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Uncle Bud
June 18th, 2014, 02:16 PM
I have just received my first Estie J model pen with a 2668 nib. It looks great and the nib is smooth as silk. The imprint is really clear and says 'Esterbrook' on one line, and 'Made in USA' on the line below. There is no 'R' trademark after the Esterbrook. Is this a fake? I don't really know much about the Esterbrook brand.

Any advice would be appreciated, I'd be upset it it was, coz it looks great and writes like a dream. Cheers

cwent2
June 18th, 2014, 02:35 PM
http://esterbrook.net

Here is a link to Brian Anderson's esterbrook page - there is a date where the R trademark starts - earlier pens did not have the "R" I do not know off hand what that date is/was.

Hope this helps

tandaina
June 18th, 2014, 03:17 PM
I've never heard of a fake Esterbrook! Who would fake such a cheap pen?

(they are great, just seems like an odd thing to fake!)

pajaro
June 18th, 2014, 03:52 PM
Nobody but an idiot would fake one of these, but then the world is full of idiots. These pens have some variations. This is one such. Old pens, production variations, stuff happens and happened more often in the olden days.

Jon Szanto
June 18th, 2014, 04:03 PM
You guys talk like you've never heard of faked Hero 616 pens! :)

My take on this was a little different: it is a pen that - going now - costs in the $20 - $30 range, and Uncle Bud said it was a superb pen. At that point, who cares? A faked Montblanc could be a serious dent in either the outlay of cash, or an expected investment. In this case, you've got a good pen either way, and no one broke the piggy bank.

Or something.

Hell, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that there were SJ Transitionals, something I hadn't heard about until 2 days ago!

Lexaf
June 18th, 2014, 04:12 PM
Sure, Tandaina, who would clone an Estie? But they are probably the most beautiful and certainly one of the most reliable El Cheapo's ever made!

I own several Esterbrook pens and I took 4 of them out of the closet to check for the R trademark:
A early J model with one jewel (only at the cap) : imprint: Esterbrook - made in USA - no 'R'
Two later J models with juwels on both ends: imprint: Esterbrook - made in USA - 'R'
Another double jewel piece: Imprint: Esterbrook - Made in England - no 'R'

So the appearance of the trademark R is probably only on the later double juwel J models (and later models), but not on the English made pieces.
Besides that, I think the English J Esties are quite rare, but I have no reason to think they are fake. My (one and only) English Estie came from a very well reputed seller here in The Netherlands, is Virgin/N.O.S. ( the pen, not the seller :) ) and it (she?) still has its original silver colored 'cigar wrapper' around the cap. I can post a picture of it later, if you want.

Of course the first Esterbrooks, the Relief series, were also made in England (by Conway Stuart) and before Esterbrook started to make fountain pens they already had a fine reputation as a manufacturer of high quality steel dip nibs.

See for more info about Esterbrook here: http://www.esterbrook.net/index.shtml

Uncle Bud
June 19th, 2014, 12:04 AM
http://esterbrook.net

Here is a link to Brian Anderson's esterbrook page - there is a date where the R trademark starts - earlier pens did not have the "R" I do not know off hand what that date is/was.

Hope this helps

Hi Cwent2, thanks for the link, reading the double jewel page, it would appear that the earliest models didn't have the registered trademark printed on them, so that answers my question. They are great little pens and they look really nice. Thanks again, Bud.

pajaro
June 19th, 2014, 04:59 PM
You guys talk like you've never heard of faked Hero 616 pens! :)

My take on this was a little different: it is a pen that - going now - costs in the $20 - $30 range, and Uncle Bud said it was a superb pen. At that point, who cares? A faked Montblanc could be a serious dent in either the outlay of cash, or an expected investment. In this case, you've got a good pen either way, and no one broke the piggy bank.

Or something.

Hell, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that there were SJ Transitionals, something I hadn't heard about until 2 days ago!

I was pretty stupefied to find an SJ with a lopped-off end. I would be more surprised by a fake Estie.

welch
June 19th, 2014, 06:10 PM
I remember a discussion on the FPN Estie forum about a nib marked something like "Easterbook". I don;t remember if anyone had an "Easterbook" pen, but there might have been fakes. Of course, as mentioned above, if a pen looks like an Estie and writes beautifully, then be happy.

johnmc2
September 22nd, 2014, 02:50 AM
I wouldn't call this a fake, as the Esterbrook name doesn't appear, but I would call it a copy. The clip has "DEER" and on the nib (friction fit) TAK-SANG and GLOBE & DEER. The sac has an interesting shape.

http://i.imgur.com/cDbysfrl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/T9awBbJl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/pgDUILjl.jpg

KBeezie
September 22nd, 2014, 03:27 AM
I've never heard of a fake Esterbrook! Who would fake such a cheap pen?

(they are great, just seems like an odd thing to fake!)

Nor have I, I imagine it could either be a misprint, or if the spacing is still there could have just worn down with age. But never heard of anyone faking a cheaper brand/pen, they're not exactly high margin grabbers like faking a Montblanc (where it may cost 50$ to 100$ to make the fake, but sells for 600-900$)


I wouldn't call this a fake, as the Esterbrook name doesn't appear, but I would call it a copy. The clip has "DEER" and on the nib (friction fit) TAK-SANG and GLOBE & DEER. The sac has an interesting shape.


Interesting, looks like an aftermarket hack-job.

Farmboy
September 22nd, 2014, 11:46 PM
I have an EESTERBROOK that is clearly intended to be a fake Esterbrook.

Jon Szanto
September 22nd, 2014, 11:54 PM
I have an EESTERBROOK that is clearly intended to be a fake Esterbrook.

You bought that from the Swedish chef, didn't you?

ac12
September 24th, 2014, 08:32 PM
You guys talk like you've never heard of faked Hero 616 pens! :)

My take on this was a little different: it is a pen that - going now - costs in the $20 - $30 range, and Uncle Bud said it was a superb pen. At that point, who cares? A faked Montblanc could be a serious dent in either the outlay of cash, or an expected investment. In this case, you've got a good pen either way, and no one broke the piggy bank.

Or something.

Hell, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that there were SJ Transitionals, something I hadn't heard about until 2 days ago!

I was pretty stupefied to find an SJ with a lopped-off end. I would be more surprised by a fake Estie.


I did not realize that I had an SJ transitional until I reorganized my collection with all the transitionals together. Lined them up and, huh the red one is shorter than the others. Drat, another category of pens to try to collect.

Scrawler
September 26th, 2014, 04:17 PM
I have just received my first Estie J model pen with a 2668 nib. It looks great and the nib is smooth as silk. The imprint is really clear and says 'Esterbrook' on one line, and 'Made in USA' on the line below. There is no 'R' trademark after the Esterbrook. Is this a fake? I don't really know much about the Esterbrook brand.

Any advice would be appreciated, I'd be upset it it was, coz it looks great and writes like a dream. Cheers

In 1947 Esterbrook produced samples of what the 1948 J series run would look like. These prototypes are characterized by no (R) mark and screw in jewels.

gregamckinney
September 27th, 2014, 12:53 PM
My "Back" pen is a pretty neat knock-off:

http://gergyor.com/images/back.jpg
http://gergyor.com/images/back_nib.jpg

Best Regards, greg

Farmboy
September 27th, 2014, 08:54 PM
I have just received my first Estie J model pen with a 2668 nib. It looks great and the nib is smooth as silk. The imprint is really clear and says 'Esterbrook' on one line, and 'Made in USA' on the line below. There is no 'R' trademark after the Esterbrook. Is this a fake? I don't really know much about the Esterbrook brand.

Any advice would be appreciated, I'd be upset it it was, coz it looks great and writes like a dream. Cheers

In 1947 Esterbrook produced samples of what the 1948 J series run would look like. These prototypes are characterized by no (R) mark and screw in jewels.

I have never heard the above mentioned version of the J series called a prototype. What evidence do we have for this suggestion?

Farmboy

Scrawler
September 28th, 2014, 04:54 AM
I have just received my first Estie J model pen with a 2668 nib. It looks great and the nib is smooth as silk. The imprint is really clear and says 'Esterbrook' on one line, and 'Made in USA' on the line below. There is no 'R' trademark after the Esterbrook. Is this a fake? I don't really know much about the Esterbrook brand.

Any advice would be appreciated, I'd be upset it it was, coz it looks great and writes like a dream. Cheers

In 1947 Esterbrook produced samples of what the 1948 J series run would look like. These prototypes are characterized by no (R) mark and screw in jewels.

I have never heard the above mentioned version of the J series called a prototype. What evidence do we have for this suggestion?

Farmboy

"prototype" is definitely the wrong word, and just laziness on my part not to think of a better word for market exploration. This suggestion came out of a discussion and so is only really heresay. The argument presented to me was based on the short period and manufacturing cost saving design improvements, that all occurred in this short time.

pajaro
October 7th, 2014, 10:01 PM
After perusing this thread, it occurs to me that this issue has been brought up before, with the conclusion that there is variation in Esterbrooks. Despite the knock-offs with other company labels, I haven't read of any bona fide occurences of fake Esterbrooks, so I think your first thought might be of production variation rather than of fakes.