A peek into the future... Sheaffer 300 line

[michael_s]

I want my Sheaffer 300 for $3.00

 

Thanks for the update, Jim.

 

-Mike

[wednesday_mac]

A wider pen than the Prelude?

 

*sigh* They aren't marketing at all to female hands.

[Ray-Vigo]

These pens look alright, but I have to admit to not being impressed on the whole.

 

I'd like to see the original style two-tone tubular Triumph nib return. Perhaps even a steel one would be workable and become a poor man's "Pd Ag" style. Everything these days is either basic open nib (ok, not bad) or Inlaid nib (nice, but overused). I do like the idea of a modern "Sentinel" style with a light chrome colored cap and a plastic resin body.

 

We had a discussion awhile back about bringing back the old style 1950s Snorkels. My opinion was, and remains, that while a Snorkel is too complex and too involved to produce, that the TM and fat TOUCHDOWN pens of the late 1940s and early 1950s would make a wonderful platform for a modern fountain pen. You get the simplicity of a pneumatic self-filler, the ease of a round resin body, but the classic look and performance of the tubular Triumph nib. Perhaps a little play with the sizing and colors, and you could have a great modern pen with classic pedigree. Perhaps offer a 14k two tone nib and a steel nib option (it'd look like Pd Ag, but be a low cost alternative at the same time). Hell, they were producing Legacy Touchdowns right up until a few years ago.

 

The low end of the line with steel nibs get a cart/conv filler instead of the Touchdown. Maybe your middle and higher end ones get the Touchdown and the low end ones get cart/conv. You could certainly fit a small piston converter or cartridge along the lines of what Sheaffer currently offers into these pens (so no retooling!). Certainly I think these pens could be produced and sold for no more than many of these other new Sheaffers are selling at the lower end.

 

In the midst of this I would produce a TM sized line for smaller hands and a fat pre TM size for larger ones. The models and materials would be identical, the only difference between the two lines being the size.

 

I tend to think the fountain pen market is pretty nostalgic on the whole, and this to be especially true of people loyal to the old American makers like Sheaffer. I think with a throwback product like this that is just subtly updated that Sheaffer would do quite well. People love vintage Sheaffers not just because they're old, but also because they work wonderfully well and have interesting design points to offer. I tend to think many of the newer designs sort of fall short in the design area.

Edited August 30, 2008 by Ray-Vigo

[PenHero]

We had a discussion awhile back about bringing back the old style 1950s Snorkels. My opinion was, and remains, that while a Snorkel is too complex and too involved to produce, that the TM and fat TOUCHDOWN pens of the late 1940s and early 1950s would make a wonderful platform for a modern fountain pen.

 

Sheaffer tried to reintroduce the Touchdown system with the Legacy, but modern pen users just did not get that pen. Some complain that Sheaffer compromised by making the pen a cartridge / converter, but I believe it was a wise decision in that the majority of pen users today use cartridges. Even Pelikan and Montblanc are now making cartridge-only pens (that don't even have a converter!) and in some cases, these are becoming their most popular models.

 

As to the thin Snorkel or TM design, Sheaffer also tried that with the Crest. Although it's one of my very favorite pens, the Crest was flawed with a shallowly stamped nib that did not look as good as the Triumph pens from the 1940s and 1950s. The cost and complexity of making the pen a Touchdown would have made it very expensive.

 

Cheers,

 

Jim Mamoulides

www.PenHero.com

[trent]

They don't look like real Sheaffers to me. I prefer the inlaid nibs. Are these "300's" the first of the outsourced BIC/Chinese production?

 

Are you saying that the Valor nibs, which many consider the last true Sheaffer nibs, were not crafted in Fort Madison?

 

 

[PenHero]

They don't look like real Sheaffers to me. I prefer the inlaid nibs. Are these "300's" the first of the outsourced BIC/Chinese production?

 

Are you saying that the Valor nibs, which many consider the last true Sheaffer nibs, were not crafted in Fort Madison?

 

All the current Sheaffer line is outsourced. Sentinel, Agio, and Prelude are made in China, Legacy is made in the Czech Republic, and Valor is made in Italy.

 

All the Valor and Legacy nibs were initially made in Fort Madison. I believe Sheaffer is now making these nibs in Germany.

 

Cheers,

 

Jim Mamoulides

www.PenHero.com

[trent]

They don't look like real Sheaffers to me. I prefer the inlaid nibs. Are these "300's" the first of the outsourced BIC/Chinese production?

 

Are you saying that the Valor nibs, which many consider the last true Sheaffer nibs, were not crafted in Fort Madison?

 

All the current Sheaffer line is outsourced. Sentinel, Agio, and Prelude are made in China, Legacy is made in the Czech Republic, and Valor is made in Italy.

 

All the Valor and Legacy nibs were initially made in Fort Madison. I believe Sheaffer is now making these nibs in Germany.

 

Cheers,

 

Jim Mamoulides

www.PenHero.com

 

Thanks for this info. Makes me want to find some NOS Valors that still have the Fort Madison nibs.

 

[Univer]

Hi,

 

It's hard to know exactly how to react to this new model. I'm on record as wishing for the introduction of some new resin-bodied Sheaffers, so I applaud that aspect of the design.

 

That said, there doesn't seem to be a great deal, objectively speaking, to get excited about here. I have a hard time imagining someone seeing this pen for the first time and feeling "Wow, gotta have it."

 

But I suspect that many Sheaffer fans find themselves in an odd situation these days as regards the brand's present offerings (or rumored new offerings). One doesn't want to react with too much negativity - simply because one wants to encourage the introduction of new Sheaffers. Honestly, from my perspective, the announcement of any new pen bearing the Sheaffer name - considering the current ownership of the brand - strikes me as a tiny victory over indifference and corporate neglect.

 

On the other hand, one does nothing to enhance the brand's reputation by celebrating a reshuffling of parts-bin items as a significant new introduction. Pessimism may be counterproductive, but overblown optimism is little better.

 

As to the pen's name: better than "Gift Collection II," certainly. But it still has that defeatist air: "Ah, the heck with it, let's just make the internal working designation the real name. We won't have to change the product-slot spreadsheets."

 

I seem to recall a flurry of excitement, back when the vintage Sheaffer repair centers were announced, about "great" Sheaffer models to come. That excitement seems to have evaporated (and the official company spokespersons beating the drums seem to have disappeared). The bruited Targa II seems to have turned into the fountain-pen equivalent of vaporware. From my perspective, it's time for another calculated leak about the models in the Sheaffer pipeline...assuming, of course, that there's something really good in the pipeline.

 

Oh, and to pick up a point or two from earlier in this thread: conceding that self-fillng systems may be too challenging for most non-enthusiast users nowadays, I agree with Ray-Vigo that there may be something in the notion of restricting the use of self-filling systems to limited-edition Sheaffers (as opposed to ruling them out entirely). Delta, for one, seems to have figured out a profitable model along those lines: lever-fillers for the top-end LEs, cartridge/converter systems for the less exclusive LEs. Sheaffer might not sell tons of high-priced lever fillers, but such pens might have a brand-burnishing halo effect; and it would be nice, wouldn't it, for the brand associated with the first successful lever filler to have at least one lever pen in its product line? A lever-filling chased-pattern Connaisseur...hmmm....

 

Ah well...let's hope they sell a lot of 300s, and that the success of the model encourages more and better new Sheaffers. Stranger things, I suppose, have happened.

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

[Palladin]

This just sort of confirms for me that Sheaffer as we knew and loved it is dead. It will from now on be just a brand name stuck on mediocre Chinese pens.

[burmeseboyz]

This just sort of confirms for me that Sheaffer as we knew and loved it is dead. It will from now on be just a brand name stuck on mediocre Chinese pens.

 

It's mediocre US/German/Slovakian pens. Globalization at your service. I wouldn't go around judging the quality too harshly before I try the pens. And I'm with Univer, it's a good thing that they're actually introducing a new line. Nothing to wet my pants over, but it means that there's a heart beating still in the old gal yet.

[PenHero]

FYI - The Sheaffer 300 Blue Marble finish ballpoint pen and pencil have been released to dealers. The rollerball and fountain pen modes have not hit dealers yet.

 

Cheers,

 

Jim Mamoulides

www.PenHero.com

[Scribero ergo sum]

FYI - The Sheaffer 300 Blue Marble finish ballpoint pen and pencil have been released to dealers. The rollerball and fountain pen modes have not hit dealers yet.

 

Cheers,

 

Jim Mamoulides

www.PenHero.com

 

 

Thanks for the update, Jim. And please holler when the FPs start showing up on the radar screen. I expect I'll be placing my self-given Christmas gift of a 300 or three through your establishment. These 300s look like quite nice new hardware.

 

Thanks again.

 

Cheers.

[Clydesdave]

I would buy one. Black on black please.

 

 

[PenHero]

As soon as they start shipping, we will make an announcement that they are generally available at Sheaffer dealers.

 

Cheers,

 

Jim Mamoulides

www.PenHero.com

[PenHero]

The Sheaffer 300 fountain pens and rollerball pens have been released!

 

Check with your favorite Sheaffer dealer to get them!

 

Cheers,

 

Jim Mamoulides

www.PenHero.com

[Glenn-SC]

Saw the Fountain Pen on Pentrace just now.

 

Still boring!!! The shape and the colors!

 

The red looks brown .....

 

 

[MES]

The Sheaffer 300 fountain pens and rollerball pens have been released!

 

Check with your favorite Sheaffer dealer to get them!

 

Cheers,

 

Jim Mamoulides

www.PenHero.com

 

 

Will you be getting some fine point 300s in?

[PenHero]

Will you be getting some fine point 300s in?

 

At this time, the pen is only being offered with a medium nib.

 

Cheers,

 

Jim Mamoulides

www.PenHero.com

 

[davefoe]

I'm glad they brought out a fountain version, but really, why even bother if they don't come in fine point? Ugh!

[jonro]

It looks like they are only available with a medium nib. If that's the case, the Sheaffer we know and love truly is dead and gone.