Why did Sheaffer ever make the switch from stainless steel to chrome plate? The PFM and Sentinel stainless caps are great and so easy to touch up, whereas the chrome plate, once it wears away, looks horrible. And the shine on chrome plate ain't that much different from polished stainless (all those spoons in my drawer can't be wrong.)

Now granted, the company is not going to make a pen such that it saves us work, but when everyone else (well, Parker) uses stainless quite successfully, why go with the crappy chrome plate? Is a puzzlement...

Nick

My guess is that stainless steel is harder to machine than brass. All those so-called Sheaffer "Flighter" pens in brushed chrome are actually brass base with chrome plating.

Chrome is cheaper than stainless steel. That´s why car bumpers are chrome plated steel, not stainless steel. And plated brass is easier to work on (again, cheaper) than steel.

OK, so if Sheaffer wanted to standardize on brass, OK...but SS is just so much nicer in every way. I'd pay an extra buck a pen for a true "flighter"...

We'll have to agree to disagree on that. Stainless is ever so slightly brownish, but chrome is just a tad on the bluish side. Here are a "51" Flighter and a Sheaffer Brushed Chrome Stylist side by each for comparison:

That is a great illustration! Thanks!

No fair, Richard! I won't disagree in view of the photographic evidence, but I still wish Sheaffer used stainless. Now I've got to figure out how to replate that brushed chrome Targa barrel...

Nick