My humble entry into fountain-pen life

[John in Covina]

Nib number to look for on EBAY

CHART: ESTERBROOK Renew Points
Number Style Style B For
1314 Stub Flexible
1461 Medium Ridgid Manifold Carbon Copies
1550 EF- Extra Fine Firm Bookkeeping
1551 Medium Firm Student
1554 Fine Firm Clerical
1555 Fine Firm Gregg Shorthand
1556 Fine Firm Fine Writing
2048 Fine Flexible Shaded Writing
2128 EF- Extra Fine Flexible Shaded Writing
2284 Broad Stub Firm Signature
2312 Medium Italic
2314B Broad Oblique Relief
2314F Fine Oblique Relief
2314M Medium Oblique Relief
2442 Stub Falcon Backhand Writing
2450 Fine Extra Firm Bookkeeping
2460 Medium Firm
2461 Fine Ridgid
2464 Broad Ridgid
2550 EF- Extra Fine Medium Bookkeeping
2555 Fine Firm Gregg Shorthand
2556 Fine Firm General Writing
2668 Medium Firm General Writing
2788 Medium Flexible
2968 Broad Firm
3312 Fine Stub Dip-Less
3550 EF- Extra Fine Firm
3556 Fine Fine Writing
3668 Medium Firm
3968 Broad Firm
8440 EF- Extra Fine Firm Superfine Sunburst
8550 EF- Extra Fine Firm
8556 Fine Fine Writing
8668 Medium Firm General Writing
8996 Medium Firm
5556 Fine Firm Dip-Less
9048 Shaded Writing
9128 EF- Extra Fine Flexible Fine Penmanship
9284 Stub Music / Signature
9312 Medium Italic
9314B Broad Oblique Relief
9314F Fine Oblique Relief
9314M Medium Oblique Relief

There are Osmiroid nibs that fit Esterbrooks but I hear not all do. Stub will work well too.
Look for music nibs from Sailor or Platinum pens. Currently Italics are made by Parker, Sheaffer, and Aurora but only for specific pens also custom made nibs from Richard Binder and John Mottishaw also I think Penopoly and Swisher may have some.

 

[adamgottschalk]

(Esterbrook nib chart)

There are Osmiroid nibs that fit Esterbrooks but I hear not all do. Stub will work well too.
Look for music nibs from Sailor or Platinum pens. Currently Italics are made by Parker, Sheaffer, and Aurora but only for specific pens also custom made nibs from Richard Binder and John Mottishaw also I think Penopoly and Swisher may have some.

I actually bookmarked that link to the Esterbrook nib chart that you posted a while back. Thanks. Really does show how you can have many pens in one. Were/are there other manufacturers that had/have interchangeable nibs? I seem to remember using some cheap ones that did when I was a boy, Cross maybe?

I had a feeling the "stub" nibs would be similar to "italic", from what little I could tell from those old ink drawings you see sometimes. Cheapest Esterbrook stub nib on Pendemonium right now is $20. There's a NOS one on eBay for $9. I think I'll give it a try.

 

[binkmeisterRick]

I have that same green Esterbrook! In fact, it's resting in my shirt pocket right now, keeping my Vacumatic company. I find myself using the Esties a lot, too. They're just great writers. It just goes to show what great pens Esterbrook made and why they were so well used. Even though they were never as fancy and high brow as the likes of Parker, Sheaffer, or Wahl-Eversharp, countless pens were sold and used for good reason. Enjoy your pens! Modest or not, it's a good start to a growing collection.

bink

 

[John in Covina]

Ubiquiteous Esterbrooks!

A favorite of both Government and Industry, Esterbrooks were ordered by the thousands for use in offices all over the country. I have a large balck one that is inscribed with Bell System Property. Company owned pens turn up now and again.

Happy Writing!

 

[Griemersma]

my Sheaffers

No clear visuated sections on those bottom two in the pic., but I did have a similar one in black that had that feature. As for how they fill, the smaller (ladies?) size one is a lever filler, and for the other, you unscrew the end and pull it out. I'm not sure if that is called a piston-filler or a plunger-filler.

 

[scotrace]

That's why I'm interested to know what folks think about it. Any pen problems crop up using it?

I got a bottle of Noodler's black three weeks ago and have been using it in my Phileas for check writing. It is SO densely black - moreso than anything from any pen I've seen. So far so good. No problems. But for my Parker Duofold, I'm using Pelikan blue-black and brown. It's just for notes and cards. LOVE that pen.
My other Phileas has Waterman ink in it (cartridge) until it runs out. Then I need to get a converter and fill it with Noodler's. By the way, those little converters... I found a source for $4.99, but then shipping... makes me unhappy to pay so much for such a simple little doodad. I'd like to find about 5 lying around for a dollar to keep on hand.
You guys have talked me into looking for an Esterbrook. Also like to add a Vacumatic to my little pen cup.
I'm really grateful to have found such a source of info and guidance for pens. Long Live The Fedora Lounge!

 

[John in Covina]

Pistons & Plungers

No clear visuated sections on those bottom two in the pic., but I did have a similar one in black that had that feature. As for how they fill, the smaller (ladies?) size one is a lever filler, and for the other, you unscrew the end and pull it out. I'm not sure if that is called a piston-filler or a plunger-filler.

************
Sheaffer's use a plunger filler, it is different than a piston filler. I believe it still has a set up with a rubber sac that is used to make a vacuum to draw the ink into the body of the pen.

Most modern piston fillers work like a syringe but the post portion above the seal is threaded, so it has a screw like section. You move the piston by turning the end piece to draw the piston up or down. Many modern converters are based on this design also. Most Pelikan pens use this design and seem to be bullet proof. Montblanc uses the piston fill on the big 149 Meisterstuck Diplomat pen. THis design allowing the pen to use the body, known as the barrel, as the resovior area, lets it hold a good amount of ink.

There are some converters that are the Squeeze Bulb type use in the Far East.

 

[John in Covina]

Eternal

I got a bottle of Noodler's black three weeks ago and have been using it in my Phileas for check writing. It is SO densely black - moreso than anything from any pen I've seen. So far so good. No problems. Long Live The Fedora Lounge!

Just double checking, the Noodlers has ETERNAL as part of the ink name or stamped on the box? Eternal is the permanent stuff.

 

[binkmeisterRick]

Thanks for the word on the Noodler's, Scotrace. Keep me posted if anything else happens, or if it remains trouble free. SOunds like it's doing just fine, though!

Yes, the Sheaffer's are plunger fillers. That's the case with my Tuckaway, anyhow. Apparently, they're a real pain to fix if they develop problems. Fortunately, mine was in great working order. As for the converters, I'd make sure it fits your pen nice and snug. Someone came in to Pen Haven last week with a leaky converter. It turns out it wasn't fitting tightly enough.

Scotrace, Esterbrooks seem pretty easy to come by. They truly are great user pens. A Vacumatic is always nice to have in the collection, too!

bink

 

[John in Covina]

Tested and approved!

I took the Noodler's Eternal Inks to my pen club meeting to do a test. I have the Eternal Brown and the Legal Lapis (blue) plus I mixed them 50/50 to produce a green. I remember reading the Eternals can be mixed with each other.

A friend brought some 100% cotton paper and I brought regular wood pulp paper. I set up a sheet of each paper for each color and wrote the with the specific ink all the necessary ink info on the paper. I let it dry. Also on the Legal Lapis blue I wrote with Waterman's Floridian Blue and Lamy or Pelikan Blue as a comparison test of regularly used fountain pen inks.And thosed dried too.

After about 90 minutes, we were into the show and tell portion of the meeting, so I took the paper over to the sink filled it with cold water and slipped the sheets of paper into the water for about 2 minutes. The florida blue and Pelikan / lamy blue ran the moment the water hit them, leaving just a trace in the paper. The Eternal inks were not affected on either wood pulp or cotton papers. The wood pulp nearly disolved in the water. I blotted the sheets between paper towels to keep from dripping on the florr and proceeded to outline what proceedures we had taken the ink and paper thodugh to demonstrate the nature of the etenal inks for the group.

I understand that Nathan Tardiff the inventor maker of these inks has a $5000 challange for anyone to be able to alter a check by washing etc. that has been wrtten in his Eternal inks.

Now what we have done is no "Acid Test" but it does seem to confirm what the maker says about these inks.

Sincere Regards!

 

[binkmeisterRick]

What a great test! I'll definitely have to look into these inks, now!

 

[John in Covina]

Noodler's

What a great test! I'll definitely have to look into these inks, now!

****
The guy that makes these, Nathan Tardiff, is a pen enthusiast too, so i think he's got his heart in the right place.

 

[scotrace]

Taking the Esterbrook Plunge

I hope these are as nice as they seem:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6629685646

 

[adamgottschalk]

Great pens

I hope these are as nice as they seem:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6629685646

They look great. And a leather case for them as well! Nice. Great pair of Esterbrooks to start with. Now have a blast finding the "perfect" nibs for them

 

[binkmeisterRick]

Good job, Scotrace! I think you'll like those Esterbrooks! And the case is cool, too! The great thing about these pens is that it's easy to get replacement nibs and even easier to change them out if you choose. If they've replaced the sacs on these, then you're definitely good to go, though I've been told that if you find an old Estie, chances are the sac is still good on them, anyways. Enjoy your new pens! In fact, I frequently end up carrying an Esterbrook with me alongside my Parker, Shaeffer, or Eversharp. I've got a black Estie with a 1550 EF- Extra Fine Firm Bookkeeping nib today!

One small word of advice on them: The nibs literally screw in and out (which is why it's so easy to replace them). If you have any ink leakage around the nib, it could be that you just need to tighten the nib a bit more.

bink

 

[scotrace]

Got 'em

.



The two Esterbrooks arrived yesterday. You are SO right - they really feel nice and well balanced, and write well. I now have two $15 pens that I like much, much better than my $39 Waterman Phileas.

One of the two Esterbrooks wouldn't fill properly at first. I filled it up, went off and found myself quickly running out of ink. Opening things up revealed a wad of something in the barrel that prevented the ink sac from compressing. Easy fix.

One is loaded with Pelikan brown, the other with Noodler's black.
Thanks for the tips, gentlemen!







.

 

[binkmeisterRick]

No problem! I told you you'd like those Esties. I'm the same way, I look at some modern pens from time to time, but I keep coming back to the oldies but goodies. What's funny is that whenever I come across an Esterbrook, I usually get it because it's an affordable pen that writes very well. It also sounds like you got the hang of fixing and filling them.

bink

 

[wackyvorlon]

A question regarding the Noodler's eternal ink:

Most fountain pen inks are water based. If they dry out on the nib, the nib can be recovered by simple soaking and flushing with water. Eternal ink, however, is not touched by water. How do you dissolve it out of the nib once it's dryed?

 

[Barry]

left handed?

I usually use rollerballs but now would like to try a fountain pen again. I'm a lefty and an overwriter and I also write at a 40% angle. I push hard when I write.

A pen shop owner told to find a pen with a SMOOTH nib. He didn't recommend any nib grinding based on what I told him about my writing style. I've poked around the web and it looks like a ball tipped nib (medium) would be best since smoothness will be my main priority.

I'm not having much luck finding pens with ball tipped nibs. Is it possible to get custom nibs? If so, how much would I be looking at spending?

Barry

 

[Miss Neecerie]

A question regarding the Noodler's eternal ink:

Most fountain pen inks are water based. If they dry out on the nib, the nib can be recovered by simple soaking and flushing with water. Eternal ink, however, is not touched by water. How do you dissolve it out of the nib once it's dryed?

Noodlers ink is also water-based. It only becomes permanant on cellulose. It reacts on contact with the paper to gain the permanancy.

So as long as your pen isn't made out of paper, it is still ok to rinse with water there.