Two old Sheaffers

[Holsworth]

Hello all. I took a walk in to town today to have a look around the local antique centre, hoping to find a nice box of some sort to store letters in. What I found was a pile of old Sheaffer fountain pens. I couldn't walk away, and two of them ended up coming home with me after a very quick inspection in the shop.

So, what I think I have is a Sheaffer Touchdown TM (the blue one), and I'm not sure of the other. Both have 14k nibs. I've given them a quick clean through but could do with a little advice on each one, if anyone can help.

the first is the Touchdown TM. I've taken the nib and feed off, and given both a clean. I had to put it in some hot water to unscrew it, and it needs a new sac (this one is completely solid). The only problem I can see with this is one broken fin on the feed - will this be a problem?

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3882/15154846581_3cba1bd3c2_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/p6bxUi)
IMAG5096 (https://flic.kr/p/p6bxUi) by shes0nfire (https://www.flickr.com/people/9667998@N07/), on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3878/15157432862_749607335b_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/p6pNHm)
IMAG5090 (https://flic.kr/p/p6pNHm) by shes0nfire (https://www.flickr.com/people/9667998@N07/), on Flickr


The second is an as yet unidentified Sheaffer. The sac seems good, the lever works fine, the problem is the nib/feed. They both came out without much pressure and after cleaning either the nib seems to be too short, or the feed too narrow (at a guess). With the feed in as far as it can possibly go, the nib will slide in (as show in the photos below) without putting much pressure on the paper. Can this be fixed?

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5555/14971094739_e6f33e84a0_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oNWLT6)
IMAG5091 (https://flic.kr/p/oNWLT6) by shes0nfire (https://www.flickr.com/people/9667998@N07/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5576/14971154370_231a6b8b47_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oNX5Bd)
IMAG5095 (https://flic.kr/p/oNX5Bd) by shes0nfire (https://www.flickr.com/people/9667998@N07/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5561/14971251988_a34f2a5210_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oNXzCh)
IMAG5094 (https://flic.kr/p/oNXzCh) by shes0nfire (https://www.flickr.com/people/9667998@N07/), on Flickr

Any advice gratefully received!

[kirchh]

Broken fin shouldn't cause a problem, but the Touchdown will likely need a new O-ring at the back end of the barrel, at a minimum.

The second pen has the wrong gripping section; that probably explains the fit problem with the nib/feed.

--Daniel

[mhosea]

Daniel, is that a Valiant cap on a TD Statesman?

A couple of those TM touchdowns with the long slender nibs have crossed my desk, and I loved the nibs on both of them. My son has one, the other pen was challenged by barrel shrinkage, so I have the nib mounted on another pen.

Note that the trim ring for the Touchdown barrel has come off in the photo. Be careful with it. They are fragile when they get free of the barrel, not to mention that they can be lost if you aren't paying attention. I won't mention how I know this... :)

[RuiFromUK]

Hi Holly,

If you need further repair instrucions for the Touchdown I find this website excellent http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/repair/touchdown.htm

As mentioned above the broken fin should not be much of a problem unless there is more damage somewhere else. As mentioned you might have to replace at least one o-ring and the sac.

Usually I get the necessary consumables from either eBay or http://www.vintagepensacsandparts.com/product.php/8/2/sheaffer_snorkel___touchdown_repair_ink_sac_kits.

The feed on the second pen seems to be too far forward. A good start is to align the shoulders (widest part) of the nib and the ink feed or is it the wrong feed / nib combinaion as mentioned already?

Hopefully this helps.

[kirchh]

Daniel, is that a Valiant cap on a TD Statesman?


Does look a bit of a mix. The second pen not only has the wrong section, but also the wrong nib to go with the cap.

--Daniel

[kirchh]

Note that the trim ring for the Touchdown barrel has come off in the photo. Be careful with it. They are fragile when they get free of the barrel, not to mention that they can be lost if you aren't paying attention. I won't mention how I know this... :)

I'm not seeing that the trim ring is missing...can you be more specific?

--Daniel

[mhosea]

Note that the trim ring for the Touchdown barrel has come off in the photo. Be careful with it. They are fragile when they get free of the barrel, not to mention that they can be lost if you aren't paying attention. I won't mention how I know this... :)

I'm not seeing that the trim ring is missing...can you be more specific?

--Daniel

Not "missing". The trim ring that goes on the end of the TD barrel stayed against the threads rather than coming off with the barrel in the first photo. That means it's not stuck to the barrel at all (not that they are ever stuck on that well, I think). I'm just pointing out that it's a small, fragile, easily lost part, so just pay some attention to it when removing the barrel for any reason.

[kirchh]

Note that the trim ring for the Touchdown barrel has come off in the photo. Be careful with it. They are fragile when they get free of the barrel, not to mention that they can be lost if you aren't paying attention. I won't mention how I know this... :)

I'm not seeing that the trim ring is missing...can you be more specific?

--Daniel

Not "missing". The trim ring that goes on the end of the TD barrel stayed against the threads rather than coming off with the barrel in the first photo. That means it's not stuck to the barrel at all (not that they are ever stuck on that well, I think). I'm just pointing out that it's a small, fragile, easily lost part, so just pay some attention to it when removing the barrel for any reason.

I stand corrected, and your observation is quite accurate. That ring can stray, and it is susceptible to accidental squashing, as you note.

--Daniel

[HughC]

Daniel, is that a Valiant cap on a TD Statesman?

A couple of those TM touchdowns with the long slender nibs have crossed my desk, and I loved the nibs on both of them. My son has one, the other pen was challenged by barrel shrinkage, so I have the nib mounted on another pen.

Note that the trim ring for the Touchdown barrel has come off in the photo. Be careful with it. They are fragile when they get free of the barrel, not to mention that they can be lost if you aren't paying attention. I won't mention how I know this... :)

It's correct, the Stateman and Valiant have the same cap.

Regards
Hugh

[Holsworth]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Do you think it would be possible to get the second one working with a different feed, making it a bit of a frankenpen?

[HughC]

Daniel, is that a Valiant cap on a TD Statesman?

A couple of those TM touchdowns with the long slender nibs have crossed my desk, and I loved the nibs on both of them. My son has one, the other pen was challenged by barrel shrinkage, so I have the nib mounted on another pen.

Note that the trim ring for the Touchdown barrel has come off in the photo. Be careful with it. They are fragile when they get free of the barrel, not to mention that they can be lost if you aren't paying attention. I won't mention how I know this... :)

It's correct, the Stateman and Valiant have the same cap.

Regards
Hugh

Edit to add : I should mention there are two open nib TM TD models (Sovereign & Statesman), the base model (Sovereign) has the long slender nib , the narrow cap band and no WD on cap while the Statesman as pictured has has a wider nib.

[kirchh]

Daniel, is that a Valiant cap on a TD Statesman?

A couple of those TM touchdowns with the long slender nibs have crossed my desk, and I loved the nibs on both of them. My son has one, the other pen was challenged by barrel shrinkage, so I have the nib mounted on another pen.

Note that the trim ring for the Touchdown barrel has come off in the photo. Be careful with it. They are fragile when they get free of the barrel, not to mention that they can be lost if you aren't paying attention. I won't mention how I know this... :)

It's correct, the Stateman and Valiant have the same cap.

Regards
Hugh

Hugh is correct, as this is a TM (Thin Model) -- it's the non-TM (fatter) Statesman and Valiant that have slightly different caps. Those fatter Touchdowns came first, with the TM instruments following; the first thin model implement appeared in '49.

--Daniel

[mhosea]

Daniel, is that a Valiant cap on a TD Statesman?

It's correct, the Stateman and Valiant have the same cap.

Regards
Hugh

Edit to add : I should mention there are two open nib TM TD models (Sovereign & Statesman), the base model (Sovereign) has the long slender nib , the narrow cap band and no WD on cap while the Statesman as pictured has has a wider nib.

Ah, it's Sovereign's nib that I like, then, though with a sample size of just 2, it might be a random thing.

Just realized that I was looking at the wrong page before, looking at the early "fat" TDs and thinking about the later TM TDs. My bad. That cap band does match my son's Statesman TM.

[mhosea]

Do you think it would be possible to get the second one working with a different feed, making it a bit of a frankenpen?

Finding a feed to match an arbitrary section is not easy. Your best bet would be to secure a standard-size, later-model Balance grip section with feed. These come available when the pen is damaged beyond repair or if somebody has harvested the nib for scrap. You may find a pen repairman who will sell you one (or repair the pen for you for a reasonable price), or you might keep an eye out on Ebay for a pen sold for "parts", though often these are sold in lots with a lot of other scrap. Scroll down to the image labeled "Sheaffer Balance points" here

http://www.rickconner.net/penspotters/sheaffer.balance.html

It's the second from the left. Many are transparent towards the barrel end so that you can see the ink supply. This shouldn't matter. Note the three different girths, though.

[Holsworth]

Well it took me a while, but I finally found time today to sit down and get the Touchdown fixed, and I'm still slightly amazed I didn't mess it up! My first pen repair :-)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7494/15053835584_5cb657b964_o.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oWfQRo)

(apologies for the rubbish phone photo)

[mhosea]

Congratulations on your first repair. Hopefully the first of many.