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Sheaffer Balance meets the Black Pen Society.


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#1 david i

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Posted 16 June 2014 - 08:03 PM

With the recent revelation to the Greater Collecting Population of the existence of the previously secret Black Pen Society, there has been more chat of late regarding black fountain pens.  I figured I'd offer a funky spread of black Sheaffer Balance pens, the purpose perhaps to show that black Balances offer some quite advanced material for those who care.

 

All the pens below, save the last two, are oversized black Sheaffer Balances, the final two standard girth and slender girth respectively.

 

All the pens are interesting, offering one or more of the following charms: scarcity, off-catalogue status, mutant Canadian findings.  There are pens shown that one might not find in a lifetime of collecting.

 

Kudus if everything below makes sense to you. Observations and comments of course are invited.

 

introto_sheafferG1600sharp.jpg

 

regards

 

David


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#2 Lordrdx666

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Posted 16 June 2014 - 09:20 PM

On a serious note - these wide band black balances are off catalogue or probably Canadian? Or UK make ?


Plus I'm sure they must be having wild nibs also ?

On another note, what do I need to do to join the black pen society ?

#3 David Nishimura

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Posted 17 June 2014 - 02:24 AM


Kudus if everything below makes sense to you. Observations and comments of course are invited.

 

 

www.safari4less.com-kudu-2.jpg


Edited by David Nishimura, 17 June 2014 - 02:25 AM.


#4 David Nishimura

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Posted 17 June 2014 - 02:28 AM

More seriously, I'll try to post a few of my own tomorrow!

 

David



#5 david i

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Posted 17 June 2014 - 02:37 AM

Geez, good thing my spelling wasn't a bit further off.

 

kudzu-covered-house.jpg

 

 

-d

 


David R. Isaacson MD. Website: VACUMANIA.com for quality old pens with full warranty.
Email: isaacson@frontiernet.net

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#6 David Nishimura

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Posted 17 June 2014 - 08:18 PM

Attached File  Sheaffer_Autograph_set.jpg   81.29KB   3 downloads

 

Here's some nice black and gold -- solid 14K gold.

 

Attached File  Sheaffer_Prosperity_Balance.sm.jpg   15.44KB   3 downloads

 

And Canadian oddness in the form of a Prosperity Balance. Sheaffer-made #6 gold warranted nib.



#7 david i

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Posted 17 June 2014 - 08:22 PM

Nice presentation. The Prosperity is Canadian?

Addm: Never mind. Just noticed the caption.

 

regards

 

-d


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#8 David Nishimura

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Posted 18 June 2014 - 03:58 AM

You bet.



#9 Widget

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Posted 18 June 2014 - 06:07 AM

Can someone please comment on these pens?  Below are the things I've noticed but I'm useless at this but learn so much from other's (and David's) comments

#4  Advertising? on pocket clip

#5  Odd pocket clip

#6  Lever with blind cap?

#8  2 cap bands

#10 Not seen a combi before

#11 Reverse trim triple cap bands.

Someone please put me out of my misery and comment and then David will tell me what I should have seen.



#10 david i

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Posted 18 June 2014 - 06:23 PM

Hi Nancy,

 

  1. OS Ringtop, quite scarce as OS without clip. Only one in black I've seen
  2. OS non-white-dot. quite scarce as NWD
  3. OS Autograph-plus.  Autograph-family pens have at least solid gold hallmarked cap-ring. This one has ring extra wide (off-catalogue)
  4. OS Premier-plus.  Ultra-wide gold-filled cap-ring, part of an award-pen, presumably special-order, ring far wider than the catalogued first-tier cap-ring. Their is a award logo indeed welded, glued or crimped on clip , "one a week club" presumably relating to sales, with cap-band citing the Equitable Life company.
  5. OS with a Sheaffer sub-brand WASP-style clip instead of conventional Sheaffer clip. Such clips are known on Canadian Balances,  though this is the only OS I've seen so outfitted. This pen indeed is Canadian
  6. OS with removable butt. Meant as a convertible to take a long butt quill?
  7. OS with off-catalogue fish-scale cap-band
  8. OS with off-catalogue double cap-band
  9. OS with off-company-catalogue lined "Jeweler's" cap-band
  10. Combination. Combos appear in Sheaffer catalogues, but not in White Dot/Lifetime trim with that barrel band.
  11. Slender short off-catalogue pen d/t triple cap-band.  "Reverse" trim gets a bit fuzzy in this case, as some of the low-price slender Balances routinely had this trim, but this still is minority trim no doubt.

These pens have been discussed to a degree in a couple PENnant articles and will be discussed further no doubt in other magazines.

 

regards

 

david

 


David R. Isaacson MD. Website: VACUMANIA.com for quality old pens with full warranty.
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