First old pen - Parker 61

[dipperdolphin]

Hi all,

 

First time getting an older pen - been using fountain pens since I could first start writing (for some reason my first schools were keen on using fountain pens) and finally bought an older one.

 

I do have the Parker Pinstripe Duofold that was gifted to me by my grandfather who had a huge collection, but other than that nothing really special that I own.

 

Took me a good few hours of driving around and calling antique shops to find any that actually had some pens in the UK, glad I found this one.

 

Sorry about the bad pics, not much of a photographer.

 

 

Needs a bit of a clean but going to see how it writes first.

[Mr.Rene]

Sorry to say but your pen is not a Parker 51..it looks like a Parker 61, maybe capillary or cartridge filler. In fact, the arrow on the shell is lost.

Can you remove the barrel  and take a photo  to see filler system please,

Best Regards.

[dipperdolphin]

3 minutes ago, Mr.Rene said:

Sorry to say but your pen is not a Parker 51..it looks like a Parker 61, maybe capillary or cartridge filler. In fact, the arrow on the shell is lost.

Can you remove the barrel  and take a photo  to see filler system please,

Best Regards.

Ah yes, looking at the Parker 61s it does look like it is that.

 

The filling system is cartridge, it has the press to fill ink cartridge in it.

[Mr.Rene]

10 minutes ago, dipperdolphin said:

 

 

The filling system is cartridge, it has the press to fill ink cartridge in it.

If it has a piece to press...I guess your Parker 51 is aerometric filler..Cartridge filler pen you can remove the converter ( to fill directly from an ink bottle) or if you prefer .. use a descartable cartridge . Best Regards

[Bristol24]

1 hour ago, dipperdolphin said:

Ah yes, looking at the Parker 61s it does look like it is that.

 

The filling system is cartridge, it has the press to fill ink cartridge in it.

I think you will find the Parker 61 with the aerometric converter to be an enjoyable pen.  Their writing smoothness is on par with the '51.  The concept of the '61 with its capillary filler was laudable.  It's unfortunate that the flushing of such a fill design is far more involved which is why they ultimately transitioned to the cartridge and/or converter.

 

Cliff

[dipperdolphin]

56 minutes ago, Bristol24 said:

I think you will find the Parker 61 with the aerometric converter to be an enjoyable pen.  Their writing smoothness is on par with the '51.  The concept of the '61 with its capillary filler was laudable.  It's unfortunate that the flushing of such a fill design is far more involved which is why they ultimately transitioned to the cartridge and/or converter.

 

Cliff

I inked it and it writes flawlessly, super smooth with a nice line. Was surprised how well it’s working, very pleased with it. 
 

Now just need to find an excuse to write with it as most of the things I do are digital

[jchch1950]

Where can the arrow of the section can be bought? Any one making copies of the Parker 61 section without arrow?

[nigelg]

61's are my favourite pen too ever since I was given one for my 18th birthday sometime in the distant past.

As I understand it re-attaching an arrow on the section appears to be quite problematic. Surprising really considering the wealth of repair skills there are out there.

Unless of course someone knows better....... I hope.

[dipperdolphin]

On 9/3/2022 at 1:00 PM, nigelg said:

61's are my favourite pen too ever since I was given one for my 18th birthday sometime in the distant past.

As I understand it re-attaching an arrow on the section appears to be quite problematic. Surprising really considering the wealth of repair skills there are out there.

Unless of course someone knows better....... I hope.

Is the arrow to allow the cap to soft close like it does?

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

My understanding is that the arrow was as a decoration and to help the user with orientation of the nib. 

[OCArt]

My P61 made in Argentina has two dots instead of the arrow:

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

Very nice Argentinian pen!

 

Just today i used a dremel to cut open a shrunken 61 hood so i could save the nib. The Nibs are great. Shame they used such bad plastic.  
 

OP; your aero/cartridge filler? I’m jealous. Capillary fill is a cool party trick  and all. But a PITA when you wanna change ink or store the pen…

 

re the missing arrow: you may want to see if ebay has them. But i wouldn’t hold My breath. You could replace the entire hood, it looks like the top of your is broken off anyways, so that would be the preferred route. 
 

or you can just use and enjoy it as it is

 

 

[welch]

I'd say, "enoy it as is", as IThinkIHaveAProblem suggests. If you love the way it writes, don't change anything. If you want something like the arrow so you can instantly see where the nib is, dab some point there. Maybe white or silver nail-polish would be handy.

 

It appears that the cartridge/converter 61s had trouble keeping their hood arrows. They ride high enough that the cap will slice them off unless you are careful every time you cap the pen. 

 

Nobody has mentioned it, and you probably know, but just for the record: any Parker converter will work. Originally, these things had a squeeze converter, the same as the immortal Parker 45. Parker has maintained the same converter and cartridge for more than sixty years. 

 

(And, yes, here's a plug for the P-45 as a second pen. My 1960 45 took me all the way into college. They last. Every part can be unscrewed and swapped. The nib units are less than 20 USD. Like the Esterbrook J, you can buy three nib units and it will be like having three different pens)

[dipperdolphin]

I'm going to keep it as is, don't really fancy fiddling around with a tiny arrow haha.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

 

 glad you like it

 

last option re the arrow: you can sand down the hood to remove the hole left by its loss. I personally wouldn’t bother with this route. It’s a lot of work and weakens the hood and since the tip is already broken, not really worth the effort IMO. but i just wanted to let you know that it is an option that it seems some people have taken.  
 

But a tiny drop of paint as Welch mentioned would work. You have a gold cap and a gold clutch ring so the arrow would have (I’m pretty sure) been gold on your pen.