Snorkel 14K Triumph Nib Not Two-Toned?

[ELSpartan44]

Hello, this is my first post, but I have been watching this forum for a while now.

 

A little over a month ago I purchased my first Sheaffer Snorkel. I went for the two-toned Triumph nib because I thought it looked awesome. I believe it is a valiant, though, and since I like shiny things, I decided I wanted to get a Sentinel as well for the stainless cap. It just arrived, and everything about it is great (it even has the gold tube), but the nib just looks wrong. It is stamped 14K, but the entire thing looks gold... No platinum mask like my Valiant.

 

Is this actually a thing, or did I buy a messed up pen? Is the platinum plated and maybe wore off? The rest of the pen is in excellent condition, though. I am considering returning it (haven't inked it, just in case), but was hoping for feedback first.

 

I had issues getting the attachments to work because of the file size limit, so here's a link to a gallery with a few pictures of the pens:

 

http://m.imgur.com/THW8MKn,FelwfQq,FH9eu5b,uQod65x,BVdge71,W794pfE

[jar]

Welcome home. Pull up a stump and set a spell.

 

It's from Sheaffer so little surprises me. My first guess would be just that someone buffed the plating off but a buck naked nib is also a possibility. Either way I bet it is a great writer.

[ELSpartan44]

Welcome home. Pull up a stump and set a spell.

 

It's from Sheaffer so little surprises me. My first guess would be just that someone buffed the plating off but a buck naked nib is also a possibility. Either way I bet it is a great writer.

Thank you. I think you are right, after closer inspection, there is still a bit of the platinum towards the top of the nib. Kinda disappointing,though, since it was pretty tough to find a restored black Sentinel snorkel with a F5 nib (and a gold tube, no less). But alas, you can't have everything you want. I suppose I could just swap caps and pretend the Valiant is a Sentinel.

[ink-syringe]

I have one that is almost like that. The platinum mask can wear off. Mine has about half left. Doesn't bother me. The one you got looks like a good one. Enjoy.

[3rdlakerobert]

Easy enough to replace the nib with something you like.

[PenAngell]

I've just acquired a snorkel with a "single tone" 14k triumph nib (made in USA), and no hint of palladium plating on front or back of the nib, and the iridium tip is in great shape, so I don't think the plating on mine has been polished off. Might be an oddity, though you'd think Sheaffer's quality control would have picked up the lack of two tone...

[PenAngell]

I've just acquired a snorkel with a "single tone" 14k triumph nib (made in USA), and no hint of palladium plating on front or back of the nib, and the iridium tip is in great shape, so I don't think the plating on mine has been polished off. Might be an oddity, though you'd think Sheaffer's quality control would have picked up the lack of two tone...the breather hole also appears slightly further away from the rear part of the nib than I've seen on my other pens...

Edited May 20, 2020 by PenAngell

[PenAngell]

Here it is...

[Ron Z]

Sheaffer did sell some with monotone nibs. The worn off plating can be replaced with rhodium. I do it quite often.

[inkstainedruth]

The thing about Snorkels is that there is basically one model -- but Sheaffer changed the name depending on stuff like the type of nib ("regular" vs. Triumph, 14K vs. two-toned 14K vs. palladium silver) and the size/style of the cap band. Every time I get one, I have to go look up to see what I actually have; these links have good charts:

https://www.indy-pen-dance.com/sheaffer-snorkel-colors-and-models.html

http://(bleep).com/website/sheaffersnorkelguide.htm

 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[PenAngell]

David's page on snorkels gave me the collecting bug a few years ago, it's a great page. I've not come across a monotone triumph nib before, hence my post

Edited May 20, 2020 by PenAngell

[sanesan]

That's interesting. Sheaffer's platinum mask is usually really sturdy, especially from the snorkel era onward. If it performs well though, I wouldn't worry about it personally.

[PenAngell]

Thanks, Sanesan - I'm viewing it as a curiosity/nice thing to have, so have no worries . I like my collection having slightly more unusual or hard to come by variations!