Triumph nib pens: help?

**Sailor Kenshin** · June 11th, 2015, 08:10 AM

Oh great...a new pen-session....

Last year I bought a lot of five or so pens because they were all Parkers, except for this one Sheaffer with a Triumph nib. I wrote with it a while, then cleaned and put it away...but the full-fledged obsession just hit.

Where's the best place to find info on the nibs, the pens that 'wear' them, and the filling systems? This is some form of plunger-fill but I am unsure if it's Touchdown, or what.

How do I date and ID this pen? It's an admitted Frankenpen with a non-matching Admiral cap that more or less fits. The nib reads Sheaffer'S, 14k, and is probably a fine. I love it.

And...where's the best place to get more?

Thanks! I appreciate any help you can offer!

**Laura N** · June 11th, 2015, 08:52 AM

Great pens. There is a lot of information out there, but I always start with Richard Binder myself.

**jar** · June 11th, 2015, 09:31 AM

Step one. Is plunger fat or skinny, a tube or a stick?

**Sailor Kenshin** · June 11th, 2015, 10:08 AM

Thanks. I have nothing to calibrate fat or skinny, though, or tube or stick, but I just filled the pen this morning and what was attached to the blind cap appears to be metal, and not what I'd call skinny?

Sorry to sound so ignorant.

It writes really well, too!

**Laura N** · June 11th, 2015, 10:15 AM

"Stick" means it looks like a metal rod, which is thin, which goes through a rubber-looking plug. That would be a plunger filler, or vacuum filler.

"Tube" means it looks more like a metal straw, much wider, and it goes down with a "whoosh." That would be a touchdown filler.

**Jon Szanto** · June 11th, 2015, 10:58 AM

Indeed, a wealth of information on Binder's site, even as we narrow it down...

Sailor, the two metal tubes can easily be told apart: the thin version, a Vac-Fil, is about the size of a slightly fat wire clothes hanger; the thick version, the Touchdown filler, is much wider, just a bit less than the inside diameter of the barrel, or around a pencil size. Imagine that the sac for the pen is *inside* the tube, which it is.

When looking to ID the pen, there is a bit of confusion, because while there was a line of pens that were called Triumph, the conical nib design also goes by that name, and continued forward, into other models (like Tuckaways and Snorkels).

As is always the case, a photo or two could have the pen sussed out in a jiffy. Congrats - Triumph nibs can be some of the very best writing nibs around.

**Sailor Kenshin** · June 11th, 2015, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by Laura N

"Stick" means it looks like a metal rod, which is thin, which goes through a rubber-looking plug. That would be a plunger filler, or vacuum filler.

"Tube" means it looks more like a metal straw, much wider, and it goes down with a "whoosh." That would be a touchdown filler.

That is a GREAT reference, Laura...thanks.

Thanks, also to JS. I just filled it, so am a little skeert to pull the blind cap. Should I be?

Ps: Just cautiously took a peek. Fat. Therfore, Touchdown? I think I filled it incorrectly, too, but o welz...again, many thanks!

**Jon Szanto** · June 11th, 2015, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by Sailor Kenshin

Thanks, also to JS. I just filled it, so am a little skeert to pull the blind cap. Should I be?

Well, there's no rush, though you should be able to remember what it looks like. Anyway, be certain of the filling instructions, as they both will fill pretty much the same way: slowly pull the plunger (by holding the blind cap) all the way back; insert nib into ink, immersing up to, and including, a bit of the section; push in the blind cap in one quick motion, wait for a moment for the ink to fill the cavity (maybe just a couple more seconds if it is the Touchdown filler, as you are waiting for the internal sac to fully expand with ink); and then screw in the blind cap.

I never get tired of watching this (this is a classic Vac-Fill, with the narrow (wire) plunger rod):