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My First Vintage Fps - Esterbrooks


EKE

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So I just jumped into the vintage fountain pen pool on eBay, and I won two auctions a few days ago, without really trying too very hard. And my new pens just arrived in the post! Oh happy day!

 

I got this really lovely Copper Esterbrook Model J, with an uninked NOS 9668 Medium nib:

 

http://i646.photobucket.com/albums/uu188/ErikEvens/photo-25.jpg

 

AND.... I also got this Green Dollar Pen, with a 2314-M Relief Medium Stub:

 

http://i646.photobucket.com/albums/uu188/ErikEvens/photo-26.jpg

 

Both are nicely restored, with new sacs, all very clean and beautiful. What lovely pens! I am so happy! It's just such a privilege to hold a seventy-year-old pen in my hand and have it look so beautiful and well-cared-for.

 

I just inked them up, and here's my impression. The 9668 medium is smooth and precise. It will make a great, easy journal writer. But I have to say, the 2314 Medium Stub is just exceptional. One of the nicest, easiest writing, smoothest stub nibs I've ever used. Lovely! I could absolutely use this nib as a daily writer - it makes my handwriting look really terrific, without being an extreme italic. I really love it. Inked up with some Stipula Musk Green, to match the pen. Beautiful shading with this ink. Wonderful!

 

Thanks to Betty and Bill McCluskey, the eBay sellers. The pens are even lovelier, and in better condition than I imagined they would be. They look virtually brand new. Exactly as advertised, and a great value. I'm really pleased! :cloud9:

 

(edited for spelling)

Edited by EKE

Learning from the past does not mean living in the past.

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2 wonderful pens! I especially like the green $-pen. Happy you! Yes he does really good jobs on the pens he sells.

 

And one other thing: Normally when I want to present a pen here on FPN, I have to take the pictures myself, because eBay pictures are usually not the best.

 

But you, you just post the pics as they were on eBay, because they simply are the best. Especially the colors are always very true. Betty sees to that.

swisspenpal

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Beauties both. Not surprised as Betty and Bill are great with their restorations.

 

I'm sure you will enjoy your new pens for a long time to come.

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice; damn

There goes that fox again.

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Both are nicely restored, with new sacs, all very clean and beautiful. What lovely pens! I am so happy! It's just such a privilege to hold a seventy-year-old pen in my hand and have it look so beautiful and well-cared-for.

 

 

I love the way you have put this! It takes me back to when I first had a dip into the vintage pool, and came up with a couple of Esterbrooks.

 

Congratulations on these two. They look wonderful, and obviously write like a dream. A fantastic start to the vintage pen journey. :thumbup:

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Sweet !!! My Green J with a 2314-Bold with Zhivago is my favorite daily writer.

 

Vipersdad

"Hey, Cameron. You realize if we played by the rules right now we'd be in gym?"

 

. . . . Ferris B.

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so YOU got that copper Estie with the nos 9668 nib! AHHHHH! J/K! I bid on that several times myself, but it went a little too high for me. Congrats! Btw, can you elaborate a little more on the stub nib? I'd love to find a stub nib or cursive italic nib (which I'm pretty sure can be custom ground for an Estie J)- if I could do it in an Estie I think it would be even coolor, lol.

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What is the difference in Root Beer and Copper?

"Root Beer" is not a name that Esterbrook ever gave a pen, just something people have tacked on. There was Brown (also known as Brown I), which is the darker shade, and Copper (or Brown II), which is lighter. Richard Binder has a lot of E history, including the colors, right here.

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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To the OP: congratulations! You did a good job of finding the pens with one of the best sources around; as others have said, Bill and Betty are a delight to deal with. I'd suggest others on the forum, who are looking for Esties, put them into their "favorite sellers' category and periodically check to see what he has to offer. I've bought quite a few from him, and have never been disappointed.

 

I'll second the comment, too, on the 2314-M: people pay a hell of a lot more for pens and nibs and don't get as nice a writing experience. I have them in both a Transitional and a Dip-Less desk pen, always at the ready for writing.

 

Have fun with your new friends!

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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By what name are Bill and Betty known on eBay?

oldretiredperson

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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What is the difference in Root Beer and Copper?

Root Beer tastes better but pennies made from root beer tend to leak out of my pocket faster. :)

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Congrats! Btw, can you elaborate a little more on the stub nib?

 

The nib has this inscribed on it:

 

Esterbrook

2314-M

Relief

Medium

Made in USA

 

I looked at it carefully with a loupe, and it's pretty clearly a left-footed oblique. The tip isn't much wider than a standard medium. I have no idea whether it was manufactured as an oblique, or was modified subsequently. But I can say that it suits this right-hander like a glove.

 

http://i646.photobucket.com/albums/uu188/ErikEvens/photo-30.jpg

Learning from the past does not mean living in the past.

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I have no idea whether it was manufactured as an oblique, or was modified subsequently.

That is how they were manufactured.

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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All the x314 nibs are Relief nibs known nowadays as an oblique, they are also italics from the factory. They were made in fine, medium and broad widths. I have a 2314 B broad, oblique italic. Here's a sample

 

photo.jpg

 

Not my best writing but it should do.

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