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Waterman Phileas

chemgeek

By chemgeek
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chemgeek Rare

chemgeek

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Waterman Phileas

 

First Impressions—I was interested in investigating this inexpensive writer for variety. It came in a nice box with a converter and an ink cartridge.

 

Appearance and Finish—The Waterman Phileas comes in a black-marbled red or blue. I went for the red, which is brighter and a little more contrasty than the blue. Both are very attractive. The pen has gold-plated trim and pocket clip, including a small embossed shield at the end of the barrel. The cap has a rounded black end-cap, and the barrel has a black, slightly pointed end-cap. The plastic barrel screws onto a black plastic threaded nib section, which includes the grip.

 

Design/Size/Weight—This is a lightweight (just under 1 oz fully loaded) plastic resin pen of moderate size. It is 5” unposted and 5 3/4” posted, big enough for large hands. The cap snaps on or off, and posts securely. The upper part of the grip is ridged to make it easy to unscrew it from the barrel. Otherwise, the grip flows smoothly from the barrel section with no step. When snapped into place, the cap seals with a satisfying click.

 

Nib Design and Performance—I selected a fine nib to cater to my small handwriting. Nib construction is stainless steel, with some gold-plating to give it an attractive two-tone appearance. The Waterman logo is embossed on the nib. The fine nib writes very wide, almost as wide as a normal medium, and as wide or wider than a Sailor medium nib. This nib is smooth, but there is a detectable drag when it is drawn across the paper. The line it lays down is not the wettest and darkest of pens, but is not dry. I get plenty of shading with Private Reserve inks. The feed system is quite reliable, with no evidence of skipping or hard starting. (I subject all new pens to a thorough cleaning with a dilute detergent/water solution, followed by a distilled water rinse.) The nib is not very fussy about writing angle. The writing experience with this nib is very good.

 

Filling System—The Waterman Phileas has a cartridge/converter fill. I used the supplied converter, which appears to be a sealed unit that cannot be disassembled. Filling the converter does not require the entire nib to be submerged (dipping past the breather hole will suffice) and the nib and grip are very easy to clean after filling.

 

Cost/Value—This pen costs about $35 new. Given the quality of the nib and aesthetics, this pen is an outstanding value.

 

Overall Opinion/Conclusion—The Waterman Phileas is a very attractive and inexpensive fountain pen that is neither big nor small, heavy nor light. It delivers a very nice writing experience, and at this price is easly to justify adding to any collection of well-used pens. It could easily be mistaken for a more "expensive" pen. The Phileas will get regular use in my pen rotation.

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p-zero Rare

p-zero

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Nice review! I have a blue Waterman Phileas & I really like it! Someday I'd like to get another one....or two...or....

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Mannenhitsu Vintage

Mannenhitsu

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The Waterman Phileas, for its value, it a great buy, and makes one of the best every day pens I have ever used. In fact, its even smoother than Pelikan M200.

Sincerely yours,

 

Ronnie Banks

"Like a prized watch, a good fountain pen is a trusted companion for life."

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mike1 Collectors Item

mike1

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My wife bought one with a medium nib and I find it to be wider than I like, therefore when I get mine I'll opt for a narrow nib.

"Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching." Satchel Paige, Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher

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JRodriguez Vintage

JRodriguez

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Nice review! I've owned one Phileas that I purchased on ebay and hated it. Then I learned that the reason it wrote so horribly was because the nib had been bent! I'm meaning to pick one of these up one day and see how one actually writes when in good condition. Thanks for the review!

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jmk Near Mint

jmk

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I think the Phileas is one of the best values in fountain pen domain. I have a couple of them - blue with a medium nib and marbled grey with a fine nib. Both do an excellent job, especially for a $40 pen!

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  • 4 years later...
PTLaw Near Mint

PTLaw

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The Waterman Phileas (and Kultur) is one of my favorite pens. I have owned several through the years. I just had two nibs customized by Richard Binder. One into a 0.6mm stub and the other into a 0.5 mm crisp italic. I received my nibs this week and have had a ball trying the nibs with different inks.

 

If you are looking for a good, reliable fountain pen for everyday use, I highly recommend the Phileas. Since they have been discontinued by Waterman, from what I have been told, you will have to check sources like eBay to find one. I bought two from Colorado Pens this summer.

 

Philippa (@PTLaw)

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EdwardMarlowe Near Mint

EdwardMarlowe

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I love mine - such a shame they seem to have been discontinued! I have four - one each in marbled red, blue and green (all medium nibs), plus one in the black (broad nib). tempted to buy a few more while I can still find them.... They do have a nice heft to them - no doubt much to do with the brass insert inside the barrel. Lovely pens to write with; actually, it was my first Phileas, the green one, that convinced me that a "plastic" pen could be a serious one. Prior to that, I was all of the notion that a 'serious' pen needed to be metal, and heavy. I have two dream fountain pens. One, the Parker 51 back in production as per the original early 50s Aerometric design, and two - The Waterman Phileas, with an ebonite body and a fixed, piston filler system rather than a cartridge/converter arrangement. The $24 Noodlers looks to be close to the latter. I wish there was a UK stockist for those.

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Lorna Reed Collectors Item

Lorna Reed

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I love the Waterman Phileas! :wub: I have 2 mediums and one extra fine, purchased from PenSellerFromFrance on e-bay. All have very smooth nibs and wrote well straight out of the box.They are very reliable. I don't undersatand why they are being discontinued.

Whatever is true,whatever is noble,whatever is right,whatever is pure,whatever is lovely,whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

Philippians 4.8

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EdwardMarlowe Near Mint

EdwardMarlowe

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I love the Waterman Phileas! :wub: I have 2 mediums and one extra fine, purchased from PenSellerFromFrance on e-bay. All have very smooth nibs and wrote well straight out of the box.They are very reliable. I don't undersatand why they are being discontinued.

 

I believe I bought mine from the same source. I can't see why they would discontinue either, unless they simply found that their market prefers more expensive pens rather than this (comparatively) low price point? It is indeed a shame. Really nice, usable pens with a great vintage aesthetic.

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penrivers Collectors Item

penrivers

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Nice review! I've owned one Phileas that I purchased on ebay and hated it. Then I learned that the reason it wrote so horribly was because the nib had been bent! I'm meaning to pick one of these up one day and see how one actually writes when in good condition. Thanks for the review!

Rodriguez, you dont need to wait, why dont you correct the nib just with your finger tips. Forget pliers.Greetings.

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Limenweim Extremely Rare

Limenweim

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Nice review! I've owned one Phileas that I purchased on ebay and hated it. Then I learned that the reason it wrote so horribly was because the nib had been bent! I'm meaning to pick one of these up one day and see how one actually writes when in good condition. Thanks for the review!

Rodriguez, you dont need to wait, why dont you correct the nib just with your finger tips. Forget pliers.Greetings.

 

Sometimes it is hard to correct with fingertips, and I doubt if he will notice this thread after 4 years from date of posting =P

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Fuddlestack Vintage

Fuddlestack

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Beautiful pens. So far I've given two as presents and the recipients are delighted, and there's another waiting for my son. But I haven't got one myself!

 

As compensation, I've just ordered a Bexley. Poor me.

 

BTW, the Phileas does have one disadvantage: you give one as a gift and the recipients are overjoyed; then they look them up on the Web and howl "Cheapskate!!!!!" ;)

Edited by Fuddlestack

When you're good at it, it's really miserable.

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Limenweim Extremely Rare

Limenweim

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Beautiful pens. So far I've given two as presents and the recipients are delighted, and there's another waiting for my son. But I haven't got one myself!

 

As compensation, I've just ordered a Bexley. Poor me.

 

BTW, the Phileas does have one disadvantage: you give one as a gift and the recipients are overjoyed; then they look them up on the Web and howl "Cheapskate!!!!!" ;)

 

One possibility is that you don't tell them the name of the pen! As it is discontinued, they would not be able to find that model on the Waterman website =P

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  • 2 years later...
Runnin_Ute Museum Piece

Runnin_Ute

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Love mine! Red marbled with fine nib. I find it a much "finer" fine than the fine in my AL-star Lamy. Since these are my only two fountain pens (similar price points) I don't have much point of comparison against other more expensive pens. To bad they have been discontinued......

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

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lovemy51 Antique

lovemy51

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i bought a black one for $25 american back in 1999 at an OfficeMax. words ca not describe how happy i am to own such a great pen!

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