Waldmann Tango (Ruthenium Trim)

June 14, 2020

The only other review of the Waldmann Tango on FPN is from 2008 by QM2 here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/79858-waldmann-tango-sterling-silver/?p=775312

I cannot match the excellent photography in that review, but I can add my own experiences with this model, recently bought used, but in excellent condition. As will be seen below, the nib on this pen is quite an interesting one.

The Tango is a current design, still made by Waldmann, although the price has gone up quite a bit since 2008, when QM2 wrote in her review that she bought it for under $100. Now, the Waldmann company website https://www.waldmannpen.com/pens/tango?item=4756 says the list price is 226, a considerable increase. Online retailers in the US sell it for about $180. It is not an unreasonable price for a very well-made pen with cap and barrel of sterling silver. Waldmann is located in Germany's jewelry town of Pforzheim and its jeweler origins are clearly visible in the design of the Tango.

The particular finish on this Tango is variously called "triangle" or "square" but I prefer the fancier word "Godron." The other finishes are straight lines and wavy lines, but those finishes have palladium or rhodium plated sections and trims. However, the Godron finish has the gunmetal-colored ruthenium plating on the nib, section, trim, clip, and top of the cap. The nib is engraved with the year (1918) of founding of the company and the Waldmann logo, along with the nib width ("F" in this case).

One interesting aspect of the Tango is the blank portion of the cap ready for your name to be engraved on it.

Now, for the design: probably the most distinctive aspect of the Tango design is the curved portion at the top of the cap, which you can see in the picture of the cap above. It's what makes the Tango look quite different from most other pens in this price range.

The sterling silver body and cap make the pen fairly heavy (39g) for one of its size (137mm, 5.4in capped). The grip section is long enough for a comfortable grip, and the cap threads are not sharp and allow the cap to come off with just one turn. When closing the cap, the last eighth of the turn completes firmly and without any play or looseness, giving you the confidence that the cap won't unscrew in your pocket. The section is a bit slicker than I would prefer, though that could just be due to it not being particularly thick (11.6mm); it does flare out a bit toward the nib end so one's fingers don't slide off. The cap does post, but not securely, and it also back-weights the pen, so those who must post their caps should be aware of this shortcoming.

I won't elaborate on the appearance of the Tango, as it has been shown in QM2's review much better than I could describe. But my pen has a semi-flexible steel nib. There is nothing in the description on the company website, or in QM2's review, to indicate that this is an advertised feature of the nib. My pen is at least a decade old, so I do not know if a batch of flexy nibs got made sometime during the production cycle of this pen. I find this nib the most flexible of the (admittedly just a few) modern nibs I own, more flexible than the Namiki Falcon, the Pilot Custom 743 FA, the Noodlers Ahab, or the Noodler's Neponset. I briefly tried out the Pineider La Grande Bellezza 14kt flexible "quill" nib at the SF Pen Show two years ago, and this Waldmann nib seems to be about as flexible, based on my recollection. I have not, however, tried the recent Aurora 14kt flex nibs, so I cannot compare this nib to them.

It is an excellent flexible nib, in addition to being very smooth, although a bit on the wide side for a nib marked "F." Unfortunately, after writing flawlessly for several pages, one day the nib unexpectedly and with mulish obstinacy utterly refused to write, on not one but two occasions on a single page. I needed to turn the piston-type converter to push more ink into the feed, then shake out a couple of drops onto the paper, before the pen began writing again. This is the first load of ink in the converter, so I don't know if this is a problem with the feed or the ink, which also I just bought (the pigmented Sailor Storia "Balloon Green").

I guess I should revisit this review to provide an update after I have used other inks in the pen. Assuming this flow problem shakes itself out, I will give this pen a "highly recommended" rating. However, the rating is severely skewed by the flex nib, and I need to do some research to try to find out when these flex nibs were made and how to identify them on a pen in the wild, since neither the manufacturer nor any retailer seems to talk about it.

Edited June 14, 2020 by ParkerBeta

June 26, 2020

Thank you for this review, I like the design for the most part and the nib seems interesting.

I wonder how thick the section is, would be great if you could compare it to a popular model that many might be familiar with.

June 27, 2020

Please report back on your ink flow problem.

I have had one Waldmann Fountain Pen and liked it very much, but it leaked and so I returned it to the seller (who guaranteed it). The seller was unable to repair the pen as they could not get the needed part from Waldmann. It was part of the plastic parts which made up the inside of the section.

June 27, 2020

The pen did stop writing two more times in the next two days following the review, and then it ran out of ink. Now I have flushed it thoroughly with pen flush solution and just now inked it with Noodlers Army Green. It's writing very wet and well right now but let's give it a few more days before I can tell for sure if the problem is gone.

Edited June 27, 2020 by ParkerBeta

July 5, 2020

Update: the pen continued to stop suddenly with the new ink. I suspected a faulty converter so I tried a cartridge of Montblanc Royal Blue with the same effect. The only thing that has happened is that the stoppages no longer require shaking ink on to the page for the pen to resume writing. Instead, a couple of mild shakes is enough. I suspect there is some sort of obstruction in the feed. The problem occurs more frequently if I press down and flex the nib, probably because it induces starvation in the feed quicker.

Edited July 5, 2020 by ParkerBeta