The PFM (Pen For Men) was introduced in 1959 as the oversized model of Sheaffer's highly successful Snorkel line. Reception of this new pen was not enthusiastic, however, and PFM production appears to have ended in 1968. In recent years, however, larger pens have come into vogue, and Sheaffer has released a new version of the old PFM, dubbed the Legacy.
The original PFM is significantly lighter than the Legacy, and has a far more sophisticated filling system with an extending "Snorkel" filling tube that allows the pen to be filled without wetting (or having to blot dry) the nib. There are five basic PFM models:
| PFM I | palladium-silver nib, plastic cap with polished stainless steel cap band and clip |
| PFM II | palladium-silver nib, brushed stainless steel cap, polished stainless steel clip |
| PFM III | 14K gold nib, plastic cap with gold filled cap band and clip |
| PFM IV | 14K gold nib, stainless cap with gold filled cap band and clip |
| PFM V | 14K gold nib, gold filled cap in lined pattern, gold filled clip. |
The "Autograph" model was similar to the PFM III, but had a 14K gold cap band. If you ever run across a PFM Autograph, a PFM with a solid gold cap, or a PFM with a metal barrel, please let us know! We need such pens for our own collection.
PFMs were sold in several colors: black, dark blue, burgundy, green, and grey. Transparent demonstrators were also made, but not sold to the general public.
NOTE: the name "PFM" does not appear anywhere on a PFM, which has led to some confusion among the inexperienced. All PFMs are self-fillers with a Snorkel filling tube The smaller Sheaffer Imperial, produced in both Touchdown and cartridge versions, does not have the filler tube under the nib, and is worth only a fraction of a PFM.
For more, see Sam Marshall's excellent article, "Snorkels and PFMs", The PENnant XVI/2 (Summer 2002), pp. 11-15.