My first Estie

[bdws1975]

hi all,

 

I got my first (two) esterbrooks today. I'm in love already.

 

I got a black SJ with a 2314 nib and a red J with a 9556 nib. I swapped the two because I plan to use the SJ more due to it's size and I liked the 9556 nib better.

 

I have a feeling there are many more to come....:-)

 

Brett

 

[deansellers]

I've finally got my first Estie! A jade green J with a rigid fine (9461) nib, unrestored, for $11.74. I'm about to dive in and pull the section and put in a new sac. One thing I noticed right away, though, is that the nib has a pronounced crook in the tip (sorry for the blurry pictures). Is this normal for this nib or am I going to have to attempt to straighten it?

[OcalaFlGuy]

Looks wonky to me too.

 

OTOH, how does it write? If it writes good and smooth now, and you haven't worked with nibs successfully before, frankly, you may make it look better but write worse.

 

If it is writing ok, I definitely wouldn't mess with it unless I had a spare nib on deck just in case.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Edited December 4, 2011 by OcalaFlGuy

[subbes]

(MAKES FANFARE NOISE WITH LIPS.)

 

My first Estie! A copper LJ.

 

 

 

And already I'm bidding on ros7261's auction for another Estie (flex nib, this time). Y'all are bad influences.

[JonSzanto]

(MAKES FANFARE NOISE WITH LIPS.)

 

My first Estie! A copper LJ.

 

And already I'm bidding on ros7261's auction for another Estie (flex nib, this time). Y'all are bad influences.

You bought from one of my favorite sellers (and may have bought a nib I sold him!), and now you are looking to get one from one of my other favorite sellers! Good for you - these people do a nice job with their pens, and lovely people to deal with. Congrats.

[79spitfire]

(MAKES FANFARE NOISE WITH LIPS.)

 

My first Estie! A copper LJ.

 

 

 

And already I'm bidding on ros7261's auction for another Estie (flex nib, this time). Y'all are bad influences.

 

That's a nice pen, and yes that seller has a Sterling reputation. You should enjoy that pen thoroughly! I have a J with that nib and it is an excellent writer!

[subbes]

augh i just bought a silver J

 

 

 

two new Esties in one day

Edited December 5, 2011 by subbes

[deansellers]

Looks wonky to me too.

 

OTOH, how does it write? If it writes good and smooth now, and you haven't worked with nibs successfully before, frankly, you may make it look better but write worse.

 

If it is writing ok, I definitely wouldn't mess with it unless I had a spare nib on deck just in case.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

That's the plan - try it and see how it writes. I've finally gotten it apart - the section took 24 hours of soaking before I could get the feed/nib unit to unscrew and I'm soaking the pieces some more and scrubbing the inside of the collar with a q-tip to get all of the old black ink out. I fear for the feed channel given how much ink keeps floating out into the water/ammonia solution. Thanks the reply, Bruce!

[fotographik]

Time for me to chime in!

 

I got my first Esterbrook last Friday... a silver J with a wonderful nib: a 9284 Stub - Music/Signature.

 

I have to admit that I just love that pen! I've been using it ever since. Kudos to Gerry, from whom I bought it, for doing such a great job restoring it!

 

 

http://fotographik.smugmug.com/Other/MyPens/i-DBVgcjH/0/XL/Esterbrook-1-XL.jpg

 

 

 

http://fotographik.smugmug.com/Other/MyPens/i-6CqR9K7/0/XL/Esterbrook-2-XL.jpg

 

 

http://fotographik.smugmug.com/Other/MyPens/i-N7T2nrh/0/XL/Esterbrook-3-XL.jpg

[Bill C]

I got my first Esterbrook today in the mail. It was purchased from an Ebay auction for about four dollars including shipping. I was able to thoroughly clean it with ammonia/water mix, slip the nib off the feed and then put it back together. It came with an original Esterbrook cart that I flushed out with my pipette. Filled it up with my old stand by Parker Quink.

 

Sorry for the pic quality. It is a medium nib. I have a piston filler coming as well and look forward to attempting to replace the sac. This is a big bank for the buck fountain pen in my opinion. It looks like a squirrel chewed on the barrel and there is a ding in the cap, but I like it and it lays down the ink something fierce on some Staple's Bagasse!

 

Thanks to Bruce for giving a newbie some good help and steering me toward Esterbrook. Thanks buddy. This will not be my last and it's only up from here.

 

http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee416/BillCrandell/IMG00570-20111212-1741.jpg

Edited December 13, 2011 by Bill C

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I've acquired three, all from an eBay seller who restores them, at prices between $11.27 and $39.00 including shipping.

 

http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt221/mapn/Pens/Esterbrooks.jpg

 

The gray one is an LJ with a 1551 medium "student" nib that I bought separately from Richard Binder. The 1550 EF Bookkeeping nib that it came with was not to my liking. The black J has a 2556 fine writing nib, the blue one has the 1555 Gregg shorthand nib. I love the way all of them write, but I think I favor the LJ. Anyway, they are each individually nicer to write with than any of my modern pens.

 

Obviously, around here, the statement "I've got all I need and I'm done" is highly suspect. After I bought the first Esterbrook, I got the other two for "redundancy". I've now got a wide selection of fountain pens, several of which (not just the Esterbrooks) write much better than the rollerballs I liked before. Whatever I decide about future purchases, the Esterbrooks are going to get a lot of use.

Edited February 13, 2012 by ISW_Kaputnik

[jrweaver]

So here's my first Esterbrook. It's also my first Esterbrook repair! I picked this Dollar up at an antique store. It had a severely worn down nib and a broken lever! I finally contacted Brian Anderson who helped my out tremendously and located a new lever for me. I disassembled the pen completely, including taking out the J bar and lever ring. I installed the new lever, re-saced and put it all back together. Also installed a brand new 9668 nib that I purchased from Brian as well! Lot of work for a pen that cost a buck, but I'm proud of it!

 

[Fiddlermatt]

I just got my first Esterbrook off ebay. A great little J transition in green with a 9556 nib that writes beautifully. All for 15 bucks.

[Snargle]

My first Esterbrook! A red Model J with a 2668 Medium Nib.

 

I picked it up fairly cheap at an antique shop, installed a new sac (my first-time attempt was a little shaky, but finally got it right!), polished it up, loaded it up with Noodler's Ottoman Azure, and am thoroughly enjoying using it at its first day in the office. It's very smooth, lays down a nice wet line, and feels and looks great.

 

[jrweaver]

My first Esterbrook! A red Model J with a 2668 Medium Nib.

 

I picked it up fairly cheap at an antique shop, installed a new sac (my first-time attempt was a little shaky, but finally got it right!), polished it up, loaded it up with Noodler's Ottoman Azure, and am thoroughly enjoying using it at its first day in the office. It's very smooth, lays down a nice wet line, and feels and looks great.

 

Beautiful Pen, Congrats!

[Sunbird]

Hi,

This is my first Esterbrook. I am not sure which model it is. The Australian sellers description is:-

"VINTAGE COPPER ESTERBROOK FOUNTAIN PEN NIB 9128 WITH ORIGINAL BOX"

It appears to be in excellent condition, however the nib is scratchy and hard to write with. It has good ink flow but feels as if I am about to tear the paper. The nib tines appear to be straight and parallel to the naked eye.

Does any one know of goodnib repairers here in Australia or should I send it OS?

Alternatively, should I just buy a new nib for it?

I look forward to members advice.

Thanks,

Sunbird

[Scrawler]

Hi,

This is my first Esterbrook. I am not sure which model it is. The Australian sellers description is:-

"VINTAGE COPPER ESTERBROOK FOUNTAIN PEN NIB 9128 WITH ORIGINAL BOX"

It appears to be in excellent condition, however the nib is scratchy and hard to write with. It has good ink flow but feels as if I am about to tear the paper. The nib tines appear to be straight and parallel to the naked eye.

Does any one know of goodnib repairers here in Australia or should I send it OS?

Alternatively, should I just buy a new nib for it?

I look forward to members advice.

Thanks,

Sunbird

Before you spend money on it, check the alignment of the tines with a magnifying glass. Estie nibs are well made and unlikely to be misaligned, unless they have been bashed. But the major cause of scratchiness is one tine being slightly higher than another. You can raise the lower tine with a thumbnail. If you are sure they are aligned then the next thing is a little mild smoothing. If you do not have 0.5 Micron abrasive film, do the brown paper bag trick and draw figure 8 several dozen times on the brown paper while pressing a little. That will smooth out irregularities in the tipping material.

[Sunbird]

Hi,

This is my first Esterbrook. I am not sure which model it is. The Australian sellers description is:-

"VINTAGE COPPER ESTERBROOK FOUNTAIN PEN NIB 9128 WITH ORIGINAL BOX"

It appears to be in excellent condition, however the nib is scratchy and hard to write with. It has good ink flow but feels as if I am about to tear the paper. The nib tines appear to be straight and parallel to the naked eye.

Does any one know of goodnib repairers here in Australia or should I send it OS?

Alternatively, should I just buy a new nib for it?

I look forward to members advice.

Thanks,

Sunbird

Before you spend money on it, check the alignment of the tines with a magnifying glass. Estie nibs are well made and unlikely to be misaligned, unless they have been bashed. But the major cause of scratchiness is one tine being slightly higher than another. You can raise the lower tine with a thumbnail. If you are sure they are aligned then the next thing is a little mild smoothing. If you do not have 0.5 Micron abrasive film, do the brown paper bag trick and draw figure 8 several dozen times on the brown paper while pressing a little. That will smooth out irregularities in the tipping material.

 

Thanks scrawler for the tip. I shall do just as you say this evening and post the outcome.

Cheers,

sunbird

[Beechwood]

The 9128 being extra fine doesnt suit everyone and the nib is so easy to change that this may be a better result, personal choice.

 

The oblique medium Estie nib is, for example, very easy to live with, 2314m/9314M

Edited April 17, 2012 by Beechwood

[OcalaFlGuy]

IMO you can't get a good view of tine alignment with the naked eye. You need at least a 10x loupe.

 

The "grit" of brown paper bags varies greatly and the bags fibers can easily get in between the tines. Doing the figure 8 (specifically) can actually CAUSE babybottom on a nib. Old Griz posted the paper bag trick years ago here. If you ask him now, I highly suspect he now favors other media than the paper bag.

 

Almost every town has a beauty supply store. A far better option are the $2 3 sided manicure sticks where there, the grit on the final one is much finer and perfect for smoothing. It's also much more standardized grit size wise than any paper bag. Then do lefts/rights, ups/downs, and small circles in the direction of the "scratchiness".

Avoid figure 8's.

 

You are however wasting your time trying to smooth a nib with a misaligned tine.

 

If all else fails a local pawn shop or jeweler will be happy to let you borrow their loupe at their counter for the few minutes it will take you to align the tine.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL