Ok, so I was at a pen/stationery store yesterday and in the display case was a little tray of Sheaffers. (I really want a Slim Targa, and that's why these pens caught my eye) On the outside they look just like Slim Targas (they might be a little thinner?). They have the same clip, white dot, etc. The nibs weren't inlaid, though. After taking the cap off, I discovered a normal nib and section.

Upon inquiry, I was told that the pens have been discontinued (or are going to be discontinued, the salesman wasn't very clear) and they were discounted (to $29.95) because they were without converters.

I wrote with one, it was very nice, and I wanted to buy it, but I thought I'd do some research on the good old FPN first.

So, even if my description isn't good enough and no one can tell me what this pen is, I have one or two other questions. Did Sheaffer ever make a pen skinnier than the Slim Targa? I know that the Monteverde mini-converter is reported to fit Slim Targas, so I figure that it should fit this other pen, provided that it isn't slimmer.

Anyway, any help that you guys have to offer I'd greatly appreciate.

Thanks,

Adam

Hi Adam,

The only recent Sheaffer candidates would be, I think, the TRZ and the Fashion I. The TRZ was a 1980s pen, and I believe the Fashion I was its lineal successor: 1980s/90s era. Both models shared the slim converter used by the Slim Targa.

Here's a link to a photo of a TRZ. Here's another, this time to a photo of a Fashion I ballpoint (hopefully it will give you a sense of the pen's slimness).

There was also the later Fashion II (scroll down a bit at the linked page), which used the standard Sheaffer converter. It gave way to the current Agio, which is a similar pen.

The TRZ and the Fashion I are very slim designs indeed; I haven't measured either model against the Slim Targa, but I would not be surprised to learn that either one was fractionally skinnier. That said, it seems unlikely, to my mind, that a dealer would still have significant stock of either model (although stranger things have happened).

On the other hand, I would not be surprised in the slightest to hear that a dealer had a tray of Fashion IIs or discontinued-color Agios. But these pens, while they share the slender tubular profile of the Slim Targa, are appreciably wider.

The other interesting point is that you describe the pens as having a clip similar to the Slim Targa's. That suggests, to me, a plain bar-style clip with a slot. Of the four models mentioned above, only the Agio has a slotted clip; the others have solid bar clips. The Agio's clip isn't identical to the Targa's, but it's certainly the closest match among these models.

I hope there's something helpful in all of that!

Cheers,

Jon

Interestingly, the TRZ looks VERY close.

Maybe I'm mistaken about the clip. I was very sure, though, that the clip was the slotted bar style.

Anyway, the information that they took the slim cartridges is encouraging and helpful, because that means the Monteverde Mini should fit. I'll go back soon (if not tomorrow, I really liked writing with the pen (I dipped it)) and see if I was just making that stuff up about the clip.

Thanks a lot!

It was a TRZ. I was just dead wrong about the clip. ::sigh::

Hi,

I wouldn't despair - the TRZ is a nice pen, and NOS examples don't seem to be as abundant as they used to be. If there were any interesting finishes among the pens, they might merit serious consideration.

Cheers,

Jon