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Anyone used Sengbusch Nibs in Esties?


johnboz

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So I went to this little stationary store in an older part of town. The shop was there in the early 50's and has tons of old supplies (mostly paper). I once found a vintage bottle of Skrip sitting on the shelf next to the new bottles of Skrip and Quink, just like regular stock merchandise. So, once in a while I stop by just to see if anything else makes it's way onto the shelves.

 

Yesterday I walk in and am looking in some cases and I see some little tubes in a tray. I think they're tubes of lead, so I ask to see them. They turn out to be replacement nibs! I've attached pictures for you to see, but I'll explain first. The brown tubes read: "Sengbusch Nibin #87 Fine 75 Cents". The green tubes read: "Morris Fountain Pen Replacement Section" and I got Medium, Fine and Extra Fine nibs. The nibs read "Morriset" and "Irridium Tip". The great thing is that the lady sold them to me at the price on the tube! Of course I bought them all and ran home to see if they fit in Esterbrook pens.

 

The Morris don't, but the Sengbusch do. They also write very nicely. Has anyone else seen or used these nibs before? Also, anyone know what pens the Morris nibs will fit?

 

Comparison to 1551 nib. They're pretty big nibs!

 

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b222/johnboz/022a08d4.jpg

 

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b222/johnboz/cbfbf316.jpg

 

Here's what I picked up. All of the nibs are flat bottom feeds.

 

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b222/johnboz/aad5f4f4.jpg

 

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b222/johnboz/f0a8d7dd.jpg

 

Here's one of the Morris nibs out of it's tube:

 

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b222/johnboz/f0dc1728.jpg

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Hi,

 

The Morris nibs fit Morriset desk pens. The Morrisets I've had were similar, in principle, to Esterbrook Dip-Less pens: dip pens with feeds rather than true fountain pens. From the looks of your packaging, these were apparently intended for a lever-fill Morriset; I've never encountered one of those.

 

As for the Sengbusch nibs - Pendemonium had a bunch of these for sale, NOS, a while back. If I remember correctly, they put up a note to the effect that those particular Sengbusch nibs could be successfully used in Estie Dip-Less pens, but not in Estie fountain pens. I don't think the problem was with the screw threads; I think there was some other incompatibility. I'm working strictly from memory here, so I sincerely apologize if I've misremembered any of this information.

 

I've installed NOS Sengbusch fountain pen nibs (loose nibs, that is) in some third-tier vintage pens, and I've found them to be excellent writers. Those, at least, are heavy, well-made, tipped nibs.

 

Hope there's something useful in all of that (and that someone with more authoritative information weighs in to correct any errors!).

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

 

PS Gotta love those old stores. Sometimes you can just tell, passing by, that there must be some old pens gathering dust in the stockroom...!

 

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No but I'll buy a couple from you and I'll even pay $0.85 each instead of the $0.75 on the tube. :thumbup:

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As for the Sengbusch nibs - Pendemonium had a bunch of these for sale, NOS, a while back. If I remember correctly, they put up a note to the effect that those particular Sengbusch nibs could be successfully used in Estie Dip-Less pens, but not in Estie fountain pens. I don't think the problem was with the screw threads; I think there was some other incompatibility. I'm working strictly from memory here, so I sincerely apologize if I've misremembered any of this information.

 

It appears that there is some difference in the construction, but so far I have not encountered any ink-flow issues while writing, but the nib did dry out when left capped overnight. It's only been a day, so time will tell.

 

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No but I'll buy a couple from you and I'll even pay $0.85 each instead of the $0.75 on the tube. :thumbup:

 

Easy profit! That's what I like.

 

Let me see how they work out over time and then I'll let some go. I'd hate to sell a bad product.

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Lucky you. They probably don't recommend using them on regular fountain pens because the cap may not fit. Be careful when you put on the cap that you don't squash the nib.

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As Jon has stated, the Morris nibs are designed for Morriset desk pens. Morriset desk pens were very well made, and attractive, dip pens. They had a bit more heft than other dip pens of their era, because of a decorative brass collar on the pen. They come up on EBay quite often. I have several, and enjoy using them.

 

Sengbusch made dip pens as well. They were called "Handi-Pens," and came with a base that also served as the inkwell. You will find them on EBay from time to time. The Sengbusch nibs you have would fit those pens. I've used the #87 nibs, and by my standards they are extra-fine. I also find them to have more flex than any of my other nibs. The Sengbusch nib containers which I have state "Do Not Use For Fountain Pens." I don't see any reason why they would hurt a fountain pen, but they are completely closed at the end, so there is no way to draw ink from or into the ink reservoir. As far as I can tell, that's the only reason why they said not to use them in a fountain pen.

 

The Sengbusch nibs which you have will fit Esterbrook pens, but again they are designed to be used with dipping pens (like the Esterbrook dip-less pens).

Regards,

 

Ray

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I wonder why the Morris nib containers say: fits side lever pen only. That would make me think that they aren't for dip pens but for some kind of Morris fountain. If the package tube is correct, that is.

 

What do the bottoms of the nibs' collars look like: is there a small hole or are they closed/sealed for dipping?

 

I have heard that some Sengbusch don't play well with the smallest Esterbrook sizes: the purse pens or some of the deluxe, I think.

Edited by dhlr14454
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The nibs are longer than the Estie Nibs. There's a definite possibility that the end of the nib may contact the top of the inner cap and be damaged.

 

Please check the clearance before screwing down the cap on the pen.

 

Gerry

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I wonder why the Morris nib containers say: fits side lever pen only. That would make me think that they aren't for dip pens but for some kind of Morris fountain.

 

Oops! I wasn't paying close enough attention. You're correct. The container identifies the Morris nibs as being "fountain pen" nibs, and states "fits side lever pen only." Also, the Morris dip pen nibs came in a container with a red cap and red lettering, and they state "Morriset" rather than "Morris". The manufacturer is the same, however: Bert M. Morris Co. I've never seen a Morris fountain pen, but they must have existed, because you have the nibs for such a pen. It would be interesting to find the fountain pen that accepts those nibs. (As dhlr14454 has suggested, however, check to see whether the bottoms of the nib units are open or sealed. There is always the possibility that someone stored some dip pen nibs in a fountain pen container.)

Edited by RayMan

Regards,

 

Ray

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The Morris nibs do have an open bottom, which means that they are meant for FPs instead of dip pens. Also, there's no question these are NOS, so unless someone made a mistake with all of the nibs 50 years ago, I figured they were correct.

 

An update to the Sengbusch nibs...

 

They do fit the pen and the cap securely closes without damaging the nibs. But, the nibs just dry out too quickly. They're great writers, but you have to mess around too much to get the ink flowing after not using for more than 5 hours or so. Well, it was worth a shot!

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