I just purchased a lovely Carene in Royal Violet from the Marketplace. It has an M nib which writes nice and wet, and smooth as silk. I will shortly convert this into a Cursive Italic, my nib of choice.

I love this pen! I've been trying to get hold of a Medium Royal Violet Carene for months now, and as I'm sure many of you know they are discontinued and rather difficult to find. I'm glad I happened to look in the Marketplace just when I did.

The color and the finish are just beautiful . . . I really love the way it matches with the silver hardware and the silver-colored nib (rhodium plated 18k gold, I think?) I've got this filled with PR Purple Mojo, and it makes for a great combination.

This is not my first Waterman . . . I have a silver Preface as well . . . but this may end up being my absolute favorite pen!

I'm glad you like it. I could just kick myself for passing on it, because it wasn't a CI or stub nib. I could've bought this one, had it re-ground, and still come out ahead.

Another convert to the cult of the Carene! I've got a B nib purple and they're lovely.

Congratulations on your new fp. Few days ago I sold my Royal Violet Carene and looking now for Silver meridian.

Regards,

D_N

Congratulations on your new pen! I think I would love it, too. And I would love to see a writing sample, by the way.

Kind regards
Hans-Peter

I saw some on Mr Lewertowski's website, if that helps.

Perhaps I professed my love a bit too quickly . . .

Lovely to look at. Lovely to hold. Lovely to write with (especially since I ground the nib into a nice smooth Cursive Italic).

But it LEAKS!

I've read several threads about this problem with Carenes, and I haven't really seen a solution.

When I cap the pen and lay it horizontally in its pen-box home, it appears that ink leaks out of the nib section somewhere. Then, when I pick it up and uncap it, the section is wet . . . anywhere from from a few drops of ink on it to pretty much entirely covered in ink. I can't really tell whether this is coming out of the breather hole in the back or from around the nib itself. BTW, it's been doing this since I received it, and seems to have nothing to do with me grinding the nib.

I tried the suggested trick of squeezing out a few drops after filling, then sucking back in some air. That didn't seem to help at all. This leaking seems to happen about every time I lay it down, from full to nearly empty. I've tried being careful when I cap the pen, but geez . . . I don't expect to have to stand in a seismically isolated booth to open my pen (and anyway, it didn't seem to help at all).

Any idea on what gives???

I'm sure it can be fixed. I am considering a Carene to accompany my superbly reliable Phileas. From what I've experienced of one in my own store, it seems a viable prospect, and such hefty quality. Ghost Plane will tell you how wonderfull they are: all seven of them!
Ain't that so GP?

Yep. I HAVE, however, noticed leaking with some of the much vaunted Noodler inks, which apparently don't always agree with inlaid Waterman nibs. A switch back to Waterman, cartridge or converter, cured the behavior instantly. PR also seems to agree with these pens as Blue Suede sits very happily.

Interesting . . . I've been doing some experimenting, and may have found a 'solution' to this problem.

First, I found that the leaking seemed to have nothing to do with capping and uncapping the pen. I capped/uncapped it a dozen or more times, in all orientations, and ranging from very gentle to very aggressive. No leaking from this treatment.

After checking and wiping the section and cap thoroughly, I then put the pen in its home in one of my pen boxes . . . lying horizontally like all of it's siblings. When I checked the next morning, the formerly clean nib was wet all around with ink.

Hmmm . . .

Next, after again cleaning the section and inside of the cap, I put it to rest. But this time, it was laying with the cap on a folded piece of paper, raising it up a small angle from horizontal (maybe 10deg?). Viola! Absolutely no ink on the section when I checked the next morning.

I'm now trying to figure out which pen box will allow me to tilt the tray by a sufficient amount to stop the leaking. Hopefully this will be the answer!

I do believe I have read somewhere that FP's are supposed to be stored with the nib up... caps with clips , ringtops, etc.. seem to be designed to where that makes the nib up the default position...
So that would go along with what you have discovered....
Greg

I'm storing all my pens raised up approximately 25 degrees with the nib pointing upwards.

Regards
Hans-Peter

I have a Carene Deluxe in black, and writes very nicely . . . once it starts. My other Waterman, and a couple Chinese pens, lay down a nice wet line instantly, the Carene I have to "get started." I have two pens, one a Waterman Expert, right now with Richard Binder, The Nibmeister. I believe when I get them back, I'm going to send him the Carene to work his magic on. I mean, by rights, it should really be my best writer . . . right? Just ask Ghost Plane, if you need confirmation.

Just my inexpert thoughts, for whatever worth.

Enjoy,
Ken

Wisdom you are learning, Grasshopper!