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Desperately Seeking Vintage Esterbrook


ebennet

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When I was a kid, my mom had a beautiful, dark red/marbled Esterbrook fp with a lever fill, that she'd had since college (1950. The pen has long since vanished, but I would love to find one like it. Any ideas or direction would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

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Sounds like she had a J-Series Double Jewel. You can find some info here -> http://www.esterbrook.net/j3.shtml

 

The good news is they are common and shouldn't cost too much. Matter of fact, I just won a red one on Ebay for $13.50 shipped.

 

Cheers.

~Brian

 

"Mostly I just kill time, and it dies hard." - Raymond Chandler (The Long Goodbye)

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Thanks, all. I will look on eBay. Alas, I live in New York City, so garage sales are pretty much non-existent :)

If you live in NYC and are attending the next Big Apple Pen Club meeting (see the Clubs, Meetings, and Events Forum) I can bring along an LJ and an SJ for you to try out if you're unsure of which model you are interested in. I don't have any other models but perhaps someone else could supplement this selection.

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I am pretty new to this, so didn't know about the Pen Club. what is it?

 

Also wanted to say that I did find a couple of pens on eBay and am bidding on them but am still on the hunt for the one that is like my mom's . Thanks.

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I'm a traditionalist when it comes to ink, I prefer Parker, Sheaffer or Waterman "writing fluid", others will chime in about the newer, highly pigmented inks I'm sure. What you must stay away from is Indian or Drawing Ink, that stuff will kill any fountain pen if it's left in there to dry out. I know that Staples sells bottles of ink up here in Canada, so I assume the same holds true in New York. Best of luck.

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Also, what is the best kind of ink to get?

 

Best is subjective, but you will find that the professionals here recommend an ink that isn't heavily saturated. I'm happy with Waterman inks.

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J = full size

LJ= Ladies J, slimmer than the J

SJ = Short J, same diameter as the LJ, but a bit shorter

 

Which one you want depends on what your mom had, or how you want it to fit your hand.

Example, I was brought up in the era of slimline pens, so the slimmer LJ is more comfortable in my hand than the standard J. I find the standard size J to be too FAT and uncomfortable for my hand.

 

As for ink. I would use Parker Sheaffer, Pelikan, Waterman and Pilot inks in my Esterbrook. These are all safe inks. Safe meaning that they should not significantly shorten the life of the rubber ink sac, and they are not difficult to clean out from the pen. In my experience, red and purple inks are the hardest inks to clean out from a pen, so don't let it dry out in the pen, and clean the pen periodically.

 

WARNING. When you get the pen, if it has not been clearly stated as having had the ink sac replaced, assume that the ink sac is 'old' and will need to be replaced. When you get the pen, the ink sac could have deteriorated to rubber dust/fragments or it might work. But even if it works, it could be 50+ years old, and it could fail next week. I ALWAYS replace the ink sacs on pens that I get, because of that uncertainty. Because when the ink sac fails, it will be an inky mess.

 

gud luk

Edited by ac12

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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. I ALWAYS replace the ink sacs on pens that I get, because of that uncertainty. Because when the ink sac fails, it will be an inky mess.

gud luk

 

How do you do that? Are there instructions somewhere?

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There a pinned topic toward the top of the list of threads on how to replace an Estie sac. Worked for me.

Life's too short to use crappy pens.  -carlos.q

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There a pinned topic toward the top of the list of threads on how to replace an Estie sac. Worked for me.

 

That's how I learned. I believe there are even YouTube videos out there showing how to do it. Google "Esterbrook sac replacement" and you'll find a bunch of good info on how to replace a sac. But I'd still start with the pinned thread in this forum.

John L

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And one of the Esterbrook advantages over Parker, Sheaffer, etc., is that the feed is changeable with the nib. So I always go to Esterbrook if I am not sure if a type of ink is safe for fountain pen.

 

For example, I found out the Higgins Sepia and Indian calligraphy inks are great but not the Waterproof Black. The Higgins come in 74ml bottle and sells for less than USD$4. I could have killed a Parker if I did the same experiment. But the only loss for me is a worn out 1550 nib. The old faithful Esterbrooks, always serve me well.

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How do you do that? Are there instructions somewhere?

 

 

As said by others, the instructions is in a pinned thread up at the top.

 

The only tricky/dangerous part is getting the section out of the barrel. Some sections are loose enough to pull cold, and if you are lucky you get one of these. But attempting to pull a tight section cold, risks breaking the barrel (been there done that). If the section is stuck in the barrel TIGHT, it could be difficult. You need to warm up the barrel so that it softens just enough to pull the section, but not so soft that the barrel warps/bends (been there done that). Some are sooooo tight that it may take several attempts at heating the barrel before it gets loose enough to pull the section out. Heating the pen to get the section out is a delicate tight rope that you walk.

 

A hair dryer is a common heater that many people use. I use and eye glasses frame warmer.

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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