Sheaffer Imperial

[lorr1e1]

I have just purchased a pen as a gift for someone, i have included some photos. Now i am not used to Sheaffer pens of this type shall we say. but i noticed on the back of the nib when i got it, that it looks like its come away from the nib plate, i hope you can see it on my pictures.

 

I queried it with where i bought it from, he said its a new nib and should be fine as he serviced it {he's a pen engineer} (i have seen other inlaid 14k nibs but the bit near the bottom appears to be cut away and the thing that sits flush with the nib plate is visible and looks like it is a seperate part that is inserted into this section, i hope you know what i mean).

 

The flow is on and off, it has a sheaffer skrib cartrige in it, if i leave it on its side for a period of time i have to wipe over the top of the nib with my finger or kitchen paper to get it to start writing, is that normal? Should i be concerned? I am sending it abroad so i need to be sure its good before i send it, i know that the recipient will not complain if it don't work, so i dont want any issue with it.

 

Thanks

Edited August 30, 2012 by lorr1e1

[lorr1e1]

more images

[DET]

It looks to me like the nib is bent away from the feed, most likely through misuse. That would explain the inconsistent ink flow. No, it shouldn't look like that (the nib should be flush with the feed), and it shouldn't write like that (the flow should be consistent and not need messing around with to get the ink going).

[OcalaFlGuy]

I have the exact same pen, dipped only, NOS and I got it out to compare.

 

First, in the Imperial models that went over a few years, sometimes there Were different looking feeds. I remember when TeriM here got a bunch of Imperials with feeds that didn't look familiar.

 

There is a dramatic difference in the feed area on my pen than with yours. Frankly, to me, it looks like You Don't Have A Feed there or the major visible portion is broken off. Yes, if that IS the case, could certainly show itself as wonky (to say the very least) writing IF it wrote at all. My ebonite feed is clearly visible as a piece separate from the "hood" area of the section where on yours what looks like it might could be a feed appears to be the same piece as the hood/section.

 

I have around 10-12 Imperials. It hasn't been my experience that they require any special clean up clean out than other pens. There are some people who say don't use an ultrasonic cleaner on the inlaid nib but that is FAR from a recognized "standard".

 

Something indeed looks very amiss to me with your pen.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[terim]

I'm afraid that nib has serious issues and I'm surprised the ink makes it to the paper at all!

 

The feed should rest snugly against the underside of the nib and not allow much more than a sheet of paper to slide in between. The feed should stop about an 1/8 of an inch from the end of the nib. And that's not the feed I'm used to seeing on these, it's usually squared off with two slits running lengthwise. I think I've seen that feed somewhere else ..... maybe on a Dolpin or Imperial IV? The feed seems to be a replacement from another pen, as the nib doesn't look bent, it looks correct.

 

 

 

TERI

[andru]

First, congratulations on the condition of the silver. This set looks to be in pristine condition cosmetically. Your nib unit is in very bad shape though. These are hard to adjust, and your options are probably to send it to a qualified repairperson, or to buy a replacement nib proper to the pen. No affliliation, but I've recently seen them here.

 

I too bought one of these pens, back around the time when I first joined FPN, and I had a post similar to yours. At that time, I contacted Sheaffer (after getting a partial refund from the seller ... you should, too, if they claimed it was in good condition!), and Sheaffer were selling proper (i.e. "long diamond") replacement nibs for $50 plus expensive shipping, so Peyton's price of $60 (that I linked) is reasonable five years later.

 

I'd say go for the replacement. Besides, the feed you have there is plastic, and I think the proper feed is chiselled ebonite feed which will look (and probably perform) better.

 

Good luck!

 

Edit: Oops, I see Teri of Peyton Street Pens posted at the very same moment I posted this!

Edited August 30, 2012 by andru

[andru]

  On 8/30/2012 at 11:15 PM, OcalaFlGuy said:

First, in the Imperial models that went over a few years, sometimes there Were different looking feeds. I remember when TeriM here got a bunch of Imperials with feeds that didn't look familiar.

 

There is a dramatic difference in the feed area on my pen than with yours. Frankly, to me, it looks like You Don't Have A Feed there or the major visible portion is broken off.

Just a note, my most recent Imperial, which is an black plastic with GP cap band, Imperial II or so (not sure, says Lifetime on the clip, 14 K monotone nib), from smbaugh, has this same feed (but not the long arrow). It's the only Sheaffer I've seen with such a feed, but it works very nicely. Looks almost like a snorkel hole in front of the feed, but I presume it is just a breather hole? I do prefer the usual ebonite feed cosmetically though.

 

But definitely, at minimum, the feed on this pen is not set properly against nib! Hopefully someone with more experience can weigh in on the prospects for this one's current nib unit...

[lorr1e1]

Thank you for your input, I am truly disappointed to see a pen with such a poor unit on. I have sent a message back to the pen engineer and hope i will get a favourable reply. If i don't i will buy a new nib unit from elsewhere. Can anyone suggest somewhere in UK i could buy it, i don't fancy paying any import charges etc to get it here.

 

Thanks

 

 

[Ron Z]

Sheaffer used this design for a short period, so you don't see them very often, and I haven't seen one with this problem. The feed should be set against the nib. What you see on the outside is part of the shell. There is, or should be a proper feed inside, and I think that you can see that in the picture. I suspect that what's going on is that the pen needs to be cleaned after sitting so long. You might expect a new nib to write, no matter how old it is, but that's often not the case. I've often had to clean a NOS, vintage Sheffer nib (including Imperials) in a special solution to get them to write.

 

What we are used to seeing has an exposed feed, either hard rubber feed or a later plastic molded feed with the two cuts in it on the under side. Not all feeds are interchangeable either, as the design changed changed over time.

 

Send it to someone with lots of Sheaffer experience. Worst case would be replacing the nib assembly, or as Sheaffer called it the "writing unit." But you need someone who's used to working with Sheaffer products, and can ask the service department questions if needed to fix it. Just heating the exposed part under the nib could permanently damage the pen.

 

Entertaining side note. When in the service center, and then helping to unpack parts when they were shipped to the distributor a number of years ago (they went back less than a year later) I noted that only fountain pens were marked "pens." Ballpoints were ballpoints, roller balls were roller balls, not ballpoint pens, or roller ball pens. Only fountain pens were worthy of the name pen.

Edited September 1, 2012 by Ron Z

[crescentfiller]

I can personally recommend Simon Gray of the Battersea Pen Home in the UK (in Epping). He has been doing excellent work for many years. And, he is recommended by Sheaffer for repairs.

 

From his site:

 

"We are recommended by Sheaffer UK for Sheaffer vintage pen repairs and by Parker and Waterman for all their products"

Contact him at www.penhome.co.uk

best, Daniel

[lorr1e1]

i'm not sure what to do, the pen engineer i got it from is based in Scotland, he is mentioned on this site, a fellow fpn recommended that i try him for repairs. He's offered to put another nib on it, but it would be a silver one as this is all he has in stock, the pen is gold, would that reduce the value of the pen if i did this?

 

You might be able to see it on the third picture down, there is an extra bit of black plastic to the side of the gold nib, this is also suspect. I don't think any work can rescue it its just not a correct nib. I am disappointed as he was selling the set for £125, now i face the prospect of shelling out for more because he doesn't have a gold nib. I'm really not happy to give this pen to my parents in its present condition.

Edited September 4, 2012 by lorr1e1

[user01]

I think this pen is damaged. I wouldn´t give this pen to anyone I like. Was it sold as working?

[lorr1e1]

yes it was, it does work only that you have to start the flow by rubbing it. obviously i couldn't go up to scotland to his shop to look at so, i am sure you can understand that i am disappointed, it looks so nice but this is a problem for me. he said he hadn't done anything else with it except ink it. why he maintains it is new i dont know, i may not be that experienced but i have had fountains since i was a kid and could instantly see this didn't look right. its a shame, maybe he means the the nib plate is new but not the rest of it, he hasn't elaborated on it. how he got it to work without wiping the top i dont know.

 

 

[Ron Z]

Wiping the top of the nib would draw ink down the slit to the top.

[penhome]

Lorraine

If you can send it through to us, we will sort it out for you.

There is an obvious issue relating to the positioning of the feed vs the nib. As shown in the pictures, this nib/feed misalignment will result in zero ink flow unless the flow is artificially encouraged by wiping ink down the nib or just dipping the nib in ink etc

Sometimes sellers can make a mistake or miss something, and it is one of the very best features of the pen community that we all try to sort out each other's occasional hiccups.

So send it through to us and we will correct the problem. I think the nib unit just needs to be disassembled and to have a correct feed inserted which is aligned properly with the nib.

 

Kind regards

 

Simon

Battersea Pen Home

[Ron Z]

Just to add to the thread.

 

I had one of these cross the bench today. Construction is similar to a standard Imperial. The pen uses the same connector, pressure ring, 0-ring and insert as the typical Imperial writing unit, but the feed covered on the underside of the section. It is held in place by a ring that screws into the section. Difficult to remove, especially without the right tool. A good cleaning and flushing is about all that the average amateur would be able to do. Removing the connector to get more flow might help chances of success, but you'll need to replace the 0-ring if you do pull it.

[lorr1e1]

just for my information could someone please advise what the feed looks like as i am confused. On the back of the nib plate, there is a tiny black square piece that sits flush nib plate, what is this piece and what does it do?