Waterman Woodgrain Or Ripple?

[DIANN]

 

I purchased what I thought was Parker fountain pen in box at consignment/antique market. Closer examination at home showed it to be a Waterman. Being a novice fountain pen owner, I have been unable to definitively identify it via Internet searches, so I am asking the experts!

 

Nib is engraved MANIFOLD WATERMAN'S IDEAL REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. The nib, pump, and bottom of screw top are gold-tone. The pocket clip is engraved WATERMAN'S with IDEAL globe logo. On the barrel, opposite the pump, words engraved into the material itself are WATERMAN'S, next line REG. U.S. (globe logo with IDEAL) PAT. OFF., next line FOUNTAIN PEN.

 

Any assistance would be most appreciated!

[Azuniga]

 

You will get a lot of answers many people here knows this pen.

For me it is a Ripple Red of course. Look at the base of the barrel, you should find a number there,

I believe it is a 52 but it could be different....

Enjoy it, nice pen, really nice...

[DIANN]

Neither top of screw top or bottom of barrel has a number -- just a swirl pattern which was why I was wondering if woodgrain?

[Azuniga]

I have also seen them without a number, either because it was not there or because it was erased with the use.

 

But you are right to keep your question, looking the image again there is a difference between the pattern on the barrel and the one in the cap.

I will look among mine (I have three I believe) and post them later today or tomorrow...

[Azuniga]

Ok, here they are.

 

Left to right

Waterman's 18 ED I believe woodgrain

Waterman's 7 LF, Ripple for me

Waterman's 52 LF, also Ripple for me and the closest to yours

Waterman's No number or any other indication in the barrel, LF ... it could be something else, the lever has no Waterman indication

and the Clip is a Waterman's, for me it is woodgrain...

I am not a Waterman's expert but have been writing with them for long time, someone else will tell us

Hope this helps anyway...

[Glenn-SC]

The set looks like a mismatch with a Ripple Cap on a Woodgrain barrel.

[DanDeM]

It's a Ripple. Woodgrain is much tighter, more like...well, wood. Here's one in blue.

 

 

It has the word Ripple imprinted on the barrel along with

Waterman’s Ideal

Reg. US Pat Off

Fountain Pens

 

The end of the barrel is marked 94.

 

 

Can't tell from your pic, but is your clip similar?

[DIANN]

It's a Ripple. Woodgrain is much tighter, more like...well, wood. Here's one in blue.

 

 

It has the word Ripple imprinted on the barrel along with

Waterman’s Ideal

Reg. US Pat Off

Fountain Pens

 

The end of the barrel is marked 94.

 

 

Can't tell from your pic, but is your clip similar?

[DIANN]

I have attached another photo (I had not realized until posting to forum that you could only upload one photo per post). This photo shows the end of barrel; my clip does look like yours.

 

I had also looked at another website ( http://www.richardspens.com/ ) which also noted RIPPLE model had RIPPLE embossed on barrel; mine does not. As I said, the ends of cap and barrel look like a wood spiral. I also think from this angle the barrel looks like wood grain would?

 

Thanks for all the info so far!

 

Diann

Edited April 18, 2012 by DIANN

[OcalaFlGuy]

The set looks like a mismatch with a Ripple Cap on a Woodgrain barrel.

 

FWIW, I agree.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL-kind of partial to the woodgrain <looking over at my Wahl WG Signature Stub set>

[DIANN]

The set looks like a mismatch with a Ripple Cap on a Woodgrain barrel.

 

FWIW, I agree.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL-kind of partial to the woodgrain <looking over at my Wahl WG Signature Stub set>

[DIANN]

Is there any way to definitively distinguish woodgrain top from ripple top? I am attaching pic of end of top which shows the same swirl pattern as the end of the barrel.

[Vintagepens]

Ripple cap, woodgrain barrel. Probably not a mismatch, in that the pen likely came from the factory this way. My work with re-manufacture of hard rubber has led to some interesting insights into the development of Ripple, which has much to do with the technology of extrusion in the 1920s. I believe that the Ripple pattern was an accidental result of Waterman's adoption of a certain type of extruder. It certainly wasn't promoted as a distinct pattern until several years after it first appeared.

 

Note that the term "woodgrain" as applied to Waterman hard rubber is a modern coinage.

[Azuniga]

When I said some people had the answers here I knew they would offered them

The answer is very precise and at least to me very useful, thank you David...

 

DIANN you should be pleased....

You can upload more than one image, check the size, I believe the global upload quota is 1.95MB...

Regards...

[DanDeM]

Is there any way to definitively distinguish woodgrain top from ripple top? I am attaching pic of end of top which shows the same swirl pattern as the end of the barrel.

DIANN

I think you're getting confused by the look of the cross section at the end of the pen, which does look like a burl or a brier you might see on a pipe.

To recognize woodgrain, look along the length of the pen. It will look like this...

 

 

or this.

 

 

Hope this helps.