Which School Pen Is The Best?

[AL01]

Hello everyone, I used to use a Sheaffer School Pen, (it was the one that looks like an early imperial), and I though maybe I will buy one again. But there are a lot of models!!! Which school pen is the BEST SCHOOL PEN?

[karenjn]

Hello!

 

The ones that I think are most durable are the basic school pens. (picture 1) But, I also have another type of school pen that has a different nib and writes like a dream, but the barrel and cap material is not as hard, and it will nick or dent easily (picture 2).

 

There are so many to choose from, but a lot of them have the same style nib, so you just need to pick one that appeals to you and fits your style.

 

Happy Writing!

[pen lady]

If you can find one, some Canadian made School Pens were lever fillers. All of them are great starter or daily user pens. Just get the colour that floats your boat. Personally, I like the clear red ones.

[ink-syringe]

The clear ones with the dome barrel seem to crack more easily.

[Ernst Bitterman]

Not this one, which was the only one to call itself School with a capital S:

http://dirck.delint.ca/beta/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Sheaffer-0017.jpg

Edited June 10, 2016 by Ernst Bitterman

[AL01]

That almost became my first fountain pen! Although I love Sheaffers to death more than any pen company, (which is weird reconsidering that I am a former Wisconsinite), I got this piece of third part garbage as my first pen. The threads got striped after 4 years of service!

 

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0324/8157/products/sheafer-vfm-maximum-orange-fountain-pen_large.jpg?v=1389332048

[pajaro]

I got one of the round ended translucent red school pens in a lot. It has a cap from an Esterbrook, a CX-101 I think. Mated a cheap converter to it and it works as well as many more expensive pens. It must be over 50 years old.

[Dewdrop]

I would suggest either the Pelican Stola III or the Lamy Nexx

[Ileach]

I had a Pelikano when I was at school and it worked perfect over many years. In school you do many things you should not do with a pen - you know. So the latest model is the P480 and when I look at it I think it would last another 30 years or so. And it is pretty cheap. It is this one.

[Barry Gabay]

My vote is for the original Sheaffer NoNonsense fountain pens: threaded screw section, steel nib, ebonite feed (replaced by an equally great plastic feed in the late 1970s), and a sturdy pocket clip. Available in F and M nib, and later F, M, and B italic nibs. I used them all through college in the early 1970s & later in graduate school. At $1.98 (with two Skrip cartridges) in the 1970s, they were a great buy. They were indestructible. In fact, during 37 years as a teacher, they always served me well as great pens to use for marking essays. Now in retirement, I continue to use them regularly. I still have a couple of the navy blue and one khaki, the two original colors. By the late-1970s they came in a rainbow of colors.

[AL01]

I own a NN, it's from the ole days before Sheaffer was brought from Bic, (probably from the late 80s to early 90s). I will look for whatever I can find, then, but a NN only comes with italic nibs, right? I never got the design of the new Pelikanos, and Pelikan to me will be reserved for high end pens for I just do not have the funds. I am still a student... I don't even own a Safari! (I will probably buy one this year)

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I began buying the Sheaffer cartridge pens, as they were called, in the early '60s. In the olden days they had the weir, the metal part that surrounds the nipple and actually pierces the cartridge, just sticking out of the end of the section. In later models they had a plastic wall around the weir, which did help to guide the cartridge to the piercing nipple. I have supposed that the plastic wall was also prompted by kids sticking each other with the weir.

 

I think that in high school they were under $1. I know that years later they were something like $1.39 or $1.49 at regular stores.

 

I have a couple left from my youth, although I still can't find the completely clear one. It's buried somewhere around here, I'm sure.

 

I have one that I use still, it's that old cartridge pen. If I had to have only one type of pen anymore I think I'd choose the Sheaffer cartridge pen.

 

I bought a couple of clear plastic Sheaffers from folks here on FPN some years ago, they were labeled school pens. They seemed to me to be a little thicker overall. They worked just fine though.

 

I have several of the old Sheaffer cartridge/school pens and they are great. Also, I have a No Nonsense that I bought from someone at a pen show some years ago for $15, and it has a regular, non-italic, nib. I used to write with an italic nib for years, and I really prefer the nib with tipping material on it. That $15 No Nonsense that I'd bought had tipping material on the nib. I also have two No Nonsense fountain pens that are part of calligraphy sets. I keep wondering if I could fit a nib with tipping material into one of those.

[Joe in Seattle]

Two Pelikan 120's got me through college and grad school.

[jar]

I own a NN, it's from the ole days before Sheaffer was brought from Bic, (probably from the late 80s to early 90s). I will look for whatever I can find, then, but a NN only comes with italic nibs, right?

Nope. The NoNonsense came with steel nibs in fine and medium. There were several Sheaffer Calligraphy sets that also included NoNonsense pen bodies and those had Italic nibs.

[EBUCKTHORN]

I recall reading that the NNs had no tipping. Can anyone confirm that and, would it really make a big difference on a stainless steel nib? Thanks.

[jar]

I recall reading that the NNs had no tipping. Can anyone confirm that and, would it really make a big difference on a stainless steel nib? Thanks.

Correct, the NoNonsense pens as well as all the so called "School" pens did not have tipping.

[AL01]

The school pens nibs were alot like the cheaper Estie Nibs, they had a pseudo tipping which was actually folded stainless steel.

The NN, on the other hand was a raw nib. No pseudo tipping on that one at all.