Review:
Sheaffer No Nonsense
1969-2005
The Sheaffer No Nonsense is one of those pens that come around once in a lifetime. In this case, the lifetime lasted for almost forty years. Introduced in 1969, this pen was designed after the Sheaffer Flat-top pens of fifty years before. Sparked by a new interest in Art Deco, the new pen, sold as a cartridge-filled fountain pen, a ballpoint pen, and a felt marker, was an instant success. At first it was only sold in a choice of khaki and navy blue, but soon, more colors were added. In fact, there are many color variations on this one design. For instance, in addition to the initial eight added colors, two-tone models were also made, as well as intricately decorated pens, and a stainless steel version. A special Bicentennial model was also made, with a design of an eagle over the American flag. Many of these were purchased by large companies as a promotional item.
The Sheaffer No Nonsense is a very well-made pen, in spite of the fact that it was always a lower-end pen—the average retail price of the No Nonsense in 2000 was five dollars. The pen is comfortable, with a wide barrel. The cartridge-filled fountain pen works very smoothly. The ballpoint, however, leaves much to be desired, if a Sheaffer ballpoint refill is used with it. The refill tends to skip, or simply not work. However, by substituting the refill with a generic, or a Parker refill, you will have a very, very good ballpoint pen. As Sheaffer hasn’t made a felt pen refill since the early eighties, I was unable to test the Sheaffer No Nonsense felt marker. If you own one of these pens, a ballpoint refill will fit perfectly, as they are the same pen, with the exception of the refill. In later years, Sheaffer also made a No Nonsense rollerball. The No Nonsense is a very common pen, often showing up at Goodwill stores, antique shops, and flea markets, in addition to sites such as eBay and Amazon. They do not command a high price, usually selling for less than $5.00, but are a great deal for the money.
