Catalog 96 (August 2021)

In the mid-1920’s, as other major pen manufacturers were switching from hard-rubber pen production to the more colorful celluloids, Waterman stuck with hard rubber. They had spent a small fortune perfecting colorful hard rubber (ie. their Rose Ripple, Olive Ripple and Blue-Green Ripple), they wanted to exploit these to recoup their investment. This failed, and in 1929 Waterman succumb and introduced their first celluloid pen, the wonderful oversize Patrician. Introduced in five colors: Jet, Onyx, Turquoise, Emerald and Nacre, Moss Agate was added in 1932.

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(Thanks to Syd Saperstein, “The Wahlnut,” for lots of information)

Early Wahls

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Jade, Coral and Royal Blue were introduced in 1927

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Wahl “Signature” Pen: Introduced in 1924 in three sizes (ladies, regular & oversize). “Signature” pens have nibs marked “Signature” which are semi-flexible (the nib Wahl designed to be sold to 80% of the public). First, made in Black Hard Rubber, “Red Ebonite” (what Parker called “Red” and Waterman called “Cardinal”) and Red Mottled were introduced the following year. These are also characterized with rounded cap tops. Other Wahl pens, even if they have a signed “Signature” nib, were not actually part of Wahl’s “Signature” line. We call these “pre-Gold Seal” pens with “Signature” nibs.

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Wahl & Wahl-Eversharp “Tulip Clip” Pens : Manufactured to capture a different price point in the market, specifically marketed to students. They were made in three sizes. The first six pens below are the large size.

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Gold-Seal Personal-Point Pens: Wahl decided they needed a lifetime guaranteed pen to compete with Sheaffer’s “White Dot” pen. So in late 1928 they introduced the “Gold Seal,” a disk displaying a double-checkmark, inserted into a hole drilled into the cap. At same time, they were getting complaints from dealers that they had to inventory pens with all 14 of Wahl’s nibs. Wahl solved this problem by introducing the “Personal Point” nib. This was a nib/feed/threaded collar assembly which easily screwed into any pen in the product line. Now the dealer could inventory nib units along with a much reduced inventory of pens. 

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Wahl “XO” Pens: In 1939 Wahl went through bankruptcy reorganization. The bankruptcy referee instructed Wahl to search for every pen they could find or assemble and sell them, providing more cash for the creditors. They were not going to guarantee any of the pens sold during this liquidation period. If they put together pens with parts already having a Gold-Seal, they drilled the Gold-Seal; If the part had the drilled out hole but no Gold-Seal, they inserted a quickly manufactured seal with an “XO.” “XO” is the term in the retail industry for “close-out.” “XO” pens did not come with Gold-Seal personal Point nibs, but with “Warranted 14K” nibs and regular sections. These 1939 close-out pens are extremely rare and highly collectible.

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The First Wahl Equipoised Pens: In 1928 Wahl Introduced a streamlined pen, in both in clip and ring-top versions, to compete with the then very popular Sheaffer “Balance.” Wahl advertising claimed that this shape was “..the last word in style.” Very short lived (see information below about the results of Sheaffer’s threatened lawsuit and the subsequent legal agreement), these are very rare today.

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Non-Cataloged Equipoised “Transitional Legal Agreement Pens” : After Wahl introduced their copy of the Sheaffer “Balance” pen Sheaffer threatened to sue (after successfully suing three other companies), so Wahl agreed to change the shape. What the collector community commonly calls “Transition Equipoised” pens are non-cataloged very early pens made by Wahl to show Sheaffer that the shape was changed. These pre-Gold Seal pens with black tops and bottoms are extremely rare, the pencil with the black top is actually the rarest of the three pieces. There was as many as six versions of the “Transitional Equipoised” between the Sheaffer Balance and the final version of the Equipoised pen. 

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More Wahl Eversharp

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Kenneth Parker wanted a pen with a adjustable grip to make it fit every users writing angle. Designer Don Doman was given the job(see below). Designed with a triangular ribbed and graded gripping section and a screw-in nib unit to make it easy to change nib sizes (as was the Parker 45 before it) when introduced there were 15 different nib styles from which to select. The VP came with a glass aerometric converter which could be filled from an ink bottle and then inserted into the pen (unfortunately these broke very easily). Manufactured from 1962 to 1964, many of its design features were transferred to the much more successful successor, the Parker 75. 

Taperite” models with a hooded nib (to compete with the Parker 51) and “Standard” models with a full nib

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The futuristic-designed “CF” *Cartridge-fill” was designed by master designer Harley Earl of automotive fame. The pen was sold with only a cartridge, which are rare today. Each pen below comes with two cartridges which can repeatedly be refilled using a syringe (let us know if you need the syringe). They never came with a converter, although these were made separately and are excruciatingly rare today. We have enough to be able to provide one for each pen below at a small additional cost. The CF was made in the USA, UK and France, in several styles and price points. The gripping sections on the higher level models have long inlaid metal shoulders, adding to the futuristic design. Student models lack both this trim and the solid gold nibs. Matching pencils were produced and, in later years, ballpens as well.

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