One of my EBay Parker 61s is leaking. It's a capillary filler and writes very nicely, however, when it's left capped, it ends up covered in ink all round the area of the little gold arrow. This seems to happen even when the pen is left for just a short time, but when in use there's no sign of extra ink collecting round the nib area.

Hi Carrie -

I suspect that you may have a hairline crack near the arrow, as 61 hoods are notorious for this problem. And while resting the capillary action in the crack pulls ink out of the feed to the surface of the hood. When you are writing the ink flows to the nib and onto the paper. Ink likes to take the path of least resistance. (or to the path to the most expensive staining )

Others may have had better success, but if this is true your best bet will be to replace the hood. Unless you're VERY careful you're likely to do more damage to the hood while removing it. I've had a few of these myself, and never much success trying to seal a crack.

I'll defer to other experts, but repair yourself is not a good idea, and replacement is the best alternative if it is indeed cracked.

Good Luck,

Tom Scott

Well, if replacement is the best bet, then perhaps you might try to seal it - no harm if it doesn't work - right?

First, go over the area near the emblem with a loupe to see if the crack isn't visible. If not, then it's probably under the emblem.

I'd try shellac there first - here a dilute mix might flow under the emblem better than a thicker one. Any shellac residue left on the surface of the hood / emblem can be removed with a cloth dampened in alcohol.

A better fix might be to remove the emblem, but prying it off has its own risks of pry marks etc. Nevertheless, if there's a crack under the emblem, it can be better sealed with the emblem off. Here, CA might be a better solution because of its strength. If the repair doesn't go well, well you're buying another hood anyway - right?

Gerry

Hi Carrie,

Sorry to hear about your leaky 61, if you can't find an easy solution, then PM me and I will put you in touch with my repair man. A phone call to him might give you an idea if he can fix it and how much.

Best regards,

Jim

CA has no place in pen repair. It is hygroscopic after it sets and will absorb moisture and eventually fail. Unfortunately, Frank Dubiel used CA and recommends it in his book. Frank was a dear friend, but he was not infallible.
Do not use cyanocrylate adhesive in pen repair.