Are you ready for a good, thorough Esterbrook Estie Oversize fountain pen review? It’s about time we added one here for you – check out what one of our guest reviewers thought of this popular, mid-range price fountain pen.
Reviewing an Esterbrook Estie Oversize Fountain Pen with Guest Reviewer: Doodle Bud
Todays’ review is provided by Doodle Bud – you may already subscribe to his channel on YouTube. Today, he’s taking a look at the Esterbrook Estie Ebony Oversize fountain pen with gold trim. He’ll even put together a bit of a “black tie” pen party to compare some other black pens out there in the industry, including some heavy hitters like Visconti Homo Sapiens, Montblanc 149, Montblanc M, Lamy 2000, and Lamy Dialog 3 fountain pens. Take a look at this particular pen party in the video review!
The Pen Maker: Esterbrook Pens
Esterbrook Pens has been around since 1858, but it kind of vanished for a bit and reappeared in 2018. When they reappeared in 2018, they returned with the pen being reviewed today, the Esterbrook Estie fountain pen.
Today’s Review: Esterbrook Estie Oversize Fountain Pen
The Esterbrook Estie is known for its gorgeous colors and flashy resins with a lot of “eye candy” type of pen releases. However, today’s Esterbrook Estie is in a classic Ebony with gold trim. Considering that, this may be the most unbiased review of the Esterbrook Estie fountain pen out there because there’s no stunning resin or gorgeous color combinations distracting from focusing on the actual makeup of the pen, and how it performs when writing.
Esterbrook Estie Oversize Fountain Pen: The Pen Design
The Esterbrook Estie fountain pen is a classic cigar-shaped fountain pen. Today’s review features the pen in Ebony with gold trim, and it is the oversize version of the Estie. The Estie has a very simple pen clip, no bands or rings, and a simple Esterbrook logo included near the bottom of the cap. The cap closure has a “springy” closure. The cap sort of floats with an inner cap working as part of the design. The threads don’t go all the way to the edge (which is exactly as it should be). Some are concerned about the step down from the barrel to the section, but the step down here is accomplished gradually with the step down tapering in a way that is not bothersome and doesn’t disrupt the writing experience. The section is nice with just a little flareup at the end. There is an o ring included to provide additional friction for the cushion closure with the flat surface of the cap’s interior working with the o ring (when the threads continue to the edge of the cap’s interior, they’ll just tear up an o ring like this one). When closing the pen, you need to add a little pressure.
Esterbrook Estie Oversize Fountain Pen: All About the Nib
The Esterbrook Estie oversize fountain pen is fitted with a #6 stainless steel nib branded with the Esterbrook logo.
Esterbrook Estie Oversize Ebony Fountain Pen Inked with Monteverde Brown Sugar Ink:
Doodle Bud has never been a huge fan of Brown Sugar ink, but SOMETHING told him the Esterbrook Estie Ebony Oversize fountain pen wanted that Monteverde Brown Sugar ink. And it worked out well – with this Estie’s Broad nib, the Monteverde Brown Sugar ink on Regalia paper gives the look of leather in a really beautiful way. Doodle Bud did discover what he calls a phantom baby’s bottom – only visible under a microscope on the odd stroke. The tuning of this Esterbrook Estie broad nib is just perfect. This is the only Broad nib in his collection, and it does make him realize why some people love a broad nib. It’s juicy, and so smooth with a great flow.
You do need to write a bit larger since it’s a broad nib, which is a bit of a new experience. All the great things you like about writing with a fountain pen are coming at you with the Esterbrook Estie oversize fountain pen nib.
How is the Esterbrook Estie with Reverse Writing?
The Esterbrook Estie Oversize fountain pen’s broad nib is a bit scratchy when reverse writing. – it goes from a broad to a fine. But there’s plenty of material there if you like to customize your nibs for reverse writing.
The Final Verdict: Esterbrook Estie Oversize Ebony Fountain Pen Review
Overall, the Doodle Bud thought the Esterbrook Estie Oversize Ebony fountain pen had a good build quality, and pen design. The cushion closure cap wasn’t his favorite, and he thinks it would be something you’d just have to get used to and decide whether you enjoyed it or not. If you like posting your pen, Doodle Bud doesn’t recommend the oversize Estie fountain pen because it’s just too large. Because of the pen’s oversize design, it does stand out even amidst other classic hard hitters. He likes the pen’s long, sweeping lines, and thinks it pulls off the over-subtle ebony/gold combination in this simple pen design. He also thinks the price point is reasonable, but that the up charge from the regular Estie to the oversize Estie is a bit much for his taste. Overall, Doodle Bud concludes that the Esterbrook Estie oversize fountain pen is a good pen. (But he’d recommend going for a fancy resin if you’re looking to find your first Esterbrook Estie fountain pen so you get the FULL Esterbrook Estie experience).
Shop Esterbrook Estie Oversize Fountain Pens at PenChalet.com
Hopefully, you enjoyed this Esterbrook Estie Oversize fountain pen review today! If you’re looking for more fountain pen reviews or fountain pen ink reviews, follow us on social media @penchalet or check back frequently here on the Fountain Pen Blog, or discover more popular luxury pens and fountain pen inks on our recently reviewed pens and ink page. And when you’re looking to add pens, inks, or other writing accessories to your collection, always start your search at PenChalet.com.
