"eightball" Desk Sets.

[liz4tin]

Ok, now that I'm awaiting my first Esterbrook and nib, I've been exploring fleabay for other pens and goodies. And I've seen a few desk sets called "Eightballs." They are adorable! But this would be another first for me.

 

Are they worth getting? How does the ink not dry out in the holder? What should I look out for when looking at them (cracks? etc?)

[kps]

Those don't store ink; they just work like a plain old cap on lever-filled pens. Assuming they're complete and not obviously broken, I don't think there's much that can go wrong.

[escribo]

That looks like a rubber seal where the pen fits into the holder. I imagine that keeps it from drying out.

[liz4tin]

Great! If the felt is bad on the bottom is that easy to replace?

[Tdot]

Great! If the felt is bad on the bottom is that easy to replace?

Yes, grab a square of felt in your favorite color from the local crafty store. Put the 8-ball on the felt and draw a circle. Cut/trim and glue. Your done.

 

Mine is black with a black pen.

 

I was more crazy about the 444 series (they do hold ink) and have a bunch of them. And the 407 is pretty cool too. Check out the examples at Pendemonium.

[liz4tin]

I did check them out at Pendemonium and esterbrook.net. Which of course did NOTHING to dampen my interest in them. Ha!

[escribo]

I'm so glad I'm retired and have no use for a desk pen/holder, else I'd be all over these.

[Tdot]

Once you get a couple of these, you will start seeing them everywhere in the old movies and TV shows.

[liz4tin]

I just turned 38, so in the US to reach full retirement age I will need to be 72. That's a lot of years to go. So hopefully, I'll be employed for those upcoming years and a desk set would be very useful I think, or at least neat to have.

 

Right now the only think keeping me from going crazy is that my budget is tight. But I do have one heck of a wish list going!

 

Edit: You know that came out wrong. For me half the fun is looking and learning the prices and what I want next so that when I do get it, it's like christmas.

Edited July 14, 2012 by liz4tin

[LisaN]

I have one on my desk at work... love it.

no one has commented at all

I have a 9550 nib on it and it's perfect for bad (cheap copy) paper.

[liz4tin]

I have one on my desk at work... love it.

no one has commented at all

I have a 9550 nib on it and it's perfect for bad (cheap copy) paper.

 

 

What color is it?

[Shaporama]

I have one on my desk at work... love it.

no one has commented at all

I have a 9550 nib on it and it's perfect for bad (cheap copy) paper.

Same here. Mine is a very smooth writer. It had been sitting on my desk for 5 months before anyone noticed it!

[LisaN]

I have one on my desk at work... love it.

no one has commented at all

I have a 9550 nib on it and it's perfect for bad (cheap copy) paper.

 

 

What color is it?

black ball. black pen, nice lucite taper with no tooth marks.

[melissa59]

For me half the fun is looking and learning the prices and what I want next so that when I do get it, it's like christmas.

 

Big DITTO!

 

I love online window shopping. I do a LOT of looking, price comparison, reading reviews, etc. I've even been known to put things in the virtual shopping cart to see what a total cost would be, just for fun! Sometimes, I'll look at something often and want it more each time I see it. That's when I have to budget for a purchase or just not look anymore. Other times, seeing an item several times is enough to get it out of my system so that I don't even want it. I like it best when that happens!

[estie1948]

I have three "eightball" desk sets. Two are black with black pens and clear tapers. One is green with a green pen with clear taper. They all have 9550 nibs in them and are super smooth writers. You will love yours when you get "it". I say "it" because they are like all things Esterbrook in that they are addictive or there is at least a rumor to that effect. I have an even ten desk sets. If it sounds like I'm bragging that is because I am! (I've never been justifiably accused of being nice. Sorry.)

 

Truth to tell, I stopped buying desk sets about ten years ago. Now I am suddenly thinking I need at least one more.

 

By the way, one of my favorite old movies is Desk Set.

 

-David.

[tmenyc]

Gotta warn you...using an 8-ball leads to getting a 444, the series that is a "dip-less" inkwell and holds an ounce of ink. After that you'll get a double-well 444, and then come the evenings where you say "hi, I'm Tim, and I ..."

 

Tim

Edited July 15, 2012 by tmenyc

[melissa59]

Phew! Good thing I never write at my desk. If I did, it would start a whole other addiction!

[pal38]

I love the color range of the 8-balls! It's the only desk set I'm collecting. Here's a picture of my lot. The newest dark green/blue addition didn't make it on the picture yet.

 

 

[vickiehof]

I have one desk set at my home desk and three at work. I have 2 black sets, one red set and one that's a different shape and smaller (I don't know the official name for it) in a gray/green color.

 

I use them constantly because they're perfect for quick notes, making lists, signing checks, etc. Since that seems to be the majority of my writing, I guess that I could say that the humble Esterbrooks are my "most used" pens.

 

I like pal38's beautiful collection.

[79spitfire]

I have one, it's a mauve, black pen, clear taper 3550 nib. (yes a 3000 series nib!) I paid (I think) a total of $25 by the time I assembled the parts...