1930s Off-Catalogue Canadian Sheaffer Balance 5-30 - SEMIFLEX

Vintage: 1930s

Make: Sheaffer

Model: Canadian Balance

Color: Jet

Materials: Celluloid, rhodium-plated trim

Filling System: Lever filler (resacced and guaranteed to fill and write as designed)

Length: This short, slender girth model measures 4 13/16” capped and 5 3/4” posted. 

Nib: 14k Sheaffer #3 nib in this pen is a properly sized replacement for the original Canadian 5-30 nib. It’s a Semi-Flexible writer, laying down a smooth and consistent XF line that widens to a 3B or so (approx 1.3mm) under moderate pressure.

Condition: Notoriously delicate nickel-plating of the trim is exceptionally clean with only some minor scratches – no brassing to speak of. Celluloid has a smooth, lustrous surface with no deep scratches or other notable blemishes. Manufacturer imprint on the barrel is deep and fully legible. 

Details: The first thing a Sheaffer collector will notice about this Balance in black celluloid is the unusual clip, which is neither a humped, round-ball clip nor even the less common spear clip of Canadian Balances. It’s rather a third, separate clip-style that only appears in America as a gold-plated feature of some of Sheaffer’s WASP pens. All this lends credence to the idea that Sheaffer used their Canadian factory, much as they did their WASP sub-brand, as a sort of testing grounds for experimental pen designs.