New "estie"

[Larry Barrieau]

After the insulting way FPN people were treated during the first "comeback" of the Estie, and the evasion of discussion by the owner, I wouldn't have anything to do with this company at any price.

[dms525]

As an italic calligraphy practitioner, my interest in the vintage Esterbrook J pens was that they accepted Osmiroid nibs. The new Esterbrooks are way more expensive than Esterbrook J's, although still moderately priced in my view. They have the advantage of being C/C fillers, which I much prefer to lever fillers.

 

The optional section that accepts vintage Estie nibs is nice for those who like those nibs and already have a bunch. They do not take unmodified Osmiroid 65/75 nibs because of the nipple sticking out the back. (The Estie nibs have a flat base to the carrier.)

 

I gambled and bought a new Esterbrook with the optional section. I clipped off the nipple from an Osmiroid italic nib, installed it in the section, inserted the converter that is bundled with the section, filled the converter and I am delighted to report that it works!

 

I bought the blue resin Esterbrook. It is pretty good looking. It seems well made. It is comfortable to write with un-posted or posted. I may get another.

 

David

[inkstainedruth]

Good to know, David. But over the weekend I found a root beer J in an antiques store in Western NYS for ten bucks including sales tax. The nib was pretty much toast, but I have spare nib units (and it was a nib I already had one of).

And I passed on what might have been a Nurse's pen or a white Pastel in another place two or three doors down from the first place because I thought the price of it was too high (although it did have rather unusual white jewels, and a 2048 nib). If I had decided to buy it, both pens combined (even with repairs) would have been less expensive than the new "Estie" pens.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[pajaro]

I have clipped those nipples off of some Osmiroid nib units, because they wouldn't fit into my Esterbrook M2s with the nipples. The Osmiroid italics then worked perfectly.

[leporeju]

I just purchased one from Anderson Pens (a happy shout-out to you folks!), and I dip-tested the nib. I thought it was a beautiful pen~~"was" being the operative word. I turned, it fell, and the resin snapped at the cap closure. Not the Esterbrook of old. It was incredibly fragile, and I never really inked the dang thing.

[gerigo]

While I completely understand your disappointment the pen did not survive a fall, I would hesitate to think that any of my pens would survive ANY fall, save for maybe some of the Karas Custom pens.

 

 

I just purchased one from Anderson Pens (a happy shout-out to you folks!), and I dip-tested the nib. I thought it was a beautiful pen~~"was" being the operative word. I turned, it fell, and the resin snapped at the cap closure. Not the Esterbrook of old. It was incredibly fragile, and I never really inked the dang thing.

[penzel_washinkton]

While I completely understand your disappointment the pen did not survive a fall, I would hesitate to think that any of my pens would survive ANY fall, save for maybe some of the Karas Custom pens.

 

 

 

Not really, most cheap brass pens (Metros, Jinhao X750 etc) would likely survive a fall or two without having any exterior cracking issues.

[Erik Dalton]

The new Estie Tortoise/Gold

 

I bought the pen. Not the name. I have a weakness for tortoise, pens. Ive bought some pretty pens in my day that turned out to be klunkers. I took a chance here. Ordered a Tortoise with gold trim from Goulets. The pen that arrived had chrome trim and un-plated stainless steel nib.. I notified Goulets, they offered to replace the pen with the proper gold/tortoise.

The chrome version felt so natural in my hand. It wrote smooth and wet right out of the box. I decided to keep it. They discounted the gold replacement pen. When it arrived, I found it equally pleasant to write with. I do believe that Estie is touching up these nibs before sending them out. No factory Jowo has ever written this smooth and wet without a little tweaking. By the way, the ink flow on these is steady and generous.

The cap has a spring loaded inner cap. In order to get the threads to catch you have to press the section into the cap slightly pushing against the spring of the inner cap. Once the threads catch, two turns, and the cap is on tight. This spring loaded inner cap system may turn out to be its Achilles heel. I cant help but wonder how many on and offs of the cap, before something gives out...Then well find out how good their service is.(thats why I bought from Goulets)

 

I like that the section matches the barrel. There are extra touches like a gold ring on the section and barrel. Nib and clip is monotone gold plated. A very pretty pen. They are competitively priced with Edison and other similar pens. The look, feel, fit and features make me believe that a lot of thought and care went into the production of these pens.

Im very happy with mine. Glad I took a chance.

[KBeezie]

After the insulting way FPN people were treated during the first "comeback" of the Estie, and the evasion of discussion by the owner, I wouldn't have anything to do with this company at any price.

 

Same here, especially while the second company to reboot the name seems better about being responsive, it seems like they're using Wancher or similar to make the pens (so Chinese/Indian acrylic, generic nib etc). At least the nib adapter to use the old estie nibs is cool, but for the price of the actual vintage esterbrooks I would much rather get an original than a fake with their brand name on it that cost $75+. The new ones have no influence I can tell to the original models.

 

What I didn't care for with either rebooted companies was using the name, marketing blurbs, pitching about it's history, and having absolutely nothing to do with the original history, not even using their patents/etc. There's just no appeal if trying to get it for name recognition and it's actually making it a little harder to search up some off the vintage ones.

 

Plus, having the marketing pitch about Abe Lincoln having used an Estie (dip nib I presume), at a pen show booth isn't kosher, they had nothing to do with the past company nor have any connection to them, and really don't deserve to peddle that deception.

[inkstainedruth]

+1 to what you said, KBeezie. And it's not as if Kenro just bought the guy out. They bought the reboot AND put him on the Board.

On Saturday, I was driving around with my husband and we ended up at an antiques mall outside of Clarion, PA. And for the cost of one of the "new" new Esties, I could have bought TWO vintage SJs (both with 9xxx nib units). Plus a Parker pen & pencil set (think from the looks it was a Challenger set or maybe a Parkette set), a Peter Pan, a Wearever, and a Coca-Cola ballpoint with metal tin. And maybe even a Rotring mechanical pencil in the same case as the Peter Pan.... And that, BTW is ALL before paying the extra for the converter to use the vintage Estie nib units....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[pajaro]

The new pens don't need resaccing. The company could develop a sac squeeze converter, though, to maintain the tradition of the periodic PIA of resaccing. This would be in keeping with using the old nibs with a nib conversion interface. (Ex-IT manager here).

 

Ah, the joy of the old Estie nib! Those 1xxx and 2xxx nibs that seem to wear down in a short time. Splurge on the 9xxx nibs. Or, use a modern nib with tipping.

[truthpil]

This has been an enlightening and fascinating thread to read through. It seems like the issue isn't the quality of the new "Estie," but rather the fact that it is called one and that the new owner of the brands draws on the original (and some may considered hallowed) Esterbrook name when selling this product.

 

For me, it just irks me that someone would resurrect a famous old company's name and not produce a product that resembled what we now associate with that name. Yes, I understand that argument that if Esterbrook had survived it would have adapted and changed the way companies like Cross and Sheaffer have (not to mention moving all their production to China, but that's another can of worms). The issue is what the name "Esterbrook" conjures up in the minds of fountain pen enthusiasts. When we think of that noble brand, we think of all the classic old pens which, as has been pointed out several times in this thread, can be had for a fraction of what this new pen is going for. The issue isn't what Esterbrook would have done, but rather that they did do and what has become our understanding of what a pen is to be a true Esterbrook.

 

Personally, I wish investors would just let the Esterbrook name pass into history as the creator of those wonderfully practical, versatile, and affordable pens we all know and love. They aren't fooling anyone. Newbies to the hobby won't even know what an original Esterbrook is and those who do know will just buy more of the real deal from the past. If you want to make a beautiful $200 pen that doesn't look anything like the pens we think of when we think of the name "Esterbrook," then go right ahead. Just don't try to call upon the history of that great name to try to sell something that bears no resemblance to the originals.

 

By contrast, those who have revived the Wahl brand have really been respectful of the history of the brand. They generally use the designs that we all think of when we think of "Wahl" but modernize them. That's a nice way to honor a brand and show some continuity to it's original glory.

[dms525]

I mostly agree with TruthPil's perspective. I recognize the place Esterbrook pens have in pen history and the affection many have for the brand. However, for me, the principal reason for having an Estie J is that they take Osmiroid nibs. So, the new "Estie" pens could be called 'most anything. The fact that they take Esterbrook nibs and, with a bit of minor surgery, Osmiroid nibs makes them valuable to me.

 

I have bought two of the smaller model with the adaptor. I've clipped off the nipple from a few Osmiroid nibs, and they work very well with the new pens.

 

 

Top to bottom: Osmiroid italic nib; Esterbrook nib; Osmiroid italic nib post-op, that fits the new "Estie" pens

 

 

 

I much prefer C/C loaders to lever fillers. The pens are reasonably comfortable to use. They look good. I like that the default nibs are JoWo's, of which I have a large number. I declare the new Esterbrook "Estie" a success, by any name.

 

David

[KBeezie]

The new pens don't need resaccing. The company could develop a sac squeeze converter, though, to maintain the tradition of the periodic PIA of resaccing. This would be in keeping with using the old nibs with a nib conversion interface. (Ex-IT manager here).

 

Ah, the joy of the old Estie nib! Those 1xxx and 2xxx nibs that seem to wear down in a short time. Splurge on the 9xxx nibs. Or, use a modern nib with tipping.

 

While that is true, you're usually advised to replace a converter maybe once every 5 years or so if you don't try to extend it a little further with some silicone grease where as a good sac job and good pen hygiene could likely last you 20 before you'd need a re-sac done (and not like Esties are all that difficult to do)

[pajaro]

Sac converters can often be resacced with PVC sacs to extend the life to almost Parker 51-like duration. If you lube a piston converter with that tiny bead of silicon lube, it might last longer. I have found that piston converters not lubed from Parker, Sheaffer, Montblanc and Waterman will usually hold suction for about ten years. Other makes sometimes less time.

[KBeezie]

Sac converters can often be resacced with PVC sacs to extend the life to almost Parker 51-like duration. If you lube a piston converter with that tiny bead of silicon lube, it might last longer. I have found that piston converters not lubed from Parker, Sheaffer, Montblanc and Waterman will usually hold suction for about ten years. Other makes sometimes less time.

 

Did you mean silicone sacs? If so they do work, but they can sometimes be annoying if their diameter is small in that ink likes to cling to the back of them while writing, latex seems nicer.

[Corona688]

The new Esterbrook isn't going to appeal to everyone, and there's no way to make everyone happy.

 

True, but what use is the name if they've decided to not make Esterbrooks? Everything about that pen looks thoroughly generic, which is probably the point. Combining a generic, well-known product with the mystique of an old name is a low risk, they're bound to sell a few.

Edited October 26, 2018 by Corona688

[pajaro]

Did you mean silicone sacs? If so they do work, but they can sometimes be annoying if their diameter is small in that ink likes to cling to the back of them while writing, latex seems nicer.

 

I meant PVC, like the sacs used in the Parker 51, and not silicone sacs. PVC isn't a perfect materal, and outgassing can cause some materials to dereriorate.

[Water Ouzel]

 

True, but what use is the name if they've decided to not make Esterbrooks? Everything about that pen looks thoroughly generic, which is probably the point. Combining a generic, well-known product with the mystique of an old name is a low risk, they're bound to sell a few.

 

Pretty nice generic (which I waited to comment on until after I got to use one) pen, all told. After a couple weeks' use, I find it to be in the ballpark overall with my Edison Collier, one of my favorite pens.

 

The MV section lets me use my Esterbrook nibs, and given the pen is longer than my J's, it's all around better for me.

 

I admit to leaning toward the converter as opposed to sac. Sacs might last longer (but my experience hasn't been very good with their longevity on my lever-fill pens), but converters are cheap enough, and easy enough to replace in comparison to resaccing that I'll limp along for only 5 years at a stretch and use 'em.

 

Kenro's making a much better effort on this, compared to the previous "rebirth" so far. I'm guessing that if Esterbrook had survived a few more decades than they did, they almost certainly would have come out with models different to the vintage ones we've been using up to now. Certainly bigger ones.

[truthpil]

Kenro's making a much better effort on this, compared to the previous "rebirth" so far. I'm guessing that if Esterbrook had survived a few more decades than they did, they almost certainly would have come out with models different to the vintage ones we've been using up to now. Certainly bigger ones.

Oh, how I wish this incarnation of "Esterbrook" would make a cartridge/converter version of the J-series pens and even add a larger version that keeps the same look of those old pens. When most people think "Esterbrook," that's what they think of, so it'd be nice to see an updated version of those classics that really makes a direct connection to the original company.