Not that pens are generally difficult to fill….
Maker: Sheaffer. For general comments on the mechanism, jump back to the Touchdown page.
Jump to Model:
•Statesman
•Valiant
•Desk models
When Sheaffer made the transition to the Touchdown filler, they did not radically change the exterior appearance of their pens; the major visual difference is that the threads to hold the cap are chromed rather than gold-plated and there is a chrome trim-ring below the joint. Most models were imported from the existing Triumph line, and the primary difference is a slight lengthening of the body to accommodate the new mechanism.
The last of the Tuckaway pens appear as an appendage to this line.
| The early Touchdowns are as unwilling to have the caps posted as the Triumphs were. I seriously recommend against the attempt, as the interaction with the cap’s metal interior is apt to leave marks on the barrel. |
Production Run:1949-1950
Cost When New: See individual models below; for modern values, try this calculator.
Size: 13.3 cm long capped, 15.4 cm posted, 11.6 cm uncapped (Valiant measurements; others will be pretty close).
Body: Forticel.
Filler: Touchdown, capacity approx. 1.1 ml
Models in ascending order of cost:
Statesman: Open 14k point with platinum mask point, plastic cap. Cost when new $10.00. The Statesman lost its Triumph point in the transition to the new filler; compare to the previous version.
Sheaffer Touchdown Statesman – note the relatively large point, which helps differentiate it from the later Admiral
Valiant: 14k gold triumph point, plastic cap. Cost when new $12.50.
Sheaffer Valiant TD. I mention on the main Triumph page that I particularly like the look of this sort of point; the easily-repaired mechanism makes this pen just about my favourite of all I’ve owned (by an almost imperceptible margin).
Desk model: There were two models offered, the 92SD mounting a Triumph point and the 55D open-point– the latter was, as the contemporary Admiral, a lever-filling pen rather than a Touchdown, but they used the same bases. Cost depended upon the base, from $10 for the most basic up to $108 for a triple-socket set, which leaves out an unpriced but even more expensive model with little gold mascots on it.
B92SD; the prefix indicates the colour, which would only be brown or black. The dot goes to the tail, for want of a cap. Notice also the absence of the cap-arresting step on the barrel; there is less parts interchange than would be seen on the later Thin Model version.
If you are relying on the preceding information to win a bet or impress a teacher, you should read the site’s scholarly caveat. Remember, this is the internet, and it’s full of bad information.