I received my new (old) P51 Special yesterday from an ebay seller and, after a quick bath in cool water, it was writing beautifully - nice wet line from the medium nib. Perfect condition outwardly - not a scratch on anything, so I figured I had found my bargain - until today, that is. I was getting back into my car after an appointment this morning and noticed a 1/4" PR Sherwood Green stain on the middle front of my shirt. Now, I have had pens leak before, but never a Parker and, more mysterious, I can't figure out where the ink is coming from.

This is, as I understand, an aerometric, by design. OK, it filled well and I emptied a drop from the sac before putting the filler back into the barrell. Every part I could reach was wiped clean before I put the cap on. Now for the frustrating part - I removed the cap and barrel after finding the leak and wiped both inside with a Q-tip - no ink. I wiped the entire hood assembly (except the nib, of course) with a tissue to see if there was residual ink - nothing. I even tried the Q-tip at the mouth of the feed to see if there was anything there - nope.

If the drip had occurred yesterday after filling the pen, I would write it off (no pun intended) to residual ink at the feed. But, after 24 hours I would have expected it to have dried - no?

Anyone got any comments on this issue? I have been a lurker for some time and have found this a remarkable source of knowledge and information.

Thanks. dpw

Could it be that the drop occured while filling and was not noticed until later? The fact that you did not find a trace of ink afterwards may suggest that the pen is not leaking. On the other hand, if you say that the leak occured 24 hours after you filled it, then could it have occured while uncapping? I sometimes drop ink when I write with too much flourish. :doh:
Is there ink on the inside when you unscrew the barrel? The aerometrics sometimes have a hole on the barrel where ink can escape from a leaky bladder.
I hope you can solve the mystery.

Alriel

I have only had leaks from an Aerometric "51" in two places: either the hood is not sealing properly, which means a clean off and a new 'O' ring seal and some shelac or the sac is not sealing to the nipple, which can happen and if so the ink comes out of breather hole, which is either at the bottom of the barrel on the older models or on the side on the later ones.

Either that or you have a hairline crack in the hood, but you say the condition is V good so maybe not.

Hope this helps,

Jim