Welcome to the Esterbrook Forum!

[Rabbit713]

Thanks for the information! I'll check on the loaner program once I get the 30 required posts!

[Heartsleeve]

First time on this forum, so dont know if I am loading these images correctly.... trying to find out any info I can on this vintage Esterbrook.

Still writes very well, but the lever on the fill is very very stiff and only rises maybe a quarter inch.

Thanks.

Mare

[Hank138]

Hi. I bought an Esterbrook pen a few days ago. The last time I bought one was 60 years ago. Well, technically, my mother bought that one for me on one of our shopping trips for school supplies. I am delighted with the pen I just bought. It is in good shape. I just flushed it out, filled it, and it writes like a dream. I am amazed at how well it writes--more smoothly than most of the pens I have.

 

I came to this forum hoping to find more information about Esterbrook pens. I'm not sure where to look--the on-going exchanges presume a lot of knowledge about models, etc.. (I'm quite new to FPN, at least counting by how many times I've posted anything.) If anyone can point me in the direction of information about the various models of Esterbrooks, I would appreciate it. I'd like to identify the pen I have. It is just like the one Mom bought me, so it must date from the mid-fifties. Thanks.

[gweimer1]

Your first stop should be at Brian Anderson's site. You'll learn a great deal there.

 

http://www.esterbrook.net/index.shtml

[Charles Skinner]

Where can a find a list and description of all of the Esterbrooks nibs that are available? C. S.

[gweimer1]

Where can a find a list and description of all of the Esterbrooks nibs that are available? C. S.

 

^^^^ Start with the link to Brian Anderson's site. There is a section that lists the nibs.

[BuntyMcC]

After getting a new fountain pen for Christmas I decided it was finally time to take a good look ar what I already had. One is an Esterbrook Safari Plunger fill (info source: Esterbrook.net) with a silver cap (made in USA), a 1551 nib, and a dark blue barrel (made in Canada.) I am having trouble figuring out how to fill it. Two strokes or one? Submerge the nib or not? And how will I know if the bladder needs replacing?

[gweimer1]

I have a couple of those, and they do feel a little like a black box. I pump it slowly a few times, with the nib submerged. Then, if I have ink, I know it worked. No real method other than that. You can try it with water to get a feel for it, and to see how the pressure and flow look.

I also have one that doesn't work, and I'm still trying to learn how to fix it. As I understand (and there's a thread on these pens somewhere here), the diaphragm never really touches ink, so it lasts a very long time. So far, I haven't even been able to get mine open to check.

[BuntyMcC]

Thanks gweimer. When I get time (!) I'll try with water and if that is inconclusive, ink. I'll let you know.

[Gerry]

I have a couple of those, and they do feel a little like a black box. I pump it slowly a few times, with the nib submerged. Then, if I have ink, I know it worked. No real method other than that. You can try it with water to get a feel for it, and to see how the pressure and flow look.

I also have one that doesn't work, and I'm still trying to learn how to fix it. As I understand (and there's a thread on these pens somewhere here), the diaphragm never really touches ink, so it lasts a very long time. So far, I haven't even been able to get mine open to check.

 

Your fill technique is correct. That's pretty much all that there is to it.

 

Regarding the ink sac, it's not really referred to as a diaghpram, which is the Parker Vacumatic sophistry. Esterbrook sac's definitely do touch the ink, or rather the ink touches them, with little negative effect AFAIK. <smile>.

 

To open your Estie, try to remove the section - it isn't (or shouldn't be glued in) and isn't threaded. Usually it can be removed by twisting - sometimes heat is necessary.

 

With the section removed, the sac, and it's condition can be evaluated easily.

 

Welcome to the Esterbrook forum.

 

Gerry

[gweimer1]

 

Your fill technique is correct. That's pretty much all that there is to it.

 

Regarding the ink sac, it's not really referred to as a diaghpram, which is the Parker Vacumatic sophistry. Esterbrook sac's definitely do touch the ink, or rather the ink touches them, with little negative effect AFAIK. <smile>.

 

To open your Estie, try to remove the section - it isn't (or shouldn't be glued in) and isn't threaded. Usually it can be removed by twisting - sometimes heat is necessary.

 

With the section removed, the sac, and it's condition can be evaluated easily.

 

Welcome to the Esterbrook forum.

 

Gerry

 

 

There's always that key phrase.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll dig into mine again.

[gcliburn]

Just a reply to the welcome message to say hooray! Love my Esterbrooks—especially "Dollar" family, J family, and M2's. Workhorse pens, used by "ordinary" people, will always have a place in my heart...

[Warbler]

I would love to get an Esterbrook someday, but I will have to save for it. They used to be in South Jersey. I might get the Esterbrook Camden, which named after Camden City New Jersey, where they were originally located.  My Father had an Esterbrook fountain pen was from a set with a mechanical pencil, he has passed on, so it belongs me, my Mom, and/or my brother. It would need some repair work before it could be used again.  Not sure exactly how old it is, but it is an old fashioned lever filler. 

[tahoma]

Hi All!

 

This is my first post.  Thought I would share a recent possible success in getting a converter to work on an Eastie CX-100 (I think that is the right identification).

One came earlier this week as a bycatch from an eBay lot of dip pen nibs and holders.

 

I read about the problem of finding converters for these vintage pens, and decided to rummage through my collection of converters to see if one could be adapted.

The closest fit I had was a Platinum converter (in gold trim). The converter fit inside the pen body fine, but the attachment to the feed was a bit sloppy; the converter's aperture was a smidge too wide, maybe by ~100 microns.  I had some pen sac shellac I recently purchased from Andersen Pens to fix an Esterbrook SJ; I put three coats on the nib's feed nipple and let each dry before the next coat.

 

I slid the converter onto the nib, inked the pen, and it seems to be working fine so far.

 

Will provide photos and updates after more testing if folks have interest.

 

Regards,

 

Erik

[inkstainedruth]

On 9/8/2023 at 1:11 PM, Warbler said:

I would love to get an Esterbrook someday, but I will have to save for it. They used to be in South Jersey. I might get the Esterbrook Camden, which named after Camden City New Jersey, where they were originally located.  My Father had an Esterbrook fountain pen was from a set with a mechanical pencil, he has passed on, so it belongs me, my Mom, and/or my brother. It would need some repair work before it could be used again.  Not sure exactly how old it is, but it is an old fashioned lever filler. 

Sorry I didn't see your post before now.  

If the lever doesn't move freely, the odds are good that you may need to have the sac replaced (which could have hardened over time, especially if the pen wasn't flushed out well before being put away).  But I have a few that I've picked up over the years, and I never understood people claiming that the original company was a "third tier brand".  They may not be "top tier" like Parker or Sheaffer, but I'd say they were definitely a second tier brand because of the range of nib grades and widths, and the fact that the nibs are interchangeable between models (apparently -- although I don't have any of the "reboot" company pens -- you can get an adapter to use the vintage nibs on them. And most of mine I paid between $5-$20 US for, although, admittedly, a few years ago at this point.  Even with 9xxx nibs which were the top-end level nibs which have tipping on the tines.  But even a couple of pens that have 1xxx nibs (student grade, with the tines just folded over), are nice writers -- my first one, an black SJ, which I found sort of by accident in an antiques mall north of Indiana, PA a few years ago; and the most recent purchase, a restored "nurse's pen" white SJ, both have 1555 Gregg nibs on them and for being "student grade" nibs both work very well.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Puddinhead]

Thinking about the new Esterbrook Raven - either the piston plunger or the cartridge/converter style. My preference would be for the 1.1 mm stub nib.

 

Esterbrook website says the piston fill model is back in stock, but apparently not shipped out yet to online retailers.

 

As I'm deliberating, is it appropriate here to ask Brian Anderson (if he is still administering the Esterbrook.net site) to comment on the Raven? I've done as much research as I can without having access to a brick and morter shop which might carry Esterbrooks.

[Warbler]

On 1/8/2024 at 3:18 PM, inkstainedruth said:

Sorry I didn't see your post before now.  

If the lever doesn't move freely, the odds are good that you may need to have the sac replaced (which could have hardened over time, especially if the pen wasn't flushed out well before being put away).  But I have a few that I've picked up over the years, and I never understood people claiming that the original company was a "third tier brand".  They may not be "top tier" like Parker or Sheaffer, but I'd say they were definitely a second tier brand because of the range of nib grades and widths, and the fact that the nibs are interchangeable between models (apparently -- although I don't have any of the "reboot" company pens -- you can get an adapter to use the vintage nibs on them. And most of mine I paid between $5-$20 US for, although, admittedly, a few years ago at this point.  Even with 9xxx nibs which were the top-end level nibs which have tipping on the tines.  But even a couple of pens that have 1xxx nibs (student grade, with the tines just folded over), are nice writers -- my first one, an black SJ, which I found sort of by accident in an antiques mall north of Indiana, PA a few years ago; and the most recent purchase, a restored "nurse's pen" white SJ, both have 1555 Gregg nibs on them and for being "student grade" nibs both work very well.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

thanks for the info!