Product Description
Type Fountain pen
Product Name Parker 61 Classic - Mark II. "Classic" refers to the cap type. The Mark I has the thin clutch ring version and the Mark II the thicker clutch ring version. (The Mark III would be the cartridge/converter version. The clutch ring is the band between the section and barrel.)
Manufacturer and Year Parker, USA -- 1958-75
Length 5-7/16"
Filling System The fountain pen has the capillary filling system which is unique to this model. It has been tested and is working well. See further details below.
Color Satin finished lustraloy, brushed steel, cap with chrome plated trim. The body is red colored. It seems bright enough not to be the maroon color. The pen has two pearlescent jewels.
Nib Medium nib. Very symmetrical with lots of tipping material.
Condition Excellent + condition with no cracks, chips, dents, or dings. This is a classic fountain pen in a great red color. The cap and barrel have light signs of usage. There is one scratch near the end of the barrel, possibly caused by posting. The clip and end jewels are lovely. The imprints are clear.
You'll need to be patient when you fill it the pen for the first time, as it takes a few minutes or so for the capillary system to suck in enough ink to get started.
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 thingy which covers the open end of the capillary tube, but still allows it to vent.
