Is this a legit Sheaffer Tuckaway First version? Flat Top back end and no white dot

[joss]

I have this Tuckaway first version that puzzles me. The first Tuckaways with gold-filled cap and barrel were white dot pens with the typical threaded and rounded back end. But my pen has no white dot and it has a threaded but flat topped back end. I can not find info or pictures of such a pen in catalogs or period advertisements. The pen came in its original Sheaffer Tuckaway (eg small size) clamshell box. The cap lip has the common imprint that includes "Made in USA", so it is not a Canadian variant. Has anybody seen this Tuckaway version before?

 

[crescentfiller]

That sounds like a question for the Mighty Mr. McQueen!

[Boiling Black Coffee]

Just a home-made Tuckaway I guess. A friend of mine did a repair job for someone, same model, he made it in red plastic, with white dot and original shape of course.

 

[ralfstc]

There's a thread here that shows almost all known variants, and nothing like yours shows up. It might be worth contacting the advisor of that board (whose name can't be mentioned here because he's banned) what he thinks. It certainly looks factory original, with good fit and finish . . . .

 

Cheers

 

Ralf

[joss]

Thanks for your input Ralf. All materials look vintage but you never know. A damaged back end may have been turned down on a lathe but that does not explain the absence of the white dot. The here banned advisor and other Sheaffer experts are still active on the Facebook site but I don't do Facebook. I have now added my question to the Tuckaway FPB thread that you referred to. FPB is largely abandoned but Matt was still active there over the last few years.

[ralfstc]

It is tempting to consider it as a prototype, isn't it?

 

Would it be possible to see a picture of the nib and feed?

 

Best,

 

Ralf

[joss]

I have learned from the experts here on FPN and on FPB to be hesitant with the word prototype. I initially thought that it might be a variant that was made in USA (imprinted on cap lip and nib) for the Canadian market because Sheaffer's lifetime warranty (white dot) was not valid on pens that were made or sold outside the US. Parker had the same policy and omitted the Blue Diamond from Canadian made Parker pens. But I think that Sheaffer never omitted the white dot from their Canadian made Balance or Triumph pens. My pen also came from a seller based in Pennsylvania.

 

I include a picture of the nib and feed. It is a half comb feed with an opening/hole in its front. The hole has a closed end about 2 mm inside the feed. I just realized that the presence of a Lifetime nib is not logical on a pen without a white dot.

 

[Brian-McQueen]

The missing white dot is quite interesting.  I can't really explain that one easily, but my inclination for the flat end is a repair.

[ralfstc]

Agree with Brian. What’s the light area at the end of the cap?

[joss]

Thank you for your input Brian and Ralf.

There are no imperfections on this pen, the light area on the cap top is the reflection of a led lamp. The pen box seems to be period correct for the first style Tuckaway model, it is pictured in a 1941 ad with a gold-filled Tuckaway pencil.