What I Like About Vintage Pens 

I tell my wife all the time "it's 60 yrs old but it still works!" My vintage pens work too 😉

Got into fountain pens and realized that the writing style I liked best was flex and most modern pens can’t do that. Now I’m all about vintage waterman’s. Such a fun hobby.

I have a vintage Parker 51 and a MabieTodd Swan NY2 sem flex ring top I use daily for journaling. Plus a vintage Jotter (58-72) I used in my desk next to my keyboard. All 3 of them great bargains. Both Parkers left their original homes through the hands of widows. They are both "memento mori" objects that reminds me of the shortness of life, at the same time the gratitude for using great tools of gone era.

I got that same Shaffer vac filler for $10 at an antique shop Last Summer. Unfortunately I could not repair the Piston mechanism so it is now a beautiful syringe filler. Also picked up the snorkel filler and spent three arduous days putting it back together with a new sack. My 1971 parker 45 is a regular in my pocket. It's a perfect EDC pen with some history.

the gold nib thing is a huge plus, especially considering many "introduction" gold nib pens like a Lamy 2000 are hugely expensive compared to a vintage pen with a way softer, and possibly smoother gold nib

I have an vintage Osmiroid with a stub nib. It make my handwriting look incredible. I have beautiful Soviet Soyuz 65 fountain pen which is similar to a Parker 51. Great for fine note taking

I love vintage pens and enjoy tinkering around with restoring them. Modern pens are nice but they just don't make pens like they used to.

I love hunting for vintage pens, especially those with name engraved on them its fun blowing for who might owned the pen before, and the history behind them could be fascinating

I think that gold nibs we're the standard. Gold cost year ago at USD35 per ounce! Steel is the standard now, but the advances made with steel has made them almost equatable to hold. The biggest difference is the flex quality of the vintage nibs. Many were, as they say "wet noodles". The other unfortunate thing is that the price of a well maintained or rebuilt vintage pen is high. It gives one pause. Do I own a vintage pen? Yes, a Parker "180". Fabulous pen. It was bought new. I guess that makes me vintage, too.

I found that they are a world unto their own - the history (the most fun to me) quality, workmanship, feel, valuation and writing even after decades. .WOW! So far I have acquired 3 vintage.... - -Esterbrook J in Blue, 1935 (pocket pen - 'Dollar Pen' - $65 USD) from a lady in my pen club - ready to write. Steel nibbed. -Parker Vacumatic 1946, black & white - good, gold nib, and needed new diaphragm - approximately $87 in total. Antique store. And I saved the best for last. I found this one amongst several other junk pens in a shoebox at a flea market a few years ago for under $5 - it turns out that it is a 1930's Waterman's Ideal Lady Patricia, lever fill with gold nib! Valued now at $400. Now mind you - Just never know what you are going to get for sure but I feel if the overall Pen looks good and tines are aligned and with no visible cracks on the body you might be good to go. The Parker's nib had a lot of crud - I felt fortunate that it wasn't corroded but I got it anyway. I personally don't feel comfortable learning how to refurbish them myself, that is up to you.

Looking forward to that upcoming Sheaffer restoration! I absolutely love my old Sheaffers.

Esterbrook, yes! I bought my first one about 3 years ago, and now I have 6. I put new sacs in 2 of them. I bought those 2 pens for about $5 each. One of them has a chipped upper jewel, but I don't mind that. I'll get a replacement jewel one of these days. They're so easy to restore (I learned from Granmia - he's great). It's recommended that Waterman and Sheaffer ink be used in the pens, so that's what I do. I think the nibs are fantastic. They made 30+ nibs. I've bought 12 of them, and only one (a broad oblique) was bad (wouldn't write at all - seller replaced it, no worries). The oblique nibs are very good, a real pleasure. Osmiroid made italic nibs to fit an Esterbrook. I have 3: medium, broad, oblique medium. Nothing fancy, but they're sturdy and they write as well as any pen I have, vintage or otherwise. I use them all the time. Highest possible recommendation for anybody who wants to get into vintage pens.

Very nice variety of vintage pens! Always enjoy vintage things, such as vintage watches. There was good marksmanship back then!

Two comments firstly I think that vintage fountain pens offer great value for money. Tend to write really well and are generally very reliable. Not being able to repair pens myself, when I have needed repairs they tend to be very reasonably priced and more than satisfactory. I have just picked up an unbranded French c1950 lever filled Wet Noodle. £125 it cost me I don’t think you could beat this nib and pen at at any price. For build quality I don’t think you can beat Onoto.

Interesting. I have a pen retailer I buy most of my pens from who has a lot of vintage pens left to him by his father. Some are new, unused Parker 51s worth several thousand dollars. Wing Sung and other Chinese brands I understand paid for licences, moulds etc from Parker. I picked up a Waterford with a broad 14K gold nib but haven't gone too far down the vintage road yet.

vintage pens are just a lot more interesting to me. and theyre all built to function and feel great. theres so many modern pens that are looks > all (talking about huge steps from section to barrel and such).

I’ve always been very fond of vintage pens. But it’s only during the past 4-5 years that I have bought most (not all) of the vintage pens I currently own. Indeed, I’ve bought a majority of my present collection of pens over this period of time. I’m still inadequately competent and quite timid/risk-averse about trying to fix and restore vintage pens with issues. So, I’ve almost always tended to pick and buy fully restored vintage pens of my choice from very reputed retailers - alas, at the inevitably premium prices (more often than not). I reckon I presently have 36 vintage pens (of a personal collection totaling 76 pens). My vintage haul is dominated by Sheaffer, Waterman, Esterbrook and Aurora. With only a few Parker and Conklin pens, as well. I really want but yet to acquire a choice Wahl-Eversharp pen to join my vintage pen family.

Those pens have some serious class!

I prefer the vintage pen! I collect vintage Parkers, Cross, and Waterman.

i love my vintage pelikan 140, it has an OF nib and is soooooo soft

I love vintage fountain pens! I have 3 main reasons, one being the material used to make the pen can be gorgeous and or cute designs. Another reason is the flex, it's much better than modern pens and tend to railroad less, at least in the pens that I have experienced 🙂And my last reason is to connect somewhat with modern history and what people wrote with in the past. I love the collection you have accumulated 🙂🖋Awesome videos as always. Keep it up 😊

Cool pens thanks for sharing!

Enabler. Great content, thanks for sharing!

5:38 these were tooth bites, and I was very familiar with it when I was struggling with math in primary school 🎉

I love your collection of authoritarian pens! Jeje I got an Indian pen for similar reasons but I don’t enjoy using it so much :( Really wish I could get to a physical store to choose some pens. I do like those Esterbrooks and Parker 51!

Those flexible nibs that they don't make anymore are what intrigues me about vintage pens. The fact that they are old and used is what puts me off vintage pens. Someday I must go to the SF pen show so I can try one out before buying. I've heard plenty of hype around that 140.

I have a number of vintage pens that I must research. A few old Waterman and some I've never heard of. Brought a couple to life and very pleased with them. Why am I not surprised about the NorK pen? Most of mine are thrift store finds but like so many other things, once they become popular they also become difficult to find.

I found a matching pair of a vintage Parker 51fountain pen, and mechanical pencil for $1 a piece at a small thrift shop, both in perfect condition.

I'm now all in on vintage pen. I haven't buy new pen for ages, because I only buy vintage. The main reason is like you said, the story and then the quality. My first vintage was Mont Blanc N 24 Burgundy. I got it. Clean it. Write well. I asked the seller why he sell it. He was a professional mover. In Japan, it is a job. The pen was given away to him because the previous owner died with no relative. He told me he'd not accept a return after he said that. I was like, why the heck would I return it? Turns out it's kinda a superstition about using items from dead people. So I told him and this is my exact phrasing. I said... I eat ghosts and curses. That's why you don't see them anymore. If you have anymore pens like these, contact me. I need more souls to eat.

Absolutely love my Esterbrooks: beware of the nib that comes on the pen - the only way to be sure the pen will write the way it should is to buy a replacement new/old stock nib of your choice; also a good idea to stick with Waterman inks: they are saturated but will clean out easily and most importantly not react with the latex in your pen sac!

2nd comment Pilot 743FA v Swan Mabey Todd fine flex. Both pens write in an almost identical fashion. The Swan has a slight edge certainly to the trained eye. The Pilot 743FA has a cartridge converter which would get my vote. My preferred choice of the 2 for that one reason. However when you factor in the fact that the Swan cost £80. The current RRP for this model of Pilot is £400…………………. Finally I agree that the Parker 51 is pretty much bulletproof. Great video really enjoyed. Also I really love that Omas 556F - fantastic D

Great collection there.

You will only be able to get a pen with celluloid material in vintage pens. They are more rare these days because it is no longer produced. The end result on celluloid is gorgeous too! And the nibs on vintage pens are just superb.

Hey, Db, it's a long time since I last commented, but as ever your videos are on point. It may surprise you to learn that the many fountain pens I own, the majority are vintage (ergo, anything over twenty years old; antique pieces are one hundred years plus). In fact, I own at least one version of every model you've featured today. You are absolutely correct in asserting that older scribes carry a history to them - some of which are obscure, but with a little detective work, you may be able to source their (familial) provenance. One such example is a pump vacuum filler by Onoto, a real lance of a pen with a triple broad gold 18K nib & accents, & a personalised engraving, with an exact date & name dedicated to a specific individual from 1923; to know that such an instrument was once held & used by someone from the early Twentieth Century, when fountain pens were king, is not only astonishing, but subscribes to the notion of interpersonal employment (& enjoyment) - there's no better expression to demonstrate an earlier era in man's quest to communicate via glyphs. Certainly, I love my modern collection too, but there's something undeniably satisfying in owning & using an instrument that was made before you were born.... What I would say about vintage models is that .more often than not, refurbishment is required, & for those in the Fountain Pen Community not confident in plunging into the field of restoration, it can be quite daunting - & inexorably, elevate the cost to the pen in question - to my mind tho', it is well worth the effort. Brilliant presentation !! I hope you & yours are keeping safe & well, Best, Andrew 🙂

Most of the time vintage pens are too small for my hands and I find the filling systems are often fragile and hard to clean thoroughly. But with especially Western manufacturers insisting on offering fewer and fewer nib options and cutting costs in annoying ways that make the pens less appealing, vintage pens will always have their allure. Some of the nicer looking materials can be a bit of a gamble though, they weren't always the most chemically stabile, certainly compared to modern acrylics.

I find them so expensive here 🥲 I think in America or Canada you have more choices. I love the weird filling systems vintage pens have, but I’m not very handy so I’m scared of getting a dud and not being able to find a way to fix them.

I really wish I would jive with Parker pens more. But the lefty in me grips them too tight and it hurts my hands. If I was an overwriter maybe it would work better! As always, thanks for the awesome vids doodle-nuts 🎉

Some vintage fountain pens do not have the same girth as modern ones, but they are a pleasure to use. Sometimes you wish that you could go back in time to buy vintage fountain pens. Try to see if you can get your hands on a Mabie Todd Swan. Those are lovely.

Your aurora 88 piston seal might be leaky, looked like some water came out of the hole in the side, beyond the piston. Unless you soaked the whole thing in water and it got in from behind. They are quite simple to repair, replacing the old seal with 2x orings. If you haven't done a Sheaffer triumph vac fill repair before, would recommend getting the tool for it, I made my own, but wouldn't attempt removing the nib without.

I Love vintage pens.

I think the pen you called your Omas is actually an Aurora 88. If it leaks from the hole in the barrel, you need to replace the seal. It's one of my favourite writers, a girthier version to the Parker 51, Italy's 1950ies take on the pen many GIs carried. The Pelikan 140 is unbearably robust and has such a soft nib. You selected a really lovely bunch of vintage pens there to hook novices.... the Esterbrooks have lovely nibs and are easy to fix.

Having “collected” around 15 old/vintage/NOS pens in the last few months, my experience has been a mixed bag.. On one hand there’s a pride of possession of owning some iconic and ‘collectibles’ at a good VFM due to their affordability.. On the other hand, not all the pens have been aesthetically pleasing, most of the pens have squeeze fillers which I’m not a fan of and some of the pens have quite a few problems (semi-damaged nibs, hard starts, leaks, frequently drying out etc..). Based on my (short term) experience so far, Here’s my suggestion to someone who’d like to start owing Vintage pens : “If you’d like to just ‘collect’ them, don’t think twice about buying them.. If you’d like to collect them, carry them everywhere and write with them regularly, be ready to not admire their looks & condition and more importantly, start upping your pen repair skills” 😃

I'm kind of the opposite. I started with vintage pens and still have next to no interest in most new pens. I've picked up a lot of pens, including a number of valuable ones, most with gold nibs. My average cost? About $15 each. A little less, really.

Check out Happy Pens. I enjoyed watching a couple of pen restoration videos by him. Thought it might interest you.

Hi DB, What is the Sheaffer pen that had the conical nib? Which filling mechanism does it use? I got one like it, but it had an aerometric converter that leaks backwards.. If you've already done a video could you please share the link?

I'm brand new to fountain pens and have no idea where to even start looking for vintage pens. Any places to begin looking? Thanks!

I would like to find a box like yours to store my pens. Where do you get yours ?

I think you meant to say Aurora 88 rather than Omas 88?

I was just telling someone that I wish I can cope with vintage pens. They are so much harder to maintain. You do not think so?

Where did you get those inserts at in the cigar boxes please?

I found a Shaffer pen and pencil set in a antique shop for $20.00. They both need repairs/restoration. Do you do restoration for other people?

Most of my pens are vintage. Pre 1970s

do you have a baseball channel?

I'm open to getting vintage pens provided they don't have ink bladders. Really want to get a vintage Parker 51 eventually, especially with the changes they made for the new ones.

I don't roll on Shabbas!