Sheaffer Prelude Signature Gunmetal Ceramic

[visvamitra]

I rather dislike modern Sheaffer fountain pens. They perform well but I find most of them them pretty boring. It's strange as Sheaffer has a rich history of innovative pen, nib, filling-system designs.

 

What went wrong?

 

I don't know. I've never been passionate about Sheaffer history. Anyway modern Sheaffers tend to be decently made and well designed although design choice is rather classical and conservative. One of such pens is Prelude that can be bought in trillion of finishes.

 

It is one of most popular modern Sheaffer fountain pens. Not without a reason. Reasonably priced and well engineered it performs nicely on variety of papers. This model was introduced in 1997 and has been a workhorse best seller in the moderate price range for Sheaffer. Prelude Signature collection was presented in 2012 and can be considered as an upscale model as it's price was close to 150 - 200 $. There were 4 pens in this series. The one you'll see is Gunmetal Ceramic. This pen is part of VodnikVOlsovecek collection. He's polish FP collectioner who loaned me significant part of his collection to try.

 

 

 

While I've never been Prelude fan I have to admit rhat Gunmetal Ceramic finish looks well and appealing. Also this pen has some upgrades compared to regular Prelude fountain pens. Take a look at the section. First the threads are metal. The section is plastic but there's no cutouts for finger placement. Actually that's precisely two things I disliked in Preludes I tried before. Plastic threads felt cheap and in some pens they weren't properly made with time and repeated unscrewing and screwing metal threads in the barrel tended to shave off parts of section plastic.

 

 

The Gunmetal Ceramic finish that was marketed as feauturing Palladium Trim looks very cool. I like metal fountain pens and gunmetal finish is simply great. The cap and barrel are chased with fine engravings and the finish is shiny. Strangely it doesn't collect fingerprints as easily as one could expect. The pen design is classical cigar-shaped with small twist - it does have a finial on the end of the cap. This finial looks modern and elegant. I like it. Other design elements that place it above its round-ended brethren are premium gunmetal finish, cap band and clip with white dot. The pen maintains simple elegance but these addition make it look more modern.

 

The pen clip has a slit, and the cap also has an inlaid white dot. It's Sheaffer and in Sheaffers you get white dots that used to be symbol of engineering excellence but nowadays they just serve as a logo. The cap on the Prelude stays put with a satisfying snap and stays posted securely during extended writing sessions. I don't post pens but as some of you tend to do it for some bizarre reason I decided to check it out. This one stays put and the pen feel well balanced when posted.

 

 

Nib

Writing samples were made on Oxford Optic paper (90 mgsm). The pen was filled with timeless classic - Diamine Prusian Blue.

In the end the nib is what really matters, isn't it? Prelude fine nib is surprisingly wet and smooth. The line it puts is consistent and definitely fine. There's no scratchiness to it. It doesn't collect paper fibers. It performs well and is always reliable. It's marketed as Springy Stainless Steel. I'm not sure what it's supposed to mean but the writing expeirence is enjoyable. There's some feedback but the nib doesn't feel rigid. I like this one.

 

Filling system

Proprietary Sheaffer carts or converter. This converter has a larger ink capacity than most twist-style piston converters. The twist action of the piston is smooth and solid and the plunger moves throughout the converter smoothly.

 

Dimensions

Sheaffer Prelude is a portable fountain pen of medium length and medium weight.

 

Summary

 

This pen is a great writer that performs nicely on all types of paper. As this model is no longer produced and it used to be quite expensive, I'm not sure if it's value for money is that great though. I really like the way it lloks and feels in my hand. Even though I like unique designs, I must say that in this gunmetal finish this pen looks stunning.

Edited February 12, 2017 by visvamitra

[Pickwick]

Interesting review. You mention the nib is not special or exciting, so in your opinion what makes a nib exciting and special?

[visvamitra]

Good question I like buttery smooth nibs like the ones Omases have. They're not necessarily exciting but using them is a delight. The nibs I would name exciting are, for example, Omas EMotica titanium nib: springy, with some feedback but in the same time very wet and allowing to produce some line variation. Extra wet fine nib that writes with smoothness and flow of medium nib would be exciting as well. Aurora Aureloide 14 ct nib is, in theory, not for me. It has plenty of feedback but somehow there's life to it and springiness I enjoy to feel while writing.

 

On the other hand Hero 5028 stub 1,5 is crazily wet and I guess I could call it exciting... I must reflect upon my vocabulary and definitions

[Pickwick]

Good question I like buttery smooth nibs like the ones Omases have. They're not necessarily exciting but using them is a delight. The nibs I would name exciting are, for example, Omas EMotica titanium nib: springy, with some feedback but in the same time very wet and allowing to produce some line variation. Extra wet fine nib that writes with smoothness and flow of medium nib would be exciting as well. Aurora Aureloide 14 ct nib is, in theory, not for me. It has plenty of feedback but somehow there's life to it and springiness I enjoy to feel while writing.

 

On the other hand Hero 5028 stub 1,5 is crazily wet and I guess I could call it exciting... I must reflect upon my vocabulary and definitions

 

Thank you for your response. My dear friend please do not apologize for your vocabulary. If English is your second language then you are doing a lot better than those which happens to be our first. It is fraught with pitfalls and gaffs to which we have a tendency to stumble into quite frequently, for an example here is what happened to William Spooner a Dean at Oxford university in the 19th century. He was asked to proffer a toast to Queen Victoria on her diamond jubilee. He meant to have said: "Three cheers to the dear old Queen" but instead said: "Three cheers to the queer old Dean!"

[fabri00]

I personally like the prelude, and I have several of them.

Nib remains a still nib, but is one of the best for me and for my hand.

[visvamitra]

It's nice nib. Compared to Waterman or Parker, it does give nice feel.

[Manalto]

It seems that half of my posts are thanking Visvamitra for his contributions to this forum. They're always interesting, informative and with good photography. Keep 'em coming; your posts are always a pleasure to read.

 

I like the looks of gunmetal pens in general, and this one in particular, with its etched lines and bowed nib. I'm tempted to add one to my collection if they're still available. Could you comment on the size of this pen?

 

I concur with Pickwick that your English is so good it puts many native speakers to shame.