Waterman Phileas Fountain Pen Black Finish Medium Nib

Pros: Excellent heft, easy to use
Cons: none noted

Following hundreds of years of quill-pen use the design for fountain pens was begun. In the early stages inventors noticed that within the hollow channel of a bird's feather there appeared to be located an ink reserve, in actuality, a quill is nothing ...

Pros: even, broad line, nice balance and classic looks, great price
Cons: gold trim and problems starting

Waterman was one of the original names in fountain pens. A US American company, it was an innovator and one of the leaders in pen technology for the first half of the 20th century. However as the ball point became the standard for daily writing, and ...

Pros: smooth ink flow, bold line, looks great, low price
Cons: Nothing comes to mind.

My only other experience with fountain pens began with a disposable Pilot Varsity and a Parker Reflex, after trying about every ballpoint and roller ball I could find. Both pens wrote well, but the Varsity seemed scratchy and the Reflex had ink flow ...

Pros: Well made, inexpensive and works well.
Cons: None that I can think of.

The Waterman Phileas is, in my opinion, the best fountain pen you can by in this price range. It uses the simple to fill piston system, has a great writing nib and looks like a more expensive pen. I own two pens by Montblanc which cost nearly ten times as much as my Phileas and they are no better - actually, the Waterman is more fun to carry since I don't have to stress out about losing it.

Bottom line - for someone new to fountain pens or looking for an "everyday" pen, this is the one.

Pros: Cheap but writes expensive Attractive and well balanced.
Cons: snaps shut instead of twists-May eventually wear out.

The Phileas is a great pen for under $40. I like it better than the $150 Carene I have. Ink flow is wonderful and it works equally smooth with either the cartridge or the ink converter. It now come in a broad tip-not as thick as the broad tip of the L'aison I have but then it cost $238. The only other cheap pens that write as good as the Phileas is the lower end Pelikans.

Pros: Exciting looks.
Cons: Not exciting fit of the nib.

I lost my disposable fountain pen, which I paid $6 for. Can't recall what it was.

This Phileas medium nib replaced it, but the disposable one was better. The fit and finish of the Phileas isn't the best and the pen feels almost cheap, despite $39. The nib is not inserted centered over the back feeder, or what ever the plastic support on the other side of the steel nib is called. One other Phileas that I checked out in the store had the same off-angle problem. Drawing fast lines the pen skips. Had it cost $20 I would be less grumpy about it. I'm probably not buying one again. Check out the Kultur pen in a similar Waterman series. Cheaper and probably better.