Spring is the perfect time to pull out the Esterbrooks, dust them off and see which ones need a little spring cleaning. This is my whole Esterbrook collection and I can see a gaping absence of a brown or rootbeer model as well as a need for several more pastel pocket pens to fill out my collection. And I don’t have even one mechanical pencil.
Of the eight shown, five are in full working order with nibs installed. Two have my favorite stub nib, the Falcon Fine Stub 2442, the gray on the left has the legendary 9128 flex nib, the pastel pink has the 9788, the blue has the 9550.
Of course, while I had the pens out, I felt it necessary to do a little record keeping so I created a little spreadsheet inventory of the nibs I currently have and which pen they are residing in.
|
nib # |
description |
box? |
in pen? |
|
1550 |
Firm extra-fine, Bookkeeping |
no |
|
|
2284 |
Firm Stub, Signature Stub
|
yes |
|
|
2442 |
Fine Stub, Falcon |
yes |
grey pearl |
|
2442 |
Fine Stub, Falcon |
no |
red pearl |
|
2556 |
Firm fine, Fine Writing |
no |
|
|
2556 |
Firm fine, Fine Writing |
no |
|
|
2668 |
Firm medium, General Writing |
no |
|
|
2668 |
Firm medium, General Writing |
no |
|
|
9128 |
Flexible Extra Fine, Fine penmanship (Pitman shorthand) |
yes |
grey pearl |
|
9550 |
Firm Extra Fine, Bookkeeping |
no |
blue pearl |
|
9555 |
Firm Fine, Shorthand |
yes |
|
|
9555 |
Firm Fine, Shorthand |
no |
pink pastel |
|
9556 |
Firm Fine, Fine Writing, Records and charts |
no |
|
|
9668 |
Firm medium, General Writing |
no |
Clearly, I have more nibs than pens but not nearly all the possible nib options that are available:
I would really like to try the 9314F Master Point version of the Fine Stub, the 2048 or 9048 “Shaded Writing” and several others. Like jelly beans, with Esterbrooks, you can’t have just one!
Nice! I’m still drooling.
Love my Esterbrooks!
Those Esterbrook pens are beautiful! And I thought I was the only one who appreciated the Esterbrook’s virtues, like screw-in nibs. I have about 30 Esterbrooks, almost all of which either worked when I got them or I’ve repaired.
I’m very fortunate to have acquired a red Esterbrook J with the 9314-F nib you wanted to try. If you’re ever in the Washington DC area, your welcome to come by and write with it. One of my everyday writers is a Depression-era black Esterbrook with a 2556 nib. I’m thinking of changing the nib to something more interesting.
I usually write about high-end vintage pens on by blog (myantiquepens.com), but I’m considering a post on one of my Esterbrooks in the near future. Perhaps by then I’ll have tried the 9314-F and will write about it.
Thanks for the nib chart showing the way each pen writes. That’s very helpful. A similar resource is the Esterbrook nib chart at http://snyderfamily.com/current/estienibs.htm, which doesn’t have the writing samples, but is pretty detailed.
My most unusual nib? A Sheaffer 14K nib married to an Esterbrook feed and set in an Esterbrook collar so that it can be screwed into any Esterbrook pen. Who said you can’t get a gold nib for an Esterbrook!
The 2048 is my favorite nib after the 9128! I definitely recommend it, I love it so much I had to buy a second one
I’m new to the world of fountain pens, but a long time ago I picked up red Esterbrook that looks an awful lot like your red one. It has a 1555 nib in it. I have never been able to use it, because I’m afraid the bladder is rotten. Can it be replaced? How do I find out?
Yes it can. You need a size 16 sac. It will have to be cut to size. Search for videos.
You’ll need shellac to “glue” the sac to the section it attaches to. You’ll need talc to help the sac slide straight into the pen body. This is not talc for humans. It should be sold where you also buy the sacs and shellac.