Waterman Expert III Fountain Pen Review

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[chrisb]

I have this with a medium nib. I'm a left hander, and write with paper at 90 degrees to my body. It's been by far and away the nicest pen to write with, better than the Carene, which seems biased towards right handed writing (wife loves it). Love it so much, I've now got two.

[texasboy]

This was my very first fountain pen which I bought just over 20 years ago. I still remember paying $125 USD for it. I used it for years till I started my collection. Yes the nib is hard, but when I started using a fountain pen I didn't know anything about nibs, and it still works fine. I may ink it up again for old time sake.

[visualkandi]

I like the looks, professional and executive with the classic Waterman aesthetic. Snap cap, steel nib and not shipped with converter. Seems very expensive to my eye but understand why folks will want it in their collection. Thank you Mr Brown, brilliant as always.

[harjoat]

Nice to finally see a review of a waterman expert, bought one but couldn't find any reviews beforehand. Wonderful pen :)

[Spscc]

I've had the same Waterman Expert pen since 2002. Countless bottles of (exclusively black) ink have flowed through it over the years, and it still writes perfectly.

[ojakubcik]

I bought a Waterman Expert in 2013 (I am guessing it was Expert II) and had problems with it - it wouldn't start, when it started (after dipping into ink) it would skip a lot, so I sent it back to shop to have it fixed. To my big disappointment, it didn't improve, so the pen sat in my shelf for 2-3 years. Then it occurred to me I could check the nib myself, and with 15x loupe I found out there was metal debris in the slit - after cleaning it with a tiny piece of metal (0.004" brass), it writes just beautifully and doesn't dry out. The next Expert (this time Expert III) wrote just fine from the very beginning, and together with Lamy 2000 these are my favourite pens.

[pmichael]

You are right about the hardness of the nib; however, I have had many Waterman pens, from very cheap student pens (bought in France), to an Expert II and III, and I have never had a bad nib. They are my go-to pen company. Maybe not exciting, but utterly reliable.

[JohnDoe-elir]

Nice review! In my opinion nib isn’t wet nor dry, I have F size. Compared to Faber castell Loom it’s wet, but I would rather say Loom is badly dry. Left uncapped starts writing without problem at least for 10 minutes 15-20 minutes needs like 2-3 mm to start, great result. I like stiff, steel nibs so I like this pen. Mine pen had some quality issues with clip which was not perfectly centred to the waterman logo. Probably other people wouldn’t notice it at all. It’s easily repairable by using medium screwdriver inside cap, on Expert 3, on 2 there isn’t access to that screw by the way. Back cap on barrel had a slight, little tiny rattling but I screwed it by some tricks with 9mm flat screwdriver. Actually I tried firstly unscrew it and when I did try that it wasn’t rattling no more. I could sent it back but I’m tinker 😊 Mine has perfect F size nib, works very well with Baystate Blue. Very smooth writer, fast drying like 3-5 seconds, but definitely not dry writing. And that snap when closing the pen, you can see excellent quality there. Beautiful pen for me in GT version, for now I’m satisfied and not looking for any new, better pens finally 😊

[polksie]

Another great review. I love your reviews of reasonably priced pens.

[lymantria]

I have three of these, in the Mk 2 version (metal body), in M and F nobs. Workhorse pens-daily users. Not as wide writing as the Lauréat & Phileas (M tends to run Broad on those), but good flow and comfortable for long writing sessions.

[Elizabeth_attheBeach]

Great review. Just one observation - the description as "cigar-shaped" - I tend to think of the MB 149 and the Jinhao 9019 as true "cigar-shaped" pens.

[willyfs]

I got the GT nib for 10 years and write super, bought in april this year the dark red CT an de the dark blue CT, all are F nibs. Your angle with the pen to the paper made it smother when the angle is smaller then 45 degrees

[frankbruno]

It's an early Sunday morning.. we have a 2-year old Aussie/Border Collie mix who is timid.. and kind of fostering three puppies.. a 13 month old mama and a little boy and girl.. who are sweet and loveable.. and early risers! Been watching my favorite pen buddy.. I've followed you as I e told you since my spinal surgeries and my Mom and Dad passing.. since 2012.. we've never met, but I do consider you a buddy.. I wish you the very best.. life changes, and can be tough.. I suspect we've each had a rough patch personally..
Very best always..
Frank in Colorado

[michaeldeurloo]

I've owned an Expert II in Oriental Red since 2003, with a medium nib. The current price tag here in Canada seems to me exorbitant, especially considering that the pen now comes with neither a converter nor a lifetime warranty, both of which were included with mine. I love the colour of mine, but unfortunately the nib is in fact very broad, so I don't use it much. What I am currently in love with, however, is the Waterman Exception Night and Day gold, the nibs for the pen are INCREDIBLE. Thanks for this review.

[Inufan]

You can buy that model for 65€ on amazon right now (at least if you have prime and in germany).

[nicholasadams]

Thank you. Interesting about Waterman. I have a Carène which I have thought a stiff writer and have had problems with leaking around the nib. When it works, great––and the dry line means you can write a long time.

[Yootjoob]

Super, eindelijk een Waterman Expert review, dank je Stephen.

[ubbvgsd]

what are your thoughts on the matte finish as opposed to stainless steel or the regular lacquer body?

[richardc]

I am interested to know how a medium nib would compare to the Carene medium nib that I have now. Have you done a comparison ? I have been looking for a slightly finer nib that that of the Carene, maybe a medium Expert 3 might be a good choice.

[markdbenson]

Thanks Stephen. It has a nice classical look to it with just enough design tweaks to make it appealing. If it had a rhodium plated gold springy stub nib it would tempt me.