André Mora of Mora Stylos was at the recent NYC Pen Show, and had a very nice selection of NOS Waterman fountain pens. I really liked these Lauréat pens, and purchased several, including a Marbré Bronze.
The medium nib on this pen seems to change back and forth on line width depending upon the ink I used. My first go round was with a Sailor blue-black ink cartridge to try it out, and I had a slightly-finer medium width that I liked.
But now I've got Diamine Syrah in the pen and the wetness and line width are a bit more than I wanted. I'm being very careful with this pen as I've had bad experiences with lacquer over metal finishes. My lovely bright red lacquer Cross ballpoint scratched terribly to the point where I put it away in a closet somewhere and try not to think about it. So I'm keeping this one in a cloth case, and trying not to bump or jostle it too much.
Lately I've noticed how my pens react to various inks, and have started making notes on which works with what ink. One new pen DOES. NOT. LIKE. the Pelikan 4001 blue-black ink I used, and made it very clear to me by skipping and scratching and refusing to write. Took out the Pelikan blue-black, put in Waterman black, and the pen is in heaven and writing perfectly. I'm wondering if it will have the same reaction to an Edelstein ink, which are from Pelikan, and am looking forward to the test.
I just received a Waterman Laureat in the mail a few days ago. I am new to fountain pens, and appreciate this sharing of information. I do find the pen writes wet as well. I am using the only ink I have at the present time: Sheaffer black, and the pen is responding well. It is a Broad nib and I like it.
ReplyDeleteThe Waterman Laureat is a fantastic pen. If someone reading this is interested in fountain pens and they've never used one before, I would recommend they go on eBay and buy a Laureat before they are all gone. Waterman stopped making them a few years ago. They are the perfect starter pen.
ReplyDeleteDid you rinse out the nib when you changed from the Waterman ink to the Pelikan 4001? Going from one ink to another without cleaning the nib can result in clogging if the two inks do not play nicely together. The feed may clog with gunk or chunks of particulate matter because of incompatible dyes.
Dye particles in the feed tube may not want to go into solution when you begin using a new ink, so it's best to clean the nib by forcing water through it.
I usually clean my fountain pen nibs by filling a glass of water, unscrewing the end of the pen and placing the nib-feeder-tube unit into the glass. DO NOT try to remove the little gold nib itself; just unscrew the front of the pen and drop it in a glass of water. Leave it there for a few hours if the pen is really dirty, and then let it air dry overnight on a paper towel. Be sure to flick extra water out of the feeder before installing a new cartridge.
Or, simply remove the front of the pen and run cold water through it. You can even put your lips up to the "feed collector section" (not the nib end, the other end with the tube) and blow through it like a straw. (GENTLY) That forces some water through the feeder and helps clean it out. Then let the pen dry and you're good to go.
Don't stress about the lacquer on the Laureat. When I was 16 my first Laureat fell out onto the driveway unnoticed and was run over at least 3 times. It had 1 pinhead sized chip and very minor scratches in the lacquer finish. I used that pen for another year before it fell nib-first onto concrete. I went out the next day and bought another one which I'm still using 14 years later. The lacquer on that one is still intact. They're very sturdy.
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