1941 Carmine Sheaffer Balance long Junior "Special"

This is a somewhat unusual pen for a few reasons. It is a long Junior - yes, that is a thing. The Sheaffer Junior was target marketed to school age boys. It's counterpart for girls was the Miss Universe. The only differences between these two pens is the Junior has nickel plated trim and a nib stamped Junior while the Miss Universe has gold trim and a nib stamped 3. The standard models are both slender and short length - for students. But the Junior was also available in a longer length. Somewhat baffling to me since that makes it essentially the same pen as the Craftsman apart from the color of the trim and the nib stamp.

The next interesting detail is that this pen has a LIFETIME nib from a Sovereign. The long Junior, Craftsman, and Sovereign are identically sized so this nib fits perfectly. It makes for a very nice upgrade.

Lastly, the barrel clarity and transparency is marvelous. It is truly like new. Not generally what I'd expect from a student pen.

Unfortunately someone seems to have tried to separate the grip section from the barrel using pliers. There are marks just below the barrel threads and one large scar on the grip section. They are unsightly but not evident to my fingers when using the pen.

The filling system has been restored with modern materials that will last decades.

Length
Capped - 136 mm (5.4”)
Uncapped - 117 mm (4.6”)
Posted - 158 mm (6.2”).
Diameter
Cap - 12.1 mm (0.48”)
Barrel - 10.6 mm (0.42”)

Filler
Vacuum-Fil

Nib
Fine LIFETIME