Esterbrook Relief 66

[corgicoupe]

Seeking opinions, thoughts, experiences, etc on the Relief 66 fountain pen.

I may have an opportunity to get one but wanted to hear from anyone/everyone who has/had one. I have a Relief 2-L, a Relief 12, a BHR Dollar pen, and ten or so Esterbrook Js. How would a 66 fit in? How will it compare with those I already have? Is it different enough from the Dollar pen to make it worth acquiring? Any other thoughts? TIA

[corgicoupe]

I guess the Relief 66 is not very common.

[Seattleite]

I think that I know what you are looking at. Desireable nib, mostly because it is a "Sunburst" pattern American made piece. The early tipped Esterbrook nibs in this broad "Relief" configuration are no doubt quite scarce. Pretty much the same as the later 9314B, save the early graphics. 9314B is what, a $30 nib from Anderson's. If writing is the goal, and you have a pen already, I'd go that way.

Bob

[carlos.q]

I guess the Relief 66 is not very common.

Yes it is. I had to look it up: http://www.esterbrook.net/relief90.shtml

[corgicoupe]

Yeah, I already have the 9314F, M, & B and decided those would be sufficient for my purposes.

[corgicoupe]

The one I was considering had the sunburst nib as a replacement because the original 1314 was damaged. I don't have a sunburst, but you can;t have everything.

[Seattleite]

Nice to have the 3 sizes of the 9314s. IIRC, the Relief Sunburst has a frosted mask for the inscription, much like the early 9000 nibs that are unique to the Visumaster (they also share a diamond shaped breather hole). I don't know if the nib in question was tied to a specific pen, or was an independent offering. Pretty sure that the 3000 series Sunburst preceeds the 8000 and 9000 nibs, and would have been the upgraded nib during the Dollar and Dollar-Fifty era. They certainly add a lot of visual appeal to those pens, IMO.

Bob

[Seattleite]

Oh geez, I just looked at the link that carlos q posted. Now I am confused. I have seen the nib in what I thought was a standard American made Esterbrook Dollar pen. I didn't know that were differences in the pen, as well. I may not have noticed the cap length difference, but I should have spotted the Relief inscription on the clip and noticed the different lever. That nib, in such a specific and correct pen is pretty cool.

Bob

[corgicoupe]

Oh geez, I just looked at the link that carlos q posted. Now I am confused. I have seen the nib in what I thought was a standard American made Esterbrook Dollar pen. I didn't know that were differences in the pen, as well. I may not have noticed the cap length difference, but I should have spotted the Relief inscription on the clip and noticed the different lever. That nib, in such a specific and correct pen is pretty cool.

Bob

It's available on etsy.com/shop/MidnightPens if you are interested.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

I wasn't going to post the listing, which I mentioned in the PM to you corgicoupe, as I was under the impression you were still considering purchasing.

However, in light of the above, I will give a shout out to Gary of MidnightPens. He is a straight up guy and very decent to deal with. I bought an copper transitional Estie from him and it cam in superb condition. Highly recommended seller. :)

[corgicoupe]

You are so correct. Half my small Esterbrook collection had its origin on Gary's work table. If I was looking for an Esterbrook, Gary is who I would turn to. He is even willing to swap nibs if you have a preference. I also purchased two Parker VS button fillers from Gary, as well as the Relief 2-L and the gray hatch Relief 12, both with 314 oblique nibs. The might be my favorite writers.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Totally agree. Gary gave me the option of a 9314-B or 9668. I chose the latter and couldn't be happier. It was a NOS nib too!

[corgicoupe]

When I entered grad school back in 1964 my assigned desk had a green Esterbrook desk pen on it. It had a 2668 nib, which is still one of the most pleasant nibs to write with. The 9668 was a good choice over the 9314B, but my 9314F and even the M are a pleasure to use.

[Seattleite]

I looked at the listing. Thanks for that! It is very interesting. Same nib that I remember seeing before. Between Gary's description, what is written at Anderson Pens, and your posts, I gather that the original nib paired with the 66 would be a quite early flat feed Dura-Chrome 1314 of the variety where the word Esterbrook is placed on the diagonal. with the Sunburst (with gold mask) nib reserved for the 90. So, maybe the one that I saw was really just a US made Dollar pen with a sunburst Relief.

So, for a hundred Dollars... A scarce pen (in the States) that needs a hard to find nib, and a Sunburst broad Relief nib that would be a fabulous upgrade for a worthy Dollar or Dollar-Fifty Esterbrook.

With restored J's routinely able to fetch fifty bucks, and some of the exotic Pre-war Estie's trading in the hundreds of dollars, you would think that there would be a fair amount to work with for the right person. For me, the pen would be a display piece, so the condition issues keep me looking elsewhere. This whole exploration does whet my appetite for the gold-trimmed Esterbrook 90. I have certainly never seen one of those. It would be fabulous as a visual link between my English Relief pens and their American Cousins.

Bob

[corgicoupe]

I believe the Relief 90 is the same as the 66, but with gold trim.

Gary told me the 1314 nib was damaged, but didn't say how badly. You could ask that he include that in the purchase and you can attempt to bring it back to working condition.