Hey there folks. I'm the new guardian and caretaker of a blue model J with a 1550 nib. I don't know what all the nib numbers mean but this little fella looks to be pretty darn fine. What ink will work well with this? I prefer a dark blue, but being waterproof (or nearly so) and functionality are more important.

I've never used any waterproof inks, so I'm afraid I can't make any recommendations in that regard. If being waterproof was not a consideration, I would recommend Visconti Blue.

I also wanted to point out, however, that not only is the 1550 nib extra-fine, but also it has no formed tip. If you haven't tried it yet, you will find out that this is a very scratchy nib. I'm an Esterbrook lover, but I just don't like 1550, 1554 or 2550 (all for the same reason).

Try Levenger's Cobalt. Very, very, blue. Very dense. Flows well. Good lubricating effect. Only downside it can take a bit long to dry but a fine point should reduce that problem.

Andy

Thanks. No, I haven't tried to use it yet. I do prefer a fine line, say 0.5mm or so. What nib(s) would you recommend I try? Which are the preferred vendors from whom I could procure a nib or three?

In the extra-fine to fine categories, I like 1555 (Firm Fine), 2556 (Firm Fine), 9450 (Extra Firm Fine), 9461 (Rigid Fine), 9550 (Firm Extra Fine), 9555 (Firm Fine), and 9556 (Firm Fine).

Brian Anderson has a good variety of Esterbrook nibs for sale, at fair prices (you'll need to send him an email to find out whether he has the nib you want). The link to his "Nibs for Sale" page is below. Pendemonium also has Esterbrook nibs for sale. A link to their website is also below.

http://www.esterbrook.net/nfs.shtml

http://www.pendemonium.com/

Hi, gkrea1 - you might also be interested in the link below from Brian Anderson's website that lists all the Esterbrook nibs and gives a description of them. I printed it out as reference and use it all the time. Welcome, and enjoy your Esterbrooks.

http://www.esterbrook.net/nibs.shtml

As to inks, some very nice pen seller gave me a bottle of his Swisher Pens Aquamarine Blue ink which he said was waterproof. It's made by Noodler's and only sold by Swisher Pens I think, and in my Fine nibbed pens it is a very nice medium shade of blue. That's the only waterproof blue ink I have any experience with, and to be honest, I haven't done any water tests, so I'm taking his word for it. But I love how it writes so I use it almost exclusively for labeling envelopes and for writing checks.

Richard Binder sells Renew Points too. His website is http://www.richardspens.com/, a link to his Renew point selection is on the opening page. As far as a dark blue waterproof color Noodler's has a few I'd look into, such as Upper Ganges Blue. If you are looking for some really nice non-waterproof blues with great flow characteristics Diamine has a number of them that would fit your want of a nice dark blue color, Prussian Blue, WES Imperial Blue, Sapphire Blue, Mediterranean Blue, Presidential Blue, even Florida Blue would probably look rather dark in a 1550.

Excellent information everybody. Thank you for the kind welcome. I've settled on two nibs, a 9556 and 9668 from Mr. Anderson, and Aurora Black and Noodler's Nearly BP Navy Blue from Pendemonium. Why not? I may as well jump in with both feet.