New 1950S Fineline?

[aalbinger]

Last night after hearing that I stopped at Paradise Pen on our trip to Minneapolis my father in-law gave me this pen that he'd found in a box of stuff he'd purchased at an estate sale.

 

http://www.werdna.net/images/RedFineline.jpg

 

It is a Sheaffer Fineline in red with fine nib. In the Fineline box. Near as I can tell from opening it up is that it has never been inked. The bladder is soft and no signs of dried ink anywhere.

 

I'm generally a user of things and not a collector. All of my other pens are also low end user pens and I generally have them inked up with different inks and ready to write.

 

Is there any reason for me to keep this pen un-inked and in it's box or should I ink it up and go?

 

-Andrew

Edited March 24, 2014 by aalbinger

[Guest Ray Cornett]

I can not tell you what to do with the pen but I found an old used one in a box in my fiances fathers house after he passed. I put in a new sac and it writes rather well. I am not sure what their value is but they're nice pens. If collector value is important, leave it as is. If not, use it. I myself am not one to collect a pen just to watch it sit on a shelf or in a drawer.

[Tas]

Fill him / her up and enjoy.

 

I have a dark green Fineliner and it's gorgeous to use. It starts firsts time and manages to deliver shading from inks that usually struggle to behave.

 

It might not be the most sophisticated pen out there but it makes a lovely daily writer.

 

Enjoy.

[Guest Ray Cornett]

Fill him / her up and enjoy.

 

I have a dark green Fineliner and it's gorgeous to use. It starts firsts time and manages to deliver shading from inks that usually struggle to behave.

 

It might not be the most sophisticated pen out there but it makes a lovely daily writer.

 

Enjoy.

What Tas said!.....

[Ernst Bitterman]

I wouldn't claim any authority, but I don't think there's a vast collector's market for this end of Sheaffer's output in the early '50s. The difference between "inked" and "mint" values is unlikely to balance the joy of use.

[pajaro]

I have a couple of these pens, 343 nib and 341 nib. They write very nicely. They look like student pens and are light and flimsy. The finish of the metal cap can discolor. The nibs, however, are very nice writing nibs. These pens do not dry out overnight, and are always ready the next day, unlike a lot of far more expensive modern pens.

[KBeezie]

I wouldn't claim any authority, but I don't think there's a vast collector's market for this end of Sheaffer's output in the early '50s. The difference between "inked" and "mint" values is unlikely to balance the joy of use.

 

Unless we're talking several thousand dollars between inking and not, I wouldn't pass up the 'experience' of actually using the pen.

[Guest Ray Cornett]

Here is a cell phone snapshot of mine along with a fast written ink test with Noodler's Black Eel, a lubricated ink. 20 second dry time. I didn't have to do a single thing to the nib and it has yet to skip. I just wrote this out and it has been a couple days since I used it so that shows it can sit a while and still start right up.

You can see a little bit of the discoloration in the cap near the top as well as near the bottom just before the solid band starts. The lever also has some finish missing.

[pajaro]

That looks like the one I have with the 341 nib. The other one is blue, 343 nib. The nibs unscrew, so you can change them, as with Esterbrook and the Sheaffer Cadet, which is a Touchdown filler.

[aalbinger]

Sheaffer support emailed me the 1953 catalog page for my Fineline. $2.10 retail price back then. http://www.werdna.net/images/S14032611300.pdf

 

"Biggest one-stroke capacity of any pen on the market proved by laboratory test!"

 

"Each Fineline point is precision-made--is tipped with a precious, long-wearing metal to assure smooth writing. A feature usually found only in ixpensive pens!"

 

"Fineline gives you a choice of points tailor-made to suit your writing style -- extra fine, fine medium and short-hand. Instantly interchangeable: simply unscrew and replace."

 

Their advice was to fill it with water and let it sit for a while to ensure it wasn't going to leak anywhere on the bladder and then ink it up.

 

http://www.werdna.net/images/IMG_20140325_125342828.jpg

 

http://www.werdna.net/images/IMG_20140325_125448485_HDR.jpg

 

-Andrew

Edited March 26, 2014 by aalbinger

[aalbinger]

Went with Waterman black ink. No leaks with water loaded for a bit. Nib seems to write smoothly.

http://www.werdna.net/images/IMG_20140326_140519685s.jpg

[carolee45]

My brother just gave me two Fineline pens he found in an antique shop. They write beautifully!!