Sheaffer ballpoint

Another Sheaffer question here –

I think this ballpoint should go with a certain style fountain pen from either the 1950’s or early 1960’s. I saw some that looked similar but they had white dots and no engraving on the clip. Does anyone know?

Dimensions and marks:

It is marked SHEAFFER’S on a gold colored clip.
On the chrome above the gold band is: SHEAFFER’S MADE IN U.S.A.
On the black just below the gold band and horizontal is: W. A. SHEAFFER PEN CO., FORT MADISON, IOWA, U.S.A., MADE IN U.S.A.

The top barrel is silver chrome and the top button is black plastic. It has a gold middle band, a black plastic bottom barrel and a gold tip.

Length rather depends if the cartridge is in it or not – Approx. 5 inches.



The strange thing about this pen is the ballpoint cartridge. It seems too big and it feels a bit waxy. It is still 3/4ths full and it could be there is some writing that I just can’t see due to the ink. So far the only mark I can see is a BL (I assume that is for “blue”) in the clear upper portion. Maybe someone put an incorrect cartridge in it, but without the cartridge the black top button falls down into the pen. When the cartridge is in place, the writing tip is extended.







Does anyone know if this ballpoint was manufactured to accompany a certain style of fountain pen?

Plus, does anyone have a clue about the cartridge? (If I had not known the previous owner, I would definitely conclude that the cartridge was just incorrect.)

Hiya,

With a bit-more-than-cursory glance it seems like that ballpoint would belong in a Sheaffer Snorkel Sentinel set, which I believe was manufactured 'round the fifties. The description seems to match with a Clipper I have on me right now.

Never mind, that was the similar-but-not-same style you were referring to. My bad.

Unfortunately, I don't know about the ballpoint cartridge - others more wise than I surely would be able to explain. I would guess that that was an older style that now requires a widget to function with modern-day Sheaffer or Parker refills, but again, unsure.

Cheers, Anthony

By the looks of it, it's the first version of the modern Sheaffer BP refill. Today's Sheaffer refills should work in that pen. You won't need the widget -- the ballpoint pens from 1947 to the early-to-mid 1950s that took the metal screw-in refills do.

The only question might be the end plug, you might have to swap out the plug out of the old one to make it work with the new one.

As for the pen itself, it's a odd one. Never seen one of those.

Thank you. I appreciate the replies.

Anthony, I went to look at photos of the pen you thought it might be. Thank you for your comment. I did not have a clue. It was really helpful because I assumed that if it went with a White Dot fountain pen then it had to have a white dot. The photos I found showed differently.

It looked just like a photo of a ballpoint identified as a Sheaffer Snorkel Clipper. I don’t think I could find a Sentinel ballpoint. (My memory is fading and it has not been that long!)


Randy, I will try to get a Sheaffer refill to test. I didn’t want to go buy one if it would not fit. Your info was very helpful.

The ballpoint itself is a Sheaffer Sentinel from the mid-1950s, designed to match the Snorkel pen and pencil. The cartridge is an old "B" type. The current "K" type should fit.

Cheers,

Jim Mamoulides
www.PenHero.com

Thank you, Jim.

P.S. I love your web site. There is so much information there, and the photos are just gorgeous.