Sheaffer Snorkel Admiral Nos

[lintonwang]

Recently dug this Admiral out. It is an entry level snorkel.

 

It was bought as an unrestored NOS, and it still is one now. Shiny and out of flaws. The sac is still soft and fully functioning. There are plenty of used or restored snorkels out there in the market. But unrestored NOS with such good appearance are less as common.

 

http://i.imgur.com/KutvvEOl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/ju8cLaol.jpg

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/mpk0IpWl.jpg

 

 

I have never really used it, but filled it with water to check if the system works well.

 

I recently dipped it. Although the 14k gold nib isn't a Triumph, it is still very smooth.

 

http://i.imgur.com/7TmirLzl.jpg

 

 

The snorkels won all the others and became my favourite filling system since I first got my hands on this pen.

 

http://i.imgur.com/99RQGFhl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/lzc6j0Kl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/76W7rg2l.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/epei3hgl.jpg

 

 

More snorkels will be reviewed in future. Thanks for reading~~

 

 

[vondauster]

Beautiful pen! And, by the way, beautiful handwriting!

 

I have a number of Snorkels, and find that they are all excellent writers without exception, regardless of whether they are open or Triumph nibs. To my way of thinking, the Snorkel period may have been Sheaffer's high point with regards to nib quality.

 

Will

[lintonwang]

Beautiful pen! And, by the way, beautiful handwriting!

 

I have a number of Snorkels, and find that they are all excellent writers without exception, regardless of whether they are open or Triumph nibs. To my way of thinking, the Snorkel period may have been Sheaffer's high point with regards to nib quality.

 

Will

 

Agreed. Not only nib quality, but the filling systems as well. Now the nib is produced by Bock, and filling system has fallen to simple c/c fillers

[Ruinz]

I got a snorkel about a month ago. I bought it because I liked the filling system. The nib is very good, I think it will be one of my favorites.

[Drone]

Lovely pen. I have a soft spot for the Valiant in black which is almost identical but with the "Triumph" like conical nib. IIRC the Admiral and the Valiant fall into the Sheaffer's "Slimline" series.

 

I find the medium nibs to very smooth, but the fine nibs can be hit and miss. The imprints on the slimline models I've seen are very light. It seems they came this way from the factory. If you polish too much the imprint may disappear.

 

The silver-tone cap threads are the weak point in these pens, they appear to be plated and the plating can flakes off with age and wear.

[JonSzanto]

Snorks are wonderful! I got my first last year, a beaut of a NOS black Statesman, simply because I had picked up a bottle of Skrip (vintage) and the box had all the adverts and instructions for Snorkel filling. I simply had to have the pen.

 

I, too, feel fortunate, in that it is a Fine tipped Triumph nib, and being left-handed, I need my nibs pretty smooth. This one certainly is. Never hesitates to write, and surprises me with how long it lasts between fills. I find it satisfying to know that I am filling a nearly-60-year-old pen with ink of almost the same age that was made specifically for it, and it all works to perfection. Really, this is the kind of magic that makes fountain pens fun.

[Montblanc owner and lover]

i love the snorkels too the filling is so usefull...i don't know why they don't do them anymore,i'm sure it will work...

[lintonwang]

Lovely pen. I have a soft spot for the Valiant in black which is almost identical but with the "Triumph" like conical nib. IIRC the Admiral and the Valiant fall into the Sheaffer's "Slimline" series.

 

I find the medium nibs to very smooth, but the fine nibs can be hit and miss. The imprints on the slimline models I've seen are very light. It seems they came this way from the factory. If you polish too much the imprint may disappear.

 

The silver-tone cap threads are the weak point in these pens, they appear to be plated and the plating can flakes off with age and wear.

 

Silver tone caps are reli gd looking. but yea. it gets cratches so easily. A common thing for all plated caps

[lintonwang]

Snorks are wonderful! I got my first last year, a beaut of a NOS black Statesman, simply because I had picked up a bottle of Skrip (vintage) and the box had all the adverts and instructions for Snorkel filling. I simply had to have the pen.

 

I, too, feel fortunate, in that it is a Fine tipped Triumph nib, and being left-handed, I need my nibs pretty smooth. This one certainly is. Never hesitates to write, and surprises me with how long it lasts between fills. I find it satisfying to know that I am filling a nearly-60-year-old pen with ink of almost the same age that was made specifically for it, and it all works to perfection. Really, this is the kind of magic that makes fountain pens fun.

 

Agreeeed

I lov the filling system. Such a smart mechanism in such a small space. Delicate and complex.

[lintonwang]

i love the snorkels too the filling is so usefull...i don't know why they don't do them anymore,i'm sure it will work...

 

I know right~ Lots of filling systems nearly disappeared nowadays (Thx to Visconti, who preserved some). C/C filling everywhere...

Sheaffer may meat a great revival if they pick up snorkels again.

And I think I read it somewhere that they developed a more complex system, but never put it into production.

Edited March 19, 2013 by lintonwang

[Drone]

Lovely pen. I have a soft spot for the Valiant in black which is almost identical but with the "Triumph" like conical nib. IIRC the Admiral and the Valiant fall into the Sheaffer's "Slimline" series.

 

I find the medium nibs to very smooth, but the fine nibs can be hit and miss. The imprints on the slimline models I've seen are very light. It seems they came this way from the factory. If you polish too much the imprint may disappear.

 

The silver-tone cap threads are the weak point in these pens, they appear to be plated and the plating can flakes off with age and wear.

 

Silver tone caps are reli gd looking. but yea. it gets cratches so easily. A common thing for all plated caps

 

@lintonwang,

 

In my post I am NOT referring to the plating on the "caps"; it is the plating on the screw threads where the barrel meets the section that mate with the cap. These tend to flake off as previously described. If and when you want to buy a vintage Snorkel (my experience with slimline versions), ask the seller if the cap threads next to the section are intact - a detail often omitted from some seller descriptions.

 

Edit: The above mentioned threads will rust sooner than intact plated threads.

 

Regards, David

Edited March 19, 2013 by Drone

[lintonwang]

Lovely pen. I have a soft spot for the Valiant in black which is almost identical but with the "Triumph" like conical nib. IIRC the Admiral and the Valiant fall into the Sheaffer's "Slimline" series.

 

I find the medium nibs to very smooth, but the fine nibs can be hit and miss. The imprints on the slimline models I've seen are very light. It seems they came this way from the factory. If you polish too much the imprint may disappear.

 

The silver-tone cap threads are the weak point in these pens, they appear to be plated and the plating can flakes off with age and wear.

 

Silver tone caps are reli gd looking. but yea. it gets cratches so easily. A common thing for all plated caps

 

@lintonwang,

 

In my post I am NOT referring to the plating on the "caps"; it is the plating on the screw threads where the barrel meets the section that mate with the cap. These tend to flake off as previously described. If and when you want to buy a vintage Snorkel (my experience with slimline versions), ask the seller if the cap threads next to the section are intact - a detail often omitted from some seller descriptions.

 

Edit: The above mentioned threads will rust sooner than intact plated threads.

 

Regards, David

 

Oh. Rite. Thank you for your reminds. Thats very useful information. I will be careful on future purchases~~

[furple]

Nice to see the Admiral getting some attention.

 

I started collecting because of the Sheaffer Snorkle and its unique filling system, and own just about every model in the line at present. I just replaced the rubber pieces in an Admiral for a friend, and I'm sure he'll get plenty of use from it now.

 

Yours is a very nice specimen, and I agree with the person who complimented your handwriting! Thanks for sharing.

[Taurean]

Nice pictures and lovely handwriting.

Snorkels are charming pens, I have 2 and both are excellent writers.

[ThirdeYe]

Snorkels are amazing pens. I have nearly every trim in the range... and ironically the two "lesser" trims I have: the Special and the Admiral are my favorite writers amongst the bunch.

[GTOZack]

ive been eyeballing snorkel types then i may add a PFM on my want list. but i dont know which i would buy, the I, II, III, IV or V model though

[bernardo]

Recently dug this Admiral out. It is an entry level snorkel.

 

It was bought as an unrestored NOS, and it still is one now. Shiny and out of flaws. The sac is still soft and fully functioning. There are plenty of used or restored snorkels out there in the market. But unrestored NOS with such good appearance are less as common.

 

http://i.imgur.com/KutvvEOl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/ju8cLaol.jpg

 

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/mpk0IpWl.jpg

 

 

 

 

I have never really used it, but filled it with water to check if the system works well.

 

I recently dipped it. Although the 14k gold nib isn't a Triumph, it is still very smooth.

 

http://i.imgur.com/7TmirLzl.jpg

 

 

 

 

The snorkels won all the others and became my favourite filling system since I first got my hands on this pen.

 

http://i.imgur.com/99RQGFhl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/lzc6j0Kl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/76W7rg2l.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/epei3hgl.jpg

 

 

 

 

More snorkels will be reviewed in future. Thanks for reading~~

 

Awesome!!!

[georges zaslavsky]

congrats on a nice writer