Favorite Sheaffers??

[Kelly G]

I think Sheaffer was perhaps the most innovative of the pen companies of the Golden Era and beyond. I know it can be argued many ways and not all the "innovations" were originally their idea, but the did make them marketable. The lever filler, the "balance" shape, the vac filler (certainly not original), the triumph nib and my favorite filling system, the Snorkel. You have to love a pen that has too many moving parts, an extending snorkel tube, and that doubles as a squirt gun. The filling system is an engineering wonder and at the same time just isn't necessary, but as gimmicks go, it was a great one.

As far as writing goes, I really like the OS Sheaffer Balance pens. I've been carrying a brown striped vac filler model for a few months and it a superb pen. It holds a ton of ink and that big two toned nib is eye-catching.

I also think if you are looking for EF nibs, there are some Triumph nibs that are hard to beat.

So what are your favorite Sheaffer's?

[Okami]

I love my Sheaffer Statesman, Snorkel, Triumph F4 PdAg nib

[dannzeman]

The OS Balance ranks very highly on my list but I also love the PFMs.

Sent from my DAMAGEDHERO200 using Tapatalk

[TWRDO]

I don't know that I've had enough Sheaffers to have a favorite, but I picked up an Admiral Snorkel to fix up and resell and haven't been able to let it go. It's got a Gregg nib and writes wonderfully, and I have a feeling it'll be staying on my desk.

[PMS]

I have six Sheaffers, I have two which I use frequently, both lever fill, one is a Craftsman with a flexie Feathertouch nib, and the other is a late 30's Balance with a Lifetime fine point nib with a little bit of give. Both are a joy to write with and one can write with them for very long periods of time.
PMS

[Kelly G]

I have six Sheaffers, I have two which I use frequently, both lever fill, one is a Craftsman with a flexie Feathertouch nib, and the other is a late 30's Balance with a Lifetime fine point nib with a little bit of give. Both are a joy to write with and one can write with them for very long periods of time.
PMS
The Feathertouch nibs are wonderful aren't they? I believe that Sheaffer produced some of the best nibs around. I have a whole bunch of vintage Sheaffer pens and most all of them had nibs that either only needed cleaned up or minor tweaking. Their nibs were sturdy with plenty of tipping material. The triumph nibs are nearly indestructible - unless you take your pliers to them of course.

[Ernst Bitterman]

Early version "Fat" Valiant touchdown. All the nice of the vac-filling triumphs (except colour choices) without the evils when repair-time rolls around. A close second are the dirt-cheap cartridge pens, holding their place against other contestants through the power of nostalgia. You never forget your first pen.

[southpaw52]

Greetings,
I love the Snorkels, Liftime Balances. Vintage Sheaffers are normally in good working even after years of serivice. With some TlC Sheaffers could go on writing forever. In an age where most things are disopble it is refreshing to use a vintage Sheaffer. The quality and craftmanship is excellent, it is a statement of an era gone by, where quality and craftmanship has become so poor.

[Kelly G]

Greetings,
I love the Snorkels, Liftime Balances. Vintage Sheaffers are normally in good working even after years of serivice. With some TlC Sheaffers could go on writing forever. In an age where most things are disopble it is refreshing to use a vintage Sheaffer. The quality and craftmanship is excellent, it is a statement of an era gone by, where quality and craftmanship has become so poor.

Isn't that the truth! I think for the money the vintage Sheaffer is about the best pen deal around. You can still get a pedestrian OS Black Balance for around $100 and sometimes less. You can't beat a deal like that. I don't know how many Snorkels and Touchdowns I have - a bunch; mainly because when I was in my mass accumulation phase I could get vintage Sheaffers cheaper than any other major pen brand. And they are top quality. Love the Sheaffers.

[MarvinCB]

Turns out the majority of my collection is Sheaffer. Didn't do that on purpose. The latest is a nice little green striped Balance Jr. that has a medium flex nib and a good writer.

[penspouse]

I like the tucky's with the triumph nib.

[riffraff]

Picked up my first vintage Sheaffer just the other day. I believe it to be a "Defender?"
Nib says "Feather Touch 5," the barrel says "500," and it has an over-the-top military clip. Golden-brown striated lever-fill.

[Ernst Bitterman]

I think you're right-- Commandant would have a #3 point, and the other two mil-clips have white dots.

[liapuyat]

I have 8 Sheaffers, of which 3 are lever-filler Frankenpens with different-colored body parts (assembled by a friend). My favorite is a black PFM III with a really smooth F nib - the girth of the pen makes it comfortable to hold, the snorkel filler is easy to use and the wet nib is a joy to write with. I rotate my pens, so all of them get used. Sheaffer made really, really smooth writing nibs!

[ccb]

Love mostly the 90's CREST. Have 10 of them.

[klpeabody]

I have a Sheaffer Imperial IV with gold nib and touchdown filling mechanism. I love it. It's been a faithful friend indeed, and is one of my favorite pens. I agree with what another poster said, their EF triumph nibs are pretty amazing. I have two pens sporting an EF triumph nib, and they put down a needle-fine line. I'm still relatively new to fountain pens, but thus far, my favorite nibs have been the vintage Sheaffers.

[KrazyIvan]

My first fountain pen was a Sheaffer school pen. I now have a Statesman, No Nonsense and a Javelin that was ground to an italic by the previous owner. The Javelin is my favorite, especially since I got the converter for it. No more ink drying out faster than I can use it and it fixed the flow issues I had with cartridges.

[Woody]

My PFM's - nice weight and excellent posters. Favorite lately is my only Sheaffer Valor. Love it.

[jor412]

I really enjoy writing with my Targa and Craftsman, although the Targa has a skipping problem which I haven't figured out yet.

[johndrake]

Hello All. This is my first post. Just arrived from the other FP site and liked the geek of the week feature. Beyond the fascination with pens and such it is people such as Brian from Edison and the Goulets that make it something more. We all contribute in a way whether online or at the local pen club. Writing is a dying art that few pay any attention to in this electronic age.
I believe my first FP was a Sheaffer school pen, then I bought a No Nonsense Medium that I still have some 30 years later. I saved my pennies and bought a Stainless Steel Targa which I still use. I have about a dozen targas now, including a ball point, a pencil and two roller balls - one is a slim brass model.
I have an Imperial II deluxe with the TD filler and a fine Triumph nib. Very smooth writer. I prefer the weight and feel of a metal pen but the Sailor 1911 with Zoom nib may allow me to appreciate the plastic body pens. Good size and balance not unlike a PFM which I intend to acquire someday. There is a pen club member who has a Blue and silver one he may sell... The Lamy Studio is similar in size to a targa. So for me it keeps coming back to the Classic targa. I just purchased a black GT online this week. Just can' t get enough of a good thing.

[jor412]

Hello All. This is my first post. Just arrived from the other FP site and liked the geek of the week feature. Beyond the fascination with pens and such it is people such as Brian from Edison and the Goulets that make it something more. We all contribute in a way whether online or at the local pen club. Writing is a dying art that few pay any attention to in this electronic age.
I believe my first FP was a Sheaffer school pen, then I bought a No Nonsense Medium that I still have some 30 years later. I saved my pennies and bought a Stainless Steel Targa which I still use. I have about a dozen targas now, including a ball point, a pencil and two roller balls - one is a slim brass model.
I have an Imperial II deluxe with the TD filler and a fine Triumph nib. Very smooth writer. I prefer the weight and feel of a metal pen but the Sailor 1911 with Zoom nib may allow me to appreciate the plastic body pens. Good size and balance not unlike a PFM which I intend to acquire someday. There is a pen club member who has a Blue and silver one he may sell... The Lamy Studio is similar in size to a targa. So for me it keeps coming back to the Classic targa. I just purchased a black GT online this week. Just can' t get enough of a good thing.

I had forgotten that I have a Sheaffer No Nonsense pen with a fine italic nib and that got me hooked on italic nibs. I also just bought two Sheaffer Imperials -- one VIII TD and a sterling silver TD, both with fine 14kt nibs. So far my favorite Sheaffer is still the Targa. Its skipping problem is due to a broken feed which I will fix when the replacement feed arrives, but the nib is excellent to write with.

[onefallingleaf]

I have about a dozen Sheaffer's and I love all of them. My favorite, however, is an old Military Balance piston fill with a Feather Touch #5 nib that is a wonderfully smooth writer.It also holds a huge supply of ink. I bought this pen on Flea Bay six or seven years ago and I often wonder about its history The finish on the barrel is flaking off and it would win no beauty contests nonetheless it is a treasure to me 661

[Maja]

Probably my Snorkel with factory 3-tined music nib, because of its rarity.
My first fountain pen was a Sheaffer NoNonsense and I collect those, so that's another favourite....but there are too many great Sheaffer pen models to limit my choice to just one. Great question, though! :)

[jonro]

I'm a big fan of vintage Sheaffers. They were, arguably, for reasons mentioned above, the most innovative fountain pen company. Walter Sheaffer was inspirational, too. In the early 1900s, the fiftyish Sheaffer founded his eponymous pen company at an age that most people would retire and built it into one of the top pen companies in the world.

My favorite Sheaffers are my golden age OS Balances, my PFMs and some of the Triumph-nibbed pens. Amazing writers, all, they feel great in the hand.

[chad.trent]

I have quite a few Sheaffers that I love. I have a Sheaffer/Levenger Connoisseur that is probably my favorite. I also have a Balance that is probably a close second. I also have an old Sheaffer that was given to my father as a graduation present that means a lot to me.

[jd50ae]

My favorite Sheaffer is hands down the NoNonsense series. They write every time the first time.

[CS388]

At school, I had a Sheaffer Stylist. It had the double sided nib - one side broad, the other fine.

Even now, I marvel at that inventiveness and sheer practicality.
Just flip the pen over and use the broad to make crucial parts of the writing stand out; keywords, subtitles, headers etc.

Still got it, although it's in bits. Needs a complete rebuild and probably a few parts replacing. Unforgettable pen, though.

[cedargirl]

At school, I had a Sheaffer Stylist. It had the double sided nib - one side broad, the other fine.

Even now, I marvel at that inventiveness and sheer practicality.
Just flip the pen over and use the broad to make crucial parts of the writing stand out; keywords, subtitles, headers etc.

Still got it, although it's in bits. Needs a complete rebuild and probably a few parts replacing. Unforgettable pen, though.

What's not to love about Sheaffers.

I didn't know that Sheaffer did that with its nibs. I knew it was famously done by at least one Japanese nibmeister - and that Richard Binder (and maybe others) grinds nibs two ways. But I didn't know it had any historical basis. Which side was the normal side and which was upside down?

[CS388]

...snip...
Which side was the normal side and which was upside down?

Well, both sides were the normal side, oddly enough.
The nib was a flat piece sandwiched between two feeds.
At least, that's what it looked like, I believe that only one of them was an actual feed - but the nib was in the middle.

I'll try to find, or take, a picture and upload it later - it's easy to see but difficult to describe.

Thanks

Edited to add:
My photos are phone snaps. They are purely for technical guidance and have no artistic merit.
To give an idea of how it worked, my old (beaten up) Stylist nib. In profile:

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af351/shoulderhead/Sylistnibprofile_zpse52eae83.jpg (http://s1023.photobucket.com/user/shoulderhead/media/Sylistnibprofile_zpse52eae83.jpg.html)

And the component parts:

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af351/shoulderhead/Stylistnibcomponentparts_zpsd75f6d41.jpg (http://s1023.photobucket.com/user/shoulderhead/media/Stylistnibcomponentparts_zpsd75f6d41.jpg.html)

Just dip tested it and it still works, smooth as butter.

First time I've done this. If photos too large, I will remove and resize etc.
Thanks.

[jacksterp]

Only have one, so the choice is easy. An Imperial II but a smooth, reliable and very enjoyable writer.

I could easily be talked into another - and probably another.

[nxn96]

By and large, I think the Sheaffer Triumph and Inlaid nibs often provide some of the smoothest writing experiences known. I've got a couple of Snorkels, but I think the Touchdowns are the better value, since more people are chasing after the Snorkel system.

My favorite? Probably an Imperial with a 14k gold inlaid nib. When me and the Missus were engaged and were addressing our wedding invitations, I used my Parker 75 and loaned her my Imperial, as it was the smoother writer.

Sentimental favorite? My father's Snorkel- a Burgundy Sentinel. There's probably a reason why my own 51 Aerometric is a Burgundy with a Lustraloy cap/gold clip....