Waterman Man 21

[stylite]

I inherited this pen with a number of others, and was unable to identify it. Thanks to people on Fountain Pen Network I found out it’s a Waterman Man 21, from the early 1970s, which takes a now-obsolete cartridge or converter. Fortunately, it’s still possible to get the converter for over double the price of most fountain pen converters, so I have the pen working now. I’ve been meaning to post a review of it ever since, which is about two years ago now, so my apologies for tardiness. ______________________________________________________________________

1. Appearance & Design (8) – Bauhaus
   It’s very similar to the Lamy 2000 when capped, and made of a similar-looking material. Uncapped, the differences on the nib and section are more obvious. There is a very faint marking ‘Waterman Made in France’ at the base of the cap, only visible with through a loupe with a light shining on it. The nib just has the Waterman ‘W’, ‘18K’, and ‘750’ on it. The end of the barrel tapers to a rounded rectangle. The nib side of the section is a semi-hexagon, whereas the underside is rounded, with the nib itself almost inlaid but actually separate. Since I like minimalist designs, I like this but it might not be to everyone’s taste.
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2. Construction & Quality (6) – Feels lightweight
   It feels a little fragile, yet is actually fairly solid construction. I think this is probably because the pen itself is very light.
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3. Weight & Dimensions (8) - Long, slender, and lightweight
   14.2 cm capped, 12.7 cm uncapped, 16.7 cm posted. Widest diameter, where the cap meets the barrel, is 1.2 cm, the section is 1 cm tapering to about 8 mm. With an empty converter it’s 19 g capped and 12 g uncapped.
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4. Nib & Performance (8) – Fairly wet, needed smoothing
   It was a very hard starter but would write nicely once going, which is how I found out about baby’s bottom. Having smoothed that out a bit, it’s now a very nice writer.
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5. Filling System & Maintenance (5) – Small capacity filler
   As mentioned in the introduction, the converter is a lot more than most are (~£15). It also doesn’t hold very much and looks as thought he pressure bar is incorrectly fitted; however, all the others I’ve seen online look the same. I like using this pen for making notes from books and articles when I’m researching essays but it needs refilling every few pages.
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6. Cost & Value  -
   Since it only cost the converter, it’s excellent value. I’ve not seen any for sale, so I don’t know what they’d go for on the market. Since I’ve got no intention of selling it, that isn’t an issue for me.
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Conclusion (7) – 35/50, not including cost/value
I like this pen. It’s comfortable to write with, the nib’s nice, and it looks unobtrusive (I don’t really like flashy or bling, although I did also inherit (from the same person) a couple of blingy pens as well). This pen doesn’t seem to be common but, if anyone is offered one, I’d recommend it.