The Greatest Pen Ever Made: The Waterman's 56.

[@Rachel-uv3lo]

What a wonderful nib & feed. Love this. Suits your penmanship perfectly

[@singlesideman]

Much thanks! Everything feels really comfortable and well proportioned, and the range of line variation is phenomenal. This pen feels like a flexible stub, even though I think it isn't really a stub, but rather has an oblong tipping shape. Anyway, it's a great pen, and a great writer. I just adore their feeds as much as their nibs. Excellent. Just excellent.

[@Shortcutguitlssns]

What a pleasure to see exquisite handwriting by a reviewer

[@singlesideman]

Thank you very much! I'm not a reviewer. I'm a composer and artist who uses and collects vintage fountain pens, almost always with flexible nibs, and I restore some and occasionally sell them, and I run this channel and make videos for it, run a group on Facebook called Vintage Flex Fountain Pens about its namesake, and I've written articles on vintage fountain pens and I've run a pen show and am planning to do another next year. I do a number of things with vintage fountain pens, and I try to educate others on the subject and bring more people into this fascinating world of vintage flex fountain pens and related items.

[@joaomourato3395]

Your calligraphy is out of this world. I think you make this nib even better... Congratz. Regards from Lisbon/Portugal ❤

[@singlesideman]

Thank you so very much! It is inevitable. It is a feeling. It cannot be stopped. And it is actually okay - and beautiful...

[@antoniorequiao1899]

that's a real giant pen, and a fantastic writer too ! Waterman made a waterman 58 model too, that is about 15,5 centimeters wide, with the cap on, or 6,10 inches long, another giant. And parker has two early models that are gigantic, far bigger than the duofolds from the 20's.

[@singlesideman]

It is a very large pen, about the same size as a Pelikan M1000, but what's really amazing about it is that the section is much thinner, more ergonomic, relaxed, natural, and comfortable than the sections of any similarly huge pens. In fact, the section is much thinner than the one on the Pelikan M800 which is also heavier, and feels more clunky, big and heavy, and hard to control. The Waterman's 56, as Waterman's own newsletter touted at the time in the mid 1920s, the 56, like the 55, is a large pen, but it's comfortable and easy to control for even medium sized hands, and it really is. It doesn't feel too big and hard to control even though it really is big. I adore the original flat top Parker Duofold Jr, but the Senior Duofold is just too big for me, and it comes down to the thickness and the contour of the section. It's very comfortable and relaxed, but it gives me very little control of the pen, no focus. My fingers have to be a bit more close together in order to feel and get the focus in order to get the control over my writing. The 56 is also quite light, which helps to keep control of the pen. I do have a 58 which is just plain comically large. It's like a cartoon. It's hard to believe that it's that enormous. It really is a giant pen, and the 20 is just unbelievable. It's whatever is even bigger than comically large, maybe even comically huge. Here's a link to a short with my 58 which I don't think I'll ever even dip: kzbin.infogIYNc78S8W4?si=ROv1v07mdJQkVMzW

[@antoniorequiao1899]

@@singlesideman well, I have to say that I admire your discipline, because I do not ever let one of my pens without use. Some colectors have pens like this, but I only have three montblancs that I have to sell and preserved not inked because they are sort new old stock pens, from the 50's. Returning to the subject, I have some large senior duofolds, and I like to write wit, specialy the big red and the black white marbled, because both have cursive italic nibs. I have two watermans 52 with this kind of nib, and a waterman #7 ripple and another #7, canadian, bigger than the american, also with italic and stub nibs. The canadian #7 is bigger than the american 7, and it is peculiar because the top is the 3 steps shape, like the americans 94. Another giant pen that I bought about 25 years ago, is a Conway Stewart, like the 'le tigre', that was used to shape the modern 'churchil' of that brand. But in this case the section is a litle bit fat. And I have some of the great Sheaffers lifetime flat top, with the white dot, and those sections are more user friendly. Unfortunately my 58 was stolen with other pens in berlin, and I want to have another in near future...

[@singlesideman]

​@@antoniorequiao1899there really are some pens that are in such extraordinary condition and that are scarce enough that using them just wouldn't be right. I love using my pens, so the vast majority of them are user pens, not collector pens, but the latter are often irresistible, so I end up with some of them in my collection as well. The vintage fountain pen world is vast, and I feel that most people are missing at least one important aspect about them. I try to get as much into one pen as possible, and ultimately most pens that are rare and valuable have much less expensive counterparts that write just as well or better, and with more distinction than nibs in those rarer and more valuable pens. You don't really need to write with a Waterman's 20 when a good user grade Waterman's 56 will do the same thing.

[@antoniorequiao1899]

@@singlesideman Of course I understand your point, for sure some are rarest and way too difficult to find than anothers, and of course, some parts to replace are impossible to find. But sometimes, even not filling it, I realy appreciate to take one of the rarest to write some lines... as you know, vintage pens are unique, and even you have two of the same model and year of production, you will feel that the nib, the flexibility, the stroke are not the same, and the pleasure of write is different from pen to pen... maybe it is like someone that collect old cars, maybe a 1930 packard is rarer than a 1945 ford, but if I have one, maybe starting the motor and having a turn on the square once a month will pay for the effort to find and preserv one. I am getting old, and I collect pens since 1980. I sold maybe more than half of my collection, and for sure I will sell more in the next few years, but some of it will remain, maybe a dozen of then. I remember an advertisement that I saw in europe, on TV, maybe 15 years ago, about Patek Phillipe watches. The announcer sais that you do not have a P P, you are only taking care of it for the next generation ... I think that old fountain pens are sort of the same.

[@singlesideman]

​@@antoniorequiao1899​​one is definitely taking care of a vintage fountain pen for the next generation. Fountain pen comparisons to cars are quite apt, and I use them often, and for good reason. That said, if one has an incomparable nib in a rare pen it is often worthwhile to put it into a less valuable pen so that it can be used without worrying about potentially lessening the condition and value of the pen. There really is no need to use a very valuable and rare pen if its nib can be used in another pen that's much less valuable. These pens have survived for 100 years or more without damage, and sometimes without even being filled. Why use it now? It just ruins the value and desirability of the pen. Would you really use a new old stock 100 year old Waterman 20 with a price sticker? Would you put a very scarce and valuable coin that's in uncirculated condition in your pocket for the next five years, oxidizing and getting rubbed and worn and scratched, and thus ruining its value, just because coins were made to be used? Of course not. It just doesn't make any sense. That would just be wrong. As I said, it's just good practice to use your vintage fountain pens unless they are in extraordinarily good condition and are scarce and valuable.

[@montarcilioestrela1590]

These pens are worth year after year like an old Portuguese wine Oporto.

[@singlesideman]

They're brilliant writing instruments with such history, depth and spirit.

[@louandbarb]

I didn't realize just how large that 56 is until you placed it beside the others. Lol! It didn't even fit in the box. And the writing is amazing. You could sign the Declaration of Independence with that pen!

[@singlesideman]

Much thanks! It's an absolutely brilliant pen. Perfectly designed.

[@PiersStudio]

The 56 is a lovely pen…for the brute that it is. I don’t generally find there is a difference in the writing experience between any of those 50 series pens. My hand grows into holding a thin 52 1/2 as easily as a 55. Both can be equally comfortable. Holding a big bruiser of a pen might make it easier to draw the powerful avalanche where a delicate thin, small 52 1/2 v might prefer my hand to draw the delicate petals of the edelweiss flower. If I had to draw both the bloom and the avalanche in one image with one pen I might pick the 55 to do it. I wish I could clone myself to do a test. Draw the same thing with two pens to see how differently they turn out. I think one could find a 2 and a 6 nib that behave the same, so it’s just the weight, size and the grip of the pen that is different.

[@singlesideman]

The whole point of why I consider the Waterman's 56 one of several perfect pens, and I include all of the 5 series in that particular shortlist, is because of the girth of the section. Waterman's had already perfected their sections in terms of ergonomic contour (it was and is just perfect) in their first iteration of the 5 series, the 12 PSF and the 15 PSF, etc. Waterman's sections tended to be narrower than other, slightly later pens' sections were, like Parker's chubby, squat sections. Part of the whole thing about specific pens and what makes them fascinating to use and care about is their design philosophy, what they were designed to do and feel like when using them... I think there's a video in here, somewhere...

[@singlesideman]

Also, the larger #6 nib is softer and more flexible than a smaller equivalent because the flexion is distributed over a larger surface area, and the larger #6 nib is proportionally thinner than a smaller nib of the same thickness, so it is more supple.

[@dimitridiakovasiliou2453]

Another beautiful writing instrument! Glad you are enjoying it so much, your writing looks amazing. Would you say there is nothing in your collection like this? Can it be characterized as a fine stub? Keep having fun with it.

[@singlesideman]

Much thanks! It's a fantastic pen in every way. The character of the nib is probably closest to another Waterman's that I bought that very same day at the Commonwealth Pen Show, although it's newer, the Waterman's 100 Year. They're just absolutely phenomenal nibs, very easy to flex, but also very precise and controllable. I'm not sure if this nib is quite a flexible fine stub, but I do have a few Wahl All Metal Pens from the twenties that have exactly that kind of nib, and they're absolutely amazing, just wonderful, wet, and very expressive writers. Part of what makes the Waterman's 56 great in general is the size, proportions, weight, balance, ink capacity, scarcity, and above all, the diameter, contour, and length of the section. It's absolutely perfect. It's bigger than a Pelikan M800 (about the size of an M1000) but significantly lighter, and the section is narrower than on the M800, which is great because it gives you more controls and focus in line making.

[@dimitridiakovasiliou2453]

@@singlesideman a perfect description of wonderful writing instruments! Thanks!

[@Smoothtlknwhtboi]

Gosh can you give me lesson!! Wow you make it look so easy.

[@singlesideman]

Thank you so much! I'm not sure how I could do a lesson, although I do have a video about calligraphy and vintage flex fountain pens that offers some insight into how to use vintage flex fountain pens to write like this.

[@yggdrasil1987]

I want the same !

[@singlesideman]

It really is a wonderful pen. I hope you find one soon. They're so comfortable, and they write beautifully.

[@deborahlopez606]

OMG....I need this pen in my life. Where can I find one? Thank you for sharing!!!

[@singlesideman]

They're really hard to find, I'm afraid, so when they show up most people who get it jump on it. Or they develop relationships with sellers and put in a wish list...

[@deborahlopez606]

@@singlesideman So, in other words, you're telling me "Not a chance" lol

[@singlesideman]

@@deborahlopez606 well, they are hard to find. It took me a few years to get this one, and they are expensive. This one has an extraordinary nib which came from a vintage fountain pen collector friend of mine, and the pen came from a vintage fountain pen seller friend of mine.

[@heretolevitateme]

$7.50 in 1925 dollars is equal to $130 in 2023 dollars.

[@singlesideman]

That's what the CPI inflation calculator estimates, but it really varies considerably depending on the commodity. Because the fountain pen market was so big at that time and it's so small now, the importance of the economy of scale kicks in. That $130 in 1925 is so low because there was so much competition, and overhead costs were so much lower then than they are today. If a top tier fountain pen company wanted to get a comparable pen to market today it would cost the customer about $750, which is the approximate list price of a new Parker Duofold Centennial in 2023.

[@MP-Fin]

I believe this pen was used by H. P. Lovecraft

[@stephenstrader1577]

Do most of the Ideal’s have the same flexibility - writeability like this?

[@singlesideman]

They're all over the map, although the nibs from Waterman's fountain pens of the 1940s and earlier, even their manifold nibs, have at least a tiny bit of flexibility, but it is true that Waterman's did make - and job out - some of the greatest flexible nibs found in any fountain pen, at least during the aforementioned period.

[@Tom_Samad]

I get the feeling you love this pen? 🤔😉

[@singlesideman]

It's a phenomenal pen, an exquisite writer, and it's perfectly ergonomic. It also has real history, and it's a pretty scarce model. The nib is especially wonderful. When a flexible nib such as this is in a larger size, all other factors being equal, it will be more flexible than the smaller version because the nib is proportionately thinner, and usually larger pens such as this were impressive and expensive "statement" pens for big businessmen with a lot of money, and they were usually used for signatures, often on carbon copies, so they were usually equipped with very stiff manifold nibs which were fairly new at the time, and viewed as a more premium nib at the time, so to have a flexible nib in one of these pens is a rare treat.

[@Tom_Samad]

Very interesting.

[@peterbaker7963]

The Greatest Pen Ever Made: The Waterman's 56....NO

[@singlesideman]

?

[@josephroxursox]

wonderful pen, your handwriting gives me anxiety lol

[@singlesideman]

Anxiety? How? Why?

[@josephroxursox]

@@singlesideman it's so sporadic and frantic haha. It's a nice script, but I guess the way you do it makes me uncomfortable.. I prefer a more methodic and therapeutic writing style but I know you don't :P

[@singlesideman]

@@josephroxursox I have no idea what you're talking about.

[@josephroxursox]

@@singlesideman your strokes are very frantic.

[@singlesideman]

@@josephroxursox actually they're at the correct speed for smooth, flowing, even lines - I'm not sure what you find "frantic" about them. Most people who try to get varied lines in their writing with flexible vintage nibs write much too slowly, and their strokes are jagged and uneven as a result.

[@jakekaywell5972]

Personally, I think the LAMY 2000 is a better candidate for "greatest pen ever made". Even if you subtract its Bauhaus design philosphy and advanced materials, the engineering behind the pen itself is remarkable. Every last detail is meticulously thought out for best user operation. That said, the Waterman's 56 is a fine pen too.

[@singlesideman]

I have a huge list of reasons why the 56 is the better pen, but if I tell you, that will just upset you. I don't want to do that.

[@LeeHarris]

So, is it a big pen?

[@singlesideman]

It is indeed a big pen, as demonstrated in the video.

[@LeeHarris]

ufff there goes irony...@@singlesideman

[@singlesideman]

@@LeeHarris and where is the irony?