Revisiting My Esterbrooks.

[Linedog]

After a many year break, my first FP was a Pilot Metro fine nib, a nice writer, but with the paper I was using at the time it did a fair amount of digging and gouging. I persevered and my next few pens were Esterbrooks, I was attracted to the price and looks of them. The first ones had 9550 nibs in them, not what I was looking for, but still found a reason to buy a few more. 8 or 10 of them were living in the back of my desk drawer as I discovered Lamy's. First a Vista then Al-Star's, nice smooth writers nice feel in my hand I liked them. Then I discovered different inks, (I was using old Skrip ink with the Esties) and different paper. I had 2 Esties and a Parker rebuilt by Danny Fudge with the intent of selling them, well the Parker is gone but for some reason I held onto the Esties. I was having a slow day at work and wanted to dip a few ink samples, so I pulled out the Esties. With a 2668 nib, some Diamine ink on Rhodia paper and this pen came alive! Now I'm rethinking my Esties now and have a nice red "J" inked up with Diamine Wild Strawberry. Now I find myself at that auction site looking at Esties again. Knowledge can be a dangerous, expensive thing!!

[Hobiwan]

Very well done! You are on your way to being re-assimilated.

[mmg122]

Linedog...Esterbrook was a great pen company. It never ceases to amaze me that 70+ years later many of these pens look and function as good as the day they were made. Richard Esterbrook sold a quality product at prices everyman could afford. When I first started collecting them they just about gave them away...often less than a dollar. At that time, most serious collectors considered them junk. That was fine with me. I bought up everyone I could find. I've mentioned here before...I had kind of a personal connection. My late Dad was Midwest Sales Manager for Esterbrook. He always taught us (8 kids) that something doesn't have to be expensive to be quality. He was incredibly loyal to Esterbrook...they fed his kids, after all. ;-)

[pajaro]

I was really interested in Esterbrook for a while, and they let me explore using some nibs like stubs, italics and obliques that would have been hard to find and more expensive in the brands of pen I was already using. Even if an Esterbrook 9312 is hard to find and pricey for an Esterbrook, it is less costly than many other brands. Eventually I decided I just like extra fines and not so much all the other types. I wouldn't have gone on this trail without Esterbrook.

 

I still like the Transitional Js and SJs because of the cut off end. Maybe also the M2s and pump fillers. A 9128 in a blue Transitional J seems to squirt a thin trail of ink with almost no pressure, a real thrill. I am not sure I have much enthusiasm for the rest though.

Edited August 8, 2015 by pajaro

[pmsalty]

Esterbrooks, marvelous pens, have several and have re-sacked them all. Easy to work on and a dream to write with if you have the right nib!

[bfg]

My pens collecting started when my sister gave me a 1950s Montblanc. The first vintage pen I bought was an Esterbrook J in red. I just liked the look of it and I vaguely remembered the displays of replacement nibs in the stationery store when i was a kid. Be careful, these little guys tend to reproduce. I've got about 55 pocket pens, about 25 desk sets and about 40 replacement nibs and I still occasionally find a style I haven't seen before. It is remarkable how durable and well made these "people's pens," are.

[pajaro]

Oh, yes, the Esterbrooks last and last. You can become addicted to them. I was there, but sought nibs more than pens. Ironically, after spending a lot of money trying out various pens praised by others, I like the pens I started with better.

 

I was born in 1948, and went in a lot of pen-selling stores, but never saw an Esterbrook on sale. Not in stationery stores, not in office supply stores, not in five-and-dimes. Not in Boston, not in Florida. Only on ebay or in classifieds lately. Artifacts.

[WirsPlm]

I think the filling mechanism hurts Esterbrooks more than anything, that lever is irritating so I just use mine as an eyedropper but I can see how they'd have a hard time competing against cartridge pens, let alone ballpoints. Aside from the lever they are really great pens and very easy to fix up and use.

Edited August 8, 2015 by WirsPlm

[jdllizard]

Welcome to Hotel Esterbrook, you can check out, but you can never leave.

 

There is just something about the beautiful Estys that is hard to ignore.

[ScienceChick]

I think the filling mechanism hurts Esterbrooks more than anything, that lever is irritating so I just use mine as an eyedropper but I can see how they'd have a hard time competing against cartridge pens, let alone ballpoints. Aside from the lever they are really great pens and very easy to fix up and use.

 

I use a micropipette or syringe to fill my Esties. Unscrew the nib, squirt the ink into the sac, back in with the nib and you're ready to go. I use the same method to clean them - minus the ink, of course.

[Linedog]

Hum, cleaning with a micropipette, I like that idea! I have a bid in on 2 Estie nibs on eBay now, it's started already.

[gweimer1]

I just opened up one of the Esterbrooks in a lot I have, and somebody really didn't ever want to change a sac again. I found an old cartridge shell wedged in the feed, with the sac tray rotated 180 deg, making it a definite eyedropper.

 

I also clean mine as ScienceChick does.

[pen2paper]

Linedog...Esterbrook was a great pen company. It never ceases to amaze me that 70+ years later many of these pens look and function as good as the day they were made. Richard Esterbrook sold a quality product at prices everyman could afford. When I first started collecting them they just about gave them away...often less than a dollar. At that time, most serious collectors considered them junk. That was fine with me. I bought up everyone I could find. I've mentioned here before...I had kind of a personal connection. My late Dad was Midwest Sales Manager for Esterbrook. He always taught us (8 kids) that something doesn't have to be expensive to be quality. He was incredibly loyal to Esterbrook...they fed his kids, after all. ;-)

Such wonderful history! And exactly how I would define the reason Esterbrook continues its stronghold in the pen world today.

Mary if your circumstances ever allow attendance at A2 meets, or MI pen show, would you please share more of your Esterbrook family recollections? Everything you stated above is warmly enaging and why I appreciate the pens of yesteryear.

 

Linedog, welcome back, and thanks for stating this thread!

[gweimer1]

The more I work on these and use them, I've also had another observation, attesting to the endurance of these pens. We love the streaking and mackeral effects of the finish, but they also serve to hide the little signs of age and use. You can have a pen with hundreds of little scratches and wear, but it will still polish up nice and shiny. Even age and use couldn't detract from these pens, with the exception being the black ones.

[pajaro]

I think the filling mechanism hurts Esterbrooks more than anything, that lever is irritating so I just use mine as an eyedropper but I can see how they'd have a hard time competing against cartridge pens, let alone ballpoints. Aside from the lever they are really great pens and very easy to fix up and use.

 

There are Esterbrook M2 squeeze fillers, filling something like a Parker 51 filler, and there are Esterbrook pump fillers that work like a Sheaffer Touchdown filler (unscrew blind cap, pull it out, immerse in ink, push all the way back in and wait a few seconds for the sac to fill before removing from the ink).

 

Frankly I like the M2s and pump fillers better than the J series of lever fillers. I get the impression, though, that most of the rest of the Esterbrook fans like only the Js.

[Linedog]

I like most all of the Esterbrooks I've seen, I just have a fondness to the J's as they fit my hand nicely. I do have an LJ that I'm contemplating selling to focus more attention on the J's.

[mmg122]

Unlike WirsPim, I really like lever fillers and they work very well if they're well restored. Much quicker to fill than using as an eye dropper. Just my preference. I've never been attracted to the cartridge filler Esties. I think it's because they look "too modern" and to my eye "cheap" like Wearevers.

 

Pen2Paper...I would enjoy talking to you about Esties and the stuff I learned from my Dad. I'll make a point of attending the next Michigan Pen Show and searching you out.

 

GWeimer1...Agree, they polish up beautifully. It never ceases to amaze me how great they look with so little effort. I used to avoid the black ones for that reason, but recently decided to become a completist for the early years. I've been buying black Esties up like a mad woman this year.

[gweimer1]

GWeimer1...Agree, they polish up beautifully. It never ceases to amaze me how great they look with so little effort. I used to avoid the black ones for that reason, but recently decided to become a completist for the early years. I've been buying black Esties up like a mad woman this year.

 

Ears perk up....I have a few if you're missing any.

[Linedog]

Well, I didn't win the 2 nibs I was bidding on so I went to Etsy and bought 2 NOS 2668 nibs. Then I did a buy it now thing and have a 9668 coming to me , someone stop me now. I read that the 9XXX nibs are Iridium tipped, does this make a difference in writing or just longevity?

Edited August 10, 2015 by Linedog

[ScienceChick]

Neither, IMO. I have great 2xxx nibs and great 9xxx nibs. 100 years from now the iridium tipping on the 9xxx nibs may matter.