Open the hood of parker 61

[wdzhang]

I have 2 parker 61. Both of them are very tight that I can't open them. One of them have a broken nib that I would like to replace it. Anybody has the experience to open the Parker 61?

[welch]

The hood on a Parker 61 is not meant to be unscrewed by an owner. The '61 was Parker's last top-line pen produced when an owner expected to return a pen for repair. Parker Service had all sorts of special tools and techniques for working on the '61. For instance, they used a centrifuge-like device to spin the ink from a P61 capillary-filler. Same for the Parker 51, except that the '51 was made from tougher material.

I have several Parker 61s. Do not try to remove the hood unless you are an experienced repair/restorer. The hoods are fragile, which was one reason that the '61 did not sell like the '51, and probably why Kenneth Parker had them design the Parker 75 as the company's top-line pen.

Ron Zorn can replace a nib, and has done one for me. The charge was somewhere between $30 and $40, which is much less than buying an entire P61.

Some of the others are comfortable replacing a nib, but I used Ron. He probably has a stock of P61 nibs. If not, do a google search. I think I bought two or three P61 medium nibs from David Nishimura ("vintagepens.com").

[wdzhang]

I stay in Hong Kong. It would be too expensive to send the pens there. Just wondering whether I can DIY.

On the other hand, I have another Parker 61 which dries up quite fast, within 12 hours inside the cap. Any clues?

[welch]

I don't know the postage from Hong Kong to Ron, but you might:

- Pay the price and send the pens to Ron or to John Mottishaw. Both have long turn-around time, because they are among the most skilled and experienced repair people

- Post this question to the repair section at Fountain Pen Board. Ron is an admin there, I think, and several other FP wizards "hang out" there. FPB can seem intimidating, at first, because most people sem to be either the famous restoration expects or collectors who know everything about all the classic fountain pens. Don't let that stop you: I have found that the people who know the most are eager to share their knowledge.

- If a P61 nib is broken, you will have to find one from Ron, David N, or from other repair and part people.

- Dries out fast? I don't know enough to guess. Ask on the repair forum here and at FPB.