Sheaffer Legacy Demonstrator Section c. 1995

by Jim Mamoulides, June 19, 2015, Updated January 19, 2024

Sheaffer Legacy 842 fountain pen with demonstrator section

On a clear day you can see the ink!

Pen shows are a great place to look for things on your "to do" list. As great as online sources are, there are a great many more pens and parts you will never see online. This is because, for many sellers, it just takes too much time to photograph and document everything they have for sale, especially for unrestored pens and parts. It's much easier to put labels on them, haul the lot to a pen show, and dicker with potential buyers. Some sellers don't sell online at all and some of those have really nice stuff! Some of those don't label anything they have for sale, either! The fun of pen shows is discovery and learning.

As a buyer, you have the opportunity to look over thousands of pens at one show. Much more than any online venue. You can handle, inspect, and make your own assessment on what to offer. I've acquired many of the harder to find items in my collection at pen shows.

Sheaffer Legacy 842 fountain pen with demonstrator section

When I am at a pen show, I like to do a walk through of all the tables to get a sense of what's available before I make any buying decisions. I go with a shopping list and check off and add items as I make my first pass. I saw this Legacy 1 nib unit at the 2015 Triangle Pen Show. It was in a display with several other nib units, but what caught my eye was the clear plastic shell. I've seen clear demonstrator nib sections on 1950s Sheaffer Snorkels and PFMs, but I have never seen any from the modern era. The only one I was aware of was on the very rare Sheaffer Balance Limited Edition pen. This clear Legacy unit had me gobsmacked!

The Sheaffer Legacy, later called the Legacy 1, was introduced in September 1995. It was an homage to Sheaffer's PFM or Pen For Men line introduced in 1959. Where the PFM is a plastic bodied and sometimes metal capped Snorkel filler the Legacy is an all brass construction Touchdown filler. The first three Legacy models were the 840 Black Laque cap and barrel with gold plated trim, reminiscent of the PFM III, the 841 Palladium Plate cap and Black Laque barrel with gold plated trim, reminiscent of the PFM IV, and the 842 Brushed Gold Plate cap and Black Laque barrel with gold plated trim, reminiscent of the PFM V. They are modified Touchdown fillers with a removable gold plated reservoir that allows for the use of Sheaffer cartridges.

I can see clearly now!

From the early twentieth century through the early 1960s, many leading pen companies competed on technological advances with nibs, pencils, and filling systems. Some would make demonstrator writing instruments with clear parts or cutouts to show how the writing instrument worked. These would be sold or given to pen dealers for them to demonstrate to customers how innovative their products were. Fully working demonstrator pens and pencils are very uncommon. Many collectors seek them out and prices can be quite high, especially those in better condition.

Sheaffer Legacy 842 fountain pen with demonstrator section

Sheaffer often made demonstration models when the company introduced unique filling systems or nib units so that Sheaffer sales representatives and dealers could show how the new features worked. I could find no evidence that this clear section was ever produced to provide to Sheaffer dealers to demonstrate the new Legacy pens and therefore the few I have seen may have simply been model shop samples.

The gripping part of the story

One thing that stands out when looking at this clear nib unit is it shows how the nib attaches to the section. I recall when I went to a Sheaffer factory tour in 2004 there was a presentation on how Legacy nib units were made. It was a multi-step highly precise process so they would not leak. They are not glued. The clear section shows the tabs that are part of the 18 karat gold nib inserted into the section to hold it in place.

Sheaffer Legacy demonstrator section, three views

The clear section also shows surprisingly large feed. There is a lot of room for a long feed with very wide fins. This shows why Sheaffer Legacy nibs write as wet and as evenly as they do.

Ink it? Maybe not

I posted pictures of the nib unit on several online forums and there were a few people who encouraged me to ink it up. I admit it would be really cool to see a lighter color ink flowing through the section and working its way to the nib. My worry was leaving stains in the clear section. So, I decided not to. Plenty of other Legacy pens to write with!

Sheaffer Legacy 842 fountain pen with demonstrator section

Things like this don't come up often and they can be very pricey. If your focus is on nibs and filling systems, demonstrator versions of major brand pens are really cool finds. If you want something really cool in a demonstrator and don't want to shell out big bucks, there are many other less expensive made as clear pens to choose from!

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Acknowledgement

Thanks to Dan Reppert for Sheaffer company information on this nib unit.

References

Advertisement, Chicago Tribune, November 5, 1995, page 14

Advertisement, The Daily Telegraph, November 4, 1995, page 12

Legacy 1, by Gary Ellison, © 2012 sheaffertarga.com

Sheaffer Legacy Reference List, by Gary Ellison, © 2012 sheaffertarga.com