Waterman Phileas Review.

[Shangas]

I did notice another 'Phileas' review, I hope it's alright if I write up another one...if it isn't well...kill me...or lock this topic, whatever dings the bell. Hope I'm not breaking any rules here. I didn't notice any...

 

Anyway, the review...

 

Backstory

 

Found this pen in the Camberwell Trash & Treasure Market (also known as 'flea-markets') just today. Pen was in good-condition and wrote well (I brought a bottle of ink along so that I could test any pens I found) and so...I bought it. For $50.

 

http://img474.imageshack.us/img474/4084/review02jg9.jpg

 

First impressions

 

To be honest, if I hadn't noticed the hexagonal "W" Waterman logo on the clip of this pen, I probably would have ignored it. Visually, this pen was incredibly plain. Everything about it was plain, the barrel the cap the nib...it has barely any decoration. In-fact, if I didn't recognise it at once as a Phileas, I probably would never have bought it. There was nothing about the pen that screamed "I'M PRETTY-LOOKING! BUUUUUUUUUUUUUY ME!!"

 

Finish

 

The Phileas was black plastic. I thought it might be dark green, but after a bit of pictorial searching, I realised that Waterman never made a solid green Phileas and that the only pen that matched what I had was jet-black...which was SORT of what my pen looked like. Perhaps my eyes were playing tricks on me. The pen was smooth and possesses two bands, one on the end of the barrel and one at the top of the cap, around the clip. It's smooth and lightweight and comfortable for writing with.

 

Size & Weight

 

Pen is 5.5 inches capped which fits perfectly into my hand. It's the same size as all my other pens and since it's made out of plastic, it's nice and light and comfortable to write with. I can post the cap without feeling the tines being levered away from the paper.

 

Nib design & Performance

 

The nib was a FINE and made of steel with gold-plate on it. The nib itself is quite unremarkable. It has a fan-design engraved into it, just under the end of the tines (the nib doesn't have a breather-hole) and under that, it has the hexagonal 'W' Waterman logo. Under that is:

 

WATERMAN

PARIS

F (for fine).

 

Even though I did buy this pen second-hand, the nib was in excellent condition. Smooth and strong but rather worn-looking. The nib's gold-plate looks like it's wearing off and it's starting to show the silvery appearance of steel, not that that really bothers me. Steel is just as good as gold.

 

Filling-system

 

I was fortunate that when I bought the pen, it still had a Waterman cartridge fitted into it...this also meant it took about half an hour to wash all the blue ink out of the feed, cartridge & nib...but at least I could use the pen right away.

 

From what I've read, the Phileas is a c/c (cartridge & converter) fountain pen. The lady I bought the pen off, didn't have it's converter, just the empty cartridge. I flushed it out and refilled it (with a syringe), with black ink. The cartridge doesn't leak, holds a generous amount of ink and still has it's little agitator-ball rattling around inside, for good measure.

 

[side-note: Does Waterman make converters for the Phileas? I'm pretty sure they do. Are they just regular Waterman converters that I can buy at any pen shop? Because I want to get one for this pen]

 

Cost/Value

 

Mrs Stall-Lady was very hard to beat down on her price. She put it up for $60 and try as I might, I could only get it down to $50. But, I consider myself lucky. I got myself a wonderful Waterman Phileas second-hand for $50 which works the moment I use it. It's got a strong, good-quality nib with a thickness that I like and is light and easy to use. This same pen was selling at Pen City in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, for $120!! Yeepers! I got it at less than half-price!

 

I think it's wonderful value for money and I'd recommend it to anyone.

 

Conclusion

 

I didn't find the Duofold that I've been hunting for for so long, at the flea-market today, but I did find a wonderful fountain pen 'in the wild', from a good maker. It's a quality writing-instrument with a strong, smooth nib and is light and comfortable to use. I love it!

 

I did want a Phileas in marbled blue, but black will suffice.

Edited December 9, 2007 by Shangas

[Ray-Vigo]

If you like the marbled blue- you may also like the early Phileas pens that had a violet-ish and red moire style design. I believe fewer of these were made than the marbles we know today- they're much harder to find. I have one and it's an interesting variation on the Phileas- not one you see as often. The functional parts are the same as all the others though.

[Headache Corporation (TM)]

The Phileas is a great value in modern fountain pens. I'm not a fan of the marble models, but I have the exact model you have, and it writes wonderfully. I don't think they are making the Phileas any more, so hold on to it. I have a Waterman Kultur also (the school pen version of the Phileas), and though the nib is good it's not quite the same as on the Phileas.

 

By the way, you CAN get a converter for this pen; the standard converter Waterman makes will work just fine. You can get generic ones that are made for "international style" cartridge pens as well.

 

I would say you might have paid just a little too much for the pen, though. I know the US dollar is weak now but you can get this pen on ebay or at some stores here new for about US$30, and I think you paid about US$44, if I'm doing my calculation right in Australian dollars. But perhaps these sorts of things are just more expensive there; I've never had the privilege of visiting your lovely country!

 

Anyway, enjoy the pen and happy writing!!!

 

 

-Dave

[Shangas]

So I CAN get a converter for it! Excellent! Thanks for giving me the good news, David.

 

**Adds "Buy Waterman converter" to to-do list**

 

And yes, I will treasure this pen very much.

[pingjun]

I have 2 Waterman Phileas and both are great.

[blak000]

Selling for $120??? Wow. Around here, the Phileas is selling for $30-45 USD. I've seen it for $35 at a local Office Depot (well-known stationary and office supplies store). Why is it so expensive in Australia?

Edited December 9, 2007 by blak000

[Ray-Vigo]

Selling for $120??? Wow. Around here, the Phileas is selling for $30-45 USD. I've seen it for $35 at a local Office Depot (well-known stationary and office supplies store). Why is it so expensive in Australia?

 

 

Which is why I have so many of them. My friends and family know I like fountain pens and since they often frequent Staples for supplies, they happen to see the Phileas and get it for me as a gift. I think four different Phileas pens in my group came from that.

[tipstricks]

I have the same pen, great writer. I think it would be better with a little more weight, like a brass body...

Many thanks for review!

Edited December 9, 2007 by tipstricks

[Belan]

Selling for $120??? Wow. Around here, the Phileas is selling for $30-45 USD. I've seen it for $35 at a local Office Depot (well-known stationary and office supplies store). Why is it so expensive in Australia?

 

Gotta remember that the Aus $ is not the same as the US $ ... not to mention they have a different tax system (GST, I think it's called ... same as VAT, if I remember correctly)

[Lawrence III]

I paid US$17.00 for this pen new on Ebay a few years ago. I always thought that was the going price.

[Shangas]

Not sure why it was so expensive, but it is. And yes, Belan. We have 10% GST (Goods & Services Tax) over here. It's made things a lot more expensive than they used to be. Including low-end fountain pens.

 

You're welcome, Tipsstricks. Glad you liked it. And Blak000, I don't know why it is...GST probably has something to do with it. That, or Pen City is desperately needing money.

 

I am heading out today to buy my converter! Wish me luck.

[Seville]

I was at http://www.laywines.com/ the other day and their Phileas's were going for a flat $60 CDN. They don't even list them on their website which was a bit of a turn off. I was looking to buy 4 Phileas at a decent price but I could not find any anywhere. Even our Staples here in Canada don't carry them anymore.

 

Philip

[Tony the Tiger]

I hope I didn't pay too much. I just bought a NEW marbled red Phileas with a .9mm cursive italic nib from pendemonium.com for $60.

[Shangas]

WATERMAN CONVERTER PURCHASED.

 

Bought it today. $15. Fits firmly and works wonderfully.

[Nellie]

Wow, those are high prices for sure - a converter for $ 15! I think I paid about € 4 for mine.

Anyway, that's not why I'm posting. There actually was a solid green 'Phileas' some time ago (well if I remember correctly, barrel and cap, the parts where the coloured Phileases are marbled, are green). I remember someone mentioning them in a thread here (link, unfortunately the picture has gone). I gave one to a friend of mine as a present and that one was a really good pen that wrote very well, IMO. I like my own Kultur very much, too, however, and have never written with a Phileas, so I don't really know about the Phileas being better. Your pen looks darker than those opaque green Kulturs, however (their green is the same as in the marbled Phileas), so I think it must be a black Phileas, really.

Good to hear you're enjoying your pen

Nellie

[bluenose]

I was at http://www.laywines.com/ the other day and their Phileas's were going for a flat $60 CDN. They don't even list them on their website which was a bit of a turn off. I was looking to buy 4 Phileas at a decent price but I could not find any anywhere. Even our Staples here in Canada don't carry them anymore.

 

Philip

 

 

Not sure about our local Staples, but I bought mine from Office Depot, $45.99 plus tax.

 

Regards

[Shangas]

Wow, those are high prices for sure - a converter for $ 15! I think I paid about € 4 for mine.

Anyway, that's not why I'm posting. There actually was a solid green 'Phileas' some time ago (well if I remember correctly, barrel and cap, the parts where the coloured Phileases are marbled, are green). I remember someone mentioning them in a thread here (link, unfortunately the picture has gone). I gave one to a friend of mine as a present and that one was a really good pen that wrote very well, IMO. I like my own Kultur very much, too, however, and have never written with a Phileas, so I don't really know about the Phileas being better. Your pen looks darker than those opaque green Kulturs, however (their green is the same as in the marbled Phileas), so I think it must be a black Phileas, really.

Good to hear you're enjoying your pen

Nellie

 

Hey Nellie,

 

Yes, $15 is a lot for a Waterman converter. Better than the other joint that I could've gone to, though. That place was selling the same thing for *Gasp* TWENTY SEVEN DOLLARS!!

 

With regards to the colour - when I first saw this pen at the market, I was pretty sure it was a dark green, but now under better light, I'm pretty sure it's black. I was unsure about the colour for a while until I did a google image search for Watermen Phileai. That's when I found the colour-range and decided that my pen must be black and not a very very very dark green.

 

[Seville]

I was at http://www.laywines.com/ the other day and their Phileas's were going for a flat $60 CDN. They don't even list them on their website which was a bit of a turn off. I was looking to buy 4 Phileas at a decent price but I could not find any anywhere. Even our Staples here in Canada don't carry them anymore.

 

Philip

 

 

Not sure about our local Staples, but I bought mine from Office Depot, $45.99 plus tax.

 

Regards

 

Our Office Depot has been fully patched over to Staples...sigh...

 

Philip

[Runnin_Ute]

Enjoy! I have had my red marbled Phileas (F) since around 2001-2003 time frame I believe. Love it. Bought it from Levenger for something in the $45-50 range if I remember correctly including converter. Not sure what kind of shipping I had to pay.

[Runnin_Ute]

Enjoy! I have had my red marbled Phileas (F) since around 2001-2003 time frame I believe. Love it. Bought it from Levenger for something in the $45-50 range if I remember correctly including converter. Not sure what kind of shipping I had to pay.

 

Just picked up a black one from a fellow FPN'r -BNIB with a tweaked M nib (I believe it was a tines adjustment) and I paid $45 US for it. I love it.