Is This Really A Parker 61?

[Venemo]

Thanks! I decided to get it.

It's in a really nice condition. Hardly any scratches and no cracks whatsoever.

 

The capillary filler works as advertised. I poured some water in a glass, added a few drops of Goulet pen flush, and sucked up some of it with the capillary unit. Then I blew into it with my lungs ― an amount of old blue ink came out. I repeated this a few times and then blew out the water too. Then filled it with black Parker Quink and even though it does look like it still has some of the old ink mixed in, the pen writes quite well with it.

[mitto]

How much did you pay for the pen?

Congrats. Enjoy your pen.

[Venemo]

How much did you pay for the pen?

Congrats. Enjoy your pen.

 

The set (including the fountain pen, a mechanical pencil and a case) cost me the equivalent of 35 USD in local currency. Seems much cheaper than ebay.

[mitto]

A steal. I dont ever buy from the 'Bay'.

[Venemo]

A steal. I dont ever buy from the 'Bay'.

 

Me neither, but it's a good starting point for checking and comparing prices.

[mitto]

Me neither, but it's a good starting point for checking and comparing prices.

I agree.

[welch]

It seems to mee that the capillary filling mechanism ought to last a very long time. It has no moving parts. No "rubber" sac to stretch, dry out, crack. No piston mechanism to bind, wear-down, slip ink behind the piston.

 

I have no idea how long the ink-absorber should last. Parker made the pen from about 1956 - 1969, and since top-line fountain pens were losing market-share then, we might not have had enough usage.

 

Maybe the capillary and the nib will outlast the barrel and hood?

[inkstainedruth]

 

The set (including the fountain pen, a mechanical pencil and a case) cost me the equivalent of 35 USD in local currency. Seems much cheaper than ebay.

Definitely cheaper than I paid on Ebay for the pen with the missing hood arrow. And a LOT less money than I paid for the first one, which I got at DCSS last year.

Sounds as if you did very well there.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[richardandtracy]

Agreed. Good buy for a nearly new one.

 

There is a photo of the inside of a P61 in this thread: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/39324-parker-61-capilliary-to-cartridge-conversion/

The plastic of the filler is all crinkly, but does not seem to age significantly while inside the capillary filler.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Venemo]

It seems to mee that the capillary filling mechanism ought to last a very long time. It has no moving parts. No "rubber" sac to stretch, dry out, crack. No piston mechanism to bind, wear-down, slip ink behind the piston.

 

I have no idea how long the ink-absorber should last. Parker made the pen from about 1956 - 1969, and since top-line fountain pens were losing market-share then, we might not have had enough usage.

 

Maybe the capillary and the nib will outlast the barrel and hood?

 

Maybe it will, but I'd say it needs care and caution. For instance I'd never consider putting some inks into the capillary unit such as ESSRI or Platinum Carbon Black which might cause it to clog in such a way that we could never clean it.

 

 

Definitely cheaper than I paid on Ebay for the pen with the missing hood arrow. And a LOT less money than I paid for the first one, which I got at DCSS last year.

Sounds as if you did very well there.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Thanks!

This is the advantage of living in Eastern Europe. Nobody in "the west" likes to buy used stuff from here, and nobody here is willing to pay much for a used pen. So naturally, you can get them cheaper here.

 

 

Agreed. Good buy for a nearly new one.

 

There is a photo of the inside of a P61 in this thread: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/39324-parker-61-capilliary-to-cartridge-conversion/

The plastic of the filler is all crinkly, but does not seem to age significantly while inside the capillary filler.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

Interesting. I wouldn't dare take the teflon off, but what I see in the three holes at the end of the filler looks more like some sort of black sponge.

[richardandtracy]

If unused the 'sponge' would have been either red or white. It is actually a felt of some type.

 

Don't take the cover off if you don't need to! It is difficult to remove without doing damage to the Teflon or other parts as the Teflon coated cover is crimped in three places to the top of the collector.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Venemo]

If unused the 'sponge' would have been either red or white. It is actually a felt of some type.

 

Don't take the cover off if you don't need to! It is difficult to remove without doing damage to the Teflon or other parts as the Teflon coated cover is crimped in three places to the top of the collector.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

Thanks Richard! Don't worry, I won't be taking the cover off any time soon.

[Venemo]

In case anyone was wondering, the Parker 61 mechanical pencil takes 0.9 mm leads. I managed to find some Faber-Castell graphite leads that were marked "1.0 (0.9)" and they work fine with the 61.

[Venemo]

Sorry for reviving this old thread, but I didn't want to start a new one just for this. I'm still having some trouble dating this pen and identifying the exact model. I thought maybe someone with more Parker lore skills could help.

 

There appears to be no date code on the barrel, only some imprints which say "61". The cap does have some imprints, which go like this:

          P

        1 | 10
       12 | CT
        R |  G

PARKER   61    MADE IN ENGLAND

So I gather that the cap is probably 12 ct rolled gold (from R G), but I'm not sure what the 1 and 10 in the top row mean. Since the cap is gold, all models with a lustraloy cap are excluded. The closest seems to be the Custom model, but that is supposed to have a gold filled, not rolled gold cap. Can you give me a clue, please?

 

Also, is this Rage Red, or Maroon? And Mk1 or Mk2?

Edited December 26, 2017 by Venemo

[crescentfiller]

1/10 12 CT (as in the fraction).

[joss]

The "rolled gold" designation on Parker caps is UK preference and means the same as "gold filled" (USA preference).

 

The 1/10 12 CT imprint means that 1/10th of the metal weight of the cap consists of 12 carat gold (where 12K gold itself consist of 50% solid gold).

 

Your pen appears to me as as an English Parker 61 Custom in rage red. The wide clutch ring suggests it is a Mark II, if it has a capillary filler. A cartridge filler is later.

 

I guess you are aware of these Parker 61 webpages:

www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/profiles/61.htm

www.parkerpens.net/parker61.html

[Venemo]

The "rolled gold" designation on Parker caps is UK preference and means the same as "gold filled" (USA preference).

 

The 1/10 12 CT imprint means that 1/10th of the metal weight of the cap consists of 12 carat gold (where 12K gold itself consist of 50% solid gold).

 

Your pen appears to me as as an English Parker 61 Custom in rage red. The wide clutch ring suggests it is a Mark II, if it has a capillary filler. A cartridge filler is later.

 

I guess you are aware of these Parker 61 webpages:

www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/profiles/61.htm

www.parkerpens.net/parker61.html

 

Thank you Joss!

Yes, it's a capillary filler.

I suspected Custom myself, but the "rolled gold" vs. "gold filled" thing confused me a bit.

[sherbie]

I have seen it written somewhere that UK didnt start producing P61s until 1964-5. Also the c/c filler system introduced in 1969

 

Now if true, and there are real experts on this forum on P61s, then i guess you can tentatively date your pen to 1965-9

 

Hope this helps, cheers paul

[richardandtracy]

The 'Rolled Gold' terminology comes from the way gold sheet is is rolled onto the brass backing so hard it welds to the brass without solder, flux or additional heat.

 

I am not convinced the colour is 'Rage Red'. It looks identical to my Burgundy ones (the same colour as The VAC Quack describes as 'Bloody British Burgundy' when seen in the P51). I have seen 'Rage Red' in the flesh, it is more orange than that colour, and I have to confess I don't like it much. I do think the date range proposed is possible, but it's highly unlikely you'll nail it down to a single year without a receipt or similar.

 

Regards

 

Richard.

[Venemo]

The 'Rolled Gold' terminology comes from the way gold sheet is is rolled onto the brass backing so hard it welds to the brass without solder, flux or additional heat.

 

I am not convinced the colour is 'Rage Red'. It looks identical to my Burgundy ones (the same colour as The VAC Quack describes as 'Bloody British Burgundy' when seen in the P51). I have seen 'Rage Red' in the flesh, it is more orange than that colour, and I have to confess I don't like it much. I do think the date range proposed is possible, but it's highly unlikely you'll nail it down to a single year without a receipt or similar.

 

Regards

 

Richard.

 

Hi Richard, none of the P61 websites list Burgundy as a possible colour. They mention Rage Red and Maroon. I guess this would be Maroon then, but not sure, because the exact color is hard to capture with a camera. There are ebay listings with very similar pens that call it both...