Does the collar on the Waterman Le Man 100 corrode ?

[fabian3194]

Hi, 

 

I've developed and interest in the  Waterman Le Man 100 and I see it has a metal collar at the end of the grip section, just before the nib. So, does this collar have a history of corroding ? Would any owners know if the collar is made of gold, tarnishes when used with iron gall ink, if its plated whether the plating flakes off ? 

 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

[Mr.Rene]

Hi

If I am not wrong the collar is made of bronze and gold plated.

Best Regards.

[Dione]

All of those Waterman collars have a tendency to corrode then look unsightly because the bits of metal fall off and you end up with black dots of plastic around the collar.

[fabian3194]

Thanks for the info.   

[ZeroDukE]

Yes, the metal collar at the end of the grip section of the Le Man 100  have a tendency to corrode, as it is reported.  Make sure to clean this area after loading the pen or when you see ink over there.

 

[loulu10]

yes,  my collar corroded. but it's probably exacerbated by me. I left all of my FPs uncleaned/unused for 30+ years!🥵

 

Now, I know better....In the past 2 years I educated myself about the care and maintenance of my FP collection.

 

Fyi, the Waterman still writes great, is beautiful and comfy to hold - collar just looks yucky...

[sansenri]

as mentioned by others, unfortunately yes.

This is also a risk when buying used, I have seen a number of these pens being sold with the corroded collar at not insignificant prices, and not always the issue is properly highlighted...

when buying a used Man100/Man200 be especially wary of those descriptions that say "the photos are part of the description"

it's a "smart" way of saying "there is a problem but up to you to spot it... if you don't I'm not responsible"

[como]

On 10/14/2021 at 3:28 PM, Dione said:

All of those Waterman collars have a tendency to corrode then look unsightly because the bits of metal fall off and you end up with black dots of plastic around the collar.

Yes, exactly. The few that I saw without corrosion were never used.

[aurore]

Yes and no. If it never comes in contact with ink, it does not corrode. Refill cartridges instead of using a converter and you should avoid corrosion.

[rochester21]

On 10/14/2021 at 3:37 PM, zeroduke said:

Yes, the metal collar at the end of the grip section of the Le Man 100  have a tendency to corrode, as it is reported.  Make sure to clean this area after loading the pen or when you see ink over there.

 

They only corrode if they are used! The rings corrode because ink inflitrates them and the cheap plating gets destroyed, once that happens you will get inky fingers every time you touch the ring. Major design error, along with the flimsly plastic that holds the cap in place(feels like it could break at any moment, rendering the cap useless). 

 

These two problems are also present on the older Gentleman series.

 

Also the feeds on the le man 100 and 200 kinda suck, often times the nib is very dry. I tried spreading the tines of the nibs to allow more ink but that didn't work, since the 18K nibs always spring back into their original shape.

 

In conclusion, le man 100 and 200 are beautiful pens to look at and feel, just as long as you don't use them for any actual writing. 

 

I had 4 of them, two of each. 

 

To help OP, i'il say this- get a L'Etalon instead. Wonderful pens, better built than Le Man series and better writers. The versions in gold and silver pattern look amazing, they look more like jewelery than writing instruments. Hefty too, but so is the le man 100.