Vintage Pens with Nib Size: M

Deep candy-apple red and black marbling make for a dynamic design on this Parker Challenger Deluxe. Our vintage pen has been fully restored with a new ink sac. There's some brassing on the ball of the clip and a circle of wear to the right of the clip near the top of the cap. Otherwise it is in great condition with no cracks and otherwise light wear from use. You will write a very smooth, wet medium line with its 14k gold nib. It has 1935 date codes. Click the headline for close-ups. 12.8cm capped.

If ever there was a color pattern that screamed 1920s and early '30s to us, it might be this Parker Duette green-and-gold design. This set comes from the early to mid-'30s, but that color scheme goes back a decade. Very chic for its time and pretty much never seen again. Fully restored with a new ink sac, this vintage pen is ready to write. Given how easily the plating comes off these Depression-era instruments, we did not polish up the trim. However, there are no cracks and some wear from use back in the day. Click the headline for close-ups. You will write a nice medium line with light feedback from the 14k gold nib. Twist the nose cone on the pencil to advance and retract lead. Spare 1.1mm leads are under the tail cap with a hardened eraser.

Parker Vacumatic celluloid bordering on perfection is difficult to find...but here it is! More than just crack and scratch free, when you hold this beautiful azure pearl Vacumatic barrel up to the light, the ink-view parts are insanely close to new-out-of-the-factory yellow-green. No amber! For many people that makes this a museum worth vintage pen. It helps that it has a 1st quarter 1936 date code and a double jewel design. The jewels are black, not blue striped. Click the headline for close-ups. The filling unit is black plastic and not the original aluminum. The 14k monotone gold nib writes a very smooth medium line...but is not two-tone. Unlike the pen, the matching pencil is heavily used but still working...and from a different year. Pen measures 13cm capped.

Parker Vacumatics are among our favorite pens. From their art deco design to their filling system innovations, these are easily our favorite Parkers. This is an earlier Vac with a lock-down filler. It is a standard size model and in excellent working condition. No cracks but some wear and brassing from use. The two jewels are silver pearl like the pen. The metal ring around the tail jewel spins freely, but the jewel and ring are securely on the pen. The company imprint is mostly faded. We think we see a one in the date code spot, but this is neither a 1931 nor '41 pen. The 14k gold nib has an 8. Click the headline for a close-up. You will write a nice smooth medium line. 12.8cm capped.

If you are seeking perfection in a black streamlined senior Parker Duofold, this is a close as you might ever get. No cracks, no brassing, no scratches, no wear. The only flaw we can find is a slight impression over the "UO" in the Duofold imprint, and that was likely a factory-made kiss of imperfection...the mortality that wasn't drained from Achilles' heel when he was held over the fire as an infant. This vintage pen has been restored with a new ink sac, for anyone who might want to take it of a museum for a spin. There's a "Christmas tree" inkfeed, you will write a medium line with the 14k gold nib. It feels a little "sharp" and dry when written with on a dip. 13.1cm capped.

The Sheaffer Craftsman fountain pen helped to usher in a new era for the venerable American pen company. World War 2 had just ended. Our service men and women were coming home. Everyone had something to write about, and Sheaffer wanted to provide the latest writing technology to everyone at an affordable price. Enter the Craftsman. A little smaller and more basic in style but very affordable, it also sported the new TouchDown pneumatic filling system. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac and O-ring. The cap and barrel show some wear from use, including the graze of a cigarette's smoldering cherry. It actually seems to give the pen a bit more personality and history. You will write a mostly smooth medium line, though the 14k gold nib gives just enough vibration to feel the paper beneath you as you write. 13cm capped.

Add a minty green zing to your writing this summer with this Esterbrook SJ fountain pen. We restored this vibrant, happy vintage pen with a new ink sac. No cracks will be found in the pen. It only has some light surface wear from use. You might notice its nib doesn't have a number on it. That is because this replacement nib came toward the end of the line for Esterbrook. Esterbrook got bought out in the late 1950s and the company that bought it wanted to simplify the nibs to just a small handful instead of 3 or 4 dozen. This nib was simply "Medium." And it is. You will write a very smooth line that might lean closer to a fine side of the medium spectrum. SJ means it was the smaller size J-model that is easy to pack for all of your summer adventures. 12cm capped.

Reminiscent of a summer sunset in the painted canyons of the American Old West, this Esterbrook SJ is real easy on the eyes. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac. You might find a scratch or two and some wear from use, but it is as dependable a work horse as any you find hitched to a Wells Fargo stagecoach. No cracks, either. You will write a surprisingly smooth medium line with its steel 1551 nib. It gets a little scratchy on the ascenders and descenders, but you'll find the sweet spot soon enough. Click the headline for a close-up. 12.1cm capped.