Mystery Sheaffer Made In Japan

[alexecutive]

Hi,

I have bought up this nice looking Sheaffer pen, made in Japan (probably in the 80s). I do not know what model or price range it is. It looks like it has a 14kt gold nib, so possibly some entry-level pen for the japanese market?

It is supposed to take the old slim Sheaffer converter, which is nowhere to be found. However, my local pen dealer in Oxford has sold me a vintage Waterman converter, which seems to fit the pen. It did cost me more than the pen though.

 

So, does anyone know anything about this pen?

 

Thanks!

[Ernst Bitterman]

If it's a plated point, then it's (likely) a Sentinel; made by Sailor for Sheaffer.

[whych]

It's related to this pen:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/239064-mystery-to-me-sheaffer-pen/

I must say that Sheaffer/Sailor did a good job of the plastic body as well. The plastic is more like that found in one of the better quality German pens and doesn't have the cheap plastic feel about it.

The slim Sheaffer cartridge is too long and so is the Lamy/Waterman. I think it was made to use Sailor cartridges.

[alexecutive]

I do think the nib is gold plated (how can I check this for sure?) and whych is right, the plastic of the body feels very nice and high quality. Much better than e.g. a Sailor 1911's PMMA resin. Actually, as with the pen in the thread whych has posted, Sailor cartridges do not fit. The vintage Waterman converter does though.

[whych]

Standard small International cartridge also fits, but only one at a time, You can't keep a spare like with Pelikan and other pens.

If the nib was gold, it would have been marked, so I guess it's just plated.

I have found that the nibs in the thin barrel pens are finer than the ones in the thicker barrel Sheaffer USA Fashion pens.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

I have a Laser LJ-1, which is also a product of the Sheaffer-Sailor joint effort.

 

I found that a generic international converter was a much better fit than a Waterman converter. (I have no idea why that was the case.)

 

So if your pen is slender/short, I believe that Member whych has made a very good suggestion to use short international cartridges.

 

Bye,

S1

[basterma]

One of the Waterman converters I have has a flatter bottom than other converters and it sometimes won't fit in some pens. There is a bit of taper just before the feed tip that stops the converter from sealing properly.

[mrcharlie]

There are some nice pictures of converters including Waterman std old and new styles and Waterman C/F in another old topic here on FPN. You could maybe identify which one it is using these pictures.

Edited February 16, 2013 by mrcharlie

[whych]

If you look at post 26 of the old topic (https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4561-converters/), there is a picture of the Sheaffer converters. The one the pen uses is the slimline one which is not easy to find and if you do, probably needs a new sac.

[plumeau]

It takes slim sheaffer cartridges, I have one and the label stick on it say that.

But to find this cardriges it's not easy at all.

Have a good day.

[whych]

It takes slim sheaffer cartridges, I have one and the label stick on it say that.

But to find this cardriges it's not easy at all.

Have a good day.

I tried the slim cartridge, but it is too long for the pen shown, which makes me think that it was made to use one of the Japanese cartridges like Sailor or the Sheaffer slim converter. International cartridges fit as well.

Considering how well they write and how well made they were, I'm surprised they weren't more common. Once the ink has fed through, they are really good writers.

Perhaps it was because a plain black pen was not the fashion in the US at the time and Sheaffer pushed their inlaid nibs more?

[jar]

It takes slim sheaffer cartridges, I have one and the label stick on it say that.

But to find this cardriges it's not easy at all.

Have a good day.

I tried the slim cartridge, but it is too long for the pen shown, which makes me think that it was made to use one of the Japanese cartridges like Sailor or the Sheaffer slim converter. International cartridges fit as well.

Considering how well they write and how well made they were, I'm surprised they weren't more common. Once the ink has fed through, they are really good writers.

Perhaps it was because a plain black pen was not the fashion in the US at the time and Sheaffer pushed their inlaid nibs more?

 

The pens were made by ...Sailor. Try Sailor cartridge/converters.

[whych]

The pens were made by ...Sailor. Try Sailor cartridge/converters.

@jar

I suggested this in my original reply, only Sailor cartridges aren't that easy to find in UK, whereas the International/Pelikan style carts are cheap and easy to get. (Although I am looking for a couple of Sailor carts because they fit the old German Geha cartridge pens.)

 

Any idea of what the model name was for these pens?

All I know is that the Japanese made ones commonly came in the black body and a chrome steel body with a gold filled body as well. They were made suring the period Sheaffer used an 'S' as their trademark on the clips instead of the name.

Also that the same nib was used in the Fashion pens that took the conventional Sheaffer carts.

Edited February 18, 2013 by whych

[jar]

The pens were made by ...Sailor. Try Sailor cartridge/converters.

@jar

I suggested this in my original reply, only Sailor cartridges aren't that easy to find in UK, whereas the International/Pelikan style carts are cheap and easy to get. (Although I am looking for a couple of Sailor carts because they fit the old German Geha cartridge pens.)

 

Any idea of what the model name was for these pens?

All I know is that the Japanese made ones commonly came in the black body and a chrome steel body with a gold filled body as well. They were made suring the period Sheaffer used an 'S' as their trademark on the clips instead of the name.

Also that the same nib was used in the Fashion pens that took the conventional Sheaffer carts.

 

The S was also common to both "Sheaffer" and "Sailor" and so that may be why it was used. IIRC the models were called Sentinel (but Sheaffer used Sentinel for many different models) and Lazer.

[alexecutive]

There are some nice pictures of converters including Waterman std old and new styles and Waterman C/F in another old topic here on FPN. You could maybe identify which one it is using these pictures.

 

Thanks everybody for your input! The third from the right on this post is the Waterman converter I am currently using with the pen. It works quite well. I haven't tried international cartridges yet because I do not have any. I don't really use cartridges in any of my pens. I only have a few Sheaffer carts in case my legacy runs dry during an exam or something.

 

The pen does perform quite well. In the beginning it was a bit dry but now it writes quite nicely. I have filled it with green ink for colour-coded notes. That is my excuse for keeping all these pens...

[alexecutive]

The pens were made by ...Sailor. Try Sailor cartridge/converters.

@jar

I suggested this in my original reply, only Sailor cartridges aren't that easy to find in UK, whereas the International/Pelikan style carts are cheap and easy to get. (Although I am looking for a couple of Sailor carts because they fit the old German Geha cartridge pens.)

 

Any idea of what the model name was for these pens?

All I know is that the Japanese made ones commonly came in the black body and a chrome steel body with a gold filled body as well. They were made suring the period Sheaffer used an 'S' as their trademark on the clips instead of the name.

Also that the same nib was used in the Fashion pens that took the conventional Sheaffer carts.

 

Actually, I just ordered a couple of Sailor cartridges from thewritingdesk.co.uk for my new Sailor 1911 (thats where I found them in the UK). When I get them I will try them in this pen.

[whych]

The pen does perform quite well. In the beginning it was a bit dry but now it writes quite nicely. I have filled it with green ink for colour-coded notes. That is my excuse for keeping all these pens...

After seeing your post and the earlier one I pointed you to, I decided to dig out my Sheaffer and give it a try. It took a couple of days of sitting nib down with the International cartridge in it before it started feeding properly, but now it writes pretty well the way you would expect from a Sheaffer.

I don't have a Waterman converter, but I do have one of the slimline Sheaffer converters that needs a new sac which I want to use.

[mrcharlie]

Thanks everybody for your input! The third from the right on this post is the Waterman converter I am currently using with the pen.

On the off chance you ever get an old Waterman C/F pen, that converter will work in those. There is some more recent model of Waterman that uses short standard sized Waterman cartridges, but the Waterman standard piston type converter didn't fit, and they sold the C/F converters for/with it, but I'm not a Waterman expert and I can't remember the name of that model. Maybe "lady"?

[Durham K]

Having had a few ink leaks with various cartridges in my Sentinel, I decided to try a slim Sheaffer cart from some I bought for my TRZ pens. Having now seen this thread I realise I could have solved this earlier.

It seems that my version of this pen has enough room for the cart in the barrel.

 

Keep checking the "Bay" as these carts do come up from time to time. I bagged 18 some time ago to my surprise. They only had 30% of their ink in them, but some water added creates an interesting blue.

 

Some of my hacks can be seen below and on a previous post about TRZ carts. My sawn off Parker solution might work on a Sentinel.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/233093-more-about-slim-converters-and-cartridges/#

 

K

[ink-syringe]

Those pens look a LOT like the Sailor Young Prophet, which have spectacular nibs on them (Gold plated steel).