Sheaffer PFM III-review

May 14, 2009

Went to few pawn shops with my father in law never expecting to actually find something as I was there only a week before.

In a window I see a boxed Sheaffer FPM.

Trying to play cool I ask the seller to see the pen, I saw it had no major issues, even the box looked very good.

I was expecting a very high price but to my joy the seller had no idea what he had.

I set a price and didn’t budge from it and at the end walked out without the pen. The seller chased me agreeing to my price.

I wasn’t sure which mark this is as I am more into Snorkels but the wonderful guys on Sheaffer forum were kind enough to help me with that after I posted pictures of the pen.

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u330/alfa170a/DSC00334.jpg

Well soon after that the PFM was given to SMG (Sean Gosse) and he as always did a perfect restoration job on it as you will see later in the review.

I really bought the pen to sell it, to make some profit and have a nice down payment on another MB WE pen.

I need to add that this is not my first PFM. I had a PFM V I got years ago. It was in a nice condition and was a fabulous writer but the monogram it had kept me cool to the pen and I sold it eventually on eBay.

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u330/alfa170a/DSC00333.jpg

Well I got the pen on Monday. Impatiently I went and inked it and let me tell you I forgot how fat this pen feels in the hand. It literally is an Imperial on Steroids. Ok it’s not as fat as a MB 149 but it feels much bigger and wider then I remember.

I enjoy the feel of this pen in the hand and can definitely understand why its call Pen For Man (which really in this day and age isn’t a very politically correct name).

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u330/alfa170a/DSC00320.jpg

The Snorkel system of the PFM was restored to the high standard I am so used to by Sean. It takes a good amount of ink and it looks to me like it takes considerable more ink then a regular Snorkel. To those who don’t know the Snorkel is one of only few filling systems you don’t need to wipe the nib or section after filling the pen so it’s a high tech filling mechanism, surprisingly reliable and very gadgety. You unscrew the bottom and the little Snorkel tube comes out of the bottom part of the section then you pull the bottom rod all the way out stick the Snorkel into the ink push quickly the rod back in wait for it to fill the internal sac for 10-15 sec and now all you have to do is screw the knob clockwise, the Snorkel slides back into the section and the pen is ready for action. So elegant and so smart and of course clean.

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u330/alfa170a/DSC00326.jpg

So as I mentioned before I was surprised of how big and fat this pen is, but the beauty is that this pen has the weight well distributed throughout the pen so its naturally balanced and light in weight. Kind of an interesting change from my MB WE pens which have metal in them and are quite heavier then this pen.

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u330/alfa170a/DSC00337.jpg

The nib is Sheaffer’s famous inlaid nib, this is another thing that is so wonderful about this pen. These nibs are among the best out there. They are not just very pleasing to the eye but also are very smooth and responsive.

The nib is a medium which is not the natural choice for me as I am a strictly fine nib guy but this nib is not too fat so I can live with that. What was so pleasing is how well the nib feels on the paper. This nib glides with no effort on the paper leaving a wet trail behind it and gives you a wonderful feeling of what’s happening down there. Medium nibs that write like that are ok in my book!!! I couldn’t stop writing with it and at work I just looked all the time for excuses to write and scribble.

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u330/alfa170a/DSC00339.jpg

Conclusion

I fell in love with the pen and can’t see myself selling it, it simply is too good of a writer. Unlike my MB WE pens this pen is falling into the category of writers and not collectable so this one will be used with great care and love.

Having the box is nice as when I will not use it the pen will have a home to rest in while its in the glass cabinet.

So this is a rather big pen (something between full size and oversize) has a cool filling mechanism a butter smooth beautiful 14k nib, light weight, well balanced and even the name of the pen is unique. I have decided to keep it. This pen is simply too good to get rid off.

My recommendation to those who like this type of pen is get it I am sure you will love it too!!!

Tzutzik loved the pen too. In this picture he just woke up from a nap and he was surprise by the new pen.

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u330/alfa170a/DSC00327.jpg

In this picture he is angry telling me not to sell it so of course I promised him its going to stay with us.

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u330/alfa170a/DSC00332.jpg

May 15, 2009

Great choice Amir I think I will have to buy one with a fine or an extra fine nib.

May 15, 2009

Looks like Tzuzik has decided he want the PFM for himself! Do you think he'll let you use it?

May 15, 2009

Good-looking pen, Amir! And you definitely got a great bargain on it. I got my PFM III around the same time you did (not quite the same level of sumgai-dom, but a good price). The inlaid nib is certainly butter-smooth, but I can't quite get used to the feel and the geometry. It glides so lightly across the page that it almost feels like I'm writing with the plastic of the section, as opposed to the heavy 'Ka-shunk' feeling of the older Sheaffer Lifetime nibs.

My hand must be conditioned to my other pens that are of similar size to the PFM (an OS Flattop and an OS Balance): the nib feels to me like it's making contact with the paper in the "wrong" place, given where my fingers are.

Anyway, it's still a great pen, congratulations again on your extraordinary find, and thanks for the great review and photos.

May 15, 2009

Nice review of one of my favorite cold war pens.

This was a pretty interesting period in world history. There were only two superpowers the USSR and the USA. Injection molding of plastic was being applied to pens in a big way and while many plastic pens lost the decades earlier aesthetic of marbeling, swirls, and irridescent colors found in celluloid, there was a new shape expressing the modern FP and it was streamlined, sleek, and perhaps aerodynamic. The inlaid nib of the PFM really punches this out. Beneath the PFMs simple lines there was also a complex mechanical filling system that only added to its sophistication and appeal to...well, men. It seems now in hindsight that life was much simpler in the 1950s and 60s: you were from the "free" world or you were a "commie"; and you were fashionable sporting the new design aesthetic of the PFM/Parker 51/Moore Fingertip/etc., or you were not. Never mind too, that the PFM by its name alone, allowed its owner (if in fact owned by a man) to embrace their masculinity and vanquish any doubts about their being heterosexual.

Thanks for reading this far, but it is just so much fun to consider the historical context of the great PFM.

Best regards

June 26, 2009

Thank you for the review of this lovely pen. A PFM is certainly on my wish list!

As an aside to the gentleman who posted above--may I say, yikes. Seems a rather crude interpretation of the early Cold War era, a time when anything was but simple. Not to mention...

Never mind too, that the PFM by its name alone, allowed its owner (if in fact owned by a man) to embrace their masculinity and vanquish any doubts about their being heterosexual.

Again, yikes. :blink:

June 26, 2009

Very nice review. I've got a PFM II coming to me in the mail and I noticed that's one of the two PFMs that doesn't have a review listed, so maybe I'll do one up.

Edited June 26, 2009 by Silvermink

June 26, 2009

I'm glad that there are some people who would sell a PFM III (otherwise I couldn't have purchased mine), but I can't understand how a person could let a pen like this go.

June 27, 2009

Very nice review. I've got a PFM II coming to me in the mail and I noticed that's one of the two PFMs that doesn't have a review listed, so maybe I'll do one up.

I will be happy to read your review and see the pictures

I'm glad that there are some people who would sell a PFM III (otherwise I couldn't have purchased mine), but I can't understand how a person could let a pen like this go.

There are PFM on eBay all the time. They aint cheap but easy to get.