Waterman Expert II?

[jdboucher]

Has anyone tried the Waterman Expert II pen?

[kudzu]

Yes, a friend bought one for me. It was my first new pen, all my others being vintage before that. It has a medium nib, and I love it. It takes all my saturated Noodler's and Private Reserve inks really well, the nib is smooth, and the pen is not too blingy (I got the Dune version). I like it alot.

[RayMan]

Yes, I own one. It's one of my best writers.

[FrankB]

I think the Waterman Expert II is one of the great over looked pens among current production pens. The nibs are steel, which nib snobs will avoid. But the pens are larger sized, about Pelikan M-800 size, and have a large good flowing nib. They seem to have a brass or metal base with a laquer coating, but to me they are not heavy, just sturdy feeling.

 

The cap is a slip style, and it will also snap onto the back of the barrel for posting. I do not post, so this is a feature I do not use. I have two Expert II's, one with a M nib, one with a B nib. They seem to write true lines and are not too wet. Both my pens are older, perhaps 10-years old? They have proven to be very sturdy.

 

I have more expensive pens that do not perform as well as my Expert II's. I can only say that I have had very good luck with mine, and I have no intention of parting with them.

[WillSW]

I had one as my only pen for a while, a good long while, and it served me well. I don't remember much about the nib itself (I wasn't really into fountain pens yet, just using one) but I don't remember anything bad, so that's good. After a long, tempestuous life as a student's writing utensil, full of drops and throws and crushes, The Fall finally happened and the nib bent. Unfortunately, repairing a steel nib is not economically sound and buying a new one is about equal to buying a new Expert II.

 

In the end I left it bent, put it in a box for sentimental value, picked up the Lamy 2000 I had by chance ordered a week before, and have since fallen off the edge myself.

[jdboucher]

whats the weight on the pen? does it feel comfortable in your hand?

[satrap]

JD, it's a very comfortable pen, medium weight, just a tad heavier than Phileas. Also, where the Phileas has a "slick" feel to me, the E-2 does not.

Go for it!

 

 

diane

[jdboucher]

awesome that makes me very happy, i have a phileas roller ball, which i find to be very light, my only concern was the weight...this makes me very excited!

[HesNot]

I have a Waterman Expert 2000, which was an Expert II I believe in a few different colors for the new millenium - so the same pen and it is a fine writer. It is a tad heavier than I tend to use on a daily basis but not overly so and is definitely well made. I prefer it to a variety of other mid range pens - including the Sonnet (which is usually more expensive). The only other pen that is the same ballpark from a writing and feel perspective is the Sheaffer Prelude which is also a bit overlooked and a bit smaller than the Expert.

[whitemountain]

I've tried two of the Expert II's. It's a solid-feeling pen, with some heft to it, but not overly weighty, and the balance is very nice. Both of the ones I tried were in the Matte Black (or is it Metallic Black) finish, which has a slight texture to it, rather than just being a smooth barrel, and I liked that feeling, as it made the pens more sesure in my hand. Nice, smooth nibs right out of the box.

 

Both got returned, however, as the pens would write nicely, and then slowly suffer feed problems, after about 3 to 4 lines. I tried rinsing/cleaning the nibs and feed systems repeatedly, and even used a diluted ammonia in water mix, but to no avail. I don't know if the opening in the converter is too small to allow ink to pass through freely, or if I just managed to be unlucky enough to pick up two Expert II's in a row that had unusual issues. Either way, I didn't want to mess around with sending brand new pens in for repair, so they got returned.

 

I wouldn't shy away from getting one, as they seem like good pens and many people have had excellent experiences with Watermans, but just make sure you get it from a dealer that accepts returns, rather than making a brand new pen that doesn't work right into your problem.

[Sallent]

NASTY AND DISGUSTING EXCUSE OF A PEN

 

Shame on Waterman for the Expert II. At around $115 USD it is severely overprised with a cheap looking feed unit and a cheap no thrills nib. Mine suffered problems and never wrote well, and even if it had it would have still been overprised.

 

For $15 dollars more than the Expert II I was able to get into gold nibed Pelikan M400s with a piston filler, that should tell you everything.

[jdboucher]

interesting, i still think im going to try it...does it come with a converter cartridge?

[MrBlue]

My Dune Red Expert II is one of the first pens I bought, and still one of my best writers. Honestly, it writes as well or better than any (much more expensive) Pelikan or Parker I've tried (and I own, and use, a few of each of those brand's goods), and it comes close to my Lamy 2000 in laying down a smooth fine line. The Lamy wins for smoothness, but it lays down a thicker and juicier "fine" (i.e., medium) line. My Expert II sets the standard for me for perfect fine line width and wetness, and it is very smooth with no startup problems. It comes with a converter, and when I bought mine, it had a single cartridge of black ink in the box as well. I've moved more towards piston-fill pens for daily use, because of ink capacity, but the Expert II is still my primary editing pen, and I keep it loaded with PR Fiesta Red at all times.

 

Incidentally, my favorite non-fountain pen is the Expert Rollerball. I have the Dune Blue version, and it is fantastic.

 

 

[FrankB]

Dr. Ozzie wrote"

 

" ... At around $115 USD it is severely overprised ... ."

 

I guess that is the full retail for these pens. The last one I got was from the Bay and including shipping I paid about $45. It is plain black, but it is in perfect shape, etc.

[RayMan]

NASTY AND DISGUSTING EXCUSE OF A PEN

 

Wow! You must have gotten a bad one. The last thing I would fault on this pen is the nib and feed. The nib is firm, with moderate feedback, which is what I prefer. It also lays down a crisp, steady line. It is also extremely reliable, even after several days of nonuse.

 

When it was brand new, I had some problems with skipping, but repeated flushing and use cured that. When you first get one, I would recommend using it with a converter rather than a cartridge. When you fill with the converter, you are wetting the entire ink channel, which helps preserve reliable ink flow. Try cartridges later, after you become familiar with how this pen performs.

Edited April 22, 2008 by RayMan

[pmsalty]

I use one. Got it on e-bay for $5.00. Has a definite heft to it, not to heavy but substantial. I enjoy using it. I use it as one of my signature pens. A good writer.

PMS

[Sallent]

You bet I got a bad one. It frustrated me so much that I ended up thowing it into the lake in my back yard. That Waterman Expert II is now resting in about 10-12 feet of water.

 

I swear I tried to get that pen to work for the longest time, but for something I paid almost $115 for it was so frustrating!!!

 

On the other hand, my vintage Waterman 52 1/2 is a delight, every time I write with it i feel like am in pen heaven.

[david6]

You bet I got a bad one. It frustrated me so much that I ended up thowing it into the lake in my back yard. That Waterman Expert II is now resting in about 10-12 feet of water.

 

I swear I tried to get that pen to work for the longest time, but for something I paid almost $115 for it was so frustrating!!!

 

On the other hand, my vintage Waterman 52 1/2 is a delight, every time I write with it i feel like am in pen heaven.

 

Sorry to read that you had such a bad experience with the Expert II. I have two of these pens and they both write perfectly. The Expert II has a nice weight to the pen and it feels just right in my hand. Seems that you were really unlucky with the Expert II that you purchased.

 

[satrap]

You bet I got a bad one. It frustrated me so much that I ended up thowing it into the lake in my back yard. That Waterman Expert II is now resting in about 10-12 feet of water.

 

I swear I tried to get that pen to work for the longest time, but for something I paid almost $115 for it was so frustrating!!!

 

On the other hand, my vintage Waterman 52 1/2 is a delight, every time I write with it i feel like am in pen heaven.

===

 

Serious? For that much money I would have demanded a refund, or at least a new pen. Waterman would have exchanged it for you, if it was beyond repair. Go fish it out and send it to me!

[SJA]

Yes. Lovely daily writer, even though it's a fine nib. Great for crossword puzzles.