A number of the pens on this list have at one time or another been on my "Current Holy Grail" list only to be found. What pen is currently on your list? What did I forget? (Remember that I can only put 20 items on a Poll)

Maybe you could share an interesting story about how you found your heart's desire? Pictures encouraged.

PeteWK

Snorkel with a Triumph flexible stub or music nib. I'm relatively easy to please...

Perfect Flattop. In Jade.

I want many... Pygmys (just like Roger's), perfect Flat Tops and Ring Tops... Orange Snorkels...

I'd love to hear acquisition stories too.

Either an ebonized Balance OS with little or no ambering to the pearl chips or a user-grade PFM that doesn't cost a fortune.

What would someone like me be looking for in Sheaffer? I have about 550 Sheaffers so it's gotta be something special. I'd love a 1912. This is the first imprint shown in David N's archives (vintagepens.com). There were 35,000 made according to the testimony and they all worked great according to Walter. I think they we failing miserably (the single bar was failing) in the first year and Sheaffer bought back as many as they could find. I know of two and I suspect there are a few more. So I voted early hard rubber. In that vein a mottled #8 would be pretty cool, too.

An all metal balance would be good - Daniel has posted pics of his on occasion.

The Fiesta Red snorkel in valiant/statesman would be good.

There's my top four. I have a few of the other pens listed on the list that I care to have. You can usually find better examples of ones you do have. I think the Secretary should have been listed - very desirable piece. The Sheaffer cat deskbase is very sought after as well as far as a Sheaffer piece goes.

Best poll I've seen in a while.

Roger W.

Actually, any Masterpiece or Honor Masterpiece interests me...

Cheers,

Jim Mamoulides
www.PenHero.com

I'll know it when I find it.

Cheers,

Nick

I chose a NIB PFM, but really any nearly perfect PFM III with a medium nib would be fine

I'd love one of each of these, thanks!

But for today, I chose a PFM Autograph, and I'd prefer with an OB nib. I'd really like to find it blank and find a master engraver to put my signature on the band...

solid 14k gold Triumph nibbed Masterpiece, circa '45 lever filler

Hey Roger. I was at Fred's today and noticed he has a Sheaffer Mottled HR in his "not for sale" display. I can upload a pick of it after I cruise by there sometime soon if you're interested.

PeteWK

to be honest there are many pens in the list that I don't have (well most really) so I would gladly acquire many of them...

if I had to pick right *now* though it would be either a large gray or green striated late 30s Balance with a semi-flex nib in piston/vac filling system, or failing that a sage green snorkel with a fat, wet medium triumph nib preferably PdAg.

mint or NOS is cool, but I almost prefer to find pens in VG to EX so that I can write with them without feeling guilty, it's hard to think of a pen as your "grail" if it isn't flawless....maybe it's best to leave those pens that are just out of reach to the true collectors (since museums don't want 'em)?

PeteWK;

Mottled's are so hard to find. I've a little #2. Sure I'd love to see a pic.

Roger W.

I know what you mean, David. I've inked more than a couple new old stock pens in my time but I still have a couple that will never see the light of ink. Don't be afraid of the inner struggle. Every User/Collector goes through that from time to time.

I can't tell you how much I'd like to ink and carry my 29 Jade Balance Senior. The temptation simply got to be too much with my gold filled Snorkel so I sold it on eBay. I just hate the fact that some pens lose 100 bucks when they're inked.

PeteWK

A long time ago, I recall seeing an Ebay auction for a "Sheaffer desk set" with terrier dog on its base (this was probably when I thought $50 was a lot to pay for a pen ) . I don't know/recall if it was a true Sheaffer product or an unlabelled desk set with a Sheaffer pen in it, but I've been looking for another once since then.... I don't suppose if anyone knows if Sheaffer had desk sets with dogs on them?

Maja;

German Shepards and Pointers in figures. Terrier in enamel. Those are all that I can think of in the 1928-40's range.

Roger W.

Oooh, thank you so much for the quick anwer, Roger! Much appreciated !!

I am easier to pleased.
For me I dream of the next Snorkel with a color I dont own yet (and there are few of them)But the biggest holly grail would be a SOLID GOLD Snorkel.

Hello All,

My sad mottled Sheaffer story:

I have a friend who's in grad school, so he often has time to make the rounds of the local flea markets, auctions, etc. He knows I collect fountain pens, and he knows I have a special interest in Sheaffers. (And he typically has a very good eye for a worthwhile item.) We've made an informal agreement: if he spots an interesting Sheaffer that isn't too expensive, he buys it for me and I reimburse him.

One day he called me to say that he had "passed" on a flea-market lot of three pens - two no-names and one Sheaffer. The seller wanted $30, and that seemed a little high to him.

I asked: "Out of curiosity, what did the Sheaffer look like?"

His answer: "Black and red."

Ah, I thought, a Carmine stripe. "Was it striped - and streamlined?"

"Oh, no. It had a flat top, with a little ring, and it was marbled black and red."

I think he was genuinely upset when he saw how mortified I was. He checked back several times, but that seller never reappeared.

We have since revised the terms of our agreement.

So it goes.

Jon

Hi,

Seems to me I remember a terrier figure on a round green marble Sheaffer (labeled) base. I saw it at a pen show last year, I think, but it was already on hold for someone else.

I suppose it could have been a really poorly rendered Pointer, but it really looked terrier-ish.

In any case, it wasn't as cute as Maja's avatar (or my own Kerry Blue, for that matter).

Cheers,

Jon

Thanks for the compliment (and info!), Jon; that's one of my parents' two dogs, Chandler (he's the "good one" ). Terriers are great

Not for me, but my wife.

A slim profile, snorkel-filled pen with a smooth, fine point nib, fully restored. Violet or green would be great; then maybe she'd take some interest in colors other than black (she's already sure she wouldn't like brown).

And terriers are great. I live with a half-dozen Yorkies.

I'd like to find a more humble Targa than the exalted Masterpiece that's listed in the poll. The only Targa I have at present is this Flighter:



Something with a 14K nib and some pretty body color would be nice.

I have enough nice Balances already, including a perfect one and a near-perfect (and very uncommon) one:





But I'm still jonesing for a nice -- but not necessarily perfect -- Balance in Ebonized Pearl.

I keep looking for a Stylist like I bought in high school in the early 70's. Haven't found it yet.

Well, uh, this one....



Hans.

I chose "other" because I'm not really looking for a special model or version. Any PFM with F of XF nib will do for me.

I chose "other" because I'm not really looking for a special model or version. Any PFM with F of XF nib will do for me.

I chose "other" because I'm not really looking for a special model or version. Any PFM with F of XF nib will do for me.

I chose "other" because I'm not really looking for a special model or version. Any PFM with F of XF nib will do for me.

Shaffer Balance II Aspen with F Nib

one day have to show images of some of my nice ones, but for ones to seek... i s'pose i could settle for a platinum honor masterpiece.

Aw heck, maybe i will show a few nice ones from the collection

-d
http://www.vacumania.com

Here are couple greenies.



crisp junior roseglow balance


my scarce large 46 special in chased red hard rubber. Man did Al Maymen go ape that i grabbed this one at the show.



a scarce blue pygmy (not mine) next to a smaller Lifetime flattop



My fistful of OS Roseglows. Not at all common



Mint stickered celluloid tuckaway set



ok, gotta get some sleep

david

Oh, I'm not in the mood.
Forget it.

A stainless steel Snorkel with a fine two tone nib... That would be the pen of choice.

That or a whole bunch of Snorkels for a cheep price and reasonable shipping that I could restore.

What can I say? I’m a bit of a Snorkel addict.

As promised a picture or two of a 1913 or 1914 Sheaffer Mottled Hard Rubber Pen. It's not mine. Fred graciously let me take a picture of it for general consumption. It lives in his outer display case housing his "History of Fountain Pens" along with other interesting things. Its a pity that the pen has oxydized in the case. He says it used to all look like the far right tip that normally resides under the cap. Ah, the high price of showcasing.

PeteWK

And, of course, the early imprint.

PeteWK

Pete;

The cap is interesting. I've not seen Sheaffer band a cap like that. Sheaffer archives contain nothing like it but Sheaffer retained precious little from the early years. The early imprint is, to me, surprisingly common if it had only a two year or less run. Too bad imprints are never shown in catalogues or ads (beyond showing the hand to indicate cap direction).

Nice pen.

Roger W.

What Sheaffer Does Your Heart Currently Desire?

The Sheaffer most wanted here at the moment is a modern pen, a member of the Sheaffer Levenger Seas series of the Connaisseur. The (nearly) phantom one is Turquoise Tasman.

I've never seen one nor do I know anyone who has one, but just last week a listing for this color was found on an archived Levenger web page. No photo was there, just the lisitng along with the more common colors.

If you have a Turquoise Tasman for sale, I'll buy it!

Dennis B

BTW Roger. Speaking of catalogs, what Sheaffer catalogs do you own dated before 1940? Regards,

Pete

Pete;

I'm guessing "own" is reprint? '21, '23, '25, '28, '30, '35-'40. I own the 1925 original. '23 is the last all hard rubber catalogue. '25 is the first radite catalogue but still has HR in it.

Sheaffer understood marketing which may have come from the jewelry trade or selling pianos. The first catalogue was in 1912 the first year of production though Sheaffer does not incorporate until the following year. He knew that he had to have floor cabinets for dealers so you see that when he agrees to make pens he does so in a big way. There is a similar catalogue that was made in 1913 as it shows a double bar but is very similar to the first. These are all second genration reprints that I've seen.

Contact me back channel if you want prices. Hopefully, I'll get paypal arranged for my website and they will end up there. rwolfhound@hughes.net

Roger W.

Hi Roger. Actually I asked because Fred loaned me 9 catalogs to reprint. 8 of them are Sheaffer Pre-1940 catalogs and one is about a 1920 or 21 Parker. He has tons more of (nearly) every conceivable brand from the late teens to current issues but some aren't really that saleable. I'm going to purchase a new color Laser printer that's up to the task so I'll post the years to check them against the years you have. Regards,

PeteWK

Roger, This is the Cover of the 1918 or so Sheaffer Catalog I'm producing.

PeteWK

Pete;

You'll find that this is 1920 or 1921 - it has Lifetime pens in it.

Regards,

Roger

Pete;

Here's the cover cleaned up;



This is one of the last ones I put into production. I do wonder if yours is a little different as the text is not the same. Does yours have the lifetime pens?

Roger W.

Actually no. This is certainly a teens catalog as it has no Lifetime Pens. Regards,

PeteWK

I had a PFM set many years ago when I was in high school. The parents gave it to me for a Christmas gift in 1962. It had a green body and a siver palladium nib with a brushed stainless cap, I believe. Pen and pencil have been gone many a year now. Maybe one day I'll find another.

I've been angling for a Sheaffer since I first discovered the vintage world and I'd love anything with the stylish wraparound nib and snorkel system. Today picked up one at a little pen shop here that isn't dream pen, but writes really nicely. Can't identify it in Fountain Pens of World though, and as my photographic skills are zero I won't attempt that. Inlaid nib, touchdown, plastic body, very thin band, gold cap, white dot, Sheaffer lettering on band is narrow not tall area.Any ideas?

I have two Sheaffer acquisition stories.

My very first Sheaffer's, yes two of them, came from my Grandfather's estate in 1970. I was 10 years old but even at theat age I was fascinated by fountain pens. One was a big Sheaffer Lifetime and the other was a smaller PFM I think. I also got two Parker 51's with lustraloy caps. I liked how the Parkers wrote but knew the Sheaffer's were better and more valuable pens. I still have all four pens.

My second story is from 1990. My wife and I lived over an older couple who were very nice and quiet. We would talk to them when we crossed paths going in and out of the condo. Well, he eventually told us he was a semi-pro golfer and had been associated with the great golfer Ben Hogan in the 1930s. Golf was something I always wanted to learn and he offered to give me some lessons. He had me get a driver and some whiffle golf balls to practice and we would go out and swing. He coached me on my swing. As I got to know him I happened to mention that I sort of collected fountain pens. He must have made note of this because shortly after he came to our practice session with a mottled green Sheaffer Flat Top with a perfect extra fine nib! I told him that I was reluctant to take it since I knew it was somewhat valuable but he insisted since he didnt use it and knew that I would use it.

I still have all of these pens and use my Grandfather's Lifetime pen regularly.

Nothing quite so exalted for me. Any Snorkel with a Triumph nib in a good working condition will do for me.

Two tone triumph nib (fine) with snorkel filling! Silver cap with blue/maroon body!