I know it has a reputation for being finicky, etc... but after rinsing out my recently acquired 61 and dipping it into a bottle of Waterman Florida Blue and waiting 15 seconds ... well ... wow. I've tried cartridge/converters, piston fillers, lever fillers, vacumatics, vacuum fillers, touchdowns and snorkels, and my favorite aero-metrics, just about every major filler type other than a button filler (and I'm satisfied that a lever filler gives me a rough idea of that system) and an eyedropper (which I'm pretty sure is not as clean and easy as some others), and the capillary filler is truly the easiest and cleanest filling mechanism that is not a cartridge. A simply remarkable design.

I can fully see why it wasn't as popular as some other systems - it is a real pain in the neck to clean it out - but when lubed up properly it sure is impressive.

As for the rest of the design, my particular example is a "classic" with matte lustralloy and chrome hardware, black barrel, and is in quite nice condition overall. No real wear on the barrel or cap, teflon flaking a tiny bit on the filler, and a very nice, wet (tuned by one of our own so I was told and it sure acts as such) fine nib. The cap takes a little getting used to as I am a "51" guy and there is no discernible feel when the cap is seated properly, although it is arguably a smoother feel because of that. The additional streamlining is also quite attractive and eyecatching, and it is not that much slimmer than my aero "51" - just a nicely balanced shape.

Anyway - I think this is now in heavy rotation and likely to stay there alongside my two "51"s!

Hi,

It is a nice pen. I like mine a lot. Add that to the fact that the filler is not just a cigarette-filter like thing, it is a rolled up sheet of plastic.

So clean and simple--solid state--no moving parts.

Dillon

Glad you like it

Wow, lever fillers sound exciting!



A bit off-topic, but I got so excited reading your post that I dropped my can of coca-cola onto my note book :doh:

Oops

Absolutely the cat's meow.

Love, love, love my 61.

-Bruce

The 61 capillary filler is a great pen, as long as you use a traditional ink, Quink in my case, it works a treat.

Jim

Agrre with that - if you use the same colour ink (In my case washable blue) it works fine. Would not like to change colour with this pen!

Been there Done that Got the ink stains :doh:

Jim

I'm awaiting delivery of a bottle of Quink washable blue - so currently it is loaded with Waterman Florida Blue (which I consider in the same ballpark as far as "regular" ink goes) and is still just writing away like a dream. I waivered and almost ordered another bottle of Florida Blue (mine is getting quite low) just to avoid having to clean out the pen ... but the general consensus seems like washable blue is perfect in the 61 and not a bad ink to have on hand for helping other pens "get up and go" as well.

I am amazed that a piece of rolled up plastic can actually work like it does but the proof is on the nib and paper.

Just BTW, Florida Blue is also washable.

Best

Michael

I bought a Parker 61 Custom - Mark I this year. It writes very smoothly and has a good ink flow.

I'm cleaning it for the first time since I bought it. It does take more effort but then a good pen is always worth that little extra.

Thoroughly classy pens the 61's.
In my humble opinion its demise along with
the 51 and the 65 marked the end of an era
which Parker will not better.
All naff plastic packaging now unless you buy top end.
Here is the latest addition to my 61 family.
A nice little capillary filler which the owner looked
after beautifully for me.

Boy oh boy. Now I have to think seriously about the 61.

I do have to add that a student gave me his Dad's 61 to clean out, which is when I noticed the cracks in the hood. That's not encouraging....

Steve

No question about it, the 61's plastic--usually the hood but also the barrel--is more prone to cracks and even warping under the pressure of the clutch fingers in the cap (like the 45). Still a wonderful pen, though!

Dan

Yep - beautiful pen


I have a few of these and use a 50/50 mix of Watermans Florida blue & W'mans Purple. Sounds yuck but as it was recommended way back by some young chap called Binder I gave it a try and have never looked back

Don't you love the way the coating (Teflon, IIRC) just dumps the ink off the outside

Regards,
R

Ruaidhri - hmmm sounds interesting! Sadly, my washable blue bottle got contaminated with bits of dried superchrome ink from another pen so it has been dumped... But I got a new bottle of Florida Blue and it is working just great! Perhaps I'll get some Purple and test out your mix!

The teflon coating is a clever idea that works like a charm.

I've had the 61 in my regular rotation and it continues to work quite well. I've commented on the materials lottery before, and it is too bad that the 61, in retrospect, has not proven to be as durable as the "51" acrylic - although both were top end pens at the time... But still, it is an elegant design and has also taken a slot as one of my airplane travel pen staples!

I was in a Pawn/antique shop in San Diego a couple of years ago and bought a large marble two 61 desk set and fell in love with how well the 61s wrote.

I wanted a pen I could carry with me so I cruised the bay and saw a listing for a vintage Parker but the photo was very poor but I had the feeling that it was a 61. I bid on and won it for less than twenty dollars including shipping. It turned out to be a black 61 in what appeared to be new condition with my favorite, a fine nib. It didn't look as if it had ever been posted. I was beside myself with joy. It wrote beautifully but I found that if I didn't use it often, it wanted to be finicky about flowing ink. I am guilty of having too many pens with me at all times and one can only write with one pen at a time.

Nevertheless, I treasure this pen. I think it is one of the best pens to fly with. I certainly couldn't part with it.

I'd love to take the credit, but it was Richard I first saw with the suggestion

R