Month: September 2023

My new (to me) Parker 61 Flighter fountain pen.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 17 Comments

Lately I have got a bit hooked on buying vintage Parker fountain pens on eBay. I have been fortunate in finding some classic pens with gold nibs and plenty of life left in them, at attractive prices.

The latest to arrive was a Parker 61 Flighter. This was an impulse buy after receiving one of eBay’s thoughtful emails, that an auction of a pen I had viewed, was soon to end and inviting me to make my bid. By the time I read the email, the auction had barely 60 seconds left to go. I made a quick decision to bid and watched nervously as the final seconds ticked down. I did not have long to wait. The outcome was that three people had bid in the final minute. By a stroke of luck, my bid of £31.36 had won, by just 85p.

Parker 61 Flighter.

The pen arrived this morning. Although I have enjoyed Parker pens since the 1970’s, I had not owned a Parker 61 before. I recall being very enamoured with Parker’s Flighter pens, as a ten year old boy.

First impressions were good. The brushed stainless steel finish feels smooth and luxurious. The slip cap pulls off silently and easily yet feels secure enough when on. The pen is more sleek and tapered than my Parker 51, and slightly shorter overall, yet the grip section is about 1cm longer. The Parker 61 has a distinctive inlaid arrow on the section, introduced to help people know which way the tiny nib was facing, although these are known to fall off.

The Parker 61 was first introduced in the USA in 1956 but not in England until the early 1960’s. The early models featured an innovative new capillary filling system. This was part of the quest for a convenient method of refilling a fountain pen without the mess. This new system consisted of a cylinder coated in Teflon, a non-stick finish. To fill the pen, the user had simply to unscrew the barrel, place the pen, nib up, in a bottle of ink, and wait about 30 seconds for the cylinder to fill itself by capillary action. Then the pen could be lifted from the bottle and, in theory at least, ink would not adhere to the Teflon coating. The barrel could be screwed back on without a need to clean the cylinder.

In practice the Teflon would flake off eventually and some cleaning was necessary. It seems that the system was not as popular as hoped. Also, there was a tendency for the cylinder to get clogged up, if the pen was not cleaned out from time to time. Before long the system was dropped and instead, later versions used Parker’s new cartridges or else a detachable aerometric-style cartridge-converter.

My model has the cartridge-converter. I do not know the date of it. It was made in England, which puts it before the closure of the Parker Pen factory in Newhaven in around 2011. But I read on Tony Fischier’s site, parkerpens.net that the Parker 61 range was discontinued in 1983 and so my pen is at least 40 years old. It does not have the “Quality Pen” date code on the cap, introduced in 1980 and so I can narrow the date down to 1960’s or 1970’s. I suspect that there are other clues to discover.

The squeeze bar, cartridge-converter version.

On its arrival, my pen still had traces of blue ink and I gave it an initial flush in water, using the converter. On squeezing the converter, a healthy stream of air bubbles was emitted from the nib, an encouraging sign.

Then as I removed the converter to wash out the section, I noticed that the connector was loose and rotating. I carefully unscrewed this, whereupon I could take out the nib, feed and ink collector, separate them and give them a clean.

Connector, ink collector, feed, nib and shell, after their bath.

I was careful not to lose any small parts. In my excitement, and after cleaning and photographing the pieces, I forgot the sequence for reassembly and watched an informative YouTube video from Grandmia Pens, which set me right. Steff advises against unscrewing the shell in the Parker 61s, as they are prone to cracking and shrinkage. It is not advisable to apply heat to them to soften the adhesive, (as you might with a Parker 51) for this reason.

Although the pen in his video was the capillary filler version, the principles are largely the same, as follows:

  • first find the channel in the the ink collector. This should be aligned with the nib;
  • insert the nib carefully into the collector, pushing it in as far as it will go.
  • slide the black plastic feed into the ink collector from the back, all the way into the nib, which leaves a small part of the nib protruding beyond the feed;
  • insert the nib, feed and ink collector into the shell, or section; notches will align them correctly;
  • preferably, apply a little silicone grease to the threads, before screwing the connector inside the shell with the end of the feed passing through the hole in the connector;
  • push the converter back onto the section.

This all went very smoothly. I was pleased that the connector was not glued, enabling me to take the pen apart safely and clean the components. For those with the capillary version, there will be a retaining washer gripping the cylinder on the connector. This slides forward onto the ink collector, for the cylinder to be removed for cleaning, then later slides back over the end of the cylinder again to secure it. Note also that the plastic feed is much longer in the capillary fill version.

On examining the nib, there was no date code on it. The gold cleaned up very easily. The nib appeared very slightly bent and the tine gap was rather wide, such that the pen was likely to be a gusher. Rather rashly, I squeezed the sides of the nib together, to narrow the tine gap a little, which had the desired effect. After this it was necessary to realign the tines, for smooth writing.

At the end of this exercise, I filled the pen with Waterman Serenity Blue, and tried writing on a Stalogy A5 notebook. Success! The pen writes very nicely. Whilst the generous blob of tipping suggested a Broad nib, the line is closer to a Medium.

I have much enjoyed my first day with this pen, tinkering, cleaning, photographing and writing with it. For the pleasure it gave me today, I have already got my money’s worth and so every new day with my Parker 61 will be a bonus.

14k gold, smooth and juicy.

Early thoughts on the Jinhao Dadao No. 9019 fountain pen.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 31 Comments

This will likely be a shortish post, because there are many similarities to the Jinhao X159 which I have reviewed recently. The short version is that I like this pen very much.

Jinhao Dadao No. 9019

But whilst this pen might at first glance look like the X159, there are several notable differences, most evident when comparing the two pens side by side. These points, in no particular order, are as follows:-

  1. As well as the opaque versions, in black, blue or burgundy, the 9019 is also available as a demonstrator in clear, blue or pink.
  2. Although it still features the large, number 8 steel nib in extra fine, fine or medium, the body is different. The cap is shorter. The pocket clip sits higher up the cap. The clip itself is different. The means of attaching the clip to the cap is different, being a nut and bolt inside the cap, so that the cap and finial are seamless.
  3. The grip section is significantly longer on the 9019.
  4. The foot of the barrel is still rounded, but more bulbous and cigar shaped, than the bullet shaped X159. This is to accommodate the larger turning rod of the converter.
  5. The converter is larger capacity than that of the X159, and is now a screw fit instead of push fit.
  6. The converter is also considerably more fancy than the X159’s, having a gold coloured turning rod, which is rather impressive and a nice touch, given that it is always on show in the demonstrator editions.
A number 8, two tone steel nib, extra fine. You get a lot of nib for your money.

I first tried the 9019 at our pen club, (the “London Pen Fountaineers”) and was instantly smitten. For the features included, at the current price (£10.49 from Erofa, via Amazon) the purchase is a no-brainer. The nib unit alone and the converter alone, each seem worth more than that.

Note the longer section and larger converter on the 9019.

I ordered the blue demonstrator model, with an Extra Fine nib, having found the EF nib particularly enjoyable on my X159s. My pen was delivered the next day. It comes in a simple polythene sleeve inside a small brown padded envelope with no box or papers but arrived in perfect condition. The only adjustment that I made was to push the nib very slightly over to one side so as to be more accurately centred over the feed, but this was minimal.

I filled the pen with a blue black ink, Diamine’s Conway Stewart Tavy, which flows and lubricates well and is a dark, pleasing shade. I have lately been enjoying a Stalogy 018 Editor’s Series, A5 notebook and like the paper very much. The nib performed admirably, with just the right flow and feedback, that makes you want to keep writing for ever. For an extra fine nib, the tip is smooth and pleasant to write with, although firm. I was very pleased with my initial choice of ink and plan to stick with it.

Differences in barrel, cap and clip too.

It appears that there is no inner cap, but instead, a moulding in the shape of one as part of the cap design, so that the nib seals nicely once the section meets the inside lip in the cap. I have had absolutely no issues of hard starting or skipping.

I appreciate that the enhanced ink capacity is rather unnecessary, particularly in a demonstrator body where you can see the ink remaining and can top up at any time. Nevertheless, I find it strangely exciting to think how many pages I could write on one fill, paired with such a fine nib. We shall see!

Freshly filled with blue black ink and expectations.

Travelling with ink: Birmingham, August 2023.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 14 Comments

One of my recent Parker 17 acquisitions from eBay included the original box and user guide. On this, the purchase date of 22-10-66 had been written, and an ink stamp read “H.P.Pope Ltd, Pope’s Pen Corner, 114 New Street, Birmingham.”

As I was due to visit Birmingham, I was keen to see whether this pen shop still existed, 57 years on. An online search using instant streetview showed the building but the site was now occupied by Starbucks. I found an old image of the fountain pen shop. I still went to find the site, feeling pleased with my detective work.

Pope’s Pen Corner, 114 New Street, Birmingham, UK. (credit: unknown)
The shop is now a Starbucks.

However, during my two day visit, I discovered that Birmingham’s pen history contains rather more than that, to say the least. The city map shows a Jewellery Quarter, which includes a Pen Museum. Fortunately it was open. The Museum is located in a former pen factory, on Frederick Street. This particular one was the premises of W.E.Wiley, gold pen makers. I learned that the large scale production of steel pens, or what I call dip pens, had flourished in the nineteenth century, particularly from around the 1820’s.

The Pen Museum, in a former pen factory.

There was a lot of information to take in, from the displays in the Museum, spread across three large rooms. The figures were staggering. As the industry grew to a worldwide export trade, there were at one time 129 pen manufacturers in Birmingham, producing 75% of all the pens in the world! The industry employed 8,000 people in Birmingham, and a large proportion were women operating the hand presses to carry out the various steps in producing a nib, or other tasks such as grinding, or “looking over” which we now call quality control.

Across the road, another former pen factory, the premises of Joseph Gillott (1799-1873).

Hundreds of different types of nibs were made. We saw the Hinks, Wells & Co Star, from the 1866 Birmingham exhibition, showing nibs from the company’s stock of pens in daily use at that time. The museum also contains The William Mitchell Pyramid, shown at the Paris 1900 Exhibition.

The Hinks, Wells & Co Star.
The William Mitchell pyramid.

A helpful guide showed us a few of the stages involved in producing a pen, such as

  • Blanking: where a sheet of steel is fed through a press and, one by one, the operator punched plain blanks, or flat pieces of steel to form the nib;
  • Piercing: where another press punches a hole in the nib; this is to add elasticity and to prevent the slit (added later) from extending further, as well as for ornamentation;
  • Stamping, or Marking: where text is pressed into the pen;
  • Raising: where another press forms the blank into a curved shape;
  • Slitting: where a press cuts a slit, to form two tines.

We had an opportunity to try our hand at these stages and to make our own nib. There is some skill involved in operating the press with the right amount of force to get legible text. Getting the hole in the middle is not as easy as you might think. I found Slitting to be particularly fiddly and awkward. As there was space for the pen to move from side to side, it was difficult to ensure that the slit would be central. Mine was not. We had been warned of the risk of spoiling our nib at this stage and that we could skip it if we wished. Happily, our guide later gave us each a good one as a souvenir, at the end of the demonstration.

I have some pressing business to attend to.

Having spent a few minutes trying out these vintage presses at a leisurely pace, it was a shock to learn that a woman operating a press was expected to make 18,000 nibs in a 10 hour day. This is one every 2 seconds. It would take me several seconds just to pick up a blank from the heap on the workbench, then several seconds more to position it centrally in the press and get my fingers out of the way, before pulling the heavy handle. I suppose they got very fast with practice, but imagine how tiring and monotonous it must have been, doing that all day, every day.

The Museum is mostly concerned with steel dip pens although there were a few vintage fountain pens on display, as well as ink bottles, tins and boxes, advertisements, signage and other memorabilia.

An Aladdin’s cave of vintage pen memorabilia.
A selection of pens from William Mitchell (established in 1825).

It was news to me that Birmingham played such an important role in the history of pen making. Although this provided employment and enabled the entrepreneurs to become very wealthy, this new, large scale production of pens at low cost, including for schools, was very important in improving literacy around the world.

A display of vintage fountain pens.

The story of Birmingham’s past as a world leader in pen manufacture, is told in an authoritative book “People, Pens & Production in Birmingham’s Steel Pen Trade”, edited by Brian Jones MBE, which I bought in the museum gift shop. Also I could not leave without buying some nibs, including a set with two pen holders and a vintage-looking tin. There were few fountain pens for sale. I could have bought a Manuscript Clarity, demonstrator pen, but I already have two of them.

My merch from the museum shop.

Needless to say, I found that using a dip pen can be a frustrating business, the nibs being scratchy and needing to be dipped frequently. It was a relief to pick up a reliable, smooth fountain pen again. But having been inside this former factory, where hundreds of people laboured, from 160 years ago, I have a new appreciation for the art of pen making and the pioneering work to industrialise the process.

The Pen Museum were happy for me to take photographs and use them in my blog. As the museum is run by volunteers and has limited opening times and visitor capacity, booking is recommended, at http://www.penmuseum.org.uk. Tickets are £7.50 for adults.

A Birmingham tribute to another of its famous products.