Esterbrook 2284 (Italic?) Nib Tuning?

[corgicoupe]

I acquired a 2284 nib (stub or italic?) at the Atlanta pen show yesterday. The price was excellent ($0.00) because the tines were out of alignment and the gentleman behind the table was gracious. I got the tines back into alignment, but I see two remaining problems. First, one seems to be longer than the other by a fraction of a mm, which makes it scratchy, and the tines are separated at the end.

 

My question is whether I should deal with the spacing first, or get the tines equal in length first? What is the best way to close up the tines? After those two issues are resolved, should I attempt to round over the edges, or leave them sharp? TIA

Edited April 19, 2016 by corgicoupe

[pajaro]

This is a stub. I have a couple of these, and the tines are not sharp. Even the 2312 italic is more cursive italic and not very sharp. My 2284s stubs are pretty smooth. If one tine is shorter than the other I would wonder if the very tip were missing on one.

[corgicoupe]

I just looked again. Interestingly, the tines appear to be the same length when viewed from the top surface, but when viewed from the feed side one is a fraction of a mm shorter. I surmise that this could have happened if someone attempted to smooth the nib when the tines were misaligned. Particularly if they only ground the bottom surface.

 

If that is so, then I can fix that, but I still have the question about bringing the point of the nib closer together. Aren't they supposed to be just touching?

[jabberwock11]

Most of Esterbrook's "stub" nibs are actually oblique nibs, that includes your 2284. It's not damaged or worn down, it was designed that way. Obliques take some getting used to, and must be held precisely for them to write properly. To be honest I never much cared for them.

If you're looking for a good actual stub nib for your Esterbrook, try a Venus medium. It's not technically a stub, but it has line variation and writes the exact same way as a fine stub nib (similar to a 0.6 or 0.8).

 

 

Here's a quick example of the line variation from a Venus medium:

 

http://40.media.tumblr.com/9e3fd2d475d2640454f7d266994798fe/tumblr_o5v4jcygbj1uf00n4o1_1280.jpg

Edited April 19, 2016 by jabberwock11

[pajaro]

Most of Esterbrook's "stub" nibs are actually oblique nibs, that includes your 2284. It's not damaged or worn down, it was designed that way. Obliques take some getting used to, and must be held precisely for them to write properly. To be honest I never much cared for them.

 

If you're looking for a good actual stub nib for your Esterbrook, try a Venus medium. It's not technically a stub, but it has line variation and writes the exact same way as a fine stub nib (similar to a 0.6 or 0.8).

The 2284 and 9284 are stubs, but they are not oblique. The obliques would be the 2314 and 9314 in -F, -M and -B. I have all of these.

[corgicoupe]

[Piper 987]

The Snyder Chart ( http://www.snyderfamily.com/current/estienibs.htm ) describes the Esterbrook 2284 nib as "Broad Firm Stub - Signature".

 

However, a close look at a NOS 2284 does show it to have a slight left oblique shape. It's subtle but it's there.

 

http://www.andersonpens.com/v/vspfiles/photos/EST-2284-2.jpg

[jabberwock11]

None of the Esterbrook obliques are called obliques, but they are. It just wasn't a term that Esterbrook really used.

[corgicoupe]

Agreed.

[pajaro]

The Snyder Chart ( http://www.snyderfamily.com/current/estienibs.htm ) describes the Esterbrook 2284 nib as "Broad Firm Stub - Signature".

 

However, a close look at a NOS 2284 does show it to have a slight left oblique shape. It's subtle but it's there.

 

http://www.andersonpens.com/v/vspfiles/photos/EST-2284-2.jpg

 

This is so thin it's almost invisible. The Relief nibs are the obliques. This is a stub. What is there is that these nibs sometimes have one tine very slightly shorter than the other. These were not expensive nibs. Read the write ups on esterbrook.net for some clarification. What is in the picture is a straight across stub. When you see a Relief nib or someone else's oblique nib, the slant is clear.

 

None of the Esterbrook obliques are called obliques, but they are. It just wasn't a term that Esterbrook really used.

 

You are right. The obliques are called Relief nibs.