Hello All,

I just received a Waterman Carene via the Marketplace. It is black with Gold trim and has a fine nib. I absolutelu LOVE it!

I filled it with a mix of Waterman Blue and Waterman Black. I have to say that it writes like an absolute dream. Not only that, but it looks gorgeous in the process!

Anyhow....I just had to post a YAY!! message, I'm fairly excited about it and although everyone else I know (with the exception of one of my prof's who thinks it's amazing) thinks I am slightly off my rocker for paying $82 for a pen, I know here everyone will say, "nice pickup!"

My first pen (this is only my second) is a Waterman Phileas (M nib) and I liked it enough to get another Waterman. I am considering several other pens for my next acquisition, among them a Pelikan or a Sheaffer...do any of you have recommendations for what my next pen purchase should be? I would be open to any input.

--Matt (aka Kopio)

Congratulations! I wish I had one, too.
Does the Carène write even better than the Philéas?
And do you have the possibility to make a photo?

Regards
Hans-Peter

Yes it does, and yes I do....It'll take me a little bit to muster one up though, as I am very busy right now. I'll try and post something in the next day or so though.

My Phileas does write very nicely, but my handwriting is much more suited to a fine nib. I've been thinking about trading in my medium for a fine, but right now I'm still waffling.

Bis Später,
--Matt
(PS...I hope I spelled that correctly, it's been 15 years since I studied German!)

Yes, it's correct ... well done.
Thanks for your reply. I'm still thinking about which nib size would suit me better (F or M). Looks like I still don't have read enough on this forum.

Hans-Peter

Here are a few images of my Carene alongside my Phileas. I have also included a scanned image of some of my chicken-scratch

Both very nice, although I thought your writing looked a bit better-suited to the Medium.

I have a fine Sheaffer Targa which is only suited to my scrawl when I need to write small, and Lamy 2000 Broad, which has a lovely smooth nib, but is really too wide to feel 'natural'.
(This is why I have ordered a CS Wellington with a Med., Binderised to Cursive Italic, which I hope will be perfect!)

But it's fun to try other nib-types.... I tried a Carène Fine, but it was no improvement, IMO, on the Targa... not for my hand, anyway.

As for a recommendation for your next pen, we'd need to know a bit more, I think, such as your budget and what you'd use it for.
Some sort of scale to show the actual size of your sample might help, too..... what is the average height, in mm, of your minuscules.... small vowels, and m, n, c etc?

I'm no expert but there are plenty here!

That was quick! Thank you.

Congratulations on your Carene. Good buy!

If you like the way Carenes write, you might contemplate a Visconti. The Pericles is a steel nib that you can't tell in writing performance from a gold. Careful shopping should bag one for under $80 USD.

I sold all my Shaeffers once I experience Carenes and assorted Visconti pens, so I can't help you there. They just seemed so...cheap after holding the glory that is a Carene. Nor did they hold up as well under heavy usage. You might find a Shaeffer will feel like a step backwards after a Carene.

How much do I love Carenes? After an awaited shipment from JML arrives, I'll be up to SEVEN!!

My handwriting style in this actually does look a little better in the Med, but that is partly because of two reasons:

The scan is of a regular sheet of paper, and I wrote quite large lettering, so the medium looks quite nice. When I write very small (as I do in my notes for school) the medium tends to be a little much. All of my a's and e's and o's end up looking solid because the nib is so much broader.

Also....I have been using my Phileas for a couple of months now, so I am quite used to how it writes. I am still learning the how the nib on the Carene writes, but for the most part I'm very pleased with it.

As far as my next pen....I will probably end up starting with something a little more moderately priced. My wife's hackles were fairly raised when I bought this pen so I am thinking something in the under $100 range, preferable under $75. I've considered a Lamy Safari, Pelikan, perhaps a Future or Style or maybe even a used lower end Souverän if I can find one for a good deal. I really like the Sheaffer inlaid nib, so I've thought about a number of used ones, the trick is finding one for a reasonable price.

I am a grad student, and I copiously take notes all throughout the day, so I would also prefer something with a good ink capacity (which is one of the reasons I LOVE the Souverän series) and is consistent.\

My birthday is at the end of this month, and everyone knows I want $$ for a pen fund. I guess part of what I'm willing to spend is how much I am get!

For what it's worth, I just submitted a more full handwriting sample on the Penmanship Forum.

I would welcome any input.

Also...Ghost Plane....I thought it was quite a score, and I like it quite a bit, but I find that I have to roll the nib so that I can see it a little better, then I am not skipping quite as much. I guess this could be because with my Phileas I can see the nib much better than with the Carene. I basically have to roll it so that I can see the split in the nib (feed line?) and then I don't skip so much.

Do you have any pointers for me on writing with the Carene??

Thanks for your input guys.

When you hold your pen, drape it across the webbing between thumb and forefinger with your hand sitting relaxed on its side. The nib should be flat to the page. That puts the "sweet spot" onto the paper. Gently close your fingers around the pen and let IT do the work. You'll find the position the nib falls into naturally is the one that puts it flat to the paper.

If you saw me write, it would appear very similar to someone sketching as the pen isn't underneath the writing, which would put my wrist into an unnatural position. Instead, the pen is almost sideways to the writing so that it appears the letters are following the pen as it moves across the page. My hand stays relaxed on its side with the fingers barely clasping the pen.

I was fortunate to learn from my father, who used fountain pens every day of his life. It's a very relaxed position and, with a well balanced pen like the Carene, you barely need to touch your fingers to the pen as it floats over the page.

It sounds as if your skipping is the result of rolling your nib to the side off its "sweet spot" so that the flow stops touching the paper. Definitely a ballpoint user's habit. Try relaxing your grip and letting the pen do the work. Because your nib isn't as obvious on the Carene, your brain is falling back into the habit of having your fingers roll the pen rather than letting the pen do the work.

A little practice and you'll find the Carene is much more relaxing to hold than the Phileas because the slightly greater weight and better balance take on much more of the work of writing.

Awesome advice GP! I can't wait to practice with it. The pen has been a little of an engima to me. At times it is the smoothest writing pen I've ever used, but at others it will skip or dry start. I will definitely follow your advice. Thanks for giving a newbie some solid starting points.
--Matt

Congratulations on your new Carene! Great pen!!!

I have a Carene Deluxe for sale if your interested PM me for details

Congrats on the new Carene! Nice looking pen! I've always wondered, does the style of nib that the Carene has feel any different in writing than the style of the Phileas? I've never written with that style. It sure is different in design.

Well...for one thing the Phileas is a medium nib, the Carene a fine. So one would expect a little difference. The trick for me was finding the sweet spot on the nib of the Carene. GP gave me some good advice, and it has worked very well. Since I am new to FPs I've had to relax my grip and change it a little bit to enable easier writing. Once I took GP's advice though...the Carene is very smooth. It is quite pleasurable to write with, and you can keep your hand very relaxed and it just glides across the page. That being said, my Phileas also has a very nice nib that is also easy to write with.

I think the biggest difference between the two is that the Carene has a pretty stiff nib, more so than the Phileas.

Glad it helped and you're enjoying your Carene.

Your insight was worth it's weight in 18k plated gold nibs! I have really started to relax my grip on the pen a lot. I find that the line is much finer and that there is little to know hand fatigue.

I just bought a few Black and Red notebooks to take notes in at school and...WOW....it's amazing how nice the Carene writes on quality paper. I would have tried my Phileas, but I was in love with how well the ink was flowing. The other nice thing about the Red and Black is that I can now write on BOTH sides of the paper. My 24lb Inkjet paper doesn't cut it quite as well.

Thanks again for the tips....I almost think we should have you do a sticky in the Waterman forum here so that people new to the Carene can benefit from what you shared with me.

Have a great day,
--Matt

I also have a Carene. It is a Carene Deluxe Vermeil SE in Prussian Blue with a fine nib. It writes like a dream. I was lucky enough to get it brand new in the box on a no reserve ebay auction for under $90 shipped. I've been using it off and on for about 2 weeks and so far I am exremely pleased. It writes as good as it looks. It even writes as good as my best Parker 51 Aerometric and that is really saying something.

Yep, this is how it starts and in a decade or so, you will look back fondly at all the wonderful pens you have collected and ask, is "$1,500 really too much" for the new pen you are lusting after... my precioussss

JD

I have had my Carene, Ultramarine Blue, F nib for a bit over a week now. It's a glorious looking pen and writes like a dream. I learnt to write with a fountain pen so find that not seeing the tip of the nib is not an issue. I've had no problems whatsoever with ink flow or dry starts. The key problem I have encountered with the Carene is that my dislike of having to do all reports etc by computer has intensified

Hey Guys,

I just put up a new post on some problems I'm having with Noodler's Zhivago in my Carene. I'm guessing y'all would be the guys (and gals) that would be in the know for this kind of issue.

Thanks for taking a look at it
--Matt

Where'd you post it?