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I was given a pen by my local antique dealer, I’ve had it cleaned and I did a bit of internet research. I *think* that it is a Waterman 94 in Olive Ripple Hard Rubber from the 1920s….
it writes beautifully but the nib leaks unless stored upright (I’ve posted in the repairs thread about this issue).
Can someone who knows more about these pens than I do confirm my identification?
There are no markings on the ends of the pen.
Look at the end of the barrel.
Nice pen. Yes it is a 94 in Olive Ripple. Not too unusual that the number is worn away on the end of the barrel. What is nice is that the gold filled trim looks to be in very good shape and the hard rubber surfaces look pretty smooth. Not often the case with these. Don't clean it or polish it any more until you do some homework... Nib dripping is likely an air leak in the sac, so leaving the pen filled might allow ink to leak internally, which is not good. I take it you have filled the pen and the lever is working. If not recently restored, it is not unusual for the sac to fail in this way. Pens like this can be restored pretty easily with a HUGE caveat that disassembly by inexperienced hands can result in a broken barrel. This is a very desireable old pen that is worthy of taking your time with. Any folks in your locale who restore pens?
Bob
Thanks Bob! There are no pen restorers near me, I sent it away to be cleaned and to have a new sac installed. The pen was in pretty bad shape when it was given to me; the sac looked like it had melted inside the barrel and the nib was caked in dried ink. The person who did the work did a great job, however they couldn’t remove the stain from the barrel and said the pen wasn’t worth anything unless it had sentimental value. Other than the nib leaking I am very happy with the pen. The lever works but it feels fragile so I filled it by removing the barrel (carefully!) from the nib section and manually squishing the sac with my fingers to fill it, then replaced the barrel to use. I didn’t notice any leak in the sac but I’ll have another look.
I had a look at the sac and did the bike tube test (submerge in water and look for bubbles). No holes or leaks detected.
If it isn't too much trouble, I would resac the pen anyway. Do you know how old the sac is? I would do what I could to insure getting all the pleasure I could from a gift horse like this.
Actually, it looks like a badly discolored Blue-Green hard rubber 94 to me.