Love Your Carène? Talk Me Into One!

[Left FPN]

Yes, in the main very good for the money.

 

No dents, dinks or major concerns just an honest well cared for used pen.

 

While I have not inked it but just carried out my normal clean and tidy I don't expect any worries.

 

It came with a 3rd party, ill fitting, converter but that has now been replaced. The mouth could not reach the feeds nipple. Most probably why it had a small quantity of ink inside the cap but non in the section.

 

Update: since this post the latest batch of Phili's have hit £130.

 

[DanceOfLight]

There is a factory stub option for the Carene; among the many Carene's that somehow crawled into my collection more than half of them returned from Newellco with a stub. They are addictive, they are one of the smoothed stubs in my collection.

[BoBoJones]

Yes, in the main very good for the money.

 

No dents, dinks or major concerns just an honest well cared for used pen.

 

While I have not inked it but just carried out my normal clean and tidy I don't expect any worries.

 

It came with a 3rd party, ill fitting, converter but that has now been replaced. The mouth could not reach the feeds nipple. Most probably why it had a small quantity of ink inside the cap but non in the section.

 

Update: since this post the latest batch of Phili's have hit £130.

 

DSCN3388.JPG

Makes the black pen look good.

[Newjelan]

Yes, in the main very good for the money.

 

No dents, dinks or major concerns just an honest well cared for used pen.

 

DSCN3388.JPG

Oh my, thanks for the memories Force. I purchased one of these in the 1990s when I was promoted to my first Executive role, and used it everyday for many, MANY years. It was always, and only ever, filled with Waterman Tender Purple. It eventually developed an irreparable leak and Waterman told me it was no longer worth repairing. A few months ago, I spent an entire day on the internet looking for a replica. And while I found one, I eventually chose the White/Gunmetal/White Gold version as a modern replacement. (Its basically the exact opposite of this one.) I am happy to say the I love it just as much as the old one. The Carene is a beautiful pen.

[brownargus]

With all these comments, I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned ink creep problems. I have two Carenes and both have excellent fine nibs, smooth with good flow. But they are the messiest pens I have. Both have creep of ink at the horns of the nib and also when left unused for a couple of days, nib up, they tend to leak ink onto the section and inside the cap so need cleaning before use. These problems are more prone to occur when the pens have just been filled and I have found no way of eliminating the problem. These 'ink' problems are the same whether using Waterman or Diamine inks Cartridge or converter. They are a beautiful pen, good to hold, very smooth nibs (fine in my case), good flow and well balanced. Without the ink problems I would give them five stars, but three stars is the best I can go. I tend not to use them because of these problems. Any solution suggestions appreciated!

I finally got fed up with the continual ink problems which meant I really couldn't use the pens without having ink covered fingers. Just before last Christmas I contacted Waterman (in the UK) and they asked me to return the pens for inspection which I did - they even sent me a post-paid sticker to send them to their base in France. Three weeks later they were returned with new nib sections and the explanation was that they suffered ink leakage. They are now leak-free and I am really enjoying using them as they are excellent pens with lovely smooth nibs. Excellent service from Waterman - the repairs were carried out under warranty FOC and the service time was good in view of the fact thet it was over the Christmas period. I would now give them Five Stars. I just hope the leakage problems don't reappear.

[Left FPN]

Good news indeed and well done Waterman.

[eharriett]

I admit I’m intrigued by the Carenes. Especially the gunmetal one. I don’t own a single newer Waterman with anything but an M nib. If I do go to the expense one day of a Carene, I think I’d like to experience a different nib than their M. Honestly, my Charleston is a workhorse in M.

[Braxfield]

What I like most about the Carène is that it sends pleasure up my arm when I write.

The fact that the feed is concealed within the section, the racy shape of the nib, the gorgeous finishes etc are all plusses but for me the knockout is the tactile sensation of that thing in action.

 

I have only one. I am afraid to get another in case it drives me to possess them all (past and present) with the inevitable ruination (moral and financial) such obsessiveness would entail.

 

I admit I haven't had it very long. I haven't experienced any of the reliability issues some have mentioned, nor difficulties with wobbly caps or reluctant converters.

 

After much pondering I chose the Marine Amber because I thought it would agree with my favorite iroshizuku ink, tsukushi. And it does. Big time. In fact, as soon as I finish this, I'm going to pop the cap and write something.

[senzen]

What I like most about the Carène is that it sends pleasure up my arm when I write.

The fact that the feed is concealed within the section, the racy shape of the nib, the gorgeous finishes etc are all plusses but for me the knockout is the tactile sensation of that thing in action.

 

I have only one. I am afraid to get another in case it drives me to possess them all (past and present) with the inevitable ruination (moral and financial) such obsessiveness would entail.

 

I admit I haven't had it very long. I haven't experienced any of the reliability issues some have mentioned, nor difficulties with wobbly caps or reluctant converters.

 

After much pondering I chose the Marine Amber because I thought it would agree with my favorite iroshizuku ink, tsukushi. And it does. Big time. In fact, as soon as I finish this, I'm going to pop the cap and write something.

 

Cool, what nib size is this? I'd appreciate a photo of how tsukushi comes out.

[Braxfield]

Here it is. But given that this is written on cream-coloured Tomoe river, you can see that the image does not do justice to the ink. Colour correction beyond me.

Edited April 16, 2019 by Braxfield

[senzen]

Here it is. But given that this is written on cream-coloured Tomoe river, you can see that the image does not do justice to the ink. Colour correction beyond me.

 

Thank you!

[senzen]

Well it's been more than a year since I started this thread, it seems way longer for some reason; I finally saved again for a Carène, my preference would be the silver trim Black Sea with a fine nib but I can only find it for a reasonable price ($160ish in medium; the special condition is that I have to be able to send it to Colorado where a friend will be staying next week (so no shipping from the UK or some such).

 

Almost all of my 30 pens have fine nibs, I do have an F m205 which I accidentally ground to a medium, and I find this width still acceptable, but everyone seems to say that Carène mediums are really wet...

 

So if all goes well... Black sea Carène in Medium, here I go!

[pajaro]

I have had Carene in extra fine, fine, medium and broad. I sold the broad, but I have the others. I think I'll keep one in EF. The other nibs are very smooth (as is the EF). Have them in blue, Amber Marine and black, all gold trim. I'll probably keep the blue with gold trim.

[BlackwaterPark]

I have a very battered, much used Carene in black with a white gold nib and trim. Buttery smooth nib.

 

The beaky nib attracted me (I love beaky nibs, still looking for a nice Parker 65) as well as the unusual white gold nib.

 

However, I've never liked the very small sweet spot - the pen always failed to write a line if the nib was oblique at all to the paper, like when writing a loop, which dampened my enthusiasm for the pen. Just now, after confirming it's not baby bottom under a loupe, I seem to have fixed the nib by reshaping the tipping slightly with 12000MM. I'm as pleased with the result as I am surprised at it.

[TSherbs]

....

 

So if all goes well... Black sea Carène in Medium, here I go!

 

Let us know how you like it. The Carene is one of my dream pens for some day...

[senzen]

 

Let us know how you like it. The Carene is one of my dream pens for some day...

 

Unfortunately the opportunity window which was delivery this week passed, I had convinced myself of getting a medium but with so many reports of that being really wide and with lots of variations I realized I was fooling myself and I would risk not using it, which is a big no no for my utilitarian principles.

 

In the meantime I've had to say no to a black Pliot 92, a WA 912, a Pelikan 140, another Parker 75, a Sailor demonstrator, as well as a few battered Carènes (don't mind battered bodies so much, would hate to get a nib someone tried for flexibility...) which has really tested my resolve. So no soup Carène for me. Still, it's not the end of the world, one day...

Edited September 23, 2019 by SenZen

[pajaro]

Bid on a Carene ballpoint today. The ink lasts longer. Bid on a Rollerball too. The RB seems to take either FP section or a ballpoint refill with the Roller section. Have to get something presentable instead of these pieces and parts ballpoints and rollerballs.

[tim77]

[...] I had convinced myself of getting a medium but with so many reports of that being really wide and with lots of variations [...]

 

 

A medium Carene is my everyday pen. It does write slightly wider than I expected, but that does no harm to my handwriting. With a narrower line I can get away with too-small loops and poor letter shaping, so with the Carene I've learned to appreciate a broader nib. Apart from that it is comfortable and dependable, and has overtaken my Diplomat Aero as my favourite work pen. Currently inked with KWZ iron gall blue #3.

[TSherbs]

 

... So no soup Carène for me. Still, it's not the end of the world, one day...

 

Agreed. I understand. The search and wait continues. And then one fine day....

[bemon]

Very well balanced, smooth and wet- at least in a medium. I've had 4 over the years and still have 2. The only issue I've experienced is ink leaking out of the top of the "horns" where my fingers smear it all over the nib section. I followed some advice and sealed the top of the nib with an epoxy which worked, but the job was done a little sloppily in that I could see the epoxy on the nib section. I decided I'd clean it off with nail polish remover. Unfortunately nail polish remover melts plastic, so now both of my Carene's still write well but one is officially a beater pen!

 

In fairness to my wife she DID tell me her remover will melt plastic... but that was after she heard me say "uh oh. f#ck. You put this on your skin!??"

Edited September 24, 2019 by bemon