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kathleen

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Very streaky patterning in Js is my favorite. I have a streaky, green J, a beautifully streaked copper with brown streaks that make it appear almost like woodgrain . I have gray pens with darker charcoal colored streaks, one a double jeweled and one a Transitional. I have a streaky red J and SJ rather cherry colored with deep wine streaks. And sadly my pretty blue J with navy streaks has a beautiful body but the length of the clip seems to have been sawed off.

 

 

This photo does not show my streaky Esties that well. They are more beautiful when seen with the naked eye. If I could photograph them in natural sunlight I think they would show better. Today is overcast and we have snow on the ground and 14 degrees. So, this photo will be the best I can do for now.

 

Because of the snow our schools were closed today and I enjoyed working in my Estie clinic a bit.

The patient was the little streaky red SJ seen in this photo. It was not a pleasant surgery, as the Dremel was needed to adapt a replacement J bar, I hate using power tools and it took a couple of ins and outs before I had the J bar short enough and positioned correctly. The resac was routine, and this little pen was given a NOS #9668 nib. Passing post-op water testing this pen is now filled with Noodler's Purple Martin and writing beautifully.

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post-44035-0-17257800-1295661837.jpg

Edited by kathleen

"Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars" ~Henry Van Dyke

Trying to rescue and restore all the beautiful Esties to their purpose.

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The 15 degree weather is encouraging me to stay indoors, I do not want to stray from the comfort of my home to run errands and so I am turning my attention to the patients in my clinic.

 

Today's patient was a Blue J, again needing a modified J bar. These operations always take me a while. I really wish Esterbrook ready J bars were available. Using what is available requires using the Dremel tool to remove flanges, and with each J bar I have had to shorten up, and reconfigure the crook before all is working properly. Today this pen took about 3 hours of my time, but it was a happy diversion from the cold outside.

 

This evening I will sit beside the fireplace and use my newly discharged pen to write a nice letter to Esterbex, as a letter from her was just received; it was a welcomed bright spot on a dreary winter's day. We are each pleased to have expanded our friendship beyond the electronic forum.

 

I hope I am not posting too often. I would not wish anyone to say, "Oh, there she is again and with another pen picture! They are beginning to look all alike." But if you know your Esties, you know they really don't look alike. Today's pen has beautiful navy streaking, more streaks than any of my other blues. I get excited about these successful restorations and hope all of you here will celebrate with me this patient's return to usefulness. My clinic only has three remaining patients. I am trying to refrain from admitting anymore at present. Still awaiting attention are another Blue J, a Black J and a small Dove Gray pastel.

 

Anyone else have a patient recovery to celebrate? Please do not allow me to monopolize this thread.

post-44035-0-74399500-1295730516.jpg

"Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars" ~Henry Van Dyke

Trying to rescue and restore all the beautiful Esties to their purpose.

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Thought I might let you know about a experience I made recently with an ebay seller. That's what I bought:

 

3 Vintage Esterbrook Fountain Pens Brown Grey Black

ITEM: Up for sale today a very nice lot of 3 Vintage Esterbrook Fountain Pens in Brown Grey Black colors.

SIZE: 5 inches long.

CONDITION: All are in very good working condition.

post-44619-0-00750900-1295795042.jpg

 

And that's what I've got:

post-44619-0-64976500-1295768505.jpg post-44619-0-08016700-1295768507.jpg

 

post-44619-0-94152200-1295768508.jpg post-44619-0-67364900-1295768510.jpg

 

post-44619-0-06625400-1295768512.jpg post-44619-0-19910600-1295768513.jpg

 

Very good working condition ???? Never mind. Let's get down to work. First the black SJ:

post-44619-0-77093300-1295775698.jpg post-44619-0-00120900-1295775700.jpg post-44619-0-13091700-1295775701.jpg

 

post-44619-0-34653700-1295775702.jpg post-44619-0-51094600-1295775703.jpg post-44619-0-74275400-1295775704.jpg

The next pen another time!

Edited by pal38

swisspenpal

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Thank you pentopaper and esterbex.

 

pentopaper: Why were you puzzled initially? :happyberet:

Edited by pal38

swisspenpal

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Pal! You've got nice J-bar skills....Thanks for the pics...You rock! :notworthy1:

God is seldom early, never late, and always on time.

~~Larry Brown

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Kathleen, your Esties make me :puddle:. You are an excellent doctor!

God is seldom early, never late, and always on time.

~~Larry Brown

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This Clinic has been a wonderful thread, many thanks Kathleen. And to Pal, for the above pictures. You've all got me ready to try the J-bar replacement routine. Haven't done that yet, although have had success with other parts of the job, including deep bite marks on a black J, which I filled with layers of slow cyanoacrylate. Would be pleased to discuss further if anyone wants.

 

questions:

1) what are the correct j-bar length references? where should the base land, and how far in does the crook go?

2) what did you use for the spacer and is one necessary? Is it just for measuring the bar insertion?

 

Many thanks.

 

Tim

Tim

 timsvintagepens.com and @timsvintagepens

 

 

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This Clinic has been a wonderful thread, many thanks Kathleen. And to Pal, for the above pictures. You've all got me ready to try the J-bar replacement routine. Haven't done that yet, although have had success with other parts of the job, including deep bite marks on a black J, which I filled with layers of slow cyanoacrylate. Would be pleased to discuss further if anyone wants.

 

questions:

1) what are the correct j-bar length references? where should the base land, and how far in does the crook go?

2) what did you use for the spacer and is one necessary? Is it just for measuring the bar insertion?

 

Many thanks.

 

Tim

 

 

Tim, I am learning as I go, sometimes by trial and error, not always the best way. While repairing a Transitional FPN member eni shared a measurement of a j bar. Look here, http://www.fountainp..._1#entry1752963

 

I know I have shortened up j bars for SJs and just pushed them into the barrel, figured how much to take from them to have the section clear of it when reinserted,taking it in and out, not always easy, not desirable. I too, would like to know specific measurements. The last J I fiddled with I had to reconfigure the crook to shorten up the bar, preferring not to mess with the upper end where the 2 piece J bar was joined. Messing with the degree of curve in the crook I have to be careful that the j bar has the full degree of spring it requires to return to a position high under the lever after being depressed. I fidget and fidget, in and out until it seems just right.

Concerning your question on spacers,the spacers appear to be small hard pieces of rubber. When they are present I leave them always checking that they are vertical before inserting the j bar. These spacers appear to be about 1/8" in length. I am guessing one might be made of an eraser. I have a Pentel mechanical pencil and its replacement eraser could easily be cut to size and about the same diameter as what I see inside my Esties.

I am happy to share my restoring successes, though I have been learning as I go and really appreciate when the more experienced experts come along and answer questions. So, I join you in asking, just how long should a J bar be for a J, LJ and an SJ?

 

 

Schools in my town are closed for another snow day, so far we have 6 days to make up in June, summer is getting shorter in KY. To enjoy my unexpected day off, I just may turn my attention to one of those last three pens awaiting TLC in my clinic.

Over the weekend I purchased two more Esties from ebay, both unrestored, one with my favorite 9668 nib. I hope when they arrive they only need new sacs. I said I was going to refrain from admitting more patients for awhile but I just can't help myself. Look at my quote.

Edited by kathleen

"Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars" ~Henry Van Dyke

Trying to rescue and restore all the beautiful Esties to their purpose.

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Kathleen,

This is very helpful; many thanks. As it happens, my clinical practice is a tad less specialized than yours, in that I (in a very limited office practice, fitting into a very long workweek and two other hobbies) have been known to treat Wearevers (love the Deluxe 100's), Travelers, Diamond Points, Epencos, Wahl Oxfords, and no-names, as well as Esterbrooks. So, your explanation makes even more sense, since it's a guide to where one needs to finish, rather than a cookbook. That said, I'd love to know the answer to your bold-face question to know that I did that correctly, so it could be the guide for other projects.

 

As for snow days, we've had more than our share of snow here in NYC this winter, but the politics of snow days, like much here, are just too complicated. My wife teaches high school, and was frustrated as can be when the big storm hit during Christmas week and she didn't get a snow day. C'est le guerre...

 

Tim

Tim

 timsvintagepens.com and @timsvintagepens

 

 

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Tim, I hope experts soon answer our question concerning proper length of j bars.

 

The doorbell just rang and it was the postman with a package that would not fit through the mailslot. Newly arrived to the clinic, the pretty little SJ that I won over the weekend ($12.50 + 3.00 shipping, what I consider a bargain price for a pen with my favorite #9668 nib.)

When this patient arrived I was just discharging the Dove Gray pastel that today underwent a sacectomy and re-sac procedure, along with an ultra sonic cleaning. She has passed water testing and is ready to be discharged. I will be receiving some Noodler's Lexington Gray ink soon; I am thinking Lexington Gray may be the perfect ink for her. I recently viewed this ink at Louisville's Pen Club and loved that it actually looks like pencil.

 

The newly arrived silver-gray SJ, much to my relief, suffers from only a brittle sac; her j bar appears bright and shiny. She is presently open upon the operating table, beside her is the recovered Dove Gray who whispers reassuringly, "Don't fret, you will soon be as good as new, Kathleen will take care of you".

 

I do love the silver gray pearly Esties. I think they have a high-tech look that belies their age, appearing quite sleek and modern. This will be a good day for my clinic, two more restored Esties.

post-44035-0-26178900-1296066787.jpg

Edited by kathleen

"Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars" ~Henry Van Dyke

Trying to rescue and restore all the beautiful Esties to their purpose.

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questions:

1) what are the correct j-bar length references? where should the base land, and how far in does the crook go?

2) what did you use for the spacer and is one necessary? Is it just for measuring the bar insertion?

Tim

 

1. Length: I take out the j-bar of another similar Estie model and make the replacement J-bar according to the measurements of the original. To insert I push until it goes no further.

2. I use the original spacer (the one on the pics is the original). But you can make without spacer. In this case you have to make the J-bar a little bit longer.

 

The length of the J-bar is not a matter of 1/64" . One thing however is crucial: the distance between the section end inserted in the barrel and the end of the J-bar should be at least 1/3" in order not to squeeze the ink sac too much. Copying the original measurements lets you stay safe.

 

post-44619-0-32165700-1296087126.jpg

 

This is a system drawing, the proportions are not correct!

Edited by pal38

swisspenpal

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I just finished my very first Estie, a little grey SJ. It was in major need of an overhaul, it needed a new jbar and sac as well as a little nib smoothing.

 

I put in a new sac and the first on got punctured by the Jbar that had not been modified. I later found out from other helpful members that I need to shorten it so I cut part of it off and filed it down a little more(replacement jbar), hopefully it doesn't break the new sac I just put in because that is the last one I have.

 

I also had to smooth out the 1551 nib a bit, but it has become surprisingly smooth for a rolled tip pen. Alas it probably won't stay in the pen as i have a 9461 coming in the mail.

 

Lastly I don't know how I did it but the lever became moderately loose during my pen surgery, and I tried everything I could think of and I couldn't get it to stay flush. That is until I managed to fix the symptom not the problem, I just slid a o-ring over the barrel and it is now keeping the lever in place.

 

This is all so much fun I may have to get more to fix up.

Grant

The Pen Is Mightier than the sword.

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Grant,

Congratulations! I am so happy that you have joined in the effort to restore and return the very worthy pens of Esterbrook to their purpose.

I responded to your post in the Pen Repair thread; you can, most likely, remedy that loose, floppy lever with a bit more j bar work.

 

I am happy that the 1551 nib is working out for you. The #1551 is my least favorite nib, and I really don't think you will experience the total delight of the Esterbrook writing experience until you have a smooth writing #2668 or #9668 nib (medium, wet writers, putting down a bold line) or #9556 if you like a fine line. The wonderful thing about the Esterbrook pen is trying different nibs until you find the one that feels just "right for the way you write".

 

Thanks for posting, Grant. I celebrate with you your patient's recovery. clap1.gif What Estie will you work on next? There are plenty more out there.

"Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars" ~Henry Van Dyke

Trying to rescue and restore all the beautiful Esties to their purpose.

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Another Esterbrook is coming back to life in my little Estie-clinic!

 

This weeks patient is an Esterbrook J in black. This pen is a real interesting one because by the time I'm done restoring it it's only going to be about 10% original parts... rolleyes.gif This pens not for me but for another client. Someday I'll do a pen for myself...... maybe......

 

The pen had a broken clip, ruined nib, cracked barrel threads (three huge cracks!), two broken jewels, and many light surface scratching. That's why the pen doesn't have many original parts. It basically needed everything replaced. Well, maybe not everything, but it really needed some major work. I'm, not quite finished with him yet but here's how he's progressing.

 

- A new cap and barrel were were fitted onto the old internals.

- a new sac was placed onto the section and dusted in pure talc.

- The section was re-seated into the new barrel.

- The cap band was removed and is to-be glued later this afternoon.

- Scratch removal was needed.

- and, of course, it was polished to a gorgeous shine!

 

So now all that's left is to re-fit the cap band on and then give it a light coat of wax and we have a working Esterbrook!

 

I'll be posting some pictures later this week of the finished product. Once again, death has been overcome and this Esterbrook lives to see another day!

Need a pen repaired or a nib re-ground? I'd love to help you out.

FPN%252520banner.jpg

Colossians 3:17 - And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

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I had a sick pen with me at school today. BIG MESS, ink coming out around the lever. I knew immediately what I had done wrong. This particular pen had passed a preliminary check and had been preforming well. Only after my hands were quite stained with Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher, a warders ink, rather permanent, did I realize this beautiful blue J was in need of some critical care.

 

When this pen first came to me I was delighted. She's a very beautiful dark blue with even darker navy streaks. On first handling her, her lever lifted with no crunching sound, still she underwent a complete physical exam. I carefully separated the section and barrel. I was further delighted to feel a very pliable sac, a sac original to the pen bearing the name ESTERBROOK in yellow letters. I tested the sac with water, it held water and with pressure no leaks were found. She was reassembled and inked for service. I have been using this particular pen as a daily writer for weeks now, and it performed beautifully until today.

 

Blue Beauty is now recovering in the clinic, having received the new sac she should have been given earlier.

I am now repeating the advice others have always given, I had learned reading here, yet I chose to ignore; all of these old pens, if returning to service, should be equipped with a new sac. Do not trust 60+ year old sacs, they may not have failed yet, but they are likely to fail very soon and when they do you will be the one with a mess.

Hopefully we buy new tires when we notice our old ones are low on tread. They may still be round and rolling but if we are smart, knowing their mileage and age we will choose to replace them before we are on the highway with a flat.

Old sacs are the same, after much age and much use, just replace them, heed this advice before you experience an inky mess.

 

Examination of old sac, now reveals a very small hole near the top.

Edited by kathleen

"Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars" ~Henry Van Dyke

Trying to rescue and restore all the beautiful Esties to their purpose.

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I have successfully replaced a couple of sacs in SJ's who's sections easily came out. I tried and failed to use heat to remove some more stubborn sections (this time from a couple of Dollar pens). So I decided to send them to Brian to try his luck with.

 

One of the Dollars has plier marks on the section where an earlier owner had wrestled with the same stubborn section; ugly but I can live with them. the other Dollar is a horse of a different color. The sac seems nice and pliable and, from shining a flashlight in through the lever slot, almost unused, a nice white sac with Esterbrook in clear letters. The problem with this one is the J-bar; it's either slipped to one side or, more likely, broken. This pen is particularly nice because it came with a flat-feed 2284 (Broad Stub) nib that looks to be in very good condition.

 

I posted about my Esterbrook 'Deluxe-that-isn't-a-Deluxe' before; for the same reason above I decided not to do the re-sac myself and sent it in to Brian last week. It is just about ready to come back (with a NOS nib I also bought from Brian) and I can hardly wait to try it out.

Rick B.

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fpman,

Maybe Brian will be able to polish away those plier marks. Someone grew impatient and violated the law in patient care, "first do no harm". These patients require patience. My oldest patient has been a Transitiional. The Dollar pens are just that much older, perhaps brittle I haven't yet been brave enough to operate on one.

The Deluxe is a great pen, I have several and enjoy using them, there is a certain amount of convenience in the snap on and off caps.

 

I have not seen white sacs with clear letters. Could someone have already replaced the sac with a silicone sac and the problem you are having separating section and barrel be due to carelessly excessive use of shellac, rejoining before shelllac dries. I quess Brian will find out.

Hope to see you post pictures when your healed Esterbrooks are home.

 

"Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars" ~Henry Van Dyke

Trying to rescue and restore all the beautiful Esties to their purpose.

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fpman, Maybe Brian will be able to polish away those plier marks. Someone grew impatient and violated the law in patient care, "first do no harm". These patients require patience. My oldest patient has been a Transitiional. The Dollar pens are just that much older, perhaps brittle I haven't yet been brave enough to operate on one.The Deluxe is a great pen, I have several and enjoy using them, there is a certain amount of convenience in the snap on and off caps.I have not seen white sacs with clear letters. Could someone have already replaced the sac with a silicone sac and the problem you are having separating section and barrel be due to carelessly excessive use of shellac, rejoining before shelllac dries. I quess Brian will find out. Hope to see you post pictures when your healed Esterbrooks are home.

 

Came back to leave apology.

Sorry for double post. I am in a coffee cafe and the wi-fi is acting "blinky" and slow.

Edited by kathleen

"Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars" ~Henry Van Dyke

Trying to rescue and restore all the beautiful Esties to their purpose.

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