I recently got an Esterbrook Double J ~ my first Esterbrook ~ The Pen is a Beaut & The nib is a 9556 firm fine & its a real nice nib & very impressive

Unfortunatley I am less impressed by the actual pen as I find the barrel & section a little too thick & find my hand start playing up after just a few sentences
So I wonder if there is a slimmer version Esterbrook I should look out for.

I have been practicing with Caliken's straight index finger hold & it has many benefits but it seems like I still prefer thinner barrel pens eg the Reform / the Lamy Linea the Sheaffer Balance

It would be a shame not to use the nib on this pen or not try more Esterbrooks.

Any advice ???

Thanks

Yes, there is hope for you. Esties ("recent" marbled ones, dbl black jewel--one on cap and one on barrel bottom) came in J LJ and SJ versions. J is the fatter one, LJ is as long as a J but a bit slimmer, and the SJ is shorter and as slim as the LJ. The LJ one may suit your grip. All screw in nibs will fit any of these models.

Well thanks very much that's good news.

The one I have is copper coloured, the barrel is 12mm 0.47" diam & its 5" 127mm long capped ~ but doesn't give any model number & has 2 black jewels. The clip is a straight bar ridged.

I assume mine is the J but How do you tell the difference ? not many people give dimensions of the pens when they sell them.

It is tricky the first time you look for this, but the J has a much bigger jewel in the cap where the LJ / SL has the exact same jewel as the barrel. It is not a huge size diffrence, but the cap jewel is much bigger.

Do you have access to something to measure the pen diameter with? The SJ / LJ body is close to the diameter of a cigarette I would say, maybe a bit thicker, but not a ton.

Here's a little picture that might help you decide if the LJ or the SJ would better suit your hand ...

The top pen is a full sized Sailor just for size comparison.

The pens are (from top to bottom):
Sailor 1911
Esterbrook J
Esterbrook LJ
Esterbrook SJ

Click to view attachment

Todd

OK----J is approx 128 mm long, 22 mm wide/thick where barrel meets the cap when screwed on, LJ same length but 10 mm wide, SJ is 122 mm long and 10 mm wide. Yes, it is sometimes difficult to discern lengths from pics which have no scale---one has to ask and hope that an answer will be forthcoming.

Thanks for the help all of you ....

But Nah it can't be 22mm .. must be a typo ~ 12mm?

It's weird I know but both the Sailor Calligraphy & Wahl Oxford I have are a lot more comfortable than the Esterbrook J & are about the same diameter ~ I think I'm more sensitive to the profile shape & diameter of the section rather than the barrel.

Try looking here or here for Esterbrook sizes.

Todd

YUP----OOOOOPS-----typo-----12mm ----Phooey/phui or however one spells that!

And the diameter of the sections on the LJ and SJ will also be smaller than the J.

Hi ~

Have you determined which pen you have, and which would best suit you? If you have smaller hands, the SJ might be your best bet. I have a batch of healthy SJs in various colors that I would be happy to trade for yours if it's bigger. Just unscrew the nib and ship empty.

Let me know if that works for you and what color you'd like.

Blessings ~
pb2

Thanks that is a kind offer but I think it would have to be an LJ ~ I've measured the barrel against other pens I like using & the J & LJ are equal
The SJ is shorter though not a lot but enough to rule against
If you have LJ's to swap please let me know more about them

Same goes for anyone else interested in a swap of a copper J for an LJ btw

Thanks