This is a later Imperial, c. 1980 or so, when Sheaffer started using the ‘arrowhead’ nib, previously only seen on the later Triumph pens, in its Imperial line. It lacks the crown imprint of the earlier model, but aside from that and the different nib shape, it’s essentially the same pen. A lovely writer, well balanced, and reliable. Great pen!

Another oddball from Sheaffer’s mid-century lineup: the ‘Dolphin’ nib. An odd mimic of the inlaid nib, the ‘dolphin’ nibs ranged from basic steel to 14K, both hallmarked and unhallmarked. Designed to appeal to a lower pice bracket, these pens didn’t stay in production long, and are now sought after by collectors of mid-century Sheaffers. This one is a desk pen, with a huge caramel swirl marble base. Seems to be unused NOS condition, as pen and base still have stickers, though they are faded.

Yet another of the seemingly endless variants on the ‘Imperial’ of the 60s-80s. This one is a cartridge/converter model, with gold-plated trim. I’ve seen 550s with the ‘arrow’ shaped cutout as well as the short diamond, so who knows? It’s a Sheaffer inlaid nib, and I’ve yet to find a bad one, so I’m content, anyway….

I’ve been wanting an Intrigue since they were still in production. The weren’t around long, but I finally caught one. It’s a quirky beast, to be sure, with a very odd and proprietary filling system, but it’s gorgeous! The inlaid nib almost recalls the dolphin’ nib seen in the 1960s, but is fully inlaid. Since it’s a little fiddly, I don’t use it much, but I do love it! Has a ballpoint companion as well.

Nice looking pen, but as much as I love Sheaffers, this one disappoints. The seal between the section nipple and the converter is awful. It won’t even seal enough to fill properly, and if one uses a full converter, it leaks like mad (not surprisingly!). It’s a shame, because it’s a smart pen, but it’s pretty much unusable, and it’s sort of put me off new Sheaffers.