Product Description
Type Fountain pen with unique filling system
Product Name Parker 61, Mark II
Manufacturer and Year Parker, made in England -- 1959-62
Length 5-1/4"
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 Medium hooded gold nib. Smooth with excellent tipping material.
Condition Excellent + condition with no cracks, chips, dents, or dings. This is a velvety black, shiny pen with a glinty gold cap. The barrel and section hood have light to moderate scratching. The gold arrow inset piece near the nib is in excellent shape. The cap has light scratching all over that is visible to the eye, and touches of brassing that show up under magnification. The clip has some plating wear along the sides, and the clip band has brassing around the edge. The barrel end tassie also has some brassing around the edge. The pearlescent jewels on the cap and at the end of the barrel have some chips around the perimeter. 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 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.
