I got my new/old pens yesterday, while we were out to lunch (the kitchen was unusable, due to me moving stuff around to get the family heirloom dining table that would require its own room taken out to storage). The Sheaffer lever fill--a pretty thing with vertical brown-gold and black stripes--needs a new sac, as does the Parker pen (a VS, from 1946 or 1947).
The other Sheaffer pen, though...it's a touchdown. Rather an interesting filling system, but not particularly valuable (though it's valuable enough that it would recoup the entire cost of the order...we shall see if I like the pen enough to ignore that). The filling system, when worked, produces a noticeable vacuum. It may work, and only need cleaned. I'll try it out when the kids are down for their naps.
Right now, though, working on the pens will be a reward to myself for getting my kitchen back in working order. I got most of what I'd planned yesterday done, but not all--the table and bench haven't been assembled and put in place.
Update: My Sheaffer Touchdown is not workable, but won't be any more complicated to fix than a lever or button fill pen. I'll just have to find the right size of sac, cut it to the right length, and glue it into place.
4 hours ago
You might find this photo interesting.
ReplyDeleteShorpy, a historical photo site, has posted a photo of the inside of the Sheaffer factory in 1935. Pens, lots of pens. The photo seems clear enough that you might be able to recognize the models.
http://www.shorpy.com/node/19730?size=_original#caption
Absolutely. I saw some White Dots, but couldn't pin down models any closer than that. I'm more familiar with Parkers than Sheaffers.
DeleteGorgeous picture, though. The last step in manufacture was dipping the nibs and making sure they weren't scratchy when they wrote. I can't imagine doing that all day, every day.