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  1. #1
    Senior Member Ole Juul's Avatar
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    Default Some Old Pens

    I rummaged around the house to see what I could find in the way of fountain pens. These looked rather interesting, but I have no idea if they have an value. By value, I don't mean money, but do people value these for any reason? I thought the green one looked nice, but the others are sort of boring. In any case I'd be grateful if anybody could tell me something about any of them.

    More information:

    - Brown speckle:
    Clip says "Monitor". Nib says Monitor 14 Made in USA.

    - Black:
    Nib says Sheaffer's Lifetime

    - Green:
    Clip says Shaeffer's
    Nib says Shaeffer Feather Touch, Made in USA, 5, 14K
    Barrel says, C.J.Wirth Los Angeles Cal.
    Shaeffer Pen Co.
    Madison Iowa USA

    - Grey:
    Nib says, Esterbrook 9788 Made In USA.



    They're all lever operated except the green Shaeffer. The end pulls out and it's a wide chromed (or nickel?) piston. I don't see how to take it apart so I won't put ink in it until I do know. The others need some serious cleaning/restoration and I don't think I'll bother, but I'll definitely keep them so that someone else can have them in the future.

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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    All worth a little TLC to put back in service.

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    Senior Member jar's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    Black Standard sized Balance Sheaffer. E.J. Wirth is a Sheaffer Touchdown filler. Not a hard repair and kits are available but best bet might be to contact Danny Fudge at The Write Pen.

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    Senior Member INeedAFinancialAdvisor's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    Nice pens, i think Jar meant to say that the GREEN Sheaffer is a touchdown filler (the wide chrome tube)
    learn about pneumatic fillers here: http://www.richardspens.com/ref/fillers/pneumatic.htm
    learn how to restore a touchdown here: http://www.richardspens.com/ref/repair/touchdown.htm

    Basic resacking of lever fillers: http://dirck.delint.ca/beta/?page_id=27

    And if you're not comfortable doing it yourself, there are LOTS of people who are very good at doing it.
    Ron Zorn is a regular on the forums and by all accounts does excellent work! https://www.mainstreetpens.com
    I have not yet had the pleasure of experiencing his work, but i have benefited from his knowledge many times!

    Nice Pens btw, especially the two Sheaffers. That black Balance with the Lifetime nib is VERY nice!
    And like FarmBoy said; all are worth the small effort to put them back into service!

    Congrats.

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    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    Quote Originally Posted by INeedAFinancialAdvisor View Post
    Nice pens, i think Jar meant to say that the GREEN Sheaffer is a touchdown filler (the wide chrome tube)

    Congrats.
    I believe jar just mentioned both pens. He said there was a Black Standard sized Balance Sheaffer. He also mentioned that the E.J. Wirth is a Sheaffer Touchdown filler.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    Quote Originally Posted by Chrissy View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by INeedAFinancialAdvisor View Post
    Nice pens, i think Jar meant to say that the GREEN Sheaffer is a touchdown filler (the wide chrome tube)

    Congrats.
    I believe jar just mentioned both pens. He said there was a Black Standard sized Balance Sheaffer. He also mentioned that the E.J. Wirth is a Sheaffer Touchdown filler.
    You are correct! seems i misread

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    Senior Member Kaputnik's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    Concerning the Esterbrook, those were really nice workhorse pens which many people still like. They have user replaceable nib units, nib and feed together just screw out, and the 9788 is one of the nicer ones. Be very careful about taking it out, though, if it's just been sitting around in a drawer it may be stuck; don't force it. You can find a lot more information on this site. I've linked to their nibs section, but explore the links over on the left.

    Definitely worth restoring if it doesn't have any really major issues like a crack in the section that don't show in the photo. I'd second the suggestion of Danny Fudge for that pen if you don't want to try it yourself.

    And of course, the Sheaffers are a bit more upscale, and again worth restoring.
    Last edited by Kaputnik; July 10th, 2020 at 09:24 PM.
    "If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly."
    G.K. Chesterton

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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    oh WOW, i didn't even notice that the Estie had a 9788 Flex nib! NICE!

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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    That lovely grey Esterbrook is fairly straightforward to restore. All it needs is a new sac inside and Bob's your uncle. I can understand if you don't want to do it yourself though. There are vintage pens and you don't want to go breaking anything.

    Here is a thread about a newly purchased Esterbrook and a first time repair of fitting a new sac.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Senior Member jar's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    On the touchdown the blind cap is held in place with a screw you can reach from inside the tube. Take the body off the section and you can then see inside the tube to separate body, tube and blind cap.

  18. #11
    Senior Member Ole Juul's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    Thank you everybody! I got way more than I expected.

    Now that I look at them again, I see they're not in bad shape at all. Sac replacement seems to be all that's needed, and although I've never done that, I think it's well within my skills. That said, I wasn't thinking of spending time doing pen repair just now. I've got too much else going on. I also have enough pens that write already. I see though that it's not a costly repair to get professionally done, so maybe I'll think about that. In any case, rest assured that the pens will be preserved.

    The touchdown filler looks a bit tedious to repair. It moves freely and the pen is clean. However, I'd expect it to leak internally from old age, so I don't want to put ink in it as is.

    Looking at the Esterbrook, I can see that the nib is nice and soft. I think I might be interested in actually writing with that.

    Thanks again everybody for all the valuable education.

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  20. #12
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    Quote Originally Posted by Ole Juul View Post
    The touchdown filler looks a bit tedious to repair. It moves freely and the pen is clean. However, I'd expect it to leak internally from old age, so I don't want to put ink in it as is.

    Looking at the Esterbrook, I can see that the nib is nice and soft. I think I might be interested in actually writing with that.

    Thanks again everybody for all the valuable education.
    If the pens haven't been restored recently, I don't recommend trying to put ink in them.
    You can dip them in ink and write, until you can restore them or send them out to a "pen spa".

    The Touchdown is one of my favorite filling system to restore. It makes way more sense than the over-complicated Snorkel and it is still cool.

    As for the Esterbrook nib, the 9788 is not a common nib, it's labeled "Flexible Medium". Some Esterbrook nibs that are marked "flexible" truly can deliver nice and crisp flex line variations, so go ahead and try it. You may be lucky and that nib is one of those.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

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    Senior Member Ole Juul's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    The Esterbrook nib does feel delicious. I'll go do a dip in a minute, as you suggest.

    Yeah, I'm not going to fill a pen that's old. However, I'm starting to convince myself that I should send these pens out to get restored. I saw one site offered resacking and general repair of these pens for $20. If that's the ballpark price,then that's a bargain, considering that the pens cost me nothing.

    I have two more pens that I haven't mentioned, which need restoration and I'm willing to pay good bucks for work on those as they're quite valuable - particularly to me. I'll make another post for those.

    Edit: Indeed, the Esterbrook 9788 is lovely. I just have the one ink right now which is very wet, but I bet the nib would write well with a lot of inks. It's got a great feel.
    Last edited by Ole Juul; July 11th, 2020 at 04:03 PM. Reason: additional info

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    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    In Canada, I have heard David Armstrong from http://www.restorersart.com/services/ mentioned when discussing fountain pen repairs and restorations. You may want to check with him.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

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    Ole Juul (July 11th, 2020)

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    Senior Member Ole Juul's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    Quote Originally Posted by penwash View Post
    In Canada, I have heard David Armstrong from http://www.restorersart.com/services/ mentioned when discussing fountain pen repairs and restorations. You may want to check with him.
    Thanks @penwash. I was already looking at his site, because it looks like the right stuff. However I don't have a contact for him. The site only has an address, but also says "we are no longer accepting direct mail-ins". I guess the site got edited and there was a mixup, I don't know.

  26. #16
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    Quote Originally Posted by Ole Juul View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by penwash View Post
    In Canada, I have heard David Armstrong from http://www.restorersart.com/services/ mentioned when discussing fountain pen repairs and restorations. You may want to check with him.
    Thanks @penwash. I was already looking at his site, because it looks like the right stuff. However I don't have a contact for him. The site only has an address, but also says "we are no longer accepting direct mail-ins". I guess the site got edited and there was a mixup, I don't know.
    On his website he mentioned Laywine's Pens as his associated operation.

    Going to Laywine's website: https://laywines.com/pages/contact-us

    They listed a phone number. So at least you can call them to see if they accept mail-in pens for David to repair.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

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    Senior Member jar's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    Jess for fun:








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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    I have one Sheaffer pen, a late '40's Crest with lever. It was a pleasant surprise to learn the nib section unscrews from the body for easy sac replacement. Is this true for all Sheaffer lever modals. Also what size sac is needed to re-sac a Sheaffer?

  31. #19
    Senior Member guyy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    Quote Originally Posted by Chuck Naill View Post
    I have one Sheaffer pen, a late '40's Crest with lever. It was a pleasant surprise to learn the nib section unscrews from the body for easy sac replacement. Is this true for all Sheaffer lever modals. Also what size sac is needed to re-sac a Sheaffer?
    Definitely not true that all Sheaffer lever fillers have sections that unscrew. Many are friction fit.

    What size sac depends on the size of the pen. Check out the chart at the Pen Sac Company site.

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  33. #20
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    Default Re: Some Old Pens

    Quote Originally Posted by guyy View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Chuck Naill View Post
    I have one Sheaffer pen, a late '40's Crest with lever. It was a pleasant surprise to learn the nib section unscrews from the body for easy sac replacement. Is this true for all Sheaffer lever modals. Also what size sac is needed to re-sac a Sheaffer?
    Definitely not true that all Sheaffer lever fillers have sections that unscrew. Many are friction fit.

    What size sac depends on the size of the pen. Check out the chart at the Pen Sac Company site.

    Thank you, #18 straight.

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