1938-9 Ebonized Pearl Sheaffer Balance Admiral fountain pen and pencil

In my opinion there is no celluloid quite like ebonized pearl Sheaffer celluloid. It was made in flat sheets with multiple layers of clear celluloid, black stripes (painted?), and nacre chips. The sheets were heated and bent around mandrels to form tubes for pen barrels and caps. The black diagonal lines became spirals in the tubes. The ends of the tubes were capped with black celluloid.

The combination of transparency, spiral stripes & nacre chips with gorgeous 3 dimensional depth and iridescence makes for celluloid I think has almost no equal.

The celluloid in this particular pen has excellent color and clarity with very little evidence of darkening with age and UV exposure. The clip is engraved R.T. Neither it, nor the band have any plating loss. There are no marks, cracks or blemishes in the surface of the celluloid. Perhaps the only flaw is a bit of lost platinum (according to Sheaffer catalogs) plating on the nib.

Oh, and this nib. I believe the Feather Touch 5 to be one of the best production nibs. Ever. They are not super-rigid like the Sheaffer LIFETIME and Triumph-style nibs. They are not truly flexible either and shouldn't be pushed as if they are. They are the perfect level of softness that results in an everyday writer providing pleasing line variation under normal writing pressure. I've adjusted the nib to write a luscious, wet, smooth fine-medium line.

With this celluloid and this nib it could be argued this is the finest pen Sheaffer ever made.

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

Length
Capped - 134 mm (5.3”)
Uncapped - 114 mm (4.5”)
Posted - 156 mm (6.2”).
Diameter
Cap - 13.3 mm (0.52”)
Barrel - 11.2 mm (0.44”)

Filler
Vacuum-Fil

Nib
Modern, Western Fine-Medium with lovely line variation