Hi everyone,
I just thought I'd share my "adventures in pseudo-Spencerian" with Esterbrook dip pen nibs with you. Trying to change my handwriting has been a twitchy, squirmy experience.


I don't suppose anyone has any idea why the Radio pens are called such?

Hi Leigh, let's see the rest of the samples.

I'm going to guess that at the time of introduction and naming, Radio was a very new, powerful, and modern toy. As a marketer, associating your product with innovation, popularity, modernity, entertainment, etc., helped them compete in the marketplace.

Think of an old-fashoined take on the Fisher "Space" Pen.

Andy

I have 100s if not 1000s of nibs and of all of them the Falcon is my very favorite no matter the finish. Great hand you have.

I have also wondered about why they were called Radio nibs, but never pursued the question with the experts. I would bet that John Gwin could tell you, or could recommend someone to ask.

There were a bunch of Radio nibs. They all (or all that I have seen) seem hold a lot of ink (relative to other dip nibs). They differ in their physical characteristics (shape, flexibility, finish, etc.) though, so it's hard to see any other common factor. Maybe "Radio" was the "e-" of its day -- a handy marketing tag to attract buyer attention, differentiate the pens from the competitors. Generally I like the Radio nibs for informal scripts, but for formal scripts I'd rather use a Gillot. If I were using a dip pen for everyday, I'd pick an Esterbrook Jackson Stub.

Here's a good source for Esterbrook nibs. It amazes me that these were last manufactured so many years ago, yet there are enough around that you can still get them for a buck. How many millions (billions?) must Esterbrook have made?!

Hi Joe! I am still wading through the boxes! Thanks for such a fun, big box.

Now why didn't I think of that, being the copywriter that I am...
And there I was thinking Radio was a reference to radius, or round, or a roundabout way of saying roundhand.

Thank you! Thanks to the Iampeth website I am now obsessed with writing drills. The Falcon nib is great; it has almost but not quite unseated my absolute favorite, the Tachikawa G.

Oh no, now I must have an Esterbrook Jackson Stub.

Thank you for the link!

In Manila, National Bookstore's where everyone goes for school supplies. They have shelf upon shelf of cheap ballpens and gel pens, different designs but essentially the same thing with various configurations of plastic and rubber and the occasional sprinkling of glitter. I wonder if that's the modern equivalent of these millions of nibs.

Such beautiful handwriting! I'm still working on learning how to write with these dip pens, and it isn't easy. Congratulations--

Wonderful sample. I love your lower case "p", how you turn the right eg inward and return. And your capital F is so nice and balanced

The steel nibs of Esterbrook are a very interesting topic. It is THE reason that made Esterbrook so succcessful with their steel nibs. I do have some info and statistics about these nibs and I will post them as soon as I find them. Thanks for introducing this subject.

Thanks, John! Antonio, do post the info when you can.

Very nice! Now there are only a few hundred different more styles to show us.

Best-
Brian

Very interesting to see those samples and the link with all the descriptions. Thanks for posting them.

Leigh, you have beautiful handwriting too.