How Did I Do?

[ScienceChick]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/301425577369?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

To me, the pen looks pink. The nib is worth almost half of what I paid so it seemed like a good-ish deal. And the length makes it an SJ, right?

 

Feel free to blast me if I messed up but tell me how I messed up when you're done.

 

 

[sirgilbert357]

Honestly, that looks a bit shorter than an SJ (is that possible??). You are right, it certainly looks pink from the pics. Maybe it is. I'd say you did fine if its truly restored (and I'd be inclined to believe it is, as I recognize that seller, though I've never bought from him). That's got to be a rare color and like you said, the nib is worth a bit too.

 

When should you get it? (Add two days since its the holiday season...BOOO!!)

 

EDIT:

 

Here's another pink pastel for sale, so it must be a real color, not just a white one someone washed with their new bright red t-shirt by accident or something, lol.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/pink-pastel-esterbrook/171575857119?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D27538%26meid%3D5a199351ce63461d9a7786cda317f57d%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D11353%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D301425577369

Edited December 14, 2014 by sirgilbert357

[Write Again]

Nice grab for sure, I had that pen on my watch list for a few days, but kinda forgot about it. That nib should be a pleasure to write with too!

[FarmBoy]

It is a first generation Pastel. Shorter than an SJ by quite a bit.

 

Pens tend to be stained in the threads and have cap lip cracks. This one looks to have avoided both problems.

 

FB

[sirgilbert357]

It is a first generation Pastel. Shorter than an SJ by quite a bit.

 

Pens tend to be stained in the threads and have cap lip cracks. This one looks to have avoided both problems.

 

FB

 

So probably shouldn't post it then? Would be pretty small to write with if not posted...

[Hobiwan]

Veeeery clean Purse Pen. Except for the small flaw on the point comb, which shouldn't affect performance, it looks to be in excellent shape. Nice catch.

[ScienceChick]

woo hoo! Thanks for the info. I really studied the pictures. Do you think it's okay to post it?

 

Kovey10 - I have to admit that I'm glad it fell off your radar. . I recently bought a copy of The Fountain Pens of Esterbrook and the cover shot really ignited my lust for some of the pastels.

 

It's supposed to be here by Saturday.

That's soooo long!

[SockAddict]

Nice! The pastels mostly haven't interested me, but that pink could maybe change my mind. I feel for you on the waiting game.

[inkstainedruth]

Funny, this doesn't grab me at all. I mostly don't like the Pastel colors (although I might change my mind if a yellow one with an interesting nib came my way). Give me the mackerel finish colors any day of the week.

I think the issue is that the Pastel pens sort of scream "1950s!" to me -- and that's a time period that I have absolutely zero interest in as far as design aesthetic. My husband's niece's stepfather was touting the glories of someplace near Spokane last year that is "a perfect recreation of a '50s community" -- apparently with zoning restrictions to match so nothing mars the pristine-ness of the look. I politely said "Oh? That's very interesting" and thought "EWWWW -- why would anyone want to go *there*.... :sick:"

But if you're happy with the pen, I'm certainly happy for you.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Hobiwan]

They were pens made of colors to match a lady's wardrobe or a girl's taste, and almost as well made as the classic Js. And Yes, the pastels do shout "Fifties!"

 

If you lived through them, especially as a kid in Miami, you lived through a fascinating era.

 

The main broadcast media was Radio. There were few TVs around, and they were black & white. A Coke or Pepsi cost a nickel, and the Saturday matinee was a whopping 11cents (you could stay all day and watch everything) and for an extra nickel, some candy. In summer, Mom would order us out of the house "and don't come back here till suppertime". Sports like baseball involved wandering around the neighborhood rounding up players, making sure to find one with a ball and bat.

 

I could get on my bike and go mostly anywhere in a 20-mile radius; areas that included rock quarries and lakes to swim or sail our makeshift raft, canals for fishing, construction sites, etc., or just to visit a friend. I could hop a bus to Biscayne Bay and fish for anything (no license required) and more than once provided dinner for the family (Mom's rule: "you clean it, I'll cook it").

 

There were no shrinks around the schools to pump kids full of mind-bending drugs for the crime of being themselves, and you passed or failed on your own.

 

Auto makers produced original dazzling new models from 1950 on; the 55 and 57 Chevies, Ford T-Birds, Pontiac wide-striped wonders and sleek Studebakers being some that caught my eye. And you could fix your own car with a few tools, a bit of sweat, some choice words and a willingness to get greasy.

 

Rock-n-Roll was developing. We were awed by the likes of Elvis and Little Richard, and busy trying out all the new and crazy (and stupid) dances they were inventing.

 

The Cold War was on between U.S. and Russia, but I knew it only as a time to admire and sketch the new planes and rockets that were coming out.

 

We were innocent, a bit naive, and optimistic for the future.

 

Those are a few of the memories items like the Purse pens remind me of.

[ScienceChick]

Thanks you, Hobiwan, for sharing that. I was a child in the 60s but had an experience similar to yours in many ways.

 

To me the pastels are pretty and sweet.

[Write Again]

woo hoo! Thanks for the info. I really studied the pictures. Do you think it's okay to post it?

 

Kovey10 - I have to admit that I'm glad it fell off your radar. . I recently bought a copy of The Fountain Pens of Esterbrook and the cover shot really ignited my lust for some of the pastels.

 

It's supposed to be here by Saturday.

That's soooo long!

I'm glad you got the pen, I probably wouldn't have done much with it besides for clean it up and put it with the rest of my Esties.

 

I was also watching a twist filler around the same time your pastel was listed...I ended up forgetting about that one and missed out on it

[jdllizard]

Honestly, that looks a bit shorter than an SJ (is that possible??).

Esterbrook made the pastel pens in a "Purse Pen" size that was a bit shorter than an SJ.

[gweimer1]

That would be the Esterbrook CH.

[ScienceChick]

It arrived and looks really good. The color of the pictures in the auction were very close to real life so it's a lovely pastel pink and there aren't any discolored areas. I don't see any cracks or even threats of cracks in the cap; the barrel threads were a little dark but it turned out to be ink remnants and washed away. I even took it apart and the sac appears to be new and properly talced (I re-talced it when I put it back together). The nib is in great shape and writes smoothly with no flow problems. Ah, the reliability of Esterbrook - vintage Estie, anyway.

 

A final question: do you think it's okay to post or should I not in order to avoid future cap cracks?

[gweimer1]

I found that the CH I restored was too short to write with comfortably when unposted, so I posted it gently.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Crack on me and I'd cast it into the lake of fire.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[lahlahlaw]

They were pens made of colors to match a lady's wardrobe or a girl's taste, and almost as well made as the classic Js. And Yes, the pastels do shout "Fifties!"

 

If you lived through them, especially as a kid in Miami, you lived through a fascinating era.

 

The main broadcast media was Radio. There were few TVs around, and they were black & white. A Coke or Pepsi cost a nickel, and the Saturday matinee was a whopping 11cents (you could stay all day and watch everything) and for an extra nickel, some candy. In summer, Mom would order us out of the house "and don't come back here till suppertime". Sports like baseball involved wandering around the neighborhood rounding up players, making sure to find one with a ball and bat.

 

I could get on my bike and go mostly anywhere in a 20-mile radius; areas that included rock quarries and lakes to swim or sail our makeshift raft, canals for fishing, construction sites, etc., or just to visit a friend. I could hop a bus to Biscayne Bay and fish for anything (no license required) and more than once provided dinner for the family (Mom's rule: "you clean it, I'll cook it").

 

There were no shrinks around the schools to pump kids full of mind-bending drugs for the crime of being themselves, and you passed or failed on your own.

 

Auto makers produced original dazzling new models from 1950 on; the 55 and 57 Chevies, Ford T-Birds, Pontiac wide-striped wonders and sleek Studebakers being some that caught my eye. And you could fix your own car with a few tools, a bit of sweat, some choice words and a willingness to get greasy.

 

Rock-n-Roll was developing. We were awed by the likes of Elvis and Little Richard, and busy trying out all the new and crazy (and stupid) dances they were inventing.

 

The Cold War was on between U.S. and Russia, but I knew it only as a time to admire and sketch the new planes and rockets that were coming out.

 

We were innocent, a bit naive, and optimistic for the future.

 

Those are a few of the memories items like the Purse pens remind me of.

 

:-)

[Cyber6]

They were pens made of colors to match a lady's wardrobe or a girl's taste, and almost as well made as the classic Js. And Yes, the pastels do shout "Fifties!"

 

If you lived through them, especially as a kid in Miami, you lived through a fascinating era.

 

The main broadcast media was Radio. There were few TVs around, and they were black & white. A Coke or Pepsi cost a nickel, and the Saturday matinee was a whopping 11cents (you could stay all day and watch everything) and for an extra nickel, some candy. In summer, Mom would order us out of the house "and don't come back here till suppertime". Sports like baseball involved wandering around the neighborhood rounding up players, making sure to find one with a ball and bat.

 

I could get on my bike and go mostly anywhere in a 20-mile radius; areas that included rock quarries and lakes to swim or sail our makeshift raft, canals for fishing, construction sites, etc., or just to visit a friend. I could hop a bus to Biscayne Bay and fish for anything (no license required) and more than once provided dinner for the family (Mom's rule: "you clean it, I'll cook it").

 

There were no shrinks around the schools to pump kids full of mind-bending drugs for the crime of being themselves, and you passed or failed on your own.

 

Auto makers produced original dazzling new models from 1950 on; the 55 and 57 Chevies, Ford T-Birds, Pontiac wide-striped wonders and sleek Studebakers being some that caught my eye. And you could fix your own car with a few tools, a bit of sweat, some choice words and a willingness to get greasy.

 

Rock-n-Roll was developing. We were awed by the likes of Elvis and Little Richard, and busy trying out all the new and crazy (and stupid) dances they were inventing.

 

The Cold War was on between U.S. and Russia, but I knew it only as a time to admire and sketch the new planes and rockets that were coming out.

 

We were innocent, a bit naive, and optimistic for the future.

 

Those are a few of the memories items like the Purse pens remind me of.

 

Good old times Hobiwan...

 

 

I grew up in the 70's in South America... since we are always a little "far behind" down there... I can totally relate to this.. ... Good old times indeed..

 

 

 

C.