I recently returned to writing with fountain pens. My pens were used extensively for over 20 years in my work that included a great deal of note taking and producing monthly reports. Fountain pens made this possible for me, as they helped me to avoid carpal tunnel issues that were exacerbated by ball-point pens. Fountain pens are more like painting your script, using less of your wrist and making for a more fluid motion. After retiring, my extensive writing came to an end. Now I simply write for myself and sending old-fashioned letters to family. Doing so with a fountain pen is very rewarding and enjoyable, so now I keep my eye out for pens I was always curious about, and buy them when I find a good buy on a pen I want but may need some attention. I picked up a very handsome Parker "45" that needed a new nib, feed and collar. It's a wonderful pen to use. I have a number of Sailor pens, from EF to 1.00 calligraphy to a commemorative Pro Gear; all very nice writers. Recently I came across a beautiful Waterman Hemisphere that was available from a seller very close to where I live in Northern California. Usually, when I find a pen to buy it is somewhere far off, but this one was one town over and at a very reasonable price. The pen arrived quickly. I had already ordered ink cartridges for it and immediately popped one in to try my new treasure. The script was gorgeous and so smooth, but the ink that poured out of the section was shocking. Now I knew why the price on the pen was so great; the end of the feed was gone! What a let down. Well, after researching replacement nibs and sections I settled on ordering both medium and fine nibs, feeds and sections. I thought it would be interesting to find out how the two would write. The pen arrived with a fine nib and it felt very smooth, so a new fine nib was a given. But if a Waterman fine is smooth then maybe a medium would be even smoother? I'm currently using the new fine nib with my first cartridge of Waterman black ink and I couldn't ask for a better writer! When this cartridge runs dry I will switch to the medium nib and try it out. I'm very much looking forward to that. This is my first Waterman pen, but as nice as this pen looks, feels and writes, I'm sure I will be watching for other models they have made!
So did PensAndPencils come through? And how! Their prices were the best I found. They packaged my parts well for shipping, and I received my shipment in 6 days at a reasonable rate. Thank you PensAndPencils for the great service, prices and genuine manufacturer parts. A fine company to do business with!