1947 Parker 51 Vacumatic SOLD! ($160 US)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKPajtHppNU

THIS PEN HAS BEEN SOLD!

Hello there. Welcome to Inkquiring Minds. My name is Doug, and I'm back with another Pen Resurrection Sunday video.

Today's dead fountain pen on the slab, waiting to be resurrected to the land of the living and writing, is this circa 1947? I don't know exactly for sure yet, but circa 194647 Parker 51 Vacumatic. This has a black body and a gold-filled cap and clip. I think this is the classic look right here. Black and gold. I'd say this is my second-favourite vintage fountain pen after the Parker Vacumatic.

I love the Parker Vacumatic, the open nib and the stacked celluloid. The first vintage Parker 51 I used didn't impress me too much because of the stiff nib. It was not really pleasant to write with, but I've since discovered that that very stiff nib can be very soft and juicy. Maybe not in flex, because they don't flex very much at all.

But when they're tuned properly and broad enough, these pens just write like workhorses. They write the first time all the time and give you consistent lines. And it's arguably one of the best-designed fountain pens ever made. And they're eminently collectible as well because Parker made so many of them. The Parker Vacumatics were the first generation Parker 51 until the Vacumatic pump was replaced with the more modern aerometric style filler for the Parker 51.

THOUGHTS

So, what are my thoughts on this pen resurrection? Well, it cleaned up beautifully and didn’t present too many problems. The clip came off easily, and the hood, which was already loose, actually came off while I was unscrewing the blind cap. I haven’t added any shellac to it, but I’ve applied some silicone grease to prevent leaks. This makes it easier for the next owner to maintain and clean the pen.

The pen takes a lot of ink, shines beautifully, and the nib writes beautifully now that I’ve tuned it up. The only issues are the dents. There are two dents on the cap that could be professionally removed, but as I’ve said before, I’m not a professional. I could try to remove the dent by removing the clutch and using a probe, but I suspect I’d damage the pen more than necessary. Overall, I think the pen looks brilliant as it is. A few battle scars after 79 years aren’t so bad.

The only thing left is to add the blue diamond enamel paint. I’ll do that. I just need to dab a little Testors 1111 GI dark blue enamel paint inside the diamond. Let it dry, then scrape the edges with a probe to square it and polish the top jewel, that beautiful pearlescent one. It’s already shiny, so I’ll polish it some more. This pen will be ready to go.

I was just finishing this resurrection when this arrived at my door. Guess what? Another Parker 51 Vacumatic in the same configuration, gold cap, black body, Vacumatic. This one says it’s made in the USA and has a date code of T6. That means 1946, and T stands for Toronto. So, the pen was manufactured in the US, but the parts were sent to the Toronto plant in 1946, where it was assembled and sold to the Canadian market. But soon, you’ll see this tarnished old pen shine just as beautifully as the one you have. It’s the same configuration, India black ink, and gold-filled cap.

Look at the tarnish on that one. People will say, “Eh, I don’t want that pen.” But with a little elbow grease, it’ll look just like this one. So, you can look forward to this pen’s resurrection coming soon.

In the meantime, I’m selling this beauty for $160 US. If you’re interested, just email inkquiringminds@gmail.com with your name and address. I’ll send you a shipping quote and PayPal payment instructions.

There you have it. And that just leaves it for me to say thank you for watching.

And that's all she wrote.