hi. i'm new in this forum. i just recently bought my very first fountain pen. it's a sheaffer imperial that i bought from the only fountain pen specialty store here in the philippines that has been existing since 1948. the country's supreme court judges and esteemed professors bring their fountain pens there to be repaired, as well as buy fountain pen models that cannot be found in regular stores anymore.

what i bought is a sheaffer imperial, but as i am now looking it up, i am confused as to the different looks of the pens i see online. i never realy quite found an imperial that looks like mine. my imperial has a chrome cap and barrel, and the inlaid nib is shorter than the valor's, the clip is also shorter than that of the pfms. also, the fine line that goes from the tip of the nib that, in all other fountaisn pens i see, reach up to the tiny circular hole, does not quite reach the hole in mine.

in the nib it says "sheaffer, 14k, aust, 585." the fine engraving at the edge of the cap says "sheaffer, made in australia."

my question: is this a re-issue? is this an imperial? what kind of nib do i have? what year is this from? thanks.

and oh by the way it has a classic pump. that's what the pen enthusiast at the store told me, and that's what i also saw online. this seems to be an older pen. but what year? and is the nib a replacement? thanks.

maryannemoll

Any chance of a picture ?
Might help

Regards,
Ruaidhrí

i couldn't find the usb cable for my camera at the moment, but this is similar to my own nib.



the shape is the same, but the engraving on mine says "sheaffer, 14k, aust, 585." also, the line on my nib does not quite reach the circular hole.

Over to the Sheaffer experts.


bothers me slightly - all mine do

Regards,
Ruaidhrí

Hello! Does this look like your pen?



Also, is your pen a "Touchdown"-style filler, like this one:



Or is it a squeeze-type converter?

I don't currently own any Imperials, but I did have one pen that had was inscribed "Made in Australia" as yours is.

TMann

Disclaimer: Both photos were "borrowed" from the PenHero.com website.

thanks for your replies! ruaihidri, i didn't notice it until after a few days as i was doing a refilll. now it's bothering me.

tmann, my pen looks similar to that one, except for the nib, and the shorter clip. it has the converter made of metal with a black rubber inside that i have to squeeze.

take a look at an item i saw on ebay. this is exactly what my pen looks like, except that the pen finish is shiny chrome, and is made in australia. apparently i have a sheaffer imperial of the 440 series.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ry=14003&fkxs=1

but i'm still bothered why the line in the nib does not quite reach the tiny circular hole.

any ideas? thanks.

The 440 is an early 1970s model that Sheaffer called the Triumph. Although it looks like an Imperial, Sheaffer did not include the Imperial name on that model. Sheaffer made a plethora of models that all are essentially Imperials, but did not call all of them by that name.

As to the line on the nib. It sounds like what you are describing is the nib slit, which divides the nib into two tines. The cut should extend all the way to the drilled hole in the nib, but in your pen's case it appears that whoever cut the nib slit failed to make it all the way to the hole.

The original intent of the hole in the nib was to relieve stress on the nib material so the nib will not split. In practice, especially on a firm nib, I believe the hole really isn't necessary, and there are nibs made without them.

Interestingly, the first Imperial type pen was not called an Imperial, but was given the name "Target". So I guess we're really discussing Target derivatives, not Imperials.

Cheers,

Jim Mamoulides
www.PenHero.com

now that is quite intriguing, penhero. as i was surfing for the topic online, not a few fountain pen enthusiasts commented that sheaffer's nomeclature started to get confusing from the time of the imperials onwards.

so do you think i have a new old stock? i find this whole thing amusing. and the nib slit that does not quite reach the whole i just accept now as an oddity that makes me love my pen a little bit more.

thanks for your replies.

If the pen was new, unsold dealer stock, then you indeed have new old stock. Interesting that a pen like that would sit unsold in a store for 30 years, but stranger things have happened.

Cheers,

Jim Mamoulides
www.PenHero.com

I think Sheaffer nomenclature started to get confusing a whole lot earlier. Sheaffer tended to recycle names on different pens over the years, just to keep us all on out toes.

John

with that store, that wouldn't be implausible. many of their stocks are old, but unused, and kept in pristine condition. the store has been in business since 1948. many fountain pen collectors in the country go there. maybe some of the old sheaffers you've been looking for are in this store, in perfect mint condition and still smelling like the velvet of the box they come in.

(would you believe they still have the parker 51's that were manufactured in the 1960's? and all brand new! i just did not look into the sheaffers much so i can't go into specific models, but they have an impressive collection.)

luis store
telephones 2413484 and 2432436
country code (philippines) 63
area code (manila) 2
look for terry or rose