Help me get oriented with the Man 100?

November 18

I've been thinking off and on about hunting for a nice example of the Man 100 -- more on than off, lately. I know the basics about the timeline and the versions of the pen, and I'm confining myself, for now, to two options: plain black lacquer and the Opera. But there are some details I don't know, so I thought perhaps you Waterman experts could help me refine my search!

• I know that the first-year nibs had a "1883 1983" engraving, and that (in very old threads here) these were sometimes said to write differently (with more flex) even than the non-globe nibs that replaced them in 1984, and that the globe nibs were sometimes said to be much stiffer, though there was disagreement about this. I'm curious how these generalizations seem to anyone reading this in 2025 with experience of all these nibs.

• I understand that early Man 100s had a plastic rather than a brass connector and that these can be brittle. So one question is: were the early centennial nibs only ever fitted to pens with plastic connectors, or did the connectors change before the nibs did? And how big a deal is plastic versus brass, in your experience, for someone who intends to use the pen?

• Were any Operas ever fitted with pre-Globe nibs?

• How should I think about the nib widths on these pens?

Thanks in advance!

November 19

On 11/17/2025 at 8:35 PM, InkyProf said:

I've been thinking off and on about hunting for a nice example of the Man 100 -- more on than off, lately. I know the basics about the timeline and the versions of the pen, and I'm confining myself, for now, to two options: plain black lacquer and the Opera. But there are some details I don't know, so I thought perhaps you Waterman experts could help me refine my search!

• I know that the first-year nibs had a "1883 1983" engraving, and that (in very old threads here) these were sometimes said to write differently (with more flex) even than the non-globe nibs that replaced them in 1984, and that the globe nibs were sometimes said to be much stiffer, though there was disagreement about this. I'm curious how these generalizations seem to anyone reading this in 2025 with experience of all these nibs.

• I understand that early Man 100s had a plastic rather than a brass connector and that these can be brittle. So one question is: were the early centennial nibs only ever fitted to pens with plastic connectors, or did the connectors change before the nibs did? And how big a deal is plastic versus brass, in your experience, for someone who intends to use the pen?

• Were any Operas ever fitted with pre-Globe nibs?

• How should I think about the nib widths on these pens?

Thanks in advance!

I have 4 Man 100 pens. An Opera , 2 Patricians and a plain Black . These pens are really wonderful pens but seem to get very little attention (I am sure that will change at some point soon) …..Two of the pens are mediums and two were originally broad nibs that I had made into Italics, but have since regretted doing, as I have come to the conclusion that I like pens to write as intended and modified nibs, to me, feel like souped up cars with cheap aftermarket parts. I am a stock kind of guy.

All my nibs are the globes, later globes. I would not call these nails like my Edsons , but close.

The two mediums I have are very different , one is much thicker than the other .

Watch out for the corroded gold rings . They can be replaced easily , however.

The 4 pens to the right are all my Man 100’s

November 19

Thanks, @FleetAdmiralBlackBeard! It’s interesting that your two mediums are so different. Do the nibs actually appear to be ground to different widths, or is this more likely a matter of wet versus dry tuning?

And I know what you mean about them not seeming to get a lot of attention, but I suspect you’re right that they’ll come around again.

November 19

1 hour ago, InkyProf said:

Thanks, @FleetAdmiralBlackBeard! It’s interesting that your two mediums are so different. Do the nibs actually appear to be ground to different widths, or is this more likely a matter of wet versus dry tuning?

And I know what you mean about them not seeming to get a lot of attention, but I suspect you’re right that they’ll come around again.

Different widths, and of course each nib is always different one from the other even within the same size, model and brand , but they are a little more different than you would think with the man 100 pens. I would not call this a bad thing. The same thing applies to my Edsons and my Exception pens. I think it’s a Waterman thing. The 3 Pelikans I have are certainly more consistent.

November 20

I may have to take back what I said above. The difference between the two 100 mediums (Patrician and Opera) is not as dramatic as I remembered . Judge for yourself :

November 28

Those do look pretty close!

I have one other question for you, @FleetAdmiralBlackBeard: what kind of converters do your Man 100s have in them, particularly the Opera? I managed to snag an Opera for a good price, needing only some cleanup, but it didn't come with its original converter, and the first replacement I tried was too loose to stay in the pen. (It was a NOS Waterman piston converter with a ribbed metal bushing, which looks threaded but isn't, at the head of the converter, where it inserts into the connector.) I've also seen Waterman squeeze converters, piston converters with a *smooth* metal bushing at the head, and piston converters with a plastic head... but no clear account of which pens originally shipped with which style converter.

Thanks for any insights and hope you had a good holiday!

November 28

7 minutes ago, InkyProf said:

Those do look pretty close!

I have one other question for you, @FleetAdmiralBlackBeard: what kind of converters do your Man 100s have in them, particularly the Opera? I managed to snag an Opera for a good price, needing only some cleanup, but it didn't come with its original converter, and the first replacement I tried was too loose to stay in the pen. (It was a NOS Waterman piston converter with a ribbed metal bushing, which looks threaded but isn't, at the head of the converter, where it inserts into the connector.) I've also seen Waterman squeeze converters, piston converters with a *smooth* metal bushing at the head, and piston converters with a plastic head... but no clear account of which pens originally shipped with which style converter.

Thanks for any insights and hope you had a good holiday!

Thanks, you as well..

My 4 Man 100 pens ALL take the modern Waterman Converters. They originally came with the metal “threaded” converter you mentioned but they will accept the modern ones with the rubber mouth