Product Description
Type Fountain pen with unique filling system
Product Name Parker 61 - Mark II (as distinguished by wider clutch ring)
Manufacturer and Year Parker, USA -- after 1962 (This is when the Mark II was launched)
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 Brushed stainless steel "Lustraloy" cap. The body is black. Double pearlescent jewels on either end.
Nib The gold nib is not marked but it looks and writes like a medium. The nib is in great shape and not worn at all, lots of tipping material and very smooth
Condition Superior condition, both cosmetically and functionally. No scratches or dings or dents, just very light signs of usage. The teflon cell is in great condition with no scratches or peeling teflon. The spring-loaded valve in the end of the barrel is nice and spring-y. The arrow inset in the section is shiny and smooth. The cap is gorgeous with no dents, dings or pitting. We cleaned and tested the filling system, and got good ink flow. You'll need to be patient when you fill it 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 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.
