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HELP, please... I recently picked up a Parker 61 (double jewel) Flighter on the Bay. It arrived today in very good condition. When I dipped the nib in water there was absolutely NO Ink residue. A quick look at the open end of the capillary filler showed only (clean, unblemished) white color. Question 1: Did I receive a P61 with a totally unused capillary filler? (I don't want to immerse it in anything yet if it is brand new/unused as I may want to sell it. Question 2: How do I tell if the nib is gold without pulling it apart? It does appear "gold" colored. Thanks for any help.

Hi everyone! I picked a Parker 61 with a capillary filler yesterday and I was super excited to try it out. However, I realized that the filler tube itself was loose and inside was totally empty, aside from the long ebonite feed. From the videos I've seen, it seems that there's supposed to be a Teflon coated sheet of wicking material inside that helps wick up the ink. Does anyone know if/how I can either substitute the wick or find a replacement for it?

I acquired a very nice Parker 61 capillary filler that had never been inked (the end of the sponge was still pink). I inked it with Waterman Mysterious Blue, and then noticed that ink was leaking from the band at the tail. The pen writes normally. Examination showed ink on the exterior of the Teflon capillary filler housing where there had been none before, along with ink collecting on the inside of the barrel. I suspect there may be a leak where the capillary filler joins the section. The filler housing doesn't appear cracked or otherwise abnormal. Any suggestions for a repair person for this problem? I tried to do a search, but didn't find anything. Thanks very much for your help.

My Mum found and gave me the pen she used at university back at the end of the 60s: a Parker 61 with the dreaded capillary filler (and, like another poster here, with the little arrow on the nib hood missing). The hood I can deal with. The filler...I'm wondering if I should just put the pen in one of my boxes and give up. I spoke to Greg Minuskin about it (I had idle thoughts about getting the nib reground to be a bit less...boring), and he basically said it wasn't worth repairing because the fillers are such a nightmare. Looking into home repairs, I agree with him: the filler (full of dried ink and, being a capillary filler, unflushable) is glued in with epoxy or something similar, but heating the barrel is a no-go because the plastic on these things is prone to warping. It'd be nice to use it because of the sentimental value. The monetary value is not high. Does anyone have any clever tricks that'll allow me to get the capillary filler out without damaging the section, or that'll allow me to clean the filler itself (and the nib hood, which that epoxy renders near-impossible to detach) properly?