A Few Questions About Buying An Esterbrook

[Leviswife]

I really love the looks of the Esterbrook pens and the idea of all the nib possibilities, but when I start shopping for one, I'm overwhelmed.

 

My favorite color is the brown (rootbeer) color, but a lot of the ones listed as copper/bronze look a lot like this color. I'm not super picky on color, but I do like the true brown most, followed by copper, and then green.

 

Do I just buy whatever pen I like and then worry about whether I like the nib later, since they are easy to switch out? A lot seem to come with a fine nib and its so hard to know exactly what "fine" means until you write with it.

 

And then there's the bladder. I understand that unless the seller says it has been replaced, you should replace it. Is this something a person who doesn't know what they're doing could do? Or will I need to find someone to do this for me?

[honza]

Some comments:

 

nib - you may always switch it later, but that will, of course, cost you extra (just check EBay' sold listings for the current price of nibs). As for a relative comparison of Esterbrook nibs, look e.g. at the chart on Richard Binder's website: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/nibs/renew_point.htm

 

changing the sac - it's one of the easiest pen repairs to do, and you do not need any special tools - just a new sac and a bit of shellac. I would again refer you to Richard Binder's excellent guide: http://www.richardspens.com/ref/repair/sac_replacement.htm

[johnboz]

Regarding the color... Esterbrook never made a brown pen. The "rootbeer" is just a variant of the copper pen color. It is gorgeous, but you can't go wrong with copper or green either. If you get more than one Estie (it's pretty much inevitable), you'll quickly find that the differences in patterns and even colors can make choosing a favorite nearly impossible!

[benbot517]

changing the sac - it's one of the easiest pen repairs to do, and you do not need any special tools - just a new sac and a bit of shellac. I would again refer you to Richard Binder's excellent guide: http://www.richardspens.com/ref/repair/sac_replacement.htm

 

It really is super easy to do. Plus if you ever want to buy more vintage pens you can get ones that need a resaccing for cheaper than a restored example.