Waterman nib size for which pen??

June 14

I wasn't sure if I should put this here or on nibsand tines, but this is a waterman specific nib question. I bought my husband a waterman ideal "red" nib. It was mentioned that it is a no. 7 nib. Which pen would this fit? I saw a waterman 52 with a no. 2 nib, so I'm confused as to which pens he can use the 7 on. Any help is appreciated as I'm very new to fountain pens and trying to understand my hubby's hobby. Thank.

June 14

You will need a number 7 pen. 52 is not the correct size for this. Although a number 7 can be a bit more pricy than a 5x or other sizes. Also there are number 5 "color" nibs, if this is a number 7 , it will have it printed on the nib at the very bottom. Number 52 means (5 self-filling - pen doesn't need any additional things to fill it with ink other than the ink bottle/ filling system is contained in the pen itself), 2 nib size) https://www.vintagepens.com/FAQhistory/waterman_numbering.shtm

pen bodies for number 2 and 4 is mostly the same. i.e 52 and 54 will share the same pen body. Nibs between size 5 and 7 *might* do this but I cant confirm as I don't have any to check.

While you can shove in a number 7 nib to a pen such as a 94 which is supposed to take a number 4 nib it is very likely to crack and brake the section.
you may want to contact someone such as https://fivestarpens.com/waterman-pen-parts.html and ask if you can either get all the required parts to assemble a pen or get a pen just without the nib. Alternatively you can ask a restorer for their advice on what parts to get and get them to assemble a matching pen for the size.

Or even better, you can ask the one that's getting the nib and see what he wants.

Also do you want to be historically accurate or just want to get it working for this nib?
Please note that i am no expert on waterman pens and can be very wrong. do double check with some one that knows these pens from mid 1920s period,

1925 waterman catalog : https://ia802209.us.archive.org/12/items/WatermanFountainPenCatalogs/Waterman Pen Catalog 1925.pdf

June 14

4 hours ago, shalitha33 said:

You will need a number 7 pen. 52 is not the correct size for this. Although a number 7 can be a bit more pricy than a 5x or other sizes. Also there are number 5 "color" nibs, if this is a number 7 , it will have it printed on the nib at the very bottom. Number 52 means (5 self-filling - pen doesn't need any additional things to fill it with ink other than the ink bottle/ filling system is contained in the pen itself), 2 nib size) https://www.vintagepens.com/FAQhistory/waterman_numbering.shtm

pen bodies for number 2 and 4 is mostly the same. i.e 52 and 54 will share the same pen body. Nibs between size 5 and 7 *might* do this but I cant confirm as I don't have any to check.

While you can shove in a number 7 nib to a pen such as a 94 which is supposed to take a number 4 nib it is very likely to crack and brake the section.
you may want to contact someone such as https://fivestarpens.com/waterman-pen-parts.html and ask if you can either get all the required parts to assemble a pen or get a pen just without the nib. Alternatively you can ask a restorer for their advice on what parts to get and get them to assemble a matching pen for the size.

Or even better, you can ask the one that's getting the nib and see what he wants.

Also do you want to be historically accurate or just want to get it working for this nib?
Please note that i am no expert on waterman pens and can be very wrong. do double check with some one that knows these pens from mid 1920s period,

1925 waterman catalog : https://ia802209.us.archive.org/12/items/WatermanFountainPenCatalogs/Waterman Pen Catalog 1925.pdf

Thank you for the info, especially the chart and links. Very very helpful.

October 13

A Waterman 7 nib can also be correct for an earlier #17 pen. I don't have my references in front of my so I can't be sure the differences on the nib imprint. Also, IME, #17s (with the correct #7 nib) is a bit harder to find than a ripple #7.

greg