Estebrook Grey Pearl, Double Jewel.

[mkoenig]

Hello All,

 

Well, I just won by first auction on eBay, a vintage Estebrook Grey Pearl Double Jewel, with a black jewel on each end and a silver nib that is a number 3668. The nib also has on it Esterbrook Osmeridian Tip Made in USA. The pen has written on it in script Esterbrook R. The description claims that it has no cracks, bite marks, or chips, and looks to be in great shape...The way he photographed, it does.

 

I presume it will need a little refurbishing, while I didn't pay too much. At any rate, it's a beautiful color, and I didn't pay hardly anything...THAT'S WHAT SCARES ME!

 

In your opinion/s, do you think this is legit?

 

Anxiously awaiting it's homecoming,

 

Mark

[mkoenig]

Dooohhh! EsteRbrook!

 

Sorry for the typos... :bonk:

 

Mark

[Gerry]

Congratulations! That appears to be a good price, and if you are lucky, there will be no restoration at all required. The nib is above average in quality, so if it isn't damaged or badly worn, you do indeed have a great buy. Minmah has no negs in the last year, so you are dealing with a good seller. Not likely to have any problems there.

 

The best part of this buy is that even if the body needs polishing, even if it needs re-sac'ing, or should the nib need replacing - it's well within the capabilities of a beginner in restoration to undertake all these tasks. So you have a great pen, and one that you can confidently work on with every expectation of success.

 

Let us know how it looks when it arrives.

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of Esties, and the eBay addiction <grin>.

 

Gerry

[Maja]

Congrats!

As Gerry said, you got a pen that, if it needs polishing/resacking, is one of the easiest on which to work!

 

Also keep in mind that the Esterbrook nib and feed are a one-piece unit that screws in & out, and can be easily replaced with another type of Esterbrook (or Osmiroid) nib and feed unit.

[Keith with a capital K]

Sounds like you made a great buy and I should let you know that 3 series nibs are pretty hard to come by and can fetch more than many Esterbrook models.

 

I would really love to see a picture of the pen as this will help determine the model. Barring that, a link to the e-bay auction might help.

 

Esterbrooks are among the finest pens ever made and they are remarkably nice to work on as they are a basic lever filling pen and they are tough as nails.

[Maja]

Yup, the Esterbrook 3000 series nibs (with their so-called "sunburst" design) are pretty indeed. There are a couple of nib charts here at David Nishimura's site and also here.

[Gerry]

Sounds like you made a great buy and I should let you know that 3 series nibs are pretty hard to come by and can fetch more than many Esterbrook models.

 

I would really love to see a picture of the pen as this will help determine the model. Barring that, a link to the e-bay auction might help.

 

Esterbrooks are among the finest pens ever made and they are remarkably nice to work on as they are a basic lever filling pen and they are tough as nails.

Here's the pen Keith...

 

eBay Item number 2294268765

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...2294268765&rd=1

 

 

Gerry

[mkoenig]

Phew!

 

Well, I am indeed relieved, as it did look like a wonderful pen, and the price was right. The seller has great reviews, so that helped me a bit in making my decision.

 

I'm an ueber beginner when it comes to any sort of restoration, so I'd be happy to send it to someone who knows what their doing. I do my patriotic duty and support our local merchants/artisians...that is to say, I'll pay someone before attempting to do it myself. This consequently probably saves me money in the long run...'tis easier to fix a problem than to fix a problem worsened by a fool!

 

Thanks for the input, now I'm really excited...

 

P.S. Just won a Parker Junior Blue Azure Vacumatic in mint condition!!! That's the one I was really after...

Cheers,

 

Mark

[Gerry]

P.S.  Just won a Parker Junior Blue Azure Vacumatic in mint condition!!!  That's the one I was really after...

Cheers,

 

Mark

Congratulations. That's a lovely looking Vac.

 

I have two, passed down by the family. They look exactly like yours, except they have two narrow cap bands each rather than the single wide one that you have. I find they write like a dream - somewhat flexible nib.

 

Great snag Mark.

 

Gerry

 

eBay Item # 2294294534

Edited December 21, 2004 by Gerry

[Keith with a capital K]

Let me say...wow.

 

You snagged that pen for a great price and it is a little hard to tell if it's an SJ, LJ, or J model due to the picture and angle.

 

Here's a tip to use when looking at Esterbrooks:

 

The full sized J has a bigger cap jewel than barrel jewel and will be 5 inches long.

 

The L J is the same length as the J but is slimmer, the cap and end jewels will be the same size.

 

The SJ is the same diameter as the L J but is half an inch shorter, the cap from an SJ will fit an L J although the patterns probably won't match.

 

The patterns on Esterbrooks are unique to each pen and are like fingerprints. The only time you will get a good match is if you are dealing with solid black pens.

 

That nib appears to be the 3 series sunburst nib and you can ask any collector of Esterbrooks how much they prize these hard to find nibs.

 

So regardless... you got a fabulous deal and I (or many others) would be happy to walk you through the rather simple steps it takes to restore one of these pens.

 

Finally... you should consider yourself a Sumgai for finding an ordinary Esterbrook with an extraordinary nib.

[John]

Great deal!

 

I wouldn't be too worried about resaccing an Estie. As others have pointed out they are about the easiest of all pens to repair.

[mkoenig]

Thanks all for the input!

 

Also, thanks for the forthcoming advice if any repairs/restoration needs to be done. I'll certainly take some digpics of these lovely specimens when I receive them. I finally fixed my pc, don't ask, LONG story...I was up past midnight fiddling with it...Damned MS Corp!

 

Okay, back to the important stuff...I'll take some pics, and figure out how to post them here...I am very excited, plus my new Peli comes in this week!!! How did I deserve this luck? My wife is going to kill me...

 

Take care, and thanks again for telling me of my lucky bid!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[mkoenig]

One more thing...

 

Keith, what's a Samgui? Remember, I'm new to the pen game, and VERY new to ebay purchases...

 

Thanks,

 

Mark

[John]

"Sumgai" also "Sumgal" (phonetic)

 

1. A person who makes an unreasonably cost effective pen purchase.

 

2. A lucky (bleep)!

[mkoenig]

Well, I think the later refers to my purchase more than the former!

 

Thanks for the compliment though!!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[Gerry]

The origin of the expression that I heard revolved around frustrated buyers often hearing from vendors they visited that the vendor had a number of interesting pens at great prices a little earlier, but some guy had just come through and snapped them up.

 

The desire to become that 'some guy' led to the term becoming popular - and of course the desire to make a Sumgai purchase.

 

My Avitar (thumbnail picture by my name) is about mine - finding an Eagle cartridge pen (possibly the oldest type of cartridge pen made) along with a few dip pens on ebay for the princely sum of $8.50.

 

A little more info may be found under Pen History - History of the Early Eagle Cartridge Pens

 

Gerry

[KendallJ]

The Etymology of Sumgai

 

I don't know if i have this exactly right, but sumgai comes from "some guy". Usage is in the following terms:

 

Customer at antique shop: "Do you have any fountain pens?"

 

Shop Proprieter: "Well I had a whole box of pens, but some guy was just in here and took them off my hands for five bucks."

 

The term refers to a pen buyer who got a serious steal, but in the vein of the envious person who just missed the steal. :bonk:

[Keith with a capital K]

My Sumgai has a first name, it's M A R V I N.

 

He's actually a pretty good guy but around here when I ask if there are any new pens, I often hear the dreaded words, "Marvin was here".

 

Mind you... I beat him to these and they are also a good example of what a Sumgai find is...

 

http://members.shaw.ca/feynn/greenboard/Duo52.jpg

 

The price on the Waterman was really good at 25.00 as it's nearly perfect but snagging a rarer pen like the modernistic blue Duofold for 20.00 was one of those finds of a lifetime methinks.

Edited December 21, 2004 by Keith with a capital K

[Maja]

The patterns on Esterbrooks are unique to each pen and are like fingerprints. The only time you will get a good match is if you are dealing with solid black pens.

.

This is a good point, Keith...I had forgotten about that....I think it definitely adds to the charm of Esterbrooks

Edited December 21, 2004 by Maja