Waterman
Pens and Ephemera

Waterman started catching traction again as a pen company in the 1980s and early '90s, and the Waterman Phileas was a big hit for them. An affordable daily user, it was an entry point for people looking for a classier pen. Our grey-marbled model is in remarkably good condition with only light wear from use. You will write a smooth, medium line with its two-tone steel nib. The cap snaps securely. Included is a converter but not its original converter. You may also use standard international cartridges. 13.5cm capped.

Holy cats! Check out this really old find made some time in the early 1900s. It is a Waterman 12 POC. It is in amazingly good condition, too! True, the chasing is all but faded away, but it still opens easily and has a good barrel imprint. You can no longer read the 12 in the tail imprint, but with a loupe you can read the POC. Neater still...it was made in Canada. Click the headline for a close up of the #2 nib made of 14k gold. You will write an extra-fine to nearly 2mm wide line with its semi-flex nib. Just go easy on the ol' girl. You should be so lucky to be this flexible at around 115 years old. The nickel pocket clip is a bit tarnished and worn. No cracks! Some chocolate hazing. 13cm capped.

Behold the mighty Sleeve-Filler! Honestly, some days we still have to pinch ourselves to make sure the dream we are living is really not just a dream. This Waterman 12SF in its original box creates a pinch-ourselves moment. Gary Lehrer's Waterman book says these were made between 1910 and 1915. The old hard rubber is fragile. As such, we did not force the section to open to restore this pen. This pen is in far too good a condition to accidentally destroy. It remains without a working ink sac. The sleeve on the barrel has a crisp imprint and can be gently coaxed and wiggled to reveal the squeeze bar filler. It is a little stiff in moving so don't force anything. No cracks! 14k gold nib is a stiff semi-flex. Original box a little faded and ink stained but still nice to have. Additional photos available upon request.

Cartridge fillers are not a new phenomena in fountain pens. The first ones date back to around the turn of the 20th century. However, those early ones were not entirely practical and prone to their glass and clay cartridges breaking. On the American market, Waterman C/F pens introduced what we have come to know as the first cartridge pens with disposable plastic cartridges. These pens were Waterman's last hit in the 1950s and until the company was revitalized in the 1980s. This rare New Old Stock set is unused and pristine. From the "Fine Flex" chalk mark on the barrel of the pen to 4 unopened, still waxed shut original cartridges, this vintage pen belongs in a museum. Click the headline for close-ups. The steel nib doesn't feel flexi to us, but that is how it was advertised.

Why give just a pen when you can give a pen and cufflinks? Our Waterman Expert set appears to come direct from the 1990s, completely unused. The green-marbled ballpoint pen has no trace of wear, arriving in its original box. After 30 years, the original refill dried out, so we replaced it with a new blue refill. Also included are a pair of gold-plated, hexagon-shaped cufflinks with a medium-to-dark blue center. These also are unused, and still in their original box. A nice gift set.

Waterman mastered nib technology in the 1920s, and 100 years later, these nibs are still better than anything on the market. The fountain pen of our Waterman 54 set comes with a real delight of a FLEXI nib. It is just firm enough to allow you to easily maintain a fine line, but then it smoothly gives way to 1mm line. Absolutely dreamy. The vintage pen itself is pretty nice. The 54 was a nice step up from the slimmer 52. The orange pen is made of "red" hard rubber with a black woodgrain design. There are no cracks or deep scratches on the cap or barrel. The section grip was once stained by ink, and the imprint is weak. There is a little brassing on the gold-plated trim. It has been restored with a new ink sac. Its matching pencil still works and is cosmetically better with only brassing on the nose cone. 1.1mm lead. Refills in the tail.

Here it is! One of the Granddaddies of Grail Pens: the Waterman Patrician. We've restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac. What makes this pen really stand out to us is its black hard rubber (ebonite) cap and barrel. It has a little oxidation and moderate wear, but it isn't a mess of chocolate hazing, either. No cracks. Click the headline for close-ups. You'll write a nice, firm medium line with a little feedback with its original 14k gold Patrician nib. There's a little brassing on the cap band, and there's a slight bulge under the left-side of the clip (as you face it) where it attaches to the pen. The big golden Waterman's seal on the flat tail of the pen looks like a baseball with "Waterman's" written inside it. This is the big 'un. 13.9cm capped.

Early Waterman pencils are always so neat to look at. This long, slender Waterman 0721 is in surprisingly good shape for 100 years old! Twist the nose cone to advance the 1.1mm lead. It still works well. Unscrew the tail cap to find more old spare leads! The clip and barrel band are gold plated. No cracks or deep scratches mar this black-hard-rubber (ebonite) beauty, but you can see some wear under the clip. Also, sadly, there's some corrosion between the ball and the rest of the clip. Click the headline for close-ups. 13.1cm.