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Please Help Me Id This Vintage Pen!


Shimmershadow

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My dad recently gave me this beautiful vintage Sheaffer. It belonged to my grandfather, who originally purchased it when he was in high school, and we think that dates it to somewhere in the 30's. My grandmother later used it to write to my uncle every single day that he was in the Air Force in the 60's. One of my cousins has several wonderful letters written by my grandfather to his father, most likely with this pen. I am so, so blessed to have such a lovely, wonderful heirloom in my possession, but I really need some help with it.

 

My searches have led me to suspect it might be a 1935 Balance, but I don't really know anything more about it, and I'd love to have any info I could get--what it is, what it might be worth, what the particular model/color might be called, etc. The cap, the front end, and the back end are all black with grey pearly chips, but the middle barrel seems to be more slightly translucent amber with grey pearly chips. It does not have the Sheaffer white dot anywhere on it that I can see, so I don't know if that got knocked off at some point or was never there to begin with or what.

 

Also, it leaks like all insanity where the nib joins the top, so I'm probably doing something wrong in how I've been trying to fill it. Any corrections would be greatly appreciated, as I'd love to use this as much as possible.

 

Before it got some much-needed TLC:

 

20140224_191646.jpg

 

And after:

 

20140322_180735.jpg

 

20140322_180840.jpg

 

20140322_180828.jpg

 

 

 

Thank you very, very much in advance for any and all help. :D

 

 

"Feri ando payi sitsholpe te nauyas" -- Lovara saying



“She wore a gown the color of storms, shadows, and rain and a necklace of broken promises and regrets.” Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

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Arggh typo...topic was supposed to be "ID", not Id.

"Feri ando payi sitsholpe te nauyas" -- Lovara saying



“She wore a gown the color of storms, shadows, and rain and a necklace of broken promises and regrets.” Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

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Well, I'm hoping more knowledgeable people will chime it. It *is* a Balance, but there were different sizes and other variations. If there was a white dot, it would be right above the clip, but they made many non-white dot pens.

 

I'm a bit astonished at the barrel: are the red areas in the last couple of photos actually transparency? If so, it is pretty remarkable. I would also suggest that you might want to send this to one of the pen restoration people to renew the seals, as this looks to be an early Vac-fill pen. If you are experiencing leaks, it might be due to dried out seals (let's hope there isn't a barrel crack). In any event, a pen with this wonderful of a history deserves to be put in good working order so you can cherish it for many years to come.

 

(I'm going to keep track of this thread, and if you don't get some of the smarter Sheaffer folks commenting, I'll make sure they see it. I'm also smitten with your avatar pic... )

 

P.S. Take a look at the barrel imprint, where it says Sheaffer, etc. You might see a number listed last (the last line). This was partly a model code, but also was the price point that the pen was actually sold for. This will also help identify the actual model.

Edited by JonSzanto

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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A little hunting through some of my books says that, indeed, this pen would be from the mid-30's, as the filling system in that pen came in 1935, and the marbled plastics started being less used by the end of the decade. If that is a transparent barrel, the value of this pen just went up quite a bit (though, in my estimation, this pen is already worth more to you than to any collector!). For other people to ID the pen, a photo of the clip would also be helpful. You can see it pretty well, but changes in the clip from year to year are also a good aid in correctly setting the model.

Edited by JonSzanto

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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Thank you for the help and suggestions so far, Jon! It is indeed a plunger filler, which helped me ballpark the dates a little better. For some reason, my family is great with antiques and heirlooms, and complete bonk at knowing important family dates. We all know how old the furniture is, but as for the relations... Anyway. Back to the pen. The barrel is indeed as translucent as it looks in the photos--I took those in bright sunlight so that one could see the contrast clearly. Isn't it beautiful and odd? I'd sent the pen off to Pentiques to be restored, so I believe that all the seals etc. are good. I saw this thread and suspect that's what is going on here.

 

I've managed to read the engraving on the barrel (crayon rubbings to the rescue!), and it says:

 

W.A. SHEAFFER PEN CO.

FORT MADISON, IOWA. U.S.A

U.S. PAT'S.RE.19.167.+D-78.795

OTHER PAT. PEND.

 

And you're right; this pen has value beyond money for me. My memories of my Grandpa Punkin are very precious; he passed away when I was five. (Also, he will asolutely haunt me and my family will kill me if I ever sold it.)

 

(P.S.--I am pretty keen on your avatar, too!)

"Feri ando payi sitsholpe te nauyas" -- Lovara saying



“She wore a gown the color of storms, shadows, and rain and a necklace of broken promises and regrets.” Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

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Please excuse my gnarly fingernails...photos of the clip:

 

20140322_201620.jpg

 

20140322_201552.jpg

"Feri ando payi sitsholpe te nauyas" -- Lovara saying



“She wore a gown the color of storms, shadows, and rain and a necklace of broken promises and regrets.” Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

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No the cap is quite correct. It is grey pearl from 1934-1936.and would be an A5W - these don't have model names just codes. The barrel should be transparent in a vac fill model with a wide variance as to how transparent they remain today. These are routinely repaired with a very appropriate fix that make them quite functional. This is the first model, generally, below lifetime and I don't believe any of these are marked with a price code (which is in no way a model code) as they predate this practice.

 

Roger W.

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Thank you for the link anyhow, KBeezie, that is an extremely handy site! And thank you tremendously, Roger W! I must ask though, being so new to the pen world, what "below lifetime" means?

"Feri ando payi sitsholpe te nauyas" -- Lovara saying



“She wore a gown the color of storms, shadows, and rain and a necklace of broken promises and regrets.” Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

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No the cap is quite correct. It is grey pearl from 1934-1936.and would be an A5W - these don't have model names just codes. The barrel should be transparent in a vac fill model with a wide variance as to how transparent they remain today. These are routinely repaired with a very appropriate fix that make them quite functional. This is the first model, generally, below lifetime and I don't believe any of these are marked with a price code (which is in no way a model code) as they predate this practice.

 

Roger W.

:thumbup:

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Thank you for the link anyhow, KBeezie, that is an extremely handy site! And thank you tremendously, Roger W! I must ask though, being so new to the pen world, what "below lifetime" means?

 

Before the FCC made it illegal, some pen manufactures were offering 'lifetime' warranties on their pens, like with Parker and the Blue Diamond on top. Wasn't til many years later that a manufacture could offer a "Limited" lifetime warranty.

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"below lifetime" simply means it's placing in the lineup. The lifetime pens were more costly. I personally cannot see any quality difference between the 'lifetime' models and the non-lifetime.

 

If the pen has been repaired, I don't understand why it would be leaking. It may need to take a return trip to the repair person. The threads that go between the section and the barrel should be sealed.

Increase your IQ, use Linux AND a Fountain pen!!http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk11/79spitfire/Neko_animated.gif
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In balances you have a wide range of price points to meet every sale. Primarily the seller was to sell the lifetime models but, sales were not to be lost so in the feather touch line generally less than the lifetime was the 5 feathertouch models (I say generally as there are 7 and 8 feathertouches but, you rarely find these). Then you have the 3 pens which are still Sheaffer regular line afterwhich are Sheaffer juniors. Anyway, I'd agree with 79spitfire that the quality was good from the lowest level junior to the highest level lifetime premiere.

 

The FCC didn't make "lifetime" guarantees illegal - this is a gross oversimplification with other threads found around here that go into greater depth on the subject.

 

Roger W.

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Thanks all! The nib is marked "Feather Touch 5" so I suppose that clears that up. Makes sense, too--Grandpa likely would not have had the money for a tippy-top-of-the-line model, but he would have certainly bought the best he could possibly afford, with an eye to longevity.

 

I tried "burping" the pen, and that seems to have helped. I'll give it a few more days, and if the problem comes back, I'll send it off to get looked at. If anyone has a favorite repairperson, feel free to suggest!

"Feri ando payi sitsholpe te nauyas" -- Lovara saying



“She wore a gown the color of storms, shadows, and rain and a necklace of broken promises and regrets.” Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

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Thanks all! The nib is marked "Feather Touch 5" so I suppose that clears that up. Makes sense, too--Grandpa likely would not have had the money for a tippy-top-of-the-line model, but he would have certainly bought the best he could possibly afford, with an eye to longevity.

 

I tried "burping" the pen, and that seems to have helped. I'll give it a few more days, and if the problem comes back, I'll send it off to get looked at. If anyone has a favorite repairperson, feel free to suggest!

 

I don't know bout the "5" I know after the craftsman, you'd see it show up on say snorkel admirals, and the 5 prior to snorkel/touchdown etc was generally just to denote 14K Gold Open Nib.

 

The feathertouch though means it's coated with platinum so that there's very little friction between the ink and nib, so you should be able to barely touch the paper and get ink flowing.

 

The feathertouch extra-fine nib on my Sheaffer Touchdown Admiral is very close to yours, especially if yours says 14K right under the 5.

Edited by KBeezie
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Shimmershadow: you've gotten lucky to have Roger answer you - one of the paramount sources of Sheaffer knowledge! (Thanks, Roger, I was certainly hoping you would be one of the responders). Everything he has said can be counted on, including the remarks regarding Sheaffer's "Lifetime" pens (not to be confused with some generic "lifetime" guarantee).

 

As for the pen and it's operation, be sure to be filling it appropriately for a vac-fill: unscrew the blind cap (the part on the back end of the barrel), slowly pull out the plunger, immerse the entire nib into the ink, including part of the section (the part you grip); push the plunger in (which should release some bubbles in the ink) and then leave it in the ink for a few seconds as the vacuum fills the barrel. Screw the blind cap down tight and wipe the section and nib. Here's a good look at it:

 

 

By the way, the guy demonstrating that, Gerry Berg, would be a fine person to do the restoration on the pen, among others. Feel free to PM me for some recommendations or contact info for Gerry.

 

ETA: I now see that you've had Pentiques do the restore, so you have been in good hands! Glad you treated it so well.

 

@KBeezie: we appreciate enthusiasm, but please make sure you know for sure some of this kind of info. We can all Google and go to the usual sources (like Richard's site) but things like IDing certain Sheaffer models is a pretty complex and non-straight-forward task. I prefer to throw in caveats and wait for real pros like Roger.

Edited by JonSzanto

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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This is the first model, generally, below lifetime and I don't believe any of these are marked with a price code (which is in no way a model code) as they predate this practice.

 

Thanks, Roger, poor choice of words conflating the price marking and models. I know that I've seen people at FPB and elsewhere use that to at least partially narrow down an ID, but I also wasn't aware precisely when they started stamping the price marks on the pens.

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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@KBeezie: we appreciate enthusiasm, but please make sure you know for sure some of this kind of info. We can all Google and go to the usual sources (like Richard's site) but things like IDing certain Sheaffer models is a pretty complex and non-straight-forward task. I prefer to throw in caveats and wait for real pros like Roger.

 

Thanks for the "Advice" but I have actual sources besides just google to determine what feathertouch has to make it touch feather-soft.

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I was thinking more of your initially jumping in with the wrong cap stuff, to be honest. Your telling of the Feathertouch info is at least close.

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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IIRC, a "lifetime" warranty was not/is not illegal, they ruled to outlaw charging "service fees" on such warranties, as most manufactures of pens were doing at the time.

 

The lifetime pens now command a bit higher price because, depending on the year of manufacture, they can be less common today.

IMHO, the quality of construction used in Sheaffer's pens of the era is/was stellar, all the way from the least expensive "WASP" sub brands, all the way to the top of the line over-size Balance pens.

 

I have a pen that is a near match to yours, except mine is a lever filler, and it is an excellent pen.

Increase your IQ, use Linux AND a Fountain pen!!http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk11/79spitfire/Neko_animated.gif
http://fedoraproject.org/w/uploads/5/50/Fedorabutton-iusefedora.png

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