Parker 61's An Update.

[Gord K.]

A couple of years ago I posted a picture of my Parker pen family which consisted of 5 Parker 61's and one Parker 21. At the time, two of the 61's and the 21 were functional. I had a black with gold USA 61 that was too wet/broad, a grey Mk 1 that was a very broad nib, and a gold made in England Insignia that was missing the sealing valve, cap jewel and was also too broad for my tastes.

 

Fast forward to now. I recently ordered two nibs, the sealing valve and a cap jewel from Five Star Pens (no affiliation but a VERY happy customer). Thanks to Canada Post and USPS, it took about a month for the money and parts to trade places but I am happy to report the black pen now sports an EF nib and I am thrilled with how it writes. The gold pen is also in service since adding the sealing valve and replacing its nib with an F nib and it writes but may need to be given a more thorough cleaning to improve its performance.

 

Having read about how delicate the material of the 61 is, I was nervous about attempting the repair. It was not as difficult as I anticipated it would be. Letting the nib section sit in a glass jar of hot tap water was enough to allow me to gently remove the coupler from the hood. Fortunately, the hoods on both pens were in good enough condition that I was able to pull out the connector, replace the nib and reinstall things without incident.

 

I am beyond pleased!

[mitto]

Good. Enjoy using your 61s.

[cabbie]

Congratulations. Glad everything went smooth. I have two 61s in my Parker collection that I enjoy.

[jchch1950]

Can you posta family photo?

[Gord K.]

Someone asked for a family photo and I cant find the one I originally posted quite a while ago so heres a current one:

Left to right:

a made in USA Insignia with a F to XF nib and an engraved barrel, my daily carry;

a made in England Insignia, this is the one that was missing the sealing valve and one jewel and I also replaced the nib with a F nib;

a black made in USA that I replaced the nib putting in an XF;

a turquoise (?) made in Canada that has a F to XF nib, not currently inked; and

a grey made in USA that I believe is a Mark I and has a M to B nib, also not currently inked and the only 61 I have that has its original arrow.

 

These pens were bought to use, not as collectors items. All except the grey are missing arrows so I just painted to arrow divot with white out to help with visual alignment. That probably makes some of the experts shudder...

 

Cheers.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

very nice.

 

I have yet to get my first 61... it's coming, its a given, just donno when

 

that grey one on the end just looks ... i donno, classy i guess is the right word...

 

not that i think any less of the others, but there's something about that grey...

[jchch1950]

Thank you for the photo.A nice family !!.

[christof]

I specially like the engraving on the insignia.

 

Have fun, P 61 are cool pens!

c.

[Beechwood]

'These pens were bought to use, not as collectors items. All except the grey are missing arrows so I just painted to arrow divot with white out to help with visual alignment. That probably makes some of the experts shudder.'

 

I am intrigued at the painting of the recess. Dartless 61s generally sell for less than half the price of the complete pen and are usually shunned by collectors, as you say a pen that is bought to write with, well, why not make it useable.

 

On other 61s I have seen the recess painted with gold nail varnish, modelling paint and various attempts at glueing the dart back in, all were less than satisfactory. About the best I have seen is was on a 61 where someone had used a nail block and removed the recess completely, then polished the section back so that the hood looked like a 51.The risk is that the hood is prone to cracking, all depends on what you have to lose.

 

It would be good if you you could talk us through the process with the White-Out, but I agree with you, if you just want a pen to use then you can take a few liberties, especially if the nib is something special

Edited April 7, 2020 by Beechwood

[jchch1950]

'

 

It would be good if you you could talk us through the process with the White-Out, but I agree with you, if you just want a pen to use then you can take a few liberties, especially if the nib is something special

+1.

[Gord K.]

Hi Beechwood and jchch1950, there really isnt much to say about my white out process. The white out applicator is a triangular shaped sponge. I just dab it into the divot where the arrow would sit and try to minimize how much gets on the pen body itself. Pen restoration experts look away now, cringeworthy information coming. When it is dry I use a very sharp blade (Xacto knife) held perpendicular to the body to carefully scrape away the excess. As you can see in the group photo, results vary.

 

Disclaimer: As I said before, I bought these pens to use, not to collect, sit in a drawer, or resell. When the time comes, I will pass them on to my sons or grandsons where I hope they will continue to be used as writing instruments, not investments.