Restoring an Esterbrook J

Crud - may have to upload a larger version.

As I feared, on 1 of the Esterbrooks that arrived I will need to refurbish it. Maybe new nib, and I'm pretty sure the sac is shot. Must get it disassembled -- it is being a bit fussy on first attempts.

mikeschu said:

Oh sweet - I just won an auction on the Bay for two NOS 2442 nibs for $13 shipped.

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i have the 2668 nib in my pocket estey. and my work dip-pen, and they are about the smothest nibs I have ever used.

anyone know what size sac goes into this? and where i can get one??

IIRC it is a #16 sac. I got mine from here http://www.woodbin.ca/PenSacsAndPressureBars.html

Tom

Boro62 said:

anyone know what size sac goes into this? and where i can get one??

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The Esterbrook J takes a #16 sac. This information is from RichardsPens.com

http://www.richardspens.com/

I get my sacs at fountainpensacs.com

I've been quite satisfied with my three purchases. No affiliation, etc.

Good luck

thanks guys!

Sorry for no updates - still waiting for the Traveling Repair Kit (will follow up tomorrow).

I have a couple of Esties I have brought back to life, a red SJ and a J in fantastic condition. Infact, the J is probably my favorite pen! It wears a 2668 nib and has a fondness for vintage Skrip. Great pens!


-Xander

I hope nobody was waiting for me to fix this pen.

The Traveling Repair Kit is nowhere to be found, so I ordered three #16 sacs from the Pen Sac Company (hat tip to nemo for that suggestion). So now I need to find a little sac shellac and talc and I should be ready to go (more or less).

mikeschu said:

I hope nobody was waiting for me to fix this pen.

The Traveling Repair Kit is nowhere to be found, so I ordered three #16 sacs from the Pen Sac Company (hat tip to nemo for that suggestion). So now I need to find a little sac shellac and talc and I should be ready to go (more or less).

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Shoot me a PM and I will get you some shellac on the way!

Tom

Good show Tom! I was looking around for a suitable container before I read this.

Pity about the repair kit gone belly up.

airmech said:

Shoot me a PM and I will get you some shellac on the way!

Tom

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Fantastic Tom! Thanks - I really appreciate your generosity. PM has been sent.

www.pendemonium.com <--Sacs and shellac are on this site


I am currently working on doing the same thing to a copper J that I won. Didn't realize that soaking the whole pen will cause rust as I do it with so many of my modern pens, it's currently sitting in some soapy water at home...

I was flushing and cleaning pens on Friday when I noticed that the parts for my Esterbrook J were still in there, and that I had all of the components present to fix the pen. Then I remembered I still had this thread up and running. Oops.

I watched a video on how to replace the sac. It was about a five-minute job once I had all of the right tools out. I have the sac sitting next to me as it dries. Once that's done I'll put it together and see if I did it correctly.

I also have to clean up the rust off of the J-bar. I remember nemo said to soak the J-bar in water with a smidge of ammonia, so that's next on the list for tonight. Once that's done I'm looking forward to having the pen fully functional.

mikeschu said:

I also have to clean up the rust off of the J-bar. I remember nemo said to soak the J-bar in water with a smidge of ammonia, so that's next on the list for tonight. Once that's done I'm looking forward to having the pen fully functional.

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I thought I said don't worry about it, don't pull it out unless it's failing. Anyway, a bit of a soak never hurt an Estie! Let us know how it goes.

We thought you fell off the other side of the planet, Mike!

nemo said:

I thought I said don't worry about it, don't pull it out unless it's failing. Anyway, a bit of a soak never hurt an Estie! Let us know how it goes.

We thought you fell off the other side of the planet, Mike!

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I've been busy with other things (coach training retreats, weekend yoga seminars) and not enough money to spend on pens. I've since resolved the spending part - four new pens are on the way, and a fully functional J will make it effectively five.

Oops. Just as I was about to fill up the pen, I read this and found out that the sac was too long.

I was able to take off the sac, cut it to the appropriate length, and reinstalled it. I should be ready to go tomorrow then.

I filled it this morning with Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue. It's sitting in a disposable tray at home while I work, just in case I didn't do the sac replacement properly. I'll give it a run tonight to see how well it does.