I've got a P61, capillar-filler. Not in a "collectible" shape (arrow is missing, section is slightly shrunk, cap has some minor brassing) but nice enough (both "jewels" are OK, nib is great, no cracks, dents, or other major issue). I have flushed it for a couple of minutes (small hose connected to house tap water, opened the tap...) until no ink residue was left in the water.
As I haven't been able to fill it with ink, I've browsed the web looking for what to do next. I have found several suggestions: US cleaning (no problem here, I have the cleaner), mild soap/detergent, both (soap and US) combined, thorough emptying (two days with towel paper touching nib/feed), and such. I'm going to start with this soon, maybe even later today. Any other advice? Any caution to be taken?
And for the (far, most probably) future, I plan to replicate the arrow (thin brass sheet) and probably replace the section (is it the same as P21, P51 or other?), as it is plain black and shouldn't be difficult to get one.
If I have left something behind, besides the above, feel free to tell me.
Thanks and rgds.
Martin
__________________
Don't quarrel with a stupid guy, people might not notice the difference.
After several US cleaning cycles it finally stopped expelling old (black) ink. I blew from the capillar unit, with a paper towel in front of the pen, touching nib/feed, until no wet spots appeared. Instead of filling it the traditional way, I started to fill it (drop by drop) with a syringe, nib down, until new (red) ink started to drop from the nib.
Though still "watery" coloured, it seems that everything works OK (at least until today, I have been taking a few notes with it). Though it doesn't seem to be the pen with the largest ink capacity (I wasn't expecting this either!), it writes nicely. It seems to have quite a wet spot, but the angle is not very far away from the one I usually use to write.
Rgds.
Martin
__________________
Don't quarrel with a stupid guy, people might not notice the difference.
If you found the pen too wet after the fill, perhaps filling it the correct way may yield a different result. I had one of these, and I recall cleaning it by running water was pretty easy. Yes, the nib dripped constantly while it was being flushed. After that, I inverted the capillary unit to fill it, and it was fine (no drips). I should note to that my pen was a fine point, so it was not wet at all.
Enjoy the pen! Frank
-- Edited by Frank on Tuesday 13th of July 2010 03:34:11 PM
__________________
"When, in the course of writing events, it becomes self-evident that all pens are not created equal" (Federalist Frank)
We sell quality, known brands at reasonable prices!!
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