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Sheaffer Crest Red Opalite


visvamitra

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I dislike modern Sheaffer fountain pens. They perform well but I find most of them them boring. It's strange as Sheaffer has a rich history of innovative pen, nib, filling-system designs. What went wrong?



Some designs look interesting though - Sheaffer Crest for example. I've received this pen from a fellow fountain pen user to play with it. And so I played.



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Modern Crest line was offered between 1989 and 1998. Soon it'll become vintage, I guess. Anyway the line was inspired by Snorkel pens, the name Crest comes from a Snorkel model with gold filled cap and plastic barrel.



The pen is rather small, too small for my preferences. The cap and barrel have equal length. Gold electroplated cap shows four straight lines, white dot and the clip is spring loaded, making it easy to slip onto many materials. The section is smooth and has gold plated metal threads that work well.



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During the years of production Sheaffer launched few series of modern Crest. The one I received is called Opalite Red (598) and was introduced on the market in 1996. It seems that apart Opalite Red, two more finishes - Marine Green and Golden Brown - were available at the time. The marbled and lightweigh tbarrel of the pen is made from natural cotton based celluloid . It's slightly translucent - not much, but still. It was cool that Sheaffer decided to reintroduce celluloid to the materials they use. Opalite red celluloid has a lot of depth and visual appeal, at least to me. Sadly and just in my opinion there's just too much gold here. I prefet chrome trim to golden one and therefore I'm not crazy about the pen.



Nib



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I always considered vintage Sheaffer's nib to be one of the nicest ever made. Crest is equipped with Triumph conical two tone palladium plated 18 kt gold nib, stamped "Sheaffer" over "18K" and "750". I can't find nib size but I would say it's juicy broad. The nib is pleasantly smooth, there's also no feedback. The nib feels firm but the writing feel is quite buttery. The flow is consistent and I haven't experienced any ink starvation, hard-starts or skipping.



Filling system



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The pen fills with a squeeze converter or standard Sheaffer cartridges.



Dimensions



Capped - 142.5 mm



Uncapped - 125.2 mm



Summary



As these pens are no longer produced, they're not easy to find. Prices on ebay vary from 150-350 $. Not cheap. It's not the best fountain pen in this price range but it's relatively cheap for a modern celluloid pen. Sheaffer Crest is well built and feels solid in the hand, it writes very well. A one to consider if you enjoy slender pens, tons of gold and celluloid.


Edited by visvamitra
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A nice review, thanks. I am a big fan of the sheaffer conical nibs, and prefer modern c/c pens over some of the exotic vintage filler systems. I like this pen, and have the cheaper solid black version as opposed to the celluloid barrel version.

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Thanks for the review. The opalite red looks a little schizophrenic to me with that classic gold cap: business above the pocket, party in the pocket. I too love the conical nibs and would be eager to try this pen if it had a bit more girth.

James

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I love it. I want one of these so bad it hurts. Nice nib on that one!

Looking for a cap for a Sheaffer Touchdown Sentinel Deluxe Fat version

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Thank you for the review.... It's a lovely looking pen with the conical nib and that amazing material...

But sadly it is not the cellulose nitrate...

 

The Platinum Re Celluloid Series... is it Acetate Celluloid or Nitrate Celluloid....?

And those are around 220 USD.... better Deal in my opinion...

YMMV

vaibhav mehandiratta

architect & fountain pen connoisseur

 

blog | instagram | twitter

 

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Thank you for the review.... It's a lovely looking pen with the conical nib and that amazing material...

But sadly it is not the cellulose nitrate...

 

The Platinum Re Celluloid Series... is it Acetate Celluloid or Nitrate Celluloid....?

And those are around 220 USD.... better Deal in my opinion...

YMMV

It is nitrate in case of Platinum but it is not turned but rather folded from a sheet of celluloid. That's why it is cheaper.

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Vis - which brown ink you used?

 

Your reviews are always great, and when I saw "red" i just jumped to read... but besides the review and amazing photos - it was the ink you used that draw my attention.

(Sorry Sheaffer Crest)

LETTER EXCHANGE PARTICIPANT

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Not only is it a lovely ink, but also one of the few that is sold in the larger Herbin bottle, THEN you can "top off" the squatty bottle to prevent complaint about the disadvantage of the small bottle, AND have a good supply of a beautiful ink.

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Nice review and photos!

 

Thanks for the review. The opalite red looks a little schizophrenic to me with that classic gold cap: business above the pocket, party in the pocket. I too love the conical nibs and would be eager to try this pen if it had a bit more girth.

 

 

lol.. The pen that doesn't want anyone to know what it's doing in your pocket. It has that golden reputation to keep. I kinda like that look.

 

J. Herbin Lie de The - one of the best inks ever created IMO.

 

I agree with that statement. 'Lie de The' is one of my favorites as well. Definitely my favorite gold/brown shading ink. Very well behaved and consistent.

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  • 4 years later...

I bought a Sheaffer Crest Marine Green Opalite fountain and ball point pen set new back in the 1990’s and still have them.  They have been very good solid pens.  The only problem I have had is that the Opalite has slightly shrunk so the converter sticks in the fountain pen barrel.  I have read that this is a common problem that can be solved by removing a small amount of material by polishing the inside of the barrel.  I obtained the following information from the PenHero.com website:

 

In 1996 Shaffer introduced the Opalite series in two colors, Opalite Red and Marine Green, which were followed by Golden Brown later that year. The models were produced until the Crest line was discontinued. These are 23 karat gold electroplate capped pens with barrels made from natural cotton based celluloid in marbled patterns. The pen barrels are lightweight, compared to the brass constructed models, and are translucent.

 

Identification guide and features:

  • 23 karat gold electroplate cap with repeating interrupted four engraved line pattern and celluloid barrel in three colors: Opalite Red (Model 598), Opalite Marine Green (596), or Opalite Golden Brown (597)
  • 23 karat gold electroplated innerspring clip with Sheaffer White Dot inlaid at the top
  • Triumph conical two tone palladium plated 18 karat gold nib, stamped "SHEAFFER" over "18K" and "750"
  • Nib grades included extra-fine, fine, medium, and broad
  • Fountain pen is about 5 5/8 inches long capped and 6 inches posted
  • Black section
  • Retail price for the pen was US $235.00, matching roller ball pen was US $165.00, twist action ballpoint was US $130.00, and continuous feed 0.7mm pencil was US $130.00.
  • Fountain pen and ballpoint set retailed for US $365.00
  • Packaged in red leatherette Sheaffer gift box

Most Crest models have caps and barrels of all brass construction with a variety of lacquer and metal finishes. Of course, many of the models have gold plated caps. In 1996, Sheaffer went in the way-back machine and introduced a celluloid bodied pen, the "Opalite" series, the first real celluloid Sheaffer since the 1940s.

The Opalite models are made from a solid rod of celluloid that goes through several lathe turning processes. The rod stock is drilled to create the barrel and is then tapered at the barrel end. The cap threads are an installed metal insert. The barrels are sanded and polished, hand work that can be visible to the naked eye and shows by running fingers on the barrel and feeling for undulations from lathe turning and sanding. The resulting barrel is translucent, though very dark.

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