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Calling Desk Pen Gurus:


express

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Greetings,

 

This my 1930s Sheaffer desk pen. I call it "The Duke," after 1930s jazz great Duke Ellington. Smooth/precise writer, looks great on the desk, restored by a reputable dealer, I love it!

 

I don't love the socket it came with. It's got a significant crack, plus other small cracks, and the pen was drying out all the time. I've solved the problem temporarily with some high-tech scotch tape (somewhat visible in the photos), but on a recent re-taping the cracks appeared to be larger, so this probably isn't the long term solution.

 

While I am curious to find out if restorers like Messrs. Zorn, Horne or others could fix this original, I am concerned that even they wouldn't have enough to work with.

 

Even if they can, I'd hate to do without the pen for months while they work their magic.

 

Does anyone have advice on finding a compatible replacement socket and/or base? This is a pretty plain-Jane base; no dry-lock, threads, or locking mechanism; just friction fit as far as I can tell. Wouldn't have to be pretty, or historically accurate or anything of the sort . . . just hold the pen, keep it from drying out and don't crumble into dust. While I can google "sheaffer desk pen parts" as well as the next man, it would be helpful to know what I'm looking for.

 

Thanks in Advance,

 

Jon

 

PS: A nice consolation prize if no advice for a replacement would be some help dating this set. Only description at purchase was "1930's."

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  • Roger W.

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Sheaffer called these sockets but, on EBay they could be called anything. None of your set matches. The pen is circa 1930, the base is circa 1940 and the socket is not a Sheaffer. The pen with matching taper is a superior desk pen. You need to look for a Sheaffer socket like the one pictured below. Shouldn't be too hard to find an appropriate set.

 

Roger W.

 

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Sheaffer called it 'receptacle' or 'socket' but the base is actually from Parker. The correct pen for that socket is a ca 1940 Parker Challenger.

 

The Sheaffer desk pen is the actual star: it is from ca 1930 and it is the not-so-common version with matching colour taper. This nice and valuable pen deserves the correct desk base. That would be the version with the flat bottom socket like this one (which was sold on Ebay a while ago):

 

fpn_1552066291__s-l1600.jpg

Edited by joss
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The thing that complicates this slightly is that Sheaffer made pens like that in two sizes, "small diameter" and "medium diameter." One size will fit fairly tightly in the socket, while the other can be a little bit loose.

 

Looking at the 1930 catalog, though, there does not seem to be any size specified in any of the sockets, they are called "Universal." So, even when you get the correct socket, you may find a slight looseness...or not.

 

Roger Wooten, any comments on this??

The Moonwalk Pen - honoring Apollo lunar landings
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John;

 

It is just as you say, they are often a little loose or a little tight. If the pen is original to the socket it is a decent fit but, still there were tendencies to dry out which leads to the change in 1935 of the Dry-Proof system. If you have the luxury of several pens to several bases you can usually fit a group pretty well. I happen to have this model except in a 5-30 and a base handy - it's a little tight but, it fits. So, buying a random set from the proper era the pen is likely to fit though it may be a little tight or a little loose. The 2 hundredths difference in diameter is ultimately not that much - maybe it made a difference in sales. Some wanting a little thicker or little thinner pen. Ultimately this idea was given up and desk pens were all the same diameter for their appropriate socket. Still, you won't find a real thick desk pen such as Parker might have available early on. The majority of desk pens are on the slender side from all makers.

 

Roger W.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Thanks to all for your help so far.

 

The saga continues. Found a neat looking base with a correct-looking socket.

 

Unfortunately, as warned about above, the pen fits quite loosely in it, and I'm pretty sure the nib is striking the bottom of the socket. I'm not a guru like some on here, but I know that ain't good. I thought this pen was pretty good sized, but this base must have been for a monster, originally.

 

Any thoughts on a retrofit, like an o-ring or something? Or just keep looking for a more pen-friendly base?

 

Again, a consolation prize otherwise: Any thoughts on when/what this base was originally? Still got the sheaffer sticker on the bottom so it looks like it's legit.

 

Thanks Again,

Jon

 

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Jon;

 

The sticker should say that it is an R-16. It may be a matter of the nib being set just a little too long so that the stop point doesn't hit before the nib touches the bottom. I can see that with two proper pens I'm playing with in a correct period socket. One pen stops and the other pen has the nib touching the bottom. This requires knocking the nib a resetting it a bit deeper in the section.

 

Roger W.

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Ugh, not what I wanted to hear, Roger, but I appreciate it (beyond my current capabilities, especially for a nice pen, and I don't want to send it out having just bought it months ago). Maybe when it needs a re-sac I'll send it out and kill two birds with one stone.

 

By the way, what's supposed to "stop" the pen anyway? When using some compressed air to clear out the socket a roughly 1/4" long hard washer came flying out (call it 7/32"). Is this supposed to be in there, or is this some yahoo's later retrofit?

 

With or without the washer, the pen's still hitting the bottom of the socket.

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Jon;

 

Was it a black ring with a bevel on one edge? These are supposed to be there. I don't know how early they used these but, I've seen plenty of them come out. I think these were introduced to make a better fit before they switched over to the Dry-Proof in 1935. In the original single "S" model the throat is wider then there is a downsize in the barrel diameter where the section should sit. This is less pronounced but still there to catch the front edge of the section as production continues into the 1920's (S is late 1925). I think the black washers were more stable in diameter dimensions to better fit the section. Radite sizes in this period vary widely and parts are often not interchangeable as they are that far off from one another.

 

Resetting a section, while not overly hard, does risk breakage.

 

Roger W.

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Jon;

 

Was it a black ring with a bevel on one edge? These are supposed to be there.

 

Yeah, that's it. Maybe one of my geekier friends can do a 3d print of that doo-hickey and just make it an eighth of an inch longer or so as an interim fix. Not sure it would seal very well, but reviewing your posts over the years suggests they never sealed that well to begin with. At the very least, I can get a washer or other spacer of some kind to allow me to safely store the pen in the neat base when not inked and in regular use.

 

If it was some daily use, write-in-the-rain junker I would be happy to learn how to smash away at the nib . . . but if the folks on THIS board are saying this is a nice/valuable pen I ain't touching it! I got scared enough feeling this excellent nib grinding around the bottom of the socket.

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