Any other "Laureat" lovers out there?

[georges zaslavsky]

I had one laureat which I have unfortunately lost and it was one of my favorite pens. It was a great writer and it had a very smooth M nib.

[finalidid]

Interesting. My old Laureat was a TERRIBLE writer. Maybe I didn't know what I was doing?

 

Anyway, I note that Vacumaniac has a tortoise-shell Laureat for sale now. Pen number 1825 on http://www.(bleep).com/websitesales/newpens.htm . I'm not tempted, given that I suspect I have exactly that pen lying about in some drawer somewhere. Very skinny body. Converter-cartridge filler.

 

[goodyear]

Well, my wife found mine.

 

The ink was all gunked up in it, but a couple of cycles in the ultrasonic sorted that out.

 

In fact, I think a good cleaning was what it ever needed - I stuck a Poussiere de Lune cart in there, and it writes far better than I remember it ever doing so before. The M nib is huge and wide and wet, though, so that cart is running down oh-so fast.

 

edit to add: I didn't know the back end screwed off! I just tried it on mine. It was a bit sticky, and when it came out it had the look of adhesive dried there, so I wonder if it was a manufacturing rather than a funcional thing?

Edited July 9, 2007 by goodyear

[smallwriter]

Hi there,

 

Here's a little story of a "Laureat lover".

I have always liked nice pens with a certain modern, technical design, but until recently I have always used ballpoints at my office, for instance the Lamy cp1 black, which was my favorite for a few decennia(!). I expect from a pen that it should write (very) fine but still smooth and should not spill ink in any way.

A couple of months ago, I had provided some extra service to a customer. Afterwards he surprised me with a Waterman gift set, which contained a Laureat rollerball and fountain pen (dark grey, almost black), a "MK I" with a flat cap top, as I have learned last week (it must have been "on stock" for a long time, but who cares...). On the flat top of both pens, the company's logo is engraved in a subtle way. I liked the style of these pens immediately.

As I wasn't used to write with a fountain pen, I started with the rollerball. The ink had almost totally dried up inside, so a bought a (fine) rb refill and also some ink refills for the fountain pen.

I liked the rollerball, specially for its design, but it was not fine enough to suit my small handwriting, and also had some difficulties on certain surfaces. After some weeks, I switched to the fountain pen (with F nib). In the beginning I had to get used to it, but within a few weeks I began to like it very much. Now I love it! It surprised me with its very comfortable, fine, smooth and clean writing. No ballpoint can match this feeling. As I mentioned, I had no experience with fountain pens at all, but I seem to have discovered the ultimate "writing gear" for me! I thank my customer for it!

 

Today I saw the idea on this forum to put a Pilot refill in the Laureat rollerball for improved writing. I'll try that asap!

Edited August 14, 2007 by smallwriter

[mjlf]

can some one please help me? i have what i belive to be a Laureat, it looks just like the photos i have seen, mine is a red marble effect, and the nib does in fact appear gold in colour, not stainless steel, like the others i have seen.

 

i am also having a great trouble trying to refil it, i can onlu get the end to screw off, are other parts meant to come apart? and when i do screw it off, i can only find a small narrown black tube, that you can turn left and right, like it is a convertor that has been built in, but i don't understand it, i dont think it is actually refilling when i put it in the ink.

 

i am a complete novice when it comes to pens, i am only a uni student, and still trying to figure these great things out!

 

please please can some one help!

thanks.

[Phthalo]

It sounds like you do have a converter in the pen, but it won't be built-in. As firm as it feels, if you grasp it at the top near where the barrel threads are, and give it a firm twist and pull, it should come free.

 

Once you have it in your hand, you might be able to see if the converter is damaged etc, or why it won't fill. If it is a piston-converter, you'll turn the end one way to bring the plunger down, and the other way to bring the plunger up. If the mechanism seems ok, you try firmly reseating the converter back onto the pen, then wind the plunger down toward the nib, then immerse your whole nib and a little bit of the section in your ink, and then wind the plunger up - if it still doesn't go, discard it and try cartridges!

 

The Laureat takes standard 'large size' Waterman cartridges which are available in packets of 8.

[mjlf]

It sounds like you do have a converter in the pen, but it won't be built-in. As firm as it feels, if you grasp it at the top near where the barrel threads are, and give it a firm twist and pull, it should come free.

 

Once you have it in your hand, you might be able to see if the converter is damaged etc, or why it won't fill. If it is a piston-converter, you'll turn the end one way to bring the plunger down, and the other way to bring the plunger up. If the mechanism seems ok, you try firmly reseating the converter back onto the pen, then wind the plunger down toward the nib, then immerse your whole nib and a little bit of the section in your ink, and then wind the plunger up - if it still doesn't go, discard it and try cartridges!

 

The Laureat takes standard 'large size' Waterman cartridges which are available in packets of 8.

 

 

thanks! i have tried to get the converter out, but i am failing....i even tried to pull it out with tweezers...still no success, just ink over my hands, so i guess it must be taking some ink up, but i dont think its very much, well it doesn't last long when i write with it. i dont even think a strong man could pull it out...its annoying, if i could get it out, i would very quickly put cartidges in!!

[rroossinck]

Interesting that this topic comes back up today. I made a trip back home to see my parents and just happened to dig up my old flat-top black/gold Laureate. Gunked as all get out, but still seems to write well. Need a flat-top cap for it, though. The clip is jacked up on it.

[John Cullen]

Ah, the Laureat. My first nice pen, which I purchased when I finished graduate school. It wrote well. After several years of use, the only flaw was the cap barely snapped on and spun around once it was snapped on. Other than that, it held up well and eventually I sold it off to a friend. Especially for the prices some of you report now paying for them, they are nice pens. I think my experience with the Laureat encouraged my addiction and also my reluctance to buy snap caps. j

[mjlf]

HELP

 

I love my Laureat, but I have a minor problem with it. Once it starts writing its great, but getting it to start writing can be the problem. It will not write until I go over the same spot a few times. My friend thinks it may a "a babys bottom" for a nib. Does anyone else find this with their pen? And does anyone know how to make it better?

 

thanks!

 

[diplomat]

Wow! great community here.

I just made an impulse buy on ebay for am advertised "1988 Waterman" and I was searching for what kind of model this was. Now I found it: it's a laureat.

Here's a pic from the auction:

 

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/2954/wlaureatke1.jpg

 

 

I paid only 6€, I hope it will be in good condition, I'll let you know when arrives.

I read Waterman does not take international cartridges? Too bad, I don't want different unused ink cartrdges in my desk drawers...

Additionally I've seen the ebay seller levertowsky has spare nibs in different sizes. If I like the pen I'll take a B (better an OBB), even though it cost far more then the pen itself!

 

Cheers everybody!

[Annie]

I read Waterman does not take international cartridges?

 

International cartridges fit in a Laureat; 2 short or 1 long.

 

[ethernautrix]

My fine pens collection obsession started with Waterman -- the discontinued Executive FP and BP (the BP survived intermittent culling of my collection). I probably had at least half a dozen Laureats at some point, still have a couple (sentimental reasons) and various extra nibs.

Edited February 18, 2008 by ethernautrix

[dpmahon]

Wow! great community here.

I just made an impulse buy on ebay for am advertised "1988 Waterman" and I was searching for what kind of model this was. Now I found it: it's a laureat.

Here's a pic from the auction:

 

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/2954/wlaureatke1.jpg

 

 

I paid only 6€, I hope it will be in good condition, I'll let you know when arrives.

I read Waterman does not take international cartridges? Too bad, I don't want different unused ink cartrdges in my desk drawers...

Additionally I've seen the ebay seller levertowsky has spare nibs in different sizes. If I like the pen I'll take a B (better an OBB), even though it cost far more then the pen itself!

 

Cheers everybody!

Bought a first generation 1 at a gun show for $10. Shows some use but works great.

 

[Bela]

I love my dark red Lauréat. Bought it a couple of years ago. Originally, it had a medium nib that was a little too broad for me; a very nice Selfridges (the Oxford Street branch, London) sales assistant replaced it for free with a fine nib. At the moment, I'm proofreading and using it with a J Herbin rose-scented red ink. It's such a lovely experience: the feel of the pen gliding on the paper and its beautiful shape, the delicate scent of roses....

[diplomat]

I read Waterman does not take international cartridges?

International cartridges fit in a Laureat; 2 short or 1 long.

 

Annie, thank you for the info.

This mean I can start as soon as the pen arrives with one of my converters. Or even better I can shoot one of those Reynolds cartridges I am plenty of.

 

Ciao,

[Gahray]

I asked for a NICE fountain pen for Christmas when I was 17. My parents got me a set with a Laureat Fountain Pen and Ball Point. They are red and black marbled effect which looks lovely.

 

It was (and still feels) too heavy for me with the cap posted. I had to change mine to a fine nib as the M it came with produced lines that I felt were too thick. I'm not sure I like the way it feels in my hand either; I want the enamel finish to enxtend to the nib rather than the lighter plastic. Because I hold my pen in a non standard way I always get a lot of ink on my second finger with my Laureat.

 

I'd never part with this pen. It's a nice smooth writer and I have such fond memories of using it through school and college. My daily pen of choice right now is a Lamy ST. Maybe I shoudl fill the Laureat up with some ink and give it a try again.

 

[finalidid]

My first (nice) fountain pen was a tortoise-shell finish Waterman Laureat. Wish I could find one at a decent price now'days. Lost the first one.

 

[Blade Runner]

I have a barely used Laureat in gun metal with a smooth fine nib on sale -

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=52671

[dbeedle]

A Laureat was my first pen also and I used it for quite some time. Last year, though, it broke at the grip section where it screws appart. Must have leaned on it while in my pocket or something. To fix it I bought another on Ebay only to find that the nibs are different. The one from Ebay has little wings that clip mount it to the pen. It does not write well and due to the different designs I can't fit my old nib to the new pen. I haven't paid it any attention recently and now use a Phileas (which writes great) and others. I still hope to fix my Laureat sometime as it and the Phileas are my favorites of the pens I own.

Edited February 19, 2008 by dbeedle