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All three of the Esterbrook Dip-Less Pens shown were inked until a few days ago. Actually, I even have a fourth, but the need for three desk pens was already pushing it. The bottom pen is still inked, with Noodler's Walnut, in case I want a brown ink. The double set on top had Private Reserve Black Cherry (not really a red, more a rich, vaguely reddish brown) and Noodler's Black American Eel. It's now empty. I have a couple of Varsities in case I want a red or a black ink. A couple of days ago, taking the Black Cherry pen out to write with, I notice that there was a white fuzz on the feed. Looking inside the bottle, I could see that it was there too. I've seen this referred to as SITB (slime in the bottle), a growth of mold that can happen in inks when mold spores get inside there. It was my first personal experience with this. There was nothing in the black ink side, but because of the dual design, it seemed easiest to clean the whole thing. I emptied the inks, completely disassembled the whole thing, and soaked all the parts overnight in a bucket of water and ammonia solution. A couple of hours would probably have been fine, but there were distractions, and I forgot about it. Of course, there was some danger of the ammonia damaging the pens or the base, but I seem to have gotten away with it. After rinsing all the parts, I soaked the nib feed assemblies in a glass of ammonia solution for another couple of hours. It's possible I will fill these again at some point, but first I want to see if I get any kind of growth on the dry pens or the base unit. The feed material and the base unit are both somewhat porous, and ammonia is not necessarily effective with porous materials. The single Dip-Less set at the bottom of the picture is a later style where the pen does not dip directly into the bottle; the nib sits in a nest of plastic rods which draw up the ink from the bottle by capillary action. The dual set is different; the bottles are inverted and the ink gradually runs into the base unit, forming a puddle of ink that the nib dips into. I've noticed before that this seems to lead to the ink evaporating more rapidly than you'd expect. It may also have allowed airborne mold spores to settle in there. Anyway, an interesting experience, and hopefully useful to others who may be considering the Dip-Less models. These are the Esterbrooks which I've used most often over the past two or three years, and I do like them.

Well...It's happening. The Esterbrooks are taking over my pen collection. Already my sixth Esterbrook, this is my first desk pen/dip-less, and certainly won't be the last. It was ten bucks, I couldn't resist. It's also in pretty good shape, if not a little dirty, but the sac still feels pliable! It has a 2556 nib. As an aside, is anyone else slightly concerned about old Bakelite (which the base is made out of)?

Having recently acquired a good number of 484 and 444 ink wells and dip-less pens, I've spent the better part of the last three days soaking and cleaning everything. I think I have a ways to go on these parts, still. The ebonite rods in the ink well feed are the most fascinating to me. Given how many there are and how light they are, I'm afraid to wash them in any meaningful way; washing the feed cup will cause the rods to float up and out and into my sink, and washing them in their own bowl makes me shudder to think what recollecting them would be like. I've resorted soaking them with the metal washer holding them on, rinsing them thoroughly, then removing the washer and letting the rods dry on some paper towels. I shouldn't be surprised at how much ink is still in these old wells and materials, but I am. Still, the process has been quite fun. A

Hello all. I recently purchased 2 NOS Esterbrook Dip-less pens. I have desk fountain pens but these are my first dip-less pens. I got the two pens for $27 with free S&H. I think I got a great deal but have no idea what dip-less pens go for in this condition. I already have several dip-less bases and plenty of nibs. I was originally planning on using them but considering their condition now I'm hesitant. Any thoughts? Enjoy the pictures! http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/ah48/Davide_Borrelli/EsterbrookDipless_01_zpsrbb1uejk.jpg http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/ah48/Davide_Borrelli/EsterbrookDipless_03_zpszwsn7heg.jpg http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/ah48/Davide_Borrelli/EsterbrookDipless_04_zps93pjohr1.jpg

I've seen a US Government marked Esterbrook desk pen, and I've heard of a US Navy marked Esterbrook desk pen, but I've never seen one. I have a US Navy Dip-Less desk set and would love to add a US Navy pen to complete the set. Do these ever show up anywhere and what could I expect to pay for one if I could find one? I believe most were not marked but I would love to find one that is. Any help is appreciated.