When I was at school, somewhere around the age of ten, my classmates and I were considered old enough and dare I say it responsible enough to put our pencils aside and graduate to fountain pens and by doing so our handwriting would by some miracle improve. It did not.If anything, it got worse. Mostly this was the result of the dreadful Platignum pens we were issued with. We had heard the rumours about how bad they were and these rumours were rapidly confirmed when we tried to use the pens.
So, my Platignum hit the bin along with pretty much everyone else’s and at the first opportunity most of us bought Stypens, and those amongst us with better budgets bought a Sheaffer No Nonsense pen.
My modest budget went on a Stypen; and eventually Santa delivered a Parker 45 but by then it was too late I was hooked on wanting a No Nonsense.
So, it’s been more years later than I care to count and now I finally own a Sheaffer Non Nonsense fountain pen, thanks to eBay.
It is a marbled cream/maroon (hence the title “Strawberries & Cream) pen with a black section and gold trim including a gold-plated button set in the top of the cap. The gold clip and Medium nib are as good as the day they were first issued.
The pen is in excellent condition and probably dates from around 1990. A similar one I found online was listed as 1990 so I’m happy with that as an approximate age.
It’s a testament to Scheaffer’s build quality that an inexpensive pen that is over thirty years old is as good as it was on day one.
The pen (capped) weighs in at approximately 15gms which makes it a light and comfortable pen to use. Being my first Sheaffer I bought cartridges and a converter and I’m looking forward to trying different inks in it.
I’ve done the usual tests such as leaving the pen uncapped to see if I could simulate skipping or a hard start and happily, I achieved neither. The feed and the nib work well together to deliver a steady flow of ink and smooth flowing text.
All in all, regardless of its age, this is a good pen and one I would urge you to consider adding to your collection, assuming you don’t already have one.
Disclaimer: The pen was purchased with my own funds at retail price. The opinions expressed in this review are my own; and I am not connected with either the retailers or manufacturers in any way.
The Indian Marmalade Company 