Removing The Cap From Parker 51

[pennut]

I just received a fantastic Parker 51 and wanted to dip the nib so pulled on the cap to remove it. The cap seems to be stuck. The pen is absolutely mint!!! I am afraid to pull too hard for fear of doing some damage. Can anyone make a suggestion?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Pennut

[JotterAddict62]

Soak it ?

 

Others with better ideas will reply.

[Video11]

Put it in the freezer for a short time to cause the plastic to contract from the metal cap?

 

Regards,

 

Rick

[rtrinkner]

The freezer is a neat idea. Let us know if it works!

 

I'd guess that hardened ink has stuck the cap to the barrel. Soaking and ultrasound might help, too. Use a gentle ammonia/water solution.

[pennut]

I appreciate the suggestions. I am thinking I can't pull the cap off because it is stuck on the metal ring that separates the body of the pen from the section. Seems logical to me that the cap needs some heat applied to make it expand just a little so I am thinking about placing a very warm wash cloth around the cap in hopes that it will expand just enough to make it easier to pull off. I will let folks know how it goes.

[Ron Z]

The cap is most likely stuck because the section/hood is jammed into the inner cap. This often happens if the pen is dropped and lands nib down, or if the owner did it because the cap clutch is loose on the clutch ring on the barrel. The cap doesn't want to stay on, so they press it on harder to compensate, and it gets stuck.

 

Warming the cap may help. Freezing the pen could shrink things a bit, but it also can make the Lucite a bit brittle, so be careful. I would warm the cap, and then while wearing rubber gloves so that you get a better grip, grasp the pen in your dominant hand. Use the fingers of the dominant hand to push, gripping the back end, while pulling with the other hand. Push/pull straight - try not to flex the pen.

[FarmBoy]

This came up a few weeks ago. Turns out Parker made a special tool to deal with stuck caps on 51s.

[kirchh]

Vac or Aero?

 

--Daniel

[Glenn Atkins]

Different pen, similar problem...

 

I have this Wahl Eversharp Gold Seal that the cap would not unscrew with what I thought was an appropriate amount of torque (not much). I sonicated it three or four times (30 seconds to a minute) in plain water, alternating dry heat in between. It unscrewed safely after just that little bit of coaxing.

 

Ron, Todd, Daniel, might sonicating the whole pen for a while help in this case? I know the 51's can take it much more and longer than the Wahl.

 

Glenn

 

http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n533/GEAtkins/Pens/Random%20Pen%20Stuff/AC29CB37-C6F9-4BCD-9959-DFE3FDB72175.jpg

Edited March 1, 2015 by GAtkins

[rogerb]

I dropped a P51 as Ron Z says in post #6, with that result, and solved it, again as Ron suggested

[Jerome Tarshis]

Up to now, and we're talking about decades, I have always been able to get the cap off, no apparent harm done, by pulling hard enough or asking some pen enthusiast with strong hands to pull harder than I could. (Bob Leeds, well known in the San Francisco Bay Area pen community, was my most recent benefactor in that way.) A few years ago I got the idea that has sufficed ever since: I wrap latex gloves around my fingers where they touch cap and barrel, and pull.

 

In honor of Ron Zorn's (and other people's) larger and more varied experience, I concede that my procedure won't work for everyone. But it seems to be a good start, before leaping into a more professional approach.

[pennut]

Vac or Aero?

 

--Daniel

It is an aero.

[pennut]

A few minutes ago I warmed a washcloth in the Microwave and then wrapped it around the cap of the pen in an effort to try and get the metal to expand a little and perhaps loosen up to come off. This did not work. Alas, frustration, etc.

[kirchh]

It is an aero.

 

Unscrew the barrel. That will give you some clearance around the cap lip, allowing you to cant or precess the cap relative to the remaining part of the pen that's stuck in the cap. Try pressing the exposed filler housing to the side and wiggling it around off-center. That might release the hood from the inner cap.

 

--Daniel

[pennut]

Daniel, Thanks for this suggestion. I am not sure I have the skill to follow your suggestion without hurting the pen.