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1960's Lifetime ...


ahall

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I recently bought a 1960's Sheaffer with an inlaid nib from an antique mall. It's a cartridge pen, and it wrote wonderfully once I cleaned the dried ink. I was pleasantly surprised that I could find Sheaffer cartridges at the local OfficeMax.

 

From reading around, particularly PenHero.com and SheafferTarga.com, I've learned quite a bit, but I'm still curious about some things. Here's what I think I know and what I guess: It's a Sheaffer Lifetime Imperial(?) cartridge pen, circa 1963-1965. It has a 14K inlaid nib with "Lifetime" markings on the nib and the pen barrel. However, the cap is not marked "Lifetime" either on the clip or by engraving. The clip has no engraving at all that I can make out. The body has "Sheaffer's Lifetime Made in U.S.A.". The cap just has "Sheaffer's - Made in U.S.A." engraved. The cap band doesn't have any 14K marking that I can see, though it is engraved with someone's initials. The nib is marked fine, although it writes a little broad for my taste (I'm used to Pilots in my short fountain-pen experience.), but it's super smooth.

 

I do know know it takes current cartridges just fine, but not either the piston converter that came with my Sheaffer 100 nor the squeeze converter that I ordered from Peyton Street Pens. :(

 

The questions I have:

  • Am I right or wrong in thinking of this as an Imperial?
  • The nib is a bit upturned (see pic). Is that right? That feeling took a bit of getting used to, but it's quite smooth.
  • I wonder if maybe the pen doesn't have its original cap? Might that have something to do with the engraving on the band, or is it just that the cap was probably lost or broken sometime in the last 50 years and along the way someone grabbed a similar cap and stuck it on there?
  • What else is interesting about this pen or these pens?

Pics are below. They link to larger versions on Flickr. Sorry for the dodgy quality; I don't know what I'm doing yet. :D

 

36116369845_6dc206d663.jpg

 

35725088530_b70ecaa69f.jpg

 

36116370565_a1b7fd15e7.jpg

 

36116361695_b8851b5d0f.jpg

- Aaron

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I am using the button converter on a pen like this one, where the other converters will not fit. I sometimes get better flow results by refilling the old cartridges.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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I can report that the Sheaffer slim squeeze converter works just fine in my Imperial. I ordered it from Anderson Pens, and it came encased in what I think is a Sheaffer Fashion pen.

 

35351904474_76d406475d.jpg

 

36187705495_0ba5bfce78.jpg

 

35797639330_7e700ef590.jpg

 

- Aaron

- Aaron

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