In the year of 2021, we rarely hear the name Parker 51 thrown around in a positive light, and mostly because of people's expectation of its recent rerelease model. So what makes the original so alluring to collectors and vintage pens enthusiasts - and what did the rerelease do wrong?

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The Parker 51 was first introduced in 1941 after a 10-year research and development period. In the name itself, the model was aiming high: be a pen that's so popular and so technologically advanced, it was said to be 10 years ahead of its time. As for this example, the cap was made with their own "lustraloy" material, with a matte finish that still keeps its shine after decades sitting in the box. The section and barrel is injection moulded but the plastic still keeps its color, and no one would think this is a 60-year old writing instrument. At this point, one would think: this is just a run off the mill fountain pen, what's the hype about it anyway?

The nib, instead of being shown off in the usual "look at me I'm 18k" fashion, is hidden under the section, and for a good reason: it is to limit the contact with the outside air, and thus reduces evaporation of the ink. It gets even better as the nib and feed are connected to a collector and a breather tube to maintain consistent inkflow, and allows the  filling mechanism to work more efficiently.

The early generations of Parker 51s were fitted with their signature vacumatic filling system. These are so much fun to use and to admire, but as time goes on, there was a need for faster drying ink and newly developed inks were so corrosive they destroyed these vintage celluloid vacumatic pens in the matter of weeks. Parker had to find a solution: the introduction of the Aerometric filler. These are fitted with pliglass sacs that could withstand the hazardous inks, and they are so good most of the vintage Parker 51s found today on eBay wouldn't need a replacement and can still be use as is for quite some time. To top it off, the pen was completed with a 14k gold nib that doesn't offer a lot of line variation, but makes up for it with reliability and ready to go everytime you pop the cap.

It was sold starting from the $12.50, and in modern day value, this is about more than $200. That's quite a large sum, but think of it as your mobile phone: you need one to sign contracts, to write letters, to doodle or even bullet journal, who knows, but it was the tool of the time. It was so ahead of its competition, while the competition were still struggling with their lever fillers and pistons, Parker was doing their own thing. It was so good that it was the most sold fountain pen of the previous century, and till this day there are so many of them in the used market that Parker would have to think of some way to create the ext generation of Parker 51 users, right?

However, fast forward to the modern day, instead of getting a pen that would revolutionize the writing instrument industry once more, we get something a bit...shall I say, mediocre. Of course the changes are theirs to make, but some of them were quite questionable to say the least. To the enthusiasts' eyes, they were subpar to the things Parker could do 70 years before, and to the newcomers, there are better options to consider.

If you are a new fountain pen user, acquiring a reissued Parker 51 wouldn't totally ruin the experience for you, as you are getting a decently made pen by the brand. However if you were to go for a vintage model, they would certainly last you a lifetime to come while offering you a wonderful daily writing experience.