Vintage Pens with Nib Size: F

Who says teens shouldn't have a good pen for school? The Sheaffer Cadet was aimed at the beginners fountain pen market. With a great TouchDown filler, this is a more sophisticated way to ink up a basic pen. We replaced the ink sac and O-ring. You will write a very smooth fine line with its steel F1 nib. Overall, the pen looks pretty good. There is a little wear. Worst of all is some chrome plating missing from the cap band. Click the headline for close-ups. 13.3cm capped.

A little overlooked by its Big Red brother, this senior sized Parker Duofold in black hard rubber remains a classic vintage pen. We restored it with a new ink sac. You can see that it has oxidized a little with some very dark chocolate hazing. There is brassing along the edges and ball of the pocket clip and a little on the cap ring, too. The great news is that there isn't a a crack, chip or dent in the cap or barrel. No deep scratches but the imprint is worn a little thin. This comes with a "Christmas tree" inkfeed. You will write a nice, slightly dry fine-medium line with its 14k gold nib. You can feel the paper under the nib, but we wouldn't call it scratchy. Click the headline for close-ups. 14cm 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.

Leading the way with a space-age design is this second-year Eversharp Symphony fountain pen with a Loewy cap design. The legendary industrial designer Raymond Loewy created the original cap design for the first year pen. This second-year pen's cap shows a couple of minor alterations. Nevertheless, it still looks stunningly sharp. Eversharp also knew this pen as model 705. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac. You'll see some light wear from use on its gold-filled cap. The barrel shows a bit heavier wear. However, you will love the smooth, fine-point 14k gold nib! It is a pretty dreamy writer. 14.1cm capped.

Streamlining gave the Parker Duofold a fancy edge in the late 1920s. These red-marble celluloid models were even hotter. We just restored this one with a new ink sac. We also got the topper to the cap much darker, as it had substantially more chocolate hazing than it does now. Heavy brassing on the ball of the pocket clip and on the bottom cap band. No cracks, but there is a wear mark around the barrel where the cap posted. You will write a firm, fine line with its 14k gold nib. Click the headline for close-ups. The pen isn't junior sized...nor is it oversized. 12cm capped.

The Sheaffer Snorkel enthusiast in us wants to call this a Sheaffer Valiant, but sometimes the earlier Sheaffer TouchDown pens are different from the later snorks. We restored this elegant vintage pen with a new ink sac and O-ring. No cracks mar its surfaces, but there are a couple little nicks that the gleaming black helps hide. You will write a very nice fine line with its firm "Triumph" nib made of two-tone 14k gold. Class up your daily work routine with this classic pen.

Pastels dominated the 1950s' Technicolor landscape, and Esterbrook Purse Pens specialized in those soft colors. This robin's egg blue pen has a great cap and barrel with no cracks but some discoloration. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac. The pocket clip is on nice and tight. Click the headline for close-ups. You will see there is a crack in the section near the nib. It is a short crack, and we think we've successfully sealed it with rubber cement. You will write a buttery smooth fine line with an upgraded steel 9556 nib. 11cm capped.