Sheaffer 300 Gt (Medium Nib)

[Turnpike]

I have but only a few minutes to write this review. So I shall keep it short.

 

Much that I enjoy fountain pens, I have only a few to show. An old Parker Vector that is about 15 years old, remains flushed, and snug in its cracking box. A Parker Frontier, carefully ground into a broad, is the everyday hero. And a Pelikan Grand Prix that was stolen. That makes it two in hand.

 

The third I recently bought, after months of debate. A Sheaffer 300, black with a gold trim, and a medium nib. And I don't know how to put it, but somehow all the expectations, sadly, just didn't add up. But don't mistake this for a negative review, for it is not.

 

I'd read that Sheaffer had closed its US operations, and was manufacturing pens across the globe. Not to mention that the brand had been bought by BIC. Which is all right considering Jaguar and Landrover are now owned by the Tatas who don't make particularly great vehicles themselves.

 

But what stunned me was that this Sheaffer 300 was made in Slovakia. I shall allow a moment for that to sink in.

 

….

….

….

 

Comfortable? Good. Because the cartridges that came with the pen, and there were two of them, are made in Slovenia.

 

Now, I would not mind where the pen is made, or where its inks came from, if I got a product I wanted. Except that I didn't. Some of you may have seen my post wondering if 'M' was the new 'F'. Based on the response to that, and some extensive forum searching, and culling reviews, it appeared that at least for Sheaffers, 'Medium' is merely a misnomer. That for any number of Sheaffer medium nibs, across periods, the line widths would be different. This I will accept as a matter of fact, and not argue on it.

 

What is strange however is how scratchy the nib was. So scratchy in fact that a patient upward stroke put hardly any ink on paper!

 

I can recall that the Parker Frontier came with a badly ground medium nib that I had to grind further to balance the point. Not to mention a loose cap.

 

But I had expected a Sheaffer to be better. It has taken me a few sessions of soft grinding – on a key and an INR 1.00 coin – to bring a semblance of smoothness to the nib.

 

In a way, both of us are getting used to living with each other. I am getting used to the fact that the Sheaffer will not put a broader, wetter line, and the pen realising that I want exactly that. It has of course been only a few days, and we have much to adjust to.

 

And with each passing day, I'm becoming just that little bit fonder of the pen than I was at the first instance. I'm beginning to love the weight of the pen against my fingers, the flawless construction, the mature snap of the cap, and the click of the clip, the beautiful finish of gold and black resin. And the limited line variations.

 

I have a feeling, that this will a rather interesting relationship. Much like Mr. Darcy and Miss. Elizabeth in Pride & Prejudice.

 

Edited March 27, 2013 by Turnpike

[notVirtuThe3rd]

Thanks for the sharing your nice review!

[Turnpike]

Sharing one photograph.

 

[lovemy51]

nice review!

 

as you may -or may not- know, you should check for misaligned tines before trying smoothing a nib. i have the same exact pen and it came with a very smooth "M" nib -too bad i find the pen too heavy for my liking. i just picked it up from the pen cup-holder where i had it -nib up- for quite some time and started writing right away!!

 

 

PS. i like your handwriting!

[Turnpike]

Details on the nib.

 

[Turnpike]

nice review!

 

as you may -or may not- know, you should check for misaligned tines before trying smoothing a nib.

 

 

I don't have a magnifying class, so used a camera to zoom into the point. I can't see anything obvious. I'm stumped .

[Steve Teoh]

I bought my 2nd Sheaffer and it is the 300 straightline chase chrome beauty with flawless finishing. The spring clip is out of this world and grips my shirt pocket confidently.

 

It writes smoothly without any issue right from the first time I inked it and when pen meets paper. Also it felt smoother than my Sheaffer 100. The nibs of both 100 and 300 look similar but could be different in its specification.

 

A great buy for me and looking forward to having more fun with it !

[Turnpike]

Time for another update:

 

Writing with this pen reminds me of teaching a kindergartner to write the alphabets. A bit of persuasion, dollops of patience, some encouragement, and then there are those days when it's best to give up. I remember the first time I put this pen to paper. 'Appalling' would be the correct term. Over then next few months, I've tried grinding the nib carefully, and gently, against the fine grain of a coin. That didn't help. I've tried writing on various kinds of paper, and have seen that some kinds suit better than others. I've changed inks, but that made no real difference.

 

Strange as it might sound, this pen is at once the best and the worst I have used ever. It writes like a swan on water when it does, and when it doesn't, it's a sputtering jalopy that jerks and whines and belches in the middle of the road. Lately, things have stabilised. The mood swings are less common. I've taken to mixing some Prozac with the inks. And the pen has been behaving well. The lines are almost wet, and the nib is less prone to ploughing the paper it writes on. And for the most part it is smooth.

 

I don't know if Sheaffers take time to 'burn-in'. But this one appears to be doing just that.

[lovemy51]

hi there. I gotta tell you mine was a great writer from the get-go -as I mentioned on the previous post. thx for posting an update.

[Gloucesterman]

So many pens, so little cash! Thanks for the good review.

[somnath1077]

I probably missed this review. I feel that I should point out that I have three Sheaffer 300s. I like them so much that I want to buy another one! Yes, the pens are made in Slovakia but I think they are of very good quality (I paid around Rs 1800 each). Now the prices have gone up and they are available at William Penn at Rs 2500 (USD 40, EUR 30, current exchange rates). I really don't think that you can get a better pen at that price.

 

Nice review by the way!

Edited October 2, 2013 by somnath1077

[hari317]

I probably missed this review. I feel that I should point out that I have three Sheaffer 300s. I like them so much that I want to buy another one! Yes, the pens are made in Slovakia but I think they are of very good quality (I paid around Rs 1800 each). Now the prices have gone up and they are available at William Penn at Rs 2500 (USD 40, EUR 30, current exchange rates). I really don't think that you can get a better pen at that price.

 

Nice review by the way!

1699/- here. ASAPENS.

 

http://www.ebay.in/sch/m.html?_odkw=sheaffer&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_armrs=1&_ssn=asapens&_trksid=p2046732.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.Xsheaffer+300&_nkw=sheaffer+300&_sacat=0

[PAKMAN]

Been writing this week with my new 300 in the Ferrari finish. The nib was great right out of the box. Great pen in my opinion!

[Blue_Moon]

Good to hear! My wife bought one for me as a present, but hasn't given it to me yet. Am I supposed to know this? Hahahahahaha!

[Turnpike]

UPDATE:

 

After nearly a year and a half of living with the Sheaffer 300, I finally narrowed down the problem with the pen to a lack to ink flow. The tines were very, very tight at the tip of the nib; and the ink therefore did not reach the tip. Naturally, the pen wrote dry, thin and scratchy.

 

Having diagnosed the issue, I solved it simply by forcing the tines apart, little by little, using a sharp razor blade. I used my Lamy Vista (F-nib) as a reference for ink flow and writing. Once the tines had been adequately parted, the Sheaffer 300 gradually came back to life. The writing became smoother, and then darker as the ink flow increased.

 

The entire operation spanned three days. I was rather apprehensive about the blade technique. Years ago, I have ruined several pens by over-zealously swiping blades through the tines. There was quite a bit of swiping of the blade, and pushing apart of the tines (very carefully), and scribbling to test the changes and comparing the same with the Lamy.

 

Now the Sheaffer 300 writes the way I’d have wanted it to on day one.

 

Below is a writing sample of the Sheaffer 300, and the Lamy Vista.

 

[Blue_Moon]

You have far more patience than I do. It would have been - off to the nibmeister with you - for me. Actually, I was thinking of sending mine to Pendleton Brown to get his great butter-line stub~italic nib anyway.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Blue_Moon

[Falconerguy]

I also have a Sheaffer 300, and I love the thing. I had similar issues to you at first, but without any adjustment, they went away in just a few days. Definitely a solid buy.

[amuanti1993]

I too bought a 300 just yesterday and the nib is smooth and the pen is awesome for the price I got it for.

[ThirdeYe]

I really liked the Sheaffer 300 I had, but it was a bit too heavy for my liking. The nib was super smooth and had great flow, though. Mine was a medium nib as well.

[bone215]

Turnpike

Nice review, observations, and updates. Thank you for all the detailed info.

 

 

If you are tempted, as it seems in your post, to adjust your pens, might I make a suggestion that you are free to ignore?

The Goulet Pen company sells a little kit with 12,000 grit paper, mylar paper, and brass shims of very small width. I think your nibs would be better served by using the brass shims as opposed to a razor blade. The razor may open the tines a bit too much.

 

Yes of course, I am not that experienced and I mess up sometimes, but all of my "playing" so far has been on very inexpensive pens.