Can A Vintage Waterman's Nib & Feed Be Fitted On A Modern One?

[qkoexz]

I have a great (possibly stupid) idea of getting a Waterman 52V pen for the flex goodness, but can't get over the lever filler system, which really does not ring well with me.

Ideally I'd like to somehow modify it to take the Pilot CON 70 for the awesome capacity, but I don't know where to start with that.

 

Can the nib and feed of a Waterman 52 1/2 V, for example, be fitted to any modern Waterman model? I am really unfamiliar with Waterman pens so I would have no idea where to look.

If so, what model or line of models?

[Bo Bo Olson]

I don't know.

 

Lever system works very well. I started out with lever, back in the days of the silver dime The fastest filling system, dip in bottle, lever twice and clean pen. Been great since 1912 when Sheaffer invented that. The Conklin was similar but more awkward.

 

Soennecken and MB had to be dragged kicking away from the Lever, when Pelikan perfected the Piston pen in @ 1928-9. So the Lever is a great way to fill a pen....holds more than your cartridge and or converter.

 

 

Your prejudice will keep you away from many wonderful pens. No pretty Esties... .Esterbrooks....so many other pretty pens.

 

Are you also prejudiced against, Vac's, touchdowns and the rest?

 

You can send your modern pen to Pendleton Brown to get it made very flexible...you would need a fast feed for a good flexible nib.

 

Well at least you know to keep the feed... Flexible nibs with fast flowing feeds go through ink. Your converter won't hold enough ink, make sure your pen can hold a big cartridge.

[Spire]

One of the members sells ebonite pens that are manufactured in India. They are able to fit some vintage nibs to their pens. I do not know if a he can accommodate you. Contact him if somebody viewing this can come up with his name.

 

The new nibs can be flexed but a vintage Watermans nib will always be a pleasure to write with.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/247215-please-suggest-me-an-indian-pen/

 

This link may also help

Edited June 11, 2013 by Spire

[kernando]

I hope not, because it's not that good an idea. A complete pen is a complete pen. If you don't want it, don't buy it. Somebody else wants it, and will buy it. Even if you find a chipped cap and cracked barrel without a lever, somebody else could use the nib, feed, section, etc.

 

There's also nothing wrong with sacs and levers. And there's nothing special about old Waterman. You could go for equally old pens and have good chances of flexible nibs.

 

If you want capacity, go for an old eyedropper. If you want a con-70 with a flexible nib, get a Pilot Custom 742 or 743 with Falcon (FA) nib. The rinsing of a the feed is slower with a con-70.

[playtime]

I'd contact Mauricio Aguilar at vintagepen. Not only does he offer superlative vintage pens; he also offers modified modern pens with vintage nibs.

[novarider]

What don't you like about lever fill pens?

[At Midnight]

Please let us know if you suceed. I will like to try it as well

[vonfilm]

My problem with lever fill pens is the ones I have don't hold much ink and I have to refill every couple of days. I have some Waterman 52 ans 52 1/2 and some vintage Maby Todds. I guess I need to find a vintage eyedropper.

[NedC]

Oh, corroded J-bars, torn sacs, stained shirts. And you never really seem to just how full, or not, they are. Many things not to like about lever, and most other sac fillers, the only sac fillers I really trust would be something like a Parker 51.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Yep after 30-40 years you have to replace a rubber sac. I did have one that lasted 60-63 years. Date of Esterbrook pen, and it hung around my uncle-aunt in-law's drawer for decades...15 years by me before I got back into fountain pens. Lasted three years before it mushed out.

 

Replacing a J-bar is first level pen repair, same with sac's.

Do go surfing the Esterbrook section...or repair section.

 

When one buys a lever pen that has not been restored by some one reputable; expect to refurbish it your self or send it to some one who can.

It's part of the rules.

 

To freak out because it's a lever pen, instead of a cartridge pen...well, I grew up with lever pens, and don't remember one soaking a shirt of mine...of course that was pre-break dance.

 

Shame you want to rein the better pen, for some modern junk.