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Sheaffer... Touchdown? From Crystal Palace


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#1 Inkysloth

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Posted 10 November 2013 - 08:24 PM

Hi all,

I went over to Crystal Palace (the television transmitter can be seen clearly from my balcony) as there's a reasonably good antique & general old stuff market there. There's a woman who occasionally has a pen or two, but the last time what she had was, IMO, a little overpriced.

Today she had a selection of the UK-made Duofold family, and a Sheaffer of some sort, as well as a set of Osmiroid lettering nibs. I asked to look at the Sheaffer, which had a plunger fill & gold nib, made in Australia. I think this is a Touchdown, but I'm really not good at recognising Sheaffers, so correction / clarification would be much appreciated.

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Sheaffer Touchdown Nov 2013 by Inkysloth, on Flickr
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#2 AeRoberto

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Posted 10 November 2013 - 09:34 PM

It seems an Imperial IV, with the Touchdown filler, I have an almost identical one. Very good pen,

#3 Inkysloth

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Posted 10 November 2013 - 10:07 PM

It seems an Imperial IV, with the Touchdown filler, I have an almost identical one. Very good pen,


Ah ha! That would indeed appear to be the model.

What seems a little odd is the lack of imprint on the clip. I'm assuming it's a pre-1964, as the nib imprint is "Sheaffer's" not "Sheaffer", but the lack of clip imprint makes me less confident. Did Australia produce rogue pens? Or was the unimprinted clip a fairly common occurrence.

It is a nice pen - it works, which surprises me, though the woman I bought it from said she only buys working pens (I told her my interest in learning to repair pens), but this was too good a price to pass up (I think).
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#4 matt

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Posted 10 November 2013 - 10:27 PM

The stub nib alone is probably worth what you paid!

#5 Hugh

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Posted 11 November 2013 - 04:26 AM


It seems an Imperial IV, with the Touchdown filler, I have an almost identical one. Very good pen,


Ah ha! That would indeed appear to be the model.

What seems a little odd is the lack of imprint on the clip. I'm assuming it's a pre-1964, as the nib imprint is "Sheaffer's" not "Sheaffer", but the lack of clip imprint makes me less confident. Did Australia produce rogue pens? Or was the unimprinted clip a fairly common occurrence.

It is a nice pen - it works, which surprises me, though the woman I bought it from said she only buys working pens (I told her my interest in learning to repair pens), but this was too good a price to pass up (I think).


Hi,

Pen would appear correct, WD models didn't bear a clip imprint and as you say pre '64. There's no evidence that Sheaffer Aust. produced any "rogue" pens although I have been told a unique Snorkel model was produced but I've not seen any out of the ordinary. You often find broad stub nibs on Aust. pens which are less common on the US equivalents , I picked up a couple Snorkel stubs for a fraction of the cost a US made one would have sold for. There's been a couple of topics about Aussie Sheaffers

http://fountainpenbo...h__1#entry14931

http://fpgeeks.com/f...alian-Sheaffers

http://fpgeeks.com/f...ralian-Snorkels

Regards
Hugh
Hugh Cordingley

#6 AeRoberto

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Posted 11 November 2013 - 07:09 PM

As Hugh reported, there was no imprint on the White Dot models, maybe it was considered distinctive enough to avoid the imprinting of the clip.

#7 Inkysloth

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Posted 11 November 2013 - 10:01 PM

Interesting to learn the clip was plain on white dot models - it also, IMO, makes for a sleeker design.

I'm finding the nib is writing a little dry (using Diamine Quartz Black). Are the Touchdowns often dry?
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#8 Hugh

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Posted 11 November 2013 - 10:56 PM

The feed probably has some dried ink in it.
Hugh Cordingley

#9 Idazle

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Posted 01 January 2014 - 12:30 PM

Interesting to learn the clip was plain on white dot models - it also, IMO, makes for a sleeker design.

I'm finding the nib is writing a little dry (using Diamine Quartz Black). Are the Touchdowns often dry?

 

I'd rather say there was no imprint on the clips of the 1961 Imperial IV (your pen) and most other white dot pens of the period, but there was at least another line of white dot pens that had an imprint on the clip: the 1963 Sheaffer's Lifetime pens, which had "Lifetime" engraved on the clip.

 

Difficult to say what kind of nib your pen sports without a close-up of the nib at several angles.

 

Regards


Edited by Idazle, 01 January 2014 - 01:11 PM.


#10 Rocco P

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Posted 01 January 2014 - 12:37 PM

I have one which I use as everyday writer. It's very good in that capacity.

 

Enjoy you pen


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Rocco





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