The Greatest Sheaffer Pen Ever?

[Keith with a capital K]

Okay, maybe they're not the "greatest" but they're one of my all time favourites...

 

I was wondering how many of us haven't owned at least one Sheaffer No Nonsense pen and also wonder how many people got their FP habit kick started after buying one of these affordable, reliable, and nearly bulletproof pens ?

 

My second fountain pen was a blue Sheaffer No Nonsense that I must have bought 15 years ago and yep...I still use it.

 

When I showed my 7 year old daughter a bunch of pens and asked her which one she wanted she chose the bright yellow NN.

 

Besides all the colours and versions there are I have found that they are excellent candidates for customization; The italic nibs can be made into smooth stubs, the pens can be converted into eyedroppers very easily, and I even made a blow filling model. I also have made a number of medi pens that look like a NN but are for carrying daily medications or other small items.

 

Next on the list (to make) is a real aerometric filling model, a piston filling model, and I won't be satisfied until I take one of these classics in black and gold and turn it into a a lever filler.

 

I was thinking that it would be much easier to fit the pen with a spare Waterman lever box than to go with a pinned lever or try and fit a retaining ring inside the barrel as they are not perfectly rounded on the interior.

 

Hmmm.....

[Maja]

I too have to sing the praises of this undervalued gem, the wonderful Sheaffer "No Nonsense" fountain pen, because it was my very first fountain pen!

 

I think I was in grade 6 or 7 (this would be 1976 or 1977 ) when I first acquired it. I don't remember where I bought it (I think it was at the Woolworth's department store) in my small northern Manitoba town, but it was red and it came with a pack of Sheaffer Skrip cartridges. Red is and was my favourite colour, so I am not surprised that I chose that particular pen. I know I used the pen for some special homework assignments that were to be handed in to the teacher because I wanted the reports to look nicer and more "grownup".

 

Anyway, I still have my red NN and since then have acquired several more. I have three "Vintage" model NNs (the pens that came with gold-plated trim and nibs), six 'regular' NNs and three ballpoint barrels that can be easily converted to fountain pens (the FP sections screw right in...the little spring inside the BP barrels is the only thing that really distinguishes it from a FP barrel, I think).

 

I know Jim has a fabulous article on the No Nonsense pens on his website (www.penhero.com), so I would highly recommend it. It's neat to see the different variations that were made, including a stainless steel NN and some made in chased black plastic (with at least 6 different patterns!)

 

Lastly, if you check out this great collection of Sheaffer pens on the Penlovers site (at http://www.penlovers.com/collections/sheaffer.htm) if you scroll down to the very bottom of that page, you will see a Sheaffer "No Nonsense" pen fitted with a triumph nib ! Great idea or what?

 

Keith, let us know how your own conversions are going; I am sure you can work your magic on this very versatile pen....I would love to see a picture of the NN blow-filler and that 'medi-pen' of yours, if you have a chance to post it.

[tburke0]

Okay, maybe they're not the "greatest" but they're one of my all time favourites...

 

I was wondering how many of us haven't owned at least one Sheaffer No Nonsense pen and also wonder how many people got their FP habit kick started after buying one of these affordable, reliable, and nearly bulletproof pens ?

 

My second fountain pen was a blue Sheaffer No Nonsense that I must have bought 15 years ago and yep...I still use it.

 

When I showed my 7 year old daughter a bunch of pens and asked her which one she wanted she chose the bright yellow NN.

 

Besides all the colours and versions there are I have found that they are excellent candidates for customization; The italic nibs can be made into smooth stubs, the pens can be converted into eyedroppers very easily, and I even made a blow filling model. I also have made a number of medi pens that look like a NN but are for carrying daily medications or other small items.

 

Next on the list (to make) is a real aerometric filling model, a piston filling model, and I won't be satisfied until I take one of these classics in black and gold and turn it into a a lever filler.

 

I was thinking that it would be much easier to fit the pen with a spare Waterman lever box than to go with a pinned lever or try and fit a retaining ring inside the barrel as they are not perfectly rounded on the interior.

 

Hmmm.....

how about a homing beacon for when they're lost?

[mr_inky]

Never had a NN.

[Keith with a capital K]

What?

 

Never had a No Nonsense?

 

Homing beacon huh?

 

I was thinking that sending everything Expedited or Expressed would work as the regular mail is ticking me off of late.