New Esterbrook Pen - The Esterbrook Nostalgia

[Scrawler]

I don't mind that it is not a lever filler. I would be quite happy with a pretty acrylic pen, that looked like an Estie, with screw in interchangeable nibs, that was filled by a converter.

[JotterAddict62]

 

You haven't missed much by not owning any Parkers made after 1999. Some of the ballpoints are useful.

I don't think I need any ballpoints at this time as that is what got me hooked on pens.

300+ advertising Jotters [ including mech. pencils ] and 100 - 200 non advertising Jotters [ give or take ]

[pajaro]

Well, how badly can you mess up a ballpoint? I don't think any of us need any of these pens.

 

Parker 51s got me hooked on pen accumulating/hoarding. In the early days I only used my first 51. The rest got checked out and put into a box. Or in a drawer for the NOS pens in factory boxes. I frankly wish I had never embarked on this. My first 51 is still going strong, and I didn't need all these spares. The alarmist conclusions I drew from using cheap Wearevers, that lots of spare pens would be needed, have been unfulfilled.

[Hobiwan]

I think the 51 mustard-looking color is Yellowstone. At least a 51 Vac writes and starts every time.

Give me that old Transitional J.

 

It's amazing how much attention this Esterbrook Nouveau gets. Maybe we can make it sound more grand. Esterbrook de Nuevo. Neue Esterbrook. Esterstuck. Nah, it's not working for me.

 

+1 on the TrannyJ. May I suggest "Newsterbrook"?

 

Coincidentally, I didn't like the Sheaffer Nostalgia when it came out, either; an obviously "punched-out" flat pattern and poor copy at best. But I bought a trio anyway (2 in sterling and 1 vermeil) when they were clearing at around $100 "just for the heck of it". Gave a sterling to my wife for Xmas and the nib/feed assembly came apart in pieces when she tried to write with it. Still have them, tho, and their stock seems to have gone up a bit. And they do have gold nibs ....

[pajaro]

Reminds me of that old saw, "you can't go home again."

[Biber]

I don't mind that it is not a lever filler. I would be quite happy with a pretty acrylic pen, that looked like an Estie, with screw in interchangeable nibs, that was filled by a converter.

Really? When the real thing is so readily available and affordable?

 

I think the problem with the new pen in question in this thread, is that it bears the name Esterbrook. That's a lot to live up to, and there's a lot of people who know better. I think it'd get more traction if the company were named Pointy-Writer.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Biber

[Scrawler]

Really? When the real thing is so readily available and affordable?

 

I think the problem with the new pen in question in this thread, is that it bears the name Esterbrook. That's a lot to live up to, and there's a lot of people who know better. I think it'd get more traction if the company were named Pointy-Writer.

I think a majority of people who have read my posts over the years know my attitude to the usurpation of the Esterbrook name. I can't have the real thing. Every real Estie, except on blue SJ, that has come into my house has been seized by a member of my family. That includes my Frankenpens and nib experiments. BTW, these do not have interchangeable nibs either.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Scrawler

[Hobiwan]

Hate to resurrect this one, but it looks like someone's already copied the the Nostalgia's clip design. You can get it here:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Authentic-Senior-Collection-Acrylic-fountain-pens-Iridium-Point-pen-Y-21-/351499454658?hash=item51d70008c2

 

Or maybe .....

 

 

[corgicoupe]

Reminds me of that old saw, "you can't go home again."

Or, "You can't go back to where you've never been."

[pajaro]

Hate to resurrect this one, but it looks like someone's already copied the the Nostalgia's clip design. You can get it here:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Authentic-Senior-Collection-Acrylic-fountain-pens-Iridium-Point-pen-Y-21-/351499454658?hash=item51d70008c2

 

Or maybe .....

 

 

 

Miracle of 3-D printing? Maybe they'll do some Sonnets next.

 

 

 

Or, "You can't go back to where you've never been."

 

Yeah, I don't see what it's nostalgic for.

Edited September 22, 2015 by pajaro

[mmg122]

The problem with your logic, Paul, is that the new Esterbrook will still be fugly in 40 years...I'd put my 1930-50 Esties up against them any day...and they'll be 110 years old then...and probably look better and write better. IMO, there are absolutely no redeeming values found in the new "Esterbrook" company. He'll work on ruining the Esterbrook brand like he did the Conklin brand.

[Hobiwan]

The problem with your logic, Paul, is that the new Esterbrook will still be fugly in 40 years...I'd put my 1930-50 Esties up against them any day...and they'll be 110 years old then...and probably look better and write better. IMO, there are absolutely no redeeming values found in the new "Esterbrook" company. He'll work on ruining the Esterbrook brand like he did the Conklin brand.

 

Yeah, fugly, cheaply done, like a bazillion others today, and likely not "Made in USA". Just for chuckles, and because I didn't have anything else to spend money on, I bought one of those "Senior Collectible" pens, to show the similarity in clips up close ....

 

 

 

If you compare the clip placement and curvature design with the Nostalgia, the 6-inch capped, $4.25 (shipped) Chinese pen is so close, the two could have been made by the same company. It has a German-made iridium point (though very small) and writes and flows as well as any cartridge pen I've used.

 

So the question is: Did the Chinese copy the new Esty Nostalgia clip for their "Senior" series, or is the Nostalgia a Chinese-made pen wearing "Esterbrook" clothing? You be the judge.

[pajaro]

It's cute and flashy. It has some interest for some Esterbrook collectors.

 

The Esterbrooks from back in the day are of genuine historic interest for what budget pens were like back in the day. In future time these new pens might have interest because of the "attempted revival" of Esterbrook. The more I look at Esterbrooks the more I think of the whole spectrum of them as being of mainly historic interest. It makes me take them more seriously as artifacts and not want to fool around with them in ways like putting Montblanc nibs into them. I really like looking at the pens like the transitional Js and don't want to put them at risk by writing with them. The new pens I wouldn't be tempted to write with. They are like artifacts in their own time.

[londonbooks]

I was poking around on Fahrney's Pens and came across this:

 

http://www.fahrneyspens.com/Item--i-30675S

 

I can't pull a picture but they look like a copy (homage?) of the Dollar Pens. I haven't heard anything else about these new attempts from Esterbrook. It looks like they are getting closer to their name sake, but $80? Not even a lever fill and no mention of changeable nibs. I might be curious if they come down to the $20 - $25 range, but no way for $80.

 

What do you think - too little, too late, too expensive for this once proud company?

They're definitely modeled on the $ pen and I agree $80 is high --- maybe $50 tops.

[mmg122]

I'm willing to bet they're made in China...and I resent that the new company is making this classic American brand off our shores. Add to that the fact that you can get any number of decent cheap pens manufactured in China that have received a lot of praise from fans here on FPN, and you can only conclude that the prices he's asking are highway robbery. A good example of immoral capitalism...as opposed to Nathan Tardif, who I consider a sterling example of moral capitalism. Tardif is a man who sells a good quality product at a reasonable price...my kind of capitalist.

 

I can only hope that Esterbrook is sold again (like he did Conklin) and that someone who respects the brand buys the name. I have nothing but praise for Syd Saperstein and what he is doing with Wahl Eversharp.

 

End of rant.

[pajaro]

The Jesterbrook.

[benbot517]

There's no way the Chinese copied that design. The designs they copy are either good looking or design icons, and the Nostalgia is neither.

[bbycrts]

Methinks that whether they realize it or not, their sales will depend on those whe do not know better. Too bad really, the Easterbrook name deserves so much more.

Like being spelled correctly

 

I tease...please forgive me.

[Random_idiot]

Happy easterbrook everybody! !!

I agree $50 would be more reasonable. Especially if it is a fabrique en china

Edited October 9, 2015 by Random_idiot

[Chiro75]

Man, what a tough decision... buy 4 vintage Esterbrooks that are awesome or one new one that is meh? Hmmmmmmmmm