Lamenting The Great Sheaffer Days

[Bill Wood]

Perhaps it’s my age, and feeling nostalgic during this Covid mess. I started my FP story a long time ago with Sheaffer. Targa, Crest, Balance, school pens. I loved the inlaid nibs that understated the nib. Today I see pens with huge open ended nibs. I’m not saying it’s wrong, and I’ve used them all. Great makers like Edison and FC.

But I’ve moved on, and look where I landed. Sheaffer for all those zoom meetings. Small Imperials, and PFM with converters.

i just wish someone would at least try making a pen with an inlaid nib. Something so elegant about those nibs. I don’t think anything beats a smooth Targa.

But I’m older now. Miss those heady Sheaffer days so much.

-Bill

[sciumbasci]

You're in luck, for Sheaffer resumed production of the Legacy.

The style is a bit flamboyant, in line with easter tastes, or so I heard. But the inlaid nib is back!

[inkstainedruth]

Except of course now Sheaffer is owned by Cross.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[sansenri]

The PFM is one of the very first pens I bought when I started collecting...

My father owned one, (together with very few other pens that he used), a burgundy PFM.

Not sure where his ended up, but I just had to have one soon after I started expanding my FP horizon...burgundy of course.

[silverlifter]

 

i just wish someone would at least try making a pen with an inlaid nib. Something so elegant about those nibs. I don’t think anything beats a smooth Targa.

 

 

Waterman make pens with inlaid nibs (the Carène, for example).

[pajaro]

The new Sheaffer owned by Cross doesn't quite satisfy my nostalgic yearnings. Only the vintage Sheaffer appears to satisfy that for me, along with vintage Parker 51. I know the companies need to sell new pens, but that's their problem. I doubt they could or would duplicate the vintage.

Edited July 21, 2020 by pajaro

[max dog]

It's too bad Sheaffer and Parker did not adopt the Montblanc marketing strategy back in the 90s and focused on upscale only, and left the low end of the market for the bottom feeder companies with their cheap labour. If they had, they would have flourished like Montblanc did. Then we wouldn't be lamenting vintage Sheaffer and Parkers. They'd still be making great pens like in their heydey.

Edited July 21, 2020 by max dog

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

It's too bad Sheaffer and Parker did not adopt the Montblanc marketing strategy back in the 90s and focused on upscale only, and left the low end of the market for the bottom feeder companies with their cheap labour. If they had, they would have flourished like Montblanc did. Then we wouldn't be lamenting vintage Sheaffer and Parkers. They'd still be making great pens like in their heydey.

i don't know that I agree with you on that. I mean, Parker still has the Duofold and the Sonet, and look at the quality/repair issues there... and those are NOT cheap pens... I personally think having them bought by giant conglomerates that simply DON'T CARE about pens or pen people is what did them in. You CAN make inexpensive pens AND expensive pens and still be successful. Platinum Preppy anyone?

 

just my 2cents, YMWV

[max dog]

i don't know that I agree with you on that. I mean, Parker still has the Duofold and the Sonet, and look at the quality/repair issues there... and those are NOT cheap pens... I personally think having them bought by giant conglomerates that simply DON'T CARE about pens or pen people is what did them in. You CAN make inexpensive pens AND expensive pens and still be successful. Platinum Preppy anyone?

 

just my 2cents, YMWV

I agree that Parker is still in business, but they are only a shadow of their former selves. I think competing in the lower end market over the decades slowly ate away at their profitability forcing them to move production overseas that saw the brand image erode as they rapidly lost market share. Sound familiar? You can replace Parker with Sheaffer, Waterman and the same fate struck them all. Montblanc wisely shed themselves of the unprofitable lower tier market and laser focused their efforts in the higher end luxury tier, remained profitable and have flourished continuing to provide their iconic pens with no sign of letting up. In fact they could possibly be more popular and famous than ever. Edited July 22, 2020 by max dog

[Parker51]

I do not believe Sheaffer was a viable element of an American Conglomerate past 1986. This was not because of anything they did or did not do, nor anything in regard to the Fountain Pen market, rather it was due to changes in which ways American Corporations were and are operated. If they had been sold to non-US Company they might have survived longer.

 

The problem was by 1986 US Companies largely stopped being valued on the basis of profitability and the projected ability to maintain long term profitability for the purpose of issuing dividends to stockholders. I recall that as early as the late 1970s those who were using sofisticated mathematical models had abandoned calculating multiples of dividends as a way to rate a Company in favor of the value proposition based on the projected sale of said Company that largely indicated it's share price. I had a University professor that had used those models to inform him to buy and then later sell for a huge profit Standard Oil of Ohio. The problem with Sheaffer during that period and later, which eventually led to its demise was it never really was able to seen as a Company, or unit of a Company which had growth potential such as to make its worth increase prospects attractive to either the company which owned it, or other companies which might buy it. And so instead of receiving funds for facilities, employee retention, advertising, research and sales it was starved and squeezed for its profits with them going to other businesses within the conglomerates it was a part of.

 

Montblanc the pen company portion was instead treated as a brand which could be and was built on in non-pen ways. It retained its Capital and profits which enabled it to both live comfortably and expand its product line of pens as those non-pen profit centers expanded. Today it continues to grow and show potential for future growth and so it is valued and given oppertunity for growth.

 

The focus on potential future growth in value rather than sustained profitability is what is currently pushing Tesla stock up so high. It barely makes a profit compared to its stock price and net value, but it doesn't have to as its ability to issue dividends is not considered important, only the stock price and projected future sale of it, or its actual parts.

[TheDutchGuy]

I don’t think anything beats a smooth Targa.

 

Exceptional pens, for sure. So many were made that perhaps they are ‘taken for granted’ to some extent. I never cared much for the aesthetics of Sheaffer pens, but in terms of quality... wow. Let me put it like this: of my 25 pens, 4 are vintage Sheaffers, including a Targa Slim and a Targa.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

I agree that Parker is still in business, but they are only a shadow of their former selves. I think competing in the lower end market over the decades slowly ate away at their profitability forcing them to move production overseas that saw the brand image erode as they rapidly lost market share. Sound familiar? You can replace Parker with Sheaffer, Waterman and the same fate struck them all. Montblanc wisely shed themselves of the unprofitable lower tier market and laser focused their efforts in the higher end luxury tier, remained profitable and have flourished continuing to provide their iconic pens with no sign of letting up. In fact they could possibly be more popular and famous than ever.

I don't think i made myself clear previously. Yes Parker is still in business, but yes, as you said, they and Sheaffer have lost prestige and market share.

What i disagree with is how you suggested they could have avoided that by becoming a "Prestige" brand.

Sheaffer, and Parker have both had their reputations suffer, as you correctly pointed out.

What I was trying to say was that i don't believe that they're reputations suffered because they make some lower priced pens. They have always made lower priced pens, even when they were the kings of pen making.

Hence my pointing out that Platinum (and, it should be noted, also Pilot) make pens at multiple price points.

I think what hurt Parker and Sheaffer's reputations was having bean counters running the place instead of people who actually LIKE pens.

I also suspect that if Parker and Sheaffer had tried to compete with Montblanc, and if it had been successful, we would instead have a thread lamenting how Parker and Sheaffer USED to offer pens that people could reasonably afford, and not $1000 pieces of "precious resin"

 

There's no real way either of our suppositions can be proved right or wrong, but it is an interesting thought experiment.

 

In the meantime, ill just keep enjoying my vintage "51"s and Snorkels

Edited July 22, 2020 by IThinkIHaveAProblem

[inkstainedruth]

In fact they could possibly be more popular and famous than ever.

Famous? Maybe. Popular? Ehhh.... (Did you buy a MB Marilyn Monroe pen? Cuz I sure didn't.... I looked at that piece of sexist garbage and said "WTH were they THINKING?")

I like a few of their inks, but I have yet to find a MB pen that's worth the price they charge for it. I got TWO Pelikan M405 -- including the Anthracite Stresemann LE -- for LESS than I would have paid for an MB 149. You may claim that rebranding themselves as "luxury" kept them in business -- but I see it as not thinking long term. You've got an entire generation who either don't use fountain pens at ALL or who find their needs satisfied by well-made and WAAAY less expensive pens, particularly from Japanese brands, who also seem to be on the forefront of innovation and engineering -- I'd like to see the sales figures of how many standard line (as opposed to the LE ones) MBs get sold vs. pens like Pilot Vanishing Points and Decimos, and Sailor Pro Gear/Pro-Gear Slim pens and 1911s). I'd bet it would make for really interesting reading. For instance, I could buy four MORE Decimos, and get them in different colors and with different nib widths (and NOT on sale -- just the regular US retail price) -- and they would still cost less than ONE MB 149. And I've seen plenty of posts from people about how accidentally dropping a "precious resin" MB on the floor destroyed it. I've seen complaints like that about TWSBIS, too -- and my 580-AL and 589-ALR cost roughly a TENTH of a MB and you know? I accidentally dropped one of those on a concrete sidewalk and it DIDN'T crack....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Estycollector]

I've dropped a Lamy Al-Star twice in the parking lot. Just a little scratch.

[BaronWulfraed]

I'll see your Al-Star and raise with a Sheaffer Intrigue (Black/Bark)...

 

Had just picked it up at post office, had in shirt pocket... Went to bookstore, whereupon it slipped out of said pocket to the pavement, where I managed to /step on it/ with boots.

 

Fortunately, the bulk of the pen was in front of the heel, so my full weight didn't really impact it -- but putting a few dents into the side of the cap, on a new pen, did raise my blood pressure. Just glad it wasn't the Balance II which had also been in that shipment (both were at highly discounted prices, being in the NOS stage of life).

[Estycollector]

The true lament will be when there are no longer availble a good 1940's Sheaffer avaiable. Same goes for any of the old stuff as far as I am concerned.

[silverlifter]

The true lament will be when there are no longer availble a good 1940's Sheaffer avaiable. Same goes for any of the old stuff as far as I am concerned.

 

Well, they are available; they just take some hunting down and a fatter wallet

[crescentfiller]

Why would anyone but the competition lament the great days of Sheaffer?

[FredRydr]

Why would anyone but the competition lament the great days of Sheaffer?

Because they only got Parkers at Christmas and birthdays.

[crescentfiller]

Because they only got Parkers at Christmas and birthdays.

 

 

Haha! That is indeed something to lament!