Waterman 52 – Super Flex  (On Ebay)

This is a Waterman 52 in fairly condition. The body has browned some and the chasing on the barrel is quite warn. The chasing on the cap is much better. The side imprint is worn but readable. The “52” on the back is crisp and red. The lever, I believe, has little to no nickel plating left. The “Ideal” on the lever is almost  worn off. It’s a clip less cap (by design), and it oddly has a hole for a ring on the cap. This would be the only 52 I’ve seen with such a hole. It is without scratches or cracks. The nib is a nice, smooth F that has significant flex to BBB (1.8mm). The feed is quite wet while flexing, so no worries about railroading.

SIZE:  5 1/8″ Capped

NIB: Waterman #2, F to BBB (0.4mm-1.8mm),  Super Flex  (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Good

Restration Work:

• Pen (barrel, section, nib, feed, & cap) thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Nib and trim polished
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned
• Nib and feed tuned to write smoothly and with optimal flow
• Test driven for at least a week to insure quality

1928 Parker Duofold – WET NOODLE    

This is a 1928 Parker Lucky Curve Duofold. It’s a thin profile flat top, but a rarer long version. It is a “True Blue” Permanite pen. The pen is in pretty good condition overall. There is some color change of the barrel, as is common with Parker’s Permanite. The clip has some brassing. And there is a small chip on the top of the cap (see pic). And that’s about it. The nib is a long, super soft, super springy Parker Lucky Curve #2 Fine nib. But the real story is that it is a Wet Noodle. The flex on it is very smooth and springy. Now the feed on this Parker is not the fountain that you will find in a good many Watermans, but it keeps up pretty well.  And of course wetter ink helps. The springiness of the nib allows for great flex even on a smaller scale which generally requires an XF or XXF nib to do well. I bought this nib already restored, but I did do some nib and feed adjustments. For how to buy see, Pens Not on Ebay  PRICE: $299 

SIZE:  5 1/4″ Capped

NIB: Parker Lucky Curve #2, F to BBB (0.4mm-1.8mm),  WET NOODLE  (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Button-Filler

CONDITION: Good

Restration Work:

• Nib and feed tuned to write smoothly and with optimal flow
• Test driven for at least a week to insure quality

Waterman 52V Red Ripple – Super Flex  (On Ebay)

A gorgeous Waterman 52V Red Ripple with a Super Flex nib. This pen is in excellent condition. There is little fading of the hard rubber. The gold trim is in good condition with little to no brassing. The imprints are crisp. The gold ring top is in good condition. The pen looks like it has hardly ever been used. The person I bought it from said it was the nicest one he’d seen, and I would concur with that assessment. The nib is a beautiful Super Flex nib that ranges from XXF-BB (0.2mm – 1.6mm). It has excellent responsiveness that allows for great detailed flex work. The pen can also function as a XXF nib. Absolutely gorgeous pen.

SIZE:  4 3/8″ Capped (Not including Ring Top)

NIB: Waterman #2, XF to BB (0.2mm-1.6mm),  Super Flex  (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Near Mint

Restration Work:

• Pen (barrel, section, nib, feed, & cap) thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Nib and trim polished
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned
• Nib and feed tuned to write smoothly and with optimal flow
• Test driven for at least a week to insure quality

Mabie Todd Swan- Good Flex (On Ebay)

This a black celluloid Mabie Todd Swan self-filler. The pen is in fair condition. There is a little bit of warping of the celluloid at the end of the barrel probably due to heat exposure. And just a little bulging around the lever box.  The pen has some knicks and scratches throughout, though many of them I buffed and polished out. The lever has some scratching and pitting. The clip has brassing on the ball and top. Imprints are good and clear. The nib is a glassy, smooth fine with some good flex. It isn’t quite as responsive as I would like, but you can still do some good flex writing with it.

SIZE:  4 7/8″ Capped

NIB: Mabie Todd Swan #2, F to BB (0.4mm-1.7mm)  GOOD FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Fair

Restration Work:

• Pen thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Nib polished and tuned to write smoothly
• Body buffed and polished
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned and adjusted for optimal flow
• New sac installed
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Waterman 52 – Super Flex  (On Ebay)

This is a Waterman 52 in fair condition with a fantastic nib. The body of the pen is brown from fading. Chasing is present, but worn. Imprints are pretty good. The nickel lever is good condition with little wear. There are some scratches here and there on the pen. The cap is missing the clip. The cap also has two cracks at the bottom (see pics). But the nib! It is a fantastic fine italic nib (0.5mm) that flexes up to 1.7mm. The ease and responsiveness of this nib are nearing noodle status. Oh, and it makes a great daily writer. These fine italics are narrow enough to use in everyday writing, but definitely give some flair to normal handwriting. And this one is very smooth even though crisp enough to do some italic writing.

SIZE:  5 1/4″ Capped

NIB: Waterman #2, Fine Italic to BB (0.5mm-1.7mm),  Super Flex  (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Fair

Restration Work:

• Pen (barrel, section, nib, feed, & cap) thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Nib and trim polished
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned
• Nib and feed tuned to write smoothly and with optimal flow
• Test driven for at least a week to insure quality

Wahl Gold Filled Ring Top – Medium Flex (On Ebay)

This Wahl is in fabulous condition. It looks to have hardly been used. There is very little scratching. Very little wear on the ends of the barrel. The nib looks pristine. Almost no brassing. Just a beautiful little pen. The Wahl #2 14 kt. nib is extremely fine (XXF / 0.15mm). This was a hard nib to grade. The flex isn’t quite as easy as I would like. And yet the responsiveness is quite good. Plus, since the line is so fine, even slight flexing can make for some beautiful writing.

SIZE:  3 1/2″ Capped

NIB: Wahl #2, XF to BB (0.15mm-1.2mm) MEDIUM FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Excellent

Restration Work:

• Pen thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Body thoroughly polished with jeweler’s cloth.
• Nib polished and tuned to write smoothly.
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned and adjusted for optimal flow
• New sac installed
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Sheaffer Small Flat Top Self Filling – Good Flex

This is a “vest” size early Sheaffer Flat Top. The pen is made of BCHR that is quite a bit thicker than a Waterman, so the pen feels rather substantial for it’s size. There is minimal fading and the chasing is still quite crisp. Imprints have a little wear, but are mostly readable. There is some brassing on the clip and lever. The band has some light scratching but little brassing. The band has the initials “C.L.B.” engraved on it. The only major flaw is the chip out of threaded part of the barrel (See pics). The cap still threads as normal. The nib is a Sheaffer’s #2 Self Filling that has some good flex. I graded it “Good,” but the nib has Super flex capability. However, the feed at times cannot keep up. If you learn the pen and find the right pace, this can be a good flexing pen.

SIZE:  4 1/4″ Capped

NIB: Waterman #2, F to BB (0.4mm-1.3mm,  GOOD FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Fair

Restration Work:

• Pen thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Nib polished and tuned to write smoothly
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned and adjusted for optimal flow
• New sac installed
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Waterman 12 PSF – Medium Flex (On Ebay)

The 12 PSF was the  predecessor to Waterman 52. It is essentially a 52 but before Waterman standardized it’s numbering system, which would put it pre-1917. It’s is a nice looking pen with a couple of caveats. It does have some browning. The chasing is pretty worn. The imprints have some wear, but are easily readable. The “12 PSF” on the end still has some of the red. This model is a clip less one. There is some brassing on the lever. A little on the bands, but you have to look close to see it. The Waterman #2 is quite soft and springy and a nice writer. It has some flex that actually comes quite easy. However, line variation is not immense and not as responsive as I would like. Many would call this a “semi-flex.” Still a gorgeous, vintage pen.

SIZE:  5 1/8″ Capped

NIB: Waterman #2, XF to BB (0.4mm-1.3mm)  MediumFLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Good

Restration Work:

• Pen thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Nib polished and tuned to write smoothly
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned and adjusted for optimal flow
• New sac installed
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Sheaffer Balance  (On Ebay)

This is either a Ladies or Junior Sheaffer Balance. It’s named “Balance” because the tapered design balanced the pen to prevent hand fatigue. The clip dates it to probably around the late 30s (ball on the clip is flattened). Body is in good shape. I have buffed and polished out most of the scratching. Trim has little brassing. The nib is a Sheaffer’s #3 XF. It is quite smooth.

SIZE:  4 1/4″ Capped

NIB: Sheaffer’s #3

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Excellent

Restration Work:

• Pen (barrel, section, nib, feed, & cap) thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Buffed out scratches and polished pen body
• Nib polished. Already wrote great
• Trim cleaned and polished
• New Sac
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Waterman 52 Red Ripple w/ Rare Nickel Trim – Super Flex  (On Ebay)

Here is a rare example one of the few Waterman 52 Red Ripple Pens with nickel trim. It is a typical, full-sized 52 and not the slightly shorter version of later models. This pen does not fit into the normal Waterman numbering system (01852 for Red Ripple) as Red Ripples came with gold trim. There are a few anomalies out there, however, and this is one of them. The pen does not have a matching clip. There is some brassing on the nickel band. The nickel on this pen, or at least on the band, was put over brass. The band also has a small ding on the bottom of the cap. The lever is in good shape with just a little wear. There is some fading of the hard rubber as is typical. The imprints ares still quite crisp. The nib is a nice Super flex with pretty decent responsiveness. It can also be used as an everyday XF writer.

SIZE:  5 1/8″ Capped

NIB: Waterman #2, XF to BB (0.3mm-1.5mm),  Super Flex  (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Good

Restration Work:

• Pen (barrel, section, nib, feed, & cap) thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Nib and trim polished
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned
• Nib and feed tuned to write smoothly and with optimal flow
• Test driven for at least a week to insure quality