9550

May 25, 2011

I'm a relative newbie and purchased as my second pen a refurbished Estie SJ with a 9550 ($21 from oldretiredperson on ebay).

I'm pretty happy but do have a question. The only other FP I've used for any length of time is a Sheaffer 330 with a medium nib. It seems pretty wet and frankly glides over the page like upon a cloud of air (sometimes to the detriment of my handwriting!). This Estie with a 9550 nib is very different: super fine, very controlled. There seems to be more friction, and more noise as the pen moves on the paper.

My question: does this (friction and noise) sound like the normal behavior of an Extra Fine nib or could a nib be misaligned slightly?

Also, the ink flow is pretty perfect.

Thanks!

May 25, 2011

The #9550 is an Extra Fine, relatively firm by design but not as firm as a #9450 Firm EF, the #9550 is also referred to as a Posting nib.

A Posting nib is going to be very fine, usually rather inflexible too, usually has a special grind to make pen strokes a bit darker on fibrous paper or for posting items and numbers in ledger books such as accounting and bookkeeping.

It's not surprising to hear you feel and hear a difference between this nib and any Medium point, especially if you're using a bit of pressure while writing and could be unaware just how much pressure you've been using with a Medium.

With finer points you're bound to cut deeper into the paper fibers when any pressure is applied, the difference between dragging a needlepoint as compared to a pin-head over paper is an extreme example and just for visualization here.

While your nib could need tine adjustments, it sounds like it could also just be that you're not used to the Extra Fine point and as such can't really compare it to a Medium by any maker as they're really night and day.

You can try allowing just the weight of the pen to do the work for you, see if the nib still lays down a nice wet line and makes less noise.

I do have EF nibs that are super smooth, some more so than others depending on how they're tipped and smoothed, once I got used to writing more lightly with them so they didn't gouge paper as they did when I first tried a Firm EF Posting nib for example.

It's really hard to judge what you're experiencing, not seeing you write with it and not having tried yours for myself, so above are my initial suggestions and initial thoughts on what you might be experiencing.

May 25, 2011

I can't speak to your Sheaffer 330, but I do have a Sheaffer with a No.33 14K gold nib and I have an Esterbrook with a 9550 nib, so I'll do what I can.

The Esterbrook 9550 nib is a steel nib, and an older one at that, so my limited experience is that it does write a little less smooth than my gold Sheaffer No. 33 nib. However, it doesn't scratch at all. I also have an Esterbrook with a 1555 nib that did scratch terribly--it turned out to have a small burr on the tip which required a little work (performed on-the-spot by the fine folks at Appointments here in Cincinnati -- obligatory plug for such a great store).

Summary: your 9550 nib should write just fine, although probably a little less smooth than your Sheaffer. Since you're like me--a newbie--you may want to show it to someone with a bit more experience and let him/her show you what they observe. Take the opportunity to learn what they can teach you as well!

Enjoy the Esterbrook (and the Sheaffer too!)

May 25, 2011

My 9550 exhibits this to some degree too - pretty much comes with the territory with very fine nibs.

June 4, 2011

After a little smoothing, and minor fiddling, I'm finding that this nib works really well on my Moleskine notebook. The skips and scratchy feel totally vanish. Interesting.

June 4, 2011

After a little smoothing, and minor fiddling, I'm finding that this nib works really well on my Moleskine notebook. The skips and scratchy feel totally vanish. Interesting.

That's what you get for knowing how to smooth & fiddle on your nibs, hehehe!

You could have had a bit o' tooth on the slot edges, from the slot cutting process.

A proper smoothing removes the teeth [cutting wheel burs] and often makes a nib slide & glide instead of biting & fighting while writing.

Well done!

June 7, 2011

After a little smoothing, and minor fiddling, I'm finding that this nib works really well on my Moleskine notebook. The skips and scratchy feel totally vanish. Interesting.
That's what you get for knowing how to smooth & fiddle on your nibs, hehehe!
You could have had a bit o' tooth on the slot edges, from the slot cutting process.
A proper smoothing removes the teeth [cutting wheel burs] and often makes a nib slide & glide instead of biting & fighting while writing.
Well done!

Thanks! I won't claim to know how to properly do it, but I wasn't going to lose anything since I was rapidly developing a pathological hatred of my pen. It's still a bit skippy on higher end papers. Then again, it's a posting nib. So I figure that there's possibly something related to that going on.

June 8, 2011

After a little smoothing, and minor fiddling, I'm finding that this nib works really well on my Moleskine notebook. The skips and scratchy feel totally vanish. Interesting.
That's what you get for knowing how to smooth & fiddle on your nibs, hehehe!
You could have had a bit o' tooth on the slot edges, from the slot cutting process.
A proper smoothing removes the teeth [cutting wheel burs] and often makes a nib slide & glide instead of biting & fighting while writing.
Well done!

Thanks! I won't claim to know how to properly do it, but I wasn't going to lose anything since I was rapidly developing a pathological hatred of my pen. It's still a bit skippy on higher end papers. Then again, it's a posting nib. So I figure that there's possibly something related to that going on.

Why don't you try a different nib? The pen you have is awesome just because you can change from broad writing italics to shaded writing to super fine general writing. What are you waiting for?

-William-

June 8, 2011

I have a couple of Esterbrooks with that nib, and for me they tend to be a bit scratchier than some others! They can vary a bit. Have a look at the tines with a eye loop and make sure they line up (at the end) it should look like a ball with a slit across the end.

It is also possible you need to get used to the pen, I have bought from that Ebayer as well, and so far all his pens have been top notch! (no association bla, bla, etc)

July 1, 2011

9550's are about as common as they get, so most everyone here can share stories, but, of course, they're beginning to sound the same: it's ultrafine, it'll catch on anything, and may just be a tad "fickle" every once in a while. A lot of that is simply the fact that, with a line that fine, you'll notice any variation or change; a .1 mm difference in line width won't show up with a .7 mm stub, but on a .15 mm 9550? You'll notice. As with all things FP, the number of variables that you can work with (ink, pen, paper, nib, handwriting, table) are manifold, so just because something is/was a bit Strange at one time might not mean anything later.*

*Just in my own experience taking notes in class with a 9550-equipped LJ/Rhodia Webbie/Visconti Blue ink, I've found that the difference between a well-behaved Estie, cursing my inability to get the durn thing to write, and ink gushing from the nib can often be explained by what desk or table I'm sitting at, whether or not there's a window open two rows in front of me, or whether or not a good low-pressure system/thunderstorm has passed through lately.