Shop Update: Waterman Inks

I hope you’re all having a great weekend, despite the gloomy weather today! I went to drop off some library books in the afternoon, but got caught in the thunderstorm, so Caleb and I hung out in the library in the kids area with some pre-teens trading magic cards for an hour. Very intense stuff…

In other news, two amazing things have happened this past week:

The first is that I finally got a new laptop! Mine was a loyal dinosaur that had served me well, but was really ready to retire, and at long last, I got a new one. I feel like a whole new world is opening up to me, one with a cloud and websites that load under 45 seconds.

I was having trouble transferring some files from my old computer to the new, and I called Apple for some help. Embarrassingly enough they have this thing where they ‘screen share’ with you and basically look onto your screen to see what you’re seeing, and so this Apple guy got to see photos of Caleb falling over and trying to eat the camera lens.

Here is the box that my new laptop came in, and here is Caleb playing with…something that looks like it could be my new laptop, but is actually a baking sheet. And the dog supervising. These two crazy kids.

The second, and more importantly, is that we’ve finally brought in the line of Waterman fountain pen inks! It’s been a long time coming, as Waterman inks are really a cornerstone of fountain pen inks. We have all 8 inks: Intense Black, Absolute Brown, Harmonious Green, Tender Purple, Audacious Red, Serenity Blue (standard blue), Mysterious Blue (blue-black) and Inspired Blue (turquoise).

We get asked quite a bit about Waterman inks, sometimes from people who are just getting their feet wet in the world of fountain pens and have only heard of the more long-established fountain pen makers (or, should I say, “old stock”?? Haha!), but also from people who know of the excellent reputation of Waterman inks.

I’ve heard nothing but good things about this entire line of inks, from good flow and ease of cleaning to beautiful colours and shading, and so I’m pretty excited to try them out. These inks are also well known for working well across a wide range of fountain pens and papers, with limited feather or bleed through – great for the office or school, as well as being quite economically priced.

A few years ago, Waterman changed some of the names of their inks, but all of the ink formulas are still the same. In case you are looking up some reviews on the inks, keep in mind that you can try looking for either the new or old name to see the most reviews online.

Black – Intense Black
Florida Blue – Serenity Blue
Blue-Black – Mysterious Blue
South Sea Blue – Inspired Blue
Havana Brown – Absolute Brown
Green – Harmonious Green
Purple – Tender Purple
Red – Audacious Red

It was interesting to note that at our Vintage Pen Market in August, quite a few of the vendors had Waterman Ink for testing with their pens (I noticed mainly because we already had it in the pipes to start bringing in this ink, so of course I start noticing it everywhere). Waterman inks are considered the ultimate in “safe” inks, which is to say that these are inks that are your safest bet for your vintage pens or pens that are difficult to take apart and clean, such as piston fillers that don’t easily disassemble. *Keep in mind that “safe” still means you need to be using your pen often or flushing it out with water periodically! No ink is safe in a pen indefinitely.

I know Brian Gray of Edison Pens speaks very highly of Waterman inks and they are the inks he often uses himself. I feel as though I should have a link to confirm this “fact,” but I don’t! However, Brian is a pretty nice guy, and also very easy to talk to, so if you ever have any questions on his beautiful pens or inks in general, I wouldn’t hesitate to send him an email.

I’m going to be giving these a go over the next few weeks, and I’m hoping to get a blog post or two up on them, with some more close-up photos of what the inks look like from the pen.

Tomorrow is our second Children’s Handwriting Class! We still have a few spots, so if you’re interested, you can email info@wonderpens.ca or give us a call to confirm a spot is still available. The class is from 2-3 pm, no cost, and all supplies are provided. We’re hoping to run these classes monthly, so over time, your child can practise and hopefully master cursive writing. Maybe we even have a few budding calligraphers 😉

That’s it for tonight! I hope you all have a great weekend, and you use some of this grey weather to get cozy with your pens and notebooks or any furry friends you have around.