Product Description
Type Fountain pen with capillary filling system
Product Name Parker 61, Mark I ... This model with the gold filled trim was the "Deluxe."
Manufacturer and Year Parker, USA. Late 1950s.
Length 5-1/2"
Filling System The fountain pen has the capillary filling system which is unique to this model. See further details below the photos.
Color Brushed stainless steel cap with gold trim. The body is grey. Double pearlescent jewels on either end.
Nib MEDIUM-FINE, 14k, very smooth. (The clip tag says fine, but this really looks more like a medium to us and we are familiar with P61 nibs new old stock. Of course when compared to modern western nib sizes, it would be consider a fine.)
Condition Superior condition, both cosmetically and functionally. We still have the tag that hung on the clip. No dings or dents. A small amount of wear on the tip of the clip The teflon cell is in excellent condition with no scratches on the teflon. The spring-loaded valve in the end of the barrel is nice and spring-y. The arrow inset in the section is perfect, very shiny and smooth. No cracks.
We cleaned and tested the filling system, and got good ink flow. You'll need to be patient when you fill it the first time, as it can take a few minutes for the capillary system to suck in enough ink to get started the first time.
A word or two about the Parker 61 Capillary Filling System. If you are not familiar with this unique design, you should read this.
Here is how you fill a Parker 61, and an insight into how the pen actually works. Unscrew the barrel and stick the back end of the pen (aka the capillary cell) into a bottle of ink. Wait a few minutes (probably more like a half hour when you first start one of these older used ones), and let the ink wick up into the capillary cell. The cell contains a sheet of perforated plastic that has been given a 3-D pattern resembling tire tread, and rolled up. The perforations allow ink to seep between the rolled-up layers, and the tread pattern maintains space between the layers. In the middle of this tube, which runs the entire length of the capillary cell, is the feed. To keep things clean, the capillary cell has on a coating of teflon on the outside that is intended to shed ink as the user withdraws the pen from the ink bottle, leaving very little ink to be wiped off. The end of the barrel contains a spring-loaded thingey which covers the open end of the capillary tube, but still allows it to vent.