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Will The Purists Come After Me With Torches And Pitchforks.....


jdllizard

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If I take a black model J cap with a missing jewel, but otherwise in great shape, that was given to me for "spare parts/DIY repair practice", stop at a hobby store or bead shop, and glue a bead that fits and looks nice (probably something black but faceted?) To the cap, and then marry it to the complete black model J body I picked up cheap on fleabay, because it had no cap but is in good shape?

 

Replace the sac, glue on the jewel, and I'd have a perfectly usable and complete black Esterbrook J, just with a non-original cap jewel.

 

Do you kick guys off the forum for such blasphemy? Or, like wristwatches, is frankening not only allowed but encouraged as long as you're not passing them off as all original later on?

John L

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If it comes to you broken, and you want to use it, I say you have free reign.

 

I see these same discussions with cars and basses (and the bass people are brutal about original vs. modified)

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So long as you are happy with the result, you have the liberty to do whatever you wish. If it's any consolation I fitted an renew point with a Jinhao nib and put it in an old eyedropper barrel! After making that confession, then I might be putting myself in jeopardy and be exiled into the wilderness along with you!

 

There are quite a number of "Dr. Frankenstein" members who have carried out experiments with different pens, it's all part of the delicious madness..

They came as a boon, and a blessing to men,
The Pickwick, the Owl and the Waverley pen

Sincerely yours,

Pickwick

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frankening not only allowed but encouraged as long as you're not passing them off as all original later on

 

It's your pen - do what you please. I'd encourage it. Might as well make it usable and to your liking.

 

*Edit: Oh yeah, and be sure to take pictures for us.

Edited by TheRealScubaSteve
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In the unlikelihood that any Estienista say anything to you, send them to me.

 

DSC02120.JPG

 

And when I'm finished with them, I'll send what's left to Farmboy.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Edited by OcalaFlGuy
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Thank you.

 

Pen by me.

 

Oxygen free, high conductivity Copper jewels by the Farmboy-meister.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

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I don't know anything about vintage pens, but that is a pen that I'd like to own. :drool:

 

There you go. Everybody else wants to own that pen too. For the OP, if your solution is visually pleasing and is functional, everybody will very likely love it too, particularly because Esterbrook cap jewels are hard to come by and are reputed to not be easy to replace. Replacing the jewel with a standard Esterbrook jewel is likely to involve scavenging a jewel from another pen. For a pen you plan to write with, it's your pen, as stated previously.

 

I came across another pen, a Parker Sonnet, that someone had replaced the cap jewel with something non-standard, and I like it, even though I don't remember much competition for it on ebay.

 

fpn_1383541902__bluejewelsonnet.jpg

"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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Turn the microscope around and you see a constellation of possibilities. This my opinon, not suggstng others should go along with me but:

If you went ot the cost and trouble to rehab black Esterbrook to NOS condition, and you did such a meticulous, inspired job of it that no one couid tell even under intense scrutiny what you would you then have? A black Esterbrook worth $20 to $40 and the knowledge that you did a good job. It would look like the other 92.000 black eEsties in the world.

 

If on the other hand you take dust bin parts, and using your same skills rehab and marry them with something unique which is obviously very much customized, what would you then have? A unique, one of a kind snowflake which would please you and some other people and upset some people AND the pleasure of knowing that you have the skills to do a very nice job. There will always be folks who don't appreciate customizations, to them I say fine, be content with the 91,999 black esties which are availablee. for the rest of us, I am anxious to see what you come up with.

 

And funny enough, when I saw this post I immediately thought of those copper buttons which I had seen previously on a copper Estie, customization makes it memorable. For what it is worth I had a custom binde put ona Pelikan 800 which I really like, it received mixed reviews in the Pel forum. Buit absent that, it would have been just another blue Pelikan, nice but definitely not memorable.

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There you go. Everybody else wants to own that pen too. For the OP, if your solution is visually pleasing and is functional, everybody will very likely love it too, particularly because Esterbrook cap jewels are hard to come by and are reputed to not be easy to replace. Replacing the jewel with a standard Esterbrook jewel is likely to involve scavenging a jewel from another pen. For a pen you plan to write with, it's your pen, as stated previously.

 

I came across another pen, a Parker Sonnet, that someone had replaced the cap jewel with something non-standard, and I like it, even though I don't remember much competition for it on ebay.

 

fpn_1383541902__bluejewelsonnet.jpg

Possibly there wasn't much competition because it's a little over the top (no pun intended)....

While I understand the desire for some people to have an "original" jewel, it's a case of YMMV. [i was one of those people in the case of the Parker Vac Shadow Wave: it ended up being easier -- and cheaper -- to get a replacement cap, especially since the cap *also* had a fairly major crack which the seller denied noticing.... :glare:]

While I don't like this particular "refit", I did like that copper button custom job that Bruce posted the picture of.

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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While I freely admit to being an Esterbrook fanatic, I am not, nor do I think I know of an Esterbrook purist. Perhaps if we were talking about an extremely rare Esterbrook, there might be some who would wince at modifications. From my point of view, you bought it, its your pen. The fact that you are restoring it to working condition is great (and, for me, that includes "an extremely rare Esterbrook"). I will admit to wincing a bit myself when someone talks of taking a fully functional J or its nib and modifying it, but I still believe it is their pen and they are free to do with it what they wish. I am just thankful they are going to be using it.

 

I hope your Esterbrook turns out beautifully. Enjoy using it and don't worry about what someone else might think. I believe that what Bruce and Farmboy did increased the value of that Esterbrook many times over. I hope you have as beautiful a pen when you are done.

 

-David.

No matter how much you push the envelope, it will still be stationery. -Anon.

A backward poet writes inverse. -Anon.

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In the unlikelihood that any Estienista say anything to you, send them to me.

 

DSC02120.JPG

 

And when I'm finished with them, I'll send what's left to Farmboy.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

this is actually very cool.

did I just say that?

edited to add.. I would not personalize an old object if it's a rare example or prototype that is essential to documenting its history.

Edited by pen2paper
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Bless you for adopting this Esterbrook fountain pen "from the pond".

New life for a rescue pen. I feel encouraged.

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

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In the unlikelihood that any Estienista say anything to you, send them to me.

 

DSC02120.JPG

 

And when I'm finished with them, I'll send what's left to Farmboy.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

THAT! Looks incredible. To bad they make it almost impossible to remove the clip, or you could have it copper plated to match.

 

Killer pen though!

John L

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In the unlikelihood that any Estienista say anything to you, send them to me.

 

DSC02120.JPG

 

And when I'm finished with them, I'll send what's left to Farmboy.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

I just love it. I would have no problem at all owning a pen that looked that good even if people called it 'frankening'

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If there is a pen museum, that is one place where unique and rare stuff belongs. Collections of unique and rare stuff might be dedicated to preservation of pens. The rest of the stuff is for owners to do with as they see fit. Collectors will preserve rare items because the economics will push them in that direction. More common items can be kept in decent cosmetic condition by whatever means possible. That includes custom pen jewels, custom caps, custom sections and custom barrels. If something is damaged, why not replace if with something with pizzaz? Rose gold would be nice.

"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 have Esties with missing jewels, and the only good way to restore them would be to cannibalize another Estie for the jewels. It seems like many of the black pens have suffered this fate. Right now, mine are sitting around waiting for me to find that treasure trove of jewels. I have thought of turning some color coordinated jewels from leftover blank ends on my lathe. If it saves a pen, go for it.

Too young for Medicare, too old for women to care.

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We actually had a source for jewels here a few years ago until he got "ran off".

 

He made custom made injection molded chess sets. He figured an Estie jewel would be nothing.

 

First, I was the only one, after he asked, to take a chance on this new guy and send him a screw in Estie Tranny jewel to make the mold with. He did about 5 of them, a couple in black, a couple in red and sent them to me. They were fine. (They needed a big of finishing on the 1st thread area but that was because the master I sent him was already buggered up a bit before I took it out.)

 

After he had made that one mold, a couple people here asked if he was going to mark them as replicas and not original jewels.

 

(Really? For Estie J jewels?? Seriously?? And just How the Hell Would you mark them?...Where?)

 

Looking those gift jewels in the mouth pretty much P'd him off and he left...

 

Seems to me a 3D printer has Estie jewel written all over it...

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

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