Search the Community

I recently acquired a nice set of Waterman products in a Waterman pouch. I know the fountain pen is a Waterman MAN 100, but wonder if the pencil and ballpoint accompanying the fountain pen are also MAN 100. The ballpoint and pencil are both slightly smaller than the fountain pen and the pencil has a black background with a gold W on the cap end, while the fountain pen and the ballpoint have a gold background with a black W. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

I use a number of Waterman inks, which I think are fairly unique and much beloved. But today at my B&M store I was told that they are going to phase out Waterman inks and I was shocked. Here is what they told me to be the reasons: 1.) They stock less and less Waterman pens. 2.) Customers complain that the ink is too thin and just runs through the feed too quickly. Well, in my experience Waterman inks belong to the most well-behaved in the business. I've never had any problems with them at all and I use a very wide range of pens from the 1920s to current. So, what's really behind it? Do you have similar experience? Do you have problems with Waterman inks when not writing with a Waterman pen? Could it be that the ink is too cheap compared to the insane prices of the other inks they carry (GvFC, Montblanc, Cd'A, Pelikan Edelstein)?

I love writing with Waterman's mysterious blue ink and used it for years. But now it's increasingly difficult to find where I live and so I wonder if anybody here, knowing the original by Waterman, could suggest a good replacement. Is there anything similar by Diamine (a brand easy to find here)? Your suggestions are very much appreciated.

In this post I will review the Waterman Expert Deluxe Fountain Pen. The one which I have has a fine nib. Official Product Link of the pen Flipkart Link from where I bought the pen Background: I have been using the Waterman Expert for more than 3 years. It is my second waterman pen. Prior to this I had owned the Waterman Phileas and being really satisfied with that I decided to go in for another waterman. This pen also has the fine nib like my Phileas. This was also the most expensive pen in my collection at the time of purchase. In short I had a lot of expectations from this pen even before I had tried it out. Appearance & Design (1-10) - 8/10 - An appealing design. I went in for the deluxe version in black colour. It has a metallic cap with chrome finish. It has five horizontal bands and has a sloping top. The clip has a slit in the middle just like any other waterman. You can also find waterman and paris written at the base of the cap in white over a black band. The barrel is black lacquer over a metal body and has chrome bands to match the cap. It has a steel nib which also matches the cap colour. Overall the pen has only two colours - chrome and black and they are well-coordinated. As a whole the pen follows a cigar shape with it being wide at the middle and narrower at the ends. The grip section is comfortable to hold with the width increasing just above the nib to prevent your fingers from slipping. The pen looks upmarket and has a good design. Construction & Quality (1-10) - 8/10 - The pen is solidly built. The construction quality is good and the pen feels solidly built. There is nothing much to complain and the pen can handle some abuse. (I have never this pen so I don't know what would happen).Even after 3 years of fairly regular use this pen is in good condition. I am happy with the construction. Weight & Dimensions (1-10) - 9/10 - Balanced when unposted. The weight of the pen feels just right. It is neither very heavy nor can you call it light. I have fairly big hands and the pen fits in well posted as well as unposted. This pen is thicker than its sibling, the waterman hemisphere. Personally I find the thickness of the pen to be just right and the hemisphere is too slim for me. This pen has a very heavy cap so I prefer to write with the cap unposted. Having the cap posted seems to alter the balance for the worse and it feels as if you have to hold the pen in your its position rather than it naturally resting in your hand. Nib & Performance (1-10) - 10/10 - Wonderful Nib. The pen I have is with a Fine nib. The nib is made out of steel and there is nothing fancy about it. It is a relatively small in size. What you expect from a nib depends from person to person and this is subjective so one should always take this with a pinch of salt. Here is my opinion... Of all the fine nibs that I have ever tried this is the best. I bought this pen after using the Waterman phileas. That was also a fine nibbed pen and I went for this with similar expectations. The nib is smooth and fast. There have been no issues with any of the inks that I have used with this pen. Being a fine nib the inks are very quick to dry. However off the box the nib was not as smooth and you need to give it some time, write some pages with it and then it shows its true colours. Being a fast and a quick to dry nib it is ideal for note-taking applications or where writing speed is an important factor. I really love this nib and this pen has always remained in my circulation thanks to the nib. Filling System & Maintenance (1-10) - 9/10 - Classic reliable converter. The filling system design and the overall maintenance effort involved with the pen is same as that of any other converter based pen. The converter is the standard waterman converter which can be used across almost all their pens around this range. Since the nib is fine it does not use a lot of ink and a single top up can last a fairly long time. Cost & Value (1-10) - 7/10 I bought my pen online in India from flipkart.com. It cost me around Rs. 5400 that is around USD 80. Depending upon the other pens in your collections you may categorise it as average or an expensive pen. I don't think you can call it cheap in any way. At the time of purchase it was the most expensive pen in my collection. For what it costs it is a pretty simple device. It has the classic looks and performs well. Depending on what you expect from this price point you may either by happy or disappointed. Thus, this again is a very subjective score. In my opinion this pen was "expensive" at the time of purchase but after some years of use I feel that the money was well spend and I am satisfied with my investment. Conclusion (Final score [sUM/6]: X) - 8.5/10 It is a wonderful pen. It is not too fancy but has everything that it should have. Feels like a complete package. It is that sort of pen which very few people will dislike and you will need to put in some efforts to find any shortcomings. It is that pen which may not have many "fans" but which is liked by most of its owners. It is a safe bet to go with and I recommend this pen. Link to my blog where this review is posted

I have a Waterman ballpoint and case given to me in the 1970’s. I ask for help in identifying the model and name they assigned to it. I do not see any comparable pens on various websites due to the 2 rings on the bottom portion of the barrel and its tapered curve. The cap snaps on vs. screw on. The widest part of the barrel is 14mm. I cannot find any model number or serial number on it. The top of the cap is at an angle and has the W logo imprinted on it. Anyone have any ideas? See photos please.

Hello to all of you! I'm from Poland. I'm new here, and i would like to find some information about this stuff. While cleaning the basement i've found box with pencilcases on the photos. I have 5 of them sealed and one was slightly damaged. There are mathematical instruments as on photos. Do you know something about them? When they were made, sold, or are they valuable? Thanks for all the answers

Hi, I purchased a Waterman Fountain Pen Phileas Kultur Iridescent Blue Fountain Pen last September on eBay, and bought a waterman converter on Amazon. It has always been a bit of a tough starter to get the ink flowing, but recently, when I thought it just was being stubborn, I opened up the barrel to find it full of ink and the converter empty. I cleaned it out and reseated the converter, and it happened again. I do carry the pen around in a case with my sailor pen in my backpack, but the sailor is fine, and the waterman will not hold its ink, suddenly. (It doesn't get as much use as the Sailor does.) I'm wondering if it's the pen or the converter. Can I tell if it's a real Waterman? I suppose if it seems to be I should just try another converter? Is Amazon generally trustworthy on that sort of thing or are there inferior products out there too? I only used both sources as my usual pen shops didn't have the pen at the time, and lower Manhattan & NJ were in the midst of an apparent converter drought.... Anyone have similar experience with this particular pen? Thanks!

Hey everyone, I am new to these forums and I have to say I have enjoyed reading thoroughly throughout the forums about Waterman pens, however I did not come across many topics about the kind of 'lower end' (if you might) Waterman Pens and I was wondering, what do you guys think about the Hemisphere and then the Expert, and is it worth the extra money for the Expert? I am not a beginner, I have been writing with fountain pens from the age of around 9, but I have not had chance to purchase a nice pen, and I LOVE watermen pens in general. So expert advice from people who may or may not have these pens would be nice What are your thoughts? And thanks

Reposted from an old topic: Maybe this entry deserves a new topic (if I don't get an answer, I'm going to do that: or would someone do that for me or move it to a better place if they think it would be better), but I'm just to use the same title, "Help Identifying Waterman Pens"... I don't have, but want acquire, a particular model of Waterman fountain pen, well, technically it was a cartridge pen becauase it didn't come with bottle filler. This model was extant in the very late seventies or early eighties, although it could have been made outside that period as well. The one I had was a silver coloured smooth metal (stainless steel). I have included a picture of what remember is an identical model (except the picture is of a bottle-filler). The features I would point out are i) the almost cylindrical shape of the capped pen, squarely cut at the cap end, and barrel slightly tapering toward the end ii) the characteristic 'W' shape of the ink flow assembly where the nib is seen to enter the pen (not clear from the picture, unless it is magnified up). Can anyone ID this model ? It might finding another easier if I had a name. InkPartout 28.March.2019 31.March.2019

Hi guys, I would be very grateful if someone could help me identify the model of this fountain pen that I received back in 1981. "Waterman" and underneath that "Made in France" are engraved on the lid. Many thanks, ElColt

Hello, Does anyone know what year this pen was manufactured? Would like to know whether Ideal nibs came with round breathers as opposed to heart shaped breathers. I purchased this pen from the internet. While the seller's flexing examplar shows flexing, I was not able to get as much flex when I wrote with the pen. I did not want to spring the nib. Also, the pen was listed as a super flex (see writing examplar attached) but it has virtually no bounce. I would say it is a semi flex like a 344 Montblanc, or a No. 2 Eversharp Skyline. Any other information on this set will be greatly appreciated. I am aware that "flexing" is very subjective and depends on the pressure applied. However, I don't think this is a super flex. I decided to keep the pen because it has been very well maintained, and was recently serviced, as per the seller. The nib is very smooth and lays down plenty of ink. The nib is approximately 3/4 of an inch. It says Watermans and has the word IDEAL right under the Watermans, and it has a 14K stamp underneath the word IDEAL. The shoulders wrap around the nib and the feeder is smooth. The seller advertised it as a No. 4. Along the barrel are the words Waterman's Made in Canada and the third line reads: Fountain Pen. The clip has the word Watermans stamped on it. The top of the clip has a smooth round gold colored circle. The bottom tip has 5 circles within circles in sequential sizes. It has its original hard leatherette case, dark blue with a gold cloth lining in the interior. The pen and pencil set rest on a ribbed pattern gold satin type material. The set is held in place by two elastic small bands. In the upper inside cover, it has the words "Waterman's" in a Times Roman font with tilted as. The cap also reads: Watermans Manufactured in Canada.The colors are very vibrant and very rich. The pattern has various double lines which give the optical ellusion that they are indented, but in reality the pen is very smooth both on the barrel and cap. Not sure whether this set is a Lady Patricia. The Lady Patricia sets circa 1930 have different clips and the ones that I have seen on the internet have a silver globe looking insert on the cap. Again, any and all information will be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Fernando77

Ideal Canada 2 Nib n1087, can anyone give me any info on this pen? is the #2 ideal Canadian still flexy like a a ideal 52 #2 nib?

hi guys. just joined the "FPN" after i was looking for this pen my dad had bought back in the 90s. growing up, we used fountain pens at school. i almost always had a parker vector (which i kept on loosing) or a bunch of hero (parker 51 look alike) pens while my sister had an actual parker 51. i was going through our old boxes and came across a pen set that my dad had picked up at an expo back around 1997. it was a "pen quest 2000" all steel body ballpoint, roller ball and fountain pen. i looked it up online and it brought me to the fountain pen network where someone had posted pictures of. the one i have is slightly different but it was nice to hear that someone else also had it. i wonder how much it would be worth today. i got back into fountain pens recently and have just ordered my first "fancy" pen. ive ordered a Montblanc 146. this is after i had been experimenting with some local and chinese pens. i currently wish i had kept the fountain pens from back when i was still in school as i really miss the parker vector and the beautiful marble red piston filling waterman i had back in highschool. i didnt really appreciate them back then and i remember i had dropped my waterman on the floor and bent the gold plated nib plus i never liked how it kept on bleeding through the paper i was using at the time. considering the crappy copy paper i was using back then and the fact that the waterman was an absolute gusher. i really wish i had kept it and would have appreciated it more. ive also been experimenting with mixing inks to get more shades. mixed the apache sunset from noodlers with the run of the mill pelican royal blue 4001.....it gave me a really vibrant olive green somehow. has anyone else experimented with ink mixing? or am i just wasting the expensive inks?! haha im thinking about experimenting with food coloring and see if i can come up with some unique shades (for much cheaper price) good to be on here. hopefully i can get some of you guys to respond on this.

I bought few days ago NOS Waterman Gentleman FP....unfortunately the converter was not provided , I tried different international converters that I have but they did not fit .... Is there anyone who knows which type of converters does this pen accept and from where I can get one Thanks

What is this pen? What is the brand / producer / origin? What model is this? This is a pen given to me by my father in early 80-ties. I used it for a couple of years as my every day pen. I cannot identify the producer nor the model. Must be produced somewhere in 1970-ties ot late 1960-ties? Much likely to be from China ? Maybe Japan? Maybe someone is able to read the signature on the nib?

Hello, I found this pen for sale on the web, but I cant decide what model it is. It is posted as a "waterman ideal", but on my searches it looks more like a "waterman exclusive", except for the fact that it has a smooth section, and not "grenade" like Does anyone know what model this is, or if it is silver plated or sterling, or a limited edition of the exclusive? The pictures are from the person selling it, not from me.

Just re-sacced this ~hundred year old beauty. It wears it's age better than i do, i think. The imprint on the barrel is crisp and the model number on the cap looks like it says "14 PSP" but i imagine that last character should be an F. It's a little faded; you can see where the cap kept it black. Writes wonderfully (or would if my handwriting wasn't what my 2nd grade teacher described as "the tracks of a drunken chicken staggering home from the bar". http://i64.tinypic.com/bhkh8y.jpg nib appears to have been sprung at some point and corrected possibly? Still writes smoothly with some flex (not wanting to push it too much). http://i68.tinypic.com/254yqsp.jpg

As you may have guessed by the title, this is a review on the Waterman Expert Mk III. Its a pen that is near and dear to my heart, since it got me into this hobby. My parents gave it to me for Christmas. I had asked for a fountain pen because ever since primary school, I had prefered them over ballpoints. I was in my third year of law school, and just wanted a nice looking, high quality pen to use on exams and to accompany me when I would start my carreer. The one I was using before I would now call a Lamy Safari, but back than that name was meaningless to me. They spent hours in Leën, Hasselt trying out different pens and eventually settled on this one because of its business like, understated looks. It was way over budget for a Christmas present but they wanted to give me something that would last. In the end they most of all gave me a new hobby. The pen came packed in a typical Waterman blue clamshell box, which I still consider as one of the nicer fountain pen boxes I have. Its sturdy, with a good quality hinge, thick soft padded interior and a compartiment that contains the warranty information and a Waterman Serenity Blue refill. What it does not come with; a converter. A word of warning, dont get a Waterman converter as I did. They crack easily and operate difficultly. Get a Graf von Faber Castell converter for it, or alternatively a identical one from Pelikan. Being a 135 euro pen, it not shipping with a converter may seem difficult to understand, but as Ill try to demonstrate down below, actually really fits the pen. The design of the pen gets to you in waves. First you notice how bland and boring it looks. This is not a pen for people who want to get noticed. Its a mix of shiny black and matt black, with silver trim. Secondly, you notice just how well the design works. When capped, its a smooth continuous shape that reminds me of a submarine. When you take the cap off, it remains relatively smooth, looking as a pen that was designed not to have a cap at all. The pen can be posted and the cap even snaps on the little silver ring on the barrel. As much as I like the look and the balance of the pen when posted, the cap rotates while writing so I prefer to keep it unposted. Finally, you start noticing the little things that make this pen different. Theres the Waterman logo on the top of the cap, placed on a slope. Its odd, but it works. Theres the typical Waterman clip, with an opening in the middle. Theres the nib, thats small and does not even have a breather hole. Its very featureless, but it compliments the look of the pen brilliantly. Theres the material its made of: metal but with a matte lacquer. Perfect weight, strong and special to the touch. The size is ideal toom though this is of course highly subjective. Especially with slightly smaller hands like mine, it is just very comfortable to hold. I like holding it, uncapping it and in order not to look like an idiot, that means writing with it as well. I had some bad luck. Though I didnt know back then, the nib was overpolished and didnt start properly, ever. Two returns to Waterman and one nib exchange later, the problem was solved. The nib is as hard as a nail. Its ironic how the same company that is known for its old flex pens now makes this. Push as hard as you like, youll damage your table before you see any line variation. Though probaby if thats what youre after, few steel nibs are ideal. The pen behaves beautifully: no more hard starts, it glides over paper and the ink flow is as reliable as can be. One issue it seens to have with coverters (not with cartridges) is ink starvation. I have this same issue with my Van Gogh so maybe its just me but I can never empty a converter without forcing ink in the feed by twisting it halfway through. Apart from that minor nuisance, the pen is a true joy to write with. In the case of this pen, I think the main question is who it is for. The Community is used to demonstrator pens with a vacuum filling system and a replacable nib for half the price of this. You can also find a gold nibbed Platinum 3776 for that same half price. Even the Lamy 2000 is well whitin reach. How dare they ask 135 euros (about 155 dollars) for a cartridge-converter filled, steel nibbed pen? Shouldnt Waterman just stick to making their inks? Not quite. As bad a value as the pen might seem on paper, it is brilliant when you actually put it to paper. Its a design that is going to work for a lot of people who may not necessarily be in this Community, but buy fountain pens out of preference over a ballpoint. They want something that they can use alongside their coworker who has a Montblanc, without the price tag or the flashy look. It blends in a business setting or a clean desk like no other pen I know. Its inoffensive, chique and bland to the casual eye, yet a party for the lucky soul who bought it (or got it for Christmas). I highly doubt they will even notice the lack of a converter, because they will use cartridges anyway. If they show their pen in a pen shop asking which cartridges they need, the seller will likely give them Waterman cartridges. So they will end up with a Community favourite ink without knowing it and the ink starvation issue doesnt happen when using cartridges. I adore this pen, can you tell? As if this review didnt contain enough blasphemy yet, I even got the matching ballpoint and like that as well. It has a great twist mechanism and Watermans proprietary ballpoint refills are very smooth to write with. I hope you enjoyed this review of my gateway pen.

This is a eye-dropper c. 1908 gold filled mod. 0314.

Lewis Edson Waterman, as a child he came with his mother and younger brother and settled in Kankakee and it was in the little old wagon shop, conducted by his brother Elisha S. Waterman, where the first model of Waterman's Ideal Fountain Pen was turned out in wood. With ads we will try to illustrate the history of this early beginning in the little wagon-making shop in Kankakee, and the equally insignificant work-bench at the back of a cigar store on Fulton Street, NY, where pen were made by hand –and the total output then was 200 in a year- to 5,000,000 Waterman´s Ideal sold during 1919.

Just got this Canadian 94 the other day and thought I'd share it with you Waterman fans . Writes as good as it looks and flexes nicely . Eddie

Hi I got this waterman pen at a car boot sale and would like to know more information on it could anyone help me, it has the Waterman logo on the top of the cap and clip, and on the bottom of the pen and nib "Waterman made in France". It also uses cartridges.

Hello everyone, I'm exactly sure where to put this, but repair seems most apt to me. I'm fairly new to FPs, having bought a Pilot Metropolitan F about a year ago, and have especially started using them in the past few months. Apart from my Metro, I have a Waterman Laureat Mk1 M, which was given to me by my mother. She got it in the 90s, and I don't think she really used it more than a few years after that. I'm pretty sure she never even bought more than one bottle of ink. Considering that, it's been sitting in storage for at least a year, if I remember correctly it was not entirely clean either. So, the nib has what I assume is some corrosion on the nib. Overall though, it wrote perfectly fine over the past year, I never even took the nib out, just flushed it with water and soaked it awhile. That is, until I recently purchased a set of random ink samples from Goulet Pens. I got a couple shimmering inks, which is exactly what I didn't want, since the Waterman is only a medium and I tend to only use it once or twice a week. But, I was going to write a letter to a friend, and thought I'd just put the ink in to write it, then clear it out immediately. I used De Atramentis Indian Blue-Copper. Well, I wrote all of one line of carefully constructed greetings, slowly tilting, rolling and flipping the pen all the while before the nib was entirely gunked up. The copper was pooling on top of the nib channel and all underneath it as well, it pretty much entirely stopped writing. Well, I can't give up immediately, so I figured I would take out the nib and feed, clear it up, and try once carefully once more. Maybe the sample, or what I had syringed of it, had an inordinate amount of copper, and there'd be less now. I took it out, wiped the nib and feed off and rinsed it a bit, but didn't entirely 100% clean it since I was going to use the same ink. (Sorry for the bad quality pic, but you get the idea.) Yep. I didn't realise I needed to put it back in in a particular orientation, and in the attempt, after quite awhile, managed to snap the front of the feed off. Not my proudest moment by far. I doubt I can economically (at least relative to the price of another Laureat) or with a good chance of success repair it. It's a fairly clean break, but also a very small surface area to work with. I'm not sure I can glue it (I assume) back together, have it set properly and not just snap again. So, I assume I could buy another and just replace the feed. But, I was also curious if anyone knows of another feed or even entire front end of a pen that can work with the Laureat body and nib. I already contacted Waterman and as expected they stated they were unable to provide any replacement parts. That's about it I think. Just looking for some informed opinions on if I have any alternatives to trying to snag a duplicate, which I'm not even sure how pricey that could end up being. Of course, if anyone here just happened to have a feed or pen, I'd be happy to buy it. Though it didn't get used much, this pen has some history with my mother and I'd hate for it to just become a useless decoration in a box. Thanks for reading. Any input is appreciated, including the scolding I'd expect. I deserve it...

I'm not new to vintage pens, but I don't own any watermans or safety fillers. I noticed this pen on auction site. It is workig condition and has F nib, bit stubbish I would say. So I would really like the nib. But I'm bit hessitant, because price is higher that what I usually pay for my vintage pens, and it is auction starting price is 100 euros (115 dollars) (but usually there is no-one else bidding...). What model this actually is? It is marked as Waterman 42, but I don't trust sellers. How hard are these safety fillers to maintain and restore? How easily they leak? Can they be used as everyday carry? Photos are bit small, they are provided by the seller. Color seems to bit faded. Is pen made of hard rubber? I just can't stand smell of hard rubber, so that would be huge bummer. All info is welcome, it helps me to make well, more educated buy and not regretting it later.

Hello Forgive my question re a ballpoint pen rather than a FP! I have 2 Waterman Panta 4-colour ballpoint pens, and 1 Jif (all from France, 1960s). One of them is gold plated, the other 2 chrome. The ink is dried out. I have spare refills, also dried out. Is there any way these can be "revived" ? I presume Waterman don't sell these refills any more, so are there any other brands that would fit ? Are these pens collector items? I'd be quite prepared to sell them. There are only so many pens I can use or even just look at in one day! thank you very much cheers!