7 replies to this topic

[mahutr]

Hi all,

I've got a P61, capillar-filler. Not in a "collectible" shape (arrow is missing, section is slightly shrunk, cap has some minor brassing) but nice enough (both "jewels" are OK, nib is great, no cracks, dents, or other major issue). I have flushed it for a couple of minutes (small hose connected to house tap water, opened the tap...) until no ink residue was left in the water.

As I haven't been able to fill it with ink, I've browsed the web looking for what to do next. I have found several suggestions: US cleaning (no problem here, I have the cleaner), mild soap/detergent, both (soap and US) combined, thorough emptying (two days with towel paper touching nib/feed), and such. I'm going to start with this soon, maybe even later today. Any other advice? Any caution to be taken?

And for the (far, most probably) future, I plan to replicate the arrow (thin brass sheet) and probably replace the section (is it the same as P21, P51 or other?), as it is plain black and shouldn't be difficult to get one.

If I have left something behind, besides the above, feel free to tell me.

Thanks and rgds.

Martin

[FarmBoy]

The hood on the 61 is different from the other Parker hoods.
A black 61 hood shouldn't be difficult to find. (And it has the benefit of having the inlaid arrow.)
Take care to not scratch the teflon coating on the filler tube.

I flush then with an ear bulb with water and sometimes dilute ammonia then water.

Todd

[mahutr]

Thanks for your advice. I am currently performing one to two minutes of US cleaning in mild soap dilution. There's somehow more ink going out of this... 

Rgds.

Martin

[david i]

The hood on the 61 is different from the other Parker hoods.
A black 61 hood shouldn't be difficult to find. (And it has the benefit of having the inlaid arrow.)
Take care to not scratch the teflon coating on the filler tube.

I flush then with an ear bulb with water and sometimes dilute ammonia then water.

Todd

I offer a bit of a caveat to my friend FarmBoy's post, noting that I am not a repair guy and do not play one on TV

While a black 61 generally is a humble pen (although some better caps are found out there), and while the hood indeed is different from those other Parker hoods, the 61 hood actually is not such an "easy find".

The hood perhaps is the most fragile part of the pen. Soft plastic. Distorts (most of us tend not to firmly force closed the cap on our nice examples) and cracks. Loses arrow. Dealers charge often as much as value of the whole pen for the intact hood-arrow, or close to it.

That said, one can often find humble pens on ebay cheaply, and hunting a black 61 there can find one at wholesale or sub wholesale price. Just don't figure that a quick online post will result in a hood. Everyone who plays with 61's needs the darn things.

regards

David

[FarmBoy]

While a black 61 generally is a humble pen (although some better caps are found out there), and while the hood indeed is different from those other Parker hoods, the 61 hood actually is not such an "easy find".

David

I guess easy is relative to what else you are looking for. I've had the good fortune of combing parts bins for a long time nabbing up lots of basket cases to harvest parts from. The hood on the 61 does seem to be the limiting part.

T

[mahutr]

Cleaned and working!

After several US cleaning cycles it finally stopped expelling old (black) ink. I blew from the capillar unit, with a paper towel in front of the pen, touching nib/feed, until no wet spots appeared. Instead of filling it the traditional way, I started to fill it (drop by drop) with a syringe, nib down, until new (red) ink started to drop from the nib.

Though still "watery" coloured, it seems that everything works OK (at least until today, I have been taking a few notes with it). Though it doesn't seem to be the pen with the largest ink capacity (I wasn't expecting this either!), it writes nicely. It seems to have quite a wet spot, but the angle is not very far away from the one I usually use to write.

Rgds.

Martin

[Penman]

Cleaned and working!

After several US cleaning cycles it finally stopped expelling old (black) ink. I blew from the capillar unit, with a paper towel in front of the pen, touching nib/feed, until no wet spots appeared. Instead of filling it the traditional way, I started to fill it (drop by drop) with a syringe, nib down, until new (red) ink started to drop from the nib.

Though still "watery" coloured, it seems that everything works OK (at least until today, I have been taking a few notes with it). Though it doesn't seem to be the pen with the largest ink capacity (I wasn't expecting this either!), it writes nicely. It seems to have quite a wet spot, but the angle is not very far away from the one I usually use to write.

Rgds.

Martin

The perceived wisdom on cleaning a 61 is as described above using a rubber bulb pushed over the nib.

I am sure that it is pilot error on my part but I never seem to get a perfect airtight seal and I use a plastic straw, ideally a clear one, which I find will push over the nib and give a good seal.

Put the capillary section vertically into clean water and suck the water through the pen and part way up the straw, then blow the ink and water mixture back through the straw and repeat until the ink and water mix runs clear. then blow air through the nib section until you have bubbles appearing through the caplillary.

If you then want to get the maximum fill of ink, draw ink up through the capillary and nib, into the straw, push back a little when full so that its not too messy when you remove the straw.


If that doesnt work, buy another 61 and keep your duffer for spares. they are worth the perseverance.

[Bart]

Ah, the Parker 61. They sure are worth the perseverance, but can get a bit frustrating. The hood is definitely the weak spot.

For example. I left one soaking for two days, after flushing did not fully succeed. The hood came out mis-shapen (didn't start out that way, although many do) and the plastic developed weird pimples on it. It was just water.

It is difficult to outright impossible to remove the hood without damage; this is not a rock-solid "51", and the soft plastic tends to shrink and hug the ring tightly. A renowned restorer's response to one of my repair requests included, "if the hood can be removed."

The bulb syringe seems to work even without a good seal; as much water as it pushes out, much of it will get into the pen.

I did find one source of parts hoods: http://vintagepens.c...arker_Parts.htm