Filling system

Snorkel and Touchdown pens

Sheaffer's Touchdown (1949) fills with air pressure. Pull out the tube at the back, push it down, and the pressure squeezes a sac inside the barrel. The Snorkel (1952) adds a thin tube that slides out from under the nib, so you fill from the bottle without dipping the nib at all. The PFM of 1959 kept the Snorkel filler in a bigger body. They're clever, and they have more seals than any other vintage filler. Unrestored pens nearly always need a new sac, and Snorkels also need the small seals that make the tube airtight. Ask whether the pen has been restored and whether the tube extends and retracts smoothly.

4 pens we cover.