So, Esterbrook is a second tier pen. I used Esterbrook to learn about different kinds of nibs, because the Esterbrooks were cheaper than learning about nibs via some other brand. There were more nib varieties available in Esterbrook. Even though Esterbrook has a following that runs up the price of some less common nibs, these were still cheaper than doing it with Montblanc, Parker, et alia. I bought a lot of the Sonnet nibs in 18K, including the broad italic and right and left obliques, and it was pricier. Some Esterbrooks have held up nicely and are even still with a good original sac. Yeah, the definition if the tiers seems to stretch.