Stupid Question About Dip-Less Pens

[Willowandme]

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.

[ANM]

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 September 13, 2013 by ANM

[Willowandme]

Good. Kind of what I thought. It started to second guess myself.

 

Thanks so much!

 

Lisa

[ANM]

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

[pajaro]

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.

[ANM]

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.

[Gloucesterman]

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.

[seanruss]

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

[Lirleni]

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?

[PaFitch]

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"

[Federalist Pens]

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!

 

[Sasha Royale]

Thanks, Willowandme !

 

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

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

answered, as well.

 

Learning all the time.

[ANM]

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.

[Lirleni]

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"

[ANM]

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 September 18, 2013 by ANM

[Chiro75]

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.

[Willowandme]

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....

[pajaro]

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.

[Ernst Bitterman]

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.

[fncll]

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