I wound up with a very nice pen that looks like an Imperial. Great inlaid nib but the converter is different than any of the other ones I have. It says "Skrip Converter" and it looks like a cartridge with a plastic push rod. I'm assuming that everything Sheaffer ever made fills on the down stroke, so I dip it in water and push this plastic rod in and I see bubbles come out but it doesn't take in any ink.

Could Sheaffer ever have made a converter that fills on the way up?

-Mario

Can you post a pic? Could it be a Sheaffer's Intrigue converter?

Hi,

Here's a link to a PenHero article covering all the early Sheaffer converters. The Skrip Converter was the first version, and your assumption is correct: it's designed to fill on the downstroke. The article suggests that repeated downstrokes are necessary for a good fill, so that may be worth a try. I haven't used one in a long while, but I do seem to recall needing to push the plastic plunger down a few times.

(The article also suggests, unfortunately, that these converters are often found in non-working condition. So it may be that you're doing everything right, and it's the converter that's at fault.)

Cheers,

Jon

It's the first one in the article linked below. It's the first one they ever made.

Thanks for your response.

-Mario

Thanks Jon, that is exactly what I was looking for.

-Mario

Hi,

My pleasure. It's an oddball converter, and there's not much info available. My guess is that Sheaffer rushed it into production, simply because they were surprised that users of their brand-new, mess-free cartridge pens continued to have an interest in bottle-filling. (Only a guess, though, for what it's worth.)

The real thanks go to our esteemed moderator Jim, for generously providing so much invaluable content at his site.

Cheers,

Jon