Dumb question: how does the 8 ball work?

December 19, 2023

I saw an Esterbrook 8 ball at a local charity shop and was tempted to buy it ('cause, obviously, I need another desk pen when I don't use the Parker and Sheaffer sets I already own 😕 ).

But ... how does it work?

There was no lever, so it's not a fountain pen. And it doesn't seem to have a reservoir, just a socket.

I've google for a whole 4.5 minutes, and I can't find the answer to this mystery

December 19, 2023

The Esterbrook eight ball desk bases are made to be used with an Esterbrook lever filler pen.

Esterbrook also had a Dipless model pen made to be used with a matching base. In this case it was the base that held the ink, the pen was a dip pen. It was called a Dipless because it had a feed which held more ink than a regular dip pen and therefore needed less dipping (it still needed dipping, just less of it).

It's possible the set you saw was a mismatch of a Dipless pen with an eightball base. Or maybe the pen was not even an Esterbrook. About half the eightballs I see in the wild which have a pen do not have an Esterbrook pen.

December 19, 2023

9 hours ago, bsenn said:

The Esterbrook eight ball desk bases are made to be used with an Esterbrook lever filler pen.

Esterbrook also had a Dipless model pen made to be used with a matching base. In this case it was the base that held the ink, the pen was a dip pen. It was called a Dipless because it had a feed which held more ink than a regular dip pen and therefore needed less dipping (it still needed dipping, just less of it).

It's possible the set you saw was a mismatch of a Dipless pen with an eightball base. Or maybe the pen was not even an Esterbrook. About half the eightballs I see in the wild which have a pen do not have an Esterbrook pen.

That might be the answer! I hadn't thought of that.

I'll revisit the shop and take some photos, perhaps.

Thanks!