Waterman Charleston

[pvdiamon]

My first "nice" pen was a Waterman Charleston ballpoint. Now that I am using fountain pens, I'm thinking of getting the companion. But I like relatively fine nibs (like Aurora XF, or Sheaffer F, while Namiki VP F is too fine). I tried a Waterman XF which was too fine and toothy, but wonder if the F will be too much like an M nib. Has anyone tried it with an F?

[gylyf]

I really like the F on my Charleston, and I'm not a huge fan of fine nibs. It's one of the smoother fines I've tried, and it lays down what I'd consider to be a true fine line: somewhere between a Pelikan or Lamy F and a Japanese F. I don't think you need to worry about its being too much like a M nib. HTH,

 

David

[Michael Wright]

I also like the fine nib on my Charleston. Mine is a true Euro/American fine, and I like the feel -- precise, rather than glidy, but not toothy, either. For a while it was my favourite writer.

 

Of course, the nib you get *may* be different, but I like mine a lot.

 

Best

 

Michael

[Rob R]

I really like the F on my Charleston, and I'm not a huge fan of fine nibs. It's one of the smoother fines I've tried.

I agree with David. I also have a charleston fine. It is one of my favorite pens. The fine is very nice in this pen IMHO.

 

[James P]

I'm a big fan of the Waterman Charleston, and I really like their fine nibs. In my experience, they are on the wider side of fine. I think that's because most of my writing is typically done with Japanese nibs, which are typically about a size narrower than their western counterparts.

 

I think it's worth pointing out that the Charleston nibs I've used do tend to be fairly rigid. I have never had any problems in terms of skipping or hard-starting, and the flow has always been very even.

 

James P.

[Ruaidhri]

Yep. Black & Gold Charleston given as a present from staff three Christmases ago. Fine point. Lovely smooth nib with excellent flow.

[221bbakerst]

The Charleston fine is an excellent pen. I find the fine not toothy at all and a very forgiving writer with just about any ink I've tried. I wish that it was a little less rigid though. The pen, in my opinion, is really pretty with a very classic look. Fit and finish are first rate. Mine however, does not like 100% cotton paper, such as my good stationery from Crane. My Aurora likes the paper even less, but my Conway Stewart exfines write on it beautifully. In all fairness, the Conways are wetter nibs. It was a 'daily' until I got hooked on Conway Stewarts. Mine is a black and gold but I would still like a white and gold. Those are really stunning. All in all, I think that the Charleston is a very under rated pen and I'm surprised that it doesn't get more attention. Edited August 25, 2006 by 221bbakerst

[pvdiamon]

Thanks for all of these comments! Have you found Noodlers inks to work well in this pen?

 

John

Edited August 25, 2006 by pvdiamon

[221bbakerst]

I have used Noodler's black and my favorite, Aircorp, with very good results. Also,Pellican black, Aurora black, Montblanc black, Parker blue black, and of course, Waterman's. Except for the cotton paper it seems to be a very pretty and useful 18K nib. I only wish that it was a little larger and had a little flex.

[James P]

The Noodler's inks I've used in my Charleston have all been very good in terms of flow, but they do tend to creep all over the nib, which some people find unsightly. I'm talking in particular about the Luxury Blue, and the Noodler's standard Blue.

 

James P.

[pvdiamon]

The Noodler's inks I've used in my Charleston have all been very good in terms of flow, but they do tend to creep all over the nib, which some people find unsightly. I'm talking in particular about the Luxury Blue, and the Noodler's standard Blue.

 

Did the creep end up all over the cap, eventually making you rinse it out?

 

John