I’d used a wide range of cheap fountain pens throughout my university career, but had never been able to afford any sort of nice, well-built pen. My $10 NoNonsense served me well during many hurried exams, and never broke down at critical times. Still, after I finished my degree, I figured it was time to treat myself with a pen that cost more than $20.

On a trip to Oxford, I picked up a Waterman Hemisphere at a local pen shop, which seemed to fit both my budget and taste in design. Things started out reasonably well. The nib was nice and smooth, though a tad broad for a medium, and the ink flow was acceptable. After a few pages, however, the pen started to act up. It would skip on a large number of down strokes, and I’d have to go back to fix the missing bits. I tried several inks, and even tried to change my writing style, but none had any effect on the now-frequent skipping.

Frustrated, I phoned Waterman for help, where I ended up talking to a grumpy customer service rep. They assured me that even though they hadn’t seen it, there was nothing wrong with my pen (they’re all factory-tested, after all), and that if I wanted them to take a look at it, they would apply a service charge. Their Lifetime Warranty, which was part of what drew me to a Waterman pen in the first place, was apparently rather limited.

I eventually got them to replace the nib, which had separated from the feed. They didn’t charge me for the replacement, which I’ll give them credit for. But, after filling it back up again, it’s only marginally better than it was before.

The frustrating part is that, when it comes down to reliability, my NoNonsense is still a better pen. The Hemisphere skips, while my trusty old NoNonsense doesn’t. The Hemisphere is picky about what paper I use, whereas the NoNonsense will write well on almost anything.

In short, I shouldn’t have to put up with the pickiness of the Hemisphere. There are better pens out there for the price.

Waterman Liason reviewed by James R. Harris

I was in New Orleans awhile back for a Geek conference and I walked
into the only fountain pen store in the French Quarter and I asked for a
"cheap broad." I'm always looking for a cheap broad point pen. Unlike
most fountain pen users I like the crayon-like stroke of a broad
tip. (Perhaps it has something to do with my quirky, deadpan prose one critic
said I had). Anyway, mediums just don't cut it with me. Anyway, the tall,
stately blonde woman laughed and said, "Well, there's plenty of those right
out on the street there."
There wasn't a cheap anything in that store, but it was a nice store.
I bought some French ink and left. I walked back to my hotel room and
loaded the silky, shiny French ink into the greatest pen I have ever owned:
The Waterman Liaison. Then I went down to the Community Coffee shop, sat
in a corner next to a couple of drunks, and put a glorious broad right on
top of the first page of a brand new 70 count spiral-ring notebook. That
pen has written at least two hundred pages of my latest novel all by
itself (sometimes when I get up to go to the bathroom, it just takes off by
itself).
I love everything about the Liaison. It's made out of ebonite and
smells like the inside of a '67 Camaro when you put it up to your nose.
It's heavy and fat and the tip is damn elegant. (I also use a 21 inch pool
stick, by the way- There maybe some compensation thing going on there but I
won't comment on that.)
The Liaison is orange. It cost $238 through Swisher. Pricey, but
worth it. Before that I was writing with a Phileas, which is a damn good
pen also. The body did crack on me but I sent it back to the factory and
they sent me another one.
I have, 400 pages later, tried to use a few other pens so that I keep
the Liaison from getting dropped or lost by my clumsiness. So I use a Lamy
Safari and it puts the ink down nicely too and only cost me 40 bucks at
Seattle Pen Company when I was there for another Geek fest. I also have a
Waterman Carene which leaks and occasionally writes like a roofing nail.

Waterman Hemisphere by Klyment Tan

I have used the Waterman Hemisphere as my writing instrument of choice for the last seven months and have been very satisfied.

It is remarkably reliable and I have never had problems with any part of the pen or the ink converter. After filling, it takes maybe three or four lines of handwriting to clear off the excess ink from the metal part of the nib and even after a harsh click-close, minimal quantities of ink splash out of the groove running to the tip from where a breather hole would normally be on the nib and there will never be enough splashing to leave any excess ink in the cap which could contaminate the handling area of the pen to dirty your fingers.

Writing with the pen is very enjoyable. I purchased the pen new and when I first used it, writing was scratchy and sometimes the ink skipped. But after roughly ten pages of writing, the pen seemed to have adapted to its new owner and behaves predictably. The lines are smooth and even with cheap paper and inexpensive Parker ink, feathering is not visible without extensive inspection under hard light. The nib seems to be the right flexibility, not too harsh and not too forgiving. The pen glides almost as though it senses your next stroke and moves without resistance. I have one complaint of the writing, though: this medium nib produces a line that is just a tad too thick for my liking. I have tried a Sheaffer fountain pen with a medium nib and found that nib to produce a notably finer line than the Hemisphere. If only it were easier to find replacement nibs for this pen.

As for aesthetics, the brass-based, lacquer covered pen is beautiful to behold. The gold plated trim accentuates my black pen with a modern, but traditional appeal. The oblique top of the cap and the clip with a cut-out along its length help add character to this fine piece. I use the pen a lot and I am not extremely careful with my pens so the gold has started to show signs of wear . . . mostly just scratches. The lacquer seems to resist scratches but there is some noticeable wear on it, too.

Waterman Phileas reviewed by John

The Waterman Phileas is an entry level pen. For the price (pay no more than $40) it is attractive in a conservative way and has an unusually nice two-toned nib. The pen itself is reliable and again reasonably good considering the price. My main complaint is that the nibs run unusually thick. Thus, an M nib is pretty much a paintbrush. Although Waterman will switch nibs for free, I would imagine a new user would find the unexpected thickness of the line somewhat annoying. The Phileas also has the advantage that its cap pulls off rather than unscrews. For users unused to fountain pens, the habit of pulling a cap can be hard to break, so this is a nice feature.

For more on the Phileas, visit the Beginner's Guide section of the site.

Waterman L'Etalon reviewed by Kit

Waterman Edson reviewed by Steve Cleary

First let me start by saying that at 47 years of age I have always been interested in and used fountain pens. However I have never gone beyond a sort of passive interest and until recently the most expensive pen I owned was a Parker Sonnet.

The Edson arrived in an elegant blue faux leather box with resplendent gold Waterman emblem on its lid. Once opened I found it contained clear instructions and 2 sets of cartridges, black and blue and a converter that exactly matches the colour of the barrel, talk about attention to detail. The pen itself is absolutely beautiful with a translucent deep blue barrel and gold coloured cap with articulated clip. Despite having small hands and having read several articles, which suggested this size of pen would be too large for me I find it a joy to hold and use. The pen is heavy, the cap being almost as heavy as the pen itself, but I have not found the pen tiring to use because of its perfect balance. I prefer to use the pen with the cap posted, which again would suggest (from articles read) that the pen is not too large for my hand. The nib, which I believe is regarded as firm, is as smooth as silk and I have yet to try anything that comes close despite trying every pen in every shop in a 40 mile radius before settling on the Edson. To me it gives my writing plenty of character and line variation, but as stated my experience is limited.

At a UK recommended retail price of £625 this pen is expensive, I got mine from Christian Fricke at a fraction of that price, but such is a measure of the pen that I would still be more than happy with it had I paid full UK retail. Don’t tell Christian :o)

This is a pen that is great for everything from signatures to writing long essays

Overall I would give this pen 100% and it would appear that I have bought a top quality pen that also happens to suit me perfectly. I hope that I shall be as lucky with my future purchases, but doubt it.

 Waterman Edson reviewed by Michael Picerno

This is the first "real" fountain pen I bought for myself several years ago. I was impressed by its looks, its heft and the snap on cap. I use a pen over a dozen times a day to sign my name, take notes, initial memos, etc, and the screw on cap most pens feature seemed to be too awkward for me. First off, this pen is absolutely gorgeous. I own over a dozen expensive pens - OMAS,
Parker, Montegrappa, Montblanc - and nothing gets the comments and compliments that this thing does. I got it with a fine point and its absolutely perfect - smooth wet line, not a hint of scratchiness on the nib,
etc. The nib is sort of inlaid like Sheaffers, and its pretty firm so you do not get the line variation as you might get in an OMAS pen. I've used it on an almost daily basis now and have never had a single problem with it.

It travels well on planes without a hint of ink loss or leakage. It is large and heavy (I think its solid brass under the blue resin) and some may not like the heft if you're using it all day. It comes in a very fancy leather
covered box, uses standard cartridges and comes with a converter which I have never used. Its not cheap but as long as you don't lose the thing it will last you a lifetime I bet.

Waterman Expert reviewed by John

About eight years ago, I purchased a Waterman expert for my wife. The body of the Expert is a kind of glossy finish (but not lacquer) over brass. The Expert is slightly shorter and less wide than the M800 but is of similar weight. One disadvantage of this finish is that it scratches fairly easily and, indeed, this Expert is decidedly duller than it was when new. The nib is a very simple 2-tone gold. There is no pattern or anything else on the nib. The filling system is cartridge/converter. The pen is quite reliable and writes smoothly but without an especially wet line in the medium nib of my wife's pen. Also, the nib has very little flex so line variation is at a minimum. All in all, this pen is solid if unspectacular in all dimensions.

Waterman Opera reviewed by John

The Waterman Opera is a flat-out gorgeous pen. It is a version of the Man 100 line, which was Waterman's flagship in the 1980s, but this version is dressed up to look like black chased hard rubber. The construction is brass with a crosshatched overlay of semi-glossy black over it. The design is really evocative of Waterman pens from the first half of the 20th century. The retro quality of the design carries through to the nib, which is two-tone gold with the Waterman Ideal globe logo featuring prominently. The pen is long and somewhat thick (about like a Pelikan M600). All of the brass makes it somewhat heavy as well. The pen, like all Watermans, is a cartridge/converter  system.

The version I have is a fine nib, which glides smoothly across the surface of the paper despite producing a nice crisp narrow line. My only objection to the writing experience is that the pen runs a bit on the lean side in terms of ink flow, which makes it unsuitable for less saturated inks like Sheaffer Skrip. I'd rather it be a bit more generous. I sent it to Janesville to correct this, but without any luck. The pen came back approximately the same as when I sent it.

Another problem with the pen is its tendency to bleed ink on the nib if it is not thoroughly "wicked" upon filling. This problem is pretty much unsolvable if using Private Reserve inks.

The key problem I have with the pen is in ergonomics. The combination of the weight and thickness of the pen causes my hand to fatigue after a very short time. This, combined with the dry writing, has caused this pen to be used less than many others that are not nearly so gorgeous. Bottom line: A disappointment.

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