have always longed for a new, genuine Parker 51. So I chose to get the new, steel-nibbed Parker 51 in burgundy. It is the worst writer of all the pens I mentioned above, except the low-priced Hero pens that didn't work. Including the Jotter. I have to agree with the reviews: The Jinhao 85 is similar to the 2021 release of the Parker 51, but writes better. The Parker 51 is beautiful--apart from the debacle of the hood, which really doesn't live up to the grace of the original, revolutionary, elegant Parker 51. I like the size of the pen and the shape of the barrel, and it sits comfortably in my hand. And I really want it to be a wonderful pen. If I have a bias, it is in favor of the new Parker 51, because I love the classic Parker pens...their history, their quality, and Parker's history of innovation. I recently purchased a 70-year-old Parker 51 through eBay. I cleaned it out, polished it, inked it up with Parker blue Quink, and it wrote at the first touch to paper and flawlessly since. The quality and the genius of the design take my breath away. To me, to misquote Napoleon on Beethoven, "Voilà un stylo." The 2021 Parker 51 on the other hand, did not take to the ink at first touch. I had to fuss with it to get the ink down through the feed and the nib. And even now it stutters and skips. It is finicky and demands that it be used within a precise sweet spot; but I have other pens that have a similar character, and one adjusts. The other pens write beautifully once they are in their sweet spots. But the new Parker 51 doesn't leap to the traces once it is aligned on its sweet spot. It skips. It literally writes worse than the Jotter, and the nib is notoriously similar to the Jotter's nib. Never, never, never should a pen branded a "Parker 51" write with poorer ink flow than a modern Jotter. I am not in any way criticizing Pen Boutique for the vagaries of the Newell Rubbermaid company's Parker subsidiary. Pen Boutique provided excellent service with this purchase, the lovely Aurora Duo Cart (which writes flawlessly), and other purchases. The pen is what I ordered and they are a pleasure to work with--and the reviewers had warned me. :-) Caveat emptor, especially when my favorite pen reviewers had warned me. I will purchase from Pen Boutique in the future. To be clear, the pen writes. It does. While the ink is flowing, it writes well. It doesn't blurt out ink or spray droplets when in use. But it skips, dries quickly if I stop to think as writing and then stutter-starts, and is dry and hard to start if I pick it up again the next day or a few hours after use. And, mind you, I am using Parker Quink, which is as un-problematic an ink as one can find. The 2021 Parker 51 is comfortable in the hand. I have no criticisms of the dimensions of the pen, though it doesn't post the way the classic Parkers do. The original was a revelation of design, function, and quality, everything so well thought through, and so beautiful, too. I don't really like the visual disjunction between the nib and the hood. The original Parker 51 created a visual flow between the nib and the hood, the whole pen had a "movement" from the hand to the paper. It was less a tool than an extension of self. On the other hand, with the new pen, the separation at the nib was not thought out. The clean line of the original is broken. It takes a bit of getting used to; sighting along the pen to set it to paper requires an adjustment, but I got the hang of it quickly. I might try some tweaking of the nib to see if I can improve the ink-flow. A better pen might be in there waiting to be released. I love the original Parker 51 and would be pleased indeed to have a new one that lives up to its heritage the way the Aurora Duo Cart lives up to its tradition, or the way that French Waterman pens still maintain the Waterman tradition. I do not regret the purchase. I wanted a new Parker 51 from Parker, and when capped it is beautiful. I really find the burgundy resin very striking and ele

A great effort…but…

Even as a lefty using a fountain pen, the New 51 gave no trouble at all. This pen writes wet, even with an F nib. A wonderful vintage look without the fuss. However, you must LOVE the look of a 51 to accept its foibles. The most glaring being the converter. With a cartridge refill no problems at all…but the converter rattles. An oversight definitely but a strange one given the price point and promise of this pen. The Pen Boutique’s selling price eased any real pain involved in purchase, but Parker expects this to be a halo product. As the return of a much beloved and vaunted icon, the New 51 doesn’t disappoint. But like all things that come back from our past, we have to learn to live with some wrinkles.

An ode to a legend

The new Parker 51 is the new edition of a legend in the days gone by. I have my Father's Parker 51 and I wanted to try the latest version. It is good, but doesn't feel classy. It writes smoothly without any skipping. The finish could have been better. There is a gap between the hood and nib which doesn't look good. I would have liked the cap to be of a push mechanism rather than the turn. Aerometric filling would have been nice. Falls way short of the legend. Good everyday pen.

New vs Old

Bought this because the "Vacumatic" system in my ca, 1947 Parker 51 is getting temperamental. The 51 is the only fine nixed pen I own at this time and has been my "Note taker/ Jotter since grade school in the '50's.1. Service and shipping was excellent!2. The new 51 is shorter by about 3/8", Lighter [probably having to do with materials and size]. The nibs and hooding are quite different as well. The line of the new pen is thicker than the original, but significantly finer than my Waterman Laureate M.3. Posted it balances well and the nib is very smooth writing. Flow is good.I am also a Southpaw, although, as a strategy to get the Nuns and their hickory rulers to quit torturing me in 1st and 2nd grade, I slanted my paper in a mirror image of right handed ... MoreBought this because the "Vacumatic" system in my ca, 1947 Parker 51 is getting temperamental. The 51 is the only fine nixed pen I own at this time and has been my "Note taker/ Jotter since grade school in the '50's.1. Service and shipping was excellent!2. The new 51 is shorter by about 3/8", Lighter [probably having to do with materials and size]. The nibs and hooding are quite different as well. The line of the new pen is thicker than the original, but significantly finer than my Waterman Laureate M.3. Posted it balances well and the nib is very smooth writing. Flow is good.I am also a Southpaw, although, as a strategy to get the Nuns and their hickory rulers to quit torturing me in 1st and 2nd grade, I slanted my paper in a mirror image of right handed writers and do not write overhand. The Nuns gave up by 3rd grade and I gave up on them shortly after. The point is the new pen writes easily left handed.Would have liked a new, exact replacement for the old vacumatic but I think this new one will do nicely. [ Would have liked to pay what Granda did for the original in '47 as well but alas.......]

Parker 51 Next Generation

This is my third fountain pen after a couple of Sonnets, which I enjoyed. I have always wanted to own a Parker 51 especially after reading the book The Disappearing Spoon, where the author spends a chapter on the science of the nib. My biggest issue was the cost of a vintage pen and the utility of filling from an ink bottle. Along comes the Next Generation Parker 51 and it gives me an opportunity to own an updated version of this classic. The pen feels lovely in the hand and writes very well. I find myself going out of the way to use it. The ink cartridges are simple to change and the Quink ink dries quickly. If you have the means, I highly suggest picking one up!

Parker 51 Next Generation Deluxe F-nib

As a lefty, I was surprised at how quickly I could adapt to writing with the Parker 51. I have been using Fine nibs which I know goes against the old practice of broader nibs for those who "push" to write rather than "pull", but this nib performed well. The balance and feel in the hand is also very nostalgic. If you have ever used a Parker 51 vintage you will appreciate the weight of this Next Generation. My only annoyance is where the cap screws onto the barrel. For the price of the Deluxe, Parker could have used metal threading on the barrel, to match the metal threading of the cap. This may be a problem point in the future, especially if this is someone's daily use pen. If you aren't certain, there is always the Chrome trim line, definitely worth a try whichever ... MoreAs a lefty, I was surprised at how quickly I could adapt to writing with the Parker 51. I have been using Fine nibs which I know goes against the old practice of broader nibs for those who "push" to write rather than "pull", but this nib performed well. The balance and feel in the hand is also very nostalgic. If you have ever used a Parker 51 vintage you will appreciate the weight of this Next Generation. My only annoyance is where the cap screws onto the barrel. For the price of the Deluxe, Parker could have used metal threading on the barrel, to match the metal threading of the cap. This may be a problem point in the future, especially if this is someone's daily use pen. If you aren't certain, there is always the Chrome trim line, definitely worth a try whichever trim you choose. Thank you Pen Boutique for your quick shipping to Honolulu!

Quality with great features

This nib works well and rather smooth. Excellent balance but slightly lighter than expected. A bit more heft would probably contribute to the quality expected of a "51". Converter was not included with the purchase which should have been standard considering the price point. The pen was delivered promptly and this is definitely a PLUS. The iconic design of the 51 has always been a favourite with pen enthusiasts.

Tough act to follow

Parker diehards should have this pen which is an homage to an earlier era when ballpoints did not yet work well and the Parker 51 fountain pen ruled the world. I use a circa 1947 Parker 51 Vacumatic which writes smoothly and has nice size and balance when posted. The Next Generation remake is slightly larger and the nib hooding is not as precise; otherwise, it is hard to distinguish from the 1947 version in dim light. The modern cartridge converter filling mechanism is arguably easier. For a gold nib, the Next Generation one is a tad scratchy compared with the 1947 vintage nib or a contemporary Lamy 2000. Nevertheless, Parker deserves credit for their boldness in reviving the 51 at a modest price.

Writes well, but the body feels flimsy

My pen has a beautiful cap that is heavy enough to nicely balance the pen when posted. The gold nib writes well with no hard starts. My major criticism has to do with the materials that make up the body. The plastic feels flimsy and cheap. Still it writes well.