What nib do you use? Just one? Or many? Vintage Waterman pens offered “color coded pens” that were matched to specific nibs. The Black model 94, 7, and 5 had color coded disks inserted into the bottom of their barrels. The Ripple Model 5 and Model 7 (seen below) had as many as ten different color bands, visible below the top of the cap (the Model 5 had fewer “colors” than did the Model 7). All of the color coded pens also had the color stamped onto the face of the nib. To our knowledge, an example of the “White” has never been found. The next rarest, by far, is the “Black.”
- Red
- Standard
- Medium flexibility
- Popular for: home and general use
- Green
- Rigid
- No flexibility
- Popular for: salesmen/saleswomen
- Purple
- Fine
- Stiff
- Popular for: accountants
- Pink
- Fine, long nib
- Extra-flexible and resilient
- Popular for: stenographers
- Blue
- Blunt, stub
- Popular for: unusual, fast writers
- Yellow
- Rounded tip
- Popular for: left-handed southpaw writers
- Grey
- Oblique
- Rigid
- Popular for: those who hold pens at an angle/between fingers
- Brown
- Fine, medium-length nib
- Extra-flexible
- Later changed to be like Purple nib
- Black
- Pink nib repackaged
- White
- Broad
Waterman Past and Present: Max Davis & Gary Lehrer
Page 71
https://www.gopens.com/Vintage_Pen_Parts/WatermanBook.php
