Big, Bigger, Biggest!

Big, Bigger, Biggest!

We continue our discussion of fine pointed flexible pens, the most sought after and most popular pens at present. For your edification, I would like to compare the similarities of  three Esterbrook pens, the #128 Extra Fine Extra Elastic, the #815 Interstate (as it was originally named.), and the #453 Business & College Pen (as it was originally named.) The #128 is considered a rather big pen in comparison to say the original A1 Professional from Esterbrook. This was previously discussed in an older post. Additionally, we also discussed how the #128 was cloned many times over into different names and different numbers of pen. Changing the name and number was not the only form of cloning Esterbrook did.  They also changed its size. 

Here is a comparison of the three pens, the #128, #815, and #453.  You can see that the #815 is only slightly longer and wider than the #128. Likewise the #453 is slightly longer and wider than the #815. One might think bigger is better; in this case it is both correct and incorrect. Let’s first take a closer look into what makes them similar.

Here is a side shot of Esterbrook’s #128 Extra Fine Elastic Pen. What you first need to notice is the side cuts.  This is the chief feature of an elastic pen. Without the side cuts, the twines are restricted in their movement and become firm. Notice that the cut extends just past the gravity well.  The gravity well shape is another feature of elasticity and flexibility. Another feature is the thickness of metal, followed closely by its temper. What makes it an extra fine pen is its point. The last feature of flexibility is the groove stamping you see on the point. Before this they used a grinding wheel to shave off the surface metal on the point. We will discuss groove vs grind in another post.

Here we now see the side shot of Esterbrook’s #815 Interstate pen. Notice the similarity in the side cut? It’s essentially identical in its shape. However, its cut ends right at the end of the gravity well. Since the pen is a bit wider it doesn’t need such a long side cut.  If they did, the pen would flex so far the ink wouldn’t be able to travel down the twines. This is also why the gravity well is larger. Also note that the point is the same fine point, albeit ground instead of grooved in this photo. This pen was later named: #815 SCHOOL Fine Flexible (I don't have an example at this time, but I saw a box of them and was unable to purchase them). A more apt description of the pen than Interstate. The original intention of the name interstate wasn’t in regards to road systems. Rather, it indicates a transition from training pens into professional ornamental pens. I have discovered school supply lists from the 20s that mention this pen as a required supply. This was likely the pen used just prior to high school.

Finally we see Esterbrook’s #453 Business & College Pen. Again, we see the similar side cut design as the previous pens. This time it’s higher up and its cut doesn’t go all the way back to the gravity well.  Again, this pen is longer and wider and its gravity well is large. It was necessary to design it in this way to ensure it wasn’t overly flexible and stopped the flow of ink. The point was considered medium, but I have been able to get hair thin lines out of it. 

The pen was later named: #453 SCHOOL Medium Flexible, as seen in the photo above. Again, it denotes the raw description of its function. It originally named for its rank when used. You would have been using this pen as a regular writing instrument for college and it was equally used in business to draw up contracts. You can see that the older version has been hand ground but the newer version has neither a grind nor a groove stamp.  When the manufacturing process switched to groove stamping, many pens lost their flexible point features altogether. This is because giving it the groove stamp feature would have made it too flexible and therefore useless. Another reason was that there was a higher demand for firmer pens. Thankfully, the #453 didn't loose its flexible features over time like many other pens did; we will be discussing those pens on a different post.

Here is a comparison against a United States Quarter, just to give you an idea on size perspective. The only real advantage to using the #128 Extra Fine Elastic Pen is that you can use it in an oblique holder. The other two pens are too large and the point would be off center. Therefore, it is best to use the other two pens in a straight holder. Back in the day, the technique that was taught required you to use your shoulder to move your arm. This was termed a muscular movement. The #815 and #453 are best suited to those techniques.

In finality, if you are unable to locate any extra fine extra elastic pens to write in copperplate ornamental script, try using one of its larger clones, the #815 Interstate or the #453 Business & College Pen. They are all equally fantastic! They also make superb and unequaled inking pens for comics and art!

Happy hunting!

Eagle Pencil Failure

 Eagle Pencil Failure.

There was once a rival pen company in the United States called Eagle Pencil Company. Yes, that’s right; a pencil manufacture was a strong rival to the likes of Esterbrook. It was a company started in the late 1800s by a Bavarian.  In 1881 his son came to the United States from Paris, France to run the company. He managed to fashion strong ties to the educational system and made practically any tool schools required from sharpeners, pencils, rulers, and even steel pens. The earliest pens I have from Eagle Pencil Company are from the beginning of 1900 (circa 1903). The quality of the pens from the earlier era are of their finest quality; almost equal to Esterbrook pens. They state that they imported their steel; which means they were getting it from England. The president of Eagle Pencil Company died in 1922 and no doubt this is when quality began to suffer. In 1936 the company clearly started drastically cutting its quality by massive amounts. There was clearly no quality control despite inserting their version of a warranty card suggesting you could return the product if you didn't like one single pen. It’s laughable that they suggested the pens were made from the finest steel. I suppose one’s definition of fine would need to be called into question!

Above is an example of which boxes to look out for. The boxes to the right were made 1903 – 1909 respectively. The ones on the left were made in 1936. Another thing that is rather hard to miss is the design on the packaging. Remember, the founder and president of the company is from Bavaria. So, apparently the company felt the Nazis were going to win the war so better prepare proper packaging. You can see that the previous packaging (on the right) is very American in contrast to the later versions (on left).  Eagle Pencil Company did keep the design during the war in the late 30s and mid 40s but they didn’t use red, black and silver as they did here in 1936. Kind of scary really; Nazi pens! O_O

Today we will use the #E370 College Pen as the example to show you the flaws. These flaws show up in all similar boxes and styles that came out in 1936. I use this pen because we have previously been discussing fine pointed elastic pens. These are the most popular and sought after pens on the market right now.

The example above shows that the quality of steel and temper are questionable. Highlighted in red you can see pink and green splotches. This represents EXTREMELY poor temper as well as the poor quality of the steel. This is why it was comical to suggest it was the finest steel. I have opened sealed boxes and found a number of the pens that have broken because they were too brittle. If the pens were properly tempered, they wouldn’t break that easily. Additionally, because of the poor temper the pens didn’t have adequate protection against oxidation/rust. As a result, I have found a high number of pens covered in rust from these boxes.

Next, I will demonstrate some of the common production flaws I have seen in their pens. Their groove stamp procedure was in need of immediate repair! In a box of 76 that this came from, 1/3 of the pens have a bent twine on the same twine.  That means the line worker didn’t give many rat's poop to the way he/she handled the pen whilst stamping the steel. The most remarkable thing though is that it STILL writes more or less as it should! The only noticeable flaw is that it scratches and catches on the paper on upswings.

This is another example of poor quality and even worse product handling. The finish on all the pens are pock marked with scratches. These marks are not due to wear and tear or age. It came from the factory in this dismal state. Although I didn’t photograph it, the temper between pens were far from consistent. Some pens where a very glossy silver and others were a very dull grey. This is a variation between normalized and 350 degree Fahrenheit heat temper. You can base the temper on how long it spends in the oven at that temperature as well. My guess is that the line workers didn’t really care to be precise.

Just to be fair, let’s take a look at the rival Esterbrook #128 Extra Fine Elastic Pen. As you can see #E370 College Pen is smaller than the 128. This would give it the advantage of better flexibility than the 128. It was designed to be closer to the original A1 Professional from Esterbrook. Sadly, the #E370 suffers from too much suck-factor to properly compete. I cannot reiterate enough that Esterbrook pens were always consistently better in quality and construction than their competitors.

In finality, when you’re searching around looking for the best quality in competitor brands, try to get a hold of the older boxes of Eagle Pencil Company.  I have found them to be of good quality equal to Esterbrook.

Happy hunting!

Professionalism With an A1 Rating.

Professionalism with an A1 rating.

One of my favorite Esterbrook pens is the A1 Professional. It is an ornamental script pen that is extra fine and elastic; just like the #128 Extra Fine Elastic pen. Why did Esterbrook need two of the same pen? Well, as it turns out it was meant to be slightly different.

As you can see above, the concept was the A1 Professional would be shorter, smaller and thinner in comparison to the #128 Extra Fine Elastic Pen. This would afford more flexibility but would sacrifice durability and wear & tear. That is a concept most calligraphers don’t understand about such pens as the Joseph Gillott #303 Extra Fine or even the pen amongst pens, the Joseph Gillott Principality. They are indeed wondrous pens, but made so thin that they often break when too much pressure is applied. However, I digress; with the death of Richard Esterbrook in 1895 coupled with the steel restrictions made during WWI (in 1918), the A1 Professional lost its original purpose and became just another #128 clone. (Note: I purposely excluded the A1 from my previous post about cloned #128s because more detail could be added in this post.)

Here is a comparison of four A1 Professionals ranging from its debut year in 1885 (top) on into the late 1930s (bottom). As you can see there is a size gap from the 1900 version (middle) into the 1926 version (middle). During WWI, Esterbrook dropped over 70% of their pen line in order to donate the remainder of their steel to the United States war effort. They also decided to permanently end production on a few series of pens. After the war, when they were allowed to resume full manufacturing, it is possible they no longer had the original mold for the A1. It is also plausible that they decided it was too much trouble to switch out molds during production just to have a separate A1 and 128 when you could use just one mold (the 128) and simply change stamps. This probably saved them on time to market and speculated no one would notice or care; after all the Penman was dead.

Here is an example of how the A1 Professional became just another #128 clone. These two pens are from the same manufacturing era, circa late 1930s. There are versions out there from the 1940s that are groove stamped. 

This photo shown above serves to demonstrate the point further, that the A1 Professional had lost its special assignment and would be regarded as just another ornamental pen.

Here is an example of metal thickness of the pens from the 1885 versions of the 128 and A1. The A1 is a just a fraction thinner.  Apparently, that was all you needed!

I lucked out and found a sealed box of A1 Professionals from its debut year in 1885. Richard Esterbrook the 3^rd senior would still be alive and would be over seeing production.The box is simply gorgeous. I wish they had continued this type of creative boxing.

Here is a close up of the side of the pen. You can see how carefully it was constructed. Look at that grind! It had to be done by hand and as you can see it evenly shaves off a layer of metal right to the bottom of the A and 1 and perfectly borders the side cuts. The grind mistress (because apparently only women were employed to do the grinding) left a perfect point as well! This is probably the best pen Esterbrook ever made. Sadly, I have practically sold them all to pay the bills.  Good luck finding any that are this old, but if you do…go ALL in!!  They’re more than worth it!

Happy hunting!