An Intro to Collecting Sheaffer (Photos!) by David Isaacson

[Jon Szanto]

Beautiful, David. I think if I ever saw those in person (en masse) I'd faint. Or have to see the doctor after four hours...

[earthdawn]

Fantastic write up & a great read.

Great photos of pens I surly will never see in person.

Thank you VERY much for taking the time to educate us.

[amk]

What a wonderful writeup of the Sheaffer world. Having been ridiculously confused by Admirals, Craftsmans (or is it Craftsmen?), and so on for ages, it's nice to have an authoritative source to go to. And such fantastic pictures! Thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to donate this resource to FP Geekdom.

With my budget, I may have to settle for collecting my Balances in black rather than Rose Glow, though :-(

[david i]

Hi AMK,

Those of us "who know" hardly dismiss black pens. Indeed, I am the a Grand Knight (two zones, Manhattan, NY and Janesville Wisconsin) in what for years was a secret society known only to Those Who Know, The Black Pen Society, run by Grand Pewbah (knowns as His Pewbs) Paul Erano. Black is the most stable color Celluloid. Black pens long were appreciated by executives. You might wish to peek in on the Black Pen Society Page over at Facebook (though we might migrate that to a Group rather than a Page). Log in to Facebook then try this page

https://www.facebook.com/blackpensociety

I suppose I will have to offer a shot of some black Balances here soon.

regards

david

[Frank]

Thank You for a great overview on the history of Sheaffer, David!
Great tips and advice!!

-Frank

[david i]

With the recent revelation to the Greater Collecting Population of the existence of the previously secret Black Pen Society, there has been more chat of late regarding black fountain pens. I figured I'd offer a funky spread of black Sheaffer Balance pens, the purpose perhaps to show that black Balances offer some quite advanced material for those who care.

All the pens below, save the last two, are oversized black Sheaffer Balances, the final two standard girth and slender girth respectively.

All the pens are interesting, offering one or more of the following charms: scarcity, off-catalogue status, mutant Canadian findings. There are pens shown that one might not find in a lifetime of collecting.

Kudos if everything below makes sense to you, of if you know enough to recognize some challenges. Observations and comments of course are invited.

Larger image via link http://vacumania.com/essaypics/intro...G1600sharp.jpg

regards


-d

[amk]

I reorganised my collection recently to put the red mottled/rippled and black ebonite pens all in one case, and the pretty celluloids in another - they'd previously been arranged by brand and size. I have to say, while my girly heart thrills to open up the celluloid case, the sight of a whole case full of gleaming black is undeniably impressive.

No disrepect to the black pens... but I have set my heart on a rose glow. And I was underbidder on one on ebay *again* this weekend. :-(

[david i]

BTW, thanks for making this the most viewed thread in the Sheaffer forum here at FPG.

And with so few posts...

regards

david

[GING GING]

Is this a vintage sheaffer?ImageUploadedByTapatalk1408422140.508856.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1408422177.060351.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1408422229.040940.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1408422260.693037.jpg

[mrcharlie]

Current production Sheaffer® Taranis™

[GING GING]

Current production Sheaffer Taranis

Thanx mrcharlie. I thought that because it has a retro look to it

[pajaro]

This series of articles is very well written and well thought out. There is a lot of wisdom in it.

[Cyril]

This is a great thread. I am onto some Sheaffer pens and this gives ( VIRTIGEs Ha ha I am joking ) it is a great resources to learn many many more things !! Thank you David for the fabulous share !!!

[MarcoA64]

out of curiosity, the vacumania website is still selling or not? The last update dates back to 2018 and a few years have gone by. Just wondering. Thank you

[Farmboy]

David Isaacson is alive and well. You would have the most success finding him on FaceBook. He has a group there he manages.

[MarcoA64]

@farmboy, thank you very much for this info. I'm not on facebook. So I'll see if I can reach him from his website.