Waterman Man 100 Black review

[yoplaboum]

2 weeks ago my brother offered me a Waterman Man 100 he won in a business challenge 20 years ago, an he didn't use. I was interested in buying a good pen, and was taking informations in FPN on Pelikans, about the M600. I was wondering buying one, to have the nib regrinded, because I prefer stub nibs, and Pelikan doesn't propose it. I could play in a shop with a M800, but I found it too big, and too heavy.

That's why I was impressed with the man 100. A realy nice pen, but certainly not a light or a small one. His weight is 39 gr with a converter, 145 mm capped, for a total lenght of 170 mm with cap posted. The pen is the basic black man 100, with the F nib, first kind without globe.

The bad things :

- This pen passed the last 20 yers in his box, with a full cartridge left in... I passed a loooong time to clean it.

- The small cylinder wich enter in the cartridge, around the feeding system, is lost, broken. But I cas use the converter without leaking, because the external diameter of it fits exactly the internal diameter of the nib part. With this nib I can't use cartridges, but it is not really important for me.

The good thing is that, except this cartridge problem, only two cartridges were missing in the original packaging, this pen was like new, nearly never used.

 

In fact, the pen is heavy, but with an excellent balance, even better when posted IMHO. The Man 100 looks like a very serious instrument, not something screaming : "Hey I'm a high end and expensive pen !!" All, in this simple black pen, is turned to his function : writing, and the only "luxe" is the nib. I'm not a big fan of the round nibs, since I discovered the existence of the stub (Thank you FPN !). But I must admit that this one is a jewel. This is an example of handwriting with this nib:

I visited, this week, one of the best pen seller of my native town, to buy a leather case for my new pen, and asked as a reflex to the seller, a young girl, if they have nibs for this pen. She answered no, but I asked the same thing 2 minutes after to the manager of the stand, an older lady, who told me that she saw something like that in their last inventory ! In fact, this woman was working in this whop since 35 years, and assumed the servicing of these pens...Then I asked for a stub nib, and this seller came, after researching one minute, with this one : a new-in-box stub, with its grip, from the first year of this pen. The nib was not cheap, but a could have a good rebate on it.

This nib is really on the wet side, more thick than I expected. The flow seems to be sometime not very regular, too.... Perhaps I have to write more with it, perhaps this is because this nib is new, I don't know... I would be interested by the opinion of a user of the same nib.

There's a lest thing I would like to know : with its size and weight, does it handle like a Pelikan M800 or M1000 ? And I would be very curious, too, to see a picture of a Man 100 with these Pelikans. If a forumer owns all the pens fot a picture, he's welcome !! For the moment, my Waterman allows me to wait a little for a Pelikan with a grinded nib !

A last thing : is somebody here has a cap to sell for this pen, even in bad condition, or with a broken clip... It's only to keep inked the second nib (not used on the pen), without risk of drying... Thank you !

Edited April 12, 2010 by yoplaboum

[jigesh]

Excellent review and pictures; thank you! LeMan 100 is a fantastic pen and somewhat under-rated I guess partly due to it being a non-piston filler. Your new stub nib is lovely, too. Congratulations!

[goodguy]

Nice pen, enjoy.

[Fuddlestack]

Chouette!

[jar]

A nice pen and that nib you got is really something special.

 

I have some 100s as well as Pelikan 800s and 10xx and will try to get some pics for you if the rain ever stops.

[gregamckinney]

Hi, here are two quick comparison shots. You'll see that the capped and posted lengths are not that different.

 

For me the main difference is that the Waterman feels too heavy and badly balanced when posted. It is one of the few pens I use unposted.

 

The gripping section of the M1000 is very wide, which I find very comfortable.

 

http://www.gergyor.com/images/800-100-1000-compare1.jpg

http://www.gergyor.com/images/800-100-1000-compare2.jpg

 

Regards, greg

[jar]

Okay, a few more.

 

As mentioned above, the capped and posted lengths are not much different, in fact the Man 100 fits nicely between the Pelikan 800 and 10xx.

 

http://www.fototime.com/E7F611FE82D8C2D/standard.jpg

I find the weights and balance fine on any of them.

 

The big differences are in the section and nibs. The Waterman Man 100 has a smaller, thinner nib and much thinner, longer and more tapering section than the Man 100. In addition, since it is a slip on cap there are no threads. Also, the shorter cap of the Man 100 moves it higher in the web of your hand when used posted and so many may find that more comfortable.

 

http://www.fototime.com/8F5E960E865B3F7/standard.jpg

 

 

I find both designs to be very good.

[yoplaboum]

Gregamckinney and Jar, thank you VERY much for your pictures !!!

It seems that in size, the man 100 is between the two Pels, but with a thinner body, even thinner than the M800. And is heavier, for its size, than the Pels...

Thank you, very interesting pictures !!!!

[Brian]

Nice pen. A classic one too. These pens were designed to be used and finding a stub nib is amazing. Congratulations. I only wish I had one.

[jar]

Nice pen. A classic one too. These pens were designed to be used and finding a stub nib is amazing. Congratulations. I only wish I had one.

 

And not just a Stub, but an engraved 1883-1983 one.

[Ed Ronax]

Nice review of this nice looking pen.

[georges zaslavsky]

congrats on the man 100 I have six of them and I love them

[enricof]

@yoplaboum: I have precisely the same (F nibbed, same age) pen, bought new as a self-gift (just finished my studies) in 1987...

 

Love it, but pay attention to the golden trim ring near the nib, as it gets easily corroded (replaced twice).

Pelikan Blue destroyed it, Noodler's bulletproof black seems safe (so far, so good).

 

@ gregamckinney: what version is that M1000?

I knew only the black and the green striped version, looks like I'm missing something.

 

 

The stub nib unit is absolutely gorgeous, I assume that nice lady does not have another one...

Edited April 13, 2010 by enricof

[yoplaboum]

@yoplaboum: I have precisely the same (F nibbed, same age) pen, bought new as a self-gift (just finished my studies) in 1987...

 

Love it, but pay attention to the golden trim ring near the nib, as it gets easily corroded (replaced twice).

Pelikan Blue destroyed it, Noodler's bulletproof black seems safe (so far, so good).

 

The stub nib unit is absolutely gorgeous, I assume that nice lady does not have another one...

 

Yes, I could read about the problem about the ring near the nib. The original F nib of the pen presents a very small area of corrosion (left 20 years with a cartridge in). I have to take care now !

 

About the old lady : I asked her !! I wanted to know, too. At the end of the commercial life of the pen (94 or 96, I think), she kept one nib of all the available kinds, but from years to years.... The sub is a special nib, I imagine that pen sold with a stub nib and with a F or M nib are in a ratio of 1 for 20, 30., or even less... That's why I vas lucky.

 

But I think Mr Lewertowski has some Man 100 nibs, too....

Edited April 13, 2010 by yoplaboum

[gregamckinney]

 

 

@ gregamckinney: what version is that M1000?   

I knew only the black and the green striped version, looks like I'm missing something.

 

 

Hi enricof,

My M1000 has a custom binde made by Chris Burton several years ago. It is the same plastic used on one of the Sheaffer Balance II's.

 

http://www.gergyor.com/images/sheaffer-m1000.png

 

Regards, greg

[yoplaboum]

Hi enricof,

My M1000 has a custom binde made by Chris Burton several years ago. It is the same plastic used on one of the Sheaffer Balance II's.

 

http://www.gergyor.com/images/sheaffer-m1000.png

 

Regards, greg

 

Greg, a M1000 is already a nice pen, but this customization makes it a high-class pen !!

Edited April 13, 2010 by yoplaboum

[AJ50]

Great looking pen but the prices seems to have shot up in recent years. I keep looking on eBay for a good sale price. Maybe one day

[iuoma]

looks very wonderful.....

[hpk90]

I had my Opera ground to a stub, and it writes beautifully.

[MontPelikan]

Hello,

 

a short video review of the Waterman LeMan 100 could be seen here:

 

 

Thank you for watching and sharing!

 

MontPelikan