Sheaffer Balance Vs Esterbrook J

[Runnin_Ute]

Waterman inks are good for a vintage pen. The only Waterman I have currently is Serenity Blue.

 

I have two of my half dozen Esterbrook pens inked currently as follows:

 

Copper J (broken clip) Venus Fine nib @ present. Came with a 2556, but it fell apart. I will probably just replace it. - Diamine Merlot

Blue transitional J (round jewel) - 1555 Gregg nib. - Diamine Blue Black

 

Andersen Pens in Appleton, Wisconsin has a wide variety of Esterbrook nibs beginning at $5.00. Not sure what it would cost to ship it to Canada, but wouldn't think it would be to much given the size and weight of a nib. andersenpens.com

 

 

I have no experience with the Sheaffer line of pens, but would presuppose that given they were more expensive when new that the were considered a "better" pen. Although the Estie's are robust little pens.

[3nding]

Hi ink-syringe,

 

Didn't mean to seem like I was snobbing the black Esties. I love black pens, but since I'll probably end up with mostly black pen in the long run I thought I might as well go for something more flashy with all the colourful Esties out there.

 

Hi Sandy,

 

I have read nothing but good things about Sheaffer Skrip inks and at 9 CAD for a 60 ml bottle in a shop near where I live, I will definitely have to try it out.

 

It will also be my pleasure to bring you back all the details on that Sheaffer as soon as I get it inked up and writing.

 

Hi Runnin_Ute,

 

I'll make sure to check out Andersen Pens. It's always a pain to find distributors for those "speciality" items (it's also true for electronics and even guitar parts unfortunately ) in smaller places in Canada... Always good to find good things at a good price!

 

Thanks you all for the great advice and info, you're really sparking my love for fountain pens even more than it already was.

Edited February 25, 2017 by 3nding

[3nding]

So quick update.

 

I received the pen about 7 days ago and I have been using it daily since then. It is a beautiful pen to be sure and it feels great in the hand. I am starting to think that I might prefer pens that are a bit thicker than that, but I am not certain yet. It writes well although you can definitely feel some feedback. I can't say if it is scratchy or not because I really don't know what scratchy is in terms of how and when exactly a pen goes from simply having feedback to being labelled scratchy. It doesn't feel scratchy next to my Pilot Metro F nib though. The ink flow is pretty good but if I try to draw a long straight line it starts out a bit darker and does goes a bit paler and then it never gets any paler after that. I have only used it with Waterman Intense Black so far so it might be that I need a wetter ink. I am waiting on a bottle of Aurora Black ordered from a local shop that should come in sometime this week. Also, the lever-filling system is great to use. No headaches. Just pull that lever, push back down and wait for a bit. Awesome!

 

I will post a more in depth "review" with pictures and written samples probably some time next week. All in all quite a good pen and if there's anything wrong with the nib, it isn't anything major and should be fixed pretty easily by me (if I get the courage) or a professional.

 

Finally, I think I have been bit hard by the fountain pen bug . I have since then acquired an English Duofold New Style (it has some problems with feed and tines alignment which should be fixed soon enough), a Parker 45 Flighter, an Estie that is in the mail, a couple JinHao x750 and... somehow... have been given an old Montblanc 146 from the 80s or 90s (that I am oh so scared of breaking with my newbness), but that is a story for another time... So yeah, there goes my student's budget I guess... . At least I now got some very good writing tools to handle the old physics

[Sandy1]

[siamackz]

You have good taste, that's a solid start. And lucky you with the 146! Enjoy them!

[3nding]

You have good taste, that's a solid start. And lucky you with the 146! Enjoy them!

Thank you very much I! I must admit though, that it is rather easy to have good taste with the awesome recommendations from all the good people on this forum You guys are great!

[3nding]

So I haven't forgotten you all! I have just gotten the Estie this week & I can say that it is indeed a great pen! I still use the Sheaffer a lot more but I LOVE that Estie (apart from the mothball smell, ewww). The 9450 nib on it is great and very well suited to mathematics and fine writing. Writing samples and pictures of the Sheaffer balance are still coming as soon as I get the time to take some good ones. Meanwhile, here are some pictures of the early collection you have helped me assemble so far to ease the wait.

 

Edited March 27, 2017 by 3nding

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

As ever, at times Members are enablers ²

 

I encourage you to take some time to fully explore the pens you have in your sweet array with various ink+paper combos to help define what you want in your next pen - if any.

 

I went for years with one pen+ink combo, then my family gifted me with a Parker Duofold, then years later an MB149. I thought that was a surfeit - until I bought a Pelikan M400 after it winked at me...

 

Bye,

S1

Edited March 28, 2017 by Sandy1

[Kelly G]

Great start! I agree with S1, play with this bunch of pens a while; you have some great vintage examples. Explore different inks and paper, then consider your next pen move(s). The more you learn about what you really like, the less money you will spend on pens you are not crazy about. And, there are so many pens out there, having pens you are not crazy about is just silly.

Good luck and have fun!

[3nding]

Hi,

 

As ever, at times Members are enablers ²

 

I encourage you to take some time to fully explore the pens you have in your sweet array with various ink+paper combos to help define what you want in your next pen - if any.

 

I went for years with one pen+ink combo, then my family gifted me with a Parker Duofold, then years later an MB149. I thought that was a surfeit - until I bought a Pelikan M400 after it winked at me...

 

Bye,

S1

 

 

Very sound advice. I am really enjoying the pens I have bought as of now and they are all so different from one another. Then I see you mention Pelikan and I immediately think "mmmhhh I wonder how writing with a Pelikan feels... Pelikan is german... so is Kaweco... I wonder how it feels to write with a Kaweco Sport... etc." but I am in control of myself. I think. Until one of them happens to wink at me too.

 

 

Great start! I agree with S1, play with this bunch of pens a while; you have some great vintage examples. Explore different inks and paper, then consider your next pen move(s). The more you learn about what you really like, the less money you will spend on pens you are not crazy about. And, there are so many pens out there, having pens you are not crazy about is just silly.

Good luck and have fun!

 

Thank you very much and I am definitely having fun thanks in no small part to the great people of this forum! Your and S1's advice seems very wise to me.

 

 

Also do you have any suggestions of ink and paper combos you really enjoy that I could explore? So far I have bought small formats of Rhodia and Clairefontaine paper and Aurora Black, Waterman Black and J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage. I absolutely love the inks but I don't seem to really click with the papers. I feel like I am writing on thick, glossy paper for some reason. Maybe it's just because I am not used to it. I was thinking about trying out some Leuchtturm1917 notebooks but they were kind of expensive and I didn't know if it was worth it. What do you both think?