The Sheaffer Flat-Top Pen

Invention

In 1908, Walter A. Sheaffer invented a new mechanism for filling fountain pens. This was a single-bar lever filling mechanism. W. A. Sheaffer was granted his patent on August 25, 1908 (US Patent No. 896,861). This invention would lead to the Sheaffer flat-top pen. It is important to note that the name flat-top (or flat top) is a collector-coined name for the earliest Sheaffer pens. Sheaffer never referred to them as such.

Single Bar Flat-top Pens

The original Sheaffer pens used the 1908 single-bar mechanism. Inside the pen, the lever pushes a flat pressure bar down. This bar compresses the rubber ink sac and causes the sac to suck in ink when the lever is released. These early pens had an issue in which they would expel small amounts of ink. This is because the single-bar mechanism uses the sac to hold itself in place, causing constant pressure on the sac.

Because of this issue, many of the original pens were recalled and replaced with updated double-bar pens (more on this later). Pictured are two examples of the earliest Sheaffer pens. There are only a few examples of these known to exist. The two pictured were previously on loan to the Sheaffer Pen Museum. The easiest way to identify a single bar Sheaffer flat-top is the imprint. These pens have an imprint with a squared S that has an arrow going through it. The boxes for these pens featured a similar design. If you ever come across a Sheaffer pen with this imprint in the wild, you should buy it!

Single-bar patent – August 25, 1908

SHEAFFER-CLIP

In the 1912 catalog, Sheaffer began offering a pocket clip for their pens at a $0.25, $1.00, and $2.00 upcharge. These charges were for nickel, gold-filled, and solid gold clips respectively. These early clips feature “SHEAFFER-CLIP” imprinted on them. At the same time, Sheaffer gave the pens a new imprint to go with the new filling mechanism. This second imprint features the words SHEAFFER’S FOUNTAIN PEN with an oval on top with the words “Self-Filling” inside. In 1915, this imprint changed to a feature an S with the words “Sheaffer’s Self-Filling” as well as a pen going diagonally through it. For more information about imprints, check out Roger Wooten’s article Sheaffer Hard Rubber Dates.

Sheaffers 2nd and 4th imprint, with the below image used briefly between usage of this — Picture by Roger Wooten

Short lived 1915 Sheaffer Imprint

Mottled Hard Rubber

The early Sheaffer flat-tops were available in two colors of hard rubber, black or mottled. Mottled hard rubber is black hard rubber mixed with red dye. The mottled finish was short-lived and is fairly rare today. The use of mottled hard rubber goes back to the days of the single-bar pens, as shown in A Journey Through Time by Daniel Kirchheimer. Mottled hard rubber is mentioned in the 1912 catalog, and appears in ads as late as 1915. The mottled hard rubber does not appear in the 1912 or 1917 catalog. However, as explained by Roger Wooten, the use of mottled hard rubber most likely went on as late as 1918.

Filigree, Gold Filled, Sterling Silver, and Solid Gold Flat-top Pens

The filigree, gold filled, and solid gold options were available in the 1912 catalog. By 1917, the silver pens were also in production. Later on, there was the addition of the low-cost Silver-Nickel (also called silni). These metal flat-tops were available in a wide range of engraved patterns. In the 1928 catalog, the selection was reduced to only a few patterns.

“The World’s Best Writing Instruments”

In September 1917, the Sheaffer Sharp-Point Pencil was announced. Early Sharp-Point pencils featured a crown shape at the top and had the name SHARP-POINT engraved on them. By late 1919, the crown style shape was replaced with the new bell style. With the new bell style pencils, the SHARP-POINT engraving was gone. In 1921, Sheaffer dropped the Sharp-Point name from their pencil line. For more information about Sheaffer pencils (and every other pencil) I recommend The Leadhead’s Pencil Blog by Jonathan Veley.

Later Sheaffer Hard Rubber Imprint, variations of this imprint used throughout 1920s. Most used and most common imprint

Flush Threads

In 1918 the W. A. Sheaffer Pen Company purchased the Kraker Pen Company for $1.00 as ordered by the district court. Prior to this, the Sheaffer pen threads were slightly raised above the barrel, while Kraker pens had the threads flush with the barrel. With the acquisition of the Kraker Pen Company, Sheaffer took this design and applied it to all their pens. Sheaffer flat-tops pens made after 1918 have their threads flush with the barrel.

The Lifetime Guarantee

In 1920, Sheaffer released its famous Lifetime pen and guarantee. The Lifetime flat-top pens were guaranteed against any defects for the entire lifetime of the pen’s original owner. The lifetime pens also featured a nib stamped with the word “Lifetime” rather than the size of the nib.

In 1922 or 1923, Sheaffer changed the imprint on their clips to say “SheafferS” rather than “SHEAFFER-CLIP”.

Giftie Sets

Giftie Sets first appeared in 1919 prior to the switch to bell style pencil caps. The giftie set is a pen and pencil sold together in a gift box. They were first available as a metal pen (either gold filled, sterling silver, or solid gold) with a matching pencil. Later, the addition of hard rubber pens paired with a gold filled or solid gold pencil was offered. With the addition of radite, came the radite giftie sets. These sets had a radite pen with matching pencil.

Oriental Mosaic Giftie Sets

In 1924, several hand-painted giftie sets were offered. These sets typically included a short #2 gold-filled pen with a matching short pencil, but a sterling set was also offered. The sets came in a celluloid box at first, and later were offered in Sheaffer’s “penvelope”. Non-painted options were also available in the celluloid box and penvelope.

Sheaffer Ad from August 1929, showing Balance and Flat-top style pens