Ahh, the joys and tribulations of ebay bidding!

Here is one of my latest acquistions. I believe it is a Sheaffer Crest Early Touchdown model with a gold filled cap. It is 5 1/8" long capped with a barrel width of 7/16" versus 3/8" for my later TM Touchdown pens. The cap does not fit the TM Touchdown model.

I've included a picture of it with a TM Touchdown Admiral for comparison purposes. BTW, the TM Touchdown Craftsman and Admiral models appear noticeably fatter than the other TM Touchdown models. Is that correct?

I only paid around $10 for this, so I can't complain. However, the barrel won't hold the cap and I assume it is because the chrome clutch ring is missing. Can this be repaired at a reasonable cost?

Thanks.

Ron

Another picture.

A closeup of the clutch ring area. The black spots on the chrome are just reflections.

Yup, I think you are correct about missing the clutch ring with the threads. I'm afraid you will have to find a donor pen to get it working properly. You can probably get someone to fabricate one, but I think it would be easiest to find a junker pen.
Good Luck!

Regards,
Al

Finding the screw clutch ring for an early TD is not going to be easy... I believe these pens were only made for about 14 months (per Jim M)...
I have one and it is a wonderful writer....

Hi Ron,
I may have a spare clutchring for you.
Please specify the dimension of the section part on which the clutchring should be installed, so I can check if I have a spare of the right size for you.
I assume the diameter will be 10.1 mm or slightly under 0.4 inch.
If I have the right one you will have it free of charge

Francis

Francis, that is very generous of you, but I would like to pay you something for it, plus postage of course. I will PM you my address.

Yes, it appears to me to be 10mm, as close as I can measure it.

Thank you!

Ron

I think the threaded ring you need for this pen is the same diameter as the earlier piston filler pens use...if nobody has a ring from the same model then you may want to try the part from its predecesor (there are plenty of unrestorable piston/vac Sheaffers out there often *really* cheap, I may even have some, if you need one drop me a line).

TM refers to "thin model" the other pen in your pic isn't a TM, it is an earlier touchdown pen IIRC. The TM pens are the ones using the smaller scale filler with a size 15 sac (or 14 in the case of snorkels) rather than a 17 like your pens use.

the cap alone was worth the price you paid several times over if it's as clean as it looks!

Thanks, David, for the tip on the Vac fil pens.

In looking at the Penhero site, I am confused since it appears that my other pen is an Admiral TM with a #5 Feathertouch 14K nib. It is 5 1/8" long, and a similar length and width to the Craftsman also listed on Penhero's site. At first, I thought it was the early Touchdown, but after reading the Penhero site, I thought I had it wrong.

Anyone else have any opinions on whether or not this other pen is an early or TM touchdown? Are the Admiral and Craftsman TM touchdowns wider than the other TM Touchdowns? I will try to post photos later.

Thanks.

Ron

I may have mis-spoken, but I thought Thin Model pens were specifically the pens with the smaller diameter filler parts, if your pens have the same diameter metal compression tube as a snorkel then they are TMs (I think) but if they have the fatter filler tube they aren't.

I am *not* a serious historian like Jim, but that was my limited (and perhaps flawed) understanding of the nomenclature....it would be great if someone who knows this subject for certain could post the reality of it.

sorry if I muddied the waters with misinformation...

You a fully right David, clutchrings of the early "touchdowns" are identical to the ones used on the Triumph plunger fillers.
In fact the one I'll ship to Ron is coming from a scrap plunger filler.

David,

I listed some photos of the pens in question on the Sheaffer forum, including a White Dot TM Touchdown that is noticeably thinner than the Craftsman and (supposed) Admiral.

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=11083

We'll see if we get any responses to this question of whether or not the suspected Admiral is an Early Touchdown or a TM Touchdown. You can see that it is the same size as the TM Touchdown Craftsman and Jim's site says:

"The Admiral is the trimmed up economy Touchdown, a Craftsman with more brightwork and a fancier nib".

Thanks.

Ron

PS. Thanks Fountainbel for the clutch ring!