Hello All,

Well, I've managed to tear myself away from the Pelikans and Parkers and get my first Sheaffer!
Picked this one up off eBay (another first) and so don't have all the information about it.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

I think it may be a Balance? But I would very much appreciate confirmation on that and also an idea of what year it was born in.
I've cleaned it up a bit - there was a lot of old blue ink in the nib and feed, but alas, I cannot make it fill.

Before I start scouting around for a restorer, may I just check if I am doing things right.
1) Unscrew the blind cap
2) Gently pull the slender rod piston as far as it will go.
3) Insert nib and section into water (or ink!)
4) Push the piston back in as smoothly and quickly as possible.
5) Wait until the count of five....

Nothing happens :-(
I get some small air bubbles hovering around, but I don't feel a vacuum being created and certainly nothing gets sucked in when the piston hits the end.
So, am I doing something wrong or does this lovely looker need to go for a service?

Thanks so much!

Nicole(proud new Sheaffer owner)

It is a Vac-Fil filling unit... and it most definitely need to be serviced. (The majority of these pens do)


I recommend either Ron Zorn of http://www.mainstreetpens.com or Richard Binder of http://www.richardspens.com.

Both are authorized repair centers for vintage Sheaffers, and their reputation speaks for itself.

If you're getting some bubbles on the downstroke, there's a chance you can jolly it into working (although a proper fixin' is still the best bet). With the blind cap simply unscrewed, stick the pen in water and try to draw some into the barrel syringe-wise. If you get some in, turn the pen point up and see if there's any leakage at the shaft-- if there is, it's time to leave off. If there's not, gently run the shaft up and down a few times with the pen held horizontally, and rotated occasionally so that there's different low sides. This might re-hydrate the innards enough to get a functional seal, and then you can drive out the ink and fill it as you were trying previously. I've been lucky like this with a couple of vacs, and I'm pretty sure the attempt won't do any harm (either you'll find out that the felt packing was shot already, or the rubber piston washer will be too hard to respond and if it fragments, you'll KNOW it needs replacing).

Congrats on your find!

I have this same model. Mine came restored when I got it. It holds a ton of ink and writes like a dream.

Thanks for your comments everyone.

NABodie, do you know what year this model is from?
wvbeetlebug, thanks - I'm pretty pleased with it.
Ernst, no, the syringe action doesn't work either so..
grimakis, thanks I'll be getting in touch with Ron or Richard.

Based on information at Richard's site, it's not before 1936 and could be as late as 1944, although I suspect that the white dot of pricey-ness will tend to push it towards the earlier end of that range.