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Waterman Carene?


Meltemi

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I am thinking of buying a next-level fountain pen (No flex. For now). I have been going through a lot of fountain pen models, searching for reviews etc but I can not decide. What I am looking for is a pen that is comfortable to hold in order to write for pages and writes smoothly. I have seen some Carene and I have to say that they are very positive. Any other recommendations of similar price range? Any experiences on the Carene? I found it cheaply on Zafeiriou for 200 eu. Better price suggestions are welcome.

I like flowers, mother of pearl, dip nibs, blue, green or red inks. I also like flowers, Frida Kahlo's paintings and Josephine Baker's songs. Did I mention flowers and mother of pearl?

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The Carene is a well balanced pen that I can write with all day - but it is a heavy pen (but so well balanced that I don't notice this), and not for everyone. Can you visit a shop, club or pen show to try before you buy?

 

What do you currently have?

What do you like about it?

What do you dislike about it?

 

With more information, we may be able to suggest some other alternatives.

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Well... I can't aparently. I had a parker Sonnet with a steel nob which was nice but found the M too broad, i have a Reform with an F nib which is nice, a parker 21 but I find it a dry pen, a Jinhao x450 which I find uncomfortable.

 

I like the wetness of the jinhao and its smoothness, the Reform pen is my favorite as the nib is smooth and it is light, I like the design of the Parker 21.

I like flowers, mother of pearl, dip nibs, blue, green or red inks. I also like flowers, Frida Kahlo's paintings and Josephine Baker's songs. Did I mention flowers and mother of pearl?

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I have two Carenes both with tine nibs. As to weight, they are about the same weight as my Sonnet Black Lacquer but are somewhat fatter. The fine nib is very smooth, has a good flow and is about the same width as the fine nib on my Sonnet. The pens are comfortable to use and are well-balanced whether posted or not. The only drawback with them so far as I am aware is the tendency for ink creep up the horns of the nib, but this isn't really a problem unless you hold the section very low down when writing. One of mine did develop a small amount of creep but I got it repaired/replaced under warrenty. EUR 200 seems about right - my black and silver deluxe cost me £179 but the black/gold was only £89 from Amazon. Excellent pens - I would recommend them.

Favourite pens in my collection (in alpha order): Caran d'Ache Ecridor Chevron F and Leman Black/Silver F; Parker 51 Aerometric M and F; Parker 61 Insignia M, Parker Duofold Senior F; Platinum #3776 Century M; Sailor 1911 Black/Gold 21 Kt M; Sheaffer Crest Palladium M/F; Sheaffer Prelude Silver/Palladium Snakeskin Pattern F; Waterman Carene Deluxe Silver F

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Good pens, I have 3 with 2 stub nibs which I love.

 

200 seems to be the going price in Europe.

 

I just want to draw your attention on a very pretty one, the "Ombres et Lumière" that goes for 205 EUR on La Couronne du Comte. But possibly you could find that also with other shops.

 

 

D.ick

~

KEEP SAFE, WEAR A MASK, KEEP A DISTANCE.

Freedom exists by virtue of self limitation.

~

 

 

 

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Dear Meltemi,

It used to be that the Zafeiriou store carried the Waterman Carene Island Lagoon along with a Waterman Serenity blue ink for much lower, but this was a promotion for Christmas holidays only. You may want to call them and ask directly, you can ask for Mr. Dimitri who is always willing to help, he is a pen hobbyist himself. The store is run by a second generation bookstore owners and offers a wide selection of fountain pens, inks and paper in prices that is difficult to match elsewhere in the crisis-stricken Greece, at least to my knowledge (no affiliation, just a happy customer).

The only problem I see is that, strangely enough, most fountain pens imported to Greece -Waterman included- come with a Medium nib, which is a shame really, and speaks volumes for the suffering of local fountain pen hobbyists with more special needs.

Like yourself, I too started my fountain pen hobby with a Parker Sonnet M nib which was given to me as a gift. Although a great entry pen to hold, I found it wrote too broad and too wet, and it did not get much usage. Nowadays that I have ground it to an XXF size, it is still wet, but finds more usage in my pen rotation.

For forum people who may not know, your forum name "Meltemi" translates "Sea Breeze" in English, therefore, I wish you may soon find in the shape of the sailing vessel of a Waterman Carene, the fountain pen you are looking for.

Kind Regards,

Photios

Edited by Frank66

- Kaigelu 316 Modification (250 #6 Bock Nib / Beaufort Ink Converter)
- Titanium Bock Nib - Kaigelu 316 - Beaufort Ink

- Bock Rollerball Nib In Jinhao 886 Pen - Beaufort Ink Converter

- No affiliation with pen industry, just a pen hobbyist.

- It matters what you write, only for us it matters what we write it with.

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Thank you so much Photios. The Carene seems to be a good choice, although I prefer lighter pens. It certainly is in my shopping list.

I like flowers, mother of pearl, dip nibs, blue, green or red inks. I also like flowers, Frida Kahlo's paintings and Josephine Baker's songs. Did I mention flowers and mother of pearl?

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Quick update: I found that the Pilot 95s is very similar to the Carene, however it is cheaper and lighter. What about the nib? How does it stack up against the Carene on a general level?

I like flowers, mother of pearl, dip nibs, blue, green or red inks. I also like flowers, Frida Kahlo's paintings and Josephine Baker's songs. Did I mention flowers and mother of pearl?

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The Carene is a nice writing heavy pen. I liked the extra fine better than the fine, medium or broad. The cap does not post, it won't stay posted on the barrel. I have not had any other troubles with the Carene, but I like lighter pens. I prefer the Montblanc 144 or Classique. Pelikan is also better in whatever size you like. Both are lighter than the Carene.

 

I use the Carene in a desk pen base, because it does not dry out this way, as it did for me when I used it as a capped pen.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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I have a Carene with a fine nib. It's one of my favorite pens and a regular in my daily writer rotation. For it's size, it is a bit heavier than others but I like that. It certainly isn't an impediment to prolonged writing. It just makes it feel very solid and well made.

Ink has something in common with both money and manure. It's only useful if it's spread around.

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Picked up a Black and Gold medium nib one in the Amazon Black Friday sale last year (November/December 2015) for ... £63 :)

 

Really enjoy using it (with J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage ink). Only catch I find it when I fill it, if I do not eject a small amount of the ink and draw in some air I end up with an ink blot, if if it realeases in the cap, green fingers. THis only happens once after each fill and only if I forget to empty as little as it does not seem to like being over-filled.

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The Carene is a nice writing heavy pen. I liked the extra fine better than the fine, medium or broad. The cap does not post, it won't stay posted on the barrel. I have not had any other troubles with the Carene, but I like lighter pens. I prefer the Montblanc 144 or Classique. Pelikan is also better in whatever size you like. Both are lighter than the Carene.

 

I use the Carene in a desk pen base, because it does not dry out this way, as it did for me when I used it as a capped pen.

 

Sorry your Carenes won't post. I have 3 and they all post with great balance.

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It sounds like something is wrong with the pen. A manufacturing error maybe. It sounds strange how such a pen will not post correctly.

I like flowers, mother of pearl, dip nibs, blue, green or red inks. I also like flowers, Frida Kahlo's paintings and Josephine Baker's songs. Did I mention flowers and mother of pearl?

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Perhaps there's some grease or some thing on the body or inside the cap - I mean just a little, enough to remove enough friction to prevent the cap posting properly.

 

Perhaps also you have a larger hand and the crook pushes the cap backwards and off as you write ?

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Sorry your Carenes won't post. I have 3 and they all post with great balance.

How? I couldn't get them to stay on the barrel.

 

And, that's four of them, black GT, amber marine, sea garden and bright blue.

Edited by pajaro

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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The Carenne was my "entry drug" into the world of fountain pens. It is till a favorite of mine in all aspects.

 

Post Script

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I got it! It is beatiful and writes very smoothly. It is perfect, I am glad I bought this pen!

I like flowers, mother of pearl, dip nibs, blue, green or red inks. I also like flowers, Frida Kahlo's paintings and Josephine Baker's songs. Did I mention flowers and mother of pearl?

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Congrats, so glad you got your new Waterman Carene. Could you share with us, which nib did you finally get it? Did you manage to get a good deal for it? I am too thinking of obtaining a Carene, the only Watermans I have are, one Waterman Phileas F, and a Waterman Expert II M nib which I have proudly ground to an XXF. I am attaching pics and writing samples below, although mine are not a Carene, hopefully one day soon I may get one. Regards, Photios

 

http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah12/phzervas/IMG_0605_zpsdo4trizq.jpg

http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah12/phzervas/FullSizeRender_zpsai8a0imd.jpg

Edited by Frank66

- Kaigelu 316 Modification (250 #6 Bock Nib / Beaufort Ink Converter)
- Titanium Bock Nib - Kaigelu 316 - Beaufort Ink

- Bock Rollerball Nib In Jinhao 886 Pen - Beaufort Ink Converter

- No affiliation with pen industry, just a pen hobbyist.

- It matters what you write, only for us it matters what we write it with.

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The Carene extra fine is a delightful nib with a truly extra fine line. This is the one I use, perched in a Sheaffer Imperial's desk pen base. This way it never runs dry unless it is out of ink. In a desk pen base a nice, decently heavy pen like this feels perfect.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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Congrats, so glad you got your new Waterman Carene. Could you share with us, which nib did you finally get it? Did you manage to get a good deal for it? I am too thinking of obtaining a Carene, the only Watermans I have are, one Waterman Phileas F, and a Waterman Expert II M nib which I have proudly ground to an XXF. I am attaching pics and writing samples below, although mine are not a Carene, hopefully one day soon I may get one. Regards, Photios

 

http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah12/phzervas/IMG_0605_zpsdo4trizq.jpg

http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah12/phzervas/IMG_0610_zpslrp6gvay.jpg

 

Here's another idea for the Phileas. The 18K L'etalon nib fits into a Phileas perfectly. I was able to find an extra fine L'etalon nib for one of my Phileas pens, and that really adds something. The extra fine nib did cost about $70 shipped.

 

If you have a Laureat or Laureat II with a corroded or otherwise less than optimal nib, the Expert II nibs will fit Laureats. I put a couple of two tone Expert II EF nibs into two Laureat IIs. It is quite pleasing.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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