gbryal
December 1st, 2014, 05:16 AM
I have a Waterman 94, blue and mottled cream (no, really; I apologize that I can't get the lighting right to capture it.). When I first received it, it had no clip. After a while it became apparent that such clips weren't something I could just grab off of eBay. So the strategy turned to finding a new cap. Finding a cap in the desired color became a problem, so I entertained the notion of a donor pen.
Stop laughing... I MIGHT be willing to toss aside a repairable pen in order to take its cap! No, you are right. That would require a harder heart than I possess. But I didn't really know that until the donor pen arrived. It was sold as nonfunctional, but in this case, a new sac had it up and running. Besides the correct clip, it also has better coloring. Look, it even has a nice gold nib, looks okay... but wait! What's that?
15073
A Parker Lucky Curve nib? This wasn't mentioned in the eBay listing!
15074
But it has a Waterman feed. Or in any case, not a Parker Lucky Curve feed. Will the darn thing even write? I looked at the tipping. I haven't seen a lot of custom grinds or Lucky Curve nibs, so I am not sure, but it looks like someone tried to put a point on it. The sides are beveled, and the point is pretty sharp. It looks like the tipping on one side is nearly (but not quite) gone.
So, I try it. SCRITCH SCRITCH! Very unpleasant. But then I try to flex it, and it goes from a hairline to the same semiflex as my more factory correct 94.
15075
I started thinking. Is the fine flex worth the scratch? I found turning the music up very loud covered the audible part. I decided, rather rashly, to buy a Waterman nib. I think I must not have had enough sleep. The nib hasn't arrived yet, but all I know about it is it's a Green nib. It's not the Ideal #4 on my other pen in any case. I am not sure if it will fit, but it's not a Parker. I'm going to proceed with caution from this point on.
The thing is, the Parker nib is sort of growing on me. Maybe I'll leave it alone.
For the record, the cap matches the pen it came with better than mine. So, the search is on again :).
Stop laughing... I MIGHT be willing to toss aside a repairable pen in order to take its cap! No, you are right. That would require a harder heart than I possess. But I didn't really know that until the donor pen arrived. It was sold as nonfunctional, but in this case, a new sac had it up and running. Besides the correct clip, it also has better coloring. Look, it even has a nice gold nib, looks okay... but wait! What's that?
15073
A Parker Lucky Curve nib? This wasn't mentioned in the eBay listing!
15074
But it has a Waterman feed. Or in any case, not a Parker Lucky Curve feed. Will the darn thing even write? I looked at the tipping. I haven't seen a lot of custom grinds or Lucky Curve nibs, so I am not sure, but it looks like someone tried to put a point on it. The sides are beveled, and the point is pretty sharp. It looks like the tipping on one side is nearly (but not quite) gone.
So, I try it. SCRITCH SCRITCH! Very unpleasant. But then I try to flex it, and it goes from a hairline to the same semiflex as my more factory correct 94.
15075
I started thinking. Is the fine flex worth the scratch? I found turning the music up very loud covered the audible part. I decided, rather rashly, to buy a Waterman nib. I think I must not have had enough sleep. The nib hasn't arrived yet, but all I know about it is it's a Green nib. It's not the Ideal #4 on my other pen in any case. I am not sure if it will fit, but it's not a Parker. I'm going to proceed with caution from this point on.
The thing is, the Parker nib is sort of growing on me. Maybe I'll leave it alone.
For the record, the cap matches the pen it came with better than mine. So, the search is on again :).