Question About Estie Mechanical Pencil

[Daddy-O]

Hi all

 

I recently scored a very nice Esterbrook LJ pen and pencil set in grey. Before I do something I may regret, how do you load the lead into the pencil and what size lead does it take? A standard 1.1 mm / 0.046 lead looks a bit big.

 

Thanks

Mark

[pen lady]

If I remember rightly, my Esterbrook pencils have a "cap-actuated" mechanism. You push down on the cap and the clutch loosens, push the lead in from the nose end as far as it will go. Advance the lead by pushing down on the cap. Sorry, I'm not sure of the official size of lead. I'm a "trial-and-error" person, as over the years I have amassed several lifetimes worth of leads!

[Daddy-O]

Thanks for that. I was a bit reluctant to just start pulling on things in case I broke it (this has happened in the past). It is a push cap mechanism and after some checking I see it takes 0.9mm (0.036 inch) leads. The cap pulls off to reveal an eraser. These leads are easily obtainable in Oz. Surprisingly, the 0.046" or 1.1 mm leads are very hard to find here for some reason although most of our vintage pencils used that size.

 

Cheers

Mark

[pen lady]

Oh good, happy to help. Shhhh! Don't tall the rest of them, but I'm a bit of a "lead-head" too. I actually use my vintage pencils far more than my pens. Sooo much easier and life has quite enough challenges without ink too.

[estie1948]

Sorry, but I came to this thread late. The Esterbrook mechanical pencils do indeed take the 0.9 mm leads which some of us old fa*ts have in abundance, but which can also be acquired at many stores selling modern mechanical pencils. I use my fountain pens almost exclusively, but I always keep an equally trustworthy Esterbrook mechanical pencil handy for those times when ink just isn't the answer.

 

-David.

[Daddy-O]

Your secret is safe with me Pen Lady. Actually in one of my work roles there is no alternative but to use pencil and a lot of writing is involved. I may as well do it with style. Besides, most of the modern mechanical pencils use 0.5 mm leads and they are too fragile for my ham-fisted writing. I do prefer the 1.1 mm sized lead but the Esterbrook pencil is a cut above compared to my flashy but lesser quality Wearever pencils that have so impressed my colleagues.

 

Mark

[pen lady]

Lead-heads unite! BTW sometimes ossified erasers can be made useful again by sanding them lightly to get rid of the hardened outer layer. Also, forgive me if you already know this, but underneath the eraser is a spare lead storage spot. Maybe someone else will go "Oh! I didn't know that".

[gweimer1]

I may be wrong, but the metal casing could have the recommended lead size stamped on it. I have two of the pencils now, and I think one takes 1.1 and the other used 0.9. I have some red lead in my 1.1, but the feed is busted.

 

I have a newer Faber Castell pencil that uses 1.4 lead.

[Ron Z]

Parker Insignia pencil erasers should fit the Esterbrook pencil. 5 mm in diameter. A quick search comes up with #11982 You can find them on eBay.

[estie1948]

Parker Insignia pencil erasers should fit the Esterbrook pencil. 5 mm in diameter. A quick search comes up with #11982 You can find them on eBay.

Thanks, Ron. That is helpful. I will check it out as I know a place I can get those erasers.

 

-David.

[FarmBoy]

As a side note, Esterbrook pencils can be found in 0.036 and 0.046 sizes. The size is usually stamped on the inner barrel.