Search the Community

I was fascinated by the recent article, Waterman's Almost Forgotten C/F Cartridge-Fill Fountain Pen, in the most recent issue (Volume 7, Issue 1) of Paul's Fountain Pen Journal. I would direct you to the article's rendition of the history of the pen and its great photos of the pen and advertisements for the pen from the past. I won't repeat its information here. I was stimulated by the article to hunt on Ebay for this pen. There are many examples of this pen offered on Ebay, both from American and International sellers. I now have purchased three of the pens in different colors, have bid on another, and have purchased perhaps a one-of-a-kind display box of 12 different C/F nibs-in-sections for this type of pen. I wanted to share some photos I've taken today. The C/F I already received is this one, which has a gold-plated cap and reddish-brown barrel. It came with all its papers and a box of 8 cartridges, the ink in which mostly has evaporated, plus a "place-keeper" empty cartridge. I substituted a "broad-flex" nib-and-section (from the 12 nibs) for the one that came with the pen originally. I cleaned out two of the formerly filled cartridges, and then filled one with Diamine Monboddos Hat (dark purple) ink. Wow! The pen wrote immediately and was very smooth in its first "outing." We'll see how it performs over time. I would welcome any experiences or comments others have about this pen.

TL;DR: I acquired a Waterman fountain pen that I believe to be a Cartridge/Filled (C/F). The complete nib looks like it (see Figure 1). The nib unit corresponds to the typical C/F (Figures 2, 3). The other photos are also consistent with a Waterman C/F made in France (e.g., Figure 4). However, I cannot find the type of C/F that a finish without any lines, stripes, etc. Could you please help identify this pen? Especially a specific model identifier or a link to a catalog that includes it would help. Thank you. Details: The problem: I cannot find anywhere a reference to a gold-plated Waterman C/F that has a plain finish, without striations, curves, grain-patterns, fish- or crocodile-scales, etc. I read carefully various entries about the Waterman C/F, among which Dirck De Lint's / Raven March Fountain Pens, FPN's various entries on the CF and especially @donnweinberg's (thanks, everyone who contributed), and the entries I could find in the German and French versions of Lambrou's book. I searched eBay and gopens, both current and past listings. It seems to me the nib unit fits the 1970s Waterman C/F made in France. It seems to me the shape of both pen and cap also fit the 1970s Waterman C/F. The barrel is golden and shiny, and does have "WATERMAN" and "MADE IN FRANCE" engraved on it. However, I could not find an engraving indicating gold-plating, i.e., there is no "750" or "23[K]" engraved, as I've seen some of the Waterman pens from the 1960s and 1970s have. (Sorry for the quality of the photos; I took them last evening with my phone and could not find a way to remove the yellow-ish tint.) Figure 1. Full body of the fountain pen. Figure 2. Zoom on the nib. Figure 3. Nib unit attached to the pen body. Figure 4. The engraving reads "WATERMAN" and "MADE IN FRANCE". Cap and body seems to have plain gold-plating, no lines or other finishing. Many thanks for your help!

I've been lurking on this forum for a couple of years, and have only now come across a pen I couldn't quite place. It fits most descriptions of a steel-nibbed Waterman's C/F, but there are a few discrepancies I can't quite resolve. Namely, the cap - the steel-nibbed C/F, in most examples I've been able to find online, has a chrome-plated clip attached with a single visible rivet. My cap doesn't have that rivet. It looks a lot like the higher end caps, which made me wonder if I had an unoriginal cap. However, I couldn't find any examples of pens other than the steel-nibbed version that had chrome-plated clips like mine does. My question to you all here is: does this change anything else about the pen? Were any C/F's issued with white-metal plated gold nibs? Have you seen anything like my description before?

Just acquired this Waterman's C/F in excellent working condition. There is a date still partly visible on the barrel that say's "C 1928" and underneath the letters F.T.C and I think a $. It is barely visible but I think that's what it says.