Waterman, Made In France?

[Limerickoshea]

This won't be easy because I can't take pictures that are worth a dam, so you'll have to wade through my prose instead. I just came into possession of a dozens or so pens, mostly European, among which is a lovely looking black and bronze hatched Waterman. It is plastic ( I suppose), about 12 cm capped with two thin brass bands about 1/4 inch up the cap from the lip. There s no clip and no indication of there ever having been a clip. There are two small holes mid-cap and a black plastic "jewel" on the cap.

 

The nib is stainless and has "Waterman France" stamped on it The feed is a solid piece of plastic. It appears there might have been a brass band between the section and the pen barrel, just in front of the threads. There is a blind cap that comes off to reveal a button filler.

 

My daughter fell in love with it - it fits her hand nicely and she loves the look of it, so I'm going to get it refurbished. But I would like to know more about it. Even a few inks for me to chase down would be welcome.

 

Thanks All.

 

[RMN]

Well, without pics that really is an impossible task.

 

The two holes: are they close together? they are probably the place where the clip was riveted.

 

Alas I don't have any pen-favourites in my browser on this computer so I can't guide you to one of the typical Waterman sites with dozens of pics and descriptions. Maybe one of the other members has a link at hand

 

 

D.ick

[Left FPN]

It's the combination of a stainless steel nib and button filler that seems out of sorts to me.

[RMN]

I thought that too, but my knowledge of vintage is not so good, so I did not comment.

 

@ Limerickoshea: please tell more about it. Is it a clip on or screw on cap? What is the section like?

What makes you think it is a steel nib?

 

A picture, even a bad one, would help tremendously.

[Limerickoshea]

Here's the best picture I have. You can see one of the holes in the cap on the left side, about half way up. The other hole is on the other side of the cap, 180 degrees from the one you see. These aren't clip holes. You can also see the blind cap screws off revealing the filler. You can kind of see the nib which, if it isn't stainless steel, is certainly not gold. Finally, you get a slight idea of the "hatching" motif.

 

[Left FPN]

I think someone used a Waterman nib for a project. But what nib we cannot say without a good close pic. Does it look like this which is a Broad but yours could be a Fine.

 

Edited May 27, 2013 by Force

[79spitfire]

As far as I know, Waterman, France or US never produced a button filler. (I could be wrong, of course) The material appears to be celluloid. My gut instinct is it's a no-name (second or third tier) pen that was fitted with a Waterman nib to make it usable. There is nothing wrong with that of course, but it limits the pen's value to one of practical concerns, if your daughter likes it, get it fixed and have her use it.

 

The holes in the sides of the cap are to help equalize air pressure as the pen is un-capped, so it would be less likely to burp ink during un-capping. The holes should be drilled through just below the point where the inner cap seats onto the section.

 

The gap between the section and the barrel is likely just a gap where the two are beginning to separate, I doubt it had a metal ring there.

 

It's also possible at one time it had a clip that seated under the top jewel, but got broken or damaged and so was removed.

 

None of this makes any difference if it's going to be a user, and it looks like it would be a good one at that, Waterman France nibs are noted for smoothness.

[georges zaslavsky]

there were some very rare Waterman button fillers made in Switzerland or for the Swiss market as far as I recall

[Limerickoshea]

Force:

 

That's exactly what the nib looks like!

 

79Spitfire, I thought about a clip seated under the top jewel, but there isn't a hint, a scratch, a mark anywhere on the cap that would indicate this.

 

Thanks everyone your your help and comments.

 

Joe

[Left FPN]

Force:

 

That's exactly what the nib looks like!

 

79Spitfire, I thought about a clip seated under the top jewel, but there isn't a hint, a scratch, a mark anywhere on the cap that would indicate this.

 

Thanks everyone your your help and comments.

 

Joe

It's from a steel/chrome Laureat.

 

[RMN]

I guess it is a Frankenpen. That nib is too narrow for that body. I doubt Waterman would make a section like that go with this nib.

 

The body is nice, that crosshatch is attractive.

 

Even if a Frankenpen, if that buttonfiller works properly you'll have a very nice writer there.

 

I guess it will be easy to find a clip somewhere to donate.

 

 

D.ick

[Ernst Bitterman]

I've seen that sort of body on several low-end pens of the 1930s and '40s; the lesser makers used "pretty" to make up for the quality of the points. I suspect what happened is the original point was partially dissolved or otherwise incapacitated, and the current point was stuck in to bring it back to duty. Since it probably wasn't a pen anyone cared about from a collector's standpoint (no cries of "Oh, look! An Empirical Madgestic!") you're probably well ahead of the game, with a pen that is both attractive and (if taking on ink) a decent writer.

 

The holes in the cap are vents to prevent suction during uncapping, and the resulting ink spillage. If that point is lying on the old feed, those vents will save a lot of tears.