Parker 21 repair

[gearchow]

I got this Parker 21 that refuses to take in or expel out ink/water. I've soaked the nib for days. The sac is still fairly pliable, but maybe not enough. I only managed to strip it down this far. Now I need to get the filler mechanism off so I can see if the feed is clogged or it's just the sac. Either way, the section has to come off and I don't know if it is screwed on or press fit on or what:



-jim

 

[LouSee]

Annoyingly Parker "21"s have both press-fit and threads feed/nib assemblies. And since the datecodes are unreliable and caps can get swapped, it's hard to tell from looking. It shouldn't be jammed in tight enough that trying the wrong way will break the feed.

If you've been soaking it in water, try 10:1 water:ammonia - that's 1 part ammonia to 10 parts water. plain regular stuff, not the sudsy ammonia. leave it in overnight - just the nib/feed/collector bits, not the whole pen. ultrasonics are made for this too but you need to be careful with 40+ year old plastic like this...

 

[gearchow]

Thanks, knowing that it was probably a press fit - and I only spent $3 on it - I got my mojo up and managed to pull the metal piece or what ever it's called off. I'm soaking the nib in a bit of ammonia now. I'll put a new sac on it anyways even though it feels fine. It's a cheap pen, but the nib writes nice and smooth and I'm looking forward to having it in my pocket.

-jim

 

[gearchow]

Oh yeah, the ammonia/water over night did the trick. I had left it soaking in plain tap water for a few days, but it just needed that extra bit. I flushed it out really well and the sac is actually good to go. Brought it to work and have it loaded with Badger Blue. It's an octanium #49 nib, which I'm guessing is medium. It writes like a medium nib anyways.

Using the loupe I finally found a date code on the barrel near the clutch ring. It's a '9', so 1949?

One last question and that concerns the hood. If I (gently) tighten it, it is not aligned and needs to be backed off a bit to center on the nib. Was it originally kept in place (centered) with a touch of shellac or were the threads just a bit tighter. It's not visible to my eye, but under a loupe I can see slight cracks leading from the threaded portion reaching out to the nib end, which would loosen it.

It's only a concern when tightening the barrel, the hood wants to move too.

-jim

 

[oc_in_fw]

a tiny highjack- is the filler on the 21s similar to the 51 Aeros?

 

[LouSee]

yeay...

ammonia can do bad things to non-plastic pens - celluloid definitely. ebonite (hard rubber) is fine.

no idea on the date codes, sorry. richardspens.com most likely has the definitive guide on it.

the collector hood is indexed to align properly. they were shellaced because ink can leak out of those threads if they're not - which is why you need to heat it (lightly!!) to get the hood off. You should super-glue the splits to stabilize them - wrap the barrel in masking tape on the outside, burnish over the cracks with a nail to smooth it down tightly to the barrel and dab some glue on the inside with a toothpick or matchstick - thin stuff that will weep into the small cracks. then try the fit. If your "timing" is still off, you can try a super thin o-ring or something to use as a shim. I've also used really thin pieces of paper or teflon tape on things like this but careful as too much tension will cause further splits.

from my reading, the 21 is essentially a cheaper to produce version of the 51. my 21 has a regular converter, no aero sac. i don't have a 51... yeah, big gap but i'm waiting for a turquoise one.