Help With Parker 61 Capillary Filler

[PeterR-C]

I've just bought my first Parker 61 with a capillary filter, and I'm a little at a loss to know how to clean it. I've got it in warm water and a lot of old blue ink is coming out. I would like if possible to clean it to the point where I can use red ink in it. Is this feasible, or am I stuck with blue forever?

 

I have read thay you should clean these pens with a bulb syringe. How does that work? Can someone put up a link to the kind of thing I need?

 

And finally - I have seen on ebay things called P61 capillary converter connectors. What do these do?

 

All advice gratefully received!

 

Peter

[mitto]

Here.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/230131-how-to-clean-a-parker-61-capillary-filler/

[inkstainedruth]

When I bought my first 61, the guy I bought it from said to just remove the barrel and stick it under the tap, nib down. Well, I didn't want to do that (I have hard water where I live, and didn't like the idea of minerals building up in my feed -- so I just put distilled water into a glass and used a bulb syringe to force water through. I actually only did that long enough to get the ink reconstituted enough to write with. Kept doing the flushing trick every time the pen went dry, and wrote with it for something like four MONTHS until the ink was so diluted it was illegible on the page. Then I flushed it really well the same way (i.e., with the bulb syringe and distilled water).

One thing to remember with capillary fillers is that you don't want super-saturated ink in them, because they are a PITA to clean out (even they're a breeze to fill -- just stick the capillary end in the bottle of ink and wait a bit). I've had good luck with J Herbin (NOT the 1670 or 1798 inks) and some De Atramentis inks in mine.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[PeterR-C]

Mitto, many thanks for the ink to the video, just the job. And thanks Ruth, I've had other recommendations about the bulb syringe trick and I'll get to it. And for the tip on the ink.

 

Ruth - I can't make out your flag, what is it?

 

Peter

[Aysedasi]

Yep, I have three P61 capillary fillers and I love them. Just buy yourself a bulb and it's easy peasy. Just search for bulb syringe on ebay.

[pen lady]

You don't even have to go to eBay for a bulb syringe. Pop into your local chemists/pharmacy and look in the baby-care section. Mums use them to suction the snot out of babies noses - lovely!!!!!! Cut enough of the tip off to make a snug fit over the capillary unit of your P61 and flush away. If the water in your area is hard, Ruth's suggestion about using distilled water is a very good one. Good luck.

[PeterR-C]

Thanks - as a male (unreconstructed) it never crossed my mind to use baby-related snot removers for flushing a fountain pen! Older and wiser. Thanks Aysedasi, this is my second P61, and first capillary filler, so I need all the instruction I can get.

Cheers

Peter

[aalmcc4]

Yes, the baby snot removers are the essential Parker 61 cleaning tool. They work perfectly.

[PeterR-C]

Thanks for all the help. The advice and the video were ideal, I am now the proud owner of TWO snot-removers, one cut to P61 capillary size, one to more normal Parker converter size. Who'd have thought I'd ever be investing in technology of that sort. The P61 is working pretty well. It took a day or two for ink flow to really come through after flushing, but it's doing beautifully now. Now all I need could be a nice vista blue to complete the set...

[inkstainedruth]

Ruth - I can't make out your flag, what is it?

 

Peter

 

It's the state flag of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (not sure why it's "officially" a "commonwealth" -- like a few other states -- instead of a "state").

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[PeterR-C]

Thanks Ruth. Can't say I knew that. Why it's a Commonwealth may be one of those things lost in history - I live in Durham, the only county in Britain which you can't call Durhamshire, or Durham County. Has to be County Durham. In Ireland they are all like that - County Kerry, County Clare etc. Eccentric. Like fountain pen users.

[ac12]

I suggest you rethink the use of RED ink in that pen.

In my experience, RED, then PURPLE inks are the hardest color inks to clean out of pens. It took me 3 weeks of 2x a day flushing and soaking to clean 2 different Parker 51s of RED ink.

There is something about the red dye that makes it not want to let go of the pen.

If the pen will have RED ink forever, then not an issue. But if you ever want to change to another color, it will take a LOT of cleaning to clean out the red ink.

Edited December 1, 2018 by ac12

[mitto]

+1

 

I have a very beautiful P51 whose sac and collector are red from use of red ink in it. And I couldn't clean that pen (the sac and collector) in the last three to four years.

[inkstainedruth]

+1

 

I have a very beautiful P51 whose sac and collector are red from use of red ink in it. And I couldn't clean that pen (the sac and collector) in the last three to four years.

 

And I have one where the newly replaced ply glass sac in my Teal 51 Aero is permanently stained blue from Sailor Jentle Sky High....

But yeah, in general, reds, purples and browns are more likely to be problems in pens -- apparently due to the dye components. That of course didn't stop me from putting De Atramentis Apple Blossom (which is pink) in one of my 61s, of course....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[mitto]

I use the fancy girlish color inks in my English C/C 61s as well in my 65s and 45s.

[djmaher]

I just posted this.

 

I thought I'd share it here as well, since the topic is related.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/341553-i-just-obtained-my-1st-parker-61-and-i-need-help-getting-it-writing/?p=4137275

[Paul-in-SF]

Reviving this thread to thank all the good advice-givers here (and in several other older threads on the same topic) on using a bulb syringe to clean out the Parker 61 that arrived today (record time from the UK, I have to say, 6 days from eBay purchase to my door). It was full of probably dried out blue-black ink, and I started out just letting water soak into the filler unit and blowing it out with the syringe. That was very slow going, so I filled the bulb syringe with water and forced several bulbs-full from the back, with some soaking time at the back end in between, and then a few bulbs-full from the front, until it was running as close to clear as I suspect it will get without taking it apart (not gonna try that), so I blew some air threw it with the empty bulb, and now it is sitting with the nib down in some tissue to try to get the last bits of water out.

 

I did have one question that someone hinted at in one of the posts -- is it a bad idea to introduce pen flush into this pen for cleaning? If I could let the filler soak that in for a while, and then rinse it all again very thoroughly, I think it would be cleaner than it is now.

 

Anyway, I haven't decided what color ink I will put into it, but I also appreciate the above advice about avoiding red-spectrum inks. That doesn't leave much -- green maybe, or a nice turquoise. The pen is black, so I won't be color matching to that.

 

I really think someone knowledgeable should distill all this knowledge about cleaning the 61 and make it a sticky in this forum.

Edited October 18, 2020 by Paul-in-SF

[Kenlowe]

Hello Paul

 

For the future, I would keep to simple inks that are washable, especially Waterman and Parker in blue, ot the most exciting of colors but needs must.

 

For the present after lots of flushing you could be left with a pen with lots of water inside it, you can stand the pen nib down on a paper towel for a day or two and allow the capillary action to work or find a drinking straw that fits tightly over the capillary, Suck water and then air through the pen. You can then fill the pen with ink through the nib, into the capillary and for 1/4 inch up into the straw.

 

At this point you know that the pen is full of undiluted ink.

 

A word of caution, all this flushing can cause the section dart to loosen and fall off. Refitting the dart to original smoothness is very difficult.

[Aysedasi]

 

 

A word of caution, all this flushing can cause the section dart to loosen and fall off. Refitting the dart to original smoothness is very difficult.

 

Just to enquire, what is a 'section dart'? I've never come across that term before.....

[Carguy]

Just to enquire, what is a 'section dart'? I've never come across that term before.....

Pretty sure he is referring to the arrow on the hood.