Hi All,

I was going to put this in the bargain pens topic, but now we have a Parker Forum and this is a Parker tale, then it goes HERE

So there I was when a few months ago my browser accidentally jumped over to fleabay. Lo and behold I saw a bad picture of a black pen with what could be a Gold Filled Cap, in a box with an inkstain, and with a very low bid on it. One swift snipe bid and it was mine, ALL MINE I tell you. (Pause to recover composure)

This is what got delivered here a few days later:



Fair enough, but did it have, yes it did, the Arrow was intact:



Then after a quick scrabble for the loupe, I took a better look at the cap: Oh Yeah, it reads 1/5 12CT Rolled Gold, the heritage or heirloom cap IIRC !
Admire the magnificence



Apologies for the photo standard, only the budget runs to either pens or digital cameras and the pens always seem to win

It has the original converter which seemed to be unused as there was a dead cartridge in the pen. It had been used with the Red ink that had stained the box, but after a good flushing it now writes a broadish medium line with that wonderful smooth Parker nib from the Newhaven factory.

So how much did the pen budget get drained for this gem?

Twenty One Pounds and 49 pence Inc P&P

Jim

One happy :bunny1:

Wow! Nice score on that 61, Jim.

Great looking pen too! How about indulging us with a few more glamour shots?

Oh, wow. Jim, I'd gladly take it off your hands (despite the ink stain!) for ... oh, shall we say ... £22?

Seriously, though, a wonderful bargain: well done.

Ray

Gorgeous pen and amazing price Jim. Well spotted! Funny how the browser occasionally glitches and goes to that place . Out of interest, can you post a copy of the original bad photo from the auction? I'm curious as to what about the pic inspired you to take the gamble. I've bet on several blurry pics and come up with two "51" aeros that don't write well at all and two Imperial touchdowns that write beautifully but need new sacs. I just took the Ebay plunge again, this time from a well-reputed seller, and am awaiting my first "Big Red" Duofold.

Wonderful buy, Jim.

Congrats! I too would love to see the auction photo.

Hi Again,

First up sorry, but the auction photo is no longer there and I did not get a copy in my excitement. But, believe me it was bad, I could not see the engraving on the cap, in fact I was not sure it was gold it could have been lustraloy, otherwise I am sure that more people would have outbid me.

So another quick photo of some of the 61s I have. The second two are a pen and pencil set that I got from a guy in France, cost me about 35 Euros, but they do have some issues. (Yes it was where you think.) The pen is a capilliary and is missing the arrow and the pencil cap has a couple of dings, but for the money a great user set with a fine nib that is great for making notes on documents and you need a pencil for crosswords, at least I do as my method is a process of elimination, the eraser is most important!

The Eagle eyed amongst you may see that there is a sort of an arrow shape on the pen, which is a bit of gold filler topped off with a coat of laquer. Makes it a nice tidy user grade set that looks OK to my eyes at least and they work! Like I have said before, I am a pen user first rather than a collector. No mint never inked pens here, they are used, if they don't work they get fixed or traded on as parts.



My first love will always be the "51", but the 61 is an underated pen IMHO. They are nearly as nice to write with, look great, but don't have quite the solid feel of the "51".

Jim

Hi Jim, that's a nice set of 61s. You're right, they are very underrated pens. I've got 2 myself both capillary fillers and yes, one of them is missing an arrow inlay.

Anyone who's had to clean one with a capillary filler in order to store away or switch inks will know what I mean when I say that 61's are a pain in the arse to completely flush out and dry, but they're wonderful writers. I use an ear syringe with the tip cut off to fit around the filler to flush it out, but you really need to have patience to let the excess water drain out.

By the way, what did you use to fill in the missing arrow-head inlay on your other 61?

By the way, I don't know what the technical definition of "sumgai" is, but if this doesn't qualify, I'm not sure what does.

Hi Apollo,

I used a Gold filler paint that I bought in a model shop, it comes in Brass, Copper and Gold colours and topped it off with a bit of clear laquer to protect the surface as it flakes off when dry.

I think they sell it to paint the Gold effect on plastic models, anyhow it made it look a bit better and the laquer protects it.

As to flushing a 61, I have made this device out of a 2 Litre garden sprayer. Pumps the water through the pen under low pressure. I then use it to blow just air, which gets out a lot of the remaining water. I just used a small piece of rubber tube to connect the sprayer to the pen. The rubber fits over either the nib section or the capilliary filler.

Jim

Ray,

I could not take advantage of you and sell you a pen with an ink stained box Ray, so I will pass on your very kind offer,

Jim

Thanks Southpaw,

But just on a slightly different tack, have you noticed that the prices for pens on eBay seem to be higher and the chances of seeing the bargain are few and far between?

OK so my experience is primarily from EU sellers, but I do scan the US too and I think that this is general. Nothing specific, I have not done proper monitoring, but just a feeling.

Either that or it is the time of year?

Jim

PS It could be that after a few real 'Buys' I have just got too fussy in my old age, highly probably