Waterman W5

[hsianloon]

Review of the Waterman W5 with a no.5 14ct medium nib

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Physically this pen is not much to look at, there isn't any fancy trimmings besides your usual clip and rings around the cap, and a similarly colored lever filler .

12.7 cm capped, and 15.5 cm posted, so it's a very comfortable size for daily usage.

I haven't weighted the pen but it's in a comfortable range for a 1.75m male aged 26.

I'm not sure what the barrel and cap is constructed off, I'm not great at telling the materials apart.

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Now this pen is one that I could use on a daily basis at work. I tend to shy away from nibs too thin (because I can't write quickly with them) or nibs that are too broad (consumes ink too quickly and feathers on cheap work place paper) Hence this medium is just what I need, and it gives still, some amount of shading , well, not very important for work..but even dark inks like to shine once in awhile

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The nib writes very smoothly without any skips on my rhodia pad and webbies. On the cheaper hospital paper, you can occasionally hear the disconcerting scratch. Over all I would say it is satisfying to write with.

The part I didn't expect that this nib has a good amount of flex to it. I was told that older pens from the previous era all had a certain degree of flex in them even if never advertised as such. After struggling with my ahab, I think this pen is a perfect combination between a daily writer and something with a bit of a flex. I'd say , medium flex?

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Just some scribbles while I was studying to show how much this nib can flex. The ink is Sailor Sei Boku, my daily blue ink for work.

For 66 Euros from ebay, I think it was a good buy. Would I reccommend it to you ? Yes i would. It's below a 100 bucks, a reliable lever filler system that takes a good amount of ink ( lasts me 1-2 days with heavy writing ), has that option of being a regular daily writer or flex, an old classic simple black and gold design that you can't go wrong with

[red52ripple]

Quite a few W5s have a bit of flex. They come in some nice patterns too. I recently sold one that was an iridescent striated blue pattern. Outstanding pen. They seem to have been quite strongly made, the most obvious failing being thin gold plating that wears.

[hsianloon]

I must admit this was a buy that happened just by chance, wasn't particularly looking out for it. Someone asked me was it ''The W5'' Puzzled, I just showed it to them and the reply was an, ''Oh.'' Any recommendations for a good site to look up the previous generation Watermans?

[red52ripple]

I must admit this was a buy that happened just by chance, wasn't particularly looking out for it. Someone asked me was it ''The W5'' Puzzled, I just showed it to them and the reply was an, ''Oh.'' Any recommendations for a good site to look up the previous generation Watermans?

 

There isn't a really good site, I'm afraid, or at least not one I've come across. Max Davis sells a lot of Waterman pens and you can see quite a range of them there.

[kazoolaw]

the W5 is a perfect example of the fountain pen as an everyday tool, not a collectible: almost casual excellence, and understated elegance. Look at the simple lines on the clip.

Gary

[steb]

Richard binder has some information on the model 515 which I think this is.http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/profiles/commando.htm

[red52ripple]

The 515 has a single broad cap band; this is a W5. The 515 is a late forties pen. The W5 was introduced in 1955.

[steb]

Thanks for the correction. I have the 515 and at a quick look mistook this for it.

[red52ripple]

These post-war no-name English Watermans get very confusing.

[hsianloon]

I must admit this was a buy that happened just by chance, wasn't particularly looking out for it. Someone asked me was it ''The W5'' Puzzled, I just showed it to them and the reply was an, ''Oh.'' Any recommendations for a good site to look up the previous generation Watermans?

 

There isn't a really good site, I'm afraid, or at least not one I've come across. Max Davis sells a lot of Waterman pens and you can see quite a range of them there.

 

 

Thanks for the resource, am looking for a next Waterman

 

 

 

 

[Garageboy]

Is the W5 one of the last Waterman Lever Fill pens?

Always loved the Commando/Hundred Year Pen/Emblem/515 styled pens (what else can be considered part of that family, btw?)

[red52ripple]

Is the W5 one of the last Waterman Lever Fill pens?

Always loved the Commando/Hundred Year Pen/Emblem/515 styled pens (what else can be considered part of that family, btw?)

 

Yes, I think they all went to cartridge soon after the W5.

 

There are smaller pens in the same style, the earlier ones being the 502 and 503, and the later W2 and W3.

[JPM-10]

I think it is quite a stunning pen.

Have one in grey stiped marbel, but it looks just super!!

The gold plated parts shine like the sun. A beauty of a pen in my opinion.