Sheaffer experts - I just discovered these fountain pens (in silver) and I am thinking of purchasing a new one. What strikes me as odd is that its new?...... how long have these been around. Are these limited editions, and as Sheaffer fans - do you think is good representation of Sheaffer quality and design... a classic?
Thanks,
Nick
Full Version: Sheaffer Nostalgia
Supposedly introduced in the 1970's (?)
I have a 14kt gold one but I got it at an antique store and I haven't inked it yet.
I have a 14kt gold one but I got it at an antique store and I haven't inked it yet.
Hi Nick,
I've got one of those and posted a review of it here on FPN. While I certainly like my Nostalgia, I must admit that I like some of my other, fatter Sheaffers more (e.g. my PFM) as they are more comfortable to hold for me. I hope you're not planning to spend the $ 600 that most internet sellers ask on one? I'm just asking, because I always pay attention when they come up on eBay and apparently unused (or hardly used ones) can be had for half that price. Mine was even less, but it needed some work - soaking and cleaning it (and later I also had the nib retipped and reground, which wasn't strictly necessary, however) - and probably has a ballpoint barrel, so that no Sheaffer converter fits in.
The pen is certainly well made and really beautiful, so I wish you good luck with finding one at a reasonable price.
Nellie
I've got one of those and posted a review of it here on FPN. While I certainly like my Nostalgia, I must admit that I like some of my other, fatter Sheaffers more (e.g. my PFM) as they are more comfortable to hold for me. I hope you're not planning to spend the $ 600 that most internet sellers ask on one? I'm just asking, because I always pay attention when they come up on eBay and apparently unused (or hardly used ones) can be had for half that price. Mine was even less, but it needed some work - soaking and cleaning it (and later I also had the nib retipped and reground, which wasn't strictly necessary, however) - and probably has a ballpoint barrel, so that no Sheaffer converter fits in.
The pen is certainly well made and really beautiful, so I wish you good luck with finding one at a reasonable price.
Nellie
QUOTE(Nellie @ Dec 15 2007, 10:27 PM) [snapback]448484[/snapback]
Hi Nick,
I've got one of those and posted a review of it here on FPN. While I certainly like my Nostalgia, I must admit that I like some of my other, fatter Sheaffers more (e.g. my PFM) as they are more comfortable to hold for me. I hope you're not planning to spend the $ 600 that most internet sellers ask on one? I'm just asking, because I always pay attention when they come up on eBay and apparently unused (or hardly used ones) can be had for half that price. Mine was even less, but it needed some work - soaking and cleaning it (and later I also had the nib retipped and reground, which wasn't strictly necessary, however) - and probably has a ballpoint barrel, so that no Sheaffer converter fits in.
The pen is certainly well made and really beautiful, so I wish you good luck with finding one at a reasonable price.
Nellie
I've got one of those and posted a review of it here on FPN. While I certainly like my Nostalgia, I must admit that I like some of my other, fatter Sheaffers more (e.g. my PFM) as they are more comfortable to hold for me. I hope you're not planning to spend the $ 600 that most internet sellers ask on one? I'm just asking, because I always pay attention when they come up on eBay and apparently unused (or hardly used ones) can be had for half that price. Mine was even less, but it needed some work - soaking and cleaning it (and later I also had the nib retipped and reground, which wasn't strictly necessary, however) - and probably has a ballpoint barrel, so that no Sheaffer converter fits in.
The pen is certainly well made and really beautiful, so I wish you good luck with finding one at a reasonable price.
Nellie
Thanks, I was going to pay around $600, so I will see if I can find one for less. And thanks for the review...
I have one of these as well.
They actually look fairly reasonable - until you look at them side by side with a vintage overlay pen.
The vintage pens had obvious craftsmanship - the edges of the silver were often slightly rounded over, and the design was well thought out. If you thought you were going to get the same general effect from the Nostalgia, you will be pretty disappointed - overlays punched out like a cookie cutter with squared and sometimes slightly raw edges, smacking of quite the opposite of craftsmanship.
I am sure Sheaffer didn't create this model to demonstrate how the mighty have fallen, but that's what I think every time I look at this sad modern replica of a style of pen that our forebears took for granted - and manufactured much better.
It would be interesting to run the present value calculation on the original cost of an early overlay pen - what would it have been , maybe $12-15, a lot of money in those days?
Not to be too hard on this pen - you might not be too unhappy with it if you didn't own any vintage pens and took care never to compare it with any....
They actually look fairly reasonable - until you look at them side by side with a vintage overlay pen.
The vintage pens had obvious craftsmanship - the edges of the silver were often slightly rounded over, and the design was well thought out. If you thought you were going to get the same general effect from the Nostalgia, you will be pretty disappointed - overlays punched out like a cookie cutter with squared and sometimes slightly raw edges, smacking of quite the opposite of craftsmanship.
I am sure Sheaffer didn't create this model to demonstrate how the mighty have fallen, but that's what I think every time I look at this sad modern replica of a style of pen that our forebears took for granted - and manufactured much better.
It would be interesting to run the present value calculation on the original cost of an early overlay pen - what would it have been , maybe $12-15, a lot of money in those days?
Not to be too hard on this pen - you might not be too unhappy with it if you didn't own any vintage pens and took care never to compare it with any....
To me the Nostalgia is one of the nices (semi-)modern Sheaffer pens.
It was introduced in the 1970's but production continued until the late 90's.
There are a few different versions of this pen which are:
The early pens hat a single-tone gold nib while later models have a two-tone nib (don't know if there are 14K nibs as well).
Sheaffer also made capped ballpoints which can be transformed into fountain pens by just replacing the ballpoint section with a fountain pen section.
There were also additional "nostalgia"-design rocker-blotters, ink bottles and letter openers.
The pens tend to write very nice, especially if using the older style pump-converters with a rubber sac (not the newer ply-glass sacs).
I think the pens are very well made...
...maybe I never noticed because I never handled a "true" vintage Sheaffer overlay pen but I believe that those will never feel similar even the Nostalgia is well made.
Sheaffer made a similar pen called the "Heritage" as well which seem much less known (it has a closed overlay with engraved flowers instead of the open "corn" or "grain"-overlay of the Nostalgia) which is also very nice.
Unfortunatly the section has split / cracked on my Nostalgia and I'm still looking for a replacement....
Cheers
Michael
It was introduced in the 1970's but production continued until the late 90's.
There are a few different versions of this pen which are:
- solid gold overlay (original design) ????
- sterling silver and
- gold plated sterling silver
The early pens hat a single-tone gold nib while later models have a two-tone nib (don't know if there are 14K nibs as well).
Sheaffer also made capped ballpoints which can be transformed into fountain pens by just replacing the ballpoint section with a fountain pen section.
There were also additional "nostalgia"-design rocker-blotters, ink bottles and letter openers.
The pens tend to write very nice, especially if using the older style pump-converters with a rubber sac (not the newer ply-glass sacs).
I think the pens are very well made...
QUOTE
of quite the opposite of craftsmanship
...maybe I never noticed because I never handled a "true" vintage Sheaffer overlay pen but I believe that those will never feel similar even the Nostalgia is well made.
Sheaffer made a similar pen called the "Heritage" as well which seem much less known (it has a closed overlay with engraved flowers instead of the open "corn" or "grain"-overlay of the Nostalgia) which is also very nice.
Unfortunatly the section has split / cracked on my Nostalgia and I'm still looking for a replacement....
Cheers
Michael
QUOTE(Michael R. @ Dec 17 2007, 10:39 AM) [snapback]450303[/snapback]
I think the pens are very well made...
Unfortunatly the section has split / cracked on my Nostalgia and I'm still looking for a replacement....
Unfortunatly the section has split / cracked on my Nostalgia and I'm still looking for a replacement....
Sorry, Michael, couldn't help laughing at that.
My Nostalgia is as good a writer as any of that period (post 1970) Sheaffers, it is just the overlay that isn't up to vintage standards. I'm not saying that they couldn't have done something equal to the old days, but obviously if they had, the price would have been prohibitive.
Some manufacturers still do quality overlays - the Waterman Boucheron version of the Edson, for one, but the prices are stratospheric and only part of that is the supposed value of exclusivity of a very limited production item; the rest is the actual cost of producing such a premium quality product.
QUOTE(wspohn @ Dec 17 2007, 06:50 PM) [snapback]450314[/snapback]
QUOTE(Michael R. @ Dec 17 2007, 10:39 AM) [snapback]450303[/snapback]
I think the pens are very well made...
Unfortunatly the section has split / cracked on my Nostalgia and I'm still looking for a replacement....
Unfortunatly the section has split / cracked on my Nostalgia and I'm still looking for a replacement....
Sorry, Michael, couldn't help laughing at that.
My Nostalgia is as good a writer as any of that period (post 1970) Sheaffers, it is just the overlay that isn't up to vintage standards. I'm not saying that they couldn't have done something equal to the old days, but obviously if they had, the price would have been prohibitive.
Some manufacturers still do quality overlays - the Waterman Boucheron version of the Edson, for one, but the prices are stratospheric and only part of that is the supposed value of exclusivity of a very limited production item; the rest is the actual cost of producing such a premium quality product.
Hi guys, I actually quite like the 'modern' reissues. Not totally unattractive.
I think they represent good value, particularly the solid gold and sterling versions.
However, as you say, the original overlays were something else.
Hear are some photos of old and new.
These are the modern Nostalgias (including the "Heritage" version that Michael is referring to)
An "artsy" shot of the modern Nostalgias. As you can see the Heritage came in Sterling and Vermeil. Very handsome pens (IMHO of course)
I'll end by saying.... Clearly not as well crafted as the originals, but, if you like overlays and filigrees, I think they merit a closer look.
QUOTE(wspohn @ Dec 17 2007, 10:50 AM) [snapback]450314[/snapback]
QUOTE(Michael R. @ Dec 17 2007, 10:39 AM) [snapback]450303[/snapback]
I think the pens are very well made...
Unfortunatly the section has split / cracked on my Nostalgia and I'm still looking for a replacement....
Unfortunatly the section has split / cracked on my Nostalgia and I'm still looking for a replacement....
Sorry, Michael, couldn't help laughing at that.
...I can see your point :-)
I have no idea how this happened as the construction of the section seems to be very simiar to other Sheaffer sections like on the Connaisseur or Balance II pens. Maybe I should have added "very well made regarding the overall visual appereance" :-)
QUOTE
it is just the overlay that isn't up to vintage standards
Now I really need to find myself a nice vintage Sheaffer overlay! But it seems to me that only really thin (even thinner compared to the Nosalgia) pens with small nibs turn up.
I think I know what you mean about the overlay. I like to compare this pen to the silver overlay Waterman MAN 200 Night&Day (which also has a sterling overlay but is a crappy writer). While the Waterman looks "too" perfect and looks more like any modern "luxury" pen the Sheaffer has a certain "vintage" appeal and shows more "craftsmanship" than the Waterman which purely looks "machine-made".
Cheers
Michael
Dear Sarj,
What a stunning collection and beautiful pictures as well! I'm sure you are enjoying your pens a lot. Thank's a lot for sharing.
I'm still building on a collection like this :-) and I'm up to one (now) broken Nostalgia (silver overlay) and one silver Heritage.
Do you have any catalog information on the Heritage? I never came across any refferences or catalog entries. I just know that there are two-tone (silver and gold) prototypes of this model (there was a post on this forum some time ago).
Cheers
Michael
What a stunning collection and beautiful pictures as well! I'm sure you are enjoying your pens a lot. Thank's a lot for sharing.
I'm still building on a collection like this :-) and I'm up to one (now) broken Nostalgia (silver overlay) and one silver Heritage.
Do you have any catalog information on the Heritage? I never came across any refferences or catalog entries. I just know that there are two-tone (silver and gold) prototypes of this model (there was a post on this forum some time ago).
Cheers
Michael
I just bought a pair of Nostalgia pens, one with sterling silver overlay and the other sterling filigree, apparently the last of the line. 1990s? I confess I know little about Sheaffers, but after buying an amber celluloid-looking Balance II with a wonderful italic oblique nib and discovering it to be a favorite, I bought these others as well, one a stub and the other an oblique. My guess is the screw-in nib/feed units are the same for both the Nostalgia and the Balance II.
On the overlay pen, I'd like to smooth the new sharpish edges of the silver overlay to give it immediate patina and more of a handmade and worn feel, but not remove much detail. Suggestions anyone? I was thinking of taking it to a jeweler for a work-over on a polishing wheel.
Fred
On the overlay pen, I'd like to smooth the new sharpish edges of the silver overlay to give it immediate patina and more of a handmade and worn feel, but not remove much detail. Suggestions anyone? I was thinking of taking it to a jeweler for a work-over on a polishing wheel.
Fred
The Sections Do Not interchange between the Nostalgia and the Balance II.
The Nostalgia is thinner and will actually fit inside the Balance barrel without threading.
Here's my 14k gold Nostalgia:
The Nostalgia is thinner and will actually fit inside the Balance barrel without threading.
Here's my 14k gold Nostalgia:
QUOTE
It would be interesting to run the present value calculation on the original cost of an early overlay pen - what would it have been , maybe $12-15, a lot of money in those days?
$128-$160, according to this gizmo, using 1920 as the date.
QUOTE (Ernst Bitterman @ Sep 18 2008, 11:02 AM) 
QUOTE
It would be interesting to run the present value calculation on the original cost of an early overlay pen - what would it have been , maybe $12-15, a lot of money in those days?
$128-$160, according to this gizmo, using 1920 as the date.
But if it was made in 1934, it would be $239 in 2008 money. Interesting this gizmo. That depression was a bitch!
-Mario
QUOTE (Nellie @ Dec 15 2007, 05:27 PM)
Hi Nick,
I've got one of those and posted a review of it here on FPN. While I certainly like my Nostalgia, I must admit that I like some of my other, fatter Sheaffers more (e.g. my PFM) as they are more comfortable to hold for me. I hope you're not planning to spend the $ 600 that most internet sellers ask on one? I'm just asking, because I always pay attention when they come up on eBay and apparently unused (or hardly used ones) can be had for half that price. Mine was even less, but it needed some work - soaking and cleaning it (and later I also had the nib retipped and reground, which wasn't strictly necessary, however) - and probably has a ballpoint barrel, so that no Sheaffer converter fits in.
The pen is certainly well made and really beautiful, so I wish you good luck with finding one at a reasonable price.
Nellie
I've got one of those and posted a review of it here on FPN. While I certainly like my Nostalgia, I must admit that I like some of my other, fatter Sheaffers more (e.g. my PFM) as they are more comfortable to hold for me. I hope you're not planning to spend the $ 600 that most internet sellers ask on one? I'm just asking, because I always pay attention when they come up on eBay and apparently unused (or hardly used ones) can be had for half that price. Mine was even less, but it needed some work - soaking and cleaning it (and later I also had the nib retipped and reground, which wasn't strictly necessary, however) - and probably has a ballpoint barrel, so that no Sheaffer converter fits in.
The pen is certainly well made and really beautiful, so I wish you good luck with finding one at a reasonable price.
Nellie
only $600? I've seen higher. They are nice pens and I saw the variations last weekend.
Kurt
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