Waterman 12S Safety Pen

[OldGriz]

 

 

 

 

Appearance 5/5

Basic Black... how else would you describe it...

A basic black chased hard rubber pen...

The HR is starting to discolor a bit, but not badly and the chasing is in really good shape considering the age.

The imprints can be read but have a bit of wear

 

Design 5/5

A 5 based on the fact that this was the basic design used for all safety pens... not a whole lot you could do with these and still have them work as they should

 

Nib 4/5

The pen sports a fine Waterman W-2A nib that is not exactly a nail, but does not have any flex either... if I push it there is a little spring, not what I call flex

The nib is nice and smooth and writes a fairly wet line... I will have Richard look into that at Philly... I have the pen loaded with Scrip Black.

A 4 only because there is no flex on this old timer....

 

Filling System 5/5

The filling system gets a 5 for uniqueness... pure and simple...

This is my first working safety pen and it is just too cool to use...

IMO, this pen is a more complicated design than the Snorkel when you consider that the nib and feed need to unscrew from inside the body and seal the section so that ink does not leak when you write...

Considering when these pens were made this is a rather complicated design. This pen has patent dates of 1884, 1899 & 1903

For more information on how a safety pen works I recommend seeing Richard Binder's site

 

Cost and Value 5/5

Safety pens are getting harder and harder to come by. Especially pens that do not need to be rebuilt.

These are not pens for just anyone to play with... not all professional restorers will do them.... I know Richard Binder is one of the few that really makes this a specialty of his

I was extremely lucky on this particular pen. I asked the seller about condition and was told the pen was water tested and did not leak. I was told that if I found this not to be true they would refund the complete price with shipping... so I took a chance and the pen was right.....

I paid $75 for this pen with registered shipping from over the pond and think I got a real good deal...

 

Conclusion 24/25

To me this is a real winner.... the first safety pen in my collection....

Richard Binder convinced me at the Columbus Show that I really should own one, even if just to have one in a collection...

He was right.... and, in fact, has another one that I bought from Germany for restoration as I type this... that one needs new seals and the mechanism smoothed, but has a nice flexy nib... it should be real interesting when I see it again.

I have to agree with Richard... this is the type of pen everyone should have in a vintage collection... if only for the filling system....

[Univer]

Hi,

 

Congratulations - lovely pen.

 

May I ask: is the nib original? I would have expected a heart-shaped breather hole, and I vaguely associate the W2A nib with later (1940s/50s?) Watermans.

 

I've got an unrestored Moore retractable-nib safety somewhere, but I'm always being tempted by some MHR safety or other; one of these days I need to take the plunge.

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

[wspohn]

Thanks for the review, Tom. These pens are indeed neat! What was the production period of the 12S?

 

I have a Moores Safety I haven't got around to attempting to fill - suppose I should just so I know. If it doesn't hold ink I don't know that I'd restore it or maybe just keep it as a curiosity.

 

Can you run through exactly what you do to fill this one?

Edited January 13, 2009 by wspohn

[ThaIwan]

Very nice, would have been nice though to learn more about filling it up.

 

Perhaps you can still show some pics are write some instructions on that one.

 

Including the writing sample was very good. I suspect I'm lurking on one of these.......

[OldGriz]

It fills like any other eyedropper fill pen.... you screw the nib and feed into the body and use an eyedropper to fill the pen until the ink is just about 1/2 way up the nib... that's it...

Of course I did not know this at all... UNTIL, I called Richard and he told me how to do it....

[wspohn]

OK, and I assume that you have to remember never to remove the cap when the nib is pointing down, as it won't hold the ink in until the nib unit has been pushed out of the pen. But doesn't the nib and feed get soaked in ink while it is capped and doesn't it retain lots of ink on it when you push it out next time? Do you have to wipe it off every time you deploy it?

 

Just trying to get an idea how practical these would be a users.

[Johnny Appleseed]

OK, and I assume that you have to remember never to remove the cap when the nib is pointing down, as it won't hold the ink in until the nib unit has been pushed out of the pen. But doesn't the nib and feed get soaked in ink while it is capped and doesn't it retain lots of ink on it when you push it out next time? Do you have to wipe it off every time you deploy it?

 

Just trying to get an idea how practical these would be a users.

 

Yes. These pens may be the most leak-proof design there is, but you can sure spill them. And lord help it if somone bumps you while extending the nib, causing the pen to lurch forward suddenly. . .

 

The nib and feed do get soaked in ink, and if it is an issue you can wipe it each time. However, the section does not, so there is no ink to get on your fingers, and the feeds tend to be simple, so most of the ink runs back into the pen. On the other hand, since the nib and feed are bathed in ink when the cap is closed, you never have to worry about gunk drying out in the feed, and some argue that it is safe to use "non-fountain pen" inks like India ink.

 

They do have some challenges for practical use. There is a reason they were popular for a relatively short period, though they retained a small but faithful market for a few decades.

 

John

[wspohn]

Hmm - thanks. I must check out my Moores - perhaps with water first!

 

Seems to me that these would be the perfect pens to hand to someone you didn't want to use your pen in the first place - they'd never get as far as putting nib to paper, they'd be occupied dealing with the several cc's of ink they'd just dumped on themselves....

[goodguy]

Congrats for the pen and thank you for the very interesting review.

I agree everybody should get a working Safety pen,they are super cool and fun.

Safety pens does need some time getting used to. Getting the nib in and out could be laborous for some and its not exactly the perfect pen for note taking.

 

I also have a safety pen,its my Aurora Nobile. Its new and not vintage but its a true Safety pen and a blast to use.

Enjoy

[Breck]

Congrats again, and thanks for the review!

 

Great pen, great price, and what sounds like a really great seller. Well done.

[RevAaron]

May I ask: is the nib original? I would have expected a heart-shaped breather hole, and I vaguely associate the W2A nib with later (1940s/50s?) Watermans.

 

I was wondering that as well. I've a Waterman 52 with the same nib that I just assumed was a replacement.

[Univer]

Hi,

 

Just to elaborate: there are stories (maybe apocryphal) of tightly-closed retractable-nib safeties being found, decades later, buried in World War I battlefields - sometimes with a soldier's remains, sometimes not - still full of ink and ready to write.

 

The retractable-nib safety design has its quirks, but it also has some undeniable advantages.

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

[Johnny Appleseed]

Hi,

 

Just to elaborate: there are stories (maybe apocryphal) of tightly-closed retractable-nib safeties being found, decades later, buried in World War I battlefields - sometimes with a soldier's remains, sometimes not - still full of ink and ready to write.

 

The retractable-nib safety design has its quirks, but it also has some undeniable advantages.

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

 

Actually, I think that story comes from David Nishimura's web site, in his article about retractable-nib safeties, and the original source does not claim it was a safety, only that it was a Waterman and that it wrote with the original ink after having been dug out of the battlefield 80 years later. David speculated that it could only have been a retractable safety. Of course there may be other stories out there as well, but that is the one I recall a source for.

 

John

[Pensee]

I have to agree with Richard... this is the type of pen everyone should have in a vintage collection... if only for the filling system....

 

Schweet!

 

So many makes & variants on Watermans. Now you have to go & recommend putting a 'safety' on my hunting list for estate sales! This place be dangerous!

 

Seriously tho, Condrad's on your latest addition.

 

Out of curiosity what Waterman's are in your collection?

 

Have a small collection of three models + some 'fixer upper' pens I've managed to find.

 

Where do you find replacement nibs?

 

Infer that's probably the biggest problem when looking for the proverbial 'diamond in the rough'.

 

thx

 

--Bruce

 

 

 

 

[OldGriz]

OK, It has been over 3 months since I started this thread.....

I have to say I am even more impressed with this pen than I was when I wrote the initial review...

I emptied and cleaned out the Sheaffer Skrip and loaded the pen with Noodlers Borealis Black to see how it did with a more saturated ink...

The pen writes just as well with the saturated ink as it did with the Skrip ink....

I have left the pen for 2-3 weeks in my display case, taken it out, unscrewed the nib and it starts with the first touch as smooth as glass..

I recently also found a nice accommodation clip for the pen so I can now carry it in my shirt pocket and really impress the "great unwashed" when I use it.

 

This is one sweet pen.... I can't wait for Richard to get my German safety filler back to me.... that one will cost me even less including Richard's restoration...

He said it was a great pen with a really good nib...

[Pensioner]

Thanks for that review. I'm looking at one of these on vintagepens.net. Might just pull the trigger.