I got an este SJ not too long ago. it looks to be made around the 40's. Im concerned about the part underneith the nib that has "fins" is holding alot of ink. is this normal? Im pretty much a total noob so dont tear into me to hard.

This part is known as the "feed", and its purpose is just that - to feed the ink to the nib. If you mean that, when you touch it, ink comes off on your finger - that's normal and shows the pen is working well. Esterbrooks do seem to have very thirsty feeds, showing their good design.

If ink is dripping from it, though, that is a problem.


You'll find the people round here are very friendly indeed on the most part, so you don't have to worry on that count

Have you replaced the sac yet?

I'm guessing not, the pen filled and wrote in the condition you got it in.

The rubber sac that holds the ink inside the barrel is cracking around the nipple it's glued to, and this allows ink to run out of the feed -- fountain pens work by controlling the air flow back into the ink reservoir (a sac on this pen, there are other variations) so that ink only comes out when the nib is moving on the paper. Esterbrook used really good sacs, but it's at least 50 years old by now....

Esties are easy to fix -- the section (the black part that holds the nib and feed) is a press fit into the barrel, and will come out with some twisting, pulling, and gentle rocking back and forth. New sacs are readily available (Pendemonium, Giovanni, Woodbin, The Pen Sac Company) and are attached with ordinary shellac, obtainable at the local hardware store in quantities you could never use up doing pen repairs.

Or send it off to one of the reputable repair people on the forum.

Peter

It isnt dripping ink but if i do touch it i get ink on my finger. I bought the pen from a member on here and it was recently re sacked so i don think that is the problem. It writes beautifully and i was wondering if it was out of the ordinary. Apparently not. Thank you for your responses.

My experience has been that the feeds on Esterbrooks tend to be wetter than on most modern pens. You can minimize this a little if you store your filled Esterbrooks nib up ... laying them flat for days can cause the feed to flood. However, having said that, I suspect from your description, your pen is functioning the way Esterbrook designed it to function.

Enjoy!

Todd

i have been storing it laying down. Ill have to look for something to store it nib up. any suguestions?

Overnight isn't a problem, but if it's going to be a few days, I use a leather pen case and I just have it so the pens are upright in my briefcase.
Having them lay flat doesn't really hurt them, so if it isn't causing any writing problems, I wouldn't worry about it.

Todd

Finned feeds are always wet with ink -- they are designed to work that way. However, if it floods (way too much ink on the paper and visible ink on the feed while writing -- the "comb" full, for instance), likely the sac is leaking. Sometimes they don't seal properly. Easy fix.

If it doesn't blob, just write with it!. I do find that Esties write rather wet except for the very fine nibs.

Oh, and rinse out the cap and dry it -- they tend to collect dried ink, and that encourages condensation....

Peter

It is an extra fine nib. 9550 i believe

To store the pen nib up, you can always use something like a coffee mug. Depending on the pen, you can find some soft cloth to put in the bottom/side if you are worried about rubbing on the glass. For the pens in my rotation I use one of those kids plastic school boxes... they are like 5"x8"x1.5", lid flips back. Inside it I drape a piece of soft flannel. I'm able to rest the pens slightly nib up. They seem to be happy that way.