Hey All,

I just received my Parker "51" and have been enjoying it all day. I'm wondering: is it okay to use Noodlers ink in a fully hooded nib due the Noodler's creeping problem? I currently have it filled with Waterman Florida Blue, but I'd love to switch over to Legal Lapis if it wouldn't gunk up the inside of the pen.

Thanks!

Hi, the creepy thing and gunking up are not quite the same thing. The 51 uses the inside of the hood to house the collector (looks like a honey spoon, dippy ladle thing) which is a rounded circular version of the fins on a nib feed. Basically there will be a lot of ink inside the hood. The only difficulty with 51's is swapping out inks. Trying to flush out the old stuff takes a while.
51's I've restored have always had the collector covered in dried up gunk which didn't neccessarily stop the pen from working, it was usually the breather tube coming out of the back of it.
Parker made Quink (Quick drying ink) which was ideal for the 51 as the nib was so close to the ink supply.
Using Noodlers shouldn't be a problem, the ink can't go anywhere apart from on to the paper.

Gary is right about flushing a "51" can take forever and just when you thing you have cracked it............

My technique, which works for both Vacs and Aeros is to flush as best you can with changes of water. Then leave overnight with the hood in water in a plastic mug so as not to damage the nib. This can dissolve some of the ink in the collector and you can see if it has worked as there will be an ink stain to the water. This won't always cure the breather blockage though, that will probably need a strip down.

Once the pen is as clear as you can get it, then wrap the hood and nib in kitchen towel and go outside and give it a violent shake. Don't drop it and always do this outside and away from everything as ink can come out still and SHMBO objects to ink on carpets, clean washing and the house windows!!

As an aside, a bit of washable blue Quink is always a good ink fill to aid in cleaning out a pen if it has had a really strong colour in it. The mixture can be a bit of peculiar colour for a while, but it does work.

Jim

Well Jim, I guess you've been there , lucky it isn't a 61 capilliary.

I've never experienced any problems using Noodlers in a Parker 51 though I do get creep on other pens.

Thanks for the advice!

Been there too Gary :doh:

Now comes the world renown "JimboFlush"

Rinse the offending 61 as much as you can, the take a small garden sprayer, the around 2L type and fill it with cold water, the attach a piece of rubber or plastic tube to the filler section of the 61 so it fully covers the opening. Attach the other end to the sprayer nozzle and put just enough pump pressure it it to get a steady, light flow of water through the pen and out of the nib. This combined with the 'stick the nib section in the plastic mug technique' described earlier, works like a dream. I bought a 61 from France that had had some awful black gunk in it and this treatment over about a period of a week shifted it all. Fortunately the ink was water soluble and I got particles coming out of it and all. Had washable blue Quink in it for a while and used it and it is just great now. :bunny1:

I think the biggest thing you need is time and patience in flushing a pen. The trouble come when you get a pen that has not been used for years rather than months.

Jim

Hope it all helps Ryan.

J

Yes, I noticed that cleaning ink out of the 51 takes forever! I lost patience and just refilled it with another ink color to let it override the first color...