Product Description
Type Fountain pen, like new, never inked
Product Name Parker 61 - Mark II. 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 -- 1958-62
Length 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 barrel and section, with a two-toned cap; the main par of the cap is Lustraloy or satin-finished, and the clip, tassies, and clutch ring are gold-plated. There are pearlescent jewels on the cap and end of the barrel.
Nib MEDIUM gold nib is smooth with good tipping.
Condition Superior condition. No sign it was ever inked. The barrel end jewel has some small scratches, and the cap top jewel looks great. The clip and clutch ring look great, with no brassing or plating wear. Very light wear on the cap and barrel. No cracks or dents. No scratches on the teflon cell. The original nib size clip tag is present.
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.