Esterbrook Aficionados

[southpaw52]

There seem to be very little traffic here. I know that there are more Esties fans lurking in the shadows. Come out and discuss the great attributes of Esties. Personally I think Esties are great to collect and use. What are your nib preferences?

[Biber]

For me the 9550 is the benchmark against which I've come to judge just about every other nib. I also quite enjoy the 9128 but sidelined it because I was afraid I'd spring it playing around with what little flex it offered.

[KrazyIvan]

Esterbrooks were my first foray into vintage pens. Mine get pulled out on occasion but I do not use them as frequently as my modern pens. I have a blue J, Green J and a couple of Bell Systems but forget if they are SJ or the other size (escapes my mind right now). I traded a Red J and a Transitional a while back. I was looking for fine nibbed pens at the time so I tried getting the 9668 nibs whenever I could. I really want to get stub nibs for them now. I might use them more often if I could get them.

[southpaw52]

Why a stub nib?

[KrazyIvan]

Why a stub nib?

I like the line variation offered by stubs/italics/CI nibs.

[Biber]

My first Esty came with a 9668. It's a great nib but a bit wide foer my tastes. I thought it distinctly had a lot of "stub" qualities about it without being an actual stub nib. I found the 9550 much more to my liking so ended up modifying the collar when I thought I could adapt it to fit into a Pelikan. Now I ish I hadn't done that.

[79spitfire]

I have several, and hunt them down when I can. I'm a fan of the 'transitional' Js. I scored a toaster top on fleabay not to long ago, and it turned out to have the elusive 'dark red' jewel!

I have a hard time picking my favorite nib, I like most for different reasons, I have a 9460 that has got to be the World's smoothest nib, a 9128 that is interesting, but not overly flexible and a 9314-B with nice character.

[Jon Szanto]

I started into them a bit over a year ago, not long after getting into pens (again). Esties are so easy to get into, and easy to get a hold of, that the inevitable happened: I know have more than I need/want! Of course, that didn't stop me from getting another desk pen of a kind I didn't have before (similar to the SM Deluxe models), and part of the 'selling point' was that it also had a nib I hadn't had - a 9968.

At the LA Pen Show I picked up a bunch of supplies and am going to re-sac those that need it, do a little spiffing up, and then I'll put them up on the board, in case anyone is interested in them. They really can be very nice pens to both have and use, and I'll always have a small assortment for those reasons.

[Toffer]

I have a black double jewel with a really fine nib, can't remember the code off the top of my head, I would like some more! There was one I was watching on fleabay the other day with a black jewel on the pen and a white one on the cap. I couldn't decide whether it was a mixed pen or you could actually get them like this?

[jor412]

I have a black double jewel with a really fine nib, can't remember the code off the top of my head, I would like some more! There was one I was watching on fleabay the other day with a black jewel on the pen and a white one on the cap. I couldn't decide whether it was a mixed pen or you could actually get them like this?

Maybe it's not white? Maybe it's metal. Check this out: http://www.esterbrook.net/j2.shtml

[jor412]

Esterbrooks were my first foray into vintage pens. Mine get pulled out on occasion but I do not use them as frequently as my modern pens.

Me too. My first vintage pen was a rootbeer colored Esterbrook J, and while I don't use it often, I can't bring myself to part with it. When I started getting interested in fountain pens, I just got enamored with the idea of a lever filler. I had only seen them in old sitcoms and in these, someone was always getting squirted with ink by one. (I accidentally did this to myself, btw, with my Esterbrook.) I have several nibs for my J, including a stub and a broad nib, but my favorite is the 9556. I enjoy the slight feedback I get from it and the flow is just right. And the Estie J for me has "character". I don't think they make pens that look like this anymore -- unless I've missed something in the past year!

I have a dipless set which I have yet to try. I bought it because I liked the idea behind it. I've also tried out the SJ and LJ but found them a bit too thin and/or short for me.

[cedargirl]

I bought my first Esterbrook only recently - a red LJ.

There's a whole lot of love going to Esterbrooks over on FPN. So I thought I better get one.

It came with a 1551 nib that is supposed to be firm, but I think someone had modified it because it was writing extremely fine. I didn't like it, so I reground it to a cursive italic and like it now.
But I'm on the look out for a 9000 series nib, just can't decide which. And it looks like I'll have to pay more for the nib than I did for the pen!
The stub nibs seem to be very popular and/or less common because they seem to go for the highest prices, so I think I'll try to get a medium or maybe a broad.

[jor412]

But I'm on the look out for a 9000 series nib, just can't decide which. And it looks like I'll have to pay more for the nib than I did for the pen!
The stub nibs seem to be very popular and/or less common because they seem to go for the highest prices, so I think I'll try to get a medium or maybe a broad.

On eBay, I've chased Esterbrook nibs by bidding on beat up pens or Esterbrook dip pens. I got my broad & italic Estie nibs that way and they cost me a lot less than they would've had I bid on the nib itself. Good luck

[cedargirl]

On eBay, I've chased Esterbrook nibs by bidding on beat up pens or Esterbrook dip pens. I got my broad & italic Estie nibs that way and they cost me a lot less than they would've had I bid on the nib itself. Good luck

Thanks for the tip, jor412.
"Esterbrook dip pen" - I'm confused. There are plenty of Esterbrook nibs around that fit into dip pen holders. But that can't be what you mean. Or can you fit those nibs into the nib section of a fountain pen. Or do you mean something totally different that I don't know about?

[jor412]

Oops sorry about that! I keep thinking of them as dip pens but they're really just desk pens that are lever filled. The nibs are interchangeable, as are nibs from other Esties like the M2s. Sometimes you'll see these desk pens minus their stand and they go for quite cheap -- say $15 or less on eBay. Then you get this cool nib for the price of a regular one. And other times, the seller isn't really into Esterbrooks so doesn't list the nib but when you squint your eyes enough at the pics, you see the nib number and it's an otherwise expensive one.

I haven't tried changing my dipless Esterbrook nib yet so I don't know if they'll fit, but I imagine so. The dipless had its own ink well and was a "dip" pen of sorts.

[Cornet]

Oops sorry about that! I keep thinking of them as dip pens but they're really just desk pens that are lever filled. The nibs are interchangeable, as are nibs from other Esties like the M2s. Sometimes you'll see these desk pens minus their stand and they go for quite cheap -- say $15 or less on eBay. Then you get this cool nib for the price of a regular one. And other times, the seller isn't really into Esterbrooks so doesn't list the nib but when you squint your eyes enough at the pics, you see the nib number and it's an otherwise expensive one.

I haven't tried changing my dipless Esterbrook nib yet so I don't know if they'll fit, but I imagine so. The dipless had its own ink well and was a "dip" pen of sorts.

The only Esterbrook I have is one of those dipless pens. It is called the XT pen according to the Esterbrook site. Mine came with the wrong base. There is no place to put ink in it so it does need to be dipped.

[jor412]

On ebay, I've seen the dipless Esties selling as sets or as separate pieces. If you go through the listings, I'm sure you'll eventually find one at a reasonable price. The base you have is probably for their standard desk pens and that base can also be sold separately, too. At least, you can get some of your money back to buy the right ink well. I bought two complete sets in three purchases and spent no more than $30 per set.

[79spitfire]

Oops sorry about that! I keep thinking of them as dip pens but they're really just desk pens that are lever filled. The nibs are interchangeable, as are nibs from other Esties like the M2s. Sometimes you'll see these desk pens minus their stand and they go for quite cheap -- say $15 or less on eBay. Then you get this cool nib for the price of a regular one. And other times, the seller isn't really into Esterbrooks so doesn't list the nib but when you squint your eyes enough at the pics, you see the nib number and it's an otherwise expensive one.

I haven't tried changing my dipless Esterbrook nib yet so I don't know if they'll fit, but I imagine so. The dipless had its own ink well and was a "dip" pen of sorts.

I managed to score a 'sunburst' 3550 nib this way, I think it was less than $10.

I used the section to fix another pen, as the barrel and j-bar were damaged.

[jor412]

True. I generally keep the beat up Estie for parts

[cedargirl]

Oops sorry about that! I keep thinking of them as dip pens but they're really just desk pens that are lever filled. The nibs are interchangeable, as are nibs from other Esties like the M2s. Sometimes you'll see these desk pens minus their stand and they go for quite cheap -- say $15 or less on eBay. Then you get this cool nib for the price of a regular one. And other times, the seller isn't really into Esterbrooks so doesn't list the nib but when you squint your eyes enough at the pics, you see the nib number and it's an otherwise expensive one.

I haven't tried changing my dipless Esterbrook nib yet so I don't know if they'll fit, but I imagine so. The dipless had its own ink well and was a "dip" pen of sorts.

Aaah! Desk Pens - what a great idea. Thank you for a great tip.