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goodguy

May 19 2008, 12:46 PM

I would like to know other then the regular F and M nibs what other nibs did Sheaffer made for the Snorkel ?
How rare are there ?
How much should (if produced) these nibs cost ?

Italic ?
Music ?
Stub ?
Oblique ?

What is concider the most rare ?

PenHero

May 19 2008, 09:08 PM

I would place the Music nib as the rarest, far more so than the others.

In my experience, the others are about equally difficult to find.

Cheers,

Jim Mamoulides
www.PenHero.com

Martius

May 20 2008, 07:21 PM

Agreed: music is the hardest to find. The others, however, aren't common either. My 14k Valiant factory stub is the only one I've ever seen. There are even a few flexies out there, but I haven't handled one personally. I hear there are even full-flex Triumph nibs out there.

The more common (but still not common) interesting nibs include the A nib, which is an accountant nib (XXXF), and obliques.

Unfortunately, XF, F, and M nibs were produced in much greater number than anything else.

DocNib reported having a 14k music a while back, but he sold it before I could PM him. >.<

Since these nibs are generally quite rare, you might be able to find a great deal on one, since few people know the lore of uncommon Snorkel nibs. Someone who knows, however, will probably charge you in the range of $200-$400 depending on rarity, wear, etc. - especially for stubs and flex. I heard a flex Valiant closed at about $500 at the Philly show auction.

Best,
Summer Greer

DrPJM1

May 21 2008, 01:51 AM

I have a stub, writes beautifully and it behaves like a broad italic.

Johnny Appleseed

May 22 2008, 10:21 PM

As for your first question "other then the regular F and M nibs what other nibs did Sheaffer made for the Snorkel "

Jim did not answer it in his post above, but he has the answer elsewhere, so I will quote:

QUOTE

Breaking The Code

The 1953 Sheaffer Catalog lists the following sixteen gold Triumph points. Each is listed below with their corresponding codes from the table above.

Fine - F5
Extra Fine - X5
Flexible Fine - FF5
Flexible Extra Fine - FX5
Medium - M5
Flexible Medium - FM5
Accountant - A5
Shorthand - G5
Coarse (Broad) - B5
Flexible Coarse (Broad) - FB5
Stub - S5
Broad Stub
Left Oblique Stub - S5L
Flexible Left Oblique Stub
Flexible Stub - FS5
Music
Having no marked example of a Flexible Left Oblique Stub, it's a good guess that the coding would be FS5L, but I'll wait until I see one. The same goes for the Broad Stub, which might be a BS5 or an SB5, using "core" codes as a prefix. If there is a medium or fine Stub, though not listed, it would seem logical that it would follow the same pattern. As stated above, since I don't have a marked Music nib, I don't know what, if any code was used.

From Sheaffer Snorkel Era Nib Codes 1952-1958, by Jim Mamoulides 9/11/03 at Penhero.com.

I would add an interesting side-note, that relates to the nib-codes if not to Snorkels. I have, in my pocket, a Sheaffer Cartridge Pen with a steel triumph nib marked "F8" on the backside. I assume that F is for fine, and 8 for steel triumph nib. Are there any other nib-codes outside of the Snorkel line?

John

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