The Attraction Of Esterbrook

[Bill Wood]

I'm absolutely new to the Esterbrook forum. Anderson pens brought me here because I'm interested in the attraction and re sacing of this pen. So tell me, why Esterbrook? How do they write? Are they smooth? Are they easy to clean? The usual questions. Many thanks. Bill

[pen lady]

Why indeed! Well, there are loads of them out there, they are relatively cheap (though going up in price), are available in a range of colours and styles. They are mostly lever fill and easy to re-sac, though later ones had different filling mechanisms. They write well IF you get a good nib, the firm fine tend to be a bit less silky than wider nibs. Your choice depends on your handwriting. Richard Binder has a chart on his site giving basic details of the various nib numbers, there is also a more comprehensive one on esterbrook.net.

 

Be warned, it is a dangerous rabbit hole you contemplate entering

[pajaro]

I was attracted to them by the facility of changing nibs, the variety of nib units and the lower price than other pens like Pelikan, which also change nibs. I like the metal cap pens better than the all plastic pens. And I like that I could find italic nibs like the 2312 and 9312. You can get deeply into these for less money than other pens like the Parker 51. Esterbrook is a good value for money. You do get what you pay for with these, where some other pens are smoke and mirrors.

[amberleadavis]

Bill, no collection of pens is complete without an Estie. They are wonderful pens.

[corgicoupe]

They were the pen I used when I was in school in the 1940s and 1950s. When I saw two in a small antique shop in Chatham MA last year for a total cost of $30, I decided to buy them. All they needed was a new rubber sac, and I was again enjoying writing with a classic fountain pen. I've since acquired 4 more and found them to be as pleasant to use as my Sheaffer Targa and my Parker 51. They are simple to restore, they are durable, they bring back memories, they are quite nice to look at, the nibs can be easily changed, and they just look well designed. What's not to like?

Edited February 9, 2016 by corgicoupe

[inkstainedruth]

It's a rabbit hole indeed. My first experience with with a pen I mistakenly didn't buy -- a cobalt blue J series pen with the imprint for some insurance company in Northwest PA. It was only $15 US and it would have been my first vintage pen. Of course, kicking myself for the past 3 years that I didn't buy it -- because of course when I went back to the antique shop where I had seen it, it was long gone.... I ended up getting a black SJ with a 1555 Gregg nib on it, on that later trip (in a different store), which was a decent writer even without any tipping. And then... then I discovered Ebay....

Ironically it took a really long time to actually get a blue one (was blue a rare color for them?) and then not the lovely dark blue of the one I didn't buy.

A lot of people go "ooh ah" about the Icicles, but I think the mackerel ones are prettier.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[dasXFnib]

Bill....

Since you mention Anderson Pens......Did you pick up a copy of "The Fountain Pens of Esterbrook" by Paul Hoban??

Not a long treatise....but a LOT of info on the history of the Company....and a time-line of product manufacture...

The price lists from years ago are REALLY neat!!!

Welcome to the World of Estie!! It's a rabbit hole you'll be glad you fell into.....!!

 

Always try to get the dibs....on fountain pens with EF nibs!!

[Pentode]

My grandfather owned a stationary store on lower Broadway from the '50s until the early '80s. As a result, there were Esties kicking around my house all the years I was growing up. There were Inexpensive Sheaffers and Parker 45s around, too, but the Esties were in every pencil cup. When I moved out after college, a couple of Esties came with me. I have, therefore, never lived in a home without at least one Esterbrook in it. It's not really a choice I made; it's more like Esterbrook chose me.

[corgicoupe]

A lot of people go "ooh ah" about the Icicles, but I think the mackerel ones are prettier.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I agree with you regarding the Mackerel design. Maybe the Icicles remind folks of the Pelikan?

[tmenyc]

Pentode -- great story! Which store was your father's? I moved to NYC in the late 70's, live below 14th St, and was downtown a lot in those days.

 

Tim

[Bill Wood]

Thank You all. How are Este's for cleaning when changing a color? Any ink that one does not use with an Estie. Does it like high saturated or low. I write with Iros Pilot inks.

[dragos.mocanu]

No one mentioned the compatibility with vintage Osmiroid italic nibs

[benbot517]

Iroshizuku works well in them. Iro is just a nice line of inks overall, and it's what I use in all new pens to get a feel for how they work. It seems like lever fillers in general can be harder to flush out, but with Esterbrooks you can just unscrew the nib and it's a piece of cake. I don't really know of any inks you shouldn't use with Esterbrooks, but others are more knowledgeable by far.

[Pentode]

Pentode -- great story! Which store was your father's? I moved to NYC in the late 70's, live below 14th St, and was downtown a lot in those days.

 

Tim

It was my grandfather's; Tanner Printing Company. They were on Broadway at the corner of Prince. I think it's an Armani Exchange now.

 

His partner moved the company across the street and his sons ran it until it closed in the mid nineties when offset printing was going out and stationary was dominated by places like Kate's Paperie (which is what the later storefront became).

[inkstainedruth]

It was my grandfather's; Tanner Printing Company. They were on Broadway at the corner of Prince. I think it's an Armani Exchange now.

 

His partner moved the company across the street and his sons ran it until it closed in the mid nineties when offset printing was going out and stationary was dominated by places like Kate's Paperie (which is what the later storefront became).

 

Huh. I think I may have actually been in Kate's Paperie, on one of my excursions down to Fountain Pen Hospital. I know I went to some stationery store that was at a different stop but on the same line as FPH, when I was heading back uptown (this would have been maybe 3-4 years ago, when Art Brown International was still open. I got on the subway at the Herald Square station, and went down to FPH, then stopped at the other stationery store on the way back, then (if I haven't conflated two different years) I went on up to the Times Square station and walked up from there to Art Brown. Then, from there, I either took the bus or walked back to 38th.

@corgicoupe -- I can't imagine anyone mistaking an Icicle for a Pelikan -- the striping is totally different.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[tmenyc]

Pentode -- got it! Know the building, for sure, but don't remember the shop.

 

Tim

[Pentode]

I still have three Esties from that shop.

...among other miscellaneous office supplies.

[pajaro]

Bill....

Since you mention Anderson Pens......Did you pick up a copy of "The Fountain Pens of Esterbrook" by Paul Hoban??

Not a long treatise....but a LOT of info on the history of the Company....and a time-line of product manufacture...

The price lists from years ago are REALLY neat!!!

Welcome to the World of Estie!! It's a rabbit hole you'll be glad you fell into.....!!

 

Always try to get the dibs....on fountain pens with EF nibs!!

 

Paul Hoban's book is well worth having. It explains the different types of Esterbrooks. Purchasing Esterbrooks can become confusing without a handy reference.

[pajaro]

No one mentioned the compatibility with vintage Osmiroid italic nibs

 

True, but I couldn't fit them into some of the Esterbrooks without modification. The gold tone nibs clash with the silver tone furniture. There are Esterbrook equivalents for some of the Osmiroids, even if they are pricey. I don't know how expensive the Osmiroids are these days. They were inexpensive a few years ago.

[Pentode]

 

True, but I couldn't fit them into some of the Esterbrooks without modification. The gold tone nibs clash with the silver tone furniture. There are Esterbrook equivalents for some of the Osmiroids, even if they are pricey. I don't know how expensive the Osmiroids are these days. They were inexpensive a few years ago.

Is Osmiroid nibs crop up a lot and aren't expensive. My memory could be a little dodgy here (probably is) but I belive the Osmiroid nibs came in two types; one with a protrusion on the back and one without. They both use the same threads as an Estie, but only the protrusion-less version fit in Esterbrook pens. All Estie nibs will fit in an Osmiroid 65, however.

 

That's how I'm remembering it, anyway. Do I have it backwards?