Search the Community

Hello everybody! =) I write you all this message because I would need a bit of help - I got two Waterman fountain pen (I guess it is waterman as it is written on the nib), which I think are pretty old because I got them from my grandfather who used to buy many various fountain pens in second-hand. I absolutely LOVE them as they are EXACTLY the kind of touch/feedback I was looking for two years ago. Even thiner and even more flexible than my usual Platinum Century 3776 SF that I always use (special renewed thanks to the members who helped me then advising me to buy this pen by the way ) ; they are just GREAT. The problem I have is that I have no idea what they exactly are - I love fountain pens but know very few about them. So could one of you please help me identify them and tell me how I must take care of these new babies in order not to do any damage? (I will attach below, for both the pens, some photos and three links towards youtube unreferenced videos) The only clues I have are the following ones: - The inscription on the nib: "WATERMAN'S IDEAL | REG. U.S. | PAT. OFF" (Identical on both pens) - They probably works with a plunger (the little round thing on the side?) on which is engraved "Ideal" (have no idea about how a plunger pen works!) (identical on both pens) - They are probably old for the reason I wrote above, also because they have no clip on the cap (my father told me this occured only with old pens) - They are extremely pretty!! No relation with some other plastic fountain pens I could find in my grandfather's collection! - They both have flexible nibs. If you have any indication or information to give me, I would be extremely grateful!! I know that vintage flexible fountain pens are usually the best, I heard about the Waterman's ones, so when I saw these two pens I immediately tried their nibs (and loved them), though, I have no clue about their identity, nor their age. I also would like to ask how I could clean them entirely - I've been testing them just diving the nib in my usual Monteverde inks and removing gently the rest of ink with a cloth after use (I didn't mix the inks by the way, always removed the rest of the previous ink before testing another). I love them so much I would be horrified to harm them. I passed the nib of the smaller one under cold water to remove the ink I had used the first time, and could guess there was a rest of some blue ink inside (that doesn't appear when I'm writing though). I know I must not mix some inks with each others, in order not to clog the pen; is there any way I can clean these pens? Generally, can I use them with my Monteverde inks in the future? Is there anything special I should absolutely know about fountain pen care in this case? Could someone also explain me how a plunger fountain pen usually works...? The long pen also seems to have feed issues if I compare it to the small one, which feed "follows" me wathever I do (my favourite from the two, although the nibs seem identical). Below links and pictures. Thanks to all!! =) Photos on google drive (otherwise the display is not adapted): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12CtU2lKJjWmmb_CksVZynFBcyM5Te0UP?usp=sharing Links toward youtube: => => => (Sorry for the poor quality of the videos and the fact it is twisted, with no experience neither professionality and only one hand available I couldn't do anything better ^^ x) ) Inks used: Monteverde, Sapphire for the small one and Rose Noir for the long one. Thanks again! =)