First Waterman 52

[praxim]

I will have a look at it, not yet having checked how it works.

[praxim]

The 52 has now departed these shores, for NZ.

[texascharlie]

My experience is that a New York Waterman nib is not a throwaway. It is worth attention.

[Cryptos]

****UPDATE***

 

 

Okay, it's been a bit of a saga.

 

After the pair of Waterman's headed off to Australia I had assumed that I had seen the last of them, and that my abortive attempts at both acquisition and repair of this brand was well and truly over.

 

Not so!

Praxim fitted the 52 with a new barrel and sac and offered to send it back across the ditch to New Zealand. Despite my initial misgivings I had to accept. Well, the pen arrived yesterday (local time, Friday). I duly filled it up with Lamy Black and the pen wrote... for about two sentences. Hmm. Lifted the lever - resistance! No ink expelled. Most odd.

 

Clearly there was a blockage. As I was in the process of cleaning up another pen I added this one to the queue.

 

Removing the section did not help. Sac half full of ink not able to pass the ink down the feed. Only one thing for it. I removed the sac (carefully of course) and dumped the ink. Applicaton of a pipette showed that not even air was getting through the section.

 

Right, so now I am in totally unfamiliar territory. Nothing for it but to remove the section and feed. After watching a couple of YouTube videos on how to do this I was able to pull the nib out. That left the feed. Not budging. Man, they say, is the supreme tool user. Okay, perhaps I'm not the best example of that but I have my moments... honestly! I was able to use two small pieces of 1 by 1 inch wood, a strip of rubber and a Leatherman pliers tool to make a rudimentary knock-block. McGuyver, eat yer heart out

 

I used a Torx bit as my driver. After a couple of mighty whacks gentle taps I had the feed out and no damage done. Feed was blocked solid. A good scrub of everything later and I have the problem of getting it all back in. I pinched the nib and feed together and shoved them in by hand. I could not get the back of the feed closer than 1mm to the back of the section, but you know it doesn't seem so bad. The nib is a little further out than when I first saw it. I think it looks better. (note: the bottom of the number "2" originally was level with the front of the section - see post #10 of this thread)

 

Cleaned the sac and shellacked it back on. Waited... 40 minutes later reassembled the pen and stuck it in some Diamine Florida Blue for a feed.

 

Here it is:

 

 

 

My thanks to Praxim for being such a good sport in this venture.

[Cryptos]

ps. having the nib out allowed me to have a go at adjusting it properly.

 

Also, I have to check my Lamy Black now to see if there is some kind of sludge in it, eek!

[praxim]

Sorry to hear that there was a problem but pleased it is working at last. I have a couple of extra comments. Before I fitted the sac, I could blow through the section and feed, or so it seemed. Therefore, the problem may have been over-enthusiastic shellacking by me leaving dried particles in the sac, as an alternative to sludgy ink. This could explain why the pen filled but did not write for long. Secondly, and open to other people's practices, I normally give shellac at least overnight to cure, the difference getween dry time and cure time for any glue. A reason for this is that I noticed the sac on it when it arrived with me pulled off with only elastic resistance, possibly from early inking after shellacking.

 

Anyway, I suspect we have created something of a record where three repairs in two different countries with parts imported from two other countries have been needed to get a working 52. For that alone this is now, officially, a notable pen!

[Cryptos]

Indeed it is

 

I hadn't thought about the possibility of shellac getting into the sac proper. Don't recall seeing anything come out with the ink. More inclined to think it's a sludgy ink problem. Something to consider anyway.

 

On top of everything else I have learned a few things, about pens, pen people, and my tool-using capabilities!

[Rednaxela]

Very nice EoC, congratulations on the working pen!

[RMN]

Good to hear. And the result is a nib apparently able to allow some flex, although of course I don't know how much pressure was needed for that.....

 

 

D.ick

[Cryptos]

Very nice EoC, congratulations on the working pen!

 

Ah, mostly it was Praxim's work. I just did a bit of fiddling at the end, i.e. after the tricky bits had been done.

 

 

Good to hear. And the result is a nib apparently able to allow some flex, although of course I don't know how much pressure was needed for that.....

 

 

D.ick

 

Not a great deal as it happens. It is about as flexible as my Pilot Custom 912 FA nib. It's softer than a Zebra G dip nib, though without the range of course.

 

 

 

PS. the frustrating thing for me with regard to vintage pens is that if I could find a decent ef/xf that was nicely brush-like I would actually use it for regular correspondence. These things are not ornaments to me.

[marcoavi]

$20 dlls ... just for the nib is a good deal

[Cryptos]

Okay, obviously I never learn. Must be a genetic thing perhaps?

 

Anyway, I saw a beat up 52 on the 'Bay - no cap, much faded body, the part of the lever box nearest the nib end missing - you know, a piece of rubbish the likes to which I seem to be magnetically drawn.

 

Still it had a serviceable looking nib. What do you think?

 

 

The price? Um, $15, and it was local (nationally), which something of a surprise.

 

I thought it might be a better replacement for the piece of bent tin nib I have in my Waterman's Dog's Dinner 52.

 

Last time... honest!

[Uncial]

That nib looks like it is seriously deeply seated*. I've been eyeing this thread from time to time and have enjoyed it and the journey the two Waterman pens took. I love the full size 52's but sadly the price of them has risen and risen and risen over the last few years. I have a nice red ripple example with a wet noodle nib, however the wet noodle has developed a crease over the years and I suspect it will eventually crack and break. It's given an awful lot of good service so I can't begrudge its gradual retirement. I will replace the nib, but even nibs are a shocking price these days and a wet noodle nib is almost the price of a small second hand car.

 

*Sorry, I probably should have explained why this would raise an eyebrow for me. In the past I have bought nibs that are very deeply seated and twice I've been stung in the sense that deeply seating the nib can be used as a way to hide an issue. One nib I had was corroded and cracked (despite being gold it looked like it was torn like paper) at the opposite end of the point and deeply seating it hid the corrosion. The other had clearly had someone attempt to flex it extremely aggressively and they had put a bend in it at the point where the nib meets the grip. They straightened it out again (rather crudely) and then shoved the nib in as far as they could to hide the damage. I'm not saying all deeply seated nibs are hiding something, but it is worth considering.

Edited September 28, 2016 by Uncial

[RMN]

Agree with Uncial. That nib is pushed way too deep with the feed showing.

 

But, for 15 NZ$ it's no big loss.You could remove nib and feed and have a look at it and see if it fits in your other project.

 

Some people get very nice pens by amassing several of these "rubbish" pens and combining the good parts. At the very least it can teach you how to take a pen apart. (I know you have done that before..)

 

Happy playing

 

 

D.ick

[Cryptos]

Yeah, the nib seating did give me pause for thought. Having said that, I have seen a number of nibs that are set deeply that are not damaged. I realise it's a bit of a gamble, but at this price it was worth it as a fact finding thing. I was more interested in the shape and sweep of the tines which, assuming correct photo perspective, may be more flexible than the one I currently have.

[Cryptos]

Okay,the pen - or what's left of it - arrived today. Now that I am home I've had a close look. The body is, as expected, sporting a broken lever box. Ah well, I bought it for the nib. So, what about that deeply seated nib?

 

Here it is, pulled.

 

 

It's undamaged - what looks like a crease is just a lighting effect, sorry for the poor photo.

 

The nib is semi flexible at best, about the same as the one on my clunker 52 but in far nicer condition.

 

I don't know if anyone else does this but I was cleaning the nib - it was covered with gunk - and I found that a piece of blue-tak is a marvellous stain remover!

[Left FPN]

Nice nib indeed. Interesting about the blu-tack and you must add the use to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-Tack

[Rednaxela]

Lovely!

[Cryptos]

Overall it's all a bust.

 

Looking at the pens offered by Nishimura and Aguilar, to name just two examples, I suspect that they are not getting their stock on eBay. I've never seen one like theirs show up without a typically hefty price tag. And considering those prices, and the fact that they have to make a profit, I imagine they are getting their stock at considerably lower prices than what I see.

 

As I have absolutely no way of accessing the same resources they do I am stuck. This will be the last time I try for the 52, it's just not worth the frustration.

[Rednaxela]

Why not try and fix the lever box?