Sheaffer Connaisseurs

[Barry Gabay]

This model, in all its variations, is one of my favorite modern fountain pens. Made between mid-1980s and late 1990s, the series had several versions. Connaisseur Type I came in black, burgundy, green, and blue and had a flat cap band. Type II was available in the same colors, but had a wider, rounded cap band which extended over the end of the cap for greater protection of the cap lip. Sheaffer teamed up with Levenger and produced a Connaisseur in the Seas collection. Seas Type I had various colors named after particular seas. Its clip and trim resembled the Connaisseur II. Then, came Seas Type II with a different clip, a metal cap crown, and a wider, flat cap band. The Connaisseurs had 18K nibs, while the Seas versions had 14K nibs. They were c/c fillers. They had straight sections in Connaisseur I and most Connaisseur IIs. Straight and scalloped sections also came on Seas I. All Seas II have scalloped sections. My photos do not present a complete set of any of the Connaisseur versions. For an authoritative and comprehensive description of the Connaisseur (and Grande Connaisseur) read the late Dennis Bowden's article in Pennant, Summer 2006. Unfortunately, I can not find it at the moment. Photo 1, L to R: Connaisseur Type I black, Type II burgundy. Seas I, Seas II. In photo 2, the green Seas Type I has a Grande Connaisseur section & nib. The other photos show details which I believe are self-explanatory. Enjoy the photos and stay healthy.

[Doug1426]

Barry, thanks for posting this message, and especially your photos. The Connaisseur is indeed a wonderful model, or series of models, and is one of the few modern Sheaffers I find attractive.

 

Dennis Bowden wrote two articles for the Pennant and both are well worth the time to read. The first, and most comprehensive was in the Summer 2006 issue, the second in Spring 2007. Dennis's passing in 2010 was at way too young an age,and a great loss to the pen community and community at large.

 

I have a copy of each article (although not the best quality) that I can scan and email to you if you are unable to link to the Pennant issues.

 

Doug Bensinger

[Barry Gabay]

Hi Doug,

 

What a generous gesture. Thank you, sir.

 

Dennis was such a gentleman. I genuinely miss our correspondence since his passing. I had forgotten that he wrote two pieces about the Connaisseur-Grande Connaisseur-Seas models. Thank you for clarifying the two articles. At one time I could find them online, but neglected to Bookmark the location.

 

Thank you again. I will message you with an email address.

Best wishes,

Barry

[JohnUphill]

I share your opinion on the Connaisseurs. I have two Sheaffers and one Levenger Seas. One of these days I might indulge myself with a Grande. Thanks for sharing those images.

[rickap]

Barry,

 

Thanks for the post and photos of all the colors. I didn't realize there are so many colors. They are great pens. I have a burgundy Connoisseur with the 18k medium nib. It is a very smooth and wet writer.

 

Thanks,

Rick

[pajaro]

These pens seem to me to be the jazziest and upbeat of pens.

[cellmatrix]

I love my connoisseur as well. Mine is a bit of an oddball. Its of the seven seas variety, caribbean yellow, but instead of a 14k Levenger branded nib, it has an 18k Sheaffer branded extra fine nib. I bought it this way from Teri Morris a few years ago. I imagine the person who originally bought the pen, sent it in to the factory to swap the nib for extra fine. Thats my guess.

 

I love this pen, the extra fine nib is spectacular, smooth with a nice semi-flex softness to it. Also I managed to find a no nonsense pen in the same color to use as a 'matching' ballpoint. I really like that yellow color of each pen.

[corgicoupe]

I bought a Connaisseur at antique store a handful of years ago. It was still in the original box and had all the cartridges, although half the liquid had evaporated through the cartridge wall.  It had an 18 K Fine nib but I, too, contacted Teri Morris to buy an 18K Extra Fine nib.  To givy you an idea what I paid for that NOS pen, the new nib cost $5 more.  It's plain black but is one of my prettier fountain pens.

[fkyu]

Did Sheaffer ever make the 810 with a 14k lifetime nib and a scalloped grip?

In the research I've done the answer is no.

Yet I have one in front of me.

A clever fraud? A frankenpen?

"...and how should I presume?"

[cellmatrix]

On 12/22/2020 at 5:30 PM, corgicoupe said:

I bought a Connaisseur at antique store a handful of years ago. It was still in the original box and had all the cartridges, although half the liquid had evaporated through the cartridge wall.  It had an 18 K Fine nib but I, too, contacted Teri Morris to buy an 18K Extra Fine nib.  To givy you an idea what I paid for that NOS pen, the new nib cost $5 more.  It's plain black but is one of my prettier fountain pens.

thats a great deal!

[debraji]

I have a Levenger Seas Connaisseur--Mediterranean--with an 18k fine italic nib. Lovely pen, but I seldom use it because I hate the push sac converter. Is there a piston converter that I can substitute? It's a shame not to use such a lovely pen.

[BaronWulfraed]

Pretty much any Sheaffer converter should fit (not the one for the Intrigue, or the Touchdown models of the late 80s early 90).

 

[debraji]

I was looking at another thread in this forum, and Ron Zorn said some of the Levenger Connaisseurs have a brass weight in the back of the barrel, to improve the balance--and the piston converter won't fit in those pens. 

 

I took my pen apart, and because it's a demonstrator, I think I can see that little weight, and feel how it affects the balance of the pen.

 

Have I understood correctly? Is it time to (gulp!) try to appreciate the push sac converter I have? Or is there another piston converter out there that will fit?

[debraji]

I've done some more digging in the forum and confirmed that no piston filler would fit.

 

So maybe it's time to try cartridges. What kind of cartridges should I be looking for?

[corgicoupe]

"I hate the push sac converter. "

 

Are you saying that you don't like the converter that is very similar to the Parker 51 Aerometric?  If so, what don't you like about it? Once the pen is full of ink you don't know it's not a piston fill.

 

True, the piston converter from my NoNonsense will not fit in the Connaisseur, but I wonder if the plastic twist could be trimmed so it would fit.  I think it's about 7mm too long.

[cellmatrix]

Yup I can’t get piston converter to fit my seven seas pen either. And I too am not huge fan of squeeze converter. 
 

as far as cartridges- I suggest get standard sheaffer cartridges. I’m partial to blue black myself, but whatever color you choose, once it’s empty just refill the cartridge with your favorite bottle ink using a syringe. It’s so easy and cartridges hold much more ink than any of the converters. Plus unlike the squeeze converter you can easily see how much ink you have left. Plus unlike filling from the pen, you can get every last drop out of an ink bottle using a syringe. when people say it’s too much trouble to refill cartridges i don’t think many of them realize there are so many advantages. 

[Ron Z]

I decided that I needed to double check my Levenger pens.  Most of them have the weight in the back end, which was the case for the rest of the Connaisseur fountain pen line.  The one that doesn't started life as a rollerball.  I have a later version with the metal dome on top instead of the clear button, which doesn't have the weight/plug in the barrel end.    If you aren't sure, shine a flashlight down the barrel.  If you see the brass plug, only squeeze converters can be used.  ...and no, you can't pull the plug, at least not without difficulty and risk of breaking the barrel.  It is a very tight press fit, and adhesive may have been used.  There's nothing to grip, so  I would have to drill and tap the plug to get a grip, and then try to pull it out from the front end.  The barrel is longer than any tap I have!  I'm not even going to try it.

 

You can not trim the back end of the piston converters to fit because the piston travels back the full length of the knob when retracted.  Even if the knob isn't there, the piston will be.  If you trim that short  it won't reach all of the way down to the front end.

 

Note that the black end converters can be rebuilt and upgraded with a PVC sac, which is what Sheaffer was using in the red end converters. 

 

True, cartridges or refilled cartridges will hold more ink, but you then need to flush the pen on occasion.  When a converter is used, just the filling process flushes the nib unit.

[BaronWulfraed]

Apparently I have the second series Seas model, with the metal end piece, as it came with the twist piston converter.

 

I really miss the push-button converters from the 70s... Those could be manipulated using one hand, allowing one to hold the bottle at an angle to get the last ink out...

 

[debraji]

2 hours ago, corgicoupe said:

"I hate the push sac converter. "

 

Are you saying that you don't like the converter that is very similar to the Parker 51 Aerometric?  If so, what don't you like about it? 

 

It's been a couple of years since I tried out the squeeze converter, but I remember it being very awkward & messy. I didn't think I got a good fill, but couldn't actually tell because I couldn't see how much ink it took in. 

 

Now I know that people used squeeze converters for many years, and maybe I just need more practice. So I should give it a try. But if the klutziness factor doesn't improve, the cartridge option is looking like a good alternative. As cellmatrix suggested, I could refill it using a syringe with any color I like.

 

Thanks to everyone who responded! You've been very helpful.

[Ron Z]

1 hour ago, BaronWulfraed said:

Apparently I have the second series Seas model, with the metal end piece, as it came with the twist piston converter.

 

I really miss the push-button converters from the 70s... Those could be manipulated using one hand, allowing one to hold the bottle at an angle to get the last ink out...

 

 

I have a couple, with PVC sacs installed....