My first Estie

[OcalaFlGuy]

Just got one. Here is the listing page.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221409532641

 

In the mean time find someone you know who has a loupe, (nearby jewelry store, pawn shop) you'll need it to adjust the right tine on that nib Back Up.

 

No Way could the "restorer" have test written with That nib in that pen when he was done working on it.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Jbloodwo]

In the mean time find someone you know who has a loupe, (nearby jewelry store, pawn shop) you'll need it to adjust the right tine on that nib Back Up.

 

No Way could the "restorer" have test written with That nib in that pen when he was done working on it.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Sadily I did not notice the bent section on the nib untell after I bid. I may just head over to harbor freaght and pick up a loop... Give it a go my self. If i mess it up too much i am not in to the pen for much. And I might buy a new nib.

[OcalaFlGuy]

It looked like a simple bend to me, no twisty bend.

 

Should be a pretty easy fix.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Jbloodwo]

It looked like a simple bend to me, no twisty bend.

 

Should be a pretty easy fix.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

the bend is so slight it is almost impossible to see without a loop. I am guessing about 2-3 hairs at most. writes ok with a dip test. will do a bit of clean of of the threads and cap when i get home tonight.

[FloatingFountain]

Hi

A few minutes ago, I've posted my introduction thread, and thought I'd make a post here about the two Esterbrook pens I have.

After seeing the current Conway Stewart lever fillers and not knowing what they were, I started looking into this type of pen, and liked it. In the end, I decided to get some Esterbrook pens, because they seemed to be easy to get and easy to repair.

First, it turned out way more expensive than I anticipated, and learned that even the most well-known eBay sellers have a different idea of "excellent" than I have. The first pen is actually the only one that was as described, except for the nib.

The first pen I got was a Copper J, with a 1554 nib, fully restored, for $45 including shipping to the Netherlands, which I thought was an okayish price. It seems that shipping a pen to the Netherlands gets more expensive if the pen is cheaper: most sellers will ask $20 or more to ship. Let's say that getting my hands on an unrestored Esterbrook with a 2-series nib will cost me around $35 at least.

The pen itself is indeed fully restored (new sac, new lever), but I actually had to re-restore it myself, because customs took it apart, and I wanted to be sure everything was fine, so I had to order some shellac and some sacs for about $15 (including shipping).

Also, I had to pay $27.50 customs declaration for the honor to get this pen delivered. After inking it up, I found the 1554 nib to be worn down, and very scratchy. Reading around, I thought I might like the 9556. Well, that nib runs $18-25, with $7 to $10 delivery cost to the Netherlands. I still ordered one, and I do like it.

So, here's a fully restored Copper J, 9556, which in the end, cost me $117.50 to import and fix to my liking:

http://www.asmoda.net/f-i/fpn/E9556C1.JPG

Apart from a somewhat rougher feel on the back of the cap, the pen is now at perfect at least, and I like it as it now looks, feels and writes, so it was somewhat worth it.

Wanting a Black Esterbrook as well, I ordered another "fully restored" and "excellent" one from a well-known eBay seller, with a 100% rating over thousands of reviews, this time for $47, including shipping, and a 9550 nib.

Well...

- The nib was VERY scratchy.
- The feed was misaligned.
- It had several nicks in the barrel which were not described and not pictured.
- It was impossible to open, which should not be the case if it was fully restored.

I returned this pen to the seller and got the purchase price refunded.

One more time... ordering another Black Esterbrook, this time with a 2556 nib, for $49 including shipping. It was listed as excellent and perfect, but but it wasn't.

- The clip spins. I have used some thread to tighten it. I'll probably redo this, drenching the thread in superglue to actually glue the clip to the cap, as I don't want to take it apart.
- The cap jewel is complete, but it has a scratch/rough spot at the edge. It looks like damage which would be caused by dropping the pen. I understand the thing is 50-60 years old, and it's a tiny imperfection, but it was described as "perfect" by a 100% rated ebay seller, wasn't it?
- The J-bar has rust spots. I can actually see it through the lever opening. I will have to remove and clean it.
- There is some purple substance/ink inside, or at least there was. The barrel still needs cleaning.
- I removed about half a bottle of ink out of the barrel and cap threads.
- The sac is sloppily mounted and is askew. I redid this myself.
- The 2556 nib is severly worn down, to the point that it actually catches on the paper when held wrong.

I could have returned the pen, but having some repair stuff at hand already, I tightened the clip using the thread trick, cleaned and resacced the pen myself, and ordered another 9556 nib for $30, so this Esterbrook also cost me around $79.

Here it is, still with the 2556 nib, awaiting the arrival of the other 9556:

 

http://asmoda.net/f-i/fpn/E2556B1.JPG

I have a feeling that I am going to replace this black Esterbrook with another black one at some point, with a tight clip and perfect cap jewel, and then glue the clip of this pen and sell it off without a nib, as my feeling with this pen is not stellar. Maybe, just maybe, I'll knock the 2556 out of it's collar and replace it with a Goulet #6 (I've read that this was possible) and keep this pen in the end, while still getting another black one.

In short, my first forays into Esterbrookland were expensive (because I'm not in the USA) and decidedly unstellar experiences, despite buying from well-rated eBay sellers.

It's a good thing I like the Copper J so much, and that I can (probably) get a good black one at some point with a 9556 nib, but I don't think I will continue the Esterbrook game like this. $79 to $125 will buy something better, to be honest. I think I'll stick to the Copper J and one black pen in the end, only getting others if I can confirm that a replacement #6 nib works (shelling out $30 to get a 9556 delivered for each pen is just a bit over the top), and I can get the pens unrestored for less than $20.

Edited April 14, 2014 by FloatingFountain

[Scrawler]

Why on earth would customs take a pen apart? By the seems of this description they even removed the sac. That is utterly bizarre.

[FloatingFountain]

Why on earth would customs take a pen apart? By the seems of this description they even removed the sac. That is utterly bizarre.

 

In search of drugs, possibly. The talc may have shown up on some of the scanners.

 

When I got the pen, I had to pay custom declarations and the package was opened. To be sure the pen was alright, I took it apart myself. It had a new sac and a new J-bar as described on eBay, but the sac was not talced and just popped off the section, so there was no adhesive. I would think that this seller who would replace a sac and J-bar would also use shellac and talc, so I *assume* customs took the pen apart, removing the shellac and talc to take a look into the sac and barrel. I can't actually prove this, of course.

 

Therefore, I put a new sac onto the pen. Maybe I could have gotten away with using the same sac again, but I didn't trust it too much anymore; I can't know what customs did or didn't do with it.

Edited April 14, 2014 by FloatingFountain

[white_lotus]

Well I've dived into the Esterbrook world with both feet, into the deep end of the pool by purchasing on E(vil)Bay. Hopefully my experience will be better than the one above! (Now I'm all scared and hopefully won't have to use the emoticons meaning "I'm so sad!", or "Life is cruel!")

 

I promise I'll post pics when the arrive, should be by the end of this week.

 

But to ease any suspense (there probably isn't any but…) I won a Blue J and a Red J, both with 9550 extra fine nibs. They aren't really the nibs I wanted, but it'll give me a chance to try an EF. And the prices seemed reasonable. One is "restored" whatever that might mean, the other untouched, but the exterior looks clean on both. I also went for the morgue specimen from the estate sale for $10 to begin practicing sac replacement, polishing and the like. So we'll see what I get from our 100% rated sellers.

 

But now that I have two J series coming in two different colors, I have to collect the other four colors right? But I'm going to pause

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390825369017?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161282206528?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Edited April 29, 2014 by white_lotus

[OcalaFlGuy]

I don't see any issues with them but note that they are Both SJ's Not the larger J's

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Gloucesterman]

Esterbrooks can be kind of addictive - imo, because they are relatively inexpensive, have a wide variety and are easily restored (in most cases).

 

having 3/4/5 of them offers a wide range of writing experiences for a reasonable investment.

[white_lotus]

Well so much for my "pause", I bid on more. The two pens came today in the mail, both 9550 LJs. The blue one looks in ok shape without taking it apart, no scratches, and will probably need normal restoration work. The red one, supposedly "restored" has a big hole in the feed on the bottom, which wasn't shown in the pics on ebay. Looks like someone might have poked the feed with something at some point. So I'm a little sad at that, but I'm learning my ebay lesson — don't bid unless the whole pen is shown, top and bottom of the feed.

 

Unfortunately in my rush I bid and won on some of the other Esties from the same seller, so we'll see what condition those arrive in.

 

I notice also the levers are different. If they're both LJs shouldn't they have the same kind of lever? Looking at esterbrook.net, should an LJ have a spoon lever and the J a spade lever, or is it not consistent.

 

Anyway here are the pics:

 

 

Edited May 1, 2014 by white_lotus

[FloatingFountain]

Not all feeds are the same, even if the nib is a 9550 on both. The feed on your red pen looks the same as the one on my 9556 nib. I assume that you are referring to the 'hole' near the tip: that's normal with some versions of the feeds.

 

The levers can be different. My Copper J has the round lever like your red pen, but the Black J has the triangular lever of your blue pen. It just depends on the year the pen was actually made in, and it's even possible to see very old Esterbrooks with newer levers, or the other way around, due to people replacing them.

[white_lotus]

Thanks for clarifying that! I was so worried that I'd made a terrible mistake. Now to begin my unpaid and untrained internship as an Estie doctor. Woe to the Estie patients I find lost in the halls of ebay-dom.

[OcalaFlGuy]

White Lotus, Oops, I miss-ID'd.

 

Looks like your Blue pen IS a J. And a very nice looking one.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[white_lotus]

You were right the first time Bruce. My pictures didn't provide enough info for correct ID. The jewels are the same size, so that makes it an LJ, yes?. Apparently at some point in it's life it was repaired and the spade lever was installed. But this helped me understand the differences, so learning more all the time!

 

Waiting now for sacs, shellac, talc, etc. Now I find a book about Esterbrooks and a Parker Repair Manual. It just doesn't end!

 

cheryl

[Misfit]

I got my first Esterbrook with much help from OcalaFlGuy Bruce. He helped me so much to find an Esterbrook. That one got away from me, and he helped me again. Helped to find it and gave bidding strategies. Plus Bruce pointed me to an online store with NOS nibs. Since the pen I got was described as having slightly bent nib tip, it was needed.

 

The Esterbrook I got is green, one jewel, ribbed clip with Esterbrook on it. Measures 4 7/8" capped.

 

I saw the fountain pen (Esterbrook) LBJ used to sign the Voting Rights Act in the Smithsonian Magazine. I started looking at Esterbrooks online and eBay had a lot. I turned to this forum, found Bruce, and now I'm in the club.

 

I also won the auction for a brown Estie, so when it arrives I'll find out if it is copper or brown.

 

Thank you Bruce for being a fabulous Esterbrook mentor.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Thank you for the kind words Marie.

 

Many of us here had our own Estie Mentors, mine was Todd Toulouse. In fact the little lever filler Owner's Manual I cobbled together is about 90% from his email replies to my silly nOOb, know ZIPPO about Esties questions. I never thought I would Thank him for Stopping restoring Esties for me to buy but the only reason I started learning how to do it Myself was I didn't see Anyone Else doing them as nicely as Todd did.

 

It is nice to be able to be the same kind of help that someone here was to me some years ago.

 

Your Green Transitional with a NOS 9788 especially for what you paid for it is a Very Nice 1st Estie.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[white_lotus]

Thanks for your suggestions Bruce, for us new people it's very helpful. I've learned a lot about vintage pens from your posts. Thanks for taking the time to share with us all.

 

btw, where can one obtain the lever-filler Owners' Manual?

[OcalaFlGuy]

btw, where can one obtain the lever-filler Owners' Manual?

 

Sent via PM.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[shakin_jake]

Well so much for my "pause", I bid on more. The two pens came today in the mail, both 9550 LJs. The blue one looks in ok shape without taking it apart, no scratches, and will probably need normal restoration work. The red one, supposedly "restored" has a big hole in the feed on the bottom, which wasn't shown in the pics on ebay. Looks like someone might have poked the feed with something at some point. So I'm a little sad at that, but I'm learning my ebay lesson — don't bid unless the whole pen is shown, top and bottom of the feed.

 

 

snip, snip, snip

 

 

~~~~What you can do is point out the description discrepancy to the seller and politely ask for a bid reduction, since the damage wasn't mentioned in the seller's description. I bid on far more vintage straight razors than I bid on vintage writing instruments but the same rules apply. Although buyers should ask questions, I feel it's incumbent on honest sellers to point out all flaws. Sometimes honest sellers have overlooked damage or, they don't realize the damage is there in the first place (ignorance is bliss=:-) If a vintage item was misrepresented (damage known but not disclosed), shame on the seller and there's no way it's your fault, and a bid reduction is definitely in order

 

 

Best,

 

 

Jake

Reddick Fla.