I sold my first Waterman Carene Deluxe. It was dependable, it wrote even if I’d left it inked and unused for weeks, it was deep blue and sterling silver, it was… well, it was the kind of guy you married, I suppose, as guys like that usually come with medium nibs. I dislike medium nibs.

Then National Bookstore slashed their prices on the Carene. Did I miss it? At that price, I certainly didn’t mind giving it another chance. Around the same time, I discovered a seller on eBay who sold Carene and Charleston nibs (with sections) separately. He had stubs available.

Now, a Carene with a stub is another thing entirely. It’s the pen equivalent of finding out that boring reliable guy collects old issues of The Invisibles.

Waterman Carene stub, in box

I placed the order before the holidays, and fretted about its non-arrival all throughout, but when the stub unit arrived in its blue Waterman box last week, it was the holidays all over again.

Waterman Carene, stub nib

I cannibalized the Waterman converter from the Oldwin (which is being used as an eyedropper, anyway), and inked the pen with Pilot asa-gao.

Waterman Carene stub, writing sample

The ink flow is steady and controlled, a touch on the dry side – which makes this pen a good choice for signing documents. Now I have a medium nib unit sulking on my desk. Does anyone want it?

(Note that very mild humor invoking stereotypes was used in the writing of this blog entry.)

9 Responses to “Waterman Carene, now with stub.”

1. TAO says:

   January 17, 2009 at 1:24 am

   I’ve never been a big fan of the look of modern Watermans but I must admit that’s not a bad stub nib. I just realized that I was thinking how much I liked that exact same passage from “Today’s Lesson” just last night. LOL.
2. Leonard6July says:

   January 18, 2009 at 11:28 pm

   I also bought a Carene stub nib (Silver Trim) and I think it was from the same ebay seller, I’ve been waiting 2 weeks and it has not come. How long did you ahve to wait for yours? Could you post a video of a writing sample with the Carene? The one above is great!
3. Leigh Reyes says:

   January 19, 2009 at 1:50 am

   Leonard: I waited more than three weeks, almost a month. I ordered it before the holidays and most likely it got caught in the postal black hole reserved for the holidays.
4. Leonard6July says:

   January 20, 2009 at 12:27 am

   Thanks. Mine arrived today….. yippe! This is a really cool blog!
5. TAO says:

   January 20, 2009 at 2:00 am

   Leonard, congrats on getting the pen! Always nice to see a fellow fountain pen enthusiast get something new. Of course it also conjures up some jealousy.
6. Leigh Reyes says:

   January 20, 2009 at 10:30 am

   I’m glad you got your Carene stub, Leonard. Collective whee!
7. Joi says:

   January 24, 2009 at 10:54 am

   Too bad the Ebay seller only takes Paypal. I would love to get a factory stub for my Carene Deluxe. Guess I will have to check around with dealers.
8. Waterman Carene Stub Gets a Forever Home « An Inkophile’s Blog says:

   October 14, 2009 at 3:29 pm

   [...] has changed a bit. It sort of looks like Leigh’s.” That’s quite a compliment as Leigh was the previous owner and one of my favorite handwriting artists. My writing might resemble [...]
9. Stephen Smith says:

   January 9, 2010 at 12:30 pm

   Well, now, I think I may have just found a better way to make my “G” and “J”. Thank you for that!