Anatomy Of A Estie Double-Jewel Model J

[Rabbit52]

Hello,

I have never been big into fountain pens, when I was young my uncle tried to help me develop an interest in them but I was always more interested in playing. However now that I am older I have dusted off the old pen case and have attempted to get some of them working again. There is one in particular I have always liked, a vintage double-jewel Esterbrook model J. It has the steel 2668 nib and seems to be in working order, it even has what I believe to be the original price sticker on it($3.00). There is one thing that has me stumped and that is how to remove the section from the barrel, it seems to be stuck and I have tried both pulling and twisting off the section to no avail. Therefore I am wondering if they glued the section and nib onto the barrel, if so is this something Esterbrook did or is this someone messing up on an ink sac replacement and getting lacquer in the wrong spot? Also any tips on the removal of this section would be appreciated.

[AndreasD]

Hello,

I have never been big into fountain pens, when I was young my uncle tried to help me develop an interest in them but I was always more interested in playing. However now that I am older I have dusted off the old pen case and have attempted to get some of them working again. There is one in particular I have always liked, a vintage double-jewel Esterbrook model J. It has the steel 2668 nib and seems to be in working order, it even has what I believe to be the original price sticker on it($3.00). There is one thing that has me stumped and that is how to remove the section from the barrel, it seems to be stuck and I have tried both pulling and twisting off the section to no avail. Therefore I am wondering if they glued the section and nib onto the barrel, if so is this something Esterbrook did or is this someone messing up on an ink sac replacement and getting lacquer in the wrong spot? Also any tips on the removal of this section would be appreciated.

 

Apply some gentle dry heat might work, or in the case of an Esterbrook which is not made of hard rubber (hint: don't try it with finer and older pens), try to dip it in hot water a short while.

 

In all likelihood, using some dry heat and a rubber hose for some better grip you will get it out. It might be some shellac has been put in the wrong place but these are sometimes friction fit with just a lot of friction!

[Uncle Red]

Welcome, Esterbrooks are nice pens, I have 4. Yeah, something to help you grip and some gentile heat might help. Patience is an absolute must! Start with a little heat and work your way up SLOWLY. Pull straight, do not twist or you may warp the barrel. It's worth taking a long time.

Do not try to work when you are frustrated. It's better to put it down and come back when you're calm.

 

One of these days I'll take my own advice.

[AndreasD]

Welcome, Esterbrooks are nice pens, I have 4. Yeah, something to help you grip and some gentile heat might help. Patience is an absolute must! Start with a little heat and work your way up SLOWLY. Pull straight, do not twist or you may warp the barrel. It's worth taking a long time.

Do not try to work when you are frustrated. It's better to put it down and come back when you're calm.

 

One of these days I'll take my own advice.

 

Yeah, take it slow and easy.

 

BTW, they grow on you. I have more than 10 esties...

[Kelly G]

Good advice above. A bit more precision: You should not heat the barrel beyond 145 degrees F to soften any shellac that might be sealing the section in place. Going beyond that temperature risks serious problems. Longer heating time at 145 is significantly better than shorter times at higher temps.

 

Also, some Esties have hard rubber sections, so the hot water advice may be risky as well. Dry heat is always better than wet heat in the pen world.

 

While the Estie nib is removable, do not remove the section with the nib out - you risk crushing or cracking the section.

 

Heat the barrel threads to re-insert the section - you can crack a barrel quite easily forcing the section into cold plastic.

 

Good luck with your pen.

[risingsun]

I didn't have much luck with the gentile heat on my tough-to-open Estie a couple weeks ago. On the advice of others in the many discussions on the Esterbrook forum, I got the nib out (unscrewed it without too much trouble) and then left the section and barrel of the pen overnight in a cup of cold water, section down, just deep enough cover the outer barrel threads. The next day, the section slid right out peacefully. I think it was inked in pretty well.

Edited August 10, 2012 by risingsun

[OcalaFlGuy]

Estie sections weren't sealed with anything from the factory and it's normally not recommended THAT they be sealed with anything.

 

They can get stuck in their pretty tight over time but it's not usually as a result of shellac unless the person who had the section off was Particularly clueless. (The exception being if someone has taken the "easy out" of shellacing a section into a barrel with an edge crack they are trying to lesson the danger off cracking further. Then you'd probably just finishing breaking it trying to get the section out...)

 

I have heard experts say soaking a section does little to loosen one up. Generally, now, I use heat only. However, honestly, soaking was how I was taught to loosen a persistent Estie section and it in fact worked pretty consistently for me. Use only cool soak water in case an older HR section has sneaked in there on you. (I don't think the experts would advise AGAINST soaking as long as you soak from the barrel threads FORWARD, I've just heard them say they don't think it's very helpful.)

Bruce in Ocala, FL

Edited August 10, 2012 by OcalaFlGuy

[pajaro]

So, the sections on the J series pens are friction fit?

 

I have never had one out, I thought they were sealed somehow, and that was why heat was used to remove them.

[Uncle Red]

They came from the factory friction fit but tight. The heat should soften the celluliod and make it easier to remove the section. It will also loosen any shellac that someone has used during the pens life.

Thanks Kelly G for the added details.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Friction fit.

 

The heat serves two purposes, it slightly expand the barrel to ease removal of the section and when warmed the barrel is less likely to crack.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[FarmBoy]

This may help.

[MKeith]

BTW, you've got a great pen to get back into the swing of fountain pens with. Farmboy and OcalaFLGuy are both great with Esties. And also a hearty WELCOME to our addiction factory.

 

And thanks Farmboy for the picture. I always wondered what the inside of my Esties looked like.

Edited August 10, 2012 by MKeith

[Rabbit52]

Hey I just wanted to thank you all for the responses I don't have much time to work on it before I go to bed. However I will try to use heat before I hit the sack and if it does not work I will soak it overnight. Thanks again for all the advice and I will report back once I have made some progress.

[AndreasD]

Interesting. I didn't knew there were any hard rubber parts in esties. I have many and have yet to see one. But hard rubber smells quite distinctly so you should easily find if you have such a section. Heat and persistence will prevail.

 

I love to learn new little things like that. Many good people around here who knows their stuff!

[Rabbit52]

Well I couldn't get it I tried heat but without a heat gun I can't control the temperature well enough to be comfortable heating it so I tried soaking it over a 24 hour period without results. Which makes me believe it was at one point the victim of a bad repair since it didn't even budge(I think I heard it snicker at me ). However I settled for placing it next to my ear and listening to the mechanism and the sac once I was convinced that it was not faulty I tried filling it with water and success. I was a bit afraid to do so since I don't have much experience with these and didn't want to find out that there can be a small leak which would in turn ruin the internal components. I asked my uncle about it at lunch today and he reassured me that if the bladder filled easily and there is nothing that isn't obviously wrong with it that it is probably fine. So I filled it when I got home and boy am I happy it writes like a dream and has become my new favorite pen another bonus is that it goes well with my red tie so I can take it on interviews.

 

Interesting note that price tag I found stuck on the cap that I believed to be for the entire pen at one point I now believe to be a price for the cap itself or at least the price of another pen. When I was looking at it today I realized that while the cap and barrel are the same color the pattern in it is different. The barrel has that crinkled tin-like texture in it while the cap is completely smooth and uniform. I can't complain I think I got it for eight bucks at the Chicago pen show when I was 12.

Edited August 12, 2012 by Rabbit52

[AndreasD]

Well I couldn't get it I tried heat but without a heat gun I can't control the temperature well enough to be comfortable heating it so I tried soaking it over a 24 hour period without results. Which makes me believe it was at one point the victim of a bad repair since it didn't even budge(I think I heard it snicker at me ). However I settled for placing it next to my ear and listening to the mechanism and the sac once I was convinced that it was not faulty I tried filling it with water and success. I was a bit afraid to do so since I don't have much experience with these and didn't want to find out that there can be a small leak which would in turn ruin the internal components. I asked my uncle about it at lunch today and he reassured me that if the bladder filled easily and there is nothing that isn't obviously wrong with it that it is probably fine. So I filled it when I got home and boy am I happy it writes like a dream and has become my new favorite pen another bonus is that it goes well with my red tie so I can take it on interviews.

 

Interesting note that price tag I found stuck on the cap that I believed to be for the entire pen at one point I now believe to be a price for the cap itself or at least the price of another pen. When I was looking at it today I realized that while the cap and barrel are the same color the pattern in it is different. The barrel has that crinkled tin-like texture in it while the cap is completely smooth and uniform. I can't complain I think I got it for eight bucks at the Chicago pen show when I was 12.

 

Great news!

 

I don't have any heat gun either. I've been thinking of getting one, but I have not found anyone selling one. I did manage to open a pen in hard rubber by holding the pen over the stove. It's heat, right? It's probably not to be recommended if you have a gas stove, though.

[SeigeMachine]

I totally cringe when I hear any Esterbrook from the Model J Family referred to as an "Estie". An "Estie" is a creation of the "new" Company that has taken the name of Esterbrook. I do own an "Estie" that I bought more out of curiosity & I really do not like it. It just doesn't feel or write "right", in my opinion. I bought the Oversize Estie in Marachino  with a medium nib, which I believe was a Limited Edition as they don't even list it anymore. Even bought the "Accessory MV Nib Adapter" as no broad nibs were available. I prefer my Esterbrook Pens to have an Esterbrook broad nib & I have quite a few Esterbrook broad nibs on hand. Everything went fine w/the adapter, but something still wasn't "right". So, after a few days, I cleaned everything up & put it away where it remains to this day. Then I recently heard about an Esterbrook Model J & got excited. So, I bought the Esterbrook Model J Fountain Pen in Antique Rose Ebonite with Gold Trim w/a Broad Nib, price be damned. I got it, cleaned it, let it airdry overnight & then inked w/Waterman's Harmonious Green, my favorite ink. I started writing & this is not a broad nib, it may say it on the nib & the box but, I'm sorry this is a medium at best & it skips as well. I've been collecting Esterbrook Model J Fountain Pens & Nibs for a couple of decades & can fix all but MAJOR problems w/the ORIGINAL pens & nibs but, this was beyond my comprehension, as the nib looked fine & it appeared that it should function like a nib should. So, called Esterbrook & spoke w/a girl who really did not sound like she knew a thing about the products her employer sold & she told me that I could purchase another nib. I just spent $300 on this pen & an extra $30 isn't going to make a difference, but I am BIG TIME peeved OFF about this whole experience. So, I cleaned up the pen very well & put it in its box & put it with the "Estie" & haven't taken either pen out since I put them away & I refuse to buy ANY of this Company's GARBAGE. As far as I am concerned, they stole the name & reputation of a GREAT pen manufacturer & have polluted it w/their TRASHY PEN AND NIBS. I'll never have ANYTHING to do with this usurper of the name & reputation of MY favorite pens. So there.

[welch]

On 8/29/2023 at 8:22 PM, SeigeMachine said:

I totally cringe when I hear any Esterbrook from the Model J Family referred to as an "Estie". An "Estie" is a creation of the "new" Company that has taken the name of Esterbrook. I do own an "Estie" that I bought more out of curiosity & I really do not like it. It just doesn't feel or write "right", in my opinion. I bought the Oversize Estie in Marachino  with a medium nib, which I believe was a Limited Edition as they don't even list it anymore. Even bought the "Accessory MV Nib Adapter" as no broad nibs were available. I prefer my Esterbrook Pens to have an Esterbrook broad nib & I have quite a few Esterbrook broad nibs on hand. Everything went fine w/the adapter, but something still wasn't "right". So, after a few days, I cleaned everything up & put it away where it remains to this day. Then I recently heard about an Esterbrook Model J & got excited. So, I bought the Esterbrook Model J Fountain Pen in Antique Rose Ebonite with Gold Trim w/a Broad Nib, price be damned. I got it, cleaned it, let it airdry overnight & then inked w/Waterman's Harmonious Green, my favorite ink. I started writing & this is not a broad nib, it may say it on the nib & the box but, I'm sorry this is a medium at best & it skips as well. I've been collecting Esterbrook Model J Fountain Pens & Nibs for a couple of decades & can fix all but MAJOR problems w/the ORIGINAL pens & nibs but, this was beyond my comprehension, as the nib looked fine & it appeared that it should function like a nib should. So, called Esterbrook & spoke w/a girl who really did not sound like she knew a thing about the products her employer sold & she told me that I could purchase another nib. I just spent $300 on this pen & an extra $30 isn't going to make a difference, but I am BIG TIME peeved OFF about this whole experience. So, I cleaned up the pen very well & put it in its box & put it with the "Estie" & haven't taken either pen out since I put them away & I refuse to buy ANY of this Company's GARBAGE. As far as I am concerned, they stole the name & reputation of a GREAT pen manufacturer & have polluted it w/their TRASHY PEN AND NIBS. I'll never have ANYTHING to do with this usurper of the name & reputation of MY favorite pens. So there.

 

Well, no. We've been calling them "Esties" for a long time. And some of those who posted in 2012, saying "Estie" are in the FPN Hall of Fame.

[gregamckinney]

FWIW (and to necro this post) I have the same problem with people calling Sheaffer Tuckaways, "Tuckies."  The diminutive seems less respectful.

 

greg