Pen Model: Sheaffer WASP
At different points in their histories, the major pen manufacturers operated secondary, “off-brand” divisions that produced pens with different names. This was particularly true during the 1930s, when operating margins were especially thin and cost savings needed, but the companies did not want to lose production or make compromises with their major lines.
Sheaffer had several such divisions, one of which was called WASP, for Walter A. Sheaffer Pens. WASP’s major product was the WASP pens, and they appeared from 1936-probably 1941 in a welter of lines, appearances, and plastics. The major WASP line was The Clippers, named for the first public air transport, which opened in 1936.
The Clippers were generally solid pens, well-made, wrote well.