Pens of Note

Waterman Man 100

 

Recently, after not using this pen for over a year, it made it ways back into my rotation. What a pen!

This pen was my first big introduction to Waterman. It was described as having a modern and somewhat retro look. The Man100 was the flagship line for Waterman for a number of years. Retro as it drew its body shape from the chased hard rubber pens while having a modern clip and overall styling.

I was drawn to the pen because of its style, a somewhat affordable price, and the fact that nib sections with different nib styles could be attained.

The pen was first introduced in 1983 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Waterman. It was a sad day when in 1999 when Waterman announced the pen was no longer in production. In my view, the company had difficulty with the subsequent replacement lines. On one hand, a good run, 1983 to 1999, but sad to see such a classic leave production.

Introduced in black resin, it was considered a large pen at the time measuring some 5 5/8 inches in length when capped. The black pen, with gold plated trip and a good-sized 18 karat two-toned nib — this pen is a real looker. As long as you like the basic black pen!

I am told, at the time the pen was being marketed to compete with Montblanc and Pelikan.

Waterman used this pen body to turn out numerous other lines such as the Man 100 Opera, the Fontainebleau pens in wood (popular in Europe but never really made their way to the North American market and I regret not getting one) and the Patrician - a line I feel in love with and bought a pen in each colour!

The Man 100 uses a clip that was very similar to the Gentleman line. This style of clip became the standard Waterman look for a number of years. Clips are and important part of the overall style of a pen, and this clip has a classic look. Commonly called a washer type, held on with a screw accessible through the cap, rather than a clip that is held onto the pen with a rivot.

The cap itself is great as it is firmly held to the pen body when capped.

The Man 100 line very popular and in 1985 Waterman came out with a slightly thinner pen, the Man 200.

The Man 100 has a converter ink filling system also accepting Waterman Cartridges. The nib is 18 kt gold with a platinum decoration and came in a variety of styles that range from Fine, Medium, Broad, Stub and obliques. The nib is engraved with Waterman, IDEAL, Paris - a touch back to the roots of the company.