Jump to content

Special Review: Sheaffer Balance Lifetime And Feather Touch


rochester21

Recommended Posts

I liked these pens ever since I first saw them in pictures, back when sheaffer pens were a novelty for me. Today I have the opportunity of reviewing two sheaffer balance, both having the same iconic design, but with a different finish, size, and nib. Enjoy.

(For a better view, click on the pictures).

 

1. First impressions and appearance 4.5/5. These pens are gorgeous, in a classic, conservative way. I especially love the torpedo-like, striated design which give the Balance their distinctive look. The clips are very beautiful, with a “aerodynamic” appearance. The gold-plated rings, typical for pens of the era, give them a classic look, along with the long and narrow levers. Overall, I think this design can be regarded as the first, or one of the early modern pen designs, because it`s so streamlined.

http://i44.tinypic.com/2m36at2.jpg

 

 

2. Size and construction 4/5. I am rather impressed with the quality of the plastics which sheaffer used in making these pens. Although they are around 70 years old, they feel pretty consistent in the hand- of course, this doesn`t mean I have confidence they would survive a drop on concrete, but I would feel comfortable in using them on a daily basis. I feel mesmerized by the striated design of the smaller pen. I know it`s a feature that most of the pens from that age had(I wonder who invented it), but it looks fantastic(especially the carmine striated version), and it really puzzles me how they managed to produce this pattern in those days.

The only aspect that concerns me is that the cap rings are placed slightly inwards, leaving a lip that can crack if the user is not careful when the pens are posted. Sure, the black balance 500 is big enough to be used without posting the cap, but they post ok without pressing too hard on the cap- and the balance is great. The bigger, sheaffer 500 13.7 cm long closed and 1.2 cm in diameter, while the smaller, 350(I think) sized pen is 12.2 cm in length and 1 cm in diameter. The weight is medium-light on both.

http://i41.tinypic.com/2ih6uet.jpg

 

 

There are a couple of drawbacks that I noticed- although the section is slighly larger in diameter at the end, they feel rather slippery, and the short size of the sheaffer 350 might be uncomfortable to use for some people. Also, the sleek clips are very stiff, which doesn`t make them very useful.

 

The caps screw-on, and my impression on my pens is that the grooves are somehow worn, because it takes only 1 turn to fully close the cap. But they close properly and I can feel when the cap reaches the end of the grooves, so that`s ok.

The levers also work properly, and seem to be spring-loaded, which makes them pleasant to use.

Oh, almost forgot. The ink windows are rather useful during use, although the user can only see when the ink is running out, one can`t really check the ink level by looking though them. Still, a nice addition.

 

 

3. Nibs and writing- 4.5/5. Ah, the nibs. These are probably the best looking nibs I have ever seen. Apart from the platinum mask found both on the feather touch no.5 nib and the lifetime nib, I really like the writing, the rather rich imprints on these nibs. Not deep, but very detailed and clear, they just make the nibs look very smart(very “the real deal”).

http://i42.tinypic.com/n6f0v6.jpg

 

 

Now, the writing part. I have read opinions according to which the feather touch and the lifetime names are simply part of the marketing, but it doesn`t feel that way on my pens. Thus, although both gold nibs are firm, the feather touch nib does feel clearly softer than the lifetime nib, which feels stiff and less smooth, providing more tactile feedback. The size is also different, the lifetime nib is slightly narrower and longer than the wider feather touch nib.

 

The nibs are both fine, with very little tipping left. And yet, these nibs are really smooth. The lifetime nib had a bit of tooth, which I did remove by using some micromesh(just a little), but the feather touch is clearly my favorite, although it is slightly drier than the other pen. So the 350 with lifetime nib is about 6.5/10 on the wetness scale, while the black 500 with feather touch nib is about 4/10 in wetness- it would have been perfect if it was just a bit wetter.

http://i43.tinypic.com/25p1j0l.jpg

 

 

Obviously, because we are talking about pens manufactured 70 years ago, the experience will differ on each pen, depending on the condition on the nib and the person who restored the pen. But I am happy with my pens and I can give a solid 4/5 in terms of smoothness for the lifetime nib and 4.5/5 for the feather touch. Both nibs offer very little resistance on paper, are surprisingly smooth and have character in them, feature than some modern pens seem to miss.

 

 

 

4. Filling mechanism 4/5. Although I am a cartridge filler fan, I don`t have an issue with these lever fillers. They are pretty elegant and they get the job done. One thing I regret is the fact that they are harder to fill with ink when the bottle is nearly empty, and the user can`t really tell how much ink is in there. Haven`t tested out the capacity of the fillers.

 

 

5. Price and final consideration. So I paid 75 dollars shipped for these classic, vintage, gold-nibbed and restored pens, which I think is an excellent deal. I mean, this is the price of a crummy parker sonnet, with no character and an ugly steel nib. I really like these pens because they are the fountain pen world equivalent of a classic sports car that can be used on a daily basis, the difference being that you don`t have to break the bank to get a sheaffer balance.

 

I imagine that in the US, where these pens are very common, people don`t appreciate them the way I do(me being an outsider), but one has to give them credit for what they are- living legends :)

http://i41.tinypic.com/2ljixp0.jpg

Edited by rochester21
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 6
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • lovemy51

    1

  • rochester21

    1

  • vondauster

    1

  • chiaroscuro

    1

Top Posters In This Topic

awesome pens and nice review! i think they used celluloid in those days not plastic... i'm no expert.

 

thanx and enjoy those beauties!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rest assured there is no shortage of people in the US who appreciate Sheaffer Balance pens, myself included. I'd also advise taking a look at the striated Craftsman pens from the 1940s as well: these tend to have the cap ring flush with the bottom of the cap. They tend to be almost exactly 5" long, so fit easily in today's cheap, shorter shirt pockets.

 

Will

-----------------

 

Will von Dauster

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great review. I've been curious about these for a while, especially in the greenish gray striped acrylic. Just yesterday I got a streamlined pencil in the mail (matte black, without the white dot) -- I was very impressed with the quality of what back then was a run-of-the-mill instrument.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the balance was one of the best pens ever made by sheaffer, enjoy your pens

Pens are like watches , once you start a collection, you can hardly go back. And pens like all fine luxury items do improve with time

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I was given one of these yesterday by someone who paid $10. Looks good on the outside except the nib is "sprung". Nothing rattles when I shake it, but I'm not competent to disassemble and inspect it. Any advice where to find a new nib?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a bunch of Sheaffers of different descriptions. I, too, like the aesthetics, but gosh, those nibs are smooth! The only time I ever had a Sheaffer nib that let me down was on an Imperial IV with very little tipping material left that I got for $10 or so. Hard to blame the pen for that.

 

I've always found Sheaffers to be fairly wet writers, contributing to their smoothness. Usually I get mediums but I have several fines, too. I'm not how sure how to explain our differing impressions in that department.

 

Anyway, you've got a couple of very nice pens there. Enjoy!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...