Waterman Bleu Sérénité / Waterman Serenity Blue

[Morbus Curiositas]

Waterman Bleu Sérénité / Waterman Serenity Blue

Dear FPN friends,

This time an ink review of another ink manufacturer, but... Still with a little touch of De Atramentis to it

The ink in this review I received with my Waterman Carène DeLuxe Fountain Pen. Although it came in cartridges (quoting my Fountain Pen Hero SBRE Brown :" Real man use bottled ink" , and I believe real woman too) I really love the ink. It is just the type of vivid blue I love most.

What about the touch of De Atramentis???

As always in my handwritten reviews I do a little story. As some of you might know I love De Atramentis inks and I am in frequent contact with the manufacturer, the utterly friendly Dr.Franz-Josef Jansen ( an advantage of being a polyglot) Dr Jansen kindly allowed me to translate the article on ink history on his website www.die-tintenmanufaktur.de I find these articles very interesting, and for sharing them with you, I will translate them for you . In his article "Ink history antiquity" I found the name of Maurice Jametel who wrote an illustrated book of ancient chinese ink called. "L'encre de Chine,son histoire et sa fabrication". I have retrieved the book from archive.org and I am now busy with translating the text into English, which may take a little while, since my French is a bit rusty (Have to work on that) and I am not native speaker of English... These translations will be published as soon as possible.... Vielen Dank Herr Dr. Jansen (thank you very much Dr Jansen)...

Finally... On topic now...

Let's start with the cons...

Shading is very little and waterproof ?? er.. not really. My advice do not write in the shower .

And now the happy ending...

It is smooooth!!! and I find the blue very beautiful...

Down here are the technical specs (as suggested by Ann Finley 2007)

points 1-5 1 = 5=

Fountain Pens: Waterman Carène DeLuxe,medium Nib

Paper: Leonardo Ringbuch,average quality school note book made in Austria

Drying time: Approx. 8-10 seconds with a medium nib / quite long with 1,5 Italic nib points 2

Flow: like a ballet dancer on speed points: 5

Wetness: certainly wet enough for a land animal points 3-4

Lubrication: very smooth points: 5

Bleeding: little points: 4

Shading: very little points: 2

Waterproof: just a tad 1

Package: Cartidges and bottles points: 4 (bottle is quite nice but the not very special, although the label is beautiful)

Availabilty: Excellent points: EU 5

Quality: qualité superbe!!! fabriqué en (la douce) France points: 4

Simply a good ink with a colour I love for everyday work..

Hope the review was interesting enough for you.... Next time another ink review of , one of them will De Atramentis off course, but also a review of J. Herbin's 1670... une autre grand' encre de la Grande Nation.

For those of you who are interested... I wlil publish the translations of Dr. Jansen's research on ink history and the book on chinese ink under "Inky thoughts" as soon as possible

Kindest Regards

Peter Vlutters

[lapis]

Thanks for all of this data.

Still, AFAIK, there is absolutely no difference between Serenity Blue and their Florida Blue. It is only a renaming of one and the same ink.

 

Mike

[Morbus Curiositas]

Thanks for all of this data.

Still, AFAIK, there is absolutely no difference between Serenity Blue and their Florida Blue. It is only a renaming of one and the same ink.

 

Mike

Thanks for the info mike....

 

Is such a renaming of same ink common? In Waterman and other brands?

 

For example I have an old bottle of Pelikan Royal blue now there is Edelstein ink in it's lovely bottle... do those blues differ?

 

And 2nd question what are your favourite blues?

 

Greetz Peter

[vans4444]

Thanks for the review

[visvamitra]

Great review.

[lapis]

Renaming isn't very common. Waterman seems to be the latest, most audacious example. Here's a list of all current Waterman ink namings:

 

More common is an ink reformulation. A good example is Pelikan's Blue-Black which is no longer an iron-gall-ink since about 26 years ago. Lamy's and Monblanc's since about 3-4 and 1 years ago. Many other ink companies have also changed their formulations here and there (of non-iron-galls) like a few of Diamine and Noodler's.

 

Pelikan's Blue and Edelstein Sapphire are two completely different inks. They were never intended to be the same or even similar. Especially the flow and maintenance of the latter has been improved (as against their Royal Blue).

 

 

As to my favourite blues... well, maybe very roughly in this order...

MB Royal Blue

Noodler's Blue

Dupont Royal Blue

Aurora Blue

Omas Blue

Visconti Blue

DCWaites' Parker Penman Sapphire substitute (I don't have the original)

Noodler's Ottoman Azure

Diamine Imperial Blue

Levenger Cobalt Blue

Diamine Majestic Blue

Iroshizuku asa gao

Herbin Éclat de Saphir

Pelikan Royal Blue

PR American Blue

 

Mike

[Francis_Rex]

I have just bought a bottle as I like Waterman inks but on trying it I thought it looked very similar to the Florida Blue ink I have.

 

I feel annoyed at this as there were some other inks in the store I would have tried, had I known I was actually doubling up on an ink I already have.

 

i should not make impulse purchases.

Edited September 1, 2014 by Francis_Rex

[Morbus Curiositas]

I have just bought a bottle as I like Waterman inks but on trying it I thought it looked very similar to the Florida Blue ink I have.

 

I feel annoyed at this as there were some other inks in the store I would have tried, had I known I was actually doubling up on an ink I already have.

 

i should not make impulse purchases.

Yes I know the problem of impulse buys.... I bought a bottle of Herbin Lie de The which is a bit like DA Khaki

 

Please check LAPIS replies in to this topic....

 

Regards

 

Peter

[Francis_Rex]

Yes I know the problem of impulse buys.... I bought a bottle of Herbin Lie de The which is a bit like DA Khaki

 

Please check LAPIS replies in to this topic....

 

Regards

 

Peter

I agree re LAPIS: very useful information.

[SahilGulati]

Great review.

Love the stories! I've learnt German and am now learning French.

[Phonz]

I have this ink in a Waterman Kultur that doesn't close well when capped, yes I know "what do you expect from a 20 dollar pen" ...and everytime I use it is darker! As the ink start flowing for a while it becomes a little lighter again It seems that the ink reacts with air or something else...I love the original color as coming out from a new cartridge but not the darker one it becomes after a while! Bummer!

[LizEF]

I have this ink in a Waterman Kultur that doesn't close well when capped, yes I know "what do you expect from a 20 dollar pen" ...and everytime I use it is darker! As the ink start flowing for a while it becomes a little lighter again It seems that the ink reacts with air or something else...I love the original color as coming out from a new cartridge but not the darker one it becomes after a while! Bummer!

 

Same problem with the Kultur. In fact, my brother and I eventually ended up "destroying" and re-building the cap to "solve" this problem. Details, for any interested:

• Research revealed that the air leak was around the clip.
• Our initial attempt was to coat the inside of the closed end of the cap with CA glue (hoping that would seal all the little crevasses).
• That didn't work. Two problems: 1, moving the clip would break whatever seal we were able to create; 2, the CA glue eventually built up to the point where the tip of the nib was hitting it when capping.
• This led us to remove the clip, and fill in the empty space with epoxy, then sand it smooth and into shape with the rest of the cap, then paint the cap.
• We also had to sand down the inside of the cap (the very end of it, using a brush attachment on a drill) to get the excess CA glue out.
• The result is ugly (second pen from the top in my avatar - with a blue cap), but the only place which leaks air now is where the open end of the cap closes around the pen body, and it's much less severe than the air leak around the clip.

If I were going to do this again, I would try the following:

• Determine if there's a better option for sealing the cap around the clip (inside or out) - something other than CA glue, better application method, way to fix the clip in place...
• Try to determine if there's a way to protect the inside of the cap from the fumes put off by something like CA glue, which "frosted" the inside of the cap plastic, ruining the beautiful clear look.
• If not, do a better job of sanding the outside of the cap so the paint would adhere better - it's wearing / flaking off.
• Do more research to see if there's a better type of paint to use on the cap - I used model paint.

Others have said they had no such problem, but where I was able to determine, those people have been in more humid areas (I'm in one of the driest areas of the country).

 

I love the pen, but don't use it that often - part of me wants to buy another so it's back to its original look, but that's pointless if the ink is all the time drying out...

[lapis]

FWIW I'd like to say that your Kultur may have been a bit audacious in the first place -- but as an anomaly. My 4 Kulturs have never had that problem. Still, no reason not to try and "repair" a cap or the threading on the section. Getting back to the ink itself, it is IMO a bit "thin" but nonetheless a really "good" ink. Praise again for the old saying, "Use Florida Blue and if it doesn't write well, then it's the pen and not the ink"....

 

Mike

[LizEF]

FWIW I'd like to say that your Kultur may have been a bit audacious in the first place -- but as an anomaly. My 4 Kulturs have never had that problem. Still, no reason not to try and "repair" a cap or the threading on the section.

 

Mike

 

I suppose it's possible mine was an anomaly, but when it comes to evaporation, ambient humidity is a significant factor, and where I'm at is much drier than Berlin... Since another poster had the same problem, I wanted to mention it's not unique to that poster, because I think someone like me in a desert should know this if they go searching for info on the Kultur.

[lapis]

Food for thought. I did see that you spoke of humidity but I didn't know that your neighborhood was that dry. Try and keep a pen or two (especially a Kultur) wrapped up in a plastic box or bag and then see what happens..... Death Valley? Ask Amber!

[LizEF]

Food for thought. I did see that you spoke of humidity but I didn't know that your neighborhood was that dry. Try and keep a pen or two (especially a Kultur) wrapped up in a plastic box or bag and then see what happens..... Death Valley? Ask Amber!

 

Hmm. I'd have to buy a new one for that (the old one is fine now that the cap is "fixed"). Well, that's why we're here, right, to give each other good reasons to buy new pens? It's not nearly as dry here as Death Valley, but it is dry. I shall ponder your suggestion and whether it's worth getting another. Thanks.

[lapis]

I'd buy another 1 or 6 if you get the chance. They're not made anymore since years and years and when I bought mine (in various stores 8 years ago) they were already NOSs (NOSes looks silly) and came in at about $5.00 as piece. Good for nailing down a comparison of handfuls of different inks alongside each other. For the same job, Safaris are great but Pelikanos aren't.

 

Mike

[mallymal1]

What a great thread! Fascinating, on so many different levels.

 

Peter...thank you for the wonderful review, and your research. I don't have a bottle of the Serenity Blue, but shall put that to rights, when I next put together an ink order.

 

Malcolm

[Bookman]

I have this ink in a Waterman Kultur that doesn't close well when capped, yes I know "what do you expect from a 20 dollar pen" ...and everytime I use it is darker! As the ink start flowing for a while it becomes a little lighter again It seems that the ink reacts with air or something else...I love the original color as coming out from a new cartridge but not the darker one it becomes after a while! Bummer!

 

 

 

Same problem with the Kultur. In fact, my brother and I eventually ended up "destroying" and re-building the cap to "solve" this problem. Details, for any interested:

• Research revealed that the air leak was around the clip.
• Our initial attempt was to coat the inside of the closed end of the cap with CA glue (hoping that would seal all the little crevasses).
• That didn't work. Two problems: 1, moving the clip would break whatever seal we were able to create; 2, the CA glue eventually built up to the point where the tip of the nib was hitting it when capping.
• This led us to remove the clip, and fill in the empty space with epoxy, then sand it smooth and into shape with the rest of the cap, then paint the cap.
• We also had to sand down the inside of the cap (the very end of it, using a brush attachment on a drill) to get the excess CA glue out.
• The result is ugly (second pen from the top in my avatar - with a blue cap), but the only place which leaks air now is where the open end of the cap closes around the pen body, and it's much less severe than the air leak around the clip.

If I were going to do this again, I would try the following:

• Determine if there's a better option for sealing the cap around the clip (inside or out) - something other than CA glue, better application method, way to fix the clip in place...
• Try to determine if there's a way to protect the inside of the cap from the fumes put off by something like CA glue, which "frosted" the inside of the cap plastic, ruining the beautiful clear look.
• If not, do a better job of sanding the outside of the cap so the paint would adhere better - it's wearing / flaking off.
• Do more research to see if there's a better type of paint to use on the cap - I used model paint.

Others have said they had no such problem, but where I was able to determine, those people have been in more humid areas (I'm in one of the driest areas of the country).

 

I love the pen, but don't use it that often - part of me wants to buy another so it's back to its original look, but that's pointless if the ink is all the time drying out...

 

My Waterman Bleu Sérénité never looked so good as it did coming out of my Kultur, until I bought my Edison Collier. I'd had the same problem with my Kultur's cap, and I ended up destroying the village in order to save it, so to speak. My Collier doesn't have any air leaks anywhere. Nevertheless, with Waterman Bleu Sérénité it lays down a nice medium-dark line whether I'm using the JoWo F that came with the pen, my Conklin/Bock M, or my Fountain Pen Revolution "Flex Nib."

Edited September 30, 2017 by Bookman