Waterman Hemisphere

The snow! I can hardly believe how much snow is out there. The dog had a fun romp about outside, while the I had a fun viewing of it from inside with a steaming mug of coffee. The snow makes everything look magical and clean, until you need to go to work... Even though the shop is closed for retail on Mondays, we normally go in for a few hours to pack up orders, clean up and re-stock - I'm not sure if we'll make it in today, the way this snow is coming down, so I figured it's a good time to take a closer look at some of those pens.

The Waterman Hemisphere is another pen that we brought in right before the holiday season, and which we completely sold out of before I had a chance to take some good photos and put it up on the blog. Waterman is one of the oldest fountain pen manufacturing companies, founded in New York. It is certainly one of the most well-known fountain pen companies, especially by people who are not as familiar with modern day fountain pens, along with Parker or Sheaffer. Unlike Parker and Sheaffer, however, Waterman tends towards the higher end range of fountain pens. The Hemisphere is on the lower end of their offerings. We carry this model, in a couple of different flavours - Glossy Black with Gold Trim (pictured here), Matte Black with Silver Trim, and Stainless Steel, available in fine or medium.

This pen is a classic looking fountain pen - slim, weighty, smooth. It's still comfortable to hold, but it will be much slimmer in hand than a 580 or Edison, or even the ergonomic grip of the Safari. The pen is more in line with a CP1, although it does still have a bit of curviness to it, unlike the CP1.

The finish on these pens is really glossy - the lacquer finish is shiny and smooth and reflective. Waterman is known for its smooth, wet nibs, and the Hemisphere is no different. It's a stainless steel nib, so it doesn't have too much spring (although a bit, for a steel nib!), but it's one smooth writer. I found it to be on the wetter side, with excellent evenness in flow. The writing sample is with a medium nib, J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir, and Rhodia 90gsm paper.

You can't really tell in the photo above, but it says Waterman around the band It's a snap cap closure, closing with a secure click.  It's perfect for quick notes in meetings, without having to worry about the lid popping off accidentally. The angled cap finial is one of the most interesting features of the pen, certainly one of the only things that is a little bit more unique, while still being subtle.

I'm not really one for pen boxes, but the Waterman boxes are some of my favourite boxes. It's a soft, suede-y inside, and even the outside of the box has a bit of a velvet feel to it. You can lift out the bottom, where you'll find the pen information, and cartridges. We include a converter with the pen as well. Waterman only takes proprietary cartridges/converter. 

   

This pen, the Waterman Hemisphere, is a classic-looking and reliable pen. Its slim and not too flashy, while still being elegant and classy. It's a heavy pen, especially for its size, and in the shop, often people who pick it up can tell right away that it's a good fit for their hand.