My first Estie

[white_lotus]

It's fine Jake. There are some of these Esterbrook feeds that have this strange pattern in the bottom of the feed.

 

And while I'd like for there to be better pictures, they are what they are.

[disillusion]

My first Estie, a nicely restored black LJ with a 2556 nib, arrived from Peyton Street Pens last week. It is the perfect size for me and I really like the nib - nice fine line with just the right amount of feedback. I am definitely going to get some more (perhaps all the regular colours?) in the future.

[Shyner]

Just got back a pen I sent away to be restored all in with shipping $60. What a waste of money. Loose cap ring and the fill lever hangs loose on the side just enough to catch on things. I should have kept my cash to buy something more usable and just tossed this dollar pen. Live and learn.

[OcalaFlGuy]

That is disturbing to read. Even if you knock out $10 for shipping there and back, that's a $50 (not) restore job. Even the cap band should IMO have been fixed for that amount.

 

Were the cap band being loose and the floppy lever mentioned up front to the restorer?

 

Was this a Professional restorer that is well known?

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Ayla]

I just won my first ever Vintage Fountain pen, off flea bay. Its a beautiful Esterbrook SJ with a 1550 nib. It hasn't arrived yet, but I can't wait to get it in the mail! Here is the picture, off the auction listing.

 

Edited June 2, 2014 by Ayla

[Shyner]

That is disturbing to read. Even if you knock out $10 for shipping there and back, that's a $50 (not) restore job. Even the cap band should IMO have been fixed for that amount.

 

Were the cap band being loose and the floppy lever mentioned up front to the restorer?

 

Was this a Professional restorer that is well known?

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

 

I don't remember the cap band being loose before I sent it away. Maybe when it was polished by the restorer it was loosened..? and the lever I assumed would be corrected with new pen innards. It was my first "sac" pen and certainly the first (and last) time I paid someone to restore a pen for me. So no, I didn't really mention the loose lever. I just thought this one would be worth the restore. And, yes, quite a well known restorer.

[pschwartz]

I received my first Esterbrook this morning. A beautiful dollar clip green striated with a 9788 nib. I am learning and it is nice--even compared to my Montblancs... Is that anyone who can give me tips on using the flex nib? and maintenance? e.g., how does the pen come apart/

[lahlahlaw]

I first learned about Estie's when a friend of mine cleaned out his Grandfathers "stuff" and brought me a few finds, knowing I am a pen addict. I looked up the brand and discovered the large community of Estie lovers out there. I have no experience with a lever/sac fountain pen, so I just stared at it for a couple of months trying to decide what to do with this animal. So the choices were - repair it or have a useless pretty thang. I Finally decided to send it away for repair - maybe all these folks love 'em for a good reason - and now I have an 8-12 week wait to find out the diagnosis and if I can afford to get it back. It is a Dubonnet?? red and has no jewels. Is it the AMC Gremlin of Esterbrooks?

Do you remember what the clip looked like? It sounds like a dollar pen, definitely not an AMC Gremlin (I like Gremlins though...)

[Shyner]

Yes. I have it back now. The top end has a flat disc with Esterbrook engraved and the clip has the Art Deco ish style holes.

Now that I have it back the ring on the cap is a little loose and the lever on the side droops a little. Do you know of any way

to tighten it up to the barrel so it doesn't get snagged by accident?

[OcalaFlGuy]

Shyner, that's a Dollar pen, the first Estie made in the U.S. It's around 75 years old or so. VERY art deco as you've noted. The good news is you have no jewels to break if you drop the pen like the later models do.

 

A Good restorer can swag the cap band tight for around $15 + shipping. For a little less, a bottle of Cpt. Tolley's Creeping Crack cure might fix it IF the ring has Just started to turn, ie; not really a Spinner yet and it isn't loose enough for any side to side play to have developed in the ring. Then it's Too Loose for anything but the swagging. Cpt. Tolley's basically flows into the spacing where the ring moves and after several applications and wipe offs, there's no longer any room for the ring to move around in. Around $12-15 shipped for a bottle.

 

The lever flops because it's either a non factory J-bar that should have been slightly modified and wasn't OR the original j-bar has slid slightly out of position relative to the lever end. The CORRECT fix is to pull the section again, open it up, spread the J a bit so it gets more bite and doesn't move, grind down the [_] shoulders of a non factory J-bar if one was used or maybe put a spacer in after the J-bar to help it stay in place. The first Esties did not have sac trays to Really Keep the J-bar in place like the DJ J's did. You should have mentioned the floppy lever to the restorer...

 

There is a Band-aid fix IF and only if you Don't want to take the pen apart OR send it back to the restorer. If will keep the lever from flopping at least until the J-bar slips so far out of position that it will no longer contact the lever end inside then it'll Have to come apart for the real fix above. The Band-aid fix IS reverseable if the real fix is every done.

 

The underneath of the lever also looks like this [_]. What I've done is stick a Phillips head jewelers screw driver tip into the lever end (furthest one away from the barrel) and spread the shoulder Just A Hair. Just enough to hold the lever within it's slot in the barrel. When you do the real fix, you can just squeeze the opened up part back to where it was before you spread it a bit. It may take a couple tries until you get it spread just enough to hold the lever but not Too Open for the lever to close in the barrel all the way.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Edited June 17, 2014 by OcalaFlGuy

[Shyner]

Thanks for the fixes for my Dollar. I've had another Double J I bought at the antique store apart, so perhaps I'll give it a go on fixing the Dollar pen. Gotta tell

you though, it's been just enough to make me shy away from restored oldies. I have a Shaeffer (the old green model) that I took apart and thought I had all happy, then

it promptly puked ink all over me, the cabinet, ............ And having spent my lunch money having the dollar pen restored, only to be afraid to use it.... well maybe I'm just

not dedicated enough to the coddling of these older models.

Again, thank you for the time and trouble to help me with the Band-aid and the real fixes. I will give them a go.

[faust41]

I just won my first Esterbrook on eBay today. It is a steely grey and I am not sure which type, SJ or J. The nib says 2568. I was wondering if you could provide information about it. I am interested in trying a flex nib with it. As soon as I receive it, I'll post some pics. Thank you for any information you can provide.

[kmonroe99]

OcalaFLGuy (Bruce) may have created a new addict thanks to the red Estie J with 2668 nib I just acquired from him! I don't know what I was expecting for sure but this is a very nice writer. Guess I'm going to have to start the search for other colors - I've already started to acquire more nibs.

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag28/kmonroe99/RedEstieJune14b_zps06e4e77a.jpg

[OcalaFlGuy]

It's always nice to hear someone happy with a new pen. (Even MORE so when it's one of mine. )

 

We got lucky with that one, the nib if not NOS was Really close to it.

 

Enjoy Ken.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl-Your friendly neighborhood Corner Crack Pen Enabler

[OcalaFlGuy]

I just won my first Esterbrook on eBay today. It is a steely grey and I am not sure which type, SJ or J. The nib says 2568. I was wondering if you could provide information about it. I am interested in trying a flex nib with it. As soon as I receive it, I'll post some pics. Thank you for any information you can provide.

 

Shoot us the Fleabay listing and we'll give you the lowdown skinny on it.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[MadScientist]

After handling a few Esterbrooks at a local pen dealer, I decided that I'd like own (at least) one. My first two showed up today, a black desk pen with clear tail and 8-ball holder and a blue LJ. I was excited for their arrival, especially since I like restoring things. The LJ is in immaculate condition, possibly restored previously. The sac is of unknown age, but is pliable and passes a pressure test. Would you replace it anyway since the pen is apart? Pretty good value for $14 shipped. I've certainly paid more and received less. The desk pen contained a fossilized sac and the hard rubber section was a royal pain to polish the oxidation off of. I didn't take pictures of the desk pen yet, since it isn't much to look at.

 

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h36/quicksilver96/Pens/20140707_232342_RichtoneHDR.jpg

 

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h36/quicksilver96/Pens/20140707_221607.jpg

Edited July 8, 2014 by MadScientist

[estie1948]

Since no one has offered a good answer to your question about resacing the LJ, I'll give you my opinion. If it were mine, I would put it back together, ink it up, and get busy writing with it. There is a chance the sac may not last. But you have done the pressure test and it passed, so I'd bet it will be good for twenty or thirty years. I hope you enjoy your pen and welcome to the fabulous world of Esterbrook!

 

-David.

Edited July 17, 2014 by estie1948

[FayeV]

Some new "firsts" for me when I received this pen last month.
My first Esterbrook.
My first vintage fountain pen.
My first lever filler.

It has a 9550 (fine) nib. I also have a 2314 (medium) nib.
It's currently filled with Waterman South Seas Blue and it is one of 4 FPs I carry with me everyday. It took me a little while to warm up to the fine line the 9550 nib produced. I love how nibs are easily interchangeable on these Esties. What I'd really like to get is a stub nib.

 

I have three questions...

 

Is there a way to get the lever on the barrel to line up with the top of the nib?

When the pen is capped, Is there a way to get the clip to line up with the lever on the barrel? --- Yes, my OCD is kicking in

 

Approximately what year was this one produced? --- I **know** I saw someone's post on this forum mentioning that the lever style (spoon/flat end, smooth/grooved lever) indicated which year the pen was produced and included a range of years for each of the 4 possible styles. I've tried searching for this and couldn't find it. Would someone be able to conjure up the link to this post?

Edited July 24, 2014 by FayeV

[PenFisher]

 

Is there a way to get the lever on the barrel to line up with the top of the nib?

 

==> Yes, with much care and caution. The nib must be installed and then you warm the barrel around the thread area (careful, careful not too warm). When warm you should be able to gently rotate the section with nib in place so that it lines up properly. Caution: do not use excessive heat or force. If the section doesn't rotate with warming then have someone with proper tools/experience set it up for you. Just like pulling the section out completely , there is always the risk of cracking the barrel at the threads. Did I mention the word careful ?

 

When the pen is capped, Is there a way to get the clip to line up with the lever on the barrel? --- Yes, my OCD is kicking in

 

==> As a practical matter, no. It is possible to pull the inner cap and then reset it so that the lever will line up with the cap clip when the barrel is screwed in. Not worth the risk/cost/reward IMHO. However, sometimes the clip and lever will line up depending on the initial position of the lever relative to the clip when you first insert the barrel into the cap. Trial and error applies here with no guarantees.

 

 

Edited July 25, 2014 by PenFisher

[Thuja]

It's the oldest story on FPN. Girl discovers Esterbrooks and buys a Dollar pen with 9450. Then she buys a red SJ with 1555 before the first one even arrives. I hope this will be the perfect solution to my love of tiny nibs and vintage/antique things.

 

Plus need to add that I'm extremely impatient and also geographically challenged so no pen shows or antique shops in my neck of the woods.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Thuja