Sheaffer Imperial Exploded View Plus Feeds....

[Ron Z]

With numerous discussions about cleaning clogged Imperial and Targa feeds, I thought it would be useful to have and exploded view of an Imperial nib unit. The Targa nibs are quite similar, except that there is no ring with pressure tabs. Instead, there is a clutch ring, and a painted bushing behind it, held captive by a ring on the thread bushing.

 

 

NOTE: Before you try to remove a feed, soak it or run it though the ultrasonic with the back end off. This can soften the dried ink between the collector fins and section wall, allowing you to remove the feed without damage. This applies to PFM pens as well as Imperials and Targa pens.

 

 

 

This is the exploded view of a Sheaffer Imperial nib unit with a metal thread bushing. Left to right - nib and shell. The nib has is a tab on each corner of the diamond that is set into the plastic to keep it in place. There is no non-destructive way to remove the nib from the plastic. Next the ring with pressure tabs, which grab the cap of a pocket pen to hold it in place. This ring is missing on desk pens. Feed, 0-ring, plug with piercing tube. There are 3 tabs on the top to the left end of the plug which interlock with notches in the section wall to keep the plug from rotating as you tighten down the metal thread bushing. The large one in the center goes UP as you assemble the nib unit.

 

This is a hard rubber Imperial feed. Features are typical of many Sheaffer feeds, including the Targa. You can see the slit that runs down the top of the feed. This slit goes half way down to the drilled out center of the feed, which has a hard rubber insert. The slit in the insert runs all of the way down the top to the end of the piercing tube in the cartridge or converter, and nearly to the front end of the feed itself. The step in collector diameter is different between Targa and Imperial. The NN pens and student pens had a similar feed, but the diameter is the same for the length of the feed. Pens like the one in question have an 0-ring at the end of the feed, then a plug with the piercing tube that is keyed so that it can't rotate as the metal thread bushing is screwed in.

The typical clog point is somewhere in the slit on the insert, often right where it passes into the feed. Sometimes a very fine wire (guitar string) will knock it loose, sometimes not. A good soak, and a run through an ultrasonic, and heating of the feed (not the insert) recommended before you try to pull the insert out. Don't unless you absolutely must. It's tough to get one out once it snaps off. I often chase the slit with a thicker piece of shim stock to clear the slit.

 

This is a plastic Imperial feed, assembled. Sheaffer used the same design ideas for the plastic feeds used in all of their pens, including pens like the NN, Connaisseur, Balance II etc. The Legacy feed is similar to the Imperial, just much larger.

Note the very fine slit on top to the left. There is an insert pressed down in the middle that is one piece, collectors and tail. Note that this is a snug fit. The sides of the insert below the collector fins are flat, as are the walls of the cutout in the feed. I'm not certain that any ink makes it up to the nib until it reaches the very end, and then rises up the slit in the feed itself. The slit on the insert runs down the underside of the tail, and then inside the feed to where the insert meets the feed itself.

This is the plastic feed disassembled. Note that the slit runs down from the tail, which reaches the end of the piercing tube, all the way down to the rounded end where it meets the slit in the feed. This insert obviously can be lifted out. When you do, lift the insert as close as you can up against the feed itself. These tails snap off very easily. The common clog point is somewhere on the slit from cartridge to the feed, or in the narrow slit on the feed itself. This one frequently requires disassembly of the nib unit to clear the ink channels and collector fins. Again, Sheaffer used this two piece design for many of their plastic feeds, including the open nib feeds like Connaisseurs etc.

[effrafax]

Great info, thanks Ron.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

thank you for sharing

[pajaro]

I have always liked the Sheaffer Imperials since I chanced to buy three or four of them when an office supply company in Pensacola, Florida, sold them cheap. The sections were always a black box to me. After looking at the exploded drawings of the section I think I feel a renewed confidence in using the Imperials. Not that there were any issues, but I sometimes wondered what was in there. It's helpful to see that. Thanks for showing it.

[Inkysloth]

This is really helpful, thanks!

I've got what I think is a Sheaffer 444. Will this have a similar feed to the above? Additionally, I've never used an ultrasonic cleaner, is there a risk of one lifting the inlaid nib from the section?

[Ron Z]

The 444 is one of the Imperial pens. If your nib has the metal thread bushing (and it should) it will be the same. The answer to your first question is in the paragraph below the picture. There is a tab in each corner of the nib that is embedded in the plastic to hold it in place. The nib will not come off. At most the seal on the underside of the nib may fail, but they do that anyway, in which case it needs to be resealed.

[Inkysloth]

The 444 is one of the Imperial pens. If your nib has the metal thread bushing (and it should) it will be the same. The answer to your first question is in the paragraph below the picture. There is a tab in each corner of the nib that is embedded in the plastic to hold it in place. The nib will not come off. At most the seal on the underside of the nib may fail, but they do that anyway, in which case it needs to be resealed.

Thanks Ron, that's good to know. I'm not familiar with Sheaffer pens at all, so I've been scrabbling around trying to work out what I have here!

[PAKMAN]

Great info!

[alexander_k]

Many thanks for this very informative post. I have a few Targas that I love to use but one is rather stingy with ink flow. A good ultrasonic bathing of the feed might help.