I never had a specific interest in vintage pens until I went to the Colorado Pen Show last year. (Here, I'm loosely defining vintage pens as any model that is no longer in production, mainly from the 20th century.) I had acquired a few here and there before then, but I didn't truly understand the sheer range and appeal of these pens until I saw tables and tables full of them in person. There was the usual garage sale thrill of finding cool old things, as any secondhand enthusiast would know, and I really enjoyed listening to people ramble about the pens they were selling.

I have a particular interest in pens from the 70s-90s because they usually feature cartridge/converter filling systems, which are less fragile and picky about ink than pens with built-in filling systems, but I've become increasingly interested in lever fillers because you can find a lot of interesting flex nibs in those pens. In any case, I've found that older pen nibs have a certain character to them that modern mass-produced nibs usually don't.

This is an excessively deep look at the vintage pens I have at the moment.

Lever fillers

Osmiroid 65 (Mk I, 1954-1960)

Osmiroid was an English pen manufacturer that started producing fountain pens in 1948. It went out of business in 1991.

I got the Osmiroid 65 in a box set with 5 extra nibs for $7 at a local secondhand art supply store last summer. The Osmiroid 65 was one of Osmiroid's first models; it was produced from 1954-1960 and primarily marketed towards students. A newer "Mark II" version was produced starting in 1960, but this particular pen is Mk I because the top of the cap is slanted. Osmiroid produced a huge range of nibs for different writing styles, but their italic nibs appear to have been the most heavily promoted.

For $7, I was expecting a project because I figured the ink sac was completely degraded from age and use. I soaked the pen for 2 days to unscrew the nib, then used an embossing gun to separate the pen body from the grip section. It turns out the ink sac was completely intact and just needed to be cleaned. This was equally exciting and disappointing because I thought this would be my first pen repair, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth!

I don't care much for the pen itself because the nib dries out fairly quickly, and the body is cheap plastic. But the nibs are beautifully smooth and crisp italic nibs that are worth much more than the $7 I paid for them. I'm looking for a different pen to put the nibs in, but I'll still ink the pen up to enjoy from time to time.

Esterbrook J (1948)

Esterbrook is an American pen company that started producing fountain pens in 1920. It closed its doors in 1970 but was revived under new ownership in 2018. Modern Esterbrooks are very pretty, but they don't interest me as much as the vintage pens do.

The Esterbrook J was first introduced in 1943 and went through a few different iterations until the final design was released in 1948. The J was designed to be affordable but durable, so the pen is made out of unusually high-quality materials for the time (celluloid and stainless steel). Esterbrook produced a wide variety of interchangeable nibs, and their nib system was successful enough that other pen companies like Osmiroid released pens and nibs that are compatible with Esterbrooks.

I went to the CO Pen Show with the express purpose of finding an Esterbrook J to put my Osmiroid nibs into, and I was fortunate to come across some green ones. The man at the table told me he'd sell me one for $20. Before he gave it to me, he looked at the nib and told me that the nib itself was worth at least $20... but he'd stick to the $20 he'd offered initially. It turns out I had picked out a pen with a 9048 nib in it — I learned later that the 9000 series nibs are of the premium "master series" variety, and this particular one is flexible! So... nevermind about swapping it out for an Osmiroid nib.

The 9048 nib is fantastic to write with, and, unlike the Osmiroid 65, I enjoy the body of the pen just as much. It's small and lightweight, so it's perfect for on-the-go notes or sketching. It also feels durable enough that I don't feel too worried about it being jostled around in my pen bag. Now I just need another one to put my Osmiroid nibs in...

Cartridge/Converter fillers

Waterman Laureat I (1985-1990)

Waterman is an American pen company that was formally established in 1888, although its owner L.E. Waterman had patented his first fountain pen design in 1883. A French subsidiary of Waterman was established in 1914 and was operated mostly independently from the original American company. In 1954, the American Waterman closed and was acquired by the French subsidiary. Waterman is still around and has been acquired by an American parent company, but the company headquarters and manufacturing are still in France. I'd argue that a lot of the modern pens just aren't as good as the ones they were releasing in the 20th century (with some exceptions).

The Waterman Laureat was a mid-range pen first produced in 1985. The body is made of lacquered brass with some plastic on the section and finial, and the nib is gold-plated steel. The design is the slim cylinder type that was popular at the time, and the lacquer came in a variety of different colors and patterns. This pen is known as the "Laureat I," the first version of the Laureat that was produced until around 1990; the Laureat II took over until it was discontinued in 2000. The Laureat I looks slightly plainer than the II.

This pen was my mom's, so it was sitting in a drawer for a very long time until I had the great idea to try to revive it in 2023. It took days and days of soaking and rinsing to get all the dried ink out. My mom used this pen frequently, and you can tell it's been well-loved from the absolute state of the nib. Despite all the wear, this is objectively the nicest steel nib I've ever used. It's very stiff and flows a bit dry, but it still produces some subtle texture and line variation that you don't really get from steel nibs anymore. It makes my writing look very fancy. The pen itself feels fancy too, with how weighty the brass is.

I'm obviously attracted to the Laureat for sentimental reasons, but it really is a solid performer. You can find them for $50-$90 depending on the condition, so they're also affordable for the quality of materials and nib you're getting.

Sheaffer Fashion II (1990s)

Sheaffer is an American pen company that was founded in 1912. It was a very prominent name in the American fountain pen landscape for nearly the entire 20th century, but it fell out of style and eventually closed its original American factory in 2008. Sheaffer has been passed around between owners a few times and still makes pens, but it's greatly diminished from where it was at its peak.

I can't find a lot on the Sheaffer Fashion line. It debuted in the late 80s or early 90s with the Fashion I, an ultra-slim pen that came in a variety of mostly pastel colors and was primarily marketed towards women. Pens!! For women!!!! The Fashion II line came later; these pens were larger and came in bolder colors and patterns. The Fashion I pens are so small that they require Sheaffer slim cartridges and converters (pretty hard to find), while the Fashion II pens take standard Sheaffer cartridges. The body is lacquered metal, and the nib is gold-plated steel.

My Fashion II is new old stock from Peyton Street Pens, meaning it's just inventory that never got sold rather than a true secondhand pen. It was $50. I got it because the green tartan pattern was exactly the sort of kitsch my pen collection needed. The nib is nothing special, but it works just as well as you'd expect it to. It's very smooth to the point that it's almost hard to control on super-smooth paper like Rhodia, but it looks and feels great on textured paper.

Waterman Gentleman (1970s-1980s)

The Waterman Gentleman was a high-end Waterman pen that was first produced in the mid-1970s. It marked the beginning of the slim cylindrical Waterman period. The body is lacquered brass with an 18k gold nib. Also, this pen is what the terminally online would call a long boy.

I knew I wanted to come home from the CO Pen Show with an 80s cartridge/converter pen. I found myself at the table of a lovely English man with a sizeable collection of 70s-90s pens for sale, and he was so fun to talk to that I knew I had to give him money for something. I got stuck between the Waterman Gentleman and a green Sheaffer Connaisseur, but I went with the Gentleman because it looks and feels beautiful... and the Connaisseur was nearly $100 more expensive. He sold it to me for $150, which is a ridiculous bargain given the 18k nib!

The Gentleman is noticeably heavier than the Laureat, which is already noticeably heavier than most other pens. It feels very expensive. The nib isn't marked, but I'm fairly sure it's broad because it's significantly wider than any European medium that I've seen. It's very soft and has some flex to it, although the nib already being broad means the line variation isn't extreme.

The nib feels nice, but I feel like I have to put more pressure on it than I should, so I plan on taking it back to the pen show this year to get it tuned by someone who knows what they're doing. I like projects, but I'm not fucking around with gold!

I've mostly sworn off buying more pens until the CO Pen Show later this year because I'm wary of buying expensive stuff online, and it's just an easy way for me to avoid stupid impulse purchases. Maybe I'd make an exception if I saw exactly what I wanted for a good price from a reputable seller, but for now I'm content noodling around with the pens I have.