The Sheaffer Javelin

[Keith with a capital K]

I received a pretty amber Sheaffer Javelin this morning courtesy of our own Jim Mamouldies and the pen just begged to be converted to an ed filler... 10 seconds later I have a wonderful Amber coloured pen that holds 3.5 ml of Pelikan Brilliant Brown ink.

 

The Javelin is a wonderful pen in many respects in that it is both affordable and a remarkably nice writer. There's no fancy gold trim or 14k nib but these things have nothing to do with how well a performs... this pen is a wonderful writer.

 

The pen istelf is fairly light in the hand and is comfortable to use unposted (length 120 mm) and even better posted (150 mm). The rubberized grip section offers a secure grip but might be a little small for those who prefer larger sections.

 

Lets see how these pictures turned out...

 

http://www.capitalpens.com/images/fpn/JavelinA.jpg

 

I have to send out a special thanks to Jim for hosting the quiz and letting me play...

 

Edit note: Improved Pen Image

Edited March 25, 2005 by Keith with a capital K

[Keith with a capital K]

Jim has better pics than anyone and is offering these pens for $7.00...

 

http://www.penhero.com/PenSale/SheafferSto...erJavelinCO.htm

 

If you wanted to introduce someone to fountain pens this might be a good pen to lure them to the dark side with.

 

Disclaimer: No commercial affiliation with Jim (hell...he's the competition).

 

[Keith with a capital K]

One more thing...

 

After having used several of these for many years I can attest that they are very solid and hold up to the rigours of daily use very well.

[babydoc]

This is quite a silly question, but how do you convert this type of pen to an eyedropper? I have read many posts on the advantages of eyedroppers, etc, but have yet to have one, write with one or even see one--truly a sign of a newbie to fountain pens. It sounds like an interesting option, considering that these are cartridge pens and I prefer to use pens filled from the ink bottle, pistons, aerometrics, vacs, etc. Thanks. Lenore

[Leslie J.]

I like the looks of the matte Javelins. How is the girth of the section as compared to a Pelikan 200? I can't use slim pens very easily. Just curious.

[Keith with a capital K]

I just took some measurements and the two pens are nearly identical in the measurement department:

 

They are both 9mm at the barrel side of the section although the Javelin tapers a little more.

 

The barrel measurement at where it meets the cap is 11 mm for the M200 and the Javelin is 12mm.

 

Having bounced a red translucent Javelin around for a couple of years I can say that the Sheaffer barrel is more resistant to wear than the barrel on my newer and less used black Pelikan M200 (I use both pens posted).

 

The big difference is of course, in the price and the fact the Javelin ed holds more than twice the the volume of ink as the M200.

 

Regarding the eyedropper conversion: On merely has to apply a small amount of section sealant or pure silicone grease to the section threads, fill the pen with your favourite ink, and close the pen.

 

This conversion is only suitable for the translucent pens as the matte finished pens have exposed metal in the interior of the barrel if I recall correctly. With an eyedropper filler it's nice to see how much ink is in the pen and the translucent pen is perfect for this.

[Keith with a capital K]

You just have to love it when the sun comes streaming in through the windows... the pen still shows as being quite dark (cause it's full of ink) but the writing samples get picked up fairly nicely.

 

I am goiong to have to work on a simple set up for shooting translucent pens.

 

The ink is Pelikan Brilliant brown which is again, not an ink that feathers but won't give as crisp a line as something like more saturated inks like Penman's Sapphire.

 

http://www.capitalpens.com/images/fpn/Javnib6.JPG

 

http://www.capitalpens.com/images/fpn/Javnib5.JPG

[Bryan]

I just received one of these in the mail today from Jim. Same color with a medium nib.

 

I used some of Gerry's plumber's Wax and this pen is now an ED. I bought this pen to try out some new ink I purchased from Platinum. It's their Platinum Carbon ink and I'm a little worried about how this ink will act with pens. I thought I'd test it out on a cheaper pen first.

 

But, I have to admit, this javelin is performing like a pro! A perfect wet line without even flushing. And once you convert this to a ED, you have a huge ink capacity!

 

Though I bought this pen as a test subject, it has turned out to be a true performer. And the new ink isn't bad either, though only time will tell.

 

Bryan

[Titivillus]

This conversion is only suitable for the translucent pens as the matte finished pens have exposed metal in the interior of the barrel if I recall correctly. With an eyedropper filler it's nice to see how much ink is in the pen and the translucent pen is perfect for this.

I think that is alot of einv's opinion that metal in contact with ink will 'dissolve'! If you look inside a OS Delta Dolce Vita you'll see metal where the o-ring seats. So not all metal will cause problems actually as an engineer part of my job is determining materials of construction for the service they will be in and most of the material that's in contact with liquids is metal.

 

 

I guess what I'm saying is YMMV turning a pen into an eyedropper.

 

 

Kurt H

[Keith with a capital K]

Kurt - I think it's a good rule of thumb to follow that when one is considering an ed conversion, is to avoid pens with exposed metal in the interiors.

 

The Waterman Phileas looks like it would be a good candidate for an ed conversion but there is a brass insert in the barrel that I suspect would cause problems over time as the ink reacted with the metal.

 

Bryan - I am glad you are enjoying the pen. I've grown quite fond of my own and have been using it to excess.

[Titivillus]

Kurt - I think it's a good rule of thumb to follow that when one is considering an ed conversion, is to avoid pens with exposed metal in the interiors.

 

The Waterman Phileas looks like it would be a good candidate for an ed conversion but there is a brass insert in the barrel that I suspect would cause problems over time as the ink reacted with the metal.

 

Bryan - I am glad you are enjoying the pen. I've grown quite fond of my own and have been using it to excess.

Keith,

a good amount of a vacuum distillation unit made for producing drinking water from brackish or salt water are brass.

 

We could debate this for a long time and get nowhere.

 

I'd say if it's an inexpensive pen "just do it" and take a look at the insides on occasion. If there is a problem then post and if there isn't also post. Maybe we could get a list of pens that can be Eyedropper converts.

 

kurt h

[Keith with a capital K]

I'm on the same page with the YMMV.

 

I speak in generalized terms so usually advise caution when doing these things.

[steveh6883]

Just got a brand new Parker Frontier in red/black for pennies which looks to be a good candidate for conversion to ED, although I prefer a belt & braces approach & use 'O' ring seals as well as silicone sealant, so will have to wait til next week to get some from the local hardware

 

Just wish the Frontier was translucent (or even clear!) to be able to see ink levels. Does anyone know if they did a demonstrator version?