Hello all,

When was Sheaffer bought out by I guess BIC? Was it 1969? Also, did they immediately change their logo from Sheaffer's to Sheaffer when they were bought or did they keep the Sheaffer's name for a while. Thanks!


Evan

Bic bought Shaeffer in October 1997.

Hi Evan,

Working from memory here: as I recall, the possessive "S" was dropped from the Sheaffer name c. 1964, when the company was sold to Textron, ceasing to be a family operation. The BIC purchase took place, I believe, in 1997.

(Two depressing events, from my perspective.)

Cheers,

Jon

PS Sorry, Mr. T - I posted before I saw your reply.

Oh, two buyouts; I forgot. Yes Jon, they are very depressing...So, is it always true that if you find a pen with "Sheaffer's" it will be 1964 or older? Thanks for the help!

This article states it was c.1966. Sheaffer was sold to Textron in 1966.




no problem

Hi Evan,

So far as I know, it does break down like that, at least in terms of production date.

And there was an intermediate 1988 buyout as well, by a Swiss concern called Gefinor.

Best,

Jon

As a previous poster mentioned, Sheaffer was sold to Textron in 1966, definitely.

Yes, that was when the Stylist was released, and they replaced the white dot with a "S". Fortunately they had the sense to bring the white dot back.

I personally think that dropping the white dot and the traditional Skrip bottle are mistakes in the same category ... discarding unique brand properties

On the white dot, I think the new owners have gotten carried away with it and are putting it on things it should be. I expect a white dot Bic Stik any day now.

On the Skrip well bottle, I seem to recall something about either the molds wore out or the supplier tanked and it wasn't economically feasible to pay the tool and die costs to get a new supplier to retool for the container. There is a thread somewhere relating to limited sources and why Nathan Tardiff has to use the bottles he does for Noodlers ink. (There are a lot of things that some people would like to make in the States these days but do to economics, labor issues, legal restrictions, capital costs, etc., they just can not be done.)

True, they've had a bit of white dot inflation throughout the years. In my opinion the Agio and anything below it shouldn't have a white dot.

It would be nice if they connected the white dot with a lifetime warranty again, but that is surely wishful thinking
(Besides ... lifetime warranty and Bic ... sounds like an oxymoron)

Well, considering where those items are made (Agio and below) .. I am not surprised about the comment of yours, jthole.
The boxes that I see of Agios these days, are have a lovely sticker saying "Made in China"... not made in USA or Made in Australia.. or (wherever the other factories of Sheaffer were).

Even in saying that, the Agio has been a nice wee pen... and has certainly appeared to be more successful for Sheaffer than that 'interesting' design, the Intrigue.

Most of the Agio product that you have seen is still the USA Made product. The boxes are made in China.
In time the USA made Agio and Prelude will sell through and be replaced with the Chinese product.
I doubt you will notice any real difference in the quality. I've written with both the USA and Chinese product
and there is no difference in the writing feel or the balance of the pens.

It is not likely that there will be a lifetime warrantly on any modern Sheaffer pens.

BTW...I am working on getting Sheaffer to bring back the old Skrip bottle. We've got to prove that ink sales will
go UP as a result. What would you be willing to pay for the improved bottle?