Not all pens are created equal even when they’re the same.

Not all pens are created equal even when they’re the same.

After over a decade of researching Esterbrook and other vintage & antique dip pens, I have discovered a myriad of inconsistencies and misconceptions. A few well-placed reviews over the last few decades has created a sub-industry in the world of dip pens. Famous artists and calligraphers, as well as popular calligraphy groups and clubs have given endorsements on their opinion towards, “what is the best pen?” The answer isn’t truly as simple as saying, “This particular pen.”

The quality among dip pens changed drastically starting in 1938, just before World War II. By this time the United States was well under way in creating its own dip pen market with a dwindling dependency on imported pens and steel from England. There was also the emerging market on fountain pens steeling valuable market share. Companies began to cut corners and find ways of making the pens cheaper to produce. Quality was no longer the driving force. As a result the famous, “go to” pens changed in ways that should have tarnished their reputations. However, brand loyalty is as powerful as Romeo and Juliet’s love; resulting in pretty much the same ending.

This is a series of blogs I will be posting on, from time to time, featuring many of the favored dip pens and how they altered and changed. Some might ask why? As I said, there is a sub-market for these pens and people are paying ridiculous prices for things they don’t have to pay as much for. It drives the price higher than necessary and diminishes the availability of certain pens all the while better pens sit unused and in copious amounts. Other times it’s the reverse. I hope to re-educate the populace.

We’re going to start off with a very glaring example found in the Esterbrook world.  The #356 Art & Drafting pen. These drafting pens appeared in the 1940s and pandered to the engineering, architectural, and art businesses. They are part of a series of Art & Drafting pens, the numbers are #354, #355, #356, #357, and #358.These were the tools for the fine arts craftsmen. Esterbrook has had a history of trying to copy some popular pens and marketing them as original. Sometimes they succeed and other times they get busted. In this case, as I will prove, they had attempted to copy Joseph Gillott’s now famous #170 Warranted.

Practically any pen made by Joseph Gillott was a masterpiece both in its design, functions, and manufacturing. The quality didn’t change while they remained a sole proprietorship. Once they sold their company and folding into a conglomerate, the quality finally diminished. 90% of what you find out there labeled Joseph Gillott is from the 1800s all the way into the early 1920s. One of their most sought after pens is the #170 Warranted. It’s a small and fine pointed pen that has some reasonable flexibility. It is perfectly suited for drawing, inking, and sketching. Esterbrook was hungry to increase their repertoire of pens and thus copied the #170 Warranted and created the #356 Art & Drafting pen.

If you see my supplied side by side comparison, you can clearly see that the #356 is remarkably identical to Joseph Gillott’s design; right down to the Gillott-iconic curvature of the point.** Joseph Gillott has sued Esterbrook before regarding their pens. Although I am unable to find a court case regarding these pens, it is evident that Esterbrook sought to change the pen’s design going forward.

As you can see from the picture above, Esterbrook has altered the core design of the pen. The entire structure, point curvature, side cuts, length and width of the pen and the gravity well has changed. This does affect the overall functionality and responsiveness of the pen. The newer #356 has a thin gravity well which means that the ink flow would be restrictive and the fact that it has straight side cuts means that the action would be stiffer than the slightly curved side cuts of the older version. Also, Esterbrook has switched to groove stamping versus hand grinding the points for flexibility.  Some say you get more uniform flexibility with groove stamping than grinding.  Scientifically that might be true, but I have always found the hand ground points to function better.  Curious, and warrants a different discussion at a later time.

Now consider this, people in modern times have been scooping up any and all Joseph Gillott #170 Warranted pens that appear, including all the ones I ever had available to sell. Which means that the design of that pen is considered superior to the newer Esterbrook design and is a format that people want and need. The new version of the Esterbrook #356 Art & Drafting pen is the most common version you will find when you see boxes of Assorted Drafting and even in separate gross boxes of the #356. Therefore, when you are searching out there, don’t immediately ignore the label should it say, “Esterbrook #356 Art & Drafting.” It may be the older version which is identical to the #170 Warranted from Joseph Gillott.

Happy hunting.

**Note: I have discovered that one of the chief differences between Joseph Gillott and other pen manufacturers was it's distinct curvature of their points. Instead of gradually curving from side to point, it sharply turns just before it gets to the edge. I beleive this curvature creates a desirable flexibility required in Copperplate style scripts and smooth inking strokes.