Jump to content

My First Is On Its Way To The Newbie.


Oldtimer

Recommended Posts

Finally, I decided on my next pen and it is going to be a blue Esterbrook. Just a notch higher above my first acquisitions. The lure of thsi pen is remmebering it was coming when I was growing up, the nostalgia of it.

 

The seller says says that the sac was replaced and the buyer has 100% good feedback (EB) in thousands of transactions so I expect I will not be disappointed.

 

I read a little and I am also interested in the Osmiroid sketch nib. Hope there are some samples around here I can see and evaluate for the next move. Wish me luck and many writings! Now, what will be the next?

Edited by Oldtimer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 7
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Oldtimer

    3

  • pajaro

    1

  • Runnin_Ute

    1

  • plikmuny

    1

Next? After the onslaught of Esties? These aren't actual pens, more like writing potato chips : You can't have just one!

Do a search for "alternative nibs for Esterbrook". It really expands your choices. Enjoy and keep us informed!

 

Paul

"Nothing is impossible, even the word says 'I'm Possible!'" Audrey Hepburn

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been looking... I love the size of my LJ, so cute and light. I was hoping to find better prices but it is exhausting to search. Anyway, price is determined by demand. I ordered a Linton for $4 (try out). Since I want it for sketching need not be so expensive. But writing with a medium or stub would be a rewarding experience.

 

The e-store that sold me the LJ included a chart with price and had ALL the Master Points at $1.20 each.... When I asked what did they have available and what prices...., no answer. The Durachrome appearded at $0.60 on their list.... I guess that was the list of 1947 (48?) or whatever. Stupid me!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With Esties it's all about the nib hunt. That's how I ended up with a dozen in different sizes and colors of J pens -- mostly gotten last year. A lot of the ones I've seen on Ebay that were blue had boring nibs: had to break down and go for one with a 2668 (medium) -- a nib I already had, in addition to having a pen with a 9668(a better grade nib with tipping, but also a M) just to get my first blue one. I just got a second blue (also a full J) -- an antique store find. The one I found last week has a 9556 (EF). Again, not one of the more exotic nibs, but is a 9xxx series. And this way I have one for myself (the other 9556 -- or possibly the 2556 I got as just a nib unit) are going to my husband once I finally getting around to re-saccing a red J that was his birthday present. Over a year ago. :blush:

The nice thing about Esterbrooks is that the nib units are interchangeable. So once I get the stash up and running, I can play around and see what nibs I like and swap out the ones I don't on other pens. I may keep the nib on my original black SJ intact, though, just for sentimental reasons (it was a 1555 Gregg, and didn't write too badly for being a student grade nib when I put distilled water in it to see if it worked.

I keep hoping that someday I'll get one in the darker blue mackerel body.... I almost bought one a couple of years ago (think it was a J or an LJ) but didn't know enough about vintage pens back then -- and of course when I went back to the antiques mall where I spotted it a few months later it was long gone.... :wallbash:

Prices on Esties on Ebay are all over the map. Nearly all the ones I have I've gotten for between $10 and $30 US -- even the two with flexible nibs (a 9128 and a 9788). The scary thing is that I've seen NOS 9788 nib units listed for more than twice what I paid -- even with shipping -- for just ONE of those (green SJ and copper J). Mine are all pretty much user grade -- some have cracked jewels -- and they probably mostly all need new sacs, but sacs are a couple of bucks. I'm not a C-word collector wanting NOS Minty minty, though, so user grade works for me.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Edited by 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."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I made a post about my first Estie too. A green J with 9550 EF nib. I paid $39 shipped (restored). Since I have picked up a Venus Fine and a 1555 Gregg. So even if you can not buy additional Estie's- the nibs suck you in.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It isn't entirely about the nib hunt, unless the only pen you want is a J. There are the pump fillers that work like a Sheaffer Touchdown, squeeze filling pens, view masters, deluxes, nurse pens, purse pens and more. I like the pens beyond the J. The nibs beyond the italics and stubs are pretty ordinary and the flexes take a bit of effort. Sing the praises of the flexes until you run into something like a Conway Stewart or Waterman flex.

"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

As a newbie I was confused. My Estie was an SJ (not an LJ) and I think I will stay with them and buy different colors and nibs (so far, blue and red). I have also expanded laterally by ordering Osmiroid nibs and a pen, so i will have lots to experiment with. For me, apart from those exotic pens with lots of colors and fancy nibs, the Esterbrook is elegant, durable and simply designed to work. That is saying a lot for something made at the time I was born. Is part of my era.

Edited by Oldtimer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Oldtimer: How much did you for that ? And would you mind sharing a link where i can buy it online for cheap price & of course reliable one pls...

 

thanks in advance. i own a Lamy safari just 4 days old. I am somehow feeling like i need more than that & it is not satisfying me completely as far as the writing pleasure is concerned.... i hope you understand my restlessness...

 

And above all, i must admit that it is truly a great site. I never knew that a forum for pen also existed. only after i was searching for a good Fountain pen, i came across this wonderful forum.... man i was astonished. it was just a week back. till then i had no idea....

 

Sorry for being off topic.... pls bear with me... First timer here

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
      33501
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26627
    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...