Waterman Hemisphere

[owenj]

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50/LitlJaimo/Fountain%20Pens/WrittenReview-1.jpg

First Impressions: I love white pens, & this is part of Waterman's Pure White line. The "Essential" Hemisphere (I think this is the new version?) is on the slim side, but the lacquer over a metal body (brass?) is nice & gives the pen much more weight than I was expecting. Fairly uniform in shape, no real bells or whistles to attract attention apart from the color.

 

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50/LitlJaimo/Fountain%20Pens/Pen.jpg

Construction & Quality: 8/10 The weight & metal body feel nice in the hand. It's a very straight, no change in design pen, with just a slight taper towards the end. The white is matte rather than shiny or lustrous, but not chalky or flat due to the lacquer finish, if that makes any sense. Trim is chrome, the large band just above the section says "Waterman Paris", & on the other side in smaller print is "France." Clip has the Waterman 'W', & is a cut-out rather than solid. Cap jewel is angled rather than flat. Click on cap, posts nicely, & I think that distributes the weight better for writing. Then again, I hardly ever write with my pens un-posted.

 

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50/LitlJaimo/Fountain%20Pens/SizeComparison-1.jpg

Weight & Dimensions: 8/10 I'd call this a medium size pen due to the weight & length, but as mentioned before the barrel is slimmer. It's longer & heavier than my Pelikan 215, but not as thick. Enough weight that if someone picked it up they'd take note that this isn't a run-of-the-mill cheapie.

 

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50/LitlJaimo/Fountain%20Pens/Nib-1.jpg

Nib & Performance: 6/10 Unfortunately, I think my nib out of the box has a bit of baby's bottom as it's a bit of a hard starter. It does write nicely once it gets going, & puts down a nice wet, true medium (in my opinion) line. Smooth writer with a little feedback. The nib is stainless steel & firm. The nib is marked with the Waterman 'W', brand & size. I'm probably going to have this re-ground into a stub.

 

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50/LitlJaimo/Fountain%20Pens/Pieces-1.jpg

Filling System & Maintenance: 7/10 Standard cartridge converter. I used the converter for the first fill & it worked fine. The Waterman cartridges are huge compared to most others I've seen. The pen doesn't normally come with a converter hence the slightly lower mark, but my retailer tossed it in for free

 

Cost & Value: 7-8/10 For less than $90 I'd say this is a nice intro to Waterman provided your nib writes well out of the box.

 

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50/LitlJaimo/Fountain%20Pens/NibCap.jpg

Conclusion: 36-37/50 I'd recommend this pen, as I find it a bit more aesthetically pleasing than the Perspective, which was the other "entry-level" Waterman in white that I was considering.

[Batman]

That's a beautiful pen, I like the face-lifted hemisphere it looks a lot better now with the thicker band. As well I think the clip is narrower too? Great review by the way.

 

Brad

[owenj]

That's a beautiful pen, I like the face-lifted hemisphere it looks a lot better now with the thicker band. As well I think the clip is narrower too? Great review by the way.

 

Brad

 

Thanks! I just did a couple reviews in a row & realized I've been leaving off the Appearance & Design category I'll have to go hunt down some pics of the older Hemi to compare the bands. I can't imagine it being smaller! The clip on this one is narrower than my Expert Deluxe...hmm. I'd say it fits with this pen though since it's on the slim side.

[s_t_e_v_e]

Great review!

 

The face lift does make it look better than it's predecessor, but I wish they left the diameter untouched

[irFPN]

Wonderful review. I love white pens. I ordered a white hemisphere but the one with the metal cap.

[Saintpaulia]

I can vouch for the quality of the Waterman Hemisphere. I have one in the fine point size, and in white (I love white pens too!), and it writes more like a medium. This pen wrote right out of the box and has never looked back. It is perhaps my smoothest pen, or at the least, is neck-and-neck with my Namiki Falcon soft-medium nib. I have not experienced any hard starts or skipping whatsoever.

 

I have small hands for a male and the Waterman is just about perfect. It is neither too large nor too small (yes I have encountered pens that were too small even for me! but not often ) My pen, inked, weighs in at 22.62 grams which to me is as heavy as I like to go. But this gives my Hemisphere a feeling of "substance". It is all metal. More important, the grip section diameter is within my limits being 8.5-8.75 mm.

 

The Hemisphere is a bit pricey but worth every dollar. I got mine for $75 in a best offer deal on eBay with postage thrown in for free. Came in a nice Waterman box with a Waterman blue cartridge (I am still trying to figure out what blue it is! )

 

HTH, Breck

Edited October 11, 2012 by Saintpaulia

[tandaina]

I have the silver Hemisphere Essential. My first "real" FP and I really like it. Mine came with a fine nib that has worked really well.

 

Only issue was getting the ink to flow the first time (I may not have flushed the new pen enough in my hurry to try it out) but after sitting overnight it now flows beautifully and reliably.

 

I'm a small handed lady and it fits me perfectly.