Fact Or Fiction? Why Did Waterman Stop Making Phileas?

[Jeje3325]

I guess I was lucky to find a mintish Red Phileas a few weeks ago for more than fair price

[pajaro]

Having dealt with a number of proprietary issues with computers, this was my first reaction to the brass tube. I am still suspicious that it was serendipity for Waterman to give the impression of weight while coincidentally blocking competitive cartridges and converters.

 

In any case the pen has quality and performance qualities that make it stand as an equal with my other favorite good performing pens, the Parker 51, the Montblanc 144, the Sheaffer Imperial and Cadet and a few others, an expanding list of pens that will write when you pick them up without requiring a dip, fill or flush to get going. Waterman continues to make quality pens that work. Considering the way other companies market things, Waterman might well have thought that continued production of the Phileas would have involved price increases that would have moved it out of its market. Instead of cheapening Phileas, they followed it with a less expensive model, the Kultur, which might occupy the same niche, adjusted for inflation.

[TwelveDrawings]

I originally asked people to share bona fide facts regarding the end of Phileas sales. But I am impressed with the quality of plausible possibilities being posted here. The absence of verifiable facts leaves the door open for any scenario. After all, no one can say "That is definitely not true".

 

Was there a second gunman on the grassy knoll in Dallas? It's been 50 years and that debate is still alive and well. I hope this thread doesn't go on for THAT long.

 

-- TwelveDrawings

[esteroids]

The Kultur didn't follow the Phileas. They were contemporaries, aimed at two different markets.

 

The Kultur was a school pen. A school pen doesn't mean that adults wouldn't use it, it just means a mass produced pen that won't cause anguish when a kid loses it at school. I don't remember seeing them here in Seattle, but friends have told me that they were common in grocery stores and the typical drug store/home goods store in Europe.

A US version would have been the Sheaffer No Nonsense or Parker Vector. By the way, The No Nonsense is a good cheap pen, and italic nibs are plentiful. And my daughter in college still likes her "Shrek" Vector.

[JonSzanto]

  On 3/25/2014 at 3:11 PM, esteroids said:

The Kultur didn't follow the Phileas. They were contemporaries, aimed at two different markets.

 

Are you absolutely certain on this? I remember when the Phileas was introduced in the early 1990s, because that is when I got my first, but I don't recall seeing the Kultur around that time. It may not be a long gap in time, but I don't believe that they came out simultaneously, but that the Phileas preceded the Kultur. I'd like to see some catalogs or other documentation from the time.

[OcalaFlGuy]

  On 3/25/2014 at 1:15 PM, TwelveDrawings said:

 

Was there a second gunman on the grassy knoll in Dallas? It's been 50 years and that debate is still alive and well. I hope this thread doesn't go on for THAT long.

 

-- TwelveDrawings

 

There was a time when I thought there was. I haven't felt that way for several years now. I think any knowledgeable,Rational person these days has to admit LHO was the lone shooter.

 

It's that Occam's Razor thing.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[pajaro]

Unless the Waterman or someone who worked there reveals what went into the decision, how can you know? Maybe someone will write a book or an article on it. I suspect most of us have worked in circles where decisions have been made and have some insight into the rational and emotional reasons why some things are done.