Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Spiral grip

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    3,118
    Thanks
    874
    Thanked 2,528 Times in 1,299 Posts
    Rep Power
    13

    Default Spiral grip

    Anyone else know anything about this?
    Last edited by Empty_of_Clouds; March 14th, 2020 at 03:39 AM.

  2. The Following User Says Thank You to Empty_of_Clouds For This Useful Post:

    catbert (December 14th, 2019)

  3. #2
    Senior Member Ron Z's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Location
    Western Pennsylvania
    Posts
    611
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 1,085 Times in 396 Posts
    Rep Power
    5

    Default Re: Spiral grip

    The surface treatment gives some traction for a good grip on the section with less effort. The spiral I suspect, is just the result of the way it was applied - the spiral being in essence a shallow cut screw thread. Cutting a thread is a simple lathe operation that gives rings, evenly spaced, instead of having to disengage the bit and move it over a little at a time for each ring. I imagine that most people don't look close enough to notice that it's a spiral instead of individual rings cut into the material. A taper bar would move the cross feed, allowing the bit to follow the contour of the material instead of the lathe operator having to do it manually. I think that Cross did the same thing on their Classic metal pens.

  4. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to Ron Z For This Useful Post:

    catbert (December 14th, 2019), Chemyst (December 14th, 2019), Chrissy (December 11th, 2019), Jon Szanto (December 11th, 2019), silverlifter (December 11th, 2019)

  5. #3
    Senior Member stub's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Daegu, Korea
    Posts
    1,066
    Thanks
    224
    Thanked 791 Times in 401 Posts
    Rep Power
    11

    Default Re: Spiral grip

    Quote Originally Posted by Empty_of_Clouds View Post
    Now, whether this has ever been proven to provide the (presumably) claimed benefits, I do not know. What I do know is that I like the feel of it under my fingers. This is not a design element that I am aware of occurring on any other vintage or modern pens, although to be fair my experience is immeasurably far short of being exhaustive.


    Anyone else know anything about this? Anyone equally excited to hear about?
    I am a full on Sheaffer nerd. & I love those grooves. I find those section cozy. You'll note the otherwise excellent and overlooked 1990s Crest RI is a c/c version without the spiral groove and I for one miss it.

  6. #4
    Senior Member stub's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Daegu, Korea
    Posts
    1,066
    Thanks
    224
    Thanked 791 Times in 401 Posts
    Rep Power
    11

    Default Re: Spiral grip

    Quote Originally Posted by Empty_of_Clouds View Post
    Hadn't realised how much I liked it, took using Dad's old Valiant for a while to appreciate the concept. Now I am looking to go in the Sheaffer direction and collect a few different models/colours.
    I like most of the Sheaffer pneumatic pens (TD or snorkel). The "lowly" Admiral open nib 14k pen is fantastic pen that is easy to find and punches way above its weight. Those Sheaffer #5 nibs are very nice. They have a little spiral *and* have a little flair out at the section. These are especially nice in the hand and I find these pens very very consistent. Big fan of these in M for everyday scribbling.

    Sovereigns and Saratogas are also good (the admiral's two tone big brothers) but I have a soft spot for the humble Admiral. Those single tone #5 nibs are often a bit softer and wetter. The Special is a PdAg version of the Admiral. Similar. I prefer the Admiral, even though I LOVE the imprint on the Special that looks like so.



    I currently don't have one and am looking. No reason other than I love Sheaffers and those look cool.

    I personally like the slightly fatter early Touchdown models or the later snorkels. The TM Touchdowns are a little small. I enjoy how long the Snorkels are. For me that makes up for the thinness of the sections somewhat.

    Clippers and Statesmans are PdAg and a little different experience.

    Valiant, Sentinel, Crest, Autograph, & Signature are the same but with different caps. Any of those are good for me.

    My personal faves are probably the Admiral & the Sentinel. But I am fine with any of the M5 nibs. They are glorious.

    Wild Card is the TD open nib Statesman with the slightly insane #8 nib. Sheaffer put a lot of big nibs on small pens. On paper this is the best of the bunch. But I have had 4 of these and none have really worked out for me. The nibs do point down a bit like po nib and like the earlier Balance nibs instead of and upturn so that might be the reason I don't get on with them (though the same thing on the balance bothers me not at all, so it make be luck of the drawn).

    Best round nib: probably my 1937(ish) open nib Crest.
    My best conical nib is a TD desk pen or the M5 from my Autograph.

    The edged nibs are all fantastic.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •