The Sentinel is one of those models that I have a slight distain for.
It's a pretty pen, no doubt, and certainly functional, but the
only difference between it and this model
is the all-metal cap, for which a pretty large premium got paid-- a
trick which Sheaffer (and other makers) kept playing, as seen in the
Snorkel lineup's Statesman and Clipper.
That issue aside, I'm rather pleased with this set (assumed set,
anyway-- despite the pencil lacking a dot on the cap, they've got the
same monogram on the band). You sometimes get a pen and think to
yourself, "There's no way this is as old as it claims to be!"
There are small hints that these instruments have been abroad for
a while, but it certainly doesn't look like sixty years of wear.
I can be pretty certain about the date, though-- 1948 is the year
that Sheaffer learned the trick of putting the white dot onto the metal
cap, and by 1949 they had replaced the vacuum filler with the Touchdown
system. The metal cap is frequently a liability in vintage pens,
as they will hold a dent, but these are exactly the shape they're meant
to be.
Another trick of
Sheaffer's but one which I approve of is their capacity in this
era for making very smooth points of any size. This is a delight
to write with.
Specifications:
Extra-fine 14K two-tone gold point. Vacuum filler. 13.2cm
long capped, 15.2cm posted (which I don't actually do, to preserve the
plastic). Pencil uses twist mechanism.
Condition:
Very good. No marks on the plastic, almost no marks on the chrome
or the gold (tiny, tiny scuffs, as are had from pockets, but without
the exaggeration of the flash, pretty much undetectable). Very
slight ambering of the ink window-- it's a very pure light yellow
rather than greenish.
Repairs: None-- I should replace the piston seal, but it's holding its vacuum magnificently.
Location: My collection
For sale?: No.
Please use your browser's BACK button to return to the page you came from.
Website design
by Dirck de Lint, renaissance thug, with the great assistance
of 
