Parker 61 why do so many have arrow missing

[Paul-H]

Hi guys

Been looking to pick up,a Parker 61, I have found that although there are quite a few for sale nearly all of them have the gold arrow missing, anyone got any views on why this is so common a fault.

Anyone know of a supplier with a collection of arrows for sale so that a pen with the arrow missing could be repaired.

Thanks

Paul

[cedargirl]

Get a Hero 329 barrel - they come with the arrows - hahaha:crazy_pilot:

[6of1]

The arrows were heat pressed in and eventually just fall out. Do I detect a fellow 61 owner?

[Paul-H]

I have a nice clean one on the way at the moment, with the arrow intact as well.

Paul

[nxn96]

You do see arrows come up for sale from time to time, but my impression is that they're pretty hard to come by and not inexpensive when they do. I've seen threads on this topic that focus on how to fill the "spot" where the arrow used to be (one, as I recall, simply used gold paint), and I think a common suggestion is to find a 61 "project" pen with an intact arrow and cannibalize the arrow.

Hope this helps you.

[Paul-H]

Hi

I did find this guys selling some on fleabay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Parker-61-Gold-Filled-Fountain-Pen-Shell-s-Arrow-/261227585503
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Parker-61-Silverplated-Fountain-Pen-Shell-s-Arrow-/380656458160

Not sure how he would feel about selling them to someone in the uk though, given our recent history :crazy_pilot:

Paul

[6of1]

I have a nice clean one on the way at the moment, with the arrow intact as well.


They're moderately annoying to flush and require more frequent maintenance, but rewarding to own. I take you're getting the capillary version? Also, what colour?

Mine:

3408
3409
3410

[Paul-H]

That's the same colour as mine and yes it's the vac fill version.

Got any tips for maintaining it.

Paul

[Deb]

Hi

I did find this guys selling some on fleabay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Parker-61-Gold-Filled-Fountain-Pen-Shell-s-Arrow-/261227585503
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Parker-61-Silverplated-Fountain-Pen-Shell-s-Arrow-/380656458160

Not sure how he would feel about selling them to someone in the uk though, given our recent history :crazy_pilot:

Paul

That's Ariel Kullock. I've bought parts from him before. He has no problems with sending to the UK, but the postage is quite expensive.

[6of1]

That's the same colour as mine and yes it's the vac fill version.

Got any tips for maintaining it.

Paul

The burgundy is my favourite.

When I first got mine around five odd years ago, I did some net searching to try to suss this marvelous beast. After all, I was waiting for it to arrive from Jordan, so I had time to do some reading. I found all sorts of oddness, like hooking up tubing to the capillary unit and forcing water through it, etc. Most of the oddness was just that. You can't be impatient with this pen. When it arrives, you'll need to soak and empty (I used an old cotton t-shirt) to see if any ink is left over -- flushing under running water is helpful as well. If it comes up clean, then you're in business -- otherwise, you need to keep on with it until it is clean enough (which can take days). It is to be hoped that yours won't have any dried up ink in the capillary unit (if it's in good condition odds are there isn't). Other than that, I just make sure that I flush it about every three fills. That may be a paranoid level, but it doesn't take a whole lot of effort. Google around and you'll find some good advice to ruminate upon.

Here (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Parker-61-Fountain-Pen-Gold-Filled-Arrow-/130924510731?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e7bb57e0b) is an arrow, and here (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Parker-61-Fountain-Pen-Section-Part-in-Burgundy-Silver-Plated-Arrow-NOS-/230993988938?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35c8508d4a) is a burgundy section. Parts are around...

Also, pictures when it gets there! :thumb:

[nxn96]

That's the same colour as mine and yes it's the vac fill version.

Got any tips for maintaining it.

Paul

I'm guessing we're all talking about the capillary fill version of the 61, which was its essential selling point in the day.

The basic "issue" is that the filler can become clogged over time and needs to be flushed out. Parker pretty much solved this issue with the Vacumatic and Aerometric filler systems that had an active "inhale/exhale" filling mechanism that did a fair amount of the maintenance through the basic process. However, the "sell" of the 61 was that you stuck the filler system in a bottle of ink and let the pen do the rest. Slow fill/slow empty (as you wrote with the pen) was good marketing, but probably not the best way to maintain a pen. It's a pretty inert design.

I'm not a big 61 user, but what I've found is that you need a way to occasionally "blow" built up ink deposits through the system. What's often recommended is using one of those syringes that are made to flush out ears and trim the nozzle such that it fits over the upper end of the capillary filler and it creates the suction/flush that the original design did not provide.

Hope this helps.

By the way, as an earlier post noted, Kullock is a well known source of odd Parker parts. I can't speak as to this specific part, but the few things I have purchased from him have never disappointed.

Again, hope this helps you

[6of1]

Also, one can download the manual for it here:
http://penhero.com/PenGallery/Library/Parker61_1957.htm

[Paul-H]

The pen arrived almost ok, the arrow had fallen out during transit but it was still in the cap so I was able to do a quick repair, gave it a good clean out as per my cleaning tread and it worked like a charm.

Paul

349334943495

[6of1]

Looks great! I've never had to fix an arrow -- did you glue it back in?

[Paul-H]

Yep used a tiny drop of thick super Glue.

Paul