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View Full Version : Took an Ebay Gamble...



John the Monkey
January 18th, 2012, 12:40 PM
Indistinct picture, pen described as "Esterbrook Shorthand Pen".

In the picture it *looks* Copper, so I bid.

I return to the picture - now it looks like it might be red? I rationalise this as not mattering, after all, the only red Estie I have is an SJ - I'm sure this pen is a J.

I win the auction, and spend a bit of time over the next couple of days peering at the seller's photos. Maybe it *is* copper, but I can't see the "shimmer" type finish in the pics at all.

So today, I arrive home to a package, and inside is...

...a Copper Icicle LJ, with a 9128 nib. The imprint is incomplete, but the metal work & body is in great condition, even down to the clip, which looks to have never been used & is tight to the cap. Sac has gone, but I can fix that. All in all, very pleased. Still seeking my Copper shimmer, and Green shimmer Js, of course, but this little gamble has paid off nicely :)

manoeuver
January 18th, 2012, 05:31 PM
what, no foto? come on now.

eriquito
January 18th, 2012, 05:52 PM
WOW! My mouth was literally agape for a full 60 seconds when I finally read "...a Copper Icicle LJ, with a 9128 nib," no less!

Corn-gratulations, John! This couldn't have happened to a nicer Monkey =)

And manoeuver is correct, we need a picture.

You can take care of your own sac replacement but you don't own a loupe?

Somebody get this man a loupe. Please.

Awaiting photo,

=) Eric
Son of Ragnar

John the Monkey
January 19th, 2012, 02:32 AM
Ha! No, no photo (yet)! It's a very tricky colour to capture accurately, which is probably why the pic on the auction was so poor.

I've a couple of mobile phone shots - if I can get the blasted thing to upload them, I'll post - hoping to do some proper pics with my SLR at the weekend.

John the Monkey
January 19th, 2012, 03:15 AM
153154

Told you they were terrible pics! Taken in a bit of a rush last night.

eriquito
January 20th, 2012, 12:11 PM
No John, those are great pics! Worth a 1000 words apiece, easy. Much better than no pics at all.

Your pics make me want to hang out at eBay all day.

Oh wait, I was probably going to do that anyway...

John the Monkey
January 21st, 2012, 12:54 PM
Here we go - pen is still as it was when it arrived - I'm planning to spend some time this weekend cleaning it up, replacing the sac &c.

155

That 9128 nib...

156

Cap - clip is absolutely tight to the body of the cap, as though it's never been used.

157

158

The incomplete imprint, about the only fault I can pick with the pen really.

eriquito
January 22nd, 2012, 12:36 AM
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!

Next up, a writing sample, correct?

And now, do tell... what is the background in these pics? Do I see a radio tower sending out waves?

Yes, I'm easily distracted. You should see me on eBay!

=)

John the Monkey
January 22nd, 2012, 07:04 AM
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!

Next up, a writing sample, correct?

Fingers crossed! The pen's obviously been put away inked...for 40 years or so... I'm soaking the nib unit now (2 days, still getting rehydrated blue ink coming from it!) I can't wait to run some ink through it, but want to get rid of the old stuff first.

There was some good news with the section, which didn't need any heat to be freed from the barrel at all. The sac was completely dessicated, and needed some work with a bamboo skewer to shift - under a light, I can still see bits and pieces of dust in the barrel, although I'm not sure I'm up to removing J bar & lever to clean all this out completely. A new sac is on the section ready, and I'm hoping the nib unit will be clean & ready to fit this evening, although that old ink is taking it's sweet time...


And now, do tell... what is the background in these pics? Do I see a radio tower sending out waves?

Yup - it's the cover of Orbital's John Peel sessions EP - it's what happened to be atop the record player when I was setting up the camera, and I thought the green would set off the copper nicely :) (In fact, it just made the colour balance even more difficult to get right :) )

John the Monkey
January 22nd, 2012, 02:46 PM
Well, the nib has soaked clean, the section is back in the barrel, so...

Writing sample;

159

Like a lot of EFs, there's a definite "toothy" feel to the nib, even on Rhodia dot paper - I may just need to get used to the orientation the nib "likes" to write in. It's pretty pleasant to draw with (hence the doodle at the bottom of the page).

The line variation is fairly impressive, although the widest lines in the picture are achieved by putting on more pressure than I feel comfortable with!

Ink is Diamine Chocolate, Paper is from a No. 12 Dotpad.

Tracy Lee
January 22nd, 2012, 03:17 PM
Loving the doodle. Looks to be a good first writing sample.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

eriquito
January 23rd, 2012, 03:10 PM
Mr. Monkey, Sir! Again... that's a doodle??

I shudder to think of the masterpieces you produce when you actually sit down to create art.

Someday I hope to learn to doodle as do you do doodle.

Beautimous, indeed!

John the Monkey
January 24th, 2012, 01:42 AM
Thanks both - I say again, a doodle is anything you begin without a clear end in mind :)

Having a desired end point doesn't improve the quality per se either, as the pages of werewolves on the 'phone (encouraged by Eric's joke about the California phone book a while ago) in my sketchbook prove :)

eriquito
January 24th, 2012, 11:28 AM
Thanks both - I say again, a doodle is anything you begin without a clear end in mind :)

Aha! Got it. Your doodle definition make perfect sense.

So a doodle is sort of accidental. I wish my accidents looked half as good as your doodles.

I'll keep practicing =)

klpeabody
January 31st, 2012, 04:52 PM
THAT IS A COOL PEN.

manoli
February 15th, 2012, 03:53 PM
Hey John,

Looks like you scored big time on this pen. Congratulations!! and I finally learned what the Icicle pen looks like :o.
Who says you can't teach 'Ol dawgs new tricks.

Use the pen in good health and hope it wasn't too much of a pain in the butt to get it back into shape.

You got my favorite model Estie LJ, in my favorite color Root Beer, in that nice pattern, with a 9000 series nib,
so what could be bad.

John the Monkey
February 17th, 2012, 03:26 AM
Looks like you scored big time on this pen. Congratulations!! and I finally learned what the Icicle pen looks like :o.
Who says you can't teach 'Ol dawgs new tricks.

Use the pen in good health and hope it wasn't too much of a pain in the butt to get it back into shape.

Not at all - sac replacement is a fairly easy task, and I think I was lucky that the old ink soaked out of the nib fairly easily.


You got my favorite model Estie LJ, in my favorite color Root Beer, in that nice pattern, with a 9000 series nib,
so what could be bad.
Strictly speaking, I think this is Copper (fairly sure Rootbeer is much darker) - definitely a nice find, although my hunt for a Pearl finish Copper continues!

Freddy
March 5th, 2012, 04:28 PM
That is a fantastic score and the pen is beautiful. Use it in the best of health.

penultress
October 8th, 2012, 09:05 PM
John, coming over from the other thread - you have yourself a beautiful pen and I love your doodle as well!
I'm looking forward to my red one!

FLJeepGuy
October 9th, 2012, 06:53 PM
WOW! What an awesome find! Beautiful pen!

inky
October 9th, 2012, 08:57 PM
Nice find John! Now for the other colors! :)

Sailor Kenshin
November 16th, 2012, 01:12 PM
Awesome find!

Awright, ya got me. Want Esterbrooks.

I just spent two mind-numbing days looking st fleabay classifieds. How do you FIND these things?

pajaro
November 26th, 2012, 06:46 PM
Timing and luck are what you need to find unusual good stuff on ebay. If you are really searching, a search every day for your area of interest, including misspellings in the title. Misspelled titles in a listing make it harder to find. Generally, though, luck and perusing the listings at just the right time . . .

Sailor Kenshin
November 27th, 2012, 06:52 AM
I hear ya, but....rofl... How do you know the 'right' mis-spelling to put in?

KrazyIvan
November 27th, 2012, 01:16 PM
The misspelling trick does not work anymore, sort of. Example: I searched for "fntain pen" it auto corrected my search to "fontain pen" then when I clicked that, it auto corrected again to "fountain pen".

samgeee
January 30th, 2013, 06:41 AM
Wow-- Lucky you! Great looking pen..

caribbean_skye
February 2nd, 2013, 10:54 AM
Seems your gamble paid off, well done. I'm sure you're pleased with yourself, and rightly so. Helps that you know what you're looking at, even if the person who auctioned the item didn't. I know I've learned a LOT from The Geeks (Dan, Eric and Stephen) and the geeks (you and everyone else) just by browsing the forums. It still astonishes me that within the last year I can actually identify pens by sight that I hadn't even heard of before then. I guess now I have to go and read up on Esterbrook Icicle pens now. Here I thought I was going to clean house and do laundry this weekend, foiled again. :)