I go against the grain here - I prefer an italic medium for my daily writer, and I write volumes every day... if you want to IMPRESS your professors with your essay, use an italic nib. Believe me, presentation is half the battle. Isn't that why we love our fountain pens?
I got my first fountain pen in 1959 for use in school (5th grade). It was a Sheaffer "school pen", which was a somewhat smaller pen when contrasted with the No Nonsense. It had a chrome cap, a translucent green barrel, a steel nib and section almost identical to, but a bit smaller than, those used in the No Nonsense. I used that pen for about 13 years, into college, when the feed began to deteriorate. I guess it must have been made of hard rubber. I tried successor pens like the No Nonsense but usually found the nibs to be scratchy (fine) or to have too fat a line (medium). Recently, I was given one of the earlier No Nonsense pens with a medium nib, and I find that both the pen and the nib are "just right" in size and smoothness. Quite nice really. And to think that my original school pen cost no more than $1.50 retail, possibly as little as $1.
I love the Sheaffer No Nonsense pens and own almost 30 in my collection (though about 8 of them are ballpoint and/or rollerball models)! I also have Vintage models with gold plated cap buttons, clips, cap bands, and nibs, and nibs include fine and medium (both gold-plated and steel), and the three widths of italic nibs.
For the most part, the calligraphy pens that you can find which contain Sheaffer pens are not No Nonsense, but Sheaffer Viewpoint. W. A. Sheaffer Pen Corporation was bought by Bic in 1997, then more recently in 2014 was bought by A. T. Cross Company.
Nothing comes close to Sheaffer pens. I was a massive fan of the ballpoint version of the No Nonsense pen and used it throughout the 80s and 90s. So happy they are now making refills. The value of No Nonsense pens is likely to rise IMHO. Why the new Sheaffer company don't restart production of the No Nonsense pen is a mystery to me. They seem to want to concentrate on expensive models.
hey, I recently came into possession of a no-nonsense from the late 80s or 70s, and I was wondering if you'd know if a converter would fit any of the nibs i have. I've read a lot of conflicting information online so I feel like it's a tossup whether it'll work or I should just save my money and ED the pen. I know it's a longshot if I get a response, as this comment is 2 years old, but one can hope lol
@@SassyTesla …A proprietary Sheaffer converter will fit the No Nonsense pen. I used to have four of these wonderful pens years ago. Now, I only have two. I use the Sheaffer converter on both my pens. Without any issues at all.
@@SassyTesla …Cool! The No Nonsense is such a great old pen. People today who buy the damn Lamy Safari & Co. really ought to consider looking for and buying a Sheaffer No Nonsense instead. And yes, try using the proprietary converter. It ought to be perfect. Eye droppering this pen is possible but not really useful. I’ve tried and I’m not alone in finding that the pen often just won’t write with the barrel full of ink.
When I was in high school in the 70s there was a fad to write with fountain pens in green or purple ink. We all bought the really inexpensive shaeffer fountain pens. I still have one, and it writes beautifully... It has a wonderful modernist design with a translucent green body and a chrome top.
Neat fact, thats pretty cool, though I can't read green text, must have been a pain. Though back when sheaffer made great pens that were cheap must have been a great time to be in the fountain pen hobby eh
JPL it wasn't a hobby so much as a fad, i think... believe it or not, the great illustrator and artist, Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things) used the same pen for all of his day to day writing until he could not get it anymore. By the way I really enjoy your videos.
When Sheaffer was one of the big U.S. pen companies (Sheaffer, Parker, Waterman, Esterbrook, etc.), fountain pens were neither a hobby nor a fad--they were just the pens people used. It wasn't until ballpoints came along that fountain pens got pushed aside and eventually became the "hobby" that they are now.
By the 70s in New York City most kids I knew wrote with inexpensive ball point pens, like BICs. Suddenly, in my junior year kids were writing in purple and green ink with a fountain pen--mostly girls. It was definitely a fad, and it didn't last very long.... I was a young artist, so I used a fountain pen back there to draw with, and I never really stopped.
I have one exactly like yours. Yeah, it's probably over 30 years old - I found it in the back of a never used drawer. It had a proprietary cartridge installed, but of course there was no longer any ink in it. I removed the nib from the section - a very tight friction fit - and cleaned both thoroughly, then filled the cartridge with a syringe. That didn't work because ink slowly leaked out where the cartridge meets the section. But I could determine that the pen writes a smooth and highly varied line. I attempted to convert it into a eyedropper, but that didn't work, since ink would no longer flow through the extremely small opening into the section. I'm surprised that you got it to work as an eydropper.
Italic nibs are fun, but only for special writing. As a daily writer, not so much. But you also mentioned it was oblique. That can work with daily writing and add something special to it.
True it is pretty fun, but I use it for calligraphy on cards. I have tried to use it daily which did work because it is a super smooth nib, just the fact that it cuts into my book paper is really what let it down for me. Plus the size of the letters didn't really help.
That's a great video, thank you, this review was just what I was looking for since I got this pen in a box set (made in USA) as a gift. It's dated 70's or 80's and the ink cartridges are pretty much dried up. I saw you putting Parker quink but could I put Platinum carbon ink in it as well? I'm going to use it or try to use it for line and wash (watercolor) doing the line drawing in ink, waiting for it to dry, then add watercolor and I need an ink that's not going to bleed with water and I heard Platinum carbon ink is very good, both as an ink in itself and for watercolor. I guess China Ink is out of the question? I'm going to convert it to an eyedropper pen as well.
I'd have to verify this, but I'm pretty sure the oblique nibs were for left handed people, so they could more easily match the standard angles for calligraphy letters.
I go against the grain here - I prefer an italic medium for my daily writer, and I write volumes every day... if you want to IMPRESS your professors with your essay, use an italic nib. Believe me, presentation is half the battle. Isn't that why we love our fountain pens?
I used these back in the day....just came back to Fountain Pens after almost 40 years....They leaked all the time....But, were still fun.
I got my first fountain pen in 1959 for use in school (5th grade). It was a Sheaffer "school pen", which was a somewhat smaller pen when contrasted with the No Nonsense. It had a chrome cap, a translucent green barrel, a steel nib and section almost identical to, but a bit smaller than, those used in the No Nonsense. I used that pen for about 13 years, into college, when the feed began to deteriorate. I guess it must have been made of hard rubber. I tried successor pens like the No Nonsense but usually found the nibs to be scratchy (fine) or to have too fat a line (medium). Recently, I was given one of the earlier No Nonsense pens with a medium nib, and I find that both the pen and the nib are "just right" in size and smoothness. Quite nice really. And to think that my original school pen cost no more than $1.50 retail, possibly as little as $1.
I love the Sheaffer No Nonsense pens and own almost 30 in my collection (though about 8 of them are ballpoint and/or rollerball models)! I also have Vintage models with gold plated cap buttons, clips, cap bands, and nibs, and nibs include fine and medium (both gold-plated and steel), and the three widths of italic nibs.
hey, I recently came into possession of one, can they take converters?
For the most part, the calligraphy pens that you can find which contain Sheaffer pens are not No Nonsense, but Sheaffer Viewpoint.
W. A. Sheaffer Pen Corporation was bought by Bic in 1997, then more recently in 2014 was bought by A. T. Cross Company.
Nothing comes close to Sheaffer pens.
I was a massive fan of the ballpoint version of the No Nonsense pen and used it throughout the 80s and 90s.
So happy they are now making refills.
The value of No Nonsense pens is likely to rise IMHO. Why the new Sheaffer company don't restart production of the No Nonsense pen is a mystery to me. They seem to want to concentrate on expensive models.
hey, I recently came into possession of a no-nonsense from the late 80s or 70s, and I was wondering if you'd know if a converter would fit any of the nibs i have. I've read a lot of conflicting information online so I feel like it's a tossup whether it'll work or I should just save my money and ED the pen. I know it's a longshot if I get a response, as this comment is 2 years old, but one can hope lol
@@SassyTesla …A proprietary Sheaffer converter will fit the No Nonsense pen. I used to have four of these wonderful pens years ago. Now, I only have two. I use the Sheaffer converter on both my pens. Without any issues at all.
@@sajjadhusain4146 Thanks man I really appreciate the comment. I'll grab one as soon as I can so I can write in style
@@SassyTesla …Cool! The No Nonsense is such a great old pen. People today who buy the damn Lamy Safari & Co. really ought to consider looking for and buying a Sheaffer No Nonsense instead. And yes, try using the proprietary converter. It ought to be perfect. Eye droppering this pen is possible but not really useful. I’ve tried and I’m not alone in finding that the pen often just won’t write with the barrel full of ink.
I have the same pen, handed down to me by my dad and it had the same nib. I replaced the nib with a regular one and I use it often now. ☺
When I was in high school in the 70s there was a fad to write with fountain pens in green or purple ink. We all bought the really inexpensive shaeffer fountain pens. I still have one, and it writes beautifully... It has a wonderful modernist design with a translucent green body and a chrome top.
Neat fact, thats pretty cool, though I can't read green text, must have been a pain. Though back when sheaffer made great pens that were cheap must have been a great time to be in the fountain pen hobby eh
JPL it wasn't a hobby so much as a fad, i think... believe it or not, the great illustrator and artist, Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things) used the same pen for all of his day to day writing until he could not get it anymore. By the way I really enjoy your videos.
When Sheaffer was one of the big U.S. pen companies (Sheaffer, Parker, Waterman, Esterbrook, etc.), fountain pens were neither a hobby nor a fad--they were just the pens people used. It wasn't until ballpoints came along that fountain pens got pushed aside and eventually became the "hobby" that they are now.
By the 70s in New York City most kids I knew wrote with inexpensive ball point pens, like BICs. Suddenly, in my junior year kids were writing in purple and green ink with a fountain pen--mostly girls. It was definitely a fad, and it didn't last very long.... I was a young artist, so I used a fountain pen back there to draw with, and I never really stopped.
I have one exactly like yours. Yeah, it's probably over 30 years old - I found it in the back of a never used drawer. It had a proprietary cartridge installed, but of course there was no longer any ink in it. I removed the nib from the section - a very tight friction fit - and cleaned both thoroughly, then filled the cartridge with a syringe. That didn't work because ink slowly leaked out where the cartridge meets the section. But I could determine that the pen writes a smooth and highly varied line. I attempted to convert it into a eyedropper, but that didn't work, since ink would no longer flow through the extremely small opening into the section. I'm surprised that you got it to work as an eydropper.
Italic nibs are fun, but only for special writing. As a daily writer, not so much. But you also mentioned it was oblique. That can work with daily writing and add something special to it.
True it is pretty fun, but I use it for calligraphy on cards. I have tried to use it daily which did work because it is a super smooth nib, just the fact that it cuts into my book paper is really what let it down for me. Plus the size of the letters didn't really help.
That's a great video, thank you, this review was just what I was looking for since I got this pen in a box set (made in USA) as a gift. It's dated 70's or 80's and the ink cartridges are pretty much dried up. I saw you putting Parker quink but could I put Platinum carbon ink in it as well?
I'm going to use it or try to use it for line and wash (watercolor) doing the line drawing in ink, waiting for it to dry, then add watercolor and I need an ink that's not going to bleed with water and I heard Platinum carbon ink is very good, both as an ink in itself and for watercolor. I guess China Ink is out of the question?
I'm going to convert it to an eyedropper pen as well.
This was the first fountain pen I ever wrote with.....in 1977.
I am using the same pen in translucent green currently...
and I did eye dropper convert it.
is your one new or old like mine, I wonder how much has changed over the life span of the pen?
JPL It's a new one with a medium nib. I wanted a demonstrator so I converted it to an eyedropper...
I'd have to verify this, but I'm pretty sure the oblique nibs were for left handed people, so they could more easily match the standard angles for calligraphy letters.
Did you say your favorite pen is the "parker 78g"?
It once was, certainly a 78 with a M nib, but the prera with a M nib is my most used pen
Sheaffer was bought by Cross, but still sell inexpensive pens.