26 replies to this topic

[Lou Erickson]

I've been admiring the Waterman Carene for a while.  The only question left in my mind is "which size nib"?

 

Generally, I've been using vintage "Fine" or Japanese Mediums.  Will a Carane Medium be a lot wider than that, or just a little?  Richard Binder's nib size estimating sheet suggests it might be a little wider, but not hugely.

 

Do the Waterman nibs run very wide?

 

[yamaha_no_46]

I don't have anything to say about the nib size. I remember, maybe 10 years ago, an executive officer of one of our suppliers came in for a meeting. He popped out a Carene with a silver cap, I could not take my eyes off from the pen throughout the meeting. It is surely one of the best looking pens out there. Good luck with your hunt!

Edited by yamaha_no_46, 05 April 2014 - 19:00.

[pajaro]

I have bought three Carenes this year.  One came with a medium, one with a broad (French L), and one with a fine.  Now  two have fines and one an extra fine.  My impression has been that the nibs are more typical of European nibs and not like Japanese nibs.  The medium is generous medium.  Japanese mediums are like a western fine. 

 

The Carene hides the feed within the section.  It tends to stay moist longer uncapped than most pens, and restarts easily.  I have found this to be a large plus.

 

The amber marine finish lured me to these pens, then I liked the green shimmer finish and the blue, all with gold accent finish.  These pens have sidelined a lot of other pens for good.

Edited by pajaro, 05 April 2014 - 22:58.

[nakiana]

I just checked my Carene F against a Faber Castell Ondoro M, a Faber Castell Basic F, and a Gate City Belmont Binderized F.  It was pretty close to the other F nibs and finer than the M, so my experience just now was the same as pajaro's, with the Carene F being about the same as the other western F nibs.

[Lou Erickson]

Hmm.  The only Western nibs I have in anything other than F are from Lamy; I have all their sizes, and have been using them for ink tests.  If the Carane is typical of those sizes, I'd better go with the F, then.

 

Thank you all for the advice!  Off I go to nibs.com to admire the shiny there!  

[Lou Erickson]

Back from nibs.com, having ordered a Vivid Blue Carene in Fine.

 

Thanks for the information, everyone.  I'm sure it'll be lovely.  I can hardly wait!

[womyn]

The >M< in my Carene wrote like a broomstick  

Ordered new grip with >F<- nib, now its very much better.

But the nib and the metallic ornament at the end of the body look misaligned now

The seller told me in nine times of ten,changing nib with grip, it will be so.

I'm ok with this blemish

[pajaro]

I think you will be pleased with the blue pen in fine.  My blue pen has the extra fine nib I bought from nibs.com, and the green shimmer has the fine I bought from nibs.com.  The nibs were perfectly adjusted.

[Force]

womyn....while I have pm'd you here is the picture.

 

There is an alignment adjusting nut on the section.

 

Rotating this nut allows the threaded sleeve to float. When it floats it in turn allows the rotational position of the grip to change relative to the barrels button. Adjust the nut until both nib and button align.

 

 

Top right are the parts disassembled where you can clearly see the floating threaded sleeve.

 

Edited by Force, 06 April 2014 - 18:18.

[RMN]

I knew of the possibilities, but not the details, so I kept silent, fully expecting Force to deliver.

 

I'm not disappointed....

 

 

 

D.ick

[Force]

Thanks D.ick.

 

I always forget to mention the O ring. The one adjacent to the screwed sleeve. In some instances it acts as a locking device i.e. when the nut is 'done up' to gain alignment. When the nut has to be backed off to gain alignment the screwed sleeve remains slack and the O ring does 'nowt'.

 

Interestingly (for some anoraks) I spotted this today. Notice the seal has been put in the wrong position when at tother end of the adapter there is a dedicated groove for it. See my previous 'break down' pic.

Edited by Force, 06 April 2014 - 09:14.

[RMN]

But there appears to be a groove also above the threads that fasten the "nut". In your pic the O-rings are not taken down so you can't see the groove in the shown position.

 

 

D.ick

[Force]

That is the thread runout undercut, here is the groove

Edited by Force, 06 April 2014 - 10:26.

[womyn]

Now I'm delighted - @Force: your hint with photos works great

Thank you so much, now it looks again like a brand-new Carene

[Force]

Now I'm delighted - @Force: your hint with photos works great

Thank you so much, now it looks again like a brand-new Carene

Great news,

 

Ahhh those Waterman section sellers....what do they know.

[Lou Erickson]

The Carene I ordered arrived today.  Got it from John Mottishaw's nibs.com, so it has been checked out and behaves flawlessly.  It's a beautiful pen, and I really like the weight - not too heavy, but heavier than many of my pens.  The blue is lovely, and the fine nib is a pleasing size.  It seems to write well; only a little done so far, but no hard starts or skipping, and nicely smooth.

 

I just noticed I left ink all over the nib after filling it.  Sloppy me.

 

First fill was with Waterman Serenity Blue, which is a new ink for me.  It's a nice color, and seems to flow well.  Thought the two should go together this time.

[balanemate]

i have M nib, which I never use. Then I got F nib (i like thin lines), but it had one problem - not good for pale inks..

So I decided to try ST and now use practically only it. 

My handwriting is small, so I never thought I could possibly use broad nib, but Stub lines are very nice. I love them

 

bn

[jthole]

Thanks for the pictures!

 

Sorry for kicking up an old post, but I do not see exactly how this works, and what I'm supposed to turn

 

The section of my brand new Carène is also slightly misaligned with the back of the pen, so I'd like to correct that.

[Force]

View post #9. The brass item above NUT...is just by luck, the nut  . This has to be rotated clockwise or counter clockwise to set the position. It may be very stiff as I believe in some cases a lock compound is applied to it. Never the less with a pair or rubber gloves or other form of protective grip used that nut should rotate.

[jthole]

View post #9. The brass item above NUT...is just by luck, the nut  . This has to be rotated clockwise or counter clockwise to set the position. It may be very stiff as I believe in some cases a lock compound is applied to it. Never the less with a pair or rubber gloves or other form of protective grip used that nut should rotate.

 

Ahh ... that was too easy, thanks!

 

It is a gorgeous pen, btw (I got the black with CT trim one)