Jump to content

Stupid Question About Dip-Less Pens


Willowandme

Recommended Posts

Hi. I know someone out there will say there is no such thing as a stupid question, but I am new enough to vintage fountain pens that this question feels stupid.

 

I have gotten my first Esterbrook. It's a 444 dip-less. I can't wait to start using it. My question: is there no sac in this pen? Or should I be checking to see if there is one I should replace before I start using it?

 

Another question: I know the nibs are changeable which is one of the reasons why I wanted one in the first place. Once I start using it, do I have to empty it before I change nibs or can I just hold it upside down and change the nib unit without spilling all the ink out?

 

Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 58
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • ANM

    10

  • johnmc2

    10

  • JonSzanto

    7

  • ac12

    6

Top Posters In This Topic

Hello fellow blue-eyed cat lover.

 

There is no sac in a dip-less. It isn't a real 'fountain' pen but rather a dip pen and they came with an ink well.

 

To change the nib, just rinse it clean, dry it, remove it, and screw in another one. The only ink in the pen is in the nib itself.

Edited by ANM

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time. TS Eliot

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just FYI, the front two are typical inkwells for the dip-less and the bottom photo shows them apart. Ink goes in the bottom of the flat one and in the glass part of the other one. Ink then feeds to the nib from the holder.

 

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii101/matthewsno/DSCN0713_zps69305613.jpg

 

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii101/matthewsno/DSCN0714_zpsc311b647.jpg

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time. TS Eliot

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My dipless pens have a recess behind the feed. Does that area ever get partly filled with ink by capillary action? Just wondering because it has been a long time since I filled one of these with ink. Ink costing upwards of $7.50 a bottle today compared with the $0.19 to $0.25 that Carter's or Sheaffer's ink sold for when I was a kid in the fifties, when these were current.

"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.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dip-less pens with dip-less nibs don't have any way for the ink to get in the recess behind the feed but the regular nibs might allow ink in there.

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time. TS Eliot

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, I'm glad I started on this thread. I like the idea of using a dip pen sometimes but really did not want to decant ink into an old (candle stick holder) I use to contain the ink. I have no cap or cover for it so I just put a piece of cellophane on top until I use it again. I guess I will keep an eye out for one in the classifieds.

 

Thanks for something new to learn about.

“Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today, because if you do it today and like it, you can do again tomorrow!”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dip-less pens with dip-less nibs don't have any way for the ink to get in the recess behind the feed but the regular nibs might allow ink in there.

I have 3 dipless pens. 2 of them are like you said with no normal 'section' just a place to screw in the nib, while the third dipless pen does have a normal section but of course no lever.

Just my 2 cents worh

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/uploads/imgs/fpn_1379220008__imag1243.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I came across 3 Esterbrook pen sets yesterday, and in looking at them, I couldn't see any type of refill method, so I assume they were the dip-less style.

 

Does the pen act as the lid for the inkwell? Does it evaporate?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dipless sets are great and you will find others like myself who think the same. A search on this forum will turn up other threads with details including pictures of a 444 set disassembled. They do experience some evaporation (the pen doesn't make an air tight seal in the holder). A little water can be added about once a month. Distilled water is best.

 

One user put bay state blue in his 444 well. Staining isn't an issue in a 444 set and because only the nib & feed touch the ink, the pen holder isn't likely to stain either.

 

One cautionary tale: I experimented with ink (including food coloring and vintage inks that had lost their color and tap water) and then didn't open the well for 5 or 6 months. It was a rather interesting sight when I finally lifted the lid. But it has cleaned up fully and is waiting its turn to be used again.

 

"Try it, you'll like it" :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My dipless pens have a recess behind the feed. Does that area ever get partly filled with ink by capillary action? Just wondering because it has been a long time since I filled one of these with ink. Ink costing upwards of $7.50 a bottle today compared with the $0.19 to $0.25 that Carter's or Sheaffer's ink sold for when I was a kid in the fifties, when these were current.

 

Not enough to worry about really pajaro- just a drop or two!

 

;)

"Celebrating Eight Years of Retail Writing Excellence"

"When, in the course of writing events, in becomes self-evident that not all pens are created equal"

 

Federalist Pens and Paper (Online Pen Store)

 

facelogobooks.png.7b61776c10ce24852b00693f4005dc72.png

 

 

Use Forum Code "FPN" at Checkout to Receive an Additional 5% Discount!

 
 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, Willowandme !

 

I appreciated your "stupid" question. I didn't know about dipless pens. I have no difficulty asking

the brilliant questions myself. :lticaptd: However, the other question seem to elude me. I need them

answered, as well.

 

Learning all the time.

Auf freiem Grund mit freiem Volke stehn.
Zum Augenblicke dürft ich sagen:
Verweile doch, du bist so schön !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my picture above, the two rear pens are Esterbrook Desk Fountain pens and have a longer body and a lever for filling. They were intended to set in bases that did not hold ink. These were most commonly black bases with black pens with clear tapers. The normal composition of these bases was glazed white ceramic, probably porcelain or white stoneware. Colored ones are less frequently seen. Dipless pens have a shorter body, no lever and and were intended to be used with bases that you could fill with ink.

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time. TS Eliot

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmm...

I may go back to the antique mall I saw them in, and look at them closer. I was looking more at the pen itself, and didn't look at the inkwells at all. (so was confused with no filling mechanism...)

 

Pricing ranged from $11 - $15. Is that fair pricing?

 

What I would be using it for would be at work, mostly signing letters and doing notary work. Notes and phone messages.

What is the volume of the inkwell of the dipless pen inkwell?

 

Thanks!!

 

Dipless sets are great and you will find others like myself who think the same. A search on this forum will turn up other threads with details including pictures of a 444 set disassembled. They do experience some evaporation (the pen doesn't make an air tight seal in the holder). A little water can be added about once a month. Distilled water is best.

 

One user put bay state blue in his 444 well. Staining isn't an issue in a 444 set and because only the nib & feed touch the ink, the pen holder isn't likely to stain either.

 

One cautionary tale: I experimented with ink (including food coloring and vintage inks that had lost their color and tap water) and then didn't open the well for 5 or 6 months. It was a rather interesting sight when I finally lifted the lid. But it has cleaned up fully and is waiting its turn to be used again.

 

"Try it, you'll like it" :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The glass dome inkwell holds about 2 ounces and the flat one holds about 1 1/2 ounces. A bottle of Pelikan 4001 ink holds 1 ounce. An old fashioned bottle of Sheaffer Skrip ink- holds two ounces.

 

Fortunately Esterbrook desk pens are not overpriced (most of the time). $11- $15 is reasonable.

 

PS I estimate a dip less pen will write at somewhere around a page and a half without re-dipping. Your milage may vary. :)

 

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii101/matthewsno/DSCN0721_zps1242803d.jpg

Edited by ANM

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time. TS Eliot

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My favorite Esterbrook is my double 444 (not sure what it's really called) desk set. Don't really write enough to keep it fed and watered though.

Steve. Just plain ol' Steve.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have fallen in love with the 444. It does write for a very long time. I would like to get a double, too. I did buy a desk fountain pen with base, but I still like the idea of the dipless. No "filling" but it's not very portable....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the double. My wife has put a Cross desk ballpoint and a Parker Jotter desk ballpoint pen in it. :(

 

You have to pick your battles.

 

I have another pen coming Monday. My 65th birthday. Another NOS Sonnet fine. Yet another black one.

 

I am not crazy about black pens. Parts pen. With Sonnets, most of them are parts pens. :D

"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.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On the evaporation front-- I use a 444 for red ink at my day job, as I use that colour so infrequently it gums up a FP. In an extremely dry environment (particularly in the winter), I find I get about a year of use out of a fill, writing as many as fifty words in a week.

Ravensmarch Pens & Books
It's mainly pens, just now....

Oh, good heavens. He's got a blog now, too.

 

fpn_1465330536__hwabutton.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do Esterbrook desk pens with feeds (which might just mean the Dip-less models?) use the same nib units as "regular" Esterbrook pens?

http://katexic.com/clippings/

Love interesting words? Curious links? Great writing? Subscribe to the free, thrice weekly Katexic Clippings newsletter!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...