Waterman Hemisphere Essential Stainless Steel Chrome Trim Fine Point Fountain Pen - S0920410

This is my first Waterman and after mixing up the ink selection to fine tune, it's an amazing writer and I've since ordered a second (and am considering adding a few more for even more color variety). I've owned a Mont Blanc fountain since I received it as a graduation present out of college but the "frugal" side of me cringes at the thought of carrying around a $600 pen for everyday writing. I began maintaining a photo journal in the past few weeks and fell back in love with the smoothness a fountain pen offers. I found this gem browsing through Amazon and after comparing a few pens decided to pull the trigger. Out of the box, it wrote very smoothly and never skipped. However, with the included blue cartridge, the writing was very wet and I noticed substantial shading as I wrote across the page. I stored the pen upside down for a few days as I've been told it might help but the latter never corrected itself. I ordered the converter for $8 and filled it with the Blue Black Mont Blanc ink (the new, non-perm version) I'd purchased for my other pen. The drier ink cleaned up most of the bleed and nearly all the shading I was experiencing in my notebook and sharpened up the lettering considerably. As for the pen's aesthetics and feel, the stainless and gold finish gives it a very sleek, modern look. The pen is a bit on the thin side but that is my preference (even with big hands). It has a substantial weight and is very well balanced and glides effortlessly across paper. I'd have zero reservations recommending this to someone as a first fountain pen or to anyone looking for a daily writer. If you need a fountain pen that will not break the bank and that's available in a multitude of styles to keep your inks straight, this is an outstanding choice. I can say that these pens will have a home in my briefcase and photo bags for years to come.

It's rare to get beauty in life with such minimal outlay of effort and money. This manages it. A lovely and hard-working everyday pen for fountain pen lovers, or a great starter pen for those who are not already familiar. Other reviews have picked apart (and accurately) how this pen writes--good, not great. But I forgive everything for how low-maintenance it is. If you're worried about annual and pre-use flushing, drying, etc., rest assured that (purists, close your ears) I did none of these things for this pen and it still serves beautifully. Over time I've grown bolder in neglect--forgotten to use it, stored nib up and inked for weeks--okay, months--and let the ink dry on the nib... No matter. After a second it starts up again and all is as before. Someday I'll have to flush it well but that day is not here yet. I have the stainless barrel with gold trim. Good weight, no scratching/fading of the finish, etc. Feels wonderful in the hand (NB: I am a woman with quite small hands, so this may mean something different to you), and the black plastic barrel is high quality. (Lately I've noticed some unscrewing there but not enough to really bother me.) I'd originally planned to switch to using a converter with this pen, but the cartridges are so easy I just never bothered. The packaging is lovely--simple, elegant. This is not an expensive pen and so the packaging isn't going to be peak luxe, but the quality is well within the reasonable range for a tasteful gift. Sturdy, well-made darker blue box (matte-textured, like a NARS lipstick case) inside a white cardboard outer box. Interior is some creamy leatherette/faux-suede?--I don't quite remember now, but it was serviceable and unobtrusive.

I've long been a fan of Waterman fountain pens; in fact, this is my third purchase of one since my college days. I lost the first one after five years of use. When the second one started to leak after twelve years of use (driving up and down a 4,000 foot elevation change several times a week must have done something to the seals), I purchased this pen for my birthday a month ago and have been using it daily since. I like the heft and overall feel of the pen. However, unlike my previous two Waterman pens, this one skips quite a bit, making me go back to rewrite the uninked portions of my handwriting. I use my pens a great deal because of rheumatoid arthritis; a good fountain pen requires little to no pressure to write unlike most ballpoint and even rollerball pens. But having to go back over my writing to ink the skipped parts is annoying. Perhaps this is a usual occurrence with the fine-point pens (my other two were medium points), but it's quite annoying all the same. I just wish that my second pen, a Waterman Phileas Blue, hadn't started leaking--it was a perfect pen until the ink stains on my fingers became too much. So I'd say that the Waterman Hemisphere Essential pen is a good fountain pen, but not a great one.

The pen writes smoothly from the start. It came with one cartridge which I do not use so I had to buy a converter so i could use black Waterman ink. It is one of the nicest pens have written with.

Plume facile à utiliser

This is a marvelous fountain pen in fine nib. The flow of ink is steady and smooth and it just glides effortlessly on paper. The look and design is aesthetically pleasing to look at also. I can't fault at all because there's nothing bad to say except everything is good! It comes with a case and the interior is soft felt fabulous for storing the pen. Wonderful writing experience.

its all it says it is and more.......delighted with my purchase

parfait