Waterman Phileas Kulture - Very First Impressions

[KellyMcJ]

This pen was a gift- it wound up on my wishlist because I was curious about Waterman's modern pens and I can't say I would have bought it myself, but I'm really pretty impressed with it, especially for the price point. It keeps the Art Deco inspired shape of the original Phileas, but is modernized by the use of a translucnt plastic (a choice that may have been made to cut costs as well.) I think it would look much better in a solid color plastic, however the clear blue is growing on me (especially after I figured out that it actually glows under blacklight. Too cool. Pair this one with Noodler's Blue Ghost and do some rave writing!)

 

It comes in a blister pack with one cartridge and no converter- I found that a Schmidt standard international converter fits, although not as snugly as I would like- but it does work and so far is working well. I've also read that these pens make good eyedroppers but I haven't tried that.

 

The cap clicks on and off securely and the clip is spring type/articulated, which was really a surprise considering the price point of these pens.

 

The nib is smooth with some feedback that reminds me of my Sailor pens. The nib is a nail, with no flex or softness at all. You might just be able to dig a trench with this thing without damaging it- I think it would make a decent student pen.

 

My only complaint is that the ink tends to dry out in the nib after its sat for a couple hours- I've only had the pen a short while, this may resolve itself with time or a different ink.

 

Paper is Staples Arc and ink is Iroshizuku Kon-Peki

 

 

 

Rave pen!!!

 

[Feanaaro]

The cap has a rather large hole around the clip attachment. That is why the nib dries. It won't solve itself with time unfortunately.

[LizEF]

The cap has a rather large hole around the clip attachment. That is why the nib dries. It won't solve itself with time unfortunately.

 

Yep. Same findings here. And the hole cannot easily be "patched". I really wish they'd gone with an inner cap. I mutilated my Kultur's cap to seal it and it's much better now - only leaks where the cap meets the body and that's trivial compared to how the leak around the clip was.

[KellyMcJ]

The cap has a rather large hole around the clip attachment. That is why the nib dries. It won't solve itself with time unfortunately.

Oh good grief! Well I know not to leave this one inked and unused then. That's a shame. I have pens with legitimate breather holes that don't dry out. Hmm.

 

I'll take a good look and see if I can see a reliable way to patch it. I have a lot of stuff here that's not typical household items that could be used.

[LizEF]

I'll take a good look and see if I can see a reliable way to patch it. I have a lot of stuff here that's not typical household items that could be used.

 

I hope you succeed. But my brother also has highly atypical items (is something of an engineer / designer), and nothing we did worked - we tried sealing it from the inside, but whatever we did broke if you operated the clip. There was no way to seal it from the outside without ruining the appearance, but it was useless to me without sealing, so we broke off the clip, filled the space with epoxy, sanded it all even and painted the cap.

[Honeybadgers]

Weird, mine doesn't dry out. Not sure if mine is a "kulture"

 

It is a late 90's model.

[KellyMcJ]

I looked mine over and I can't see the hole you guys are talking about. There's a molded plastic "cover" cover the inside of the clip mechanism as well as a plastic insert which seals it in every way that I can see and feel with an instrument inside the cap. So perhaps they fixed that particular problem and mine is drying out for a different reason.

[LizEF]

I looked mine over and I can't see the hole you guys are talking about. There's a molded plastic "cover" cover the inside of the clip mechanism as well as a plastic insert which seals it in every way that I can see and feel with an instrument inside the cap. So perhaps they fixed that particular problem and mine is drying out for a different reason.

 

If you blow into the cap, can you feel air escaping from around the clip? If so, there's your answer. (One cannot see this problem, but one can feel the air flowing through easily.) If not, please tell me where and when you bought yours, cuz I might get another, since mine with the ruined cap is kinda ugly!

 

After "fixing" mine, we even used an under-water method to check for air escaping, and none did - sealed that sucker but good.

[KellyMcJ]

Yes I can actually, but I don't see where around the cap it's coming from.

 

I could fill it easily if I were willing to sacrifice the spring clip. I'd just fill the spring part with 2 step epoxy.

[LizEF]

I'd just fill the spring part with 2 step epoxy.

 

Exactly what we did - except after ripping the clip out.

[KellyMcJ]

I think I got it- I filled the end cap (just the black part) with a generous amount of Liquid Electrical Tape (I use this stuff for a ton of stuff that's not electrical!) I gave it the blow test, it's sealed. Worked the clip back and forth, still sealed.

 

I'm waiting for it to dry really well before I put the cap back on the pen (I have a different cap sitting on the pen for now so it doesn't dry while I am working on the cap.)

 

Liquid electrical tape dries flexible, so I'm hoping it holds up. In addition, it's black and there's enough room in the end cap to seal it (just be careful you don't put too much so the nib won't fit since it extends a bit into the black part of the cap).

Any excess safely and easily cleans up with Naptha (lighter fluid) on a q-tip without harming the plastic.

 

This is completely invisible from the outside.

I will try to remember to report back on longevity!

[LizEF]

I think I got it- I filled the end cap (just the black part) with a generous amount of Liquid Electrical Tape (I use this stuff for a ton of stuff that's not electrical!) I gave it the blow test, it's sealed. Worked the clip back and forth, still sealed.

 

I'm waiting for it to dry really well before I put the cap back on the pen (I have a different cap sitting on the pen for now so it doesn't dry while I am working on the cap.)

 

Liquid electrical tape dries flexible, so I'm hoping it holds up. In addition, it's black and there's enough room in the end cap to seal it (just be careful you don't put too much so the nib won't fit since it extends a bit into the black part of the cap).

 

I hope the cap will go back on - we tried this route (but with some sort of glue, I think, but it needed so much that the nib tip hit it when we put the cap back on. Maybe the liquid electrical tape fills the gaps better than the glue did.

[Tasmith]

I've had success sealing around the clip with Testors Clear Parts Cement & Window Maker. Dries clear. Took a few applications, but seems to be working. Makes for a stiff clip though but I don't mind.

[KellyMcJ]

 

I hope the cap will go back on - we tried this route (but with some sort of glue, I think, but it needed so much that the nib tip hit it when we put the cap back on. Maybe the liquid electrical tape fills the gaps better than the glue did.

 

The cap goes back on just fine. The stuff takes a good long time to dry though. You have to be careful not to use too much.

 

To be fair though, I was worried about that too. I was happy to see that it seems to have worked.

 

Tasmith if it fails I'll try the Testors.

[LizEF]

The cap goes back on just fine. The stuff takes a good long time to dry though. You have to be careful not to use too much.

 

[Wooden_Nickel]

Not every Kultur has this problem with the air-hole drying out the ink: at least I haven't noticed it happening in mine.

[Honeybadgers]

Just use it regularly, it's not like it isn't a great writer that begs to be used!

 

Also check that the nib and feed are set properly together, they pull straight out. Make sure they're cleaned with soapy water, rinsed, and reasembled right. You don't want the feed too tight or too loose to the nib, and I have noticed that mine needs to be very firmly pressed back in when I clean it.

If the gap isn't right, ink can retreat from the nib!

Edited December 4, 2017 by Honeybadgers

[KellyMcJ]

I checked it after sitting a few hours and it started right up. I think it might be cured!

[jmccarty3]

These pens and the Phileas use a stainless steel version of the 18k L'Etalon nib, IMO one of the best looking and writing nibs to be found on a modern Waterman. In fact, If you want to use a L'Etalon nib on your Kulture, you can just exchange the section/nib assemblies.

[KellyMcJ]

Today it started up without a single skip an the ink is the brilliant medium blue that kon-peki is supposed to be (not overconcentrated dried out kon-peki). Liquid electrical tape seems to have done the trick!