Vintage Pens

Isn't the early 1930s' marbled grey-and-red design one of the prettiest of the decades? Something really rings our bell about the celluloid of this Waterman 3V. Better than that, this pen comes with a double-broad 14k gold nib. Click the headline for a close-up. It looks like a stub but writes like a fire hose with its exceedingly smooth tip. If you haven't noticed, yet, there is one major flaw to this pen. The lift-tab of the lever is missing. The only way to lift it enough to engage the filling system is to use a toothpick or a pin to get in there and lift it. The good news is that we just restored the pen with a fresh ink sac. No cracks, light wear from use. 10.7cm capped.

Here's a rare treat for you. Welcome to the Waterman 7 Yellow! These pens were especially easy to identify by the colorful ring around the top of the cap. The ring corresponded to a nib named for the color. Each color represented a different use case for the pen. Yellow was designated for left-handed writers and anyone wanting a lot of tipping and customization. We find it writes a smooth, wet medium line. Better yet, we love that it has enough flex to go to about 2mm wide! Click the headline for a close-up of the pen and nib. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac. It has a fair amount of brassing on the pocket clip, cap band and lever box. Luckily, no cracks or significant wear to the orange rippled hard rubber has been discovered. 14.2cm capped.

We love finding vintage pen packaging. We just discovered this winter scene Waterman box with the pencil below inside of it. The matching Waterman 3V fountain pen was elsewhere in the collection, so we decided to put it all together. The vintage pen and pencil are in remarkably good condition. A little wear and marking from use, but no cracks or long scars. We restored the pen with a new ink sac. You will write a very nice semi-flex line from fine to 1mm wide with its 14k gold nib. The pencil remains in good working order and takes 1.1mm lead. The box is in pretty good condition. The name "Gerard J. Inguagiato" is beautifully written in pencil with a lovely cursive script. Gerard might have been a tween or teen at the time, as his name is repeated in the less confident hand of a younger person still mastering cursive. Click the headline for close-ups.

Waterman made a ton of pens in the 1940s that all looked very similar but gave them a ton of different names. We think this is the Waterman Stalwart, but you are welcome to correct us, if we are wrong. Blue flames shoot through its beautiful celluloid cap and barrel. No cracks mar this beauty, but you can see a deep scar made by the pocket clip to the right of the bottom of the clip. There are other signs of wear, and the section has lost all of its luster. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac. Its 14k gold nib writes a nice fine, maybe fine-medium line with a little bounce. Not a true flex of any kind, you can get a touch of line variation from it. 12.2cm capped.

Bonjour, Waterman #3. We love it when we get French pens from the 1940s. This Waterman #3 is a post-World War II model that we don't think was officially released here in the U.S. We restored it with a new ink sac, and it is a very attractive example. No cracks nor deep scratches. Light wear at worst. You will write a firm, extra-fine line with its 18k gold nib. Click the headline for close-ups. 13.6cm capped.

Suddenly playing catch-up to Parker with its transparent barrels, Waterman developed its own see-through barrel pen. The Waterman Ink-Vue was introduced in the mid-1930s. This is an insanely rare demonstrator model of that classic vintage pen! It has some ambering, but it is in really amazing condition. Crisp imprints. No cracks in the main cap or barrel. It appears the inner cap has some fractals. In truth, it is mostly a bulb filler, only it has a cover over the rubber bulb and a lever system pumps the bulb. This pen is so rare and delicate, we've left the petrified original bulb in it. Click the headline for close-ups. The name Val Steiniger is engraved on the tail of the barrel. We don't expect you to write with this museum piece, but its 14k gold nib has a little flex and feedback. 12.8cm capped.

Many consider the Waterman C/F to be the first of the modern-era pens, although it is a classic vintage pen. Why? It was, effectively, the first pen to use disposable plastic ink cartridges. Although a success, it was short lived. The biggest problem for vintage collectors is that the Waterman C/F doesn't use any modern cartridges or converters. Waterman wasn't using standard international cartridges in the 1950s, as the concept was yet to be invented. If you find a 1950s cartridge, you can refill it with a syringe to use this pen. Unfortunately, it doesn't include an original cartridge. The pen looks great, except for that big crack in the tail visible in the photo. You will write a medium line with its 14k gold nib. There is a some feedback. 13.2cm capped.

For as handsome as this moss green-grey vintage pen is, it features some of the weaknesses of 1940s Waterman manufacturing. Our Waterman 2 has a crack in the top of the cap and in the lip of the cap. Its pocket clip spins freely. We restored this pen with a new ink sac. You'll find nice Canadian Waterman imprints. Click the headline for a close-up of the 14k gold nib. When you find the sweet spot on the nib, you will write a smooth broad line. It gets a little scratchy when you lose the sweet spot. Oh, and its inkfeed is a modern replacement feed. 12.8cm capped.