Sheaffer has been making writing instruments since Walter A. Sheaffer patented his lever-filling fountain pen and opened for business in Fort Madison, Iowa in 1913. The White Dot on the cap, first applied in 1924, remains the company's mark of a pen that has passed inspection. Waterfront News is an Authorised Sheaffer Stockist, and our range covers the 100, Icon, Reminder and Prelude collections in ballpoint, rollerball and fountain pen.
The rollerball version of the VFM in Excessive Red - a bright, deliberately loud lacquer over a metal barrel, set against bright nickel-plated trim. The colour is the point, and it does not apologise for itself.Choosing the rollerball over the ballpoint gets you liquid ink rather than paste, so the line is darker and wetter and needs almost no pressure to lay down. It takes Sheaffer's slim rollerball refill. The tapered metal body gives it a balance and heft you simply do not get from a plastic pen at this price.
$39.95
Polished chrome barrel, gold-tone trim, retractable ballpoint action - the most formal of the VFM ballpoints and the obvious choice if the pen is going to live in a jacket pocket rather than a drawer.The mirror finish is what sells it. It picks up the light in a way the matt and lacquered VFMs do not, and because the barrel is metal rather than plastic the pen has the weight to back up the way it looks. Takes Sheaffer's standard ballpoint refill in black or blue.An easy gift, and easily engraved if you want to make more of it.
$44.95
Polished chrome with gold-tone trim, in rollerball form. Of all the VFM finishes this is the one that looks most like a considerably more expensive pen, largely because the mirror-polished barrel reflects rather than absorbs the light.The rollerball mechanism carries liquid ink to the paper instead of paste, so the line is darker and glides with next to no pressure - much of the pleasure of a fountain pen with none of the upkeep. It takes Sheaffer's slim rollerball refill. Metal body throughout, tapered towards the tip.
$54.95
The dressiest VFM by some distance: a polished chrome barrel with gold-tone trim at the cap band, clip and nib collar. It is a deliberately formal combination, and on a pen this size it works - the polished finish gives it a presence the lacquered VFMs do not have.The fine stainless steel nib lays down a neat, unfussy line suited to everyday handwriting rather than flourish. Usefully, the VFM is the one Sheaffer fountain pen that takes standard international cartridges and converters rather than Sheaffer's proprietary fittings, so you can run it on almost any bottled ink you like.Good value for a metal fountain pen you would not be embarrassed to sign with.
$59.95
A metal-bodied fountain pen for well under a hundred dollars is a rarer thing than it should be, and the VFM has held that position for years. Matt black lacquer over a tapered metal barrel, bright nickel-plated trim, and a fine stainless steel nib that writes with a crisp, controlled line straight out of the box.One practical detail worth knowing: unlike the rest of the Sheaffer range, the VFM takes standard international cartridges and converters rather than Sheaffer's own. That opens it up to an enormous range of inks from other makers, which makes it an unusually good pen to experiment with.A sensible first fountain pen, and a perfectly respectable second one.
$44.95
The VFM rollerball in Neon Blue, which is about as bright as a serious pen manufacturer is prepared to go. The lacquer is electric against the bright nickel-plated trim, and it is laid over metal rather than plastic - the reason the pen has the weight it does.A rollerball carries liquid ink to the page instead of paste, so the line comes out darker and smoother and takes barely any pressure. This one uses Sheaffer's slim rollerball refill, available in black or blue.The tapered profile sits comfortably for longer stretches than the price would suggest.
$39.95
Neon Blue is the brightest thing in the VFM range - an electric, almost fluorescent lacquer that catches the light and refuses to sit quietly in a pen pot. Bright nickel-plated trim keeps it from tipping over into toy territory.The barrel is metal under the lacquer, which is the whole argument for the VFM: a tapered, properly weighted pen at a price where almost everything else is moulded plastic. Retractable ballpoint action, taking Sheaffer's standard refill.Cheerful, well made, and genuinely difficult to mislay.
$34.95
Sheaffer calls the colour Excessive Red, and for once the marketing name is fair comment - it is a bright, saturated, unapologetic red that makes no attempt at subtlety. Against the bright nickel-plated trim it looks rather good.What separates the VFM from everything else at this price is that the barrel is lacquered metal rather than plastic, with a tapered profile that tucks neatly into the hand. It has real weight to it. Retractable ballpoint mechanism, taking the standard Sheaffer refill.Hard to lose on a desk, which is not the worst quality in a pen.
$34.95
Strobe Silver is the most restrained finish in the VFM line and the one that suits an office best - a cool metallic silver lacquer with bright nickel-plated trim, so the whole pen reads as a single material rather than a colour applied to one.Underneath the lacquer the barrel is metal, tapered towards the tip and weighted in a way that plastic pens at this price cannot manage. As a rollerball it lays down liquid ink rather than paste, giving a darker, wetter line for very little pressure, and it takes Sheaffer's slim rollerball refill.
$39.95
The classic Sentinel: a black barrel beneath a brushed chrome cap with chrome trim. This is the resin-barrelled version of the pen rather than the all-metal Sentinel, which makes it a little lighter in the hand and a little kinder on the wallet - the finish and silhouette are otherwise the same.Click-top operation, slim profile, and Sheaffer's K-style ballpoint refill inside. Sheaffer has used the Sentinel name since the 1940s, originally for its steel-capped White Dot pens, and the current one is squarely aimed at everyday writing rather than the display cabinet.
$24.95
The plainest Sentinel and, for a lot of people, the best of them: brushed chrome from end to end, with chrome trim and nothing else going on. No lacquer to chip, no colour to date, just a satin metal finish that hides fingerprints and wear better than any painted barrel will.The body is metal throughout, slim enough to sit comfortably in a shirt pocket, and works on a straightforward click-top mechanism. It takes the Sheaffer K-style ballpoint refill.Sentinel dates back to the 1940s at Sheaffer, when the name marked out White Dot pens with a stainless steel cap - so an all-metal finish is arguably the most honest version of it.
$29.95
Matt black lacquer with a brushed cap and gold-tone fittings, which is the softest of the Sentinel combinations - the flat black takes the shine off the gold and stops the whole thing looking showy. It is a more wearable pen than the gloss black version, if slightly less formal.Underneath it is all metal, slim through the barrel and properly balanced for its size. The click-top mechanism is the same one Sentinel has used for years, and it takes Sheaffer's K-style ballpoint refill, available in black or blue.Sheaffer has used the Sentinel name since the 1940s, originally for its steel-capped White Dot pens.
$34.95
