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Vintage Pens For Daily Usage


Aristosseur

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Hello, I am interested in vintage pens that will be decent everyday writers. I find value in their historicity and sometimes their looks, so I am looking for functioning (with or without repair) good looking pens from the past. I generally dislike hooded nibs (so Parker 51 out) and I am open to any suggestions to check. Currently bidding on a Sheaffer Sentinel and I'd love to own an Eversharp Doric with adjustable nib one day. If anyone happens to know about Soviet pens, I'm interested in them too, the very definition of vintage, since there is no Soviet Union anymore.

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Conway Stewarts are my every day vintage of choice a #28 or #58 in red herringbone :)

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem (Remember when life's path is steep to keep your mind even)http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/5642/postcardde9.png

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A Sheaffer Snorkel is a great daily user. Also Esterbrook J's are reliable, attractive, and inexpensive.

Larry

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A Sheaffer Snorkel is a great daily user. Also Esterbrook J's are reliable, attractive, and inexpensive.

Forgot to mention that the Sentinel is actually the Snorkel Sentinel, not the new ones I just found out that exist :rolleyes:

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Parker Vacumatic from Greg Minuskin, with an Arrow 0.7mm Journaling stub.

Edited by apenpusher
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One of my favorite vintage daily writers is a black Parker Duofold Junior button filler. The nib is a medium to broad and there is just a tad of flex to it. I bought this pen at a flea market for $10 about 9 years ago. The blind cap (over button filler) wouldn't stay on because the treads on the barrel end were stripped. The pressure bar was broken in half from rust and the nib/feed and inner barrel were encrusted with calcified ink sac and dried ink. The pen resided in my parts box for a few years and then one day I brought it out and cleaned it up and put a new pressure bar in it. The barrel threads for the blind cap were a difficult matter for me. I ended up putting a few layers of shellac on the barrel end and, when dry, was able to get the blind cap to sort of thread on. Need to replace the barrel one day I guess, but for now this is a great pen and a lovely writer.

 

Also, add me to the list of Esterbrook fans for great vintage daily writers.

 

Craig

A consumer and purveyor of words.

 

Co-editor and writer for Faith On Every Corner Magazine

Magazine - http://www.faithoneverycorner.com/magazine.html

 

 

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The Parker Vacumatic is definitely gorgeous, I am thinking it will be a next purchase considering its price is not very steep. What Esterbrook models would you suggest?

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The Esterbrook J series are very affordable, easy to change nibs, and simple to restore. The standard J is the biggest, the LJ is a thin J, and the SJ is a thin, short J. There are also dollar pens and transitional Js, but those tend to be more collectible, and thus more expensive.

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I have many vintage pens that became part of my EDC rotation, so I can suggest a few that may interest you:

 

Eversharp Symphony: can be found for cheap (<$60), both in rigid or flex nib options.

 

Eversharp Skyline: same as above, but usually a bit more expensive ($50-100).

 

Esterbrook J series: can be found for very cheap on ebay if you're good at auction hunting, I've gotten my last few ones for under $25 shipped including the 9xxx nib.

 

Reform 1745: cheap german piston-filler from the 70s, features a soft nib and can be found for under $15 or $20.

 

My personal favorite vintage EDC pen has been an Esterbrook SJ in green fitted with an Osmiroid sketch nib for a while now.

Edited by discopig
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I prefer vintage nibs by far but I'm not a fan of lever fillers, so the majority of my vintage pens don’t see long-term use; they get switched in and out. The exception is a Sheaffer balance vac fill that I’ve used daily since I got it, almost a year ago. I like it so much I got several more in different colors and sizes, but I have never put the "original" away. Definitely a workhorse.

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I would recommend a 3rd/2nd tier vintage MB. I own a 234 1/2 that is a great daily writer.

 

 

My second choice would be a CS.

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Both Pelikan 400NNs and Sheaffer Balances (30's to 40's) are splendid and (reasonably) affordable vintage pen types. It's possible to find user-grade up through fine quality pens in these types on eBay and here on FPN. They're both workhorse level types of fountain pens, and both have elegant, sleek lines. The decisions then come with specific items that you're more taken with as a user (e.g., Sheaffer ebonised pearl Balances, Sheaffer military clips, tortoise 400NNs) and the nibs of preference. The 400NNs have the ability to switch in modern nibs if one desires, but it's possible to find the Balances for somewhat less than the 400NNs.

 

Naturally, you are not confined to only one type - I have a mix of both Pelikans and Sheaffers in my daily rotations. Each type has a definite place in my enjoyment, and each type gets used with about any ink that I like for it.

 

 

 

John P.

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I have tried very hard to love vintage pens, but I find their filling systems very fussy... I have found no easy and fast way to clean a lever filler, for example. Hence, I would recommend piston fillers that can be disassembled to be cleaned. I own some Montblancs 2xx and 3xx that are like that: I can unscrew the nib housing and flush them out.

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Presently my rotation holds:

1) Pelikan 120 EF/springy

2) Esterbrook J 9550

3) Reform 1745 F/soft

4) Blackbird F/flex

 

The Pelikan makes my writing look almost as good as the Mabie Todd. My Esterbrook does anything I ask and has not let me down (I actually have "some" Esties). The Reform is light, easy to use and easy to carry (also the best cheap pen I own). Finally the Blackbird. It is not dry, so paper choice is important. Writing with it adds so much character that I find myself really paying attention to the art of creating words.

In your location I'd start off looking for a German school pen. Pelikan-Mont Blanc-Geha-KaWeCo-LAMY-Reform-et all. The first five may be costlier, but likely better. The common traits are length (-5"), diameter (-1/2"), piston filler. These were designed to teach children penmanship, so they are rugged, springy nibs so as not to tear paper or bend a nib, and decent ink capacity to keep them writing not filling.

Parker VS and DuoFold may appeal to you. Sheaffer offers lots of models and a variety of filling systems. Esterbrooks are fairly simple. Dollar-Transistional-J-LJ-SJ are very well made, easy to repair and you can change nibs in seconds. I still find them under $20 and most often the only issue is a sac.

You have lots to choose from. I wish you well.

 

Paul

"Nothing is impossible, even the word says 'I'm Possible!'" Audrey Hepburn

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Not my favourite pen but the Newhaven Duofolds are very practical and have a decent if slightly hard nib. Probably the best value for your euro and the aeromatic fillers are usually working when received.

 

Other pens that cross my mind are the early post war English Watermans and Swans, most of which go for a reasonable price and are good writer's pens.

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You really can't go wrong with Esterbrooks (assuming you're willing to put up with the lever filling system, which is undeniably a pain and a half) for sturdy reliable daily vintage writers, and I know a lot of people also like Parker 45s (semi-hooded nibs showing more than a P51 but less than a regular FP, so they may or may not work for you).

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The nice thing about Esterbrooks as opposed to other lever-fill pens, is the nib and feed are a mated unit and the entire assembly is easy to unscrew and remove. Once removed, a quick flushing with warm water and a rubber bulb or syringe cleans everything out in minutes and it's ready for the next load of ink.

Larry

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