Student/school Nib

[kev77]

I recently bought a early student/school pen. It is torpedo shaped at both ends, which I understand is early. I want to order a standard pump converter. Any recommendations on who carries Sheaffer converters?

 

Now, for the nib. It is a 302. Can anyone tell me about this nib? Fine, medium, nail...anything?

 

Thanks,

 

Kev

[jar]

Look for the squeeze converters, they will work best in that model. IIRC the 302 was a fine nib and yup, it will be nail like.

[kev77]

Thanks for the info.

[jar]

Thanks for the info.

 

The 302 may even be extra-fine.

[mrcharlie]

The 302 is definitely considered Extra-Fine by Sheaffer; I just bought a NOS 302 replacement nib in the original packaging. Here is what the little cardboard tube it came in has stamped on it:

 

S-302 $1.25

EX-FINE

for

Sheaffer's $2.95

Cartridge Pen

Made In U.S.A.

By

W.A. Sheaffer Pen Co.

 

I've only ever seen packaging or advertising for Cartridge Pens with F/M nibs in the 2nd/3rd generation, and with 304/305 nibs in the 1st/2nd generation (which are Fine and Medium respectively). I'm wondering if the 302 was only sold as a replacement nib, or were there versions of the Cartridge Pen sold with the 302 installed? And if there is a 302, does that mean there are 301 and 303 nibs, and if so, what are they? Is there a 306 broad nib?

 

The back end of the nib where the intake nipple sticks out is flat surface only on the oldest of the 1st gen pens (I have three 1st gen pens; only one has a nib like this). The 302 I just obtained is also like this, indicating that it is very early production. I wonder if your 302 is also that old, or if they continued to produce the 302 past the first few years of production.

 

Does anyone here know in what year the pen changed from rounded to conical ends, and then later to flat ends?

 

p.s. The standard Sheaffer squeeze converter fits into a Sheaffer Cartridge Pen; I've tried it. Mostly I syringe fill used carts or use new carts when I want skrip.

Edited March 9, 2012 by mrcharlie

[Ernst Bitterman]

Does anyone here know in what year the pen changed from rounded to conical ends, and then later to flat ends?

 

The cones appeared in mid-'60s, and the flats in the early '70's. I know from personal experience that the last shape was in place by 1974, but I don't have any exact turnover dates.

[mrcharlie]

My memory of buying my first pen circa 1975 or 1976 was that it was flat, but I don't still have it and I don't trust memories that old. It is nice to have that confirmed.

[bob_hayden]

If you check all the different interchangeable nibs available for Esterbrook pens I think you will find multiple nibs for many widths. This may have been true for Sheaffer as well. So maybe 302 is XF nail and 303 is XF flexy or whatever. There used to be nibs for stenographers, nibs for accountants, etc.

 

In any case I suspect these nib were never intended for, nor sold in, what many call the school pens. Instead I think they are for an ancestor. The sheet mrcharlie posted gives a clue in refering to the $2.95 pen. You can find an ad for that pen and a couple of comments on it at

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/222972-styles-of-sheaffer-schoolcartridge-pens/page-4

 

Note that the price is listed in both places as $2.95 and that it came with a choice of six different nibs. I suspect only two of those made it into the cheaper pens that followed.

 

On the dates, the approximate ones above sound right to me. In 1962 I bought an Imperial Lifetime cartridge pen and used that through two years of college. Then in 1964 I dropped out and got an apartment with a buddy. I think he introduced me to what I call the dollar pens. I switched to those as I had begun to tire of writing everything with the signature stub in the Lifetime pen. My recollection is that they had pointy heads at that time and this is supported by the fact that I have lots of pointy ones including some showing signs of very heavy usage. I have only one of the rounded ended pens and that may have been purchased on eBay much later. I have lots of flatheads but those generally look like new. I think a lot of them were purchased to stash away at the time these pens began to disappear. I also hoarded ink and still am using USA Sheaffer ink today.

 

Late breaking news: I just ran across a pointy dollar pen on eBay that had stuff printed on it from which we can infer a date of 1971, consistent with the above.

Edited January 8, 2017 by bob_hayden

[mwpannell]

It is interesting the 1957 $2.95 pen advert refers to "Choice of 6 different point styles." For a moment it crossed my mind it might include fiber points Sheaffer tried to make a go of using their cartridges but that wasn't until the mid-'60s. Six is a lot options for those nibs.

[jar]

It is interesting the 1957 $2.95 pen advert refers to "Choice of 6 different point styles." For a moment it crossed my mind it might include fiber points Sheaffer tried to make a go of using their cartridges but that wasn't until the mid-'60s. Six is a lot options for those nibs.

Six may be a lot or it could be F, M, B and plated or unplated.

[bob_hayden]

You guys must be much younger than I am!-) Six could only seem like a lot in this modern era of nib deprivation. A competitor of the Sheaffer pens we've been discussing was an inexpensive Esterbrook cartridge pen. I owned one of those and had several nibs for it. Check this menu.

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/ref/nibs/estienibs/ebpoints.gif

 

Obviously, six is not enough!-)

[mwpannell]

You guys must be much younger than I am!-) Six could only seem like a lot in this modern era of nib deprivation. A competitor of the Sheaffer pens we've been discussing was an inexpensive Esterbrook cartridge pen. I owned one of those and had several nibs for it. Check this menu.

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/ref/nibs/estienibs/ebpoints.gif

 

Obviously, six is not enough!-)

Yeah, but Esterbrook was Esterbrook, the brand of a thousand nibs.

[pajaro]

I have a number of Esterbrooks, J series, Safari Touchdown type fillers, cartridge pens, DeLuxe, M2s. Nibs from fine to 2312 and 9312 italics, Relief obliques, mediums, broads. I hardly use any anymore, but I am using Sheaffer every day.

[bob_hayden]

I sold all my Esterbrooks -- I thought the nibs were awful. And while they may have gone overboard on the number of nibs they offered, they inherited that from the many types of dip pen nibs available. And it wasn't just Esterbrook. A wide choice of nibs was much more common long ago. Below is a list from the 1950s for a line of Sheaffer pens. For the cheaper $2.95 they just offered a more modest six, and for the dollar pen just two. But here's sixteen.

 

[mwpannell]

Six may be a lot or it could be F, M, B and plated or unplated.

Probably most logical. Hard to imagine an EEF or BBB.

[mwpannell]

... Below is a list from the 1950s for a line of Sheaffer pens. For the cheaper $2.95 they just offered a more modest six, and for the dollar pen just two. But here's sixteen.

 

Nice graphic. We are nib deprived, though I'm not sure a nib named "Coarse" would be a big seller these days. But still, we are talking cheap price Sheaffers (though high value IMHO) so ...

[mrcharlie]

Six may be a lot or it could be F, M, B and plated or unplated.

 

No, it could not be that.

 

I have one (marked 302) and it is called Extra Fine on the packaging. One of the other numbers is also Extra Fine (I think one of the two extra fines is what Sheaffer called "Accountant" nib). I have seen an Italic nib for the cartridge pen, but it was from later on when they stopped using the numbers on the nibs (304, 305, etc) and started using letters (M, F, etc) and this one was stamped 'I'. I don't know if that was also one of the original "30X" set of six possible nibs and if so which number it was.

Edited January 10, 2017 by mrcharlie

[Tweel]

I was coming to the conclusion that 302 and 303 are both XF. I wonder what difference there is between them -- in the Triumph nib chart above, "Extra Fine" and "Accountants" look about the same. (I found the same ad here.)

[mwpannell]

Thanks for the full ad link Tweel. Their use of "insured" might get a copywriter fired today. Or Sheaffer sued. And no doubts mrcharlie, but could you post pics? I'd be interested.

Edited January 10, 2017 by mwpannell

[mrcharlie]

I don't have a ready photo of the package/tube mine came in, but I once failed to win an ebay auction for seven of them. Here is a photo from that auction which clearly shows (click to see the full size) the 301 is an Accountant nib (not the 303 as I had guessed) and the 302 is Ex Fine. I can get a better photo of my 302 tube later if you don't think this one is readable enough. Unfortunately you can't see the size codes and text for most of the rest.

 

Edited January 11, 2017 by mrcharlie