Parker 61 Question (Strange)

[yossiantokolitz]

In one of my deals in the wild I got some pen parts as bonus. One of them is a Parker 61 section + nib + filer. only the business end in short. Being the poor junker that I am I am looking for a cost effective (i.e. really cheep) way of doing something with it. Shudder the thought but might one of the Chinese clones serve as a body + cup downer?

Hope I haven't offended anybody.

Yossi

[Glenn-SC]

So what do you consider "the business end"?

[yossiantokolitz]

The parts that actually touch ink.

[FarmBoy]

The parts that actually touch ink.

So you need a barrel and a cap?

[yossiantokolitz]

Well ...Yes. All the rest is in place and hopefully works. Oddly enough nib seems to be in grate condition. As for the filling part - nows nothing about it yet but I'll do my best to save that half pen.First for me.

thanks for the interest

Yossi

[FarmBoy]

You will find it is easier to buy a complete pen than a hood and matching barrel.

[yossiantokolitz]

I'll have to take my time .There are some pens that you get on the cheep and wait around to their day. I have looked on eBay and the prices for parts or complete Parker 61 are too high for yours truly.I'll try the clone and if that doesn't work I'll keep looking for a bargain. the limiting factor is actually the very high shipping prices from the states.And after all Its not like I don't have somethings nice to write with,Parker isn't the mainstay of my collection , the hunt will be fun ,and it's not the kind of hunt where any kind of life gets lost.

Yossi

[Glenn-SC]

The parts that actually touch ink.

Don't all those parts "touch the ink"?

[parkergeo]

As opposed to some of the Parker 45 clones that actually copied the unique nib and collar unit assembly, the only 61 copies that I've seen have mimicked only the outward appearance of the hooded nib and the gold "this side up" arrow indicator, while internally they are just cheap squeeze fillers. If you have a capillary filler, then even if you found another pen that happened to have a barrel diameter and threads that would fit the 61 connector, you'd have a very leaky pen because it wouldn't include the spring-loaded internal cup that sits under the jewel and seals the filler when a 61 is assembled.

If you shop for a Parker replacement barrel, make sure it is from a capillary fill 61, because the barrel from a cartridge version of the pen won't work either.

It is possible to run across cracked barrels, but many 61s being sold cheaply for parts have missing arrows, damaged hoods or scratched-up fillers with good barrels. Personalized barrels or those with other inscriptions often sell at discounted prices as well.

[inkstainedruth]

Is it a capillary filler? Replacement ones I've seen are quite pricy. You may do somewhat better to find a replacement 61 hood and barrel, as parkergeo said.

One of my 61s is missing the arrow, but that meant the pen was a lot less expensive than it might have been. Another one does have a slight crack (forget if it's the hood or the barrel), but it doesn't seem to affect writing all that much that I've noticed.

Flushing out capillary fillers is an interesting experience, BTW, because they hold a huge amount of ink. The guy I bought my first one from said to remove the barrel and stick the rest of the pen, nib down, over the faucet. I didn't want to do that because I have very hard water, so instead I use a bulb syringe to flush from behind the end of the capillary filler. The first one I ran for something like four months, just with the reconstituted ink in the pen, by flushing just enough to get ink flow, then repeating when the pen ran dry, until the ink was so diluted as to be completely illegible.

Once you do have it cleaned out, you don't want to use a super saturated ink in it (that first 61 of mine *really* likes J Herbin Eclat de Saphir ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[doggle2]

I had a problem like this recently (I had a Parker VS with a cracked section), and found a good source for parts here (http://www.fivestarpens.com/parker-61-parts.html). No affiliation. The cap is about $11 and there are various colours of barrels.

[welch]

Is it a capillary filler? Replacement ones I've seen are quite pricy. You may do somewhat better to find a replacement 61 hood and barrel, as parkergeo said.

 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Ruth's question is important: the barrel from a capillary 61 will not quite fit the c/c 61. I have tried. Also have what was originally a capillary 61 that was converted to c/c, but the barrel from a c/c 61 did not fit.

 

Hopeful note: people report that the P-61 had a tendency to develop cracks, so you might find a barrel and cap for you orphan nib&section + filler.