Walter Sheaffer, the brain-child of a jweller's son, revolutionized pendom and the culture of writing instruments for years to come.

He invented an ink-loading system (called lever filling system) for fountain pens, utilizing a small lever on the side of the pen's barrel. This system, in effect, doomed the two antiquated and often messy methods used at that time by generally all fountain pen manufacturer: the eyedropper filter and the half-moon filler superimposed on the pen's body

Sheaffer registered the name "W.A. Sheaffer Pen Company" in 1913 and later in this year he sold jewellery store (already changed to small pen manufacturing place)and the company moved to top floor of the landmark Hesse Building in down town Fort Madison. In 1914, he started his own small factory of pen manufacturing under name of W.A. Sheaffer Pen Company.

Among his invention we can also refer to twist mechanical pencil.

Sheaffer passion to pen was transfered to his son Craig Sheaffer who continued his father job and could open big factory of Sheaffer in 1951 in Fort Madison, Iowa in USA.

It was in the same period that Sheaffer could launch his well known Inlaid Nib to the world market.

Sheaffer philosophy was producing quality pen with lowest possible price and their proof is brown striped Sheaffer lever fill pen recovered from the wreckageof the USS Arizona - 18 months after it was sunk.