Esterbrook Desk Pen, Am I Missing Something?

[JotterAddict62]

I just pick this pen up and wondering what is missing ? It is not a lever filler.

Thanks for any information on the pen.

 

Ken

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f239/Jotteraddict62/100_4249_zps37fd570c.jpg

 

[tmenyc]

Nope, you've got a desk pen that fits an Esterbrook Dip-less base, which holds the ink. The Dip-less wells are actually pretty clever -- they have a layer of very thin rods that the nib fits into at the base of the insert hole. Those help feed ink into the feed, and up into a little space above the feed to hold ink. Hence the name "Dip-Less", since the marketing was that you didn't need to dip as often with it. They're fun to use and are inexpensive.

 

Tim

[Larry Barrieau]

Here's mine:

 

 

Sorry double

Edited August 11, 2014 by Larry Barrieau

[ac12]

If it was sold to you as a "fountain pen," you might contact the seller for either a return/refund or a price adjustment, as that is a "dip pen."

 

Keep it with a price adjustment and join us dip pen folks.

All you need is a dipless inkwell.

[JotterAddict62]

If it was sold to you as a "fountain pen," you might contact the seller for either a return/refund or a price adjustment, as that is a "dip pen."

 

Keep it with a price adjustment and join us dip pen folks.

All you need is a dipless inkwell.

Flea market find $.50

[Chiro75]

Darn good find for 50 cents! LOL looks like a 9xxx nib, if I'm not mistaken. As Tim knows from some interactions we've had before I'm a sucker for Esterbrook desk pens, too. Yep, all you need is an inkwell for it and if you're even mildly patient you can pick one up on auction site for fairly inexpensive. Make sure you get the right well, though, as later Esterbrook desk pens did feature sacs and fillers and so were just decorative ways to keep the pens upright. You want one like pictured above, that looks like a glass hockey puck.

 

Key purchase points are that the gasket should be in good shape so the top fits the glass well and you want to see that the little carrier on the underside of the top also has the rods inside. I've got a bunch of these and must be tremendously lucky because the gaskets on all of them were in great shape. Then it's just a matter of cleaning all the old ink out of the rods (pull the holder off, carefully dump the rods into something and flush them out good, you'd be amazed how much ink they hold) and refill. Enjoy!

[JotterAddict62]

Darn good find for 50 cents! LOL looks like a 9xxx nib, if I'm not mistaken. As Tim knows from some interactions we've had before I'm a sucker for Esterbrook desk pens, too. Yep, all you need is an inkwell for it and if you're even mildly patient you can pick one up on auction site for fairly inexpensive. Make sure you get the right well, though, as later Esterbrook desk pens did feature sacs and fillers and so were just decorative ways to keep the pens upright. You want one like pictured above, that looks like a glass hockey puck.

 

Key purchase points are that the gasket should be in good shape so the top fits the glass well and you want to see that the little carrier on the underside of the top also has the rods inside. I've got a bunch of these and must be tremendously lucky because the gaskets on all of them were in great shape. Then it's just a matter of cleaning all the old ink out of the rods (pull the holder off, carefully dump the rods into something and flush them out good, you'd be amazed how much ink they hold) and refill. Enjoy!

Nib is a 9668 and don't shoot me as I'm a Parker person #1 in collecting, but i do look for other vintage brands of pens.

 

Ken

[ac12]

Here are the main 2 dipless inkwells for that pen.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-ESTERBROOK-DIP-LESS-FOUNTAIN-WELL-No-407-INKWELL-W-PEN-/281405443676?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4185124e5c

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Esterbrook-No-444-Dip-less-Fountain-Well-7-1-4-Pen-w-Ink-Nib-9550-/311047157372?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item486bdaf67c

 

Do an eBay search on "Esterbrook inkwell" and you will find a LOT of them.

At least you now know what to look for.

gud luk

 

9668 is a medium nib.

Edited August 12, 2014 by ac12

[estie1948]

A $.50 find! That is fantastic! Those are great pens, but I warn you when you are writing with one, you just might forget it isn't a fountain pen. I hope you find the correct base for your pen and really enjoy it. However, if you decide you don't want it, send me a PM and I'll be more than glad to give you twice what you paid for it!

 

-David.

Edited August 13, 2014 by estie1948

[pajaro]

I love desk pens, but I have mostly used Sheaffer and Parker. I have collected a few Esterbrook pens and inkwells, though. When I retire shortly I'll have more time to use them. Time's getting short. I am getting excited about using some of my ink in these inkwells and pens. A nicely smoothed Esterbrook nib in one of these pens should be a great pleasure to use. A pen find like this one for fifty cents is terrific! A great bargain for the nib alone.

[Chiro75]

There's also the double, which requires two pens, but also allows two different inks. Common set had a clear "tail" on one pen and a red one on the other (a little tougher to find the red ones... I'm still looking) for black ink (presumably) on one side and red on the other for notations. I have one of these at work and my students think it's "cool," LOL

[tmenyc]

Yep, Chiro...I have the double in the leatherette finish. Love it, but haven't used it for awhile because when I use that I don't use pens!

 

Tim

[ac12]

 

There's also the double, which requires two pens, but also allows two different inks. Common set had a clear "tail" on one pen and a red one on the other (a little tougher to find the red ones... I'm still looking) for black ink (presumably) on one side and red on the other for notations. I have one of these at work and my students think it's "cool," LOL

 

The black and red pen sets were for the old book keepers/accountants; black ink = debit entries, red ink = credit entries.

This worked until the photo copier arrived, then there was confusion. The red ink looked back in the photo copy, and they could not tell debit entries from credit entries.

After that the credit entry amount was changed from being written as 123456.78 to (123456.78).

[galeos]

 

 

The black and red pen sets were for the old book keepers/accountants; black ink = debit entries, red ink = credit entries.

This worked until the photo copier arrived, then there was confusion. The red ink looked back in the photo copy, and they could not tell debit entries from credit entries.

After that the credit entry amount was changed from being written as 123456.78 to (123456.78).

 

Very interesting history! Somehow I earned an accounting degree never having learned why red vs. parentheses. Although, black=debit red=credit seems wrong... I think you mean black=positive red=negative.

 

I've been using an Esterbrook fountain pen desk set for a year and am thinking about switching to Dip-Less. Would the nibs still be interchangeable?

[pajaro]

These are great items for collectors, with the variety of bases that can be found.

 

Because they have a feed that can absorb ink, you can write longer with one of these than you can with a dip pen with no feed. Eventually you have to dip it again. These are great for giving the feeling of writing in the old days, as when I was in grade school in the mid 1950s. You could even become a regular practioner of resistance to change using them, making your statement of individuality.

[ac12]

 

 

 

Very interesting history! Somehow I earned an accounting degree never having learned why red vs. parentheses. Although, black=debit red=credit seems wrong... I think you mean black=positive red=negative.

 

I've been using an Esterbrook fountain pen desk set for a year and am thinking about switching to Dip-Less. Would the nibs still be interchangeable?

 

Nope. In the days when they used single column ledger cards, the debit entries were with black ink and the credit entries were with red ink. At least that is what my mother told me they did. If it was an asset account or expense account, you would be correct, positive = black, negative = red. But not for a liability, equity or revenue account, as those are positive credit accounts. Some bookkeepers/accountants used the same 2-color scheme when they used 2 column ledger cards; debit in black and credit in red.

 

Although I think I see where you are coming from. A positive value in the account, be it a debit or credit account would be written as a positive number. And this is correct when using a computer system where the debit and credit is managed behind the scene. Or just staying within the account.

 

But if you write a JE for paying off a payables; you cr cash to reduce cash, and dr the AP account to reduce the liability. You would be reducing cash and liability, so in your logic both lines on the JE would be red, and since the numbers are in the same single column, it would not balance. Similarly if you used single column ledger cards, both lines of the JE would be in ( ) and thus not be in balance. Interesting mental exercise isn't it.

 

Unless you talked to someone who was there when photo copiers first were used, you would not know the reason for black/red ink and the change to ( ) or < > for credit entries. My mother told me that the auditors had to come back to look at the books, after they found that they could not match up the totals when adding from the photo copy image, where everything was black. That was also when offices changed from blue ink to black ink, as the early photo copiers were color blind to blue ink.

BTW the term "burn me a copy" is because the early photo copiers used thermal paper, and the paper came out quite warm. I saw a few of these when I did summer jobs while in college. And even today, stuff coming out of the copy machine is warm from the heat of the fusing drum.

 

Yes, the nibs in the dipless is the same as those used in the desk pens and the clip/pocket pens.

However, the very early dipless pens did use a different nib, but those pens are pretty hard to find anyway.

[jbelian]

Fifty cents. I'm still stuck on fifty cents.

[bsenn]

Fifty cents. I'm still stuck on fifty cents.

 

They almost can't give away the cheap dip pens, and that's what this Esterbrook looks like...

 

Brian

[PaFitch]

 

They almost can't give away the cheap dip pens, and that's what this Esterbrook looks like...

 

Brian

The antique/flea market malls available to me often put substantial prices on simple dip pens. I'm likewise amazed at $.50. This dipless style pen has the longer barrel which makes it nicer (to my eyes).

[pharmboycu]

How interesting! The dual well set would suit me perfectly. One for blue and one for black.

 

This is probably a silly question, but are there flexible nibs available for reasonable prices or are they as rare as Waterman wet noodles?

 

(I have a very light touch and enjoy a very wet writing nib that behaves almost like a paint brush.)