Sheaffer is a pen company that manufactures writing instruments including ballpoint, fountain and rollerball pens and mechanical pencils. It is famous for its “school” lineup of fountain pens, as well as calligraphy sets.
Sheaffer is owned by the BIC Corporation; its trademark is a white dot. Sheaffer's fountain pen ink is called “Sheaffer Skrip”.
Many of Sheaffer's pen range are characterized by the classic Sheaffer inlaid nib. Sheaffer has developed several different filler systems for their fountain pen, such as the Touchdown Filler (introduced in 1949), and, in 1952, the Snorkel extending filler tube, both of which allow for bottled ink to be used without dismantling the pen.
The company was founded by Walter A. Sheaffer, who designed in 1907 and patented in August 1908 a lever-activated pen filling apparatus. In 1912, Sheaffer used his life savings to start the Sheaffer company, which started with seven employees and operated in the back of a Fort Madison, IA jewelry store. On January 1, 1913, the W. A. Sheaffer Pen Company was incorporated with an initial investment of $35,000.