I found a Waterman Ideal #55 in the wild

[Breen]

Hi folks!

I do a lot of antiquing, mainly hunting for Gillettes and the like. While out and about I come across many vintage fountain pens, but I am not educated well enough on vintage fountain pens to know which ones I should grab.

I own a 20 or so modern fountain pens but never ventured into vintage, though I've always wanted to.

Same goes for straight razors... I'm sure I've left behind some incredible deals, because I just don't know what I'm looking at.

Today I found a Waterman Ideal, and took a risk on it because I recognized the name.

Paid $12 for this, and I've been doing some googling for the last hour or so, and I believe I got a great deal.

The sac is toast, and the clip in loose. My eyes aren't great, but I think the nib might need some love as well (maybe a little bent?)

Here's my new-to-me Waterman's Ideal 55

I'm interested in any input, guidance or direction you can offer me on restoring this.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

 

[Jut]

The nib looks ok to me. Send it to Danny Fudge at The Write Pen for a new sac. He'll look at the nib too if you ask.

Danny does quality work at reasonable prices. His turnaround time is quite quick too.

https://www.thewritepen.net/

 

[Jut]

And I forgot to mention, you got a steal of a deal!

 

[Marco63]

I agree with Jut. Get it serviced and you'll have a beautiful pen to use every day. Amazing price too

 

[Breen]

The nib looks ok to me. Send it to Danny Fudge at The Write Pen for a new sac. He'll look at the nib too if you ask.

Danny does quality work at reasonable prices. His turnaround time is quite quick too.

https://www.thewritepen.net/

Great, thank you for the recommendation!

I saw a few tutorials and I’m fairly handy but I’d need to get a bunch of things I don’t already own. Not just a new sac, but shellac and polish and I’d likely end up with some other items I’m not thinking of yet. Maybe I’ll get hooked and end up owning all that stuff and tinkering around on other found pens in the future, but I think I’ll leave this one to a professional.

And I forgot to mention, you got a steal of a deal!

Thank you!

I agree with Jut. Get it serviced and you'll have a beautiful pen to use every day. Amazing price too

Thanks for the input! I think that’s the thing to do. Cheers!

 

[Jut]

Great, thank you for the recommendation!

I saw a few tutorials and I’m fairly handy but I’d need to get a bunch of things I don’t already own. Not just a new sac, but shellac and polish and I’d likely end up with some other items I’m not thinking of yet. Maybe I’ll get hooked and end up owning all that stuff and tinkering around on other found pens in the future, but I think I’ll leave this one to a professional.

Good choice. You're correct, it really isn't that difficult, but your first try should probably be on something other than a Waterman 55. Replacement parts aren't cheap.

 

[nemo]

Great score! Looks like a factory stub or italic -- super desirable and likely very flexible.

 

[Breen]

Great score! Looks like a factory stub or italic -- super desirable and likely very flexible.

Yeah, it’s got decent flex! And I think it’s a bit stubby, as you say.

I dipped it to see if it would write and it actually writes very nicely!!

I’m definitely going to send it away for service.

 

[Breen]

My handwriting is a bit rusty, but here goes

 

[Doc Dan]

Stub nib for sure. It isn't a calligraphy nib as the edges are rounded. Look at that nice line variation...very pretty. What a great find.

 

[Breen]

Thank you Sir!

 

[Nobeard]

That is a nice find. I've collected old Waterman pens for a long time and the #55 is a great pen.
The nib does look like a stub. Your handwriting sample looks great.
Is the line variation from you flexing the nib or is it from the stub, with no pressure applied to the nib?

Soneone recommended Danny Fudge for repairs. I have used his services and he id good, and reasonably priced

 

[Breen]

That is a nice find. I've collected old Waterman pens for a long time and the #55 is a great pen.
The nib does look like a stub. Your handwriting sample looks great.
Is the line variation from you flexing the nib or is it from the stub, with no pressure applied to the nib?

Soneone recommended Danny Fudge for repairs. I have used his services and he id good, and reasonably priced

Thank you!

I agree, the 55 is just a great size. Very comparable in size to most of the pens already in my rather low-end collection. (Jinhao, TWSBI, Lamy etc)

The line variation in that sample is with flex.

I already tend to prefer stubs for daily writing/note taking. I use a stub in a Pilot Metro, and TWSBI Eco, and a .6mm stub from Nemosine in one of my Jinhao pens.

Having the stub AND flex in a pen with this much history is making me fall in love with this Waterman. Shot right to my #1 favorite pen in my collection with ease.

After the holidays I'll be sending it off to Danny Fudge, thanks for seconding that recommendation!

Here's a quick sample I just did to show the stub with no pressure, and then how much flex I can get with pressure.

 

[Nobeard]

That is a great writing sample. As much as I love my pens with flexible nibs, I am looking for a pen with a nice stub nib. That way I can get the writing in your sample above without any effort. I know, lazy, lazy.

 

[Breen]

I came across another Watermans today.

X Pen Junior made in France.

This is a capillary filler.

The pictures make it look black but its a medium gray.

The instructions recommend always using the same color in the pen, I guess because it can't be fully cleaned.

I filled it with water and drained it a few times and I was still seeing a little blue but I put in Diamine Graphite because it just seems like the best match out of the inks I have.

$10

 

[Nobeard]

Thats a great find. I used to have one of the Parker 61s with the capillary fill. I think that mine had a smooth cap. I like the cap on your pen.

 

[Frito Ray]

I just found a Canadian made Waterman’s pen very similar to the one in your first post (minus the baseball theme) in my late Father’s things amongst a few other pens. I don’t ever recall seeing him with it so it could have belonged to my grandfather.

It too has a forward bent nib, so they must be made that way.

I’m just getting started in fountain pens in an effort to improve my handwriting. Purchased a Zebra disposable, liked it, so am starting to look around.

 

[Breen]

Score! Alas I have no heirloom pens or razors, and I envy you for that.

If you like that Zebra, you’re gonna be very happy trying other pens to learn what you prefer! There are some very inexpensive pens that are a serious step up from that Zebra.

It’s funny how much the pen can affect the quality of writing. At least I find that my writing can be very different with one pen versus another. You’ll probably enjoy a Pilot Metropolitan, or Jinhao 450 or 750. I think they’re a really great bang-for-your-buck.

I sent out my Waterman for service to a fountain pen restoration guy that was recommended to me by a B&B brother and should be getting it back soon. If the work is as good as I expect, I’ll send you the info. …if you’re planning to get yours serviced that is.

 

[Frito Ray]

I sent out my Waterman for service to a fountain pen restoration guy that was recommended to me by a B&B brother and should be getting it back soon. If the work is as good as I expect, I’ll send you the info. …if you’re planning to get yours serviced that is

Yes please do, I’m really interested.

Just found out that it is a 32 not a 55. Also discovered that the odd holes in the cap weren’t put there by my grandfather but are actually original to the pen.

The other pens I found were a 60’s or 70’s Sheaffer and two other more recent Watermans. One fancy metallic one I have yet to identify, and a resin model from the 90’s or early OO’s called the Phileas.

Found some info on cleaning fountain pens using an earbulb and proceeded to clear out 10 years worth of dried ink from the Phileas. It worked out great. It has a medium nib VS the fine nib on the Zebra…will limit myself to these two for a while to see if I develop a preference.

 

[Breen]

oh great, that’s a great start!

I’m still just scratching the surface when it comes to vintage pens. Never heard of the Phileas before, but after a Google search that looks like a very pretty pen.