Vintage Sheaffer Cartridge Pens

[jar]

I recently purchased a vintage 1960s Sheaffer "Student" fountain pen on eBay.

 

The item is in transit to me. Preparatory to getting the pen I wanted to ensure that I have cartridges ready on hand which will fit this older pen. Could you tell me if the current Sheaffer cartridges will fit these older, inexpensive "Student-type" pens? They call these modern day Sheaffer cartridges "universal". Does this mean they fit their old cartridge pens from the 60s?

 

And, getting really audacious here, how about the current Sheaffer cartridge converters? will they fit these older pens? Thanks, Breck

 

The standard Sheaffer cartridge (flat ended cylinder shape) will fit. The modern ones though are slightly different, one end is flat, one end has a dimple. The flat end gets punctured.

 

It's unlikely that a modern Sheaffer converter will work, but one of the Sheaffer squeeze converters and maybe the Sheaffer button converter might fit.

[andru]

I have the transparent blue you show on the left, and it was an incredible pen -- until it developed fungus! (The only pen I've had this happen to.) I used the pen so much that the steel tip was worn past equatorial (hemisphere). Occasionally benefited from smoothing, as that edge gets very crisp. Love these pens; all the old Sheaffers I've tried actually... My first FP was an olive green similar to the one you show on the right.

[EBUCKTHORN]

Are the Skrip cartridges still available? Thanks.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Are the Skrip cartridges still available? Thanks.

I think so...if not, there's always fleabay and FPN WTB.

[jar]

Are the Skrip cartridges still available? Thanks.

Yes.

[TheYellowHobbit]

So I found a pretty lucite vintage Sheaffer Cartridge pen on ebay that looked pretty.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Sheaffer-Fountain-Pen-Marbled-Green-Lucite-Uses-Cartridges-/371865173968?hash=item5694e43fd0:g:fcMAAOSw4DJYfDJr

 

Would this take the Skrip cartridges (and therefore only a squeeze/button converter maybe if even that)?

[Sasha Royale]

I have the same experiences with these pens, except the semi-hooded, as you have. I like them a lot.

 

The old Script cartridges are flimsy, expensive, and scarce. There is no converter. I have an alternative. It is the widely-available International Standard short cartridge. Use a sharp "push pin" to puncture the flat end. Enlarge the hole, using an iron nail, while preserving a tight fit to the steel punch at the end of the pen section. The steep punch of these old pens is quite substantial.

 

With a tight seal, the cartridge should remain firmly in place. With repeated use, such as in refilling, the seal will loosen. Hold the loose cartridge in place by adding a the spring from a ballpoint pen refill for tension, or discard in favor of a new cartridge.

 

Sheaffer school pens, that have survived the years, tend to be very good writers.