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Esterbrook 9128 Nibs


corgicoupe

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I recently acquired an Esterbrook M2 with a 9128 nib, and the seller graciously enclosed a second 9128 nib. They are slightly different in that one has 9128 embossed across the nib and the other has it embossed longitudinally along the nib. The latter also has the later feed with the hole that mimics a Sheaffer Touchdown. An eleven-year-old post on another site by someone called Inkophile reports that the former is finer than the latter, but that the latter is more flexible than the former. I'm wondering if anyone else has made a comparison between these two nibs?

Edited by corgicoupe

Baptiste knew how to make a short job long

For love of it. And yet not waste time either.

Robert Frost

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The latter also has the later feed with the hole that mimics a Sheaffer Touchdown.

To my knowledge common Touchdowns do not have a hole in the feed. The "tip-dip" feed mimics a Snorkel without the protruding tube, and allows the pen to be filled by only inserting into the ink to cover the feed hole (concede they were Touchdown fillers, but the feed falls into a different class)

 

Out of six NIB 9xxx nibs, I have two with transverse markings and plain feed (9461, 9314F), two with longitudinal markings and plain feed (9128, 9048), two with longitudinal markings and "tip-dip" style feed (9555, 9460). Probably was a nice feature on the 9555 (Gregg shorthand) nib -- much cleaner to refill in the secretarial pool.

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You are correct about the Touchdown. Perhaps it was an attempt by Esterbrook to mimic the Snorkel while keeping the lever fill?

Baptiste knew how to make a short job long

For love of it. And yet not waste time either.

Robert Frost

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You are correct about the Touchdown. Perhaps it was an attempt by Esterbrook to mimic the Snorkel while keeping the lever fill?

https://www.wellappointeddesk.com/2013/05/the-sheaffer-cadet-tip-dip-fountain-pen/ (this is why I said "common Touchdown" before. Sheaffer's tip-dip was sort of a hybrid between regular Touchdown and Snorkel; Esterbrook may have picked up the idea (if Sheaffer was doing this in the 50s already) closer to the end of their production.

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I bought on ebay a pen described as a Cadet that was lever fill and has a Tip Dip steel nib. The pen was described as NOS. I have no idea if it was actually NOS, although the sac is still good after about eight years. I have no idea if the pen is as Sheaffer assembled it, or if it has been modified with a new nib. Or otherwise modified.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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I think I read someplace that the differences in the text orientation depended on when the nib was made, but I don't remember now whether the longitudinally marked nib units are the earlier or later production ones.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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I recently acquired an Esterbrook M2 with a 9128 nib, and the seller graciously enclosed a second 9128 nib. They are slightly different in that one has 9128 embossed across the nib and the other has it embossed longitudinally along the nib. The latter also has the later feed with the hole that mimics a Sheaffer Touchdown. An eleven-year-old post on another site by someone called Inkophile reports that the former is finer than the latter, but that the latter is more flexible than the former. I'm wondering if anyone else has made a comparison between these two nibs?

here is some discussion on the later feed.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/251325-rare-esterbrook-feeds/?do=findComment&comment=2759108

 

In case you wish to write to me, pls use ONLY email by clicking here. I do not check PMs. Thank you.

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I think I read someplace that the differences in the text orientation depended on when the nib was made, but I don't remember now whether the longitudinally marked nib units are the earlier or later production ones.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Later I think, Ruth. :)

"Respect science, respect nature, respect all people (s),"

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Just from my own experience, I find that the earlier horizontally stamped nibs feel better to me. The longitudinal stamps are the later models, so could represent a change in manufacturing process, and could also be a point where the quality control lessened. I have found that I have to check and tune some of the NOS nibs that are newer when I put them in pens. As far as flex goes, that is dependent on the nib profile, more than the feed. The only really flexible nibs I have found from Esterbrook are those that were made during WWII, where the nib profile is noticeably different. In the nibs below, the 9668 on the left actually has some flex to it, and more than any 9128 I've come across.

fpn_1498613141__esterbrook_nibs_5.jpg

And, some of you here already know that the 9128 nib is one that I truly dislike.

Edited by gweimer1
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What, pray tell, is the pen on the right?

 

I appreciate your dislike of the 9128 :rolleyes:

Baptiste knew how to make a short job long

For love of it. And yet not waste time either.

Robert Frost

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What, pray tell, is the pen on the right?

 

I appreciate your dislike of the 9128 :rolleyes:

 

The right is just a nib holder, basically for use as a dip pen. It's really handy when tuning nibs.

 

I thought you might...

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I find my 9128 to be merely soft, certainly not flexible.

"What? What's that? WHAT?!!! SPEAK UP, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!" - Ludwig van Beethoven.

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What, pray tell, is the pen on the right?

 

I appreciate your dislike of the 9128 :rolleyes:

Looks like the section from an Esterbrook Dip-Less desk pen.

 

I have one with a 2668 nib next to the computer monitor. {time to reconstitute the ink -- half of it has evaporated from lack of use}

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