In 1907, Walter A. Sheaffer used his jewellery expertise to create a device which would allow users to fill a pen with ink much easier, cleaner and be more aesthetically-pleasing. In 1912, Sheaffer, dedicated his life savings to his idea of a pen-filling apparatus initiated by a lever system. By the 1930’s, Sheaffer pens had solidified itself as a leader in the luxury pen market. The fountain pens were advertised as the pen that “fills instantly from any ink-well, with one touch of a finger.” Instantly, Sheaffer became a household name and must-have product. On March 1st 1966 Sheaffer Pen Co became a division of Textron Inc and the 'Sheaffer's' logo was change to 'Sheaffer' on all merchandising and literature. Sheaffer have been innovators throughout their existence; pioneering different nib styles in the 1920 making them more reliable, they were one of the first pen manufacturers to move away from hard rubber materials to celluloid , they altered pen shapes and introduced innovations such as the snorkel filling system. Like so many innovative ideas the tip dip filling system was yet another from the Sheaffer company, designed to improve the overall writing and user experience of their pens. Sheaffer was a family owned company up until 1966 when the diversified Textron Conglomerate aquired control of the firm, becoming Sheaffer-Eaton.The Sheaffer Iowa plant was their main production plant, employing over 1000 people at its height shrinking to 550 in 1997 when they were bought by Bic for $50m. Under Bic’s tenure the Iowa plant was closed in March 2008 with production moving to China and operational aspects like purchasing, warehousing etc moving to Slovakia. In 2014 A T Cross acquired Sheaffer for $15m and was under their tenure until August 2022 when they sold the company to William Penn Pvt Ltd from India.

The Sheaffer TRZ range was produced between 1981 and 1989 in the USA, initially with a ballpoint pen and then fountain pens being added to the range in 1983. The TRZ model was marketed as being a design to meet the high tech style of 1980’s. The Sheaffer TRZ was subsequently the design basis for the new Fashion range introduced in 1986 with the same thin barrel and cap, but with a different derby and clip. The second version of the Fashion had a similar thin body but with a different collar at the head of the section and different placement of the Sheaffer name. The third variant was the fashion II which has a much wider body and came in a myriad of different finishes. This prompted the end of Sheaffer’s dalliance with ultra thin pens. The Sheaffer model had a production life between 1990 and 2002