I have a Waterman pen that my wife gave me some time ago. If I recall correctly, it leaked from the get go. I thought it was my fault and called Levenger about it. They walked me through proper usage and cleaning and I followed their suggestions. No joy. I called Waterman and they had me send it to them. It came back with no apparent change. I put it in a drawer.

It has recently been resurrected and sadly a few years of rest did not stop the leaking. I don't know the name of the pen nor proper pen terminology so I am attaching a picture with the leaking area marked. If someone can tell me the model name and what should be my next steps I would appreciate it. I enjoy writing with it but not the ink stink finger(s).

Thanks

John Lea




The black mark was an atttempt to draw an arrow on the photo pointing to the ink.

WOW. You have the Waterman Opera, one of their pen kings, 3 of my favourite pens (because I have 3 of them ).

I am not a pen repair person, but I have a question or 2 (or 3...). Is it leaking, or is it just that, after you remove the cap, there is ink on that section? Where do you actually hold the pen when you are writing? In other words, I am wondering, how close are your fingers to the nib (point)?

I am sure some repair people will chime in.

Send it to Richard Binder. That pen is far too expensive and far too beautiful to languish in a drawer somewhere. It should be "out and proud."

Todd

Can the pen be identified from the picture? I probably should not have cut it but I was thinking more about the leak.

==

Toldja, it's a Waterman Opera. It is from the LeMan 100 line.

Totally agreed.

You might go to the members page here and send an inquiry message to Tom Pike. He is a known restorer/repairperson
here on FPN and should be able to get you all fixed up. Hey may be just a few dollars cheaper than Richard, but Tom's turnaround time is only 4-6 weeks (from the time you mail it) last I heard, quite a bit shorter than Richards.


Bruce in Ocala, FL

I am not used to this forum stuff and posted the reply to myself on an old screen and did not realize that I had repsonses already. Sorry

I had decided it was going to be out and proud, inky fingers or not but I would like the not part better.

My fingers are above the brass ferrule where the ink is. I clean out the cap and clean off the pen. Cap it properly and lay it down. Later when I go to use it there is ink on the brass.. Years ago I first thought that it was me bouncing around with pen in my pocket or some similar stuff but it still appears when I am conciously being careful.

The "laying" it down might be the problem. Fountain pens, when inked, should always be capped in the upright position, with the nib facing the ceiling/sky. The might help to prevent some of the leaking you're describing.

Todd

Thanks. I will give that a try. I am sure that I stored my pens that way when I used them regularly before but IIRC, I had a had a hard time getting ink to flow when it came time to write with them again. Someone told me that he never had that problem because he paid them flat and when I did it I had the same result. It may be that the Waterman needs to stand upright and I will try it for a while before sending it off.