Shaeffer fountain pen maker, which began producing fine writing instruments in 1912, has reintroduced a silver overlay pen sentimentally named Nostalgia, based on its proprietary design of the 1920s. The elegant wraparound gold nib is a distinctive feature of Shaeffer fountain pens, along with the rather less elegant white dot at the top of the clip.

One of the other quirks in my personality is an excessive fondness for office supplies, and especially for writing instruments. I have more pens than a person could possibly use in a lifetime. All kinds of pens - rollerball, fountain, ball point, even vintage. My favorites change over time, but I nearly always carry some 3 pens in my pocket.

In fact, one of my disappointments last year was that none of the major pen makers (Namiki, Shaeffer, Omas, Montegrappa, Cartier) really introduced anything new for the back-to-school season. Usually, there is something really interesting to try out in August and September. One of the more disturbing trends is that all of the major office supply stores come out with their own private brand of writing utensils. This can only mean a continued slide in quality, as these
cheap-as-possible knockoffs take up the shelf space that used to be occupied by better ctafted pens.

I own a number of Shaeffer fountain pens as well. One of the things I've learned is that "more expensive" does not translate to "better writing". (For me, "better writing" means "smooth without any skipping".) I'm carrying three fountain pens right now that cost me less than $40 that are among the best I've ever used. Ironically, the best writing pen I own is a pen from Pelikan (Germany) with a thin, steel nib. The Shaeffer Fountain Pens Valor collection became available starting June 2006 as both a fountain pen and a roller ball. The fountain pen uses the Sheaffer inlaid nib in 14K gold with or without palladium plate. The fountain pen and roller ball have a unique angled clip to show off the Sheaffer signature White Dot and are
made of black machined acrylic with a screw-on cap. The pen comes in a high-gloss rosewood finish gift box. Simple and elegant, the fountain pen was selling for $300 and the roller ball cost around $250.

Very nice handwriting and pen. Love the rippled metal on the barrel. Funny how you can get attached to things like pens… I have an old Shaeffer fountain pen with the pocket clip broken and can have it repaired for free (lifetime warantty) but I don’t want to send it away.

I write with a fountain pen. Right now I have ink on my papers, my white shirt, my fingers to prove it. I have a number of fountain pens, Lamys, Shaeffers, Levengers, and Conway Stewart. I've got cartridges for some, ink bottles for others. I've got Quink black, Levenger cobalt blue, and Shaeffer Skrip. One reason is that they make a jet black ink, the most marvelous black ink in the world, because it has other colors in it. Diluted enough it turns blue. It has a slight purple in it, too, that you can bring out by mixing in a little salt. I also draw with it.

I have a love affair with fountain pens. There, I’ve confessed it. I have a lot of little collections - mugs, handmade dolls, walking sticks, books (well, that’s a pretty impressive collection), and ink pens. Who knows how the passion developed in me. I remember as a child being taken with the variety of writing pens I encountered. My father had several Shaeffer's fountain pens. Some were of the lever-fill variety. I was too young to know how valuable they would grow to be.