1935 Ebonized Pearl Sheaffer Balance Standard Size set - Medium-fine Feather Touch 5 nib - Vacuum-Fil

Sheaffer introduced the Vacuum-Fil Balance in 1935. I think it is one of the best pens ever made. And it's paired with the Feather Touch 5 - one of the best nibs ever made.

Listed in the 1935 catalog as FEATHERTOUCH Balance pen model D5VC "with the famous FEATHERTOUCH Point".The nibs were designed to write a thinner line when turned upside down.

This pen & pencil are like new. Perfect barrel clarity, flawless celluloid and unmarred trim plating. They look as if they had been put away in their case for for 85 years. A collector couldn't ask for better condition. However, the feed is not original as it has combs on the bottom side rather than a smooth underside. The filling nob is also likely a replacement since the original would have been dome shaped rather than pointed. Only a collector would know these things and they fit perfectly. Most likely replacement parts from a certified Sheaffer repair person many decades ago.

The Feather Touch 5 nib is the same size as a modern #5 nib. Though there are no modern #5 nibs that perform on this level. It is soft and expressive and provides very nice line variation under normal writing pressure. It is not meant to be pushed like a flexible or even semi-flexible nib.

This pen is comparable in physical dimensions to a modern Pelikan M6xx or Sailor 1911L (ProFit 21).

Length
Capped - 132 mm (5.2”)
Uncapped - 117 mm (4.6”)
Posted - 146 mm (5.8”).
Diameter
Cap - 13.3 mm (0.52”)
Barrel - 11.6 mm (0.46”)

Filler
Vacuum-Fil

Nib
Modern, Western Medium-Fine with lovely line variation