Parker fountain pen

[look 171]

My father gave me a set of Parker fountain pen and mechanical pencil set he purchased in the late 50s when I was in the 5th or 6th grade. I didn't know how to take care of it, dropped it a few times in school. Thankfully, no cracks. Left it in a can at their house with a bunch of old stuff by jr high. I saw it the other day and like to restore it or make it work again. Parts had to be dried up and brittle by now. I remember it having a pump of some kind to suck ink into the tube or reservoir. Where to find parts anyone know about these writing instruments. My cursive was OK back then with that pen, but now my penmanship had gone to hell and it is much worst then my three left thumb typing. You know my typing skill

[WPOZZZ]

Those old pens are suprisingly durable. I had one that was sitting for decades with the ink dried up. Got a cup of warm water and left the disassembled pen in it overnight. Rinse and repeat a few tiies, then dry it out. Got some ink and stuck the nib inside and voila, it works!

[fanaudical]

Windex does a remarkable job of cleaning dried ink in fountain and technical pens. Fill a vial and just soak for a bit, rinse with water.

[craigster59]

I remember the old commercial with the tagline "Keep your paws off my Parker!".

[look 171]

Dad's has always has a small note pad and a pen in his shirt pocket, always. For years, he never wore tee shirts until the final few year when he got sick. I always remember the one type of Parker pen. The ones with the push button on top. Was fountain pens sort of jewelry for men back in the 50 or 60s?

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by look 171

Dad's has always has a small note pad and a pen in his shirt pocket, always. For years, he never wore tee shirts until the final few year when he got sick. I always remember the one type of Parker pen. The ones with the push button on top. Was fountain pens sort of jewelry for men back in the 50 or 60s?

Parker Jotter?

[KNS]

Some Parker Pen trivia...

The grandson of the Parker Pen company founder in Janesville, Dan Parker, was a pilot and aviation enthusiast. He started Omniflight Helicopters in 1962. Omniflight became one of the largest air ambulance providers in the country.

I got hired by Omnifllight Helicopters in 1997 and met Dan's widow, JoAnne Parker, on the day of my hiring (pretty neat gal). The Omniflight logo used the same font as the Parker Pen logo. Unfortunately, Omniflight got absorbed by Air Methods Corp and is no longer. One of the best companies I flew for.

[Cairo94507]

Is Parker still in business? I have several Pelican fountain pens (not related to this site) and one was in the condition you describe. I contacted Pelican and shipped the pen to them and they restored and returned it for the price of shipping.

[Danimal16]

Originally Posted by Cairo94507

Is Parker still in business? I have several Pelican fountain pens (not related to this site) and one was in the condition you describe. I contacted Pelican and shipped the pen to them and they restored and returned it for the price of shipping.

Yes, they are.
https://www.parkerpen.com/pen-care-guides.html

[Danimal16]

Fountain Pen Hospital has been my go to for over 25 years.

https://www.fountainpenhospital.com

[Danimal16]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

Windex does a remarkable job of cleaning dried ink in fountain and technical pens. Fill a vial and just soak for a bit, rinse with water.

I would not recommend using windex on an old pen without conferring with a repair shop or other reliable expert. The resins and plastics used back in the day can react very differently. It depends on the era the pen was manufactured.

[mjohnson]

If windex or similar don't work - it might have had iron gall ink in it (diamine registrars is the archetype). In that case, because those inks are actually acidic, use some citric acid. Can be found at a homebrew shop or in a grocery, probably in the kosher section, as "sour salt". That'll dissolve what's left.

Leo Divinci wrote with gall ink, and that's why his stuff lasted so long.

Fountain Pen Hospital can do restoration and fixes but they're also "hospital" priced (but very good). I think Nibs.com is still running - there are lots of places to get parts like sacs. Being a Parker they're not uncommon so it should be relatively easy to get up and going again.

[mjohnson]

And I cringe while I think of it, there are some very very cheap repos of Parker pens coming out of China, like the 51. For $5-10 you could get an organ donor. The nibs are crap but the guts might be useful.

[NutmegCarrera]

Parker was sold to Gillette in 1993.
Subsequently sold to Newell brands.
US manufacturing has ceased, and operations continue out of France. Manufacturing in multiple countries, including (gasp, surprise - China!) as well as th UK and France.
I had an aunt who worked on the line in Janesville. From what I recall, the labor force was largely made up of a bunch of bitter, nasty, (and union) bitc#es. Their husbands largely worked in the GM assembly line - also in Janesville, Wi - and also no longer open.

Great pens. I have a good number of them.

[stevej37]

The last time I used a fountain pen...I had to fill it from one of these reservoirs.

[rockfan4]

My aunt worked for Parker Pen for many, many years. Retired from there.
Guess what I got for a graduation present?
Want to guess what my brother got?

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by stevej37

The last time I used a fountain pen...I had to fill it from one of these reservoirs.

My 8th grade teacher used to squeeze our heads in there when we pushed him too far. It happened a lot but never the girls.

[sc_rufctr]

I have what could be described as "a small collection of fountain pens". I prefer them to ball point pens including gel ink or a "roller ball". I started a thread about keeping a journal some time ago but that went over like a fart in a sauna... LOL

Does anybody here keep a Journal?

The best way to clean them for a novice is with warm water and a mild detergent. Just use the pen's mechanism to suck up the water and squirt it out again over and over. If the ink is not water soluble (rare) you could try something like isopropyl alcohol. I would not recommend anything like thinners or the harsher solvents. If all else fails try some autobody wax and grease remover but only as a last resort... Unfortunately some pens are not recoverable.

If you're a fountain pen enthusiast like me I'd recommend an ultrasonic cleaner. You may think that's over kill but trust me you'll find lots of things that need cleaning once you own one of these "Bad Boys". Try to find a bigger one in stainless steel. Some can be found for around $100 but like always you really do get what you pay for... And I'd bet your wife/significant other will fully approve of the purchase (jewelry cleaning).

Ultrasonic cleaner?

(Not my photo)