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Which Sheaffer To Choose? 330 440, Imperial Ii Or Iii? Or The Targa? The Fine Nib Vs The Medium Nib?

fezz4734

By fezz4734
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fezz4734 Mint

fezz4734

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Posted (edited)

I forgot there was a sheaffer forum I will post my question here as well to see if I can get some help. How thin is the fine nib and medium nib? I got a parker 45 fine and medium for comparision if anything. Well I can purchase either sheaffer 330 or 440 fine nib and also the imperial II or III in both fine and medium nibs. I usually lean towards the medium parker 45 nib when writing so I don't know if to purchase the imperial II or III because of this. Anyone have any experience writing with these? I've heard of good review of the 330 fine but not much of the imperials? Would love for this to by my next pen just can't choose between them unless the nibs are almost all the same? Any advice would be great!

 

Edit: The Imperials II and III are also in fine nib in case it looks like the medium is too wide for my taste.

Edited by fezz4734
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OcalaFlGuy Museum Piece

OcalaFlGuy

Posted
Posted

The line width of those models you note should vary no more than the usual (hardly noticeable) production variances. There was a very close range of allowable widths for each letter width nib. I don't recall hearing of Sheaffer making any noticeable changes during that time span over what constituted a F, M, or B.

 

Of the pens you listed, the Triumph nibbed models will be the stiffest.

 

It is my opinion the steel and plated inlaid nibs don't have the bounce that the gold ones do but I mean that as a lively nib only not Even in any form of even Semi-flex. I don't think a Sheaffer inlaid steel nib writes any worse than a same width gold nib.

 

If you lean towards a P-45 Medium then you should go for a M in the Sheaffer too.

 

Of the inlaids, I think the long arrow 14k Imperial has the liveliest nib and that has an enjoyable feel to it to me.

 

Even the plated long arrows are nice too.

 

2012-07-06_13-21-005.jpg

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

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Pincel Extremely Rare

Pincel

Posted
Posted

2012-07-06_13-21-005.jpg

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

My gawd, why do you have to use the above pen as an example? The 2664 Cadmium Yellow, the most desirable Imperial (Triumph) colour! Very nice indeed but a little hard to find.

fpn_1434850097__cocursive.jpg

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Paul80 Collectors Item

Paul80

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Posted

Hi

 

Personally if I was to buy an Imperial and I could only buy one it would be an Imperial IV (4) to me they where the peak of production.

 

That is only a personal opinion though.

 

Paul

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h.farmawi Extremely Rare

h.farmawi

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Posted

i have the Imperial II but i didnt use it till now it got a F nib still need a new SAC to make it work.
i have also the Targa with a M nib that i will keep using on a daily basis its one of my favorite FPs.
i thisn every fountain pen lover must have a Sheaffer Targa.

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/5642/postcardde9.png

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Ernst Bitterman Donor Pen

Ernst Bitterman

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Posted

The correct answer to this question is "yes."

 

The only amendments I'd put in are these: Targas are on the heavy side, which you may or may not like. The Imperials tend to skew narrow, almost like Japanese pens, so you will probably be happier with M than F if you like the 45s in M.

Ravensmarch Pens & Books
It's mainly pens, just now....

Oh, good heavens. He's got a blog now, too.

 

fpn_1465330536__hwabutton.jpg

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OcalaFlGuy Museum Piece

OcalaFlGuy

Posted
Posted

 

 

2012-07-06_13-21-005.jpg

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

 

 

My gawd, why do you have to use the above pen as an example? The 2664 Cadmium Yellow, the most desirable Imperial (Triumph) colour! Very nice indeed but a little hard to find.

 

It could have been "worse". :P

 

I think it was Ron Zorn that had one of the last "hordes" of these. This isn't one of those that I know of anyway.

 

2012-07-06_13-21-004.jpg

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

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h.farmawi Extremely Rare

h.farmawi

Posted
Posted

 

 

 

It could have been "worse". :P

 

I think it was Ron Zorn that had one of the last "hordes" of these. This isn't one of those that I know of anyway.

 

2012-07-06_13-21-004.jpg

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

:D :D

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/5642/postcardde9.png

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h.farmawi Extremely Rare

h.farmawi

Posted
Posted

 

 

 

It could have been "worse". :P

 

I think it was Ron Zorn that had one of the last "hordes" of these. This isn't one of those that I know of anyway.

 

2012-07-06_13-21-004.jpg

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

:D :D

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/5642/postcardde9.png

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bogiesan Vintage

bogiesan

Posted
Posted

I was on a fine and extra fine binge and then I realized I liked the shading of medium and broad nibs more than the precision of the fines.

I ride a recumbent, I play go, I use Macintosh so of course I use a fountain pen.

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GUNGA GALUNGA Rare

GUNGA GALUNGA

Posted
Posted

The line width of those models you note should vary no more than the usual (hardly noticeable) production variances. There was a very close range of allowable widths for each letter width nib. I don't recall hearing of Sheaffer making any noticeable changes during that time span over what constituted a F, M, or B.

 

Of the pens you listed, the Triumph nibbed models will be the stiffest.

 

It is my opinion the steel and plated inlaid nibs don't have the bounce that the gold ones do but I mean that as a lively nib only not Even in any form of even Semi-flex. I don't think a Sheaffer inlaid steel nib writes any worse than a same width gold nib.

 

If you lean towards a P-45 Medium then you should go for a M in the Sheaffer too.

 

Of the inlaids, I think the long arrow 14k Imperial has the liveliest nib and that has an enjoyable feel to it to me.

 

Even the plated long arrows are nice too.

 

2012-07-06_13-21-005.jpg

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

The line width of those models you note should vary no more than the usual (hardly noticeable) production variances. There was a very close range of allowable widths for each letter width nib. I don't recall hearing of Sheaffer making any noticeable changes during that time span over what constituted a F, M, or B.

 

Of the pens you listed, the Triumph nibbed models will be the stiffest.

 

It is my opinion the steel and plated inlaid nibs don't have the bounce that the gold ones do but I mean that as a lively nib only not Even in any form of even Semi-flex. I don't think a Sheaffer inlaid steel nib writes any worse than a same width gold nib.

 

If you lean towards a P-45 Medium then you should go for a M in the Sheaffer too.

 

Of the inlaids, I think the long arrow 14k Imperial has the liveliest nib and that has an enjoyable feel to it to me.

 

Even the plated long arrows are nice too.

 

2012-07-06_13-21-005.jpg

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Ocala guy. What is the name of this sheaffer? I've seen this before. I like the looks because the nib seems to attached to the body
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OcalaFlGuy Museum Piece

OcalaFlGuy

Posted
Posted

It is a Sheaffer Triumph Imperial in Cadmium. The nib is just 23k plated. It's a Fine and I haven't seen any in Cadmium that were other than Fines.

 

The Triumph Imperials were a reissue of the original Imperial and they were the last Imperials. The type of nib is called Inlaid. If there is a weakness to the inlaid, it's that is basically permanently mounted to the shell and can't be removed for retipping or repair like most other nibs.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

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JeanManuel Extremely Rare

JeanManuel

Posted
Posted (edited)

I have a Sheaffer imperial II TD Fine => My worst Sheaffer so far.

The nib is scratchy. Repairs by Sheaffer would have cost at least 150-200% of the value of the pen. So I passed.
Every time I pick that pen, I can not help but try to smoothen it on a whetstone. Now the iridium is almost entirely gone. How depressing. Although it does write a bit better now.

Maybe the bad nib is a production fault. But I also dislike how out of place the metal cap looks and feels on that plastic pen. The material of the cap looks ugly. The texture and color look dirty. And the edge of the cap is sharp.

P.S: on a positive note the touchdown filling system works well and is rather nice imo.

Edited by JeanManuel

Everything is impermanent.

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