Parker 61 Capillary filler

[fatehbajwa]

Just inked a NOS Parker 61 that I had bought a few months back.

 

Some websites and posts on FPN mention that it has to be inked with the teflon coated wick dipped in the ink.

Others mention that a few of the older models had to be inked by dipping the nib end into ink.

 

I tried the former method........the writing is coming very light and watery........did I try the wrong end?

Or will the watery and light colour change with some use?

 

How do I find out which model(nib end inking v/s wick end) do I have?

 

Thanks.

[I am not a number]

From Google...

 

  Quote

The first Parker 61s used a remarkable capillary filling system. To fill these, remove the pen barrel to expose the Teflon-covered filler; drop the pen point up in the ink supply and leave it in (about thirty seconds should do it). Remove the pen, give the filler end a quick wipe (the Teflon will shed most of the ink) and replace the barrel.

 

Capillary-fill 61s tend to clog up after awhile; this is one reason why they were discontinued in favor of more conventional aerometric filling 61s. If yours becomes clogged, try soaking the pen in cool water or gently directing water through the filler and out the point (e.g., using a turkey baster or similar device) until it runs clear. The problem here is that you now have to "write" all of the water out of the pen, filling it frequently to get fresh ink into the flow. This isn't something you want to do on a regular basis, so the best solution is either to keep using the pen (not giving the ink a chance to clog up the pen), or leave it clean and empty

[bluemoon]

  fatehbajwa said:

Others mention that a few of the older models had to be inked by dipping the nib end into ink.

Thanks.

 

???? !!!!!!

 

Parker 61 DOES NOT fill by putting the nib end in the end. its The teflon coated side that should go in the ink bottle. Drop it, wait for half a minute... and you are good to go.

 

You should first try washing it.. a blower comes in handy to give it a good rinse. If it is NOS, then too it may had been dip tested, and have ink residues in it. If it is not the case, it is not filling well, in which case too a good flush will help.

 

Parker 61 is a pen I love to hate.... despite being a parker fan.It writes extremely well, but the filling system is too

cumbersome and it does not hold any amount of ink to write home about. And it takes a hell of a effort to flush it.

 

If you try the parker forum, you should get better replies from the experts.

[lovemy51]

there is an add from 1957 with, i believe, william holden, looking at the P61 being filled. it's pretty cool . i'll see if i can upload it

Edited May 24, 2008 by lovemy51

[fatehbajwa]

Thanks for the replies.

I stuck the pen nib upwards in an ink bottle for half an hour.................wrote a few lines in a very watery shade and then just puttered out!

 

Repeated it three times and the same result. Grrrrrrrrrrrr!

 

I am heartbroken and the pen is now lying in a glass filled with cold water!

 

Will try again tomorrow.

 

I am surprised by this whole episode as the pen is NOS and the capillary filler is absolutely uninked and pink in colour!!!!!!!!

[lovemy51]

i bought mine in a pawnshop where it was sitting around collecting dust and ink drying. believe me, it took some cleaning too. have you tried blowing the water out, blowing from the cartidge and out the nib. i did that a few times and i worked. now it's one of my best writers... and i only paid $20 USD

Edited May 25, 2008 by lovemy51

[framebaer]

Try getting a baby's ear syringe and cut off the end to about the size of most section nipples. fill the syringe with water push it over the Teflon end and flush water through the pen by squeezing the bulb. repeat this process for a while. Turn the pen around and put the nib end into the syringe and repeat. This should help get the system working better.

 

 

[Garageboy]

Must already have dried ink on the feed side. Flush that and refill

[fatehbajwa]

As I said before, the Pen is NOS, so how can there be ink anywhere unless they dip test it on production?

[burmeseboyz]

Fatebajwa, you might want to shake out the water before dipping it into ink. If there's water in the cappilary chamber of the feed, the ink will have a hard time making it to the writing nib. As you've already done, even an hour in the ink bottle won't get rid of the pale start. You definately need to shake the water out or let it dry for a day or two. Holding the pen tight, you can shake it like you would a thermometer. Just be very careful of course. Ron Zorn also developed a home made centrifuge from a salad spinner. This will also help. And if it's new, there could be some oils from manufacture as you might already know, but washing with water and maybe some soap will get rid of it. I hope that helps. P61's are awesome pens and they should work great.

[hardyb]

I just use lung power to blow with a light to moderate force through the end opposite the nib, over the sink, with the nib pointing straight down and the open part of the nib facing away from me. I did this after soaking, rinsing and before refilling a pen that had been idle for 20+ years or when I fill it with a new color. The pen works very well now.

Edited May 25, 2008 by hardyb

[George]

  Quote

???? !!!!!!

 

Parker 61 DOES NOT fill by putting the nib end in the end. its The teflon coated side that should go in the ink bottle. Drop it, wait for half a minute... and you are good to go.

 

Yes, some do. The early test ones filled from the nib.

 

George

[fatehbajwa]

  George said:

  Quote

???? !!!!!!

 

Parker 61 DOES NOT fill by putting the nib end in the end. its The teflon coated side that should go in the ink bottle. Drop it, wait for half a minute... and you are good to go.

 

Yes, some do. The early test ones filled from the nib.

 

George

 

 

I was sure i had read that somewhere.........!

[andyk]

  hardyb said:

I just use lung power to blow with a light to moderate force through the end opposite the nib, over the sink, with the nib pointing straight down and the open part of the nib facing away from me. I did this after soaking, rinsing and before refilling a pen that had been idle for 20+ years or when I fill it with a new color. The pen works very well now.

 

I have managed to get several badly clogged 61 working using this method, cheaper and less hassle than a centrifugal spinner, only problem is slight risk of inky lips, but not happened so far.

 

I always avoided 61 before coming to this site as I had no idea how to clean them, I now have several and use them quite often as they write well.

 

Have you tried leaving yours in ink for an hour or two to see if you can get it started, sometime dipping the nib in ink after filling gets the capilliary action working as well.

 

Good luck

 

Andy

 

[johnee]

  andyk said:

  hardyb said:

I just use lung power to blow with a light to moderate force through the end opposite the nib, over the sink, with the nib pointing straight down and the open part of the nib facing away from me. I did this after soaking, rinsing and before refilling a pen that had been idle for 20+ years or when I fill it with a new color. The pen works very well now.

 

I have managed to get several badly clogged 61 working using this method, cheaper and less hassle than a centrifugal spinner, only problem is slight risk of inky lips, but not happened so far.

 

I always avoided 61 before coming to this site as I had no idea how to clean them, I now have several and use them quite often as they write well.

 

Have you tried leaving yours in ink for an hour or two to see if you can get it started, sometime dipping the nib in ink after filling gets the capilliary action working as well.

 

Good luck

 

Andy

 

Agreed, I just did this for the 61 I just received a few days ago. I inked it up yesterday and it seems to be ok.

 

I think I didn't let it dry enough though, as the ink is a bit watery, which is strange because I blew air into the cap system until no water came out, but I've read there is probably still some water in there even if none comes out.

 

I also find I have to let it sit in the ink for at least a minute for it to get ink, then I had to dip the nib to get the capillary action going.

 

I stood the pen up as if clipped in my pocket for a while, and it had problems starting, but if I laid it down on it's side, there were no issues. So I'm still experimenting to see if it's reached it's steady state of liquidity inside that calamity of plastic chaos.

 

John

[lovemy51]

  hardyb said:

I just use lung power to blow with a light to moderate force through the end opposite the nib, over the sink, with the nib pointing straight down and the open part of the nib facing away from me. I did this after soaking, rinsing and before refilling a pen that had been idle for 20+ years or when I fill it with a new color. The pen works very well now.

 

exactly what i did!!!

[fatehbajwa]

  hardyb said:

I just use lung power to blow with a light to moderate force through the end opposite the nib, over the sink, with the nib pointing straight down and the open part of the nib facing away from me. I did this after soaking, rinsing and before refilling a pen that had been idle for 20+ years or when I fill it with a new color. The pen works very well now.

 

 

Thanks Hardyb...................I tried it and the 61 is working just fine now!!!!!

 

Thanks again. :clap1:

[psfred]

A dry 61 can be quite difficult to fill the first time. They can even be slow to fill, and not fill completely, after being flushed with water because there is no film of ink on the capillary material for the ink to wet it properly.

 

Watery ink is just the result of water in the collector that will not come out unless you centrifuge the pen, and is just one of the annoyances of the capillary system. It's also a hint you won't want to change ink colors often in these pens.

 

I also find that I must dip the pen nib into the ink after filling the first time after blowing the pen out, or it takes a long time for the ink to work up to the nib from the filler, but only that first time.

 

Peter

[parkercrazy]

  fatehbajwa said:

Just inked a NOS Parker 61 that I had bought a few months back.

 

Some websites and posts on FPN mention that it has to be inked with the teflon coated wick dipped in the ink.

Others mention that a few of the older models had to be inked by dipping the nib end into ink.

 

I tried the former method........the writing is coming very light and watery........did I try the wrong end?

Or will the watery and light colour change with some use?

 

How do I find out which model(nib end inking v/s wick end) do I have?

 

Thanks.

 

Hi Everyone,

 

To answer the debate on which end to fill a Parker 61. If you have the 61 with the teflon filler, the teflon filler goes in to the ink, but Parker did make some prototypes that do fill from the nib end. If your 61 looks like the picture below, these were prototypes and fill from the nib end. These prototypes were put in to production and given to Parker employees to test in 1956. They did not receive good reviews from the employees, and thus production was stopped and changed to the filler system that we are all used of seeing on the Parker 61.

Hope this clears up some confusion on the Parker 61

 

Take Care, Francis

 

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/fjm111/early61s.jpg

 

[richardandtracy]

I find the writing from my P61 capilliary looks a bit thin & watery shortly before the ink runs out.

 

I've not yet managed to cure the hydrophobic layer on the filler felt (mostly due to a lack of effort on my behalf I must add), and need to fill mine by sucking ink up through the nib unit - with the associated risk of a mouthful of ink when it fills completely.

 

Nice pen though. The capilliary version seems to be much sturdier than the c/c version.

 

Parkercrazy - you lucky devil being able to get your paws on those prototypes. They look quite something even if the filler isn't up to much.

 

Regards

 

Richard.