Esterbrook Brand Being Revived This December?

[spaceink]

So basically this is all a ploy to drum up some interest for someone else to snatch up the brand? I'm not familiar with Conklin before the buy-out. Was the quality of the pen comparable (or as deplorable, some might say) to these zombie Esterbrooks?

 

In any case, this person is not doing much to buffer the value of the brand by having done basically everything wrong in the playbook, in regard to reaching out to existing fans and not squandering good will.

[KBeezie]

So basically this is all a ploy to drum up some interest for someone else to snatch up the brand? I'm not familiar with Conklin before the buy-out. Was the quality of the pen comparable (or as deplorable, some might say) to these zombie Esterbrooks?

 

In any case, this person is not doing much to buffer the value of the brand by having done basically everything wrong in the playbook, in regard to reaching out to existing fans and not squandering good will.

The vintage esties aren't exactly some premium luxury brand, it's biggest appeal is that most of the models were inexpensive, and reliable workhorses that had a certain aesthetic charm to them. Plus the fact that you could quickly and easily swap the renewpoint nibs around was/is a major plus. And for those who care, they're a part of "American" History.

 

Basically everything the new Esterbrook brand is not.

Edited February 4, 2015 by KBeezie

[jdllizard]

I admit, I actually like the look of what New Esterbrook is calling it's silver, "Deluxe Limited Edition" pens, but not for $360. Maybe for $100. I would love to get my hands on one but ain't going to happen at that price range, even if it is made of silver.

 

Who knows, maybe they will eventually show up on the secondary market at affordable prices.

 

That Blue one really does appeal to me.

Edited February 4, 2015 by jdllizard

[Zillaxila]

I admit, I actually like the look of what New Esterbrook is calling it's silver, "Deluxe Limited Edition" pens, but not for $360. Maybe for $100. I would love to get my hands on one but ain't going to happen at that price range, even if it is made of silver.

 

Who knows, maybe they will eventually show up on the secondary market at affordable prices.

 

That Blue one really does appeal to me.

30671S-Large.jpg

I am sorry but IMHO that looks cheap just like a Baoer, Hero, or Jinhao. (not that I am against those companies, but we all know that control quality is not their strongest characteristic)

And for $360 ??? that is just crazy. I would prefer to buy any other quality brand.

[Brian Anderson]

Being relatively new to the FP world, I have a question regarding Conklin. One of the things that is being mentioned in terms of the Esterbrook pen brand being revived is that the guy running it also revived the Conklin brand. For those in the now, is that actually the case that the Conklin brand has been "revived" and doing well?

 

I hate the new pens they are putting out, but if they did well with Conklin....

 

Conklin is doing so-so, but only since Yafa purchased, in my opinion. He also revived Chilton and Mabie Todd. Look those up sometime.

[Algester]

Brian I'm sure you maybe not in the position to say it but if you were to purchase the Esterbrook brand from these shameful hands what would you do to it... theoretically speaking

[Brian Anderson]

Brian I'm sure you maybe not in the position to say it but if you were to purchase the Esterbrook brand from these shameful hands what would you do to it... theoretically speaking

 

I won't say we haven't thought about the possibilities around purchasing the brand, but it has to be made available, and to us, first. I absolutely have some ideas, but after having images from my website taken without recognition, and several unpleasant phone calls to Lisa, I will not put forth any ideas which may then be taken. We have some very good ideas too. ;-)

[TeaHive]

I'm sure the short, nondescript answer would be somewhere along the lines of, "The complete opposite of what they've done."

[Ernst Bitterman]

So basically this is all a ploy to drum up some interest for someone else to snatch up the brand? I'm not familiar with Conklin before the buy-out. Was the quality of the pen comparable (or as deplorable, some might say) to these zombie Esterbrooks?

 

In any case, this person is not doing much to buffer the value of the brand by having done basically everything wrong in the playbook, in regard to reaching out to existing fans and not squandering good will.

 

I had one of the pre-Yafa Conklins, but not a Crescent, and I think that they're similar to the new Esterbrooks in as much as it wasn't a BAD pen.... I think the bunch of comparably-priced models Brian showed in his review and the comments that went along with them are an excellent guide to the value of these new things.

 

 

 

Conklin is doing so-so, but only since Yafa purchased, in my opinion. He also revived Chilton and Mabie Todd. Looks those up sometime.

 

No experience with the Chilton reanimation, but I also had a revived Mabie, Todd & Co. Swallow: an acceptable writer and it had a neat roller-clip, but it was also sinfully ugly and weighed about seven pounds. And the revived company evaporated like the snow in summer. I suspect Yafa was moved to take up Conklin because there had been some attention to the historical models, while M,T&Co. was rather more in line with the current operation. I also suspect that the hope is for Yafa lightning to strike again, but without quite understanding how it was attracted on that first occasion, thus Chilton, MT&Co, Esterbrook... Waltham? Arnold? Diamond Medal? Gold Starry?

[SteveE]

 

Conklin is doing so-so, but only since Yafa purchased, in my opinion. He also revived Chilton and Mabie Todd. Looks those up sometime.

 

IIRC (and I'm not an historian), the revived Conklin brand did far better under Mr. Rosenberg's father's management. They made pens that were visibly related to the Conklin pens of the past. Yes, they had their quality issues, (most notably the then-common plastic feeds that wouldn't feed) but they were approachable and bent over backward to try to make things right. In one case, I had a Duragraph (the older, larger one - not the dinky new re-re-issue) that was continually splitting the nipple of converters and leaking. Mr. Rosenberg (senior) sent me parts to repair the pen, as well as an envelope full of converters and a half dozen packages of Conklin-branded ink cartridges. He worked with me, and to this day, the pen is one of my favorite writers. Things went rapidly downhill after the senior Mr. Rosenberg's untimely passing.

 

I also have two of the revived Chilton pens. I'll agree with the OP on this one - workmanlike pens. They write well, but are not really exciting and they are too heavy.

[JonSzanto]

An interesting perspective on the general subject from Leigh Reyes:

 

For the next company that wants to revive a beloved pen brand

[Brian Anderson]

No experience with the Chilton reanimation

I had a number of them at one point. Heavy, metal pens, best part about them was the converter. I took the converters out, and don't remember what I did with the rest of the pens. I may have thrown them away.

[chad.trent]

 

I won't say we haven't thought about the possibilities around purchasing the brand, but it has to be made available, and to us, first. I absolutely have some ideas, but after having images from my website taken without recognition, and several unpleasant phone calls to Lisa, I will not put forth any ideas which may then be taken. We have some very good ideas too. ;-)

If it means anything, I had thought for years if I ever hit the lottery I was going to buy the Estebrook name and come to you guys and have you be "creative directors" for bringing the brand back...

[jdllizard]

I am sorry but IMHO that looks cheap just like a Baoer, Hero, or Jinhao. (not that I am against those companies, but we all know that control quality is not their strongest characteristic)

And for $360 ??? that is just crazy. I would prefer to buy any other quality brand.

 

Which explains why I said I would never pay the $360 for one. But if they were under a C-note, I might consider it.

[VAgal]

An interesting perspective on the general subject from Leigh Reyes:

 

For the next company that wants to revive a beloved pen brand

A big thanks for pointing this out, Jon. It was a very interesting read. --VA

[FarmBoy]

Brian,

 

Why not just take your ideas and start Andersen Pens. Who cares where the inspiration came from. You could call your pens the K line since it was the next pen Esterbrook would have made.

 

We can talk in LA.

 

Todd

[Jerome Tarshis]

The Esterbrook restart seems to have garnered almost attention as the demise of Conway Stewart...280 posts here and almost as many on another board. Sheaffer was taken over by Cross, Parker is owned by a plastic ware company, Lamy has its own forum, and the W-E Pen company successfully restarted, and combined, have generated fewer posts that found here. There is news but is an Esterbrook restart really it?

 

In short, I'm not clear why all the interest from a group of people that seem to have no interest in purchasing such a pen.

 

As it saith in the Good Book (2 Samuel). how are the mighty fallen.

 

Or, as it saith elsewhere, if you can't beat them, join them. Nice to have FarmBoy posting vigorously.

[BionicBeauty]

I'm late to the party on this news. I'm lurking FPN frequently but rarely post (obviously, ha ha). My 2 cents is that if I had $360 to throw around, I'd rather buy 12 old Esties than those new ones. They've totally ignored the basics of the original brand.

 

Anyhow, I'm going back to trying to figure out how to install a J-bar into my new-to-me copper Icicle.

[Larry Barrieau]

FarmBoy, I don't think it's about who will purchase and who won't. It's because a lot of us have an emotional, (yes, I know it's only a piece of plastic), attachment to the original pen. Then someone buys the name and says that they will create a new pen with the attributes of the old one. That doesn't happen and throughout the discussion we are lied to and shut off from promised input and questions. Hugely insulting. So now there are some who would like to see them reap what they have sowed and fail in their endeavor. There are so many times where we see injustice go unpunished that retribution would feel good. The Judge Judy Syndrome.

[spaceink]

Seems like the fruit has fallen far from the tree, rolled down the hill and arrived at a superfund site, in this case? Wondering how things might have been different had Sr. been the one to revive Esterbrook. I've seen the Conklins and Chiltons, and they seem like solid pens, and had no idea they were related like that.

 

That Deluxe pen hurts my eyes (sorry jdllizard).