Esterbrook J Fountain Pen Review

(This is a guest post by Garrett Kubat. You can find more from Garrett on Twitter @gazkubat.)

The Esterbrook J is my first vintage fountain pen. Of the pens that I own it is one of the most consistent workhorses that I can rely on to write. It writes when I need it to and only stops when the nib leaves the paper. The reliability is a huge plus in this vintage fountain pen. Reliability means that it can go from a novelty item to something that can be used every day. My estimates put this particular fountain pen to have been manufactured around 1948. I came to this conclusion by the fact the pen and lid both have the black plastic "jewels" on the ends. If someone more knowledgeable than I has a more accurate estimate I would be glad to hear it.

I purchased the pen from Brian and Lisa Anderson on their wonderful website for $60.00. They had others for sale that were cheaper, and I had read that eBay regularly sold them for even around half the price, but I was smitten by the blue colour and how I knew it would be a functional pen. Pens are beautiful, but I would rather have an ugly pen that wrote than a gorgeous one that didn't. That being said I was able to have the best of both worlds with this pen. This particular pen seems to be in a near flawless condition with no worn spots or scratches.

I would credit Brian and Lisa with the exceptional restoration I assume this pen received, but the state of the pen also speaks to how well these pens were made. They were made to be an affordable pen that used cheap but durable materials and were solidly crafted. It feels durable and write consistently, just like another amazing pen: The Lamy Safari. There are obvious differences but the two greatest similarities are they are long-lasting and reliable.

One element that makes this pen unique amongst the pens I own is the filling mechanism. Within the pen is an internal sack that can be depressed by the lever on the barrel of the pen. When the sack is depressed and the nib placed in ink all you do is push the lever back flush with the pen and allow the ink to flow into the pen. The ink capacity is not up there with say a TWSBI but it holds enough that I am not worried about running out of ink if I take the pen with me for the day.

This is an excellent choice to begin the vintage fountain pen journey with. The pens come in a variety of colours as well as other models like the LJ (Full length but slimmer than the J) and the SJ (shorter and thinner than the J). They can be found at a relatively affordable price and the large amount of nibs available makes these extremely versatile. An extensive list is available on Esterbrook.net, which is managed by the aforementioned Brian Anderson. I only have the 9556 (Fine Writing) and the 9555 (Gregg Shorthand) but I would love to get my hands on a stub nib.

This is my only vintage fountain pen so I can't compare it to others but I would say it stacks up well to a Lamy Safari, it was made to last and (most importantly) write.

Monteverde Artista Crystal Fountain Pen Review

Let me tell you about the second fountain pen I bought -- The Monteverde Artista Crystal -- with a transparent body. First off, I didn't really know a Lamy from a Pilot. I was just interested in all the pens. My personal taste hadn't developed yet, and I was open to anything new that crossed my path. The Monteverde did just that one day on JetPens when I was browsing. It had been a rough week, so I made an impulse decision to reward myself. You do that too, right?

My first impressions of the pen were very positive. It came in a nice box and wrote like a dream instantly. I've had the pen for over a year now, and it still surprises me by how pleasant it is to use.

The appearance of the pen isn't very special when you see pictures of it online. It's much more striking in person. It's smaller than you might guess -- The same length as a Retro 51 when it's capped. Because of the size, I typically write with this pen posted. That seems to give it the perfect weight for my hand. The chrome accents set the pen off and make it look more professional than other demonstrators in the price range.

One of the things I noticed right from the start was the transparent feed. All of the other fountain pens I use have black or dark colored feeds. I was delighted to see the feed change colors as the ink absorbed into the feed along the tiny channels.

The nib is one of my favorites that I own. Keep in mind, I have a limited collection, and I'm sure there are much better nibs out there, but I really enjoy this nib. Writing is smooth, flow is consistent, and line width variation is subtle. When using a blue or lighter ink like Kon-Peki, you can see how the nib behaves with different strokes.

My only complaint is that sometimes the flow seems to dry up and the only way to fix it is to twist the converter a bit to force the ink into the feed. I'm not sure if this is a fault in the converter or the feed because I've never used any cartridges with this pen. It's a minor problem, and it hasn't bothered me enough to do any more research or troubleshooting.

Because of the chrome accents, the part of the pen that I grip (the part closest to the nib) has a nice weight to it. Plastic pens are usually very light, but this pen has good weight in the right place. The chrome accent on the converter is also a nice touch, since it's a demonstrator body.

Cleaning this pen is extremely easy because it completely disassembles. The nib unit unscrews from the body, and then the feed unit separates from the nib. The converter also disassembles completely, which makes cleaning and drying much quicker.

To sum it all up, this is a good pen. Now that I own more fountain pens, I don't know that I would buy one of these after just seeing a picture online. But I think I'd be missing out if that were the case. A major con for me was that only one nib size is available (medium). I don't mind so much now -- it's part of the pen's personality. The only other con is the price, but I think the sub-$40 range of this pen is fair for the quality of materials and the experience.

The Monteverde Artista Crystal is available on JetPens in four colors, but I think transparent is the right choice.

Shachihata Artline Ergoline Roller Ball Pen Review

The Shachihata Artline Ergoline Roller Ball is a good pen. It's not a great pen. It's not a bad pen. It's a good pen. Many roller ball pens fall into this category for me. I'm not going to reach for it and use it all day every day, but when I do I know it is going to work well.

In the written review I liken this pen to two pens I have enjoyed in the past: The Sakura Grosso/Sumo and the Pilot Explorer. The larger barrel size is nearly identical in size and weight to the Grosso, which is lighter than you would expect by looking at it in the pictures. The molded grip is close to the Pilot Explorer. While some people may not like that, for those that do it is comfortable to hold. It's like a perfect mashup between these two pen.

When ink hits the page the Artline Ergoline is not as good as the best roller ball ink pens, such as most anything from Pilot or Uni-ball. The line is not as sharp or defined as I would like. It performs more like a Stabilo roller ball if you have used any of thier products before. Side by side there is a difference between the Shachihata and the big boys, which keeps this pen in the good range rather than great.

If you are happy with your current roller ball pen the Artline Ergoline is not likely to trump it. But if you find that a slightly larger pen works better in your hands it is worth checking out.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)