Waterman's Ideal #14

[griffon]

Going thru my parent's estate I came upon a Waterman's Ideal fountain pen that I would like identified. I know nothing about fountain pens so forgive me if I misname something! On the side of the pen it says "Waterman's Ideal Fountain Pen N.Y. Pat'd May 23, 1899 & Aug 4, 1903 USA

On the end of the pen is #14

The nib is marked Waterman's Ideal New York 4

 

Thank you in advance for any info you can give me.

[ohtoulouz]

Going thru my parent's estate I came upon a Waterman's Ideal fountain pen that I would like identified. I know nothing about fountain pens so forgive me if I misname something! On the side of the pen it says "Waterman's Ideal Fountain Pen N.Y. Pat'd May 23, 1899 & Aug 4, 1903 USA

On the end of the pen is #14

The nib is marked Waterman's Ideal New York 4

 

Thank you in advance for any info you can give me.

Well,

 

it is quite easy: it is a Waterman #14. In Waterman numbering system, #1 stands for "eyedropper" and #4 is the size of the nib. If you want to use it, you have to unscrew the section from the barrel (the section is the last inch- or so- of the pen where the nib is plugged into. Do not force if it is difficult to unscrew) and fill the pen with ink, using an eyedropper or a syringe. It is a nice and old pen (beginning 1900, I think), quite valuable... and a good starting point to begin collecting Waterman pens!

 

Hope that helps,

 

Pierre.

[hawkgnat]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know why it isn't marked 614 or 0614 to identify the bands?

[rhr2010]

I have several #12 with bands and they are marked just #12. I think they added additional digit in front on the later models. Going back to the #14 in question, it is very beautiful. It retains a black color with minimal oxidation from what I can see. The nib should be a #4, you should check. Many times you find #14 pens with #2 nibs, that were probably swapped during a repair. If you can unsrew the section you should soak it in water with some dishwasher and flush it running sme water through it. You should shine up the nib and the golden bands. It will make a great pen, likely with a flexible nib. I sue daily a red mottled #15, that recently required some tuning, but it makes a great writer. Congratulations on your finding, quite a treasurable heirloom!

[ohtoulouz]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know why it isn't marked 614 or 0614 to identify the bands?

 

I was told that pen from the very early 1900's did not follow the "normal" numbering: [0(gold filled)]6(two bands)1(eyedropper taper cap)4(nib size).

I do not know if it is true or not.

 

Pierre.

[Johnny Appleseed]

Prior to 1918, Waterman was not consistant with the use of the hundreds-place numbering system. Prior to that there was a series of suffixes to denote the configuration of overlays or bands, but these were not imprinted in the end of the barrel. This does make it a little harder to identify Waterman bands from after-market or jewler-installed bands. It also seems that Waterman was inconsistent when they adopted all of the hundreds-place numbers - I think the 412 shows up earlier than some other designations.

 

The "catalog" designation of this pen would be 14 G.M. (for Gold Mounted - ie two bands). The same pen with a single gold band would be 14 G.M.M. (Gold Mounted Middle). Silver Filagree would be 14 Fil.

 

Keep in mind that most of the Waterman eyedroppers we encounter will be from prior to the new numbering system. While Waterman is believed to have continued to provide the 1x pens for well after that, the market was dominated by self-fillers.

 

This particular pen probably dates 1903 - 1918, but that is only a rough date. Without a clip I doubt you could get much closer.

 

John

[griffon]

What should be used to polish the bands and the nib?

[Johnny Appleseed]

I use the Sunshine polishing cloth sold by Richard Binder - here.

 

I am sure others will suggest other products.

 

However, be very careful in cleaning the pen - any significant exposure to water can cause the hard rubber to fade significantly.

 

Am I correct in guessing you are more interested in selling this pen than using it? Or just keeping it as an heirloom? It should be usable with minimal restoration.

 

John

[griffon]

I use the Sunshine polishing cloth sold by Richard Binder - here.

 

I am sure others will suggest other products.

 

However, be very careful in cleaning the pen - any significant exposure to water can cause the hard rubber to fade significantly.

 

Am I correct in guessing you are more interested in selling this pen than using it? Or just keeping it as an heirloom? It should be usable with minimal restoration.

 

John

[griffon]

I don't want to use it as I'm worried about damaging the pen. I've been trying to take it apart and haven't been successful. I would like to clean it up and display it. It was ignored for too many years in a box of miscellaneous stuff. Time to be enjoyed.

[rhr2010]

Griffon, first of all the pen can be used and should be used. Eyedroppers can be brought back to life with minimal effort. It should not be the pen to put in your pocket when you go grocery shopping, but it can sit on your desk inked for when you write a letter or your thoughts on paper...you can use a eyedryer to warm up the section that wil unsrew from the body. For peace of mind, you can send it for a tune up to a professional and it should be an easy job.

 

In cleaning nibs and bands I am personally very pleased to use the micro gloss mildly abrasive liquid. You can buy in kits with micro mesh sheets or by itself. Tryphon web site sells it as a stand alone. It was originally designed to take away micro scratches on airplanes windows. I use it on gold and metals and also on bodies of various plastics. I use it also to clean bodies of hr pens. Go easy with it because it is still an abrasive and takes away a microscopic portion of surface. If you use it on cheap plated surfaces, you ruin them and expose the underlying base metal. I run on the surface a tooth brash at the end that removes all the residues.

[Johnny Appleseed]

I would second the notion that it can be used safely, though I also respect the desire to keep it on display as a family heirloom.

 

Basic restoration is no more than getting the section to come unscrewed from the body. The threads are probably glued on with dried ink. A gentle warming with a hair-dryer can help. So might a little water on the threads. After that you can carefully rinse out the barrel and swab it with a Q-tip, rinse the section/nib/feed till the ink is out, and re-fill it with fountain pen ink.

 

However, these often have badly clogged feeds, which takes a little more work, and there can be issues with the nib and the nib/feed set. That might be worth a trip to a professional. There are also some techniques to re-blacken the faded hard rubber, though there is a fair amount of controversey around that practise.

 

Either way, enjoy this little piece of history!

 

John

[TomR]

This is a late reply to this post...but might save somebody some heartache in the future. The advice is this: don't put the barrel or cap of hard rubber pens in water - instant discoloration will surely follow. Sections and feeds are ok, but only briefly to clear out crud. Use some of the cleaning/polishing methods mentioned in this thread.

[Rhetrx]

Thank you all for the guidance on these Waterman pens. I have found a Waterman 13, with no clip or banding, among random family ephemera. Now I know that it isn't meant to have a bladder or lever, and I can experiment with using an eyedropper pen!

 

Rhet