Which Waterman's is hiding under the gold skin ?

[Marco63]

Good day everyone, in the past years I've been given by family members a few 'old' pens.
In the process of sorting them out I'm trying to understand what is under the gold skin of a couple of them.

This one lever is a lever filler.
The nib has the writing 'WARRANTED WING-FLOW U.S.A 4'
The lip of the cap has imprinted 'WATERMAN'S 18 K.R.
The lever has the globe design on it

The rubber sac needs replacing and I'm trying to find out how to remove the section in order to do this.
The clip on the cap has gone missing ages ago.
I've never dipped the nib in the ink bottle so I don't know how it writes. It looks a 'fine' nib to me though.
I know that in the past, 20s-30s it was normal to cover a pen's body with gold, so I guess this is the period of this pen.

 

[Marco63]

Curiosity on how the nib writes won and I dipped it in a bottle of ink. Fine nib, smooth and not scratchy. Removed the worn out sack and in the process to order new sacs.

 

[ajkel64]

It is a nice pen. I know nothing on how to fix them. Someone else here should have an idea though.

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

It is a replacement nib. Wing Flow marked nips were the replacement nib source back in the day. They made nice nibs so don't let that deter you. The model number on a lot of old waterman's is a number marked on the end cap. I don't know when they stopped that. Curious if you can get that solder out of the cap where the clip should be.

These guys fill up 8 tables by themselves with vintage pen parts at pen shows. Wonderful to talk with. Waterman Pen Parts - http://www.fivestarpens.com/waterman-pen-parts.html

 

[Marco63]

good morning Chef,
thank you very much for this info.
I thought it was an original pen.
Anyway, it is a family hairloom so who cares. I dont’ even know which ‘ancestor’ used it, but it writes very well.
As for the solder on the cap I’m not going to venture on it with a soldering iron and risk to deform the cap underneath the gold skin. I could find someone who could remove the skin as a whole but then what? I could see if there are underlying marks or imprints to find out the model. Not bothered at the moment. I’ve had a look at the website you posted.
It is in USA and extremely expensive when it comes to dollars. I’ll drop them a line just in case.
I live in England so, not feasible.
I hope that the London Pen Show takes place in October and will go there to enquire for the bits I need.
Thank you for your help. Have a great day.
Marco

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

good morning Chef,
thank you very much for this info.
I thought it was an original pen.
Anyway, it is a family hairloom so who cares. I dont’ even know which ‘ancestor’ used it, but it writes very well.
As for the solder on the cap I’m not going to venture on it with a soldering iron and risk to deform the cap underneath the gold skin. I could find someone who could remove the skin as a whole but then what? I could see if there are underlying marks or imprints to find out the model. Not bothered at the moment. I’ve had a look at the website you posted.
It is in USA and extremely expensive when it comes to dollars. I’ll drop them a line just in case.
I live in England so, not feasible.
I hope that the London Pen Show takes place in October and will go there to enquire for the bits I need.
Thank you for your help. Have a great day.
Marco

Surprised there isn't a number on the blind cap. Could be later production that but that is a very well done gold fill.

 

[Marco63]

Good afternoon everyone !!
I have filled this pen for the firt time today. The pen fills properly, the lever filler pressed after the pen is filled up quirts fine.
The problem is that the ink doesn't flow through the nib, I can't write.
I also tried priming the pen by presing on the lever to squirt some ink into the feed, nothing.
I used my nib+feed washing tool and water does come out.
The only thing I did not use is the ultrasonic cleaner as the pen fills properly and liquids flow through the nib+feed.

Ideas ? Could still use it as dip pen though
M

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

Good afternoon everyone !!
I have filled this pen for the firt time today. The pen fills properly, the lever filler pressed after the pen is filled up quirts fine.
The problem is that the ink doesn't flow through the nib, I can't write.
I also tried priming the pen by presing on the lever to squirt some ink into the feed, nothing.
I used my nib+feed washing tool and water does come out.
The only thing I did not use is the ultrasonic cleaner as the pen fills properly and liquids flow through the nib+feed.

Ideas ? Could still use it as dip pen though
M

Trying running water in and out of it. There can be residue of dried ink restricting ink flow. Sometime just having the nib and feed submerged overnight in room temp water overnight can do wonders as well. Too hot of water can and will break things.

Also, Does it write when you dip it? The nib could be out of alignment with the feed or tines not in their proper place or spacing etc.

 

[Marco63]

Hi Chef, all, I changed ink and the pen actually works. Maybe flushing and cleaning the sac with water multiple times before re-filling did it some good ? I will use the ultrasonic cleaner as soon as the sac is empty

 

[Marco63]

Good evening everyone, at last I found out which model lies under the overlay, a 52!!!
Sorry for the I suspence
I got some expert help to find out about this.
The overlay is Italian and the clip wasn't there originally but added later, maybe by the artisan, and in time came off and got lost in one of the many family drawers. Impossible to 'restore' it as it was originally as nobody knows which clip was used. I wonder if the remnants of the solder can be removed with a soldering iron or not. I'll give it a go very lightly and see.
Have a good weekend