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Finally, You Are All Here-my Snorkel Collection


Boiling Black Coffee

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I started to get interested in Snorkel when a friend gave me a Snorkel Valiant, after took a closer look at this series, I decided to make this series as one of my majors.

 

I focus on different colors, and take models into consideration at the same time. Now, I have all the colors and almost all the models. Well... Snorkel Masterpiece is too hard to find one. :( I have to admit it that some of them are really hard to find, it is almost impossible to find a rare color Snorkel in China, I have to hunt on ebay. Fortunately, I collect them all in four months, it is much quicker and easier than my imagination.

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Left to right: Demonstrater, Triumph, black Autograph, burgundy Signature, pastel green Signature, gray Signature, fern Crest, peacock Sentinel, periwinkle Valiant, fiesta red Clipper, mandarin Statesman, pastel blue Sovereign, sage green Saratoga, vermilion Admiral, buckskin tan Special

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Six rare colors, almost all of them are NOS, only Statesman is used

post-118493-0-12383600-1448441344_thumb.jpg

Two "not easy" colors

post-118493-0-86233900-1448441372_thumb.jpg

fiesta red and vermilion, they are relly hard to tell from picture if one of them is absent

post-118493-0-01421300-1448441404_thumb.jpg

pastel green, sage green and fern, they are easy to tell at a glance if the picture is clear enough

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pastel bule, peacock and periwinkle, hard to tell, but not that hard

post-118493-0-02892300-1448441748_thumb.jpg

a mysterious gray Signature, maybe off-catalog or custom-made

 

Finally, you are all here!

Articles about Snorkel are easy to find, but most of them just give a outline of this series, some Chinese sources are even wrong, so I still have some questions.

 

Does a first-year Snorkel have a nib code?

Will a open nib Snorkel be a first-year Snorkel if it has golden tube and disk-type spring shoulder?

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Hmm. I have a Statesman that I *thought* was aqua. But looking at your photo of the three colors of blue, now I'm not so sure....

There was a Fiesta in the auction at the Ohio Pen Show with some great honking BBB (I think) nib. I was really sleepy at that point in the auction, but hung around to see what it would go for -- and no, there was no way in hell I was bidding; I lost track when it was at around $180 US.... I think it ended going for over $200 but don't remember how high. I was curious because I'd never actually seen one that color before (and of course the nib was really unusual...).

My three Snorkels, of course, are grey, black and the aforementioned "thought it was aqua but...". But at least I seem to have different nibs on them. The Statesman (the maybe aqua) is EF, I think the Grey Valiant is an M, and the black Valiant is probably an F. I should try them against the Touchdown I just got, which has an M1 nib on it and compare for size.... (the Statesman was sold as an EF; of course, though, it was *also* sold as "restored"... :angry:).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Such a lovely collection you have. Thanks for sharing.

 

I hope you will write with at least one of these. I have two snorkels: an early 60's desk pen and a 1957 desk pen. I had both restored and am writing with them. Wonderful writing pens. The early 1960 pen has an M2 medium nib. The other has an F2 fine nib. I keep them inked and use them regularly as they seem to seal quite well in their base tulips.

Eschew Sesquipedalian Obfuscation

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Swooon :wub:

Although I have to say that my two Snorkels are my heartbreak pens. Both the Saratoga and the PFM have the best nibs ever, but I cannot replace the sacs myself, so whenever they stop working it breaks my heart.

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Hmm. I have a Statesman that I *thought* was aqua. But looking at your photo of the three colors of blue, now I'm not so sure....

There was a Fiesta in the auction at the Ohio Pen Show with some great honking BBB (I think) nib. I was really sleepy at that point in the auction, but hung around to see what it would go for -- and no, there was no way in hell I was bidding; I lost track when it was at around $180 US.... I think it ended going for over $200 but don't remember how high. I was curious because I'd never actually seen one that color before (and of course the nib was really unusual...).

My three Snorkels, of course, are grey, black and the aforementioned "thought it was aqua but...". But at least I seem to have different nibs on them. The Statesman (the maybe aqua) is EF, I think the Grey Valiant is an M, and the black Valiant is probably an F. I should try them against the Touchdown I just got, which has an M1 nib on it and compare for size.... (the Statesman was sold as an EF; of course, though, it was *also* sold as "restored"... :angry:).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Some of them have color aberration, my photos are not accurate enough to be a reference.

My fiesta came from a friend, I gave him a vermilion Sovereign and he gave me fiesta in exchange. That's very nice of him, make my collection complete.

My Snorkels are F or M, EF is terrible for me. I want a flex or music nib if possible, but they are rare and expensive. :wacko:

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Such a lovely collection you have. Thanks for sharing.

 

I hope you will write with at least one of these. I have two snorkels: an early 60's desk pen and a 1957 desk pen. I had both restored and am writing with them. Wonderful writing pens. The early 1960 pen has an M2 medium nib. The other has an F2 fine nib. I keep them inked and use them regularly as they seem to seal quite well in their base tulips.

Snorkel's barrel is too thin for me, I use Montblanc 149 every day.

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Swooon :wub:

Although I have to say that my two Snorkels are my heartbreak pens. Both the Saratoga and the PFM have the best nibs ever, but I cannot replace the sacs myself, so whenever they stop working it breaks my heart.

Just try to restore them, not that hard.

I never mind whether the Sheaffer is restored or not when I hunt on ebay, I restore them all when I receive them. B)

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  • 2 weeks later...

This takes dedication and a pocketbook ($$$). Very nice. A beautiful example of focus, and of study. It is certainly a non-trivial endeavor to distinguish those so very similar reds on Ebay listings! You must be a bit of a confident gambler at heart!

 

Wow!

 

Bob

Shouldn't phonics be spelled with an f?

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I truly can't decide which color I like best when looking at all of them. Beautiful collection. Hoping that you rotate them often. :D

 

-Peppers

I have dreamt of the day where I am holding a Waterman Carene. Sigh... seems too distant I can only see the fog far away.

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This takes dedication and a pocketbook ($$$). Very nice. A beautiful example of focus, and of study. It is certainly a non-trivial endeavor to distinguish those so very similar reds on Ebay listings! You must be a bit of a confident gambler at heart!

 

Wow!

 

Bob

Actually, I didn't distinguish them, my vermilion is Admiral, Admiral was never made in fiesta red, and fiesta red came from a friend.

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I truly can't decide which color I like best when looking at all of them. Beautiful collection. Hoping that you rotate them often. :D

 

-Peppers

I like periwinkle most!

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Can anybody answer my questions? :unsure:

 

I can't help you with the nib codes, but in regards to the gold Snorkel tubes, they are found in early 1952-53 Snorkels from about the 1st year of production.

 

See Daniel's post at #19 in this thread:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/79477-golden-snorkel-tube/

Parker: Sonnet Flighter, Rialto Red Metallic Laque, IM Chiseled Gunmetal, Latitude Stainless, 45 Black, Duovac Blue Pearl Striped, 51 Standard Black, Vac Jr. Black, 51 Aero Black, 51 Vac Blue Cedar, Duofold Jr. Lapis, 51 Aero Demi Black, 51 Aero Demi Teal, 51 Aero Navy Gray, Duofold Pastel Moire Violet, Vac Major Golden Brown, Vac Deb. Emerald, 51 Vac Dove Gray, Vac Major Azure, Vac Jr. Silver Pearl, 51 Vac Black GF Cap, 51 Forest Green GF cap, Vac Jr. Silver Pearl, Duovac Senior Green & Gold, Duovac Deb. Black, Challenger Black, 51 Aero Midnight, Vac. Emerald Jr., Challenger Gray Pearl, 51 Vac Black, Duofold Int. Black, Duofold Jr. Red.

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I can't help you with the nib codes, but in regards to the gold Snorkel tubes, they are found in early 1952-53 Snorkels from about the 1st year of production.

 

See Daniel's post at #19 in this thread:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/79477-golden-snorkel-tube/

I know the gold tube. Almost all the first-year Snorkels I have ever seen do not have a nib code, so I think the first-year Snorkel does not come with a nib code, but I am still not sure because I can not find any evidence for that.

BTW, I do not believe that the gold tube is made of solid gold, maybe brass I think.

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I know the gold tube. Almost all the first-year Snorkels I have ever seen do not have a nib code, so I think the first-year Snorkel does not come with a nib code, but I am still not sure because I can not find any evidence for that.

BTW, I do not believe that the gold tube is made of solid gold, maybe brass I think.

Of course, the snorkel tube is not made of brass, which ink will destroy.

 

It's made of 14 karat gold.

 

--Daniel

Edited by kirchh

"The greatest mental derangement is to believe things because we want them to be true, not because we observe that they are in effect." --Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

Daniel Kirchheimer
Specialty Pen Restoration
Authorized Sheaffer/Parker/Waterman Vintage Repair Center
Purveyor of the iCroScope digital loupe

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An excerpt from a document "Development of the Snorkel" by W.K. Olson, Director of Research at Sheaffer in the 50s, where he states that the tube is 14K gold.

 

 

23131856673_325537cdf4_o.png

 

En... That convince me. Does the document mention anything about the first-year nib code?

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Of course, the snorkel tube is not made of brass, which ink will destroy.

 

It's made of 14 karat gold.

 

--Daniel

Well... That's a little luxury! Daniel, does a first-year Snorkel have a nib code?

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