Review: Esterbrook 407--Dip-less base

[Gran]

I've just filled my beautiful, 407 Esterbrook, dip-less, desk base, with an entire bottle of blue-black Skrip. As there is no review listed in the index for this marvel, here's mine.

 

The 407 is pictured here:

 

http://www.esterbrook.net/dipless.shtml

 

and here: http://www.pendemonium.com/pens_esterbrook_gallery.htm

 

They look better in "real life" than in the photographs. Clean, classic lines. Well designed, and, to me, very attractive.

 

 

Brian has also nicely given filling instructions here:

 

http://www.esterbrook.net/images/ephemera/dipless.jpg

 

 

Convenient: keeps an entire bottle of ink at hand. No need to uncap and re-cap a pen all day.

 

 

Pen holder is light and easy to hold. Mine is the small, standard pen holder and now holds a screw-in Renewpoint nib, a 9556, which writes smoothly. Shape is halfway in between the curves of a Speedball and the straight lines of a Leonardt holder. There are larger pen holders available. Nib is smooth and screws in and out easily. Pen holder takes the ever beloved Renewpoints. This has many of the joys of using a dip nib, with the smoothness of a fountain pen nib.

 

An inked pen will write approximately two paragraphs, for me.

 

 

The base is stable, light enough to be moved, but not tippy at all.

 

All parts of the base are easy to see. Nothing tricky, nothing hidden. No moving or electrical parts.

 

The glass top gives a good view of the ink supply, which is pretty to look at.

 

 

I'm delighted to have this and look forward to enjoying it for many, many years!

Edited March 30, 2009 by Gran

[Anne-Sophie]

Really impressive!

 

I have a couple of beautiful acrylic dip pens and I would like to display them, I wonder if I could use an Esterbrook inkwell?