Thoughts On A Potential Estie Mod For The Digital Age

[trdsf]

I recently dragged myself kicking and screaming into the 21st century and bought a smartphone (ten bucks NIB marked down from $50, I really had no excuse not to). Of course all the onscreen things are way too small for my flippers masquerading as hands -- what makes for a great span on a bass fretboard does not make for easy typing on a tiny virtual keyboard.

 

So what I want to do is get a(nother) black Estie body (to match my current pen and pencil and the Estie ballpoint I want to get) into which I can fit a stylus tip. Has anyone tried this? Am I a fool? I'm aware these two are not mutually exclusive.

 

Optimally, I'd like to get a slab of whatever plastic is generally used for stylus tips and carve it into the shape of a nib, but I'll settle for proof of concept first.

[Hobiwan]

Hey, how about this? Get a black pencil, and either ...

 

A. grind down a piece stylus tip to fit into the end of the pencil like a piece of lead, or

B. unscrew the end tip of the pencil (tassie?) and carve or fashion a piece of stylus material to screw on and replace it on the end of the pencil.

 

Then, shave down the end jewel (if you have a J-style pencil) so it's flat, and you can tell it from the real one when all of them are in your pocket ( or, use a Dollar Pen - style pencil).

 

Smaller than a pen, and no cap to worry about.

 

Wallah?

[trdsf]

I was thinking about that as a possibility, except that it's a lot easier to get a FP body than a pencil, and the ballpoints are even harder. If I can luck into one, though, I might go that route.

[Brian Anderson]

Most smartphones will use the soft touch stylus designed for capacitive touchscreens. The older hard plastic stylus won't work on most phones. You could likely replace a broken jewel J pen with a stylus on top with reasonable ease I would think. Might make for an interesting test. The other option is to do like what Montblanc has done and make a screenwriter. They use a round plastic disk that pivots, on the screen. It works fairly well, and could be implemented in a capped LJ or SJ.

[trdsf]

Can I just say how entertaining I find the idea of gutting a Montblanc to restore an Esterbrook?

 

I will look into that as a solution, thank you.

[esterbrookj]

Finally a good use for a Montblanc...

 

Do you want to be able to use the writing instrument as a writing instrument when you are done? Or do you want a permanent stylus?

 

-Evan

[PDW]

Two options come to mind: a screw-in stylus to replace the nib on an Estie pen ...

 

Or (and this sounds like more fun to me) replace the jewels at both ends of a J/LJ/SJ with conductive stylus tips so you can work the phone with the pen either capped or uncapped. An SJ modded like this would be a nice pocket carry - maybe someone with barrel and cap in the parts bin suffering from broken jewels could try it out. If you're into irony use a Bell System Property barrel

[injesticate]

I've got a scruffy black SJ I'd be happy to donate (nibless, if you don't mind) for experimentation.

 

(I bought it for the nib and for practice in repair/polish of the bodies. I may have re-sacced it too.)

[trdsf]

Evan:

The plan (he says after an extended absence for no good reason) is that this should be a permanent stylus, not a convertible, since I lack the engineering to design a swappable mechanism and the eyesight to engineer on that scale.

 

PDW:

Augh, and there was just a lot of black Bell Esties on the Bay of E that I let slide! I should have gotten them for that purpose (and to experiment on removing engraving).

 

injesticate:

I'm going to keep an eye out for mixed lots of busted Esties for working stock, but thank you very much!

 

The main thing I want is a complete matched set of four: FP, Pencil, BP and Stylus. So the main driver is going to be locating the ballpoint, which is going to be the hardest one to find.

[trdsf]

And I'm trying to think what the end jewel shape should be, too. I'm thinking cutting a cross over a standard FP jewel, to emulate a target sight.

[injesticate]

Well, if you ever change your mind, it's lounging in a box with a bunch of ink samples.