Waterman 52 – Super Flex (On Ebay)

Here is a Waterman 52 in BCHR. The BCHR is browned to a dark brown and the chasing is worn and pretty smooth, though mostly visible. The nickel trim looks to be in good condition. I’m guessing this pen is from a French market with an after factory nickel band that is quite distinctive. The original lever was either lost or removed and instead replaced with a made in France Waterman “Ideal” accommodation clip. These clips are rather valuable in and of themselves and are gorgeous in my opinion. If you look close you can see a black stripe on the body just below the cap likely because this cap was a replacement. It is still a genuine 52 cap and threads beautifully. The 14kt. Waterman #2 nib is a very wet writing F (0.4mm) that has some nice springy flex up to near BBB (1.7mm). Very classy looking vintage Waterman with some nice flex.

SIZE:  5 3/8″ Capped

NIB: 14kt. Waterman #2, XF to BB (0.4mm-1.7mm),  SUPER FLEX (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
• Nib and feed adjusted for optimal flow
• New sac installed
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Conklin Gold Filled Pen – Good Flex – (On Ebay)

Here is a gold filled pen made by Conklin. There is no brassing on the body that I can see. It is missing the original clip. It has a few tiny dings but noting very noticeable. The lip of the cap appears to have been bent out just a little bit in a few spots. The 14kt. Conklin #3 nib is a very wet writing F. It is smooth with a nice softness to it. The flex comes pretty easy and goes up to BB (1.6mm), and it has decent responsiveness. A nice sturdy pen with some good flex.

SIZE:  5″ Capped

NIB:  14kt. Conklin #3, F to BB (0.4mm-1.6mm) SUPER FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Good

Restoration Work:

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

Wahl Flat Top – Good Flex – (On Ebay)

SIZE:  5 1/8″ Capped

NIB: Wahl #2, XF to BB (0.3mm-1.6mm) GOOD FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Fair

Restoration Work:

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

Mabie Todd Swan- Super/Good Flex (On Ebay)

Here is a made in England Mabie Todd “Swan” Minor in black hard rubber. The chasing on the barrel is decent, but it is mostly worn off on the cap. The black hard rubber has faded to a dark brown. The imprints still look pretty good. The lip of the cap appears to have about a millimeter or so that was cut off. It was probably chipped and so trimmed to make it uniform. The black lever is in good condition. Someone also appears to have decided to buff and polish the hard rubber so it is shiny. The 14kt. Swan #1 nib is a lovely writing XF. It is smooth and fairly wet. It also has some decent flex. The range of flex is very nice going from 0.3mm (XF) to 1.7mm (BB). The ease of flex is pretty good though the responsiveness is a little slower than I would like for a super flex, which is why I’ve graded it to be somewhere between good and super flex. Lovely writing pen.

SIZE:  5 3/8″ Capped

NIB: Mabie Todd Swan #2, XF to BB (0.3mm-1.7mm)  SUPER/GOOD FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Good

Restration Work:

• Pen thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Trim cleaned and polished
• 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 452 – Super Flex (On Ebay)

Here is a Waterman 452 with a nice Sterling Silver filigree overlay. The black hard rubber body under the overlay has faded to a dark blackish brown color. There is no longer any imprint on the end of the barrel. The lever is in good condition. The 14kt. Waterman #2 nib is smooth and soft writing XF that has medium flow in normal writing. The flex on this pen is quite nice. It comes quite easily and has a nice springy, responsive action to it. A great, high quality Waterman with some great flex.

SIZE:  5 3/8″ Capped

NIB: Waterman #2, XF to BB (0.3mm-1.6mm), SUPER FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Excellent

Restration Work:

• Pen (barrel, section, nib, feed, & cap) thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Pen body thoroughly polished with jewelers cloth
• Nib polished and tuned to write smoothly
• New sac installed
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Waterman 52 1/2V  – Super Flex  (On Ebay)

Here is Waterman 52 1/2 V in BCHR and gold-filled trim. The chasing on the pen is still quite good with just a little wear. The imprints are also all good and crisp. The hard rubber has faded some to a dark blackish brown. The large repousse band and lever are both in good condition with no brassing. This cap had neither a clip nor a ring top, which is fairly unusual for 52 1/2 Vs. The 14kt. Waterman #2 nib is a very wet writing F that writes soft and smooth. It has good ease of flex and a nice range going from F to BBB (0.4mm-1.8mm). It also has pretty good responsiveness for how wet the flow is. A great, portable Waterman in very nice condition.

SIZE:  4 1/2″ Capped

NIB: Waterman #2 14kt., F to BBB (0.4mm-1.8mm)  SUPER FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Excellent

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

Wahl-Eversharp Skyline – Good Flex – (On Ebay)

Here is a standard size Skyline in navy blue. There is some light scratching on the body and cap, but most of it has been buffed and polished out. There is a tiny nick on the body just below the cap. Actually it is more like a tiny flat spot. The gold filled trim looks to be in good condition with just a hint of plate loss on the crown of the lever from the cap rubbing it when posted. The 14kt. Eversharp nib is a very wet writing M (0.5mm) that has a nice range of flex going up to BBB (1.8mm). The flex is a bit too stiff to be graded higher. It’s a beauty of a Skyline, and if you like wet nibs this should be a hit.

SIZE:  5 1/4″ Capped

NIB: Eversharp 14kt., M to BBB (0.5mm-1.8mm) GOOD FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Good

Restoration Work:

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

Shearer Balance 385 (Short Slender) with Lifetime Nib  (On Ebay)

This is a fantastic Sheaffer Balance in the short slender size and marine green striped body was probably produced in the early 1940s. The body is in very nice condition with only light surface scratching much of which I have buffed and polished out. The gold filled trim is in great condition with no brassing. Imprints are good and crisp as well. The ink window in the section still has pretty good transparency. The 14kt. Sheaffer Lifetime two-tone nib is a superb XXF (0.2mm). It is smooth with just a little feedback. It reminds me of my Aurora Optima nib. These are classic, well built pens that the set the bar for quality in their day.

SIZE:  4 7/8″ Capped

NIB:  14kt. Sheaffer Lifetime, XXF (0.2)

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 installed
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

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

This Wahl gold-filled ring top is in quite nice condition. The body shows very little signs of brassing. There is just a little on the edge at the end of the barrel. There is some light scratching on the pen from use as is typical for these pens, but nothing major. There are no dings or dents on the pen, which is actually pretty rare for these ring tops. The 14kt. Wahl #2 is a wet, soft, and smooth. The flex on the pen is a bit on the stiffer side of super flex, but it has fantastic range of flex going from F (0.4mm) to BBB (1.8mm). Responsiveness is also pretty good. These make for nice, durable, and portable pens, and the flex just makes it that much more useful.

SIZE:  3 7/8″ Capped

NIB:  14kt. Wahl #2, F to BBB (0.4mm-1.8mm) SUPER FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Excellent

Restration Work:

• Pen thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Body thoroughly polished.
• 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

Wahl-Eversharp Skyline – Super Flex – (On Ebay)

Here is a lovely Skyline in demi size. It comes in navy with green pin stripe cap. There is some scratching and scuffing on the body and cap. I was able to get some of it out with buffing and polishing. The most affected area is to the left of the clip where the pen looks to have been scuffed a bit. The gold-filled trim looks to be in good condition with no signs of brassing. The 14kt. Eversharp nib is a lovely smooth and wet writing fine. A very lovely nib for normal writing. It also has some flex that ranges from F to BB (1.5mm). The flex is a bit too stiff to be considered super flex in my opinion, but you can still do some decent work with it.

SIZE:  5″ Capped

NIB: Eversharp 14kt., F to BB (0.4mm-1.5mm) SUPER FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Fair

Restoration Work:

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