Sheaffer 304 & 305...any history or information?

[swanjun]

I, too, managed to snag a couple of vintage school pens with 304 and 305 nibs a couple years ago. The 304 writes wonderfully, but the 305 nib had a weird crinkle in it and couldn't totally be put right.

 

Anyway, I've found a spare nib marked 'Fineline' and 306. Could I swap this onto the 305, you think?

 

ETA: Successfully got the 305 nib out, at least!

Edited June 30, 2015 by swanjun

[swanjun]

Update: the "fineline" 306 fits fine and is a definite improvement over the crinkled 305. Not noticeably more broad, though.

[FinalEleven]

I'm new to Shaeffer's and I think I managed to obtain a Shaeffer Cartridge Pen. My first Shaeffer!

 

It looks in relatively good condition and has an engraving on the barrel saying "Underwood Jewelers" and "DEMONSTRATOR" underneath that.

 

http://i.imgur.com/5KJrSNx.jpg

 

Here is the picture of the nib

http://i.imgur.com/7h4tDPB.jpg

 

There's no rust anywhere on the pen and it seems to be in good if not great condition.

 

I think I'm going to try and obtain some ink cartridges for this pen and maybe introduce it into my current pen lineup.

Edited July 5, 2015 by FinalEleven

[jar]

Great. The modern Sheaffer cartridges will fit but unlike the old ones, I think the new ones have an end that should be pierced. The old ones went in either way but the new ones I think have a right and wrong way.

[karenjn]

Hi,

 

I have a couple of these that I am giving to a 10 and 12 year old. They are allowed to write with fountain pens in their school in Australia, so I thought a package from the US with some vintage pens would be fun. I wanted to include some history. I know they were 60's pens, but does anyone have a timeline of their dates of introduction? These two are blue and green and have the rounded ends on the cap and barrel. I have both 304 and 305 nibs. I believe that is the designation for the width of the nib? Any link to their history would be greatly appreciated!

Edited November 12, 2015 by karenjn

[jar]

Hi,

 

I have a couple of these that I am giving to a 10 and 12 year old. They are allowed to write with fountain pens in their school in Australia, so I thought a package from the US with some vintage pens would be fun. I wanted to include some history. I know they were 60's pens, but does anyone have a timeline of their dates of introduction? These two are blue and green and have the rounded ends on the cap and barrel. I have both 304 and 305 nibs. I believe that is the designation for the width of the nib? Any link to their history would be greatly appreciated!

The rounded cap versions were the first iteration and came out back in the mid 50s. The second generation had conic ends while the third generation was flat on both ends.

 

When I first started buying the Sheaffer Cartridge pen they came on a blister pack card with the pen and six cartridges for a dollar.

 

The 304 nib was the fine and the 305 the medium. Colors at the time were clear, red, blue and green. They also came in solid colors, black, red & blue.

 

The cartridges came in washable blue, blue-black, red and peacock IIRC and also permanent black and blue.

[karenjn]

Thank you! That's perfect.

Edited November 12, 2015 by karenjn

[jar]

Just an aside. Many of us ended up with a bunch of pens, most of which just got put in a drawer or cigar box simply because it was as cheap to buy pens & cartridge as to buy just the cartridges. Those pens were really near indestructible.

[BoBoJones]

I have fitted a converter to my pen. It is listed as for Rosetta pen. Works perfectly.

[Cindy in Southlake]

Very late addition here, but I found this thread as I was trying to fix a problem with my Shaeffer 304. (It's fixed.)

 

I found this pen in a box of old stuff that had been stashed away for decades. I'm 64 years old, and I remember using it to do my homework in the third grade! (That would have been the 1964-65 school year—about 56 years ago.) I thought I might as well try it, and with a new cartridge, it worked beautifully.

 

Hooray for nearly indestructible fountain pens!

Edited January 9, 2021 by Cindy in Southlake
Add info

[Ferocity]

what a legend ❤️

[inkstainedruth]

I'm glad this thread has resurfaced.  I just picked up a Sheaffer school pen with a 304 nib a couple of weekends ago.  It had a (mostly dead) Skrip Red cartridge attached, and I was able to get just enough distilled water into the cartridge to get the pen to write.  But I was wondering if anyone knows whether these also take converters, and if so, which (I had a similar problem with an old Skripsert a friend gave me (it had been his step-grandfather's pen) and a Lady Skripsert I picked up cheap at an estate sale company's warehouse sale a couple of years ago).  And of course, with 2020 being what it was, there were no pen shows for me to get to. 

I could pull the converter from one of the Skripserts to see if that works.  That way I would at least have a good idea of whether the converters I have works, and that would make it easier to -- when shows start happening again, I can just go around and say "I need another one like this...."

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ferocity]

I have actual historical information to contribute~!
All credit for the information goes to: ( http://captainchang.com/pens/sheaffer.html ) 
ALSO

Glad to have you with us Cindy in Southlake ❤️❤️👍❤️❤️
I just got one myself, and I couldn't be more exited to try it out~!
 

[Kloz]

I know this is an old thread, but I was at an antique store and found this pen for $8.00 and I couldn't 'resist I'm new to fountain pens but I really enjoy righting with them. this pen would not open and Iwas really afraid it would break before letting loose. I finely got it apart and cleaned. I added ink to the cartridge and am now using it. I am curries about the age of the pen and also the nib has a -mark on it that I haven't seen in any of the pictures i can find. Any help i can get would be a big help. 

Thanks

Mike

[Ron Z]

I suspect that is where corrosion from the underside broke through to the top.  Not all is lost though.  The nib units are common, and the feed, which is hard rubber (that's good!), can be used in most of Sheaffer's modern open nibs, including the Connaisseur, No Nonsense, etc.  Don't toss it!

[Kloz]

Now I'm not arguing with someone who is more fermeture with these pens but it seems to exact to be rot. It reely apers to be an intentional part of the nib.  Do you have an idea how old the pen is and what the name of it is?

[Kloz]

Just an update.  I have been righting with this for about a week now and I have to say that it writes verry well.  Thers nothing flashy or stylish about it just writes smooth and consistently.  My only complaint would be that it's just too small for my hand.  I believe that it would be perfect for a woman or child.  I will probably use it a little more and then break it down clean it thoroughly and put it away.

 

Thanks for the help.

Mike