Product Description
Type Fountain pen with unique filling system
Product Name Parker 61, Mark II
Manufacturer and Year Parker, made in USA -- 1959-62
Length 5-3/8"
Filling System The fountain pen has the capillary filling system which is unique to this model. We've tested it with water and it's working well. See further details below.
Color Black body with a 1/10 12k gold filled lined cap and pearlescent jewels on either end.
Nib FINE hooded gold nib.
Condition Excellent + condition with no cracks, chips, dents, or dings. This is a velvety black, shiny pen with a glinty gold cap. The barrel has some light wear. The cap has light wear that is visible to the eye. The clip and clip band look good with just some microscratching. The clip band has a "3" etched on it. The pearlescent jewels on the cap and at the end of the barrel look great. The imprints are clear.
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.
