Please Help Me Identify These Pens

[mariom]

I picked up these two pens today. Aside from what looks like heat damage to one barrel, they're in nice condition. I'm assuming they're a Balance model (Craftsman??), but I'd like a positive ID and approximate date of manufacture.

 

Also, a few of questions.

 

One pen (the 500) needs a new sac. Is the barrel a press-fit or screw fit to the section? Any particular precautions needed when separating the barrel from the section?

 

The pens are on the short side for me to use unposted, but the cap won't post securely without applying what seems like a fair bit of pressure. What's the risk of cracking the cap or barrel on these?

 

I assume these are celluloid. How long is it advisable to soak this material for cleaning?

 

Both pens are 127mm (5") capped, 113mm (4 1/2") uncapped, 11mm (7/16") barrel diameter.

 

Pen 1

Inscribed across 4 lines

W.A. SHAEFFER .... - FORT MADISON... - MADE U.S.A. - 350

 

The fine nib is inscribed

SHEAFFER'S - 33 - MADE IN U.S.A. - 14K

 

Pen 2

Inscribed across 4 lines

W.A. SHAEFFER .... - FORT MADISON... - MADE U.S.A. - 500

 

The extra fine nib is inscribed

SHEAFFER'S - Feather Touch - MADE IN U.S.A. - 5 - 14K

 

Thanks in advance

 

Mario

http://g3.img-dpreview.com/53BE7E0461F14EC9BA28EDFD4B4240EF.jpg

Edited April 7, 2015 by mariom

[crescentfiller]

Pressure fit sections (use heat).

Notoriously bad posters.

Little risk of breakage from hard posting.

I wouldn't "soak" the pens to clean them.

Rather, wipe and/or polish them.

 

Good luck,

Daniel

[mariom]

Pressure fit sections (use heat).

Notoriously bad posters.

Little risk of breakage from hard posting.

I wouldn't "soak" the pens to clean them.

Rather, wipe and/or polish them.

 

Good luck,

Daniel

 

Thanks Daniel.

 

Any idea on the specific model and era? Also, do you know if the nibs as described would be original?

 

Mario

[Ernst Bitterman]

Craftsman and Admiral; the points and the price codes (350 and 500 respectively) are the way you can tell them apart. They're not likely to crack in use, but regular posting will scar the tail; I've found it worth the effort of training up to use them unposted, because however hard you jam the cap down, it generally works its way loose.

[mariom]

Thanks guys. Had some valuable input from a separate thread in the repair forum.

 

I just don't understand why Sheaffer would make such a small pen which is so hard to post though.

[crescentfiller]

Mario, I understand and agree regarding the posting issue. The Sheaffer flat tops posted well enough, but post-flat top pens were hit and miss in terms of posting until about the Snorkel/PFM period.

 

If you don't already use this fantastic site, here is a link. I believe it is created and run by one of the commenters above. The combination of photos and dates is invaluable. And yes, the nibs look to be correct.

 

http://dirck.delint.ca/beta/?page_id=6959

 

Regards,

Daniel

[Ernst Bitterman]

I just don't understand why Sheaffer would make such a small pen which is so hard to post though.

 

Different notions of appropriate penmanship? It's a puzzle, all right, but there's about a thirty year stretch of Sheaffers that stink at posting, from the Balances until the end of the TM Snorkels [hey, look, I'm repeating what was just said in the previous comment. I pay attention good ]. This TV ad is a shocker; at about 25 seconds, watch how the cap gets screwed onto the back of the pen so it will stay.

Edited April 8, 2015 by Ernst Bitterman

[mariom]

 

It's a puzzle, all right, but there's about a thirty year stretch of Sheaffers that stink at posting, from the Balances until the end of the TM Snorkels [hey, look, I'm repeating what was just said in the previous comment. I pay attention good ]. This TV ad is a shocker; at about 25 seconds, watch how the cap gets screwed onto the back of the pen so it will stay.

 

Nice ad. How did the world survive without YouTube.

 

I've never noticed the issue with my two TM Snorkels because I've never bothered posting them. I prefer pens I don't have to post (about 120mm uncapped seems a comfortable starting length for me), and will only do so if a pen is too short to use comfortably. The Snorkels are a bit on the thin side, but more than long enough. I have a colleague who has trouble using a pen unless it's posted. Perhaps he had a tendency to lose caps in his youth.