Do All Levers On Waterman's 55's Click?

[toggle67]

Hello wonderful folks of FPN, and Waterman's people in particular,

 

I finally joined FPN and am tickled beyond belief. After 27 years I'm back into vintage fountain pens with a vengeance - why I stopped is beyond my comprehension.

 

Recently I bought a 55 in Red Ripple, and a daily driver in BCHR, both with fantastic flex nibs (the BCHR is an oblique italic - I'm thrilled). The lever on my black 55 "locks" and has a satisfying click when it is pushed back into the barrel, lying nice and flush with the surface of the barrel. The Red Ripple one does not lock / click, and in fact, doesn't quite go all the way down to become flush with the barrel when depressed. The black one has a New York nib and a latex sac, the ripple a reg. pat. off. nib (later) and silicone sac. Both have 'clip cap' clips rather than the later Waterman's, so I'm guessing that the BCHR one is from as early as 1917 (because of the nib and clip cap), and the ripple one about 1926 0r 1927. I'm wondering: did Waterman's stop making the levers lock and click after a certain date, or is there something funky going on with my ripple 55? Thanks a million to anyone who can solve this mystery!

[praxim]

All I can offer to that is a data point for the sample: the lever on my BCHR 55 clicks as it closes (not as it opens).

[toggle67]

All I can offer to that is a data point for the sample: the lever on my BCHR 55 clicks as it closes (not as it opens).

That's exactly what my BCHR one does, but not the red ripple.

[pen tom]

Your question got me curious so I checked.

 

I have three 55s. All three click when closing. Not when opening.

[Vintagepens]

Your Ripple's filling mechanism would appear to be out of adjustment, with something preventing the lever from moving fully into its resting position.