Product Description
Type Vintage capillary filling fountain pen
Product Name Parker 61 Mark II.
Manufacturer and Year Parker, made in USA – 1962-69
Length Pen is 5-5/16"
Filling System The fountain pen has the capillary filling system which is unique to this model. See further details below.
Color Black body with 1/10 12k gold filled cap, gold plated trim, and pearlescent jewels.
Nib MEDIUM gold nib is in good condition. It's quite smooth and firm with nice tipping material.
Condition Very nice condition. There are some small dings on the pen cap and light wear, and the imprints are a little worn. There's some lighter scratching on the barrel of the pen, There's a little plating wear on the tip of the clip. The gold arrow inset on the hooded section is very clear and perfect looking with just tiny microscratching. The teflon cell is in perfect condition with no scratches, tears, or peeling teflon. The spring-loaded valve in the end of the barrel is nice and springy. We tested the pen to make sure the capillary fill system was working properly, and we can confirm that it does. No personalization, no cracks or chips in the pen.
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.
