Parker 61

April 13, 2010

Parker 61

Parker launched the Parker 61 in 1956. It was made to "self-draw" ink from the bottle. I understand the Parker 61 was designed to hold enough ink to last for six hours of steady writing.

http://i700.photobucket.com/albums/ww3/vans4444/Pens/Parker611.jpg

First Impressions. It was a bit grubby and had not been used for some time so it was a little underwhelming. I immediately took the barrel off to have a look at the capillary fill (which was the reason I bought the pen). It looks like a heavy duty cartridge. I wondered how many pens have been destroyed by people trying to remove the cartridge. The golden arrow on the section is missing.

Appearance. I got out some Wenol and gave the pen a quick polish and the difference was surprising. It cleaned up very well, with little effort.

It is double jewel, with a black plastic barrel and a metal gold coloured cap. The cap is particularly sticking. It looks expensive but not gaudy.

http://i700.photobucket.com/albums/ww3/vans4444/Pens/Parker61cap.jpg

Design/Size/Weight. It has a hooded nib and as expected there is a strong Parker family design feel. There are a number of design similarities between the 51 and the 45. In the hand it feels a similar weight to the 51.

The pens in the picture below are from top to bottom a Parker 61, 51 and 45.

http://i700.photobucket.com/albums/ww3/vans4444/Pens/Parker615145.jpg

Capped 133mm, posted 142mm, maximum diameter 10mm or 11mm.

It is almost exactly the same size as a Parker 51 but because it tapers more, it looks thinner

Nib. The nib is between a fine and a medium. It is impressively smooth. Ink flow is perfect, medium wetness with no skipping. It starts immediately. This is a great nib at least as good it not better than the nibs in my Parker 51s.

http://i700.photobucket.com/albums/ww3/vans4444/Pens/Parker612.jpg

Filling System. Having read about problems with the capillary filling system I was half expecting not to be able to get the pen working properly. It took an hour or two of soaking and blowing through the capillary filler but eventually I got it working. To fill the pen just remove the barrel, turn the pen upside down so the nib is pointing upward and lower the filler into the ink. Wait 30 seconds and it is done.

My pen does not hold a huge amount of ink; sufficient for taking notes at meetings but I would not want to rely on it for extended note taking sessions. I have not teted it but I doubt it would hold enough for 6 hours writing. A Parker 51 holds more ink.

If you use the pen all the time and are filing the pen often, the capillary system works well. The big downside is if you want to stop using the pen for a while. It is a pain to flush all the ink out.

Cost and Value. I paid £10.00 for the pen on eBay. The seller noted that the arrow was missing. The rest of the pen is in exceptionally good condition, the picture do not do justice to the pen. I don’t know how much Parker 61s normally sell for, so I don’t know if £10 represents good value. However, it looks and feels as well made as a Parker 51 so I think £10 represents excellent value

Conclusion

I like this pen. It is well balanced and well made. It looks like a pen made for a business environment. I could imagine a solicitor or doctor in the 1950’s using this pen. The nib is simple fantastic.

I was about to type “it is let down by its filling system”, but that would have been unfair. The reason I bought the pen was to experience the capillary fill which was a great idea, but it doesn’t suit the way I use pens. I never use a single pen exclusively for an extended period. I like to chop and change. This means that the thought of the lengthy process needed to flush the pen through when I want to put it back into storage is a major disincentive to filling it. I assume when it was sold, users I can now understand why Parker gave up on the capillary filling system.

Edited April 13, 2010 by vans4444

April 13, 2010

We are very much of the same mind on this pen. I think someone buying one new, who was not a pen weirdo like us ("oh, I used that ink once already this month!"), would probably find it a much more congenial item, as long as they were a very regular writer. I like that I have one, I will occasionally take it out for a run, but it is mainly a curiosity thanks to the difficult of flushing for storage.

Edit-- I should also echo your praise of the point; in use, it is a very sweet-natured object.

Edited April 13, 2010 by Ernst Bitterman

April 13, 2010

Great review of a classic pen, I always remember my father having a burgandy set and wanting to fiddle with it. I'm sure if my mother and I scoured the house we'd find it.

April 14, 2010

Try the c/c version next. Nibs & writing just as good while the filler is less demanding.

Superb pens, and getting one for £10 is a good buy. Last year I got a c/c version for £9.58, but it wasn't in as good condition as yours.

Regards,

Richard.

April 14, 2010

Great review, I've been always interested in the pen regardless of never liking hooded nibs, and your exposition has increased it. Many thanks.

April 14, 2010

My pen does not hold a huge amount of ink; sufficient for taking notes at meetings but I would not want to rely on it for extended note taking sessions. I have not teted it but I doubt it would hold enough for 6 hours writing. A Parker 51 holds more ink.

There's no way of telling just how much of the capillary system is unblocked using the "usual methods". At university in the 60s I wrote 3-hour exams with my 61, and a fill certainly lasted the full stretch - in fact, I don't think I carried a bottle of ink in my briefcase all the time.

Mine was unused for around 25 years, and now has a much-reduced capacity, as you mention. It's a poor starter, too, unless I use it every day. I suppose a solution might be to soak/flush it for a month, but I haven't got the time or the patience.

April 15, 2010

I wondered how many pens have been destroyed by people trying to remove the cartridge.

when i went to buy one at a pawn shop, the owner wanted to show me how to take the cartridge off, until i yelled at him to stop :roflmho:

The golden arrow on the section is missing.

they say this is typical. mine came with the arrow and hasn't come off.

thanx for the review, vans4444! mine cost me $30 at the pawn shop and it's a great writer. not a super great deal, as yours, but i'm very happy with it.

April 15, 2010

I wondered how many pens have been destroyed by people trying to remove the cartridge.
when i went to buy one at a pawn shop, the owner wanted to show me how to take the cartridge off, until i yelled at him to stop :roflmho:

The golden arrow on the section is missing.
they say this is typical. mine came with the arrow and hasn't come off.

thanx for the review, vans4444! mine cost me $30 at the pawn shop and it's a great writer. not a super great deal, as yours, but i'm very happy with it.

The pen was cheap for all the normal eBay reasons. Fuzzy photo, no details, not tested and perhaps in the wrong section. I took a change but not much money was at risk.

Thanks for all the feedback. I really like this pen but I just know in the not too distant future it is going to end up in a box, unused, because I don't want to spend the time needed to flush it through. I think I will look for a cartridge version.

The other thought I had is - it looks a bit like a P51, it is nearly the same size as a P51, it writes like a P51, it is of a similar quality to a P51. So perhaps I should just stick with a Parker 51?

April 15, 2010

I wondered how many pens have been destroyed by people trying to remove the cartridge.
when i went to buy one at a pawn shop, the owner wanted to show me how to take the cartridge off, until i yelled at him to stop :roflmho:

The golden arrow on the section is missing.
they say this is typical. mine came with the arrow and hasn't come off.

thanx for the review, vans4444! mine cost me $30 at the pawn shop and it's a great writer. not a super great deal, as yours, but i'm very happy with it.

The pen was cheap for all the normal eBay reasons. Fuzzy photo, no details, not tested and perhaps in the wrong section. I took a change but not much money was at risk.

Thanks for all the feedback. I really like this pen but I just know in the not too distant future it is going to end up in a box, unused, because I don't want to spend the time needed to flush it through. I think I will look for a cartridge version.

The other thought I had is - it looks a bit like a P51, it is nearly the same size as a P51, it writes like a P51, it is of a similar quality to a P51. So perhaps I should just stick with a Parker 51?

well, if you are gonna throw it in a box, just send it my way... i'll pay the shipping!!!

April 15, 2010

...The other thought I had is - it looks a bit like a P51, it is nearly the same size as a P51, it writes like a P51, it is of a similar quality to a P51. So perhaps I should just stick with a Parker 51?

Oh no, it would be a shame to do that. The nibs seem to me to be an improvement on the P51 nibs, it's as if Parker put all their lessons learnt with the P51 into the P61. Definitely nice writers, even though they seem to have a limited in-use life of about 25 years as your 'only' pen.

Regards,

Richard.

April 15, 2010

...The other thought I had is - it looks a bit like a P51, it is nearly the same size as a P51, it writes like a P51, it is of a similar quality to a P51. So perhaps I should just stick with a Parker 51?
Oh no, it would be a shame to do that. The nibs seem to me to be an improvement on the P51 nibs, it's as if Parker put all their lessons learnt with the P51 into the P61. Definitely nice writers, even though they seem to have a limited in-use life of about 25 years as your 'only' pen.

Regards,

Richard.

Richard, you are right.

I have three P51s and this P61 certainly has a better nib than any of my P51s. I was not sure if this was just me subconsciously wanting the new pen to be better or if it actually was better. As I use it more I become more convinced that there is a marked difference.

As I only have one P61 and three P51s I don’t feel qualified to make a general statement that the P61 nib is generally better than the P51 nib but based on my limited experience I certainly would not disagree with your comments.

Martin

April 28, 2010

I thought you may want to see inside a Parker 61 capillary, so here is a couple of pictures. Many thanks to richardandtracy for the advice given on how to pull it apart without totally destroying the pen

http://i700.photobucket.com/albums/ww3/vans4444/Pens/Parker61insidethefiller.jpg

http://i700.photobucket.com/albums/ww3/vans4444/Pens/Parker61nibandhood.jpg

April 28, 2010

I have 4 Parker 61s. One is unused, the medium that holds the ink is pink which I understand means it has never been inked. One has a first edition medallion on the cap, and I am reluctant to carry that one, the next one has a rainbow cap, the last one I use, the arrow on the section fell off, but I have it put away for safe keeping. It writes very nicely. There seem to be a lot of varieties in the 61, and I enjoy the almost magic filler system.

April 30, 2010

I was a reluctant capillary 61 buyer at first also....but wow has THAT changed. I now have 7 61's and the ONLY ones I don't have problems with are the 5 capillary ones. I read the reviews and comments about how finicky the filling system could be and it made me nervous. However, as I obtained each one, I flushed with an ear syringe using ammonia and water mixture until it began to run clear and then left it overnight to dry. Then I fill it with whatever ink I choose for that pen but I leave it in the ink for closer to 5 minutes rather than 30 seconds. Each one started without hesitation and continues to do so to this day. I LOVE my 61 capillary pens!

However, I do have to admit that they are something of a pain to clean, given that I like to change my ink colors every once in a while, and I have learned the hard way how brittle the plastic used in them can be. I will NEVER EVER EVER try againt to remove the section from the barrel to clean out the collector....I've cracked two pens trying that! :embarrassed_smile:

I agree that they tend to be a bit more high maintenance than most other Parker pens but not much

different IMHO than a Vac 51 that sits unused for a while. These are just pens that need some daily

love - and I'm learning to give that every day!

MD

July 19, 2018

I bought my first Parker 61 for $8 when I was in high school -- and at the time I used it every day. It was the best pen I've ever had -- I think -- but I did make a few visits to the Fountain Pen Hospital before I learned how to flush it myself. Consider that the 61 was released at a time when ballpoints were taking over the market, and a clean filling system was a major advantage. This was the time when Schaeffer introduced the snorkel. The Teflon on the capillary system never worked as promised, but it was still easy to fill and generally clean as well. I loved that little arrow and thought it was the most attractive pen I had ever seen.

I bought this one at E-Bay because all my other pens are cartridge/converter and cartridges are expensive (and don't always come in a variety of colors) while converters are often messy since they usually require two hands, one to hold the pen in place and the other to operate the converter. Can anybody recommend a pen or two that has a relatively clean one handed filling system? I think Conklin has a couple of these at a reasonable price, are there any other brands that are affordable and have built-in fillers?

July 19, 2018

I bought my first Parker 61 for $8 when I was in high school -- and at the time I used it every day. It was the best pen I've ever had -- I think -- but I did make a few visits to the Fountain Pen Hospital before I learned how to flush it myself. Consider that the 61 was released at a time when ballpoints were taking over the market, and a clean filling system was a major advantage. This was the time when Schaeffer introduced the snorkel. The Teflon on the capillary system never worked as promised, but it was still easy to fill and generally clean as well. I loved that little arrow and thought it was the most attractive pen I had ever seen.

I bought this one at E-Bay because all my other pens are cartridge/converter and cartridges are expensive (and don't always come in a variety of colors) while converters are often messy since they usually require two hands, one to hold the pen in place and the other to operate the converter. Can anybody recommend a pen or two that has a relatively clean one handed filling system? I think Conklin has a couple of these at a reasonable price, are there any other brands that are affordable and have built-in fillers?

Try the P-61 cartridge/converter with Parker's original "squeeze" filler. Originally from the P-45 in 1960 and the P-75.