Parker 61 - How Interchangeable Are The Parts?

[moylek]

My Parker 61 is a sentimental favourite: it was my grand fathers, it was my first fountain pen, and it is really quite handsome ...

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8359/8351571430_98a7d0335a_d.jpg

 

But ... the gold arrow above the nib has fallen off, and I am assured that re-affixing it is a fool's errand. And worse, some teenaged idiot scratched the bejeezus out of the teflon-coated sheath of the capillary filler, and now it 1) does not drip dry quite as it should, and 2) it leaks into the barrel a bit.

 

So I'm considering buying a "parts" pen with a good capillary filler and arrowed nib hood and swapping in my current cap, barrel and maybe the nib. In fact, a Parker 61 with good hood and filler and crapy barrel and cap appeared on ebay just this past weekend.

 

So I have two questions ....

 

1) Are the parts of a capillary-filler Parker 61 pretty much interchangeable?

 

2) Should I leave the nib swapping to a professional?

Edited November 18, 2013 by moylek

[welch]

In reverse:

 

2. Swapping a 61 nib is delicate work. The P61 hood is famously fragile, so get a professional to swap the nib / hood. And ask first if they feel comfortable doing the work.

 

1. I think 61 capillary components will interchange with another 61 capillary, but the barrel on a 61 capillary will not fit a 61 cartridge / converter.

[moylek]

2. Swapping a 61 nib is delicate work. The P61 hood is famously fragile, so get a professional to swap the nib / hood. And ask first if they feel comfortable doing the work.

 

1. I think 61 capillary components will interchange with another 61 capillary, but the barrel on a 61 capillary will not fit a 61 cartridge / converter.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm glad to hear that the parts can be mixed-and-matched wit the capillary fillers. And I think that will live with a different nib on my trusty, ol' pen, should I find the replacement parts for it.

[Sasha Royale]

Try this first, please. Get a rubber "ear bulb", and trim it to fit over the end of the capillary filler, snuggly. Flush with room temperature water (gentle pressure) in both directions. Dry by forcing air, GENTLY, in both directions. This should improve ink flow, if the internals are not damaged. There is no harm in giving the outside of the filler a gentle wipe, with a soft cloth, after filling. Sometimes, "wear & tear" gives a pen character.

[Beechwood]

When I was 15 my father gave me an axe that had been passed down through generations for at least 600 years although in its time it has had three new shafts and two new heads.

 

You may be beating yourself up a little too much in finding parts to fit, it will no longer be grandfathers pen. I share your liking for the P61 but suggest to you that you start your own P61 legacy, perhaps buy another in perfect order which is the same as grandfathers.

[Aislingean]

The three capillary fillers that I have are all the same physically and all parts inter change which is why people think I have three different pens with 'Rainbow' caps.

However when they are offered for sale next month those folk are going to realise the truth .... one good cap three pens!

I have to JB Weld an arrow back onto one of mine and just hope it stays there as it is the cap fingers that do the damage.

With regard to leaks I have never seen any reference on here to the spring and sealing washer that inhabits the barrel end.

Designed to sit against the capillary unit it prevents leaks but if it gets displaced or perished or even slightly ossified you will get leaks from the capillary unit into the barrel!

It is a strange shaped beast with a reverse nipple that mirrors the end of the capillary unit

 

cheers

Dave

[moylek]

Try this first, please. Get a rubber "ear bulb", and trim it to fit over the end of the capillary filler, snuggly. Flush with room temperature water (gentle pressure) in both directions. Dry by forcing air, GENTLY, in both directions. This should improve ink flow, if the internals are not damaged. There is no harm in giving the outside of the filler a gentle wipe, with a soft cloth, after filling. Sometimes, "wear & tear" gives a pen character.

 

Done and done - a few weeks ago. I am in fact using the pen again, and the ink flow is pretty good. But even with a shake-and-a-wipe after each fill, I still have to rinse the barrel and wipe the barrel threads every week or so.

 

I'm now using my long-neglected bottlesof Lamy Blue exclusively for this pen because 1) I have two bottles, so I can fill at work or home; 2) it seems to rinse better than many inks.

 

So I may just, as you say, learn to love my Parker 61 as it is: my grandfather's pen, which still works after a good fifty years, even if it's not perfect anymore.

 

And maybe I'll just buy another Parker 51 is a more subdued colour for slightly less fussy use. Because ... more pens! That's why.

[inkstainedruth]

The three capillary fillers that I have are all the same physically and all parts inter change which is why people think I have three different pens with 'Rainbow' caps.

However when they are offered for sale next month those folk are going to realise the truth .... one good cap three pens!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[mitto]

The section ring on the early production capilliary 61s is very thin compared to the later productin. I am not sure if this differnce in size of section rings would make any difference for parts interchangability.