"ste Pf" Stamped On Connaisseur Nib

[Charles Rice]

No problems with my Connaisseur at all. But I have wondered what that stamping "STE PF" on the nib stands for (it's a medium nib). Other than that, it has the usual 18K and "Made in USA" stampings.

[jochums]

Kinda curious about this myself...thought i would give it a bump

[sexauerw]

I can't tell you exactly what the letters stand for. I can tell you that it is a hallmark denoting that the indicated carat value of the gold item bearing this mark has been laboratory verified to have at least the percentage of gold that the marking promises. This testing may have been done at a batch level rather than an individual item level. For example, nibs are usually cut out from a long coiled strip of gold. It would suffice to test a scrap from the coil left over after the nibs were all cut out, then all of the nibs from that coil could be hallmarked without being individually tested. The rest of the scrap coil would, of course, be remelted and reused.

 

Each certified test laboratory has its own registered hallmark symbol. This is one of several Sheaffer laboratories' symbols but I don't know which one.

Edited August 19, 2014 by sexauerw

[jochums]

Cool, Thanks!

[ralfstc]

I had a look around-- is it possible PF stands for "Proof," in line with sexauerw's explanation?

 

Thanks,

 

R.

[Charles Rice]

Did they use that for pens other than the Connaisseur?

[Pincel]

I can't tell you exactly what the letters stand for. I can tell you that it is a hallmark denoting that the indicated carat value of the gold item bearing this mark has been laboratory verified to have at least the percentage of gold that the marking promises. This testing may have been done at a batch level rather than an individual item level. For example, nibs are usually cut out from a long coiled strip of gold. It would suffice to test a scrap from the coil left over after the nibs were all cut out, then all of the nibs from that coil could be hallmarked without being individually tested. The rest of the scrap coil would, of course, be remelted and reused.

 

Each certified test laboratory has its own registered hallmark symbol. This is one of several Sheaffer laboratories' symbols but I don't know which one.

 

All my 18k Connie nibs (standard and grand) with the exception of the 14k Sheaffer/Levenger (Green-Aegean Sea) have these markings.

 

Did they use that for pens other than the Connaisseur?

 

All my Balance II 18k Feather Touch and 14K Lifetime also have the same stamps.

 

Now, things get more interesting. My Model 2664- Sheaffer Triumph Imperial Cadmium Yellow, a mid 90's pen, is likewise stamped with "ste PF," It says on the nib: 23K Gold Electroplated. Nibs of upscaled NoNonsense Vintage and Oldtimer are also gold plated. Both series are from the early 90s. Are they all 23K Gold Electroplated? Dunno, some of mine are stamped with "ste PF" while others are not.

Edited September 7, 2014 by Pincel

[RMN]

Where on the nib is that located?

 

My Grand Connaisseur has

 

SheafferS

1920

18k 750

@

 

 

 

Where @ stands for a little vignette, which I can't really decipher but which could be a gold mark.

No size indication on nib or section

 

Cap says:

 

Sheaffers England

 

 

 

D.ick

[Sphen]

I saw this discussion and had a question of my own for a Parker Sonnet nib. I have a Parker Sonnet Fine nib that has the engraving "18K-750" (on left side) and "STE | NFP" stamped on the right side of the nib. The STE | NFP is stamped within a small diamond. The lettering seems pretty close to what the original poster was asking about.

 

When I look at other Sonnet images online to look at the engraving I can't find images that have "STE" or "NFP" stamped in the diamond shape. Was there a consensus as to what this lettering might refer to? Most of the images I've seen just have a "P" and "W" stamped in there. The pen was bought this year (2014).

Cheers.

[Matlock]

This question has been raised before (I believe on the Pelikan forum). PF is a identification mark required by some European countries to indicate that the nib (or whatever) reaches the required standard. For instance, in France anything less than 18k is not recognised as gold. If I remember correctly this mark is required by the Swiss Government. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

The "ste" mark is a mystery to me but I am sure someone will know.

[terim]

Here's a weird one ..... it came to us in a batch of NOS 1990s nibs we are using for Ranga pens.

 

http://www.peytonstreet.com/pens/sheaffer/4c_grnrip_lifetime_stubblow_2.jpg

 

The metal isn't marked, but Sheaffer never made steel Lifetime nibs that I know. Wacky masking job. This is probably some weird protoype, eh, or maybe someone was playing around with the stamping machine?

 

TERI

[RMN]

Weird indeed, but looking nice. Looks like you could use this nib perfectly for writing upside down as well, has a good blob on top.

 

 

D.ick

[Ernst Bitterman]

"Bring your kid to work" day, maybe?

[jar]

"Bring your kid to work" day, maybe?

 

Or a home done replating.

[SteveE]

Or possibly "factory seconds" that were improperly plated in production and found their way into an alternate distribution channel?

 

Teri - Which Ranga's are getting these nibs? I may have to look. . .

[terim]

Or possibly "factory seconds" that were improperly plated in production and found their way into an alternate distribution channel?

 

Teri - Which Ranga's are getting these nibs? I may have to look. . .

 

I wonder why they didn't mark the gold content. They wouldn't have put these marks on a steel nib, would they have?

 

There's only one of these nibs, and we put in on a Ranga 4C blow filler. The nib was ground by our own Nivardo here at PSP and it's quite nice!

[Ernst Bitterman]

 

They wouldn't have put these marks on a steel nib, would they have?

 

 

 

Not being silly this time: I have a NoNonsense "Old Timer" which does indeed have that mark, and I cannot conceive of an Old Timer getting an actual gold point. I'm have a vague memory of a previous discussion of the mark; it may have been suggested there that the mark went onto plated points to indicate that the plating was really gold. This is a vague memory, though, and not to be trusted. I'll see if I can track down that thread.

 

Edit: Say, that took less time than I'd expected. It does indeed attest to the plating's content, and since I was interested in that thread at the time, my recall failure here is slightly embarrassing.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Ernst Bitterman

[sexauerw]

And here's a better shot of a gold electro-plated steel nib with that mark. This is a Targa nib. I have several of these.

 

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/RIRO0TuTTZhE22/10087006.0/800/p/SH171_Targa_Nib%2C_Gold-plated_Steel.jpg

 

Closer up:

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/ZOjTTm52hTYwhN/10087026.0/800/p/SH171_Targa_Nib%2C_Gold-plated_Steel_closeup.jpg

 

Edited March 10, 2015 by BillLS

[sexauerw]

By the way, the cap of that Targa has similar markings:

 

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/DTj2ZIIMGUWc1j/10087114.0/800/p/SH171_Targa_Cap_Lip%2C_Gold-plated.jpg

 

The cap is a mirror finished gold. The pebbled appearance is just a reflection of the notebook on which the cap is sitting.