Two Waterman Perspectives

[tatts]

I browsed through the Waterman section on this forum, and did not find much information about the Perspective. There werent many reviews in the review section as well. I know this is one of their newer models, but unsure of when the release date was. Is it not a good seller? I did this review in case anyone had this pen in mind.

 

1. First Impression 4/5

The blue Perspective was the second Waterman pen I purchased, and I thought it was a gorgeous looking pen. The detail on the barrel and cap were clean and subtle, nothing to flashy. Therefore I bought the black one soon after. The black Perspective has no designs on the pen. It is solid black with gold colored trimmings. I was a little disappointed, but it doesnt bother me too much. This pen came with one converter and one cartridge.

 

 

 

2. Appearance and finish 3/5

I gave this a 3 out of 5 because from day one, Waterman pens have been giving me problems. On the blue one, the W on the cap popped off. I super glued it back on. Also the converter feels loose when I write on both pens. I can hear it jiggle, even though it is sealed well. Yet, I tend to gravitate towards Waterman for some reason.

 

 

3. Design, size and weight 5/5

This category receives a perfect score. I love the weight of the pen because it is my heaviest. It feels solid like it should be worth a lot. Some might say this pen is too heavy, but I like heavier pens.

 

 

 

4. Nib design and performance 2/5

Two out of five is a low score, but I gave it a low score because they both write differently. The blue one always wrote drier than the black. Normally I dont like putting black ink in a blue pen, but for this review I did it just to compare with the same ink. I filled both with Aurora black and Aurora blue. The black one seems to lay a wetter line and has an easier time gliding across the page while the blue one is a little toothier. As you can see, I have the nib from the blue pen soaking in my shot glass. Its a skipper. I was told to soak it in vodka because the alcohol would flush the ink clean, sort of like putting alcohol on a cut. That is how you do it right? Im just kidding, its straight up water, no ammonia. My nib is not getting drunk, or high of off household ammonia/cleaning supplies. I would think, two pens that are the same, both with medium nibs should write the same.

 

 

 

5. Filling System 3/5

They take both cartridges and converters. The cartridges seem to fit in tighter than the converter. There is less jiggling.

 

6. Overall Score 17/25

I guess I still love these pens, I use them the most. I dont think I can compare it to my Visconti Van Gogh, I think they are in a whole different class; Im just scared to ruin them, these I wont mind if they get banged up anymore. I do take very good care of my pens and give them a shower after every single fill. I dont think over cleaning could harm them.

 

Hopefully I have made improvements over my last review; Id just like to help this forum out as much as I can because it has helped me out a lot. If the black Perspective becomes troublesome like the rest of my Watermans, I may just give up on them because that will be strike three. Three pens. I do not want to discourage anyone from buying their product, in my experience they have great customer service and respond quickly to emails. Im sure they have quality products as well. I hear the Carene is a wonderful writer. Maybe I just have bad luck with Waterman pens. Thank you for reading!

Edited February 2, 2010 by tatts

[Ed Ronax]

Great review, thanks.

[ToasterPastry]

Nice, thorough review. Lots of pictures. Interesting perspective on a Perspective.

[Pfhorrest]

I don't think 2/5 is deserved for two nibs that write differently - no two nibs will write the same, and in most cases will be significantly different even though marked the same size (and from the same manufacturer).

[Sharkle]

Thank you for a great review. I looked at these when they came out, but the section is a no-go for me. These are pretty pens anyway. I have a Waterman Harmonie with a bent nib that still writes very well.

[Ada]

A nice thorough review. I recently received a Perspective as a gift, and had been meaning to write a review as I had also noticed that there were not many reviews of this pen. The "W" on mine also fell off, while I was writing with it, not long after I got it and I have been debating what to do. It is a beautiful pen, and I enjoy writing with it, but I think the design of the "W" is flawed. While it is a cosmetic flaw, I was very disappointed by it since my other Watermans (which are not Perspectives) have never spontaneously disassembled themselves.

[tatts]

I don't think 2/5 is deserved for two nibs that write differently - no two nibs will write the same, and in most cases will be significantly different even though marked the same size (and from the same manufacturer).

 

I learned something new today. I was just surprised at how different they were. It felt like two totally different pens. I was thinking that with technology these days compared to when nibs were invented, it shouldn’t be hard to produce, but I guess nibs are more complicated than I thought. I was wrong in giving it such a low score. Thank you.

[voop]

I don't think 2/5 is deserved for two nibs that write differently - no two nibs will write the same, and in most cases will be significantly different even though marked the same size (and from the same manufacturer).

 

Hmm, there will be natural variation between two nibs, sure. However manufacturing processes should try to minimize that as much as possible.

 

I do not have first-hand experiences with the Waterman Perspective, however Waterman clearly does know how to make consistent nibs: for the same nib size, the nibs across my Carene's are consistent, the nibs across my Edson's are consistent and the nibs across my Exception's are consistent....

[tatts]

A nice thorough review. I recently received a Perspective as a gift, and had been meaning to write a review as I had also noticed that there were not many reviews of this pen. The "W" on mine also fell off, while I was writing with it, not long after I got it and I have been debating what to do. It is a beautiful pen, and I enjoy writing with it, but I think the design of the "W" is flawed. While it is a cosmetic flaw, I was very disappointed by it since my other Watermans (which are not Perspectives) have never spontaneously disassembled themselves.

 

The first Waterman pen I owned was a Expert II, which spontaneously fell apart. There was a plastic chrome piece on the cap like the W, it fell off, then several weeks later the clip fell off. The pen kept drying up and I was mad, so I chucked it like a Bic pen. Waterman does make nice pens and i want to like them a lot, but scared to spend any more money on them. I guess Im just waiting for my black Perspective to follow the same path. Currently it is one of my favorites so far.

[Ada]

A nice thorough review. I recently received a Perspective as a gift, and had been meaning to write a review as I had also noticed that there were not many reviews of this pen. The "W" on mine also fell off, while I was writing with it, not long after I got it and I have been debating what to do. It is a beautiful pen, and I enjoy writing with it, but I think the design of the "W" is flawed. While it is a cosmetic flaw, I was very disappointed by it since my other Watermans (which are not Perspectives) have never spontaneously disassembled themselves.

 

The first Waterman pen I owned was a Expert II, which spontaneously fell apart. There was a plastic chrome piece on the cap like the W, it fell off, then several weeks later the clip fell off. The pen kept drying up and I was mad, so I chucked it like a Bic pen. Waterman does make nice pens and i want to like them a lot, but scared to spend any more money on them. I guess Im just waiting for my black Perspective to follow the same path. Currently it is one of my favorites so far.

 

Your experience with your Expert II certainly puts my complaint about the "W" in perspective. I also have an Expert II, but fortunately my experience with it has been much happier than yours. My Expert II is my favorite pen; it writes beautifully, everything is fit and finished well, and none of the pieces have ever detached themselves of their own accord. I have also been delighted with the Phileas. So I agree that Waterman makes nice pens. Given my happy experience with other Watermans, perhaps your black Perspective will stop spontaneously dissassembling itself. I certainly hope so. And I hope my Perspective doesn't follow the example of your Expert II.

Edited February 4, 2010 by Ada