Waterman Hemisphere Vs Sheaffer 300

[Sherlock221]

I am looking for some opinions regarding which of the above pens would be the better choice (build quality, writing experience, value for money etc).

 

I am new to higher priced fountain pens so I am a little unsure of which one would be the better buy. I would ideally like a Pelikan m200

but at the minute it's well out of my price range!

 

Any info would be great...

[inkyleftie]

I have both of these and like both of them, but recommend you try to 'test drive' them for yourself if possible before you buy. My Hémisphère was bought used and is a good reliable middle-of-the-road workhorse of a pen. The 300 I bought new. It is a fairly large, heavy pen and can, according to some folk, feel a little unbalanced. I also had a bit of trouble posting it at first, but you just need to be reasonably assertive with it. In teerms of value, shop around and you should be able to find either option below list price.

[Sherlock221]

I have both of these and like both of them, but recommend you try to 'test drive' them for yourself if possible before you buy. My Hémisphère was bought used and is a good reliable middle-of-the-road workhorse of a pen. The 300 I bought new. It is a fairly large, heavy pen and can, according to some folk, feel a little unbalanced. I also had a bit of trouble posting it at first, but you just need to be reasonably assertive with it. In teerms of value, shop around and you should be able to find either option below list price.

 

Thanks for your help inkyleftie. I have been browsing online retailers and I can find both pens at a reasonable price. I will take your advice though and try and

find a local retailer and actually "test drive" the pens in question.

 

Thanks again for your help.

[kpyeoman]

I don't own the Hemisphere, but the Sheaffer 300 is one of my favorite pens (all black with chrome accents). It's a sharp looking pen, fits well in my hand (I find it too heavy to post, but I generally don't post pens anyway) and has an excellent steel nib (mine is a medium). It writes very smoothly, with only a bit of feedback to help you control the flair of your writing. I also own a TWSBI 540 with a medium nib and would take the Sheaffer 300 over it in a heart beat. Don't let negative comments about the heft of the pen put you off purchasing it.

 

I considered the Hemisphere, but reviews I read/watched indicated that it had a fairly pedestrian (read: scratchy) nib.

[Sherlock221]

I don't own the Hemisphere, but the Sheaffer 300 is one of my favorite pens (all black with chrome accents). It's a sharp looking pen, fits well in my hand (I find it too heavy to post, but I generally don't post pens anyway) and has an excellent steel nib (mine is a medium). It writes very smoothly, with only a bit of feedback to help you control the flair of your writing. I also own a TWSBI 540 with a medium nib and would take the Sheaffer 300 over it in a heart beat. Don't let negative comments about the heft of the pen put you off purchasing it.

 

I considered the Hemisphere, but reviews I read/watched indicated that it had a fairly pedestrian (read: scratchy) nib.

 

 

Thanks for the info Kpyeoman, I think I will purchase the Sheaffer 300. Thanks again for your input..

[vondauster]

Shouldn't that be 221B?

 

Anyway, good call on the 300 - it is a larger but very well made pen, a good looker, and will outlast all of us. Mine is blue with slight iridescence, and writes great.

 

Will

[tonydent84]

I have both as well. I find my Hemisphere to be very fussy with ink flow. Sometimes it doesn't even start up. When it does, there might be times when it just stops. I've heard some others make similar complaints, which is why I won't buy another. The 300 on the other hand writes great, but my only complaint is how heavy it is. The heavier the pen feels, the cheaper I think it is. But the quality of the pen itself is pretty worth it. I just can't write with the thing posted otherwise it's too top heavy. Too bad I didn't read this post before, i would've sold you mine at a discount since it was used. I hardly used it so I gave it to my kid sister a few days ago because she wanted one of my pens (again lol).

 

If the Waterman Hemisphere wrote as I would expect a pen to write, then I'd vote for the Hemisphere. But because of my own negative experience with the Hemisphere, the 300 wins. (And if the 300 was lighter in weight, I'd say it'd win against even a perfectly working Hemisphere!)

 

But keep in mind that you can probably buy a cheaper Sheaffer and still get the same writing experience as that of the 300. It sports the same nib found on the Javelin (which is like $20 I think) and the Prelude (which ranges from like $60 to $125 depending on color scheme). The nibs are really good and write very nice.

[lovemy51]

the way i feel about the S300 is this: nice writer, but not nice enough for the price i paid (about $80).

 

in addition, i find it too heavy and if you like posting this one is not for you. the nib (two tone, which is the only nice thing about it) writes the same as the no-nonsense. i have many chinese made pens that write way better and cost a fraction of that.

 

sorry, i don't have a waterman hemisphere for comparison. i just do not recommend the S300, unless you can find one for $20.

[Sherlock221]

the way i feel about the S300 is this: nice writer, but not nice enough for the price i paid (about $80).

 

in addition, i find it too heavy and if you like posting this one is not for you. the nib (two tone, which is the only nice thing about it) writes the same as the no-nonsense. i have many chinese made pens that write way better and cost a fraction of that.

 

sorry, i don't have a waterman hemisphere for comparison. i just do not recommend the S300, unless you can find one for $20.

 

Thanks for all the input!

[floydee1]

I have both pens. Two Hemispheres (stainless steel and chrome versions) and The 300 in Chrome version.

 

The 300 is a heavy pen. Infact in my opinion, too heavy for long writing sessions but it is VERY reliable.

 

The Hemispheres in the versions that I have, are weighty BUT not heavy and are probably one of the better weighted/balanced pens for me in my collection. The stainless steel version has never let me down over the years I've had it. However the chrome version (about a year old), I have had irregular flow issues when using certain inks. But excellent performance with other inks. The comparision of two Hemispheres but with differing performances may reflect a quality issue. But then for that price range...

 

In my view the Sheaffer is the better nib, however the weight is the issue for me, and my handwriting is much better when using the Hemispheres. I attribute that to the better balanced Hemisphere.

 

Good luck in your decision.

[Silvermink]

If you get the red or blue 300, the body is just plastic rather than metal, so those two are much lighter. I have a red one. It's a decent pen, not thrilling or anything, but a pretty solid workhorse.

[andru]

Goulet have the 300's on closeout for $56. I've not tried them however. I agree the Hemisphere's a prone to flow problems. But I have one, F point, used, obtained from antoniosz, and it's one of the best workhorse pens I own.

[jslallar]

Both are steel body pens but Sheaffer 300 is much heavier, and would be better compared to Waterman Expert II than to Hemisphere. Other pens in the same weight balance class would be Waterford Eclipse, and ST Dupont Olympio, and Hero 450. S300 is a heavy pen, has the same nib as the Prelude, and is a good reliable writer.

 

Waterman Hemisphere has the same weight / balance Parker Sonnet, Cross CII, although it is the shortest of the lot. Sheaffer Prelude is a tad bit heavier than these, thought he length is comparable to W Hemisphere. Hemisphere is (for me) too thin, and small, I have big hands and I cannot use the pen unposted at all. Posted it has an acceptable size and weight but is still thin for me.

 

Best to try them out if you can in a B&M store to check thier sizes and balance before you maker the decision.

[jonwat]

Hi.

 

I don't own a Shaeffer 300 but I do have a Hemisphere and I LOVE IT! I have never experienced poor ink flow or scratchiness but that may be because it has only ever used Waterman ink. The Hemisphere is quite small and slimmer than some of my other pens but it is not in any way unpleasant to use.

 

Hope this helps,

 

John

[Sherlock221]

Hi.

 

I don't own a Shaeffer 300 but I do have a Hemisphere and I LOVE IT! I have never experienced poor ink flow or scratchiness but that may be because it has only ever used Waterman ink. The Hemisphere is quite small and slimmer than some of my other pens but it is not in any way unpleasant to use.

 

Hope this helps,

 

John

 

Thanks for the info, John.

[runguy]

I think the Shaeffer is a bit more reliable. My hemisphere has a fussy nib, and I had to have someone look at it and fool with it.

 

But having said that, for me the Waterman is a nicer looking pen. (Others might disagree.) Someone in my office saw the hemisphere and said, wow that's a nice pen. Also, the hemisphere

is a bit lighter and I enjoy writing with it. Sometimes I forget I have the Shaeffer. So if I had to choose one, I'd go with the hemisphere. But that's only because in a short time with fps I've

come to appreciate nibs that are a bit of a challenge.

[Sherlock221]

Thanks for all the great/helpful input!