Os Jade Convertible Balance?

[Brian-McQueen]

The 1930 Sheaffer Catalog illustrates the new "three-in-one convertible pocket and desk fountain pen." These pens have a rear end that unscrews from the pen that can be replaced with a desk taper. The catalogs shows the colors and sizes available as Black, Marine Green, Black and Pearl, in either the 74 size (full length lifetime, standard girth) or the 5-30 size (same size, non-lifetime).

 

At the Raleigh show this year, I picked up a really clean Jade Oversize pen which appears to have been designed as a convertible. Has anyone else seen a convertible in Jade? Or in OS? As far as I know, there isn't an OS sized desk socket...

 

 

 

 

 

[kirchh]

These appear not to be convertibles, but rather an alternative construction method for pocket pens (some of the end caps are fused on), perhaps making use of turned back flat top stock in later examples. Does you pen have the rectangular imprint block generally seen on flat tops, with patent dates?

 

--Daniel

[Lazard 20]

Most conical and "jumped" barrel end makes me to think that this really is a Balance barrel and not a flat top turned barrel..

Edited July 7, 2015 by Lazard 20

[kirchh]

Most conical barrel end makes me think that this really is a Balance barrel and not a flat top turned barrel..

 

Flat top barrels actually taper along similar lines as do Balance barrels. The diameter is similar at the spot of the joint on these pens with two-piece barrels.

 

--Daniel

[Lazard 20]

 

Flat top barrels actually taper along similar lines as do Balance barrels. The diameter is similar at the spot of the joint on these pens with two-piece barrels.

 

--Daniel

 

You have said it; "similar", but I say it's not similar, it's a Balance barrel.

[AAAndrew]

 

The 1930 Sheaffer Catalog illustrates the new "three-in-one convertible pocket and desk fountain pen." These pens have a rear end that unscrews from the pen that can be replaced with a desk taper. The catalogs shows the colors and sizes available as Black, Marine Green, Black and Pearl, in either the 74 size (full length lifetime, standard girth) or the 5-30 size (same size, non-lifetime).

 

At the Raleigh show this year, I picked up a really clean Jade Oversize pen which appears to have been designed as a convertible. Has anyone else seen a convertible in Jade? Or in OS? As far as I know, there isn't an OS sized desk socket...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've actually never seen the convertibles. Would be helpful to see the same connector on a convertible to see if this could connect to the tapers used for the desk pen. It's a really cool pen regardless, but if you could get a taper, and it fits, and a desk base you'd have a killer desk pen.

 

Andrew

[Roger W.]

Can't be a desk pen as there are no OS desk sockets. Convertibles are much smaller and shorter regardless of the connector being similar.

 

Roger W.

 

http://www.sheafferflattops.com/images/Convertible1.jpg

[kirchh]

 

You have said it; "similar", but I say it's not similar, it's a Balance barrel.

 

The end of a flat top barrel tapers similarly to that of a Balance barrel up to the spot of the joint seen in these two-piece barrels. It is not widely known that flat top barrels taper at the end in this way, but an examination of some flat top barrels will confirm what I am pointing out.

 

--Daniel

[kirchh]

 

The end of a flat top barrel tapers similarly to that of a Balance barrel up to the spot of the joint seen in these two-piece barrels. It is not widely known that flat top barrels taper at the end in this way, but an examination of some flat top barrels will confirm what I am pointing out.

 

--Daniel

 

http://home.comcast.net/~kirchh/Misc/Tapered_barrel_end_1.jpg

 

--Daniel

[Brian-McQueen]

The jade pen in question has a block imprint with dates. Here is a picture.

 

 

At the same time, I have an earlier Balance with the longer barrel and an end which is fused on, but a different imprint

 

[kirchh]

Can't be a desk pen as there are no OS desk sockets. Convertibles are much smaller and shorter regardless of the connector being similar.

 

Also, the taper is more slender to match the standard-girth convertible pen barrel, so it would not match the larger-diameter OS barrel though it uses the same thread diameter/pitch stud.

 

--Daniel

[kirchh]

The jade pen in question has a block imprint with dates. Here is a picture.

 

 

 

 

At the same time, I have an earlier Balance with the longer barrel and an end which is fused on, but a different imprint

 

 

 

 

The block imprint is the one I've seen on these later two-piece Balance barrels. As that is the imprint that was used on flat tops at the time the Balance was introduced, it is consistent with the hypothesis that these barrels were originally intended for flat top pens.

 

There are longtail Balances with one-piece barrels that bear the same block imprint with patent dates, as well as more commonly-found longtail examples with the imprint ending in "PAD'D -- PAT. PENDING." However, I do not recall seeing short-tail one-piece-barrel Balances with the patent-date block imprint. Again, this is consistent with the hypothesis that these barrels were not intended to be Balance barrels at the time of imprinting.

 

The imprint location might provide some useful evidence here, but the location was not entirely consistent, so it might be difficult to make a definitive statement about whether already-imprinted flat top barrels were or were not used for some two-piece Balance barrels.

 

--Daniel

Edited July 7, 2015 by kirchh

[Brian-McQueen]

I was unable to match up the imprint location of the Jade balance pen with the location of the imprint on any of my flat-tops of the same size. However, I only had 3 to compare against.

 

What do you make of the long tail fused-end pen with the "PATENTED" imprint? It seemingly refutes the idea of a flat-top barrel being re-used.

[kirchh]

To put the notion of the pen being an oversized pocket/desk pen to bed, I'll note that stickered examples of these pens bear the same model number as otherwise-identical one-piece-barrel pens. This tends to support the idea that they were a construction variation, not a distinct model.

 

--Daniel

[kirchh]

Note that the Half Balance, which was an apparent effort to use up turned-back flat top barrels, appeared at about the same time that these short-tail two-piece Balance pens would have been issued, at the earliest. This is also consistent with the idea that Sheaffer was looking for ways not to waste components that might otherwise have sat in inventory for quite some time.

 

--Daniel

[kirchh]

I was unable to match up the imprint location of the Jade balance pen with the location of the imprint on any of my flat-tops of the same size. However, I only had 3 to compare against.

 

What do you make of the long tail fused-end pen with the "PATENTED" imprint? It seemingly refutes the idea of a flat-top barrel being re-used.

 

I've matched up a few, though most flat tops seem to have the imprint closer to the point end of the barrel.

 

There are several possibilities regarding the longtail two-piece barrels with imprints other than the one seen on flat tops of the era -- that is, with imprints typical of one-piece-barrel Balances from the same period. The hypothesis I favor at this point is that the barrels were new manufacture using a two-piece construction, driven by the fact that the one piece design required solid rod stock, but Sheaffer had been using bored tube for all its flat top production (the flat top caps and barrels were closed with an inserted disc of celluloid), so Sheaffer might have wanted to make use of that on-hand (and likely on-order) tube stock, as it was rapidly becoming clear that flat top demand was plummeting. Obviously, the tube stock would not have yet borne any imprints. Note that there could have been a significant pipeline of tube stock that needed to be utilized, as the rod was bored before the celluloid cured; then, dry warm air was blown through the tubes to accelerate curing, but this process still took several months, if I recall correctly.

 

The later short-tail two-piece Balance barrels might have been a resourceful use of already-fabricated flat top barrels.

 

--Daniel

[Brian-McQueen]

I figured that this was not ever designed to be used as a desk pen, as I didn't believe there was an OS desk socket. We are having a similar discussion about this pen over at FPB: http://fountainpenboard.com/forum/index.php?/topic/6982-os-jade-balance-convertible-pen. I invite you to check it out. Daniel, I have paraphrased some of your thoughts over there.

 

If it is the case that all flat-top barrels are tube stock that was plugged with a disc, and these pens are modified flat-top barrels, shouldn't we see remnants of the plug? I will have to look at mine more closely a little later.

[kirchh]

If it is the case that all flat-top barrels are tube stock that was plugged with a disc, and these pens are modified flat-top barrels, shouldn't we see remnants of the plug? I will have to look at mine more closely a little later.

 

Yes and no.

 

The Balance barrels' joint is not at the point where a flat top's barrel would end; it's short of that by a bit. However, the end of the two-piece barrel is plugged with a thicker piece of material that is threaded; close examination of the barrel end will reveal the discontinuity in pattern indicative of the seam between barrel shell and plug.

 

--Daniel

Edited July 7, 2015 by kirchh

[kirchh]

Quick photo:

 

http://home.comcast.net/~kirchh/Misc/Sheaffer_Quilled_Balance_Plug_Evidence_for_Conversion_Detail.jpg

 

--Daniel

[Lazard 20]

The jade pen in question has a block imprint with dates. Here is a picture.

 

 

 

 

 

This is normal and expected because the block imprint with patent dates remained in the Balance desk pens. Tomorrow I´m going to upload 6 or 8 photos with diferents Balance desk pens with block imprint... included some marine green with block imprint (marine green that always was Balance).

 

Note also that your fountain pen with pin lever (not ring lever) is more typical of Balance era.

 

Footnote.- Precisely "the suspect" as desk pen could be your black one .

Edited July 7, 2015 by Lazard 20