Pen World V31.2

The Journal of Writing Culture

past meets present: the future of

Sheaffer Pens repurposing history:

History Salvaged pens of substance(s):

GW Pens mixing it up:

Carolina Pen Company FEBRUARY 2018 $6.95US $7.95CAN

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74851 08282

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balance at your Ƃ PIGTVKRU SHEAFFER® PRELUDE® A perfectly balanced writing experience, now available in the latest metallic trends with stunning appointments.

FEBRUARY VOLUME 31, NUMBER 2

ON OUR COVER: Sheaffer Pop fountain pen in red.

Cover art by Fernando Volken Togni.

38 Sheaffer’s new frontier

With one eye on the past and the other on the future, Sheaffer Pens is an invigorated brand.

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a. a. at rest

38 35

A. A. Waterman’s final chapter, and the legendary penmaker’s legacy.

32 the Virginian

Martin Ferguson is one of the go-to repair specialists for vintage pens.

35 “If you will it…”

Theodor Herzl and his dream of a Jewish state are honored by Conklin Pens.

46 turning history

History Salvaged changes the definition of a historical pen.

50 Jersey boy

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John Greco of GW Pens makes artisan writing instruments in a dizzying array of substances.

54 Southern gentleman

Carolina Pen Company’s Jonathon Brooks is a young artisan penmaker on the rise.

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departments 6 view 8 mail 10 date

“Bread is not artisanal!”

our readers speak

mark your calendars

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14

14 show

Philadelphia

16 now 21 news

ASC, artisans, and more

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PA Press, Opus Mechan, Cursive is Cool®, the PW Swag Shop

26 nibs

vintage Waterman pens

43 strokes

calligrapher and botanical illustrator Renee Jorgensen

58 contributors 60 network

the people behind the words

classified advertising

62 source

brand contact information

64 imho

“This is not a pen.”

8 64

Ceci n’est pas une plume.

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view Thanks to the “Little Guy”

BY NICKY PESSAROFF

“B

read is not artisanal!” my son likes to say. I could give you the dictionary definition of “artisan,” but we all know that an artisan is a craftsperson,

someone who works independently, with one’s hands. But what counts as “with one’s hands?” Does computer programming just can’t help anymore.

The past decade or so has seen a renaissance of individual—and individuated—penmakers. These men and

Ruth Korch

count? What about 3-D printing? That’s when Merriam-Webster

women began their careers in passion, almost always a side hobby that grew into something more. Tim Cullen was a prison guard.

John Greco was a stay-at-home dad. Jonathon Brooks tried his hand at a number of different woodworking fields before settling on writing instruments.

Talk to some of the other artisans in this issue—Dale Penkala, Renée Meeks, David Broadwell, Dr. Jose Sumaquial, Alan Shaw—and you’ll hear the same. Those who are full-time penmakers didn’t start that way, and many of them head down to their lathes only after a full day of work elsewhere.

It’s that dedication that we honor here, the first PW issue that specifically looks at the little guy—the artisan penmaker. Lacking the infrastructure and money of major brands, artisan penmakers worked in relative obscurity until recently.

I can’t believe I’m about to write this, but thank goodness for social media! From amateur kit penmakers to industrial artisans working in 3-D printing and CNC machining to traditional artisans working with a lathe and a blank, social media has brought attention to the unique and idiosyncratic world of the artisan penmaker. And quietly, subtly, that movement has changed the face of writing instruments.

Today’s artisan penmaker uses unique materials, reinterprets old patents, or focuses on history.

Back in the day, a historical pen was often a pen brand’s standard model with a sliver of a historical item displayed in a cap dome. Today, companies like Bob DeMartino’s History Salvaged repurpose historic wood—say, planks from the U.S.S. Constitution—that are hand-turned and laser engraved with provenance; meaning that these pieces of history, which would be trashed otherwise, live on in a new form that is meant to be used.

Fifty years from now, historians of writing instruments may note this time as the next golden age of pendom—when you didn’t need millions of dollars in backing to become a significant maker. Ask Tuff Writer or Ryan Krusac. Ask Edison Pen Co. or Newton Pens. Look to Kanilea and Pens18111. They’re all the brain children of one or two people who are involved in every aspect of their companies.

And they all owe a debt of gratitude to the founder of our cover brand, Sheaffer Pens. Walter A. Sheaffer began his pen company in the back of a jewelry store with the dream of making a lever-filling fountain pen. Over 100 years later, Sheaffer has rebranded itself, moving bravely into the colorful, variegated world of modern writing instruments.

We’re braving new frontiers here at PW, too. At the upcoming Los Angeles International Pen Show, we’ll be offering for sale our first-ever PW t-shirts. And coming soon, in a partnership with Retro 51, we’ll also be offering our first-ever PW-themed rollerball for sale (find more information on p. 22).

But the biggest change you may notice in this issue is actually a lack. In prior years, we’ve printed the Readers’ Choice Awards ballots in the February issue. However, we’re in the process of revamping our internal system to ensure greater fairness and accuracy in both our nominating and voting systems.

So this year, we’ll be printing ballots in our upcoming April issue, and we’ll announce the winners in our August issue.

Big and small, changes are afoot in our community. This time, it might just be the little guys who lead the way, and that’s a good thing. editor@penworld.com

A new marketing strategy and expanded offerings show Sheaffer Pens knows where it’s been and where it’s going.

Return of the White Dot

BY REINHARD KARGL

The packaging on Sheaffer Pens now features artwork commissioned for each specific line.

Pictured here are Sheaffer Legacy Heritage in black lacquer with chrome appointments and Legacy Heritage in black lacquer with chrome and 22 karat gold-plated appointments and the corresponding artwork.

T

he U.S.–based Sheaffer Pen Corporation, incorporated in 1913, is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable and iconic brand names in writing instruments. After years of drift and decline, the legacy brand now operates under the new ownership of yet another iconic U.S. penmaker: the A. T. Cross Pen Corporation of Providence, Rhode Island, founded in 1846. As it turns out, Cross has exciting and ambitious plans for Sheaffer.

But first, a little pen brand history: Walter A. Sheaffer (July 27, 1867 – June 19, 1946) of Bloomfield, Iowa, was a self-made inventor and innovator in the greatest American spirit. A school dropout, he held various odd jobs (none for very long) until he discovered his interest in fine objects while toiling in jewelry stores. In 1898, he returned to Bloomfield, worked for his father, saved up some money, and in 1906, he purchased a jewelry store in Fort Madison, Iowa. It was a pioneering time for pens, and new mechanisms were beginning to make them more leak-proof, practical, and affordable.

Sheaffer jumped into the fray with a new lever-filler design, receiving his first patent in 1908. By 1912, it went into production, and the newly formed W. A. Sheaffer Pen Company (which in 1913 occupied the back room of the jewelry store) enjoyed rapid success. Within 10 years, it was considered one of the United States’ prime penmakers.

As vintage pen aficionados know, Sheaffer introduced many interesting designs and styles. The original lever design was joined by a plunger type (without sac) in the 1930s. But it would be sacrilegious to write an article about Sheaffer and fail to mention the most unique filling system ever.

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Except for the Sheaffer “Snorkel” design, all bottle filling systems require the dipping of the pen’s front section into ink—a Sheaffer Pop fountain pen in messy process. In Sheaffer’s variation of the pneumatic ink-sac lime green with new clamshell packaging, lilac rollerball, black compression apparatus, a metal “touchdown tube” slides up and ballpoint, and blue and red down within the barrel. A most-clever mechanism draws ink into fountain pens. the sac as the tube is actuated via a blind cap. In some models, operating the touchdown tube also deploys a small “snorkel” from within the feed, beneath the nib. Through this, the pen neatly sucks up ink as if drinking it through a straw. After taking a sip of ink, the snorkel is withdrawn into the pen. No cleanup necessary!

Unfortunately, the fancy Snorkel didn’t last. The last model to feature it was the sizable 1959 Pen For Men (PFM), but after that, all Sheaffer pens had either cartridges or converters.

As we all know, the 1960s began a difficult era for fountain pens, and Sheaffer lost much of its core fountain pen business. The company was acquired by a Swiss investment bank and sold in 1997 to Societe Bic S.A. of France, infamous for its disposable cigarette lighters and ballpoints. The Bic era wasn’t kind to Sheaffer. The company representing the epitome of throwaway culture didn’t know how to position the venerable Sheaffer brand, and sales slipped. Bic responded by closing Sheaffer’s U.S. plant, laying off all workers, and outsourcing manufacturing of the remaining product line to China. And Bic still lost money.

In 2014, Bic finally divested itself of Sheaffer when a much better suitor came to the rescue. “Cross acquired the Sheaffer brand to broaden our portfolio of writing solutions and reinvigorate the branding to appeal to additional generations of writers,” says Alison Morey, Cross Trade Marketing Manager, Americas.

“We also felt the fit was right, given the over-100-year heritage of each brand and the commitment to the quality both brands stand behind: Cross, with its lifetime mechanical guarantee; and Sheaffer, whose iconic white dot is a symbol of quality and craftsmanship to the educated consumer.”

The Sheaffer VFM is available as fountain pen (shown in neon blue), rollerball, or push-button ballpoint (shown in pink sapphire). The artwork here is associated with all VFM packaging.

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The new Sheaffer 100 features a chrome cap and section with a lacquered barrel. From top—fountain pen versions with translucent blue and black lacquer, twist-action ballpoint in all-chrome, and rollerball with white lacquer.

The current Sheaffer product line is broken down into two product families, one bestowed with the motto “Frontier: Invent the Future”, the other, “Heritage: Respect the Past”. The Heritage line is a refresh of existing Sheaffer pens. The Frontier line is designed for a new customer base and allows for expansion into new products, especially in the popular field of entry-level pens.

The Sheaffer Pop series takes design cues from the 1920s “Flat Top,” but with a different clip and brighter, flashier colors, of which there are currently six in the catalog. The barrel material here is plastic, ballpoints and rollerballs are available, and the fountain pen version can be expected to command retail prices in the $15 to $20 range.

A step up (but only by a few dollars), the Sheaffer VFM has been on the market for several years and is positioned to go head-to-head with the titan in this market segment, the Pilot Metropolitan. The VFM has a similar style—a lacquered metal barrel, nickel-plated trims, and excellent value for about the same price—but it differs by using standard international cartridges, whereas the standard version of the Metropolitan uses either proprietary Pilot cartridges or the included converter. (By contrast, the VFM’s feed cannot be disassembled, and it is almost impossible to equip with a converter).

The VFM, which also comes as a gel rollerball and ballpoint, is offered in six different colors.

Higher in price but still under $50 is yet another excellent bargain: The 100 series is a classically-styled metal pen with a chrome-plated cap. Like all of Sheaffer’s higher priced lines, the fountain pen version uses Sheaffer’s proprietary ink cartridges or converters.

Speaking of classic designs: with the Sentinel, Sheaffer is offering a closely-matched competitor to the most iconic ballpoint in history, the Parker Jotter. Styled and priced similarly, the Sentinel could give the Jotter a run for its money. For those who find the Jotter’s grip area too thin, the Sentinel offers a little more girth.

From here on out, we are moving into a family reminiscent of classic Sheaffer pens, with timeless, no-nonsense poise: the Heritage line. The Sheaffer Sagaris, Prelude, Intensity, 300, and Legacy models would fit nicely into more formal business environments, and each of them exudes elegance in mostly black resin, chrome, and gold trims.

Only the Intensity dares a nod to the high-tech world, with carbon fiber used in two versions. At the top of the line, the flagship Legacy features a beautiful and unique 18 karat gold inlaid nib, which made its first appearance in 1959. This is a solid, heavy pen paying homage to Sheaffer’s original Pen For Men (PFM), one of the great classics.

The Sentinel push-button ballpont comes in a number of vibrant colors including deep pink, turquoise, and white.

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From top—The stately Sagaris fountain pen in fluted gold and in glossy black with gold-plated trim, and Sagaris twist-action ballpoint with black barrel, chrome cap, and gold trim and clip. Below, left—The trendy Intensity fountain pen is available with a carbon fiber barrel and chrome cap and trim as well as a black onyx lacquered barrel and cap with chrome trim.

Since former owner Bic gutted Sheaffer’s Fort Madison factory in 2008 after nearly a century of making pens in Iowa, all Sheaffer pens have been made abroad. Current market conditions do not seem to make “reshoring” possible at this time, but at least Cross isn’t simply outsourcing to cheap-labor contractors.

Instead, Cross has followed what other major makers have done: it built its own production facilities in growing markets.

“Due to Cross’s dedication to quality, we moved our custom equipment and a good portion of production management personnel to China to set up, train, and manage the production process,” explains Bradd Harris, Global Vice President of Sales and Operations. “Some of those managers remained at that facility for almost a decade. When Sheaffer was acquired, we incorporated the oversight and production management to our now highly-experienced and quality-conscious team in China.”

There is no doubt that Cross has big and ambitious plans for Sheaffer. With Sheaffer making good on its promise to “respect the past” while it “invents the future,” perhaps we might see a Sheaffer pen marked “Made in the U.S.A.” once again. And (dare we dream?) perhaps we might even see a return of the Snorkel.

See the Sheaffer Star Wars collection and Sheaffer calligraphy inks on the next page. Visit sheaffer.com for the complete line of Sheaffer products.

Visit PW’s facebook page for an article “from the vault” on vintage Sheaffer nibs.

The popular Sheaffer Prelude is a mid-priced pen with an ergonomic grip, available in ballpoint, rollerball, or fountain pen with stainless steel nib in fine, medium, or broad. From left—Prelude in black lacquer with gunmetal trim; matte gunmetal body with PVD-coated trim; brushed copper with gunmetal trim, and cobalt blue with rose gold trim.

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Written in the Stars Clockwise, from left—Sheaffer Star WarsTM Yoda fountain pen and Yoda fountain pen/notebook gift set; Star WarsTM Darth Vader fountain pen in clamshell packaging; R2-D2 pen pouch, and R2-D2 fountain pen.

“Do or do not,” indeed.

It started in 2014 in an exclusive partnership with Disney and Lucasfilm Ltd. Cross released a series of Townsend Star WarsTM limited edition writing instruments.

In 2017, that partnership expanded to Sheaffer and an affordable line of Star Wars pens and accessories. Sheaffer’s Star WarsTM collection features a Sheaffer Pop writing instrument with finishes honoring Darth Vader, R2-D2, and Yoda.

Fountain pen versions are cartridge/converter fillers with stainless steel nibs. Gift sets come with matching medium-sized notebooks of 160 lined, perforated, acid-free paper, a black satin ribon page marker, and an expandable inner pocket.

Also available: matching pen pouches with images of Yoda, R2-D2, or Darth Vader. The interior features a split pocket with water-resistant lining.

With MSRPs between $14.99 and $34.99, you don’t have to sell the Millennium Falcon to get your hands on the Force.

Visit sheaffer.com and see the Cross Star WarsTM Townsend limited edition collection at cross.com.

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Clockwise, top left—Sheaffer offers more than the ever-popular Skrip line of bottled inks. Its calligraphy inks come in 50 ml bottles and a variety of colors including blue, black, green, and purple.

® I nk of the year 2018 8

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Winner, PEN WORLD Readers’ Choice Awards 2017 Finest Tribute Monumental Michelangelo Best Fine Art Pen: 2014 Tropical Fishes • 2013 Storks

The Journal of Writing Culture

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Nicky Pessaroff

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Deborah Basel Barry Gabay Reinhard Kargl Julian H. Kreeger

CONTRIBUTORS

Richard Binder Richard Frieden John Martinson

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Tina Dammeyer Sara R. Rice

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Dennis Eriksson Libby Vander Ploeg Fernando Volken Togni

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Suzy Tarnowski

COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

Suzanne C. Lee

FINANCE AND BUSINESS DIRECTOR

Tina Dammeyer

GRAPHIC DESIGN

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