Esterbrook
Pens and Ephemera

Esterbrook J-model pens are fun to collect for all of the dozens of nibs the company sold. Overall, this is a standard black J-model. Remarkably, it still has a functional Esterbrook imprinted ink sac. More impressive is that it comes with an upgraded 2284 steel nib. This was intended as a "Signature Stub" nib. It has some gentle oblique and stub qualities, but, overall, it writes more like a double-broad nib. Take it easy on some corners, as it can dig in a little. However, the nib can be extremely smooth when you get it angled correctly. The cap and barrel have some wear from use but no cracks. 12.8cm capped.

It is always difficult to tell if a Esterbrook Transition is original or a repairman's special. Whatever our vintage pen is, it has nice matching colors. Click the headline for a close-up. We restore this pen with a new ink sac. You might want to pay special attention to the cap. It has a black-plastic jewel with 3 stripes, instead of the usual circles. Also, there is not "Esterbrook" on the pocket clip. No cracks. Tight clip. Light wear from use. You will write a broad line with a little feedback with its steel 2556 nib. 12.4cm capped.

It is nearly impossible to tell if the Esterbrook Transition pen is an authentic one or a repairman's marriage. We aren't sure, ourselves, but this pen does have a rarer cap with a three-banded black "jewel" on top and no "Esterbrook" written in the clip. We restored it with a new ink sac and new 1461 steel nib. Our vintage pen has some wear from use, but there are no cracks. The clip has a little jiggle, but it doesn't spin. You will write an extra-fine to fine line that is surprisingly smooth for a 1000-series nib. Mind you, that there is still a little feedback, but this isn't a bad nib by any means. 12.6cm capped.

Esterbrook Dollar Pens were a fixture of the 1940s. Very affordable and easily customized with screw-in nib assemblies. This is one of the company's harder-to-find specialty nibs: the 2314-B Relief nib. It is a left-foot oblique nib made of steel. We find it writes very smoothly with some nice--but not dramatic--line variation. Nevertheless, the smoothness makes it fun to write with all day. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac. No cracks or deep scratches mar this pen, but it does have a little wear from use. You will see this is one of the shorter versions of the Dollar Pen. Click the headline for close-ups. 11cm capped.

More rarities are on display with this Esterbrook Dollar Pen. Please note the three incised cap bands. Add on the rare 1314 left-foot oblique nib, and you have an interesting classic Estie. No cracks or deep scratches. The only cosmetic issue, other than light wear from use, is the pitting on the lever filler. We restored this pen with a new ink sac. The oblique nib on this one is very sharp and scratchy. Yet, it delivers nice line variation for a trade off. Click the headline for close-ups. 12.1cm capped.

When Esterbrook went from making Dollar Pens to J-model pens, it ran out of Dollar Pen caps and opted to use the new J-model caps on the remaining Dollar Pen barrels. It is difficult to tell the original ones from the repairmen who replaced broken Dollar Pen caps with J-caps. We found this pen this way, but that doesn't mean anything. What is interesting is the top jewel on the cap has 3 lines instead of the usual concentric circles. The color match is pretty close to perfect between the cap and barrel. We restored the pen with a new ink sac. You will this upgraded steel 9461 nib that is firm and very smooth as it writes a fine line. No cracks, deep imprint, some wear from use. 12.4cm capped.

In the 1940s, if you needed a cheap, reliable pen that was easily customized, you got yourself an Esterbrook Dollar Pen. We restored this black model with a new ink sac and new 1555 Gregg Shorthand nib. There are no cracks or deep scratches, but the early plastic cap on this pen has warped a bit. It can be difficult to get the cap on and off. You will write a nice fine line with its steel nib. There is a little feedback, but we wouldn't call this a scratchy pen...not compared to other Esterbrooks with the same nib. Click the headline for close-ups. 12.1cm capped.

The color match of this married Esterbrook J-model fountain pen looks better in the photo than in real life. The cap is a much deeper red than the barrel. The cap also looks pretty jankety. Nevertheless, there are no cracks and the cap is on tightly. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac. We also gave it a new 1461 nib straight out of the box. You will write a firm, extra-fine line with a little feedback. Definitely not a museum piece, but a nice enough daily driver. 12.6cm capped.