Golden Brown Sheaffer Balance Admiral Deluxe - Vacuum-Fil

Collectors describe Sheaffer Balance pens with this sort of ornate cap band as jewelers band pens. Lore says Sheaffer made pens like this solely available to jewelry store retailers. Walter Sheaffer began his pen business from his own jewelry store. It seems reasonable to believe he wanted to offer them something with a bit more bling to show. I have no idea how reliable this legend is but it is fun. There are a few variants of the jewelers band. This pen has the most common.

The off-catalog jewelers cap band makes me call this a Deluxe Admiral. I don't know if Sheaffer called these pens Deluxe since the pens were not in the catalogs. The band has a smooth panel engraved LDA. My guess is that LDA, or someone who cared for him, special ordered this pen. The most common jewelers band pens and found on small, cheaper models that I suspect - if the above legend is true - were the stock models shown in the jewelry store cases.

This pen was used gently and maintained carefully. The celluloid is flawless. The barrel has excellent clarity. The only flaw is a bit of lost plating on the clip ball. The original celluloid covered carbon steel rod is in perfect condition.

Feather Touch 5 nibs are bouncy with a bit of fun line variation. This nib was smoothed or otherwise ground by a previous owner. It has a stubby shape that provides even more line variation. Since it has been ground there is insufficient tipping remaining to reshape to another style.

This pen is comparable in size to a Sailor ProFit 1911 (large) or Lamy 2000.

Length
Capped - 138 mm (5.2”)
Uncapped - 117 mm (4.6”)
Posted - 156 mm (6.1”)
Diameter
Cap - 13.3 mm (0.53”)
Barrel - 11.5 mm (0.45”)

Filler
Vacuum-Fil

Nib
Stubby fine