Sheaffer Award

[chromantic]

I picked this up from the usual suspect. Listed as 'used' and the photos seemed to bear that out (though it didn't look thrashed by any means) so was very pleasantly surprised when it arrived by it's pristine condition. A tiny bit of discoloration on the underside of the nib, just below the tip, was the only sign it mightn't be brand new. Using the included converted, I flushed it several times with clear water and saw no evidence of any residual ink; it was clean as a whistle.

 

Some photos:

 

capped

 

uncapped

 

posted

 

section and nib

 

redesigned end cap

 

From what info I could find, this was a new low-end fountain pen meant as a (more expensive) replacement for the venerable school pen. A higher price would certainly be justified in this instance as the pen screams 'quality'. The fit and finish are superb. The barrel and cap are metal (well, plastic inner tube with a thick metal casing), with a plastic, soft-touch coated section, and has a nice heft to it (maybe a little heavier than a Baoer 388).

 

It's rather short: 5" capped, 4 3/4" uncapped, 6 3/8 posted. As it's also on the thick side, the shortness makes it look somewhat squat; "short and squat" would be a good description, in fact, and doesn't detract from it's good looks. Contributing to that squat look is the pen being perfectly cylindrical, with no taper on the barrel. There is a small, flat knob on the end of the barrel for posting the cap. They went to a different design for the posting knob in later models, in response to complaints - while it posts solidly enough, it is easily dislodged.

 

The nib is superb, truly "smooth as butter", and just glides across the paper, at least on the BnR I tested it on. Test ink was Sailor Miruai. I've started experiencing some random hard starts with it in the Waterman JIF fine so I wanted to see how the line width compared both to it and the broader fine (almost a medium) of the Deli S668 I also have it in.

 

Results were interesting. The line width is comparable to the JIF, almost 1/2 that of the Deli. As for the look of the ink, the JIF is the darkest, with very subtle shading, a result of the high amount of sheen; the Deli is quite dark also, with the same subtle shading and high sheen, although it's more apparent with a quick glance that the color is a dark green.

 

The Award seems a slightly drier writer: it's readily apparent that the color is a dark green because, while there's still plenty, there's a little less sheen being laid down, enough less that sheen isn't covering the ink so heavily and darkening it, resulting in some really lovely shading. It's like the green counterpart to Twilight (as shading goes).

 

The only real quibble I have with this pen is the writing comfort. Since the body is cylindrical, with the cap flush with the barrel, there's a rather deep step on the section, along with a sharp edge on the flat part the separates the cap from the barrel when the pen is capped. While it's easy enough (with my hands) to hold the pen with thumb, 1st and 2nd fingers all on the rubberized portion of the section without touching that sharp edge, it is a little cramped; the bigger problem is that the nib is so short that my hand is then right there on top of the paper when I write. Posting doesn't help the situation much; posted, the pen is top heavy and only balanced (for me) by moving my grip onto the barrel behind the section. The problem there is that the distance from the start of the section to the tip of the nib is a whopping 1 5/8" - a bit too far for comfort. Add to that is that I'm used to lighter (if not necessarily thinner) pens, I have a bit of a learning curve with this one.

 

Writing samples:

 

Difference in color between the Award, 1st & 2nd lines, and the JIF, 3rd line - JIF looks almost black.

 

Award, 1st & 2nd lines, and the Deli, 3rd line - easy to see both the greater shading on the Award and the sheen on both.

 

I think the VFM succeeded this as the budget 'school pen' but you can still buy these NOS from various places (I'm assuming with the newer end cap) for ~$35-40. These also come in rollerballs, too.

 

Well, that's it. Cheers.

Edited July 7, 2016 by chromantic

[Samrat]

Nice review...I briefly gave a thought of buying these but backed off as the barrel is too thick compared to the section, which might cause problem for easy writing.....but still looks great pen

[Old_Inkyhand]

Well, Sheaffer Award is back, as shown in Sheaffer's 2016 catalogue. They have revived it this year. It can be steel (with nickel trim), black or red. It costs circa 32$.

I have seen them in person, they look better than I had thought.

[chromantic]

Ah, the ones I saw on the English webstore were likely these new ones then, rather than NOS; they were steel, red and black.