Sheaffer

 

Sheaffer introduced its Skript ink in 1922. At the time, Sheaffer marketed its writing fluid as an improvement over currently available fountain pen ink. I have used Sheaffer ink for many years, fondly remembering the old Skript ink bottles with the metal lids and the handy little well (introduced in 1940) on the inside of the bottle to help with filling a pen. This was one of THE ink companies.  In Word War II I have read that Sheaffer produced a special ink - V-Black - for soldiers to use to write their letters.  I used the Blue Black and its famous Peacock Blue (remember that name?) ink in some of my first pens.

From, 1922 to 1990 Sheaffer produced its ink at Plant No 2 in Fort Madison, Iowa.  Then manufacturing of their ink moved to Europe.  Around 2002 the company moved production of the its ink to ink manufactures in Slovenia. A new cone-shaped bottle was introduced. The bottle shape is stable on the desk, however, the shallow design is not the best for filling pens. In 2011 the bottle was updated the bottle with a band of colour meant to represent the colour of the ink, and the classic sheaffer nib is on the right side pointing down. Ove the years there were slight design changes to the bottle, but the overall short cone-shaped bottle prevailed. Around 2022 ink production moved to China and India.

On one of my visits to my local pen store I met the local Sheaffer sales representative. When asked what I thought of Sheaffer ink I provided my view - watery, light colours. He was surprised and asked me to write with his pen. I did and was surprised at how good the blue ink looked. My first response was abot nib width - his pen fitted with a medium nib, and I send to use Broad or Stub nib widths. I was given the challenge. Use the line of inks and then draw my conclusion. So I called this "My Week with Sheaffer" - kind of a play on the movie My Week with Marilyn.

I left the store with a bottle of almost every colour (Blue/Black was not available). To my surprise, I was pleased with the performance of the ink.

 

sheaffer ink bottles

The cone-shape bottle has had many variations in its design over the past decades of use. I must admit in March 2026 was surprised to see on the company's main website the note of being SOLD OUT on most colours of ink in the cone-shaped bottles. Really?

The "newer" Vintage Series 30 ml bottles were marketed as being in a vintage-inspired bottle (it is similar to the original bottles) with newly formulated ink with a 1- year shelf life. These bottles have the classic ink well inside the bottle to make filling a pen easier. The bottles were filled with new colours: Renegade Blue, Infeerno, Very Verde, Latte, Coastal Blue, Retro Sunset, Amethyst, Bling.


Retro Sunset 

Retro Sunset

Retro Sunset

Retro Sunset - is rich and saturated. The flow is good. and have not experience bleeding or feathering with ink - and that includes using it in some notebook journals which other inks have bleed through the paper. I like the colour. I have used the ink in a variety of pens and the colour is consistent as the pens have different nibs which can have an impact of how the ink sits and looks on the page.

The bottle only holds 30 ml.

Renegade Blue

Renegade Blue

Renegade Blue - It is a bright, deep blue. that flows very well leaving distinctive look to your writing. A full page of writing with this ink will not go unnoticed! I found it a bit overwhelming when I was writing with my broadest nibs, but very happy with the narrower stub widths.

 

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