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For some time, I’ve been looking at Sheaffer “Titan” flattops – the big boys – and noting a subtle difference: some have short tops, and some have much longer ones:
Consistently, what I’m finding is that the shorter tops designate the older style eraser, mounted on the other end of the drive tube, while the longer ones conceal an eraser mounted on the end of the pencil itself:
I know that longer cap is a little beat up, but there’s a reason I hold onto it:
As a loyal member of the Elks, I couldn’t cast off an example of our fraternal emblem atop the cap! That, however, is an aside to our story. After yesterday’s story about how Lucifer Most, before he went into business with the Salz brothers in a new venture called the Pencil Products Corporation, invented a fountain pen which captured Walter Sheaffer’s attention, who then “co-invented” Most’s first pencil design with him.
Now I’m interested to see whether the redesigned version of Sheaffer’s flattop pens showed indications of the young inventor’s influence. Titan pencils, like all other Sheaffer flattops, are built like tanks and they were not meant to be disassembled . . .
And don’t worry. I’m not about to go and try to tear apart a cherry red Sheaffer Titan. I did, however, acquire a promising test subject or two. A friend of mine gave me a few damaged Sheaffer flattop pencils at the Raleigh show, including a long cap model. Since they weren’t much good for anything else, I decided to do whatever I had to do to pull it apart so I could show you what’s inside:
This is the Cuthbert/Lindemon patent works:
The direct descendant of Lucifer Most’s patent.
For some time, I’ve been looking at Sheaffer “Titan” flattops – the big boys – and noting a subtle difference: some have short tops, and some have much longer ones:
Consistently, what I’m finding is that the shorter tops designate the older style eraser, mounted on the other end of the drive tube, while the longer ones conceal an eraser mounted on the end of the pencil itself:
I know that longer cap is a little beat up, but there’s a reason I hold onto it:
As a loyal member of the Elks, I couldn’t cast off an example of our fraternal emblem atop the cap! That, however, is an aside to our story. After yesterday’s story about how Lucifer Most, before he went into business with the Salz brothers in a new venture called the Pencil Products Corporation, invented a fountain pen which captured Walter Sheaffer’s attention, who then “co-invented” Most’s first pencil design with him.
Now I’m interested to see whether the redesigned version of Sheaffer’s flattop pens showed indications of the young inventor’s influence. Titan pencils, like all other Sheaffer flattops, are built like tanks and they were not meant to be disassembled . . .
And don’t worry. I’m not about to go and try to tear apart a cherry red Sheaffer Titan. I did, however, acquire a promising test subject or two. A friend of mine gave me a few damaged Sheaffer flattop pencils at the Raleigh show, including a long cap model. Since they weren’t much good for anything else, I decided to do whatever I had to do to pull it apart so I could show you what’s inside:
This is the Cuthbert/Lindemon patent works:
The direct descendant of Lucifer Most’s patent.
1 comment:
MOST interesting!
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