Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: How far the mighty (Waterman) have fallen?

  1. #1
    Member tooth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Location
    Seattle WA
    Posts
    97
    Thanks
    84
    Thanked 89 Times in 36 Posts
    Rep Power
    5

    Default How far the mighty (Waterman) have fallen?



    30 years ago I wrote almost exclusively with Waterman fountain pens and thought the world of them. I’m only recently back to using fountain pens again and have finally worked my way up from the normal starter pens to a modest Waterman, the Hemisphere.

    I am shocked at the quality of the section. It’s difficult to photograph, but there are standing seams down both sides of the section that you can’t help but feel when you write with it. In my limited exposure I’ve not run into anything like this before and find it truly distracting. Is this defect something you pros have come across before? I purchased it from one of the reputable online stores that everyone here knows so I’m assuming it isn’t a counterfeit. Thanks for any feedback!

  2. #2
    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    11,367
    Thanks
    6,856
    Thanked 10,336 Times in 3,966 Posts
    Rep Power
    24

    Default Re: How far the mighty (Waterman) have fallen?

    I have a couple of marbled lacquer Hemis but haven't noticed the problem you're experiencing.

    Apart from the fact that they dry ink out quickly when filled, so I can't leave them with ink in there for long, I quite like them.

    If you really don't like the seams you could very carefully smooth them down with a nib smoothing board then polish the section with some plastic polish.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  3. The Following User Says Thank You to Chrissy For This Useful Post:

    tooth (August 3rd, 2020)

  4. #3
    Senior Member manoeuver's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Near Midwest, US
    Posts
    1,592
    Thanks
    1,225
    Thanked 1,078 Times in 554 Posts
    Rep Power
    15

    Default Re: How far the mighty (Waterman) have fallen?

    sad but true. I recommend finding some Watermans in the 30-100 year-old range.

  5. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    369
    Thanks
    115
    Thanked 247 Times in 125 Posts
    Rep Power
    11

    Default Re: How far the mighty (Waterman) have fallen?

    On a plastic section, standing seams are now pretty common on starter and mid-range pens even. You can carefully smooth down with micromesh and polish if you need to remove the seams. My Pelikan 200 series pens have two slight seams on the section. The same is true of my Waterman Phileas pens, and Sheaffer No Nonsense. The seams are more pronounced on the cheaper pens, but even in the mid-level, you still find them sometimes. My two modern Conklins do not have the seams. The Pelikans have the best nibs of this bunch. It's just something you will sometimes have to deal with at this level of pen, but with a little effort you can smooth it.

  6. #5
    Senior Member azkid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Colorado, USA
    Posts
    2,016
    Thanks
    3,725
    Thanked 1,703 Times in 822 Posts
    Rep Power
    9

    Default Re: How far the mighty (Waterman) have fallen?

    I noticed the seams with my eyes rather than my fingers on our two Hemispheres and my M205.

    Sucks that any example of a $80-100 pen needs any smoothing on the section. Guessing this is a result of perpetual cost cutting measures.

    For what it's worth, my wife's Hemi sits in its box for weeks between writing and usually starts right up. She uses Waterman Black cartridges.

    Fun fact, according to a Swedish Study, human fingers can discern the difference between a smooth surface and a seemingly smooth surface with 13nm wrinkles, or 0.000013 mm!

    "This means that, if your finger was the size of the Earth, you could feel the difference between houses from cars"

    Or more apropos, most coronaviruses are about 80-220nm in diameter.

    Feeling small: Fingers can detect nano-scale wrinkles even on a seemingly smooth surface

  7. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to azkid For This Useful Post:

    Ahriman4891 (August 3rd, 2020), manoeuver (August 6th, 2020)

  8. #6
    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Carlisle, Pennsylvania USA
    Posts
    4,903
    Thanks
    1,395
    Thanked 6,379 Times in 2,500 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: How far the mighty (Waterman) have fallen?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ray-VIgo View Post
    On a plastic section, standing seams are now pretty common on starter and mid-range pens even. You can carefully smooth down with micromesh and polish if you need to remove the seams. My Pelikan 200 series pens have two slight seams on the section. The same is true of my Waterman Phileas pens, and Sheaffer No Nonsense. The seams are more pronounced on the cheaper pens, but even in the mid-level, you still find them sometimes. My two modern Conklins do not have the seams. The Pelikans have the best nibs of this bunch. It's just something you will sometimes have to deal with at this level of pen, but with a little effort you can smooth it.
    Even the section of the pricey M700 Toledo has them.

  9. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    369
    Thanks
    115
    Thanked 247 Times in 125 Posts
    Rep Power
    11

    Default Re: How far the mighty (Waterman) have fallen?

    They must not smooth them out any more then. My M400 doesn't have any seams on the section. They bother some people more than others. I guess the seams don't bother me as much. Some of my favorite pens have knurled sections (the Fat Touchdowns come to mind).

  10. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Posts
    6,656
    Thanks
    2,026
    Thanked 2,188 Times in 1,418 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: How far the mighty (Waterman) have fallen?

    Seams bother me a lot. I'd rather buy a $10 Chinese pen than pay $125 and get the same low-quality section look/feel. I actually think it is obnoxious to charge a hundred bucks or more and give people a section that looks like it belongs on a 10-dollar pen.

  11. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to TSherbs For This Useful Post:

    azkid (August 3rd, 2020), Sailor Kenshin (August 3rd, 2020)

  12. #9
    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Carlisle, Pennsylvania USA
    Posts
    4,903
    Thanks
    1,395
    Thanked 6,379 Times in 2,500 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: How far the mighty (Waterman) have fallen?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ray-VIgo View Post
    They must not smooth them out any more then. My M400 doesn't have any seams on the section. They bother some people more than others. I guess the seams don't bother me as much. Some of my favorite pens have knurled sections (the Fat Touchdowns come to mind).
    My M400s don't, either. I guess Pelikan reached into the cheaper parts bin for the M700.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •