New Edson

[FleetAdmiralBlackBeard]

Hello all! 
 

 Very excited today. Ordered  my first pen that has not come from Atlas…..an Edson that is allegedly “new old stock” ,with a medium nib. 

 

  I have found, rather suddenly and unexpectedly , that I like  broad nibs,…..so I called Waterman , and they told me that they can still service Edson pens and have broad nibs in stock ….i could get it replaced (at my own cost, of course) . I have not even received the pen yet,  but I may send it of to France once I get it, to get that broad nib.

 

Does anyone have an Edson with a broad nib ? I would love to see a writing sample if anyone could post it. 
 

 

[darkziv]

Perhaps wait until the pen arrives and test it first as the Waterman nibs tend to write on the broader side so you might find that the medium will be broad enough.

Edited April 5 by darkziv

[FleetAdmiralBlackBeard]

  On 4/5/2025 at 2:38 AM, darkziv said:

Perhaps wait until the pen arrives and test it first as the Waterman nibs tend to write on the broader side so you might find that the medium will be broad enough.

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Thanks , yes I will have to receive it and try it out first, but I am now finding the medium nib in my Carene , too thin.

 

Another matter I was thinking about, is that I have heard that the front end of these pena tends to get scratched…..can any Edson owners comment on that?  

 

 

[Glenn-SC]

There is a gold plated trim piece on the top of the section that, in combination with the nib design, replicates the design of the pocket clip.  This trim piece seems to get scratched by the inner cap when the cap is put on the pen.  

[PAKMAN]

Yes, I also had the experience of the gold on the upper part of the section becoming quite scratched up looking, no matter how careful I was capping the pen.

[FleetAdmiralBlackBeard]

  On 4/6/2025 at 12:53 PM, Glenn-SC said:

There is a gold plated trim piece on the top of the section that, in combination with the nib design, replicates the design of the pocket clip.  This trim piece seems to get scratched by the inner cap when the cap is put on the pen.  

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  On 4/6/2025 at 2:16 PM, PAKMAN said:

Yes, I also had the experience of the gold on the upper part of the section becoming quite scratched up looking, no matter how careful I was capping the pen.

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Thank you for your replies. 
 

Well, that’s unfortunate. I was aware that you have to be careful with the cap as it has a matte vermeil that can get damaged, and that I did not mind, because I don’t post and I am careful with caps. I had heard about the front end but did not realize it was the elongated trim piece that gets scratched ……I wonder if there is a workaround to that? I have a couple of old English cars, and lots of maintaining those cars involve workarounds to design flaws with design and parts. Maybe a micro thin coating is needed in that area or maybe inside the caps. 
 

I guess I will have a better chance to examine it once it’s in my hands. 

[Glenn-SC]

Here is a photo of my Blue Edson.  
Hopefully you can see the scratches. 

[FleetAdmiralBlackBeard]

  On 4/6/2025 at 2:56 PM, Glenn-SC said:

Here is a photo of my Blue Edson.  
Hopefully you can see the scratches. 

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Thanks so much  for posting this. Yes , I do see some micro scratching, nothing that really detracts from the pen, but it would be nice to avoid if possible . 
 

I did notice that the later Edson pens seem to have a gold finial at the end of the barrel and the front end seems to be black lacquer, at least from the pictures. I wonder if they solved the scratching problem in the later models. 
 

I know the one that I am getting is an early NOS model. No gold finial, and also it is coming from an Italian seller and it has the original price stickers - in Lira- so it’s certainly pre 1998 . 

[FleetAdmiralBlackBeard]

I got my Edson today , and I am over the moon.  Such an extraordinarily beautiful pen……Has never been used, still had its price tag in Lira, (it came from Italy). All the literature is in Italian. I briefly considered putting this pen away, but I immediately inked it and started using it, since that is what I bought it for. 
 

I can’t see what part of the cap scratches the front end , but I am being very careful and easy with the cap.

 

i do wish it was a broad nib, and Waterman seems like they would be able to change it, but I am not sure I want to send it of . 

 

Edited April 12 by FleetAdmiralBlackBeard

[Mr.Rene]

  On 4/12/2025 at 1:53 AM, FleetAdmiralBlackBeard said:

I got my Edson today , and I am over the moon.  Such an extraordinarily beautiful pen……Has never been used, still had its price tag in Lira, (it came from Italy). All the literature is in Italian. I briefly considered putting this pen away, but I immediately inked it and started using it, since that is what I bought it for. 
 

I can’t see what part of the cap scratches the front end , but I am being very careful and easy with the cap.

 

i do wish it was a broad nib, and Waterman seems like they would be able to change it, but I am not sure I want to send it of . 

 

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Wow! 👏👏...Regards.

[furiozzo]

I recently acquired one nib unit in large size for an Edson from Waterman and it didn't glide well. I think they only have old parts left.

 

 

 

[Lam1]

  On 4/6/2025 at 3:34 PM, FleetAdmiralBlackBeard said:

Thanks so much  for posting this. Yes , I do see some micro scratching, nothing that really detracts from the pen, but it would be nice to avoid if possible . 
 

I did notice that the later Edson pens seem to have a gold finial at the end of the barrel and the front end seems to be black lacquer, at least from the pictures. I wonder if they solved the scratching problem in the later models. 
 

I know the one that I am getting is an early NOS model. No gold finial, and also it is coming from an Italian seller and it has the original price stickers - in Lira- so it’s certainly pre 1998 . 

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Congrats on your new Edson! They are gorgeous pens.

 

The newer version, with the dot on the finial, did not solve the problem of scratching the nib (at least not on my two). It doesn't matter how careful you are, the section will get scratched (in my experience). Still, well worth it.

[davisgt]

So pretty.  😍😍

[FleetAdmiralBlackBeard]

  On 4/12/2025 at 4:03 PM, Lam1 said:

 

Congrats on your new Edson! They are gorgeous pens.

 

The newer version, with the dot on the finial, did not solve the problem of scratching the nib (at least not on my two). It doesn't matter how careful you are, the section will get scratched (in my experience). Still, well worth it.

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 Thanks for the reply- this is a very early one, serial number is  5003 . I guess it makes sense that it was never fixed , since my very recent and current Carene does get micro scratches as well .  Just part of what it is , I suppose . 

[FleetAdmiralBlackBeard]

  On 4/12/2025 at 2:33 PM, Mr.Rene said:

Wow! 👏👏...Regards.

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  On 4/12/2025 at 4:08 PM, davisgt said:

So pretty.  😍😍

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Thanks! 

[lamarax]

  On 4/12/2025 at 1:53 AM, FleetAdmiralBlackBeard said:

I got my Edson today , and I am over the moon.

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This has been a grail pen for me for a long time, but I've never been able to find one at a reasonable price and/or condition.

 

Congratulations! Enjoy it in good health! 🥂

[PAKMAN]

Very nice! I wish I had kept mine!

[FleetAdmiralBlackBeard]

  On 4/13/2025 at 12:27 AM, PAKMAN said:

Very nice! I wish I had kept mine!

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Thanks ! 
 

One thing that does worry me about this pen is that there are no replacement caps that Waterman has, should I need one. After reading about how they damage so easily , I would like to have a new spare ,or at least know that someone out there refinishes them to new condition, but apparently no one does …

Edited April 13 by FleetAdmiralBlackBeard

[Glenn-SC]

  On 4/13/2025 at 12:45 PM, FleetAdmiralBlackBeard said:

One thing that does worry me about this pen is that there are no replacement caps that Waterman has, should I need one. After reading about how they damage so easily ….

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I don’t know what you heard about how the caps “damage so easily”?

I bought all three of my Edsons used (I actually bought a fourth just for the colored converter and resold it with a standard Waterman converter installed). 
None of these caps have/had any cosmetic damage to the frosting.  And I have never heard of any functional damage to an Edson cap. 
If the possibility of cosmetic damage to your pen worries you, then that same concern should apply to any pen and the only way to guarantee that it doesn’t happen is to never use it. [I can tell you a cautionary tale of dropping a bespoke pen about 3 feet onto a carpeted and padded floor and having the barrel shatter!]

I would be far more worried about cosmetic damage to the barrel from posting the cap.  (PS I never post any pen.)

[FleetAdmiralBlackBeard]

  On 4/13/2025 at 1:05 PM, Glenn-SC said:

I don’t know what you heard about how the caps “damage so easily”?

I bought all three of my Edsons used (I actually bought a fourth just for the colored converter and resold it with a standard Waterman converter installed). 
None of these caps have/had any cosmetic damage to the frosting.  And I have never heard of any functional damage to an Edson cap. 
If the possibility of cosmetic damage to your pen worries you, then that same concern should apply to any pen and the only way to guarantee that it doesn’t happen is to never use it. [I can tell you a cautionary tale of dropping a bespoke pen about 3 feet onto a carpeted and padded floor and having the barrel shatter!]

I would be far more worried about cosmetic damage to the barrel from posting the cap.  (PS I never post any pen.)

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 + 1 on not posting. Writing at the proper angle is already enough of challenge some days as a left handed man.  
 

I did do my due diligence on this model before seeking it out, even in this forum, and it seems that the caps finishing is very fragile, according to some accounts. No? 
 

But the reason I worry with this pen, it’s because it’s my new toy, and also because all the other expensive pens I currently own are in production. Should not pose a challenge to repair or replace should something bad happen. For at least the immediate future.