4 replies to this topic

[Stuart07]

I have looked everywhere for an authoritative answer to this question.  Perhaps one of the professionals here can lay this one to rest now. 

 

It is pretty generally accepted that Shaeffer unmarked single tone nibs are, in fact, solid 14-k gold. 

 

But is this also true of the 2-tone nibs, either LIfetime or otherwise?  Or are they gold-plated?  Or is the white metal portion really solid 14-k gold that was then overplated with some other metal, like rhodium or such?

 

It is  hard to believe that Shaeffer would put a lifetime guarantee on a nib that was only gold plated...On the other hand, would it be so much more trouble to just stamp them 14-k???

 

As always, with sincere appreciation for your responses.

 

Stuart07

[Ron Z]

I have tested the two tone nibs, and they test 14K.  The silver mask is platinum or maybe rhodium.  Sheaffer would not have risked their reputation by, nor could they get away with, marking a plated nib 14K.  Even when a manufacturere was trying to pull a fast one, they marked the nib 14K and then tucked the word "plated" down near or under the edge of the section.

[david i]

If i were to speculate a bit, I don't believe there was a concern with any hassle factor related to stamping nibs 14k.  I suspect it was more a case that high line companies could be assumed to offer gold nibs. Ads mention gold too.  TBOMK all Parker, Wahl, Sheaffer, Waterman, Conklin etc nibs prior to mid 1930's were gold, generally unmarked. It didn't need to be declared on the nibs themselves.

 

Things did get fuzzier in mid-late 1930's. Parker's low-line Parkette family, which actually had- unlike most Parkers- trumpeted "14k" on nibs for  a bit- moved to steel nibs. Most appear white-tone now, but might have been plated originally. Not sure on that.  Sheaffer's WASP line by late 1930's (though with caveat that the nibs were not marked as Sheaffers, proper) moved to 12k gold for gold and two tone nibs,  and the low line WASP Addipoint went steel.

 

By the 1940's, Sheaffer did start to mark its gold nibs as "14k", but I'll need to review some of my 1940's Triumph family pens to see in just which era that occurred.

 

Basically, two-tone Sheaffer nibs marked Sheaffer from the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's are solid 14k, with white metal plating that might be Platinum (as billed, iirc) or another hard white metal. 

 

The upturned points found on many Sheaffer nibs make for a nice writing experience.

 

regards

 

david

[David Nishimura]

Note that there is one exception: the very late (1970s or perhaps later 1960s) Sheaffer conical nibs of extra-small dimensions are two tone but not solid gold. They reverse the prior norm, and are gold plated white metal, rather than solid gold with a platinum mask.

 

As for why top-line American makers -- not just Sheaffer -- eschewed the 14K mark on their nibs, perhaps there was a bit of marketing snobbishness at work, kind of like how certain very high-end lines of clothes and accessories nowadays revel in their complete lack of tags or logos. Second-tier penmakers routinely put the 14K mark on, presumably because the quality of their products wasn't so much a given.

 

The top-line US makers, however, did tend to mark their nibs for metal content when they were destined for export. Different countries, different laws, and also different consumer mentalities and expectations. Why they shifted to marking US-market nibs as well in the '40s is not entirely clear. I'm not aware of any issues with substandard nibs, but it might have been a combination of a more global outlook and greater government regulation.

[Stuart07]

Sincere Thank Yous for your speedy and authoritative replies.  It is the answer I was hoping for!

Best wishes,

Stuart07