Today I'm the proud new owner of a Parker '61' that I'd like to convert from "NOS" into "used" as soon as possible. I've heard a lot about the trickiness of the capillary filler and am wondering if some inks behave better than others with the capillary models. I'm guessing that a thick, viscous ink like Noodlers should be avoided at all costs, and that probably Parker would have preferred I use Quink. I'd like to use Aurora Black or Private Reserve Black in it, but I'm willing to run out and buy a bottle of something I don't have if someone will recommend the best-behaved ink for a capillary '61'.

I found that highly saturated inks did not work in the two 61s that I had.... and considering the time it takes to clean one of those puppies, I opted for using Waterman inks in my 2 61s and have never had a problem....
I have a really nice turquoise 61 that is loaded with Waterman South Seas Blue and it is a great match...
My other is basic black and loaded with Waterman Black, also a great writing ink....
I would not recommend Private Reserve based on the high saturation. I have not used Aurora, but have used Pelikan when I ran out of Waterman and needed to fill the pen... I had no problems with that ink either...
But to be on the safe side I prefer to use Waterman.
I am not a big fan of Quink, but that in itself could start a whole new flame war on older ink brands (in fact some time in the past it did )

I don't like Quink either, but I'd be willing to use it if I had to. I don't have any Waterman black (only other colors) but I'm guessing that if Waterman is OK that Aurora will be too. Aurora has been very well-behaved in a wide variety of pens. So I think I'll go with the Aurora Black.

I'm planning on using black ink largely because I don't relish the idea of trying to clean it between ink colors.

I've been using Private Reserve Burgandy Mist in mine, and it works fine. Gave it a thorough flush, let sit for a couple of days and then filled.

Try the waterman black in another pen first; it's my least favorite color in the waterman line; it looks like a greyish blueblack to me.

Of course, you might like it.

You shouldn't have any problem with pelikan, quink, sheaffer, waterman...just make sure you like the ink before loading, osmosizing or whatever one has to do to fill that pen.

Juan in Andalucía

I only use Quink Washable Blue in my 61. My theory is, why take chances? Quink is familiar, cheap, easy to find worldwide, and it's safe for any use not requiring water resistance. It's not the most exciting color in the world, but it's not like ink color matters that much on my research notes, shopping lists, reminders to myself, etc. I have plenty of other pens that I use the killer colors in. To tell you the truth, I kind of like the color of Washable Blue, but don't tell anybody I said so.

Err... this '61' has never been inked. Do they require a "pre-flush" of sorts before being loaded with ink for the first time?

I find the Aurora black to be rather saturated. I don't know that it would be a problem in the 61 (no personal experience with that combo) but it is a very black, black and it seems denser to me than some other inks.

Let us know what you decide and how it turns out.

I would not imagine a preflush would be needed for a 61 as you would need a lot of effort to get most of the the water out of the capillary system.

I use Noodler's Walnut in mine, and although it usually takes a few words to start writing well, I ascribe that to the fact that the end of the feed it broken off, leaving most of the nib slit open on the bottom. It also caps poorly because the barrel is cracked, and the cap will hang on the barrel if it's screwed on too tight.

If it use it every day, it's fine. I had no problems at all with Hero blue or Scrip blue-black in it.

You should leave the pen in the ink almost up to the threads for a couple minutes for the first fill, the dry capillary filler won't fill nearly as fast as one that is wetted by being currently filled. Subsequent fills will take more like 30 sec or so.

Peter