hi i bought new pen today thinking it was a paker.now ive studied it and now i think its a sheaffer.i need help to ID.i found a looka like in a book sheaffers vacuum-fil in green and black marbled plastic and transparent barrel but the transparent is black on the inside must be from the ink stains.it says its a plunger filler.but i dont think it is.on my pen it says on the clip vacuum-fil on the barrel it says vacuum-fil toronto canada.when i unscrew the blind cap there is a what looks to be a button just like on the doufold's. ( button filler) i know the nib could be wrong and the nib says parker pen made in usa. i dont know how to open the pen to clean it out. so it nlooks like a sheaffer but acts like a parker.i also cant push or pull the button on the end its stuck. any ideas thanks how do i post a pic of it.???

Hi, krafty, Vacuum-Fil was a sub-brand of Sheaffer's, and collectible. There's a goodly amount of information on Vacuum-Fil floating around in the messages of this forum that you might try a search on. You can find more, no doubt, at penhero.com. Having said that, I'll leave it to those who are expert to provide you with more definitive information. Anyway to upload a picture hit the Browse... button, and navigate to the directory, folder, etc. where the picture you want to post is located on your drive, select and then press the UPLOAD button, both of which buttons you will notice below the window you type your message in. I, for one, would love to see your new acquisition.
Oliver

Hi Krafty,
Welcome to FPN

Vacuum-fil was a brand name used by Sheaffer on one of its ranges in the 1930 and maybe 40s, there are people here who know much more, Univer is one who comes to mind he passes through here most days.
The filling system was what gave these pens their name but I believe that towards the end there were V-fs that were lever fillers, there are a couple of posts on them somewhere in this forum. I have taken one apart so I will leave the descrition of how to do that to someone who has, I have read about it but that is nowhere near as good as hands on experience.

cheers, John

THANKS JOHN i forgot to mention it does have a slightly humped clip. and a single gold band and gold clip.

Welcome!

John's kind words notwithstanding, I gladly defer to the true experts in these arcane matters; but I'll try to offer some information (and trust that others will correct my errors and omissions).

Vacuum-Fil was one of the several Sheaffer sub-brands. These companion makes flourished from Sheaffer's earliest days through the 1930s; Vacuum-Fil was introduced mid-1930s. I gather, from past threads, that the brand may have been created as a response to Parker's vacuum-filling pens.

I think I'm on safe ground in saying that these sub-makes were not always named or marketed according to what we might term modern, rational branding principles. Vacuum-Fil is encountered as its own brand; in conjunction with the WASP sub-brand ("WASP" for "Walter A. Sheaffer Pen" Company - arguably the best-known of these brands); and occasionally in the truncated form "Vacuum."

If rationality was somewhat lacking in Sheaffer's naming conventions, it was decidedly out of the room when it came to matching brand names to design features. So while there are plenty of Vacuum-Fil pens that are truly vacuum-fillers, we also have lots and lots of Vacuum-Fil pens that are lever-fillers; and we even have a few that are twist-fillers.

Without a photo for reference, I can say that your pen is definitely a vacuum-filling model; it sounds like the pattern that resembles the mainline Sheaffer Marine Green marbled Radite (to my eye the patterns are identical, but I wouldn't swear to it). All of the examples in my collection have the transparent center barrel section you describe...also discolored, I'm afraid.

The nib is certainly an incorrect Parker substitute. The proper nib, if my pens are reliable indicators, should be engraved "Vacuum-Fil."

As for the matter of restoration - well, I'll leave that one in the hands of the trained professionals. But I'll say this much: the "button" you describe is the end of the plunger rod, and it doesn't work like a Parker button-filler. When the vacuum filling system is working properly, one pulls the rod out, immerses the section, and pushes the rod home. The downstroke creates - and then releases - a vacuum, allowing the barrel to fill with ink.

I hope there's something helpful in all of that. I look forward to seeing a photo.

Cheers,

Jon

Here be what they look like when pretty clean



regards

david

HI OLIVER i posted a pic of the vaccum fil its out of focus but you can still get the general idea thanks

hi david thanks for the pic. now mine is a bit different on my barrel all it says is vacuum-fil toronto canada.thats all. and how do i open the pen to clean it out.do i pull the section straight out or does it scew out? thanks

Imprints on this sort of pen did evolve. I don't insist on sequence, but seems there were VACUUM, VACUUM-FIL, WASP VACCUM-FIL and other WASPs. Canadian branches of major makers often had their own tweaks, too.

Repairing these is complicated, though opening them just to do a flush perhaps less so :-) I will defer to the repair guys. Maybe you can post question on the Repair Forum where moderator el Zorno can comment. Pretty sure i saw him dissecting one of these at home within recent days.

best

david
s

hey david thank again as i was waiting for a reply from david i started to tinker with the vacuum-fil. i unscewed it the section i mean nice and clean then i found the plunger was stuck.so i soaked it in my formula and after a half hour or so it came loose and i was able to move the plunger up and down.the caskets on the plunger was very rotten. but intact i soften it up.everything worked out great for cleaning but now all i need is a proper nib. does anyone have any idea for a nib? thank david for the help.i just get so exited when i get a new find i have to work on it right away.and get as much info on it as i can. i just love this hobby thanks to all that have helped me in my 9 yrs now of collecting. my first pen i ever bought was a waterman olive ripple 52v for $1.50 yes one dollar 50 cent lol. i still have it i feel i was once reencarnated as a pen person selling or repairing them in some way or form. i just cant get enough. rob

Hi,

In my relatively limited experience of Canadian specimens, I find that the line between Sheaffer and WASP, as a matter of styling/design, can get rather blurred.

One example: the fairly well-known Canadian Sheaffer Balances with WASP-style clips.

Another example: a pen in my collection, rather the worse for wear, with full-on WASP styling - gently streamlined barrel and cap truncated by flat ends - and much-worn standard "Sheaffer of Canada" imprint (Canadian 3-25 nib too). It's a Gray Pearl striated, and I haven't seen another like it.

Sorry - a side-issue, to be sure.

Cheers,

Jon