Flushing A Parker 51

[Davis19942003]

I saw several Parker 51 in a local fountain pen store yesterday and the price is reasonable, I really want to have one
But the problem is that when I flush a pen, I tend to take it apart so that I can clean the feed thoroughly.I checked out some video on how to disassemble the Parker 51 and I found it very difficult to screw open the grip section because it has shellac or some kind of glue in place.

 

Are there any other way to clean the pen thoroughly without disassembling the pen?
If I ruin a pen like this, I will surely feel very guilty.

Thanks in advance

[octatonic]

Yes! See Bruce's pinned topic at the top of the Parker board, '

You've Got Your First Found In The Wild Parker 51 In Your Hand, Now What?

'. It is amazing! if you're patient I did this with my first couple (read, few ) and then later learned to open them-when I did, I couldn't believe how clean they were from this-I was honestly surprised- even though I totally trust Bruce, it was still amazing to me!

I

hope this helps-

Edited January 27, 2015 by octatonic

[inkstainedruth]

+1 on what octatonic said.

Honestly, the directions don't just work for 51s -- they work for Vacs too, which are a PITA to fully flush, and I even tend to follow the steps (although not for as long) for modern pens.

I have a straight sided, thick walled, glass holder for votive candles (cost me a buck at Target), and I use a cheap plastic clothespin to hold the pen in question upright, balancing the other end of the the clothespin against the flat top edge of the candleholder's wall. The candleholder is thick and heavy enough that it's not top-heavy, the way something like a shot glass might be. The for the final drain and dry, I wad paper toweling up and stick it into a small glass saltshaker that looks like a mason jar with a handle (also a buck, at a local Dollar store).

I'm kinda OCD about flushing, so if I see a lot of color leaching onto the paper toweling the pen goes back into the votive holder for some additional soaking.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Davis19942003]

Thank you for the replies, that's very helpful.
But if I ever find my P51 need a parts replacement, What should I do?
I mean, the Parker 51 is a vintage pen, I assume Parker can't fix it anymore

[Vinayj009]

you can always mix and match parts, or you could buy parts that are made now from ebay though it would remove the originality out of the pen