Sheaffer pen, model 850

Today we began the process of clearing out some of my late mother-in-law's
items from her desk. Among the things we found and my my wife wants to keep
is a pen and pencil set. The pencil is intact, but the pen appears to be
missing something. It is a Sheaffer Model 850 (as best I can make it out).
There appears that a ring is supposed by be on end of the barrel that fits
between the end piece that appears to be attached to a piston or some other
pump type mechanism. Please pardon my spartan description, but I am a quick
study and am learning about these as fast as I can. What am I dealing with?
Is there a resouce for schematics to see what is missing? How difficult are
these things to services to ensure that they draw ink w/o leaking? As I
said, my wife would really make these part of her desk top setting.

Jake

Thanks for the rapid response. I have since done a bit more looking around
and figured out a thing or two. First, the model is a 875, not the 850 as
initially reported. Secondly, the pen is not missing a thing. I just did
not understand how it fit together. Once the plunger is pushed all the way
in, the 'tail piece' screws onto the end of the barrel.

Looking at the links you posted, I believe that this is pen uses the
Touchdown model of mechanism.

Tomorrow I will go out and procure some ink and see where it leads me.

I do have a question or two: Because this pen has not had ink in it for
years, does it have seals that may be dry and prone to leaks? If so, should
something be done to the pen prior to filling to increase the chances of
success?

Any thing else before I buy ink and make a mess of the work area? Is there
ink that might be better in an old, dried out pen?

Jake

"L, not -L" wrote in message
...

On 25-Dec-2005, "Jake Issaacs" wrote:

It is a Sheaffer Model 850 (as best I can make it out).
There appears that a ring is supposed by be on end of the barrel that
fits

between the end piece that appears to be attached to a piston or some
other
pump type mechanism. Please pardon my spartan description, but I am a
quick
study and am learning about these as fast as I can. What am I dealing
with?
Is there a resouce for schematics to see what is missing? How difficult
are
these things to services to ensure that they draw ink w/o leaking? As I
said, my wife would really make these part of her desk top setting.

Jake

The reference to "piston or some other pump" suggests it is probably a
touchdown or snorkel filler. A good place to start is
http://www.vintagepens.com/pen_profiles.shtml which illustrates typical
pen
anatomy and will help give you pen vocabulary. Then, take a look on the
right side for a list of Sheaffer links; it will hopefully help your
narrow
in on pens that are most similar to yours. After you digest that info,
you
can post a more detailed description of what you have so we can take it
further.

--
To email, replace Cujo with Juno

"Jake Issaacs" writes:

Thanks for the rapid response. I have since done a bit more looking
around and figured out a thing or two. First, the model is a 875,
not the 850 as initially reported. Secondly, the pen is not missing
a thing. I just did not understand how it fit together. Once the
plunger is pushed all the way in, the 'tail piece' screws onto the
end of the barrel.

"875" was not so much a model number as a price, as in $8.75.

Looking at the links you posted, I believe that this is pen uses the
Touchdown model of mechanism.

"Plunger" fillers have a skinny rod under the "tail piece," which is
called a "blind cap." Touchdown fillers and Snorkels have a fat tube
under the blind cap. Snorkels also have a skinny tube that extends
out from under the nib for filling.

Tomorrow I will go out and procure some ink and see where it leads
me.

Just try water to start. In any event you will need to rinse out the
pen, and water is cheaper are readily available.

I do have a question or two: Because this pen has not had ink in it
for years, does it have seals that may be dry and prone to leaks?
If so, should something be done to the pen prior to filling to
increase the chances of success?

Well, it's an old pen. If it's a plunger filler, there is a small
rubber cupped disk that is probably old and brittle, and a seal at the
blind cap end of the barrel (called a "packing unit") that is probably
no longer sealing. In those cases, the pen will probably not fill or
only fill a very little.

If it's a Touchdown, there is a small rubber O-ring seal at the end of
the barrel under the blind cap which will probably need to be
replaced. Ditto if it is a Snorkel. In addition, for the Snorkel
there is a small seal that the snorkel tube passes through inside the
"section" (which is the finger grip area); that would probably need to
be replaced. And in the case of both the Touchdown and the Snorkel,
there is a rubber sac inside that might well need to be replaced. And
in both cases, the threads where the barrel screws onto the section
should be sealed with a bit of rubber cement to make them airtight.

The diagrams someone referred you to in an earlier post will help make
sense of these descriptions. Once these pens are fixed, though, they
should last for years and be perfectly reliable.

Any thing else before I buy ink and make a mess of the work area?
Is there ink that might be better in an old, dried out pen?

Water, to start. Don't use India ink, use only a fountain pen ink.

If you can tell us a little more about the pen, I can identify it for
you.

As Tim says, the 875 is the price, not the model. Sheaffer stamped the
price on pen barrels from the late 1930s to the late 1940s. It almost
always appears below the company imprint on the barrel.

What I will need to know to ID the pen is the following:

Is the nib shaped like a traditional pen nib or like a cone?
Does the pen have a White Dot on the cap top?
Is the clip marked "SHEAFFER'S" or plain?
What color is it? Stirped or solid?
How long is the pen with the cap on?

If you can answer those questions, I can tell you which model it is and
about when it was made.

Cheers,

Jim Mamoulides
www.PenHero.com

wrote in message
oups.com...
If you can tell us a little more about the pen, I can identify it for
you.

As Tim says, the 875 is the price, not the model. Sheaffer stamped the
price on pen barrels from the late 1930s to the late 1940s. It almost
always appears below the company imprint on the barrel.

What I will need to know to ID the pen is the following:

Is the nib shaped like a traditional pen nib or like a cone? Traditional
Nib
Does the pen have a White Dot on the cap top? Yes
Is the clip marked "SHEAFFER'S" or plain? Plain
What color is it? Stirped or solid? Reddish Brown w/Stripes
How long is the pen with the cap on? 4 7/8 inches, 4 3/16 w/o cap

If you can answer those questions, I can tell you which model it is and
about when it was made.

Cheers,

Jim Mamoulides
www.PenHero.com

Your pen is a Lady Sheaffer c1939-1941 in Carmine. I can date it to
that time as Carmine (the red stripe pen) first appears in the 1939
catalog, and the whole line was changed in 1942 with the introduction
of the Triumph nib pens. Carmine was touted as "not and ordinary red,
it skillfully combines deep ebony with a myriad of scintillating wine
shades." It was made both as a Vacuum-Fil and lever-fill pen for the
same price, $8.75. They are neat little pens and if yours is in nice
shape, worth restoring to working order. Congrats!

Cheers,

Jim Mamoulides
www.PenHero.com