Esterbrook 9550

[Wandering Man]

My wife post our books using an Esterbrook I bought for her with 9550 nib. She loves it because she is able to write clearly in those tiny boxes of the accounting log.

 

The pen is starting to leave a lot of ink on her fingers when she writes. There is a lot of nib creep.

 

I'd like to get her a modern pen.

 

Would a Pilot fine be a good substitute for the 9550?

 

Or do I need to go for an extra fine?

Edited February 12, 2016 by Wandering Man

[Oldtimer]

A Pilot 78G with a Fine nib will do --- >(this F writes very, very fine) and is very smooth/

A Metropolitan with a EF nib from a Penmanship will do

A TWSBI mini with EF will do

A Pilot Plumix with EF will do

[Wandering Man]

Thank you!.

 

I was looking at a Pilot E95S, thinking about the EF nib, but all that was available was the F.

 

I was hoping the F would be fine enough.

 

Its a bit late to finally be thinking about Valentine's day ...

[Lamyrada]

So this is a Valentine gift, it must be special. I didn't get that, but I am not familiar with that pen nor have read a lot said about it. I think other Pilots are more known around this forum that that one and I am not an expert, but never heard of it. The Pilot Namiki with or the Heritage line with F nibs would be great. I have tried the Heritage 912 and the Falcon and they are both excellent. The Heritage I used was too wet and that is not good for her kind of work. They have many types of nibs to choose from and that will make the nib selection a challenge . I would suggest you look at the Platinum EF or the Ultra Extra Fine which are at a good price on Amazon and it comes with a great reputation for its super fine nib and style. I know she would like it. It's a pen I would like to have. Another non Pilot suggestion would be a Franklin Christoph EF nib on one of their less expensive pens.

Edited February 12, 2016 by Lamyrada

[Bounce792]

Is there a budget?

 

For that sort of fine writing work where flex is absolutely unnecessary - you want the Pilot Posting (PO) nib. There's several iterations of it.

 

The most inexpensive is the Pilot Elite with an 18K Posting Nib. Those are probably going to be in a USED condition but I don't see any on the market at the moment. There is one with a Script Nib but I have no idea what that means.

 

Then there's the modern Custom 743 or 742 and Custom Heritage 912 PO nib. One of the best writing nibs ever to cross my hands. These are modern 14K nibs, not meant to flex and they will keep on writing thanks to the CON-70's large ink capacity. It lays down an EF line that is (from a sample size of one pen) not very wet. The nib is designed for use with Japanese characters in mind but has no problems keeping up with a simple cursive as long as you're not trying to flex it. You can find it from several Japanese sellers for a much cheaper price (inclusive of shipping) than what US sellers will offer. Pisuke2005 (on eBay) and Engeika are my preference. The former puts in some free packets of tea and a handwritten note. The latter has been hit or miss with some people but I've ordered twice from Taizo at Engeika and no complaints. He managed to source an EF nib for a pen model that's not supposed to come with one. Cost is about $150 + shipping. The same pen (with fewer nib options) sells for $200 - $250+ from US sellers.

 

Alternately, Pilot 78G or Metropolitan in F will work. If you want even thinner, you can get a Penmanship and stick the nib on the 78G. Please keep in mind that the nibs will fit all feeds on Pilot's lower end pens but not all feeds appear to be interchangeable with the pen bodies. So it would safest to only swap nibs while keeping the feeds with the bodies. This does not apply to Pilot's gold pens save for when nib size is different.

[dasXFnib]

Thank you!.

 

I was looking at a Pilot E95S, thinking about the EF nib, but all that was available was the F.

 

I was hoping the F would be fine enough.

 

Its a bit late to finally be thinking about Valentine's day ...

IF you can find an E95S with an EF nib...GO FOR IT!! I've had mine for about 3 months....and LOVE it!!

Mine came from JetPens....IIRC, the (CON-20) converter was NOT included (I ordered 2 with the pen.....)...

Good Luck!!

 

Always try to get the dibs....on fountain pens with EF nibs!!

[Wandering Man]

Thank you.

 

I've got the E95S with a Fine nib and an Ivory/Burgundy body coming in from Dromgooles.

 

I'll dip the pen and let wife try it out. If it is still too broad, I'll have bought some time, and can exchange the pen for one with an EF nib that Dromgooles will order for me.

 

Her Esterbrook is a beautiful shimmery red, and so part of my hunt was for a pen that wasn't black.

 

Since her fingers are turning black (she uses Mont Blanc Permanent Black ink for posting), I fear a cracked section. She loves the Esterbrook, so I needed something spectacular to get her to turn loose of the Esterbrook.

 

She is close with our money, so part of "spectacular" includes reasonably priced.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Nib creep is possibly your ink. Perhaps you are using a supersaturated ink?

 

When was the last time your Esterbrook got a new sac...or you might have a cracked section.

 

Well repairable....and it is NOT an Old pen ...it is a very sturdy great Vintage pen.

Light nimble, well balanced, with many nibs one can get. ....old pen !!!

 

 

There are folks with 15-35 Esterbrooks. It is a well wanted pen in any of the colors...out side of black.

 

What color is yours?

Edited February 12, 2016 by Bo Bo Olson

[rwilsonedn]

+1 for repairing the Esti, whether or not you get one of the excellent Pilot options. It could be that your sac is breaking down and leaking air, which would tend to fill the feed with ink. It's an easy path from feed to fingers. Or it could be as simple as the nib unit coming slightly unscrewed from the section, which could also cause leaking. Even with a cracked section, getting it repaired, or just getting another Esti and swapping, is far less expensive than a new pen. Of course it is Valentine's weekend ...

ron

[corgicoupe]

Nib creep is possibly your ink. Perhaps you are using a supersaturated ink?

 

When was the last time your Esterbrook got a new sac...or you might have a cracked section.

 

Well repairable....and it is NOT an Old pen ...it is a very sturdy great Vintage pen.

Light nimble, well balanced, with many nibs one can get. ....old pen !!!

 

 

There are folks with 15-35 Esterbrooks. It is a well wanted pen in any of the colors...out side of black.

 

What color is yours?

What's wrong with the black J pen? It fills out the color scheme.

[Piper 987]

One more thing to consider is swapping out the nib unit with a NOS Esterbrook 9550 unit. They are still 'out there'.

 

Esties deserve restoration, not replacement. There are people who could take your wife's Estie and have it back in 'as new' condition for a lot less than the cost of a 'lost love'. Call it a Valentine's day gift.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I'm down to a Copper Estie, once I had 10 or so Esteis.

 

5 of the 8 grays (I really had to dither, get the other three or not. I had started with an inherited gray.), two of the blues, a mix of green cap and body...there are some 3-4 greens too. And a black.

 

Well I had so many black and gold pens....swore years ago never to buy any more....1/3 of what I bought since .... were black and gold. It is often hard to get piston pens that are not black and gold in German vintage.

 

As nice as my Esties were, I wasn't using them enough. Some day I'll have to 1/3 of the other pens I have, also. Release back into the 'wild'.

 

But everyone should have at least one DJ. It is a sturdy, light and nimble pen; often beautiful.

 

As a school kid, I only had the post '60 'ugly' Esterbrooks of metal cap and solid boring color. In looks not much different than a Wearever.

Oh, well it would have been stolen....there were pen collectors even back then. Every year, I added to someone's collection. And we were not rich enough to engrave my name on them.

[Wandering Man]

Nib creep is possibly your ink. Perhaps you are using a supersaturated ink?

 

When was the last time your Esterbrook got a new sac...or you might have a cracked section.

 

Well repairable....and it is NOT an Old pen ...it is a very sturdy great Vintage pen.

Light nimble, well balanced, with many nibs one can get. ....old pen !!!

 

 

There are folks with 15-35 Esterbrooks. It is a well wanted pen in any of the colors...out side of black.

 

What color is yours?

 

The pen is a beautiful red. We bought the pen almost a year ago from Peyton Street Pens, and they had restored it prior to our purchase of the pen.

 

Since Wife uses the pen for posting, she has been using permanent inks. For the first 8 months we were using Noodler's Bullet Proof Black. We switched to Mont Blanc Permanent Black a couple of months ago, just because I wasn't sure the Noodler's was healthy for the pen.

 

My intention is to have the pen repaired, but since her posting is a daily activity, I couldn't just take the pen away from her for however long it takes to get the thing repaired.

 

She LOVES the Pilot E95S with the fine nib. So it looks like I've hit a home run there.

 

In the meantime, I'll clean the Estie up, and ship it off to Ron Zorn along with a 1950's Sheaffer Valiant who's blind cap has come off.

 

Yes, they are both vintage pens. And they are both old, like me.

[Wandering Man]

 

Well repairable....and it is NOT an Old pen ...it is a very sturdy great Vintage pen.

Light nimble, well balanced, with many nibs one can get. ....old pen !!!

 

 

Hmmm ... I was surprised when I read this, since I didn't think I ever referred to any of my vintage pens as "old."

 

I'm relieved that upon re-reading my original post I didn't see that nasty word.

 

On the other hand, I don't ever recall referring to myself as Vintage.

 

I'm certainly not light, nimble or well balanced.

 

Maybe I should take lessons from Red Estie?

[pajaro]

This seems baffling. The only time I have had nib creep was with Noodler's No. 41 Brown, which I think was a bulletproof ink. I have never had nib creep with any Montblanc ink, and I have used several of them in Esterbrooks. If the sac on the Esterbrook were deteriorating you might have had some blobbing of ink. The Esterbrook and the Pilot will probably perform about as well, and the Esterbrook sac will last at least as long as the Pilot converter. Currency inflation has pushed up the price of pens over sixty years or so.

[Wandering Man]

This seems baffling. The only time I have had nib creep was with Noodler's No. 41 Brown, which I think was a bulletproof ink. I have never had nib creep with any Montblanc ink, and I have used several of them in Esterbrooks. If the sac on the Esterbrook were deteriorating you might have had some blobbing of ink. The Esterbrook and the Pilot will probably perform about as well, and the Esterbrook sac will last at least as long as the Pilot converter. Currency inflation has pushed up the price of pens over sixty years or so.

Actually, it is more like Nib Flood!

 

I don't blame the Mont Blanc ink. It is well behaved in my other pens.

 

I do worry whether damage was done to the sac from the Noodler's, though. The pen had started having some issues when she was using that ink, which is why we switched.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I'm glad you are getting the pretty red Estie repaired.

 

7 years ago, an Estie was recommended to every 'noobie' that asked what pen should I get...back when they were going $15-20.

Now, no one recommends a 'noobie' get on because everyone has a collection and the prices climbed.

 

The modern sac's are not as good as the original ones. My inherited gray's sac lasted 63 years. It was a '48-52 one. Sat in my wife's aunt's drawer for 15 and mine for 15 years too. Lasted in use some 4 years by me. In Germany there would have been no new sac added in the 35 years it was in that branch of the family, in Germans stopped using sac's in the '30's.

 

Could also be as you said, Noodler's or some Noodler inks are not good for rubber sacs. Certain pen repair men, will void their repair warrantee if Noodlers inks are used...for feeds. If feeds then sac's.

[pajaro]

The Noodler's ink didn't do the damage to the Esterbrook's sac. I used Noodler's ink in Esterbrooks and never had that issue. Probably the Esterbrook's sac was getting old and the ink flood was the result of the sac getting leaky due to years of being compressed for fillings. Wear and tear.

[terim]

Well, we did replace the sac, which is something we do whether it needs it or not, just because it's an easy repair and gives us confidence in the warranty. But sacs can get punctured or come loose from the nipple. Unsure whether the leak is from the screw in nib unit or the section/barrel juncture. In any case we'd be happy to take a look.

 

As regards to Noodlers, I have seen Apache Sunset dissolve a rubber sac.....

 

Teri

[Bo Bo Olson]

Thanks for the warning, no Apache Sunset goes into my copper Estie....my last one.