Sometime in the mid-to-late '50s, my parents decided to splurge a little and treat themselves to a couple of nice fountain pens. They went to a local jewelry store and bought a pair of Sheaffer Saratoga Snorkels. My father got a black one with a medium nib and had his name engraved on the barrel. He seldom used it.

Mother's was gray and had a fine nib. She used hers a lot. She was a school teacher and carried two pens in her purse: A Waterman Hundred Year Pen was loaded with red Skrip. The Saratoga was filled with Royal Blue Skrip. The Saratoga took a real beating. There are two cracks in the barrel; when I fill it, I have to hold it like a flute so the pressure stays up. The biggest problem was that she lost the cap. She wouldn't sideline her favorite pen, so she found a slip cap from another pen that would work well enough to keep the feed from drying out. The nib bottoms out in that cap, but it rode around in Mom's purse for many years without any apparent damage.

I inherited both pens and replaced the sacs and seals. They work well enough. For years, I have been keeping an eye peeled at flea markets and antique shops for a gray Saratoga cap. I finally found one yesterday. It was attached to a whole gray Saratoga, identical to Mom's old pen, sans cracks. In fact, this pen is in remarkably good condition. It was on a table in the midst of a handful of Wearevers. The seller demanded $2.00 for it -- FIRM! I nearly tore my rotator cuff, reaching for my wallet. KA-CHINGG!

Today, I installed a new sac and seals and filled it with some vintage Peacock Blue Skrip. I know why this pen was in such good condition and was going for cheap. It was a really dry writer -- excessively dry. Flossing helped a little (I went up to .004"), but not enough. Pressing on the nib made it write well. So I began to pull the slit apart with a thumb on top and fingernails under the sides. After about a dozen careful tweaks, the nib became very sensitive to pressure, writing almost like a flexible nib. A few more springs and I have a very nice-writing pen.

So, now I have a nice gray Snorker. When I decide to put my mother's pen into rotation, I will use the cap from this newest acquisition to carry it around in. Otherwise, the pen will stay in the display case and sport the disreputable slip-cap, just the way Mom left it: a tribute to thousands of kids' graded papers.

Paddler

Nice story

Snorks do make nice writers.

d

Congrats on such a nice find to fill your memories.