Product Description
Type Fountain pen with capillary filling system
Product Name Parker 61 Classic, Mark I
Manufacturer and Year Parker, made in USA -- 1956-62
Length Barely under 5-3/8"
Filling System The fountain pen has the capillary filling system which is unique to this model. See further details below.
Color Red with a matte stainless steel "Lustraloy" cap, chrome plated trim and a pearlescent jewel on the cap and the end of the barrel.
Nib EXTRA FINE gold nib with nice tipping remaining. It's smooth, and has nice tipping.
Condition Very nice condition with some cosmetic damage. There's some wear and light scratching on the cap, lesser scratching on the barrel, and some scratches from the cap on the section (see photos). The thin clutch ring between the section and the barrel is slighly bent and worn. There's only the lightest of wear on the chrome plated trim, no real brassing. No dings or dents and no cracks or chips. The teflon cell is in good condition with a few scratches on the teflon.
We cleaned and tested the filling system which has good ink flow. At first you'll need to be patient filling this pen because 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 teflonon 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.
