Waterman's Ideal 52V Vintage Flex Pen

[max dog]

Overview:

Here is a mini review of the Waterman's Ideal 52V vintage flex fountain pen. The body of the pen is made of hard rubber and is finished in a brown ripple pattern. There is a nice patina on the cap and barrel giving it a nice antique look.

 

I was fortunate enough to find this gem on ebay. The seller indicated the ink sac was replaced and the nib thoroughly cleaned. The ink fill lever system is in good condition and clicks flush up against the body and sucks a healthy dose of ink.

 

According to Richard Binder's website, the Waterman's Ideal 52V's rippled finish was introduced in 1926, so I would place this pen production between 1926 and 1930 when the last hard rubber 52s were produced.

 

 

Size/balance:

The V in the 52V stands for "vest" size meaning it is shorter than the standard 52 pen. The 5- stands for Lever filler, and the 2- refers to the Waterman's #2 nib size. There is also the 52 1/2V, where the 1/2 - stands for narrower girth than the standard 52.

 

Size wise, it is comparable to the Pelikan M200/400, maybe the girth is slightly narrower. The cap posts well, and posted it is a medium sized pen, well balanced and comfortable. The cap can be removed with just a single turn (360 degree) which I like.

 

 

 

The Nib:

The flexible 14K gold Waterman ideal No 2 nib still has a lot of tipping material left, so the writing is smooth enough for every day writing (comparable in smoothness to my Namiki Falcon and Pelikan M250 semi-flex nibs), and with light/medium pressure there is gobs of wonderful flex! It's not a wet noodle, but flex is right there when you need it. The semi-flex nibs I have made flex writing difficult for me being a newbie to flex, but with this full flex pen it is easy to do. The feed keeps up really well as it never rail roads when I push the flex to the max.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion:

I love this pen. It is practical as an every day writer to use at work or write in your journal, and when you want to add some flare to your penmanship the flex is right there with slightly more writing pressure. The Waterman's Ideal 52V as it's name says, is really the "Ideal" fountain pen.

 

If you want to experience vintage flex, consider the Waterman's Ideal 52. If you do a search, there are a lot of these pens available like Parker 51s. Prices vary from $80 right up to $400+ depending on the condition and rarity of the specific pen. I got mine for $135 restored with a new ink Sac, perfectly working lever, and good flex nib, so you can pick up a good one without breaking the bank.

 

Edited January 18, 2014 by max dog

[pavoni]

Great review Max Dog, that really is a delicious nib you have there.

 

Really appreciate you taking the time to share so generously with us.

 

Pavoni.

[andymcc]

Great review...and I'm really jealous of your pen the look and size of it and the huge flex, it looks like a fantastic pen

[LordBeldingford]

Nice review! I like the rounded feed...

[max dog]

Thanks everyone for you kind responses.

[lumberjak]

Nice review! I have to say that waterman No2 flex nibs are my favorite. I use one as my standard flex pen, nothing compares IMO(exept maybe a nice mabie todd).

[Mesu]

Thanks for the review.

 

The flex of the nib is amazing.

[brewsky]

Lovely review. Thanks for the brief explanation on sizes and numerical meaning behind the pens. I wpuld love to add that exact pen to my collection.

[max dog]

Thanks for the review.

 

The flex of the nib is amazing.

 

 

Lovely review. Thanks for the brief explanation on sizes and numerical meaning behind the pens. I wpuld love to add that exact pen to my collection.

 

Thanks for the nice feedback.

 

Further on the size, the 52V cap is identical in size to the Peilikan M200/M400, and when the cap is posted they are nearly identical in length too, but the barrel of the 52V is about a cm shorter than the M400. So if you like to use the pen unposted, might consider the full size 52 instead of the shorter 52V if you have large hands. Posted, the 52V will be just fine for anyone as the cap adds substantial length while still maintaining good balance. The cap is light so it does not make the pen feel back heavy posted, and the cap stays on snug too which is another bonus.

 

I'll post a picture for a side by side comparison.

Edited January 24, 2014 by max dog

[breaker]

nice review and pics!

thanks!

[Hejie023]

I have the same pen, I find that with extended use, the ink flow tends to break and I start to experience hard starts (similar to baby's bottom, but only happens after using it for little bit). Anyone know why this happens? I am using Noodler's Apache Sunset.

[max dog]

Ive been using montblanc royal blue only so far and ink flow has been fine with no hiccups. goes strong until it runs out of ink and then stops hard. maybe try royal blue or waterman florida (serenity) blue which i consider reliable inks. i havent tried other inks yet in this pen so im not sure if it is finicky with inks. let us know if a diiferent ink helps.

[max dog]

Lovely review. Thanks for the brief explanation on sizes and numerical meaning behind the pens. I wpuld love to add that exact pen to my collection.

 

Here are some pictures for size comparison of the 52V to the Pelikan M400 and Parker Sonnet.

 

The 52V vest size make it quite compact for the shirt pocket or purse.

 

 

With cap posted, the 52V is a nice length and comparable to the medium sized M400 and Sonnet

Edited January 26, 2014 by max dog

[max dog]

I should add a correction to my review. I described my pen as a brown "rippled" finish which is how the seller described the pen, but after doing further research, my pen here is a "chased" pattern and is in fact black, although it looks dark brown. They call this a 52V BCHR (black chased hard rubber). That would place this pen circa 1917 to 1933. So it could be as much as 97 years old!

Edited January 28, 2014 by max dog

[max dog]

Flex writing with a typical flexible Waterman 52

Edited March 1, 2014 by max dog

[max dog]

Here is Waterman's advertisement of the 52.

That feed is special!

 

Just for fun:

Edited March 14, 2014 by max dog

[Uncle Red]

Those are a nice couple. I've got a couple of 52V's, great pens.

[max dog]

Those are a nice couple. I've got a couple of 52V's, great pens.

Thanks. The fact these 52's are nearly a century old is that much more special.

[j-e-g]

I picked up an early Waterman pen. Actually, just the barrel, feed section with nib & feed in a "grab bag" lot of vintage pens.

It is identical and fits the description on one site described as an "early, unusual model due to it's lever design, tabs to hold the lever box in place, the IDEAL logo and oval fingernail cut out". There is some writing on the side of the lever bar but I will need to take a little time to clean off the area just a bit to see it clearly.

I don't know who owned it or where it was stored, but it seems to have kept it in pretty good shape. The rubber is not dry or cracked. It still actually has the "feel" of rubber.There isn't any fading or discolortion to the rubber. You can see the chased pattern. Although the pattern is not as deep/prominent as on the black pens I have seen. This pen looks "mottled" in brown tones. All the 52's I have seen are black chased. But this reminds me of cigar colors. I have see some in the brown, early 1900's with the the clip-less CHR caps. This has no cap.

There are markings on the bottom, it appears to have a large faint diamond on the bottom and a number that I am not sure of.

It is a pretty clean pen overall, but I want to clean the lever to read the markings in the sides.

Before I do anything, what is the best and safest way to give it a gentle cleaning and remove the lite gunk on the lever? Someone may have cleaned it previously, because it is really clean overall and the sac has been removed. I suspect they were in the process of putting new sacs in several of the vintage pens in the bag. ( Conklin, Townsend, Wearever Founain/pencil combos, Packard, Parker 21, Avon, Parker-Eversharp Fifth Avenue gold and others)

I don't refurbish fountain pens, vintage or otherwise, but sometimes I get luck and find a nice pen or two that require a simple cleaning, buffing and polish Sometimes just a new nib.

Others are beyond my skill level, but I love to look them up and learn a little about them. I think at some point I may need to eaither learn how to do complete refurbishing or sign up on eBay to sell some of these pens. My friends think I am nuts for bringing all my finds home, so I need to do something soon.

Any information or advice about this pen is welcomed. Thanks !

I can email photos that would help if you might know what model this Waterman is... Jill

[j-e-g]

Drats.. I forgot, it is a gold nib, very flexible marked "LAUGHLIN MFG. CO. DETROIT MICH."

 

There is a little "hicough in the nib and the tines need to be re-adjusted. I think I can handle the nib work without much difficulty, it is always fun to find a vintage flex nib. This little bag hd 3 nice gold flex nibs Yay !