The old Schaeffer cartridge pens

[cdcarter]

This was the only thing allowed when I was in elementary school in the 1960s. No ball points allowed until high school. Blue ink. Metal cap, plastic tube, but at least it had a nib. And they actually taught handwriting in those days. (When my kids were growing up, they had long since quit teaching it ... just went over the letters one day in second grade and left them to their own devices.) Does anybody agree with me that using a pen with a nib promoted better handwriting?

 

Lousy as those old pens were, I wish I had one just for nostalgic reasons.

Edited July 11, 2007 by cdcarter

[WillAdams]

There've been a number of discussions on this sort of thing, incl. a poll on whether handwriting should return to school.

 

For my part, I was really pleased to find that my father had kept the Sheaffer NoNonsense which I used in high school (and I'm kicking myself for giving away all of the Sheaffer cartridge pens which I'd bought NOS from a local grocery store back then).

 

William

 

 

[Paddler]

This was the only thing allowed when I was in elementary school in the 1960s. No ball points allowed until high school. Blue ink. Metal cap, plastic tube, but at least it had a nib. And they actually taught handwriting in those days. (When my kids were growing up, they had long since quit teaching it ... just went over the letters one day in second grade and left them to their own devices.) Does anybody agree with me that using a pen with a nib promoted better handwriting?

 

Lousy as those old pens were, I wish I had one just for nostalgic reasons.

 

I'll agree with you that using a pen with a nib promoted better handwriting. Then, for some obscure reason, we began using ballpoints in high school. I can't understand how I could have been so danged daft!

 

If you refer to Sheaffer's cartridge school pens, I do not agree that those were lousy pens. I have a small collection of those: different colors and shapes. They are all very good writers. Their problem is they lack bling. I like a pen with just a sprinkling of bling about it.

 

If you want an old Sheaffer school pen, you can find them at flea markets by the fistful. $2 should get you one in near-mint condition.

 

Paddler

[jd50ae]

There've been a number of discussions on this sort of thing, incl. a poll on whether handwriting should return to school.

 

For my part, I was really pleased to find that my father had kept the Sheaffer NoNonsense which I used in high school (and I'm kicking myself for giving away all of the Sheaffer cartridge pens which I'd bought NOS from a local grocery store back then).

 

William

 

I still got mine, well most of them.

[Ghost Plane]

My 5th grade teacher required we all get one or she would provide one for the students who couldn't afford one. We could use any color cartridge we wanted. The point was to get us to write, which she did. Never improved my penmanship much, but did a lot for my love of writing. Nibs back then came in M, M, M or M.

[Shangas]

Though definately not required by school boards in the 1990s, I must confess, I used a Sheaffer school fountain pen for much of my time at school, from about grade three or four, until grade six. I found such pens to be good quality, but they had TERRIBLE...TERRIBLE...TERRIBLE nib-creep. Somedays I'd uncap the pen and find half the nib covered in ink. It never deterred me, though.

[Garageboy]

Love those things, esp the pre No Nonsense era

[Ernst Bitterman]

I've gotten ahold of five of them in the past year, prodded by the scourge of nostalgia. They were not great pens, but I believe that a large part of the problem for them may have been poor maintenance. I know I never put anything in one except YET MORE INK, and gosh, there were feed problems.

[jbb]

This was the only thing allowed when I was in elementary school in the 1960s. No ball points allowed until high school. Blue ink. Metal cap, plastic tube, but at least it had a nib. And they actually taught handwriting in those days. (When my kids were growing up, they had long since quit teaching it ... just went over the letters one day in second grade and left them to their own devices.) Does anybody agree with me that using a pen with a nib promoted better handwriting?

 

Lousy as those old pens were, I wish I had one just for nostalgic reasons.

 

My handwriting improves the instant I switch from ballpoint (YUCK!!) to fountain pen. It then improves even more when I go to dip pen. Old Sheaffter school pens are fairly easy to find on Ebay and usually very cheap.

[kissing]

Though definately not required by school boards in the 1990s, I must confess, I used a Sheaffer school fountain pen for much of my time at school, from about grade three or four, until grade six. I found such pens to be good quality, but they had TERRIBLE...TERRIBLE...TERRIBLE nib-creep. Somedays I'd uncap the pen and find half the nib covered in ink. It never deterred me, though.

 

Are you by any chance referring to the modern version, called the Sheaffer Viewpoint (that come with calligraphy nibs)?

 

I found them horribly leaky like you described if carried about to school I have no experience with the older (better) model with the screw cap though..