Esterbrook is a popular American brand from the 70s that was once the largest pen manufacturer in the United States. Five years ago, however, this iconic brand underwent a full transformation after being acquired by Kenro, the US distributor of Montegrappa and Aurora.

With that started the rebirth of Esterbrook, and with it, a new stream of pen enthusiasts have switched to Easterbrook pens. 

In this article, we’ll pay tribute to the Estie, a pen series that has appealed to both the OG Easterbrook fans and new customers, and explain how it perfectly blends both the traditional and modern trends in the fountain pen market. Let’s dig in.

Specifications

Distinctive Design

The new Estie collection is a harmonious blend of sophistication, elegance, and functionality, hence the increase in popularity of this iconic pen brand. 

Depending on the series, the collection comes in three barrel sizes, including slim, standard, and oversized models, catering to diverse preferences and writing styles.

Widely recognized for their classic cigar-shaped silhouette, the Estie fountain pens have stayed true to their nostalgic and vintage design. Other elements that embody the minimalistic design are the trim section, which you can choose in either chrome or gold, and the well-designed cushion cap closure. The latter allows for secure and easy closing and opening, and it prevents the ink in the nib from drying out. 

The outer construction is also well-made and uses decorative metal bands that enable a comfortable writing experience during longer and shorter writing sessions, as well as an o-ring that adds additional friction to the cushion closure and ensures that the cap doesn’t accidentally fall off.

Majestic Materials

Featuring unique designs made of turned acrylic and inspired by nature, art, and patterns, the pens exude a sense of timeless sophistication. The acrylic material used in each pen is eccentric and unforgettable due to the great attention to detail in the patterns. It’s manufactured and crafted with extreme precision, which is easily spotted when you look at the pen up close.

Even the inside of the cap is nicely finished and features the translucency of the material and the great attention to detail that’s been put in each pen. Most of the pens in the collection have a vintage-inspired design and come in gorgeous color combinations.

Funky Features

The two most well-known features of the Estie include the “cushion cap” closure and the modern to vintage adapter, also known as an MV adapter. 

The former enables a secure closure and prevents unwanted leaks, since it needs to be pushed down and turned to engage the threads and close the pen. Even though this makes posting the cap a bit more difficult, it prevents your nib from drying out.

The latter is an adaptor that delivers a vintage nib experience with a modern Estie fountain pen and allows you to use all of the vintage Esterbrook pens that you already have at home. The only downside is that the MV adaptor needs to be bought separately and isn’t included if you just order the pen.

Nimble Nib

A great feature of every Esterbrook pen is the quality of the nib that comes in various sizes, including extra fine, fine, medium, broad 1.1 mm stub, journaler, and scribe. Estie enthusiasts can use these pens for writing, doing calligraphy, and drawing, which makes them extremely versatile as they cater to an individual’s writing preferences.

Moreover, the MV nib adaptor allows pen enthusiasts to use vintage Esterbrook nibs, including stubs, flexes, or stenography nibs, and attach them to the contemporary Estie pan to get the best of both worlds. 

Irresistible Ink

To get the ideal writing experience, a high-quality fountain pen needs high-quality ink, and nobody does it better than Esterbrook. Their inks and pens are the perfect writing companions for anyone who wants to make the Estie their bestie.

Designed and manufactured in Europe, all Esterbrook inks undergo rigorous testing to ensure adequate ink flow and exceptional quality on various pen and paper combinations. To provide convenience and the ability for pen aficionados to test out different inks, they come in three different sizes, a 2 ml and 5 ml sample size, as well as a 50 ml bottle.

Easterbrook offers the following ink colors:

• Tangerine
• Shimmer Tangerine
• Scarlet
• Evergreen
• Ebony
• Aqua
• Shimmer Aqua
• Cobalt Blue
• Shimmer Lilac

Writing Performance

The Esterbrook Estie pens offer a great writing experience mainly because of the customizable features tailored to meet the unique needs of each writer. Pen enthusiasts can choose from a wide variety of new Esterbrook nibs and old vintage nibs, so you can choose your ideal nib size and create a personalized writing experience, but also get the nostalgic vibes of using vintage Esterbrook nibs in combination with the MV adaptor.

Their pens themselves also come in different sizes that suit writers with larger and smaller hands, while the trim of the pen comes in either gold or chrome. This makes the Estie a great pen to purchase for yourself or as a gift for a fountain pen aficionado who’ll surely appreciate it.

Pros

The Estie is a great everyday fountain pen for a number of reasons:

• Available in a few pen sizes: slim, regular, and oversize.
• You can choose the color of the trim and the options include gold and chrome.
• Well-balanced regardless of its large size and feels lightweight in your hand due to the materials it’s made of.
• Unique pen designs as a result of the various shapes and forms created with turned acrylic, the main material used in production.
• Various nib sizes available that cater to individual writing needs.
• An MV adaptor that allows you to use vintage Esterbrook nibs with contemporary pens.

Cons

As with any other fountain pen, the Estie also has a few downsides, although they aren’t major at all:

• The Estie series is no longer manufactured in the United States, even though the brand was known for being an all-American brand.
• The MV adaptor isn’t included and needs to be purchased additionally.
• Some individuals consider that the brand has moved from its mission of producing “budget-friendly” pens, however, we need to consider that the Estie uses higher quality materials, such as turned acrylic, which increases their price.

Final Thoughts

Esterbrook Estie’s pens are exceptional in every way and a perfect partner for your everyday writing needs since they offer versatility and a tailored writing experience at every step of the way. 

What mostly impressed us when it comes to this series is the MV adaptor that allows you to use the vintage Esterbrook nibs with the new and re-envisioned Esterbrook pens. It’s truly a pen that’s a perfect blend of the old and the new, respecting the tradition of the company, while also looking toward the future.

If you desire a business pen that exudes timeless elegance, the Esterbrook Estie is the ideal choice. Its superior quality is evident in both its exquisite design and its exceptional performance.