I just got a couple of Esterbrook Desk sets, An "Eightball" and a #444 Dipless. Last night I cleaned them up and tried inking them. The fountain pen has a very very fine nib, a 2550 which was slightly bent and out of alignment. I attempted to adjust it. It's writing very dry. The dipless pen has a 9668 nib which is more a medium nib. I noticed the 9668 nib has what looks like two small holes in the end of the feed. Are they part of the dipless design? Can I use a nib that doesn't have those holes with the #444 well? I swapped the nibs and they both seemed to have weak flow, so I left them soak overnight.

Also, the top of the #444 well has a piece missing out of the locking flange, the top therefore is loose. Has anyone tried rebuilding the flange with something like J-B Weld or a similar product?

Pax,
John