Waterman Self Filling Pens - Part Three, Experimental Pull Filler

By L. Michael Fultz

[ Reference Info Index | Glossopedia ]

This article was captured from the now-defunct Penbid.com Web site by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

Not all of the filling systems tried by Waterman were marketed. The pull filler illustrated here seems to have been an experiment. The design was the work of J. G. Rider who had been a Waterman salesman before starting his own pen making enterprise in Rockford, Illinois.

Note
Some images on this page can be clicked or tapped to display magnified versions for more detail. When you mouse over a clickable image, the image will give a visual indication by growing a little, and the mouse pointer will change to a magnifying glass. On a touchscreen device, touch and hold your finger on the image briefly to see if it reacts. If it does, you can tap it.

In this pen the pressure bar lies beneath the sac so that when the knob is pulled up above the barrel the sac is compressed between the inner surface of the barrel and the bar. The knob and pressure bar are of simple design, much cleaner and less protruding than the John Holland saddle style pull filler of this era.

The pen illustrated here is from the Rider estate and the stamp in the center of the barrel is identical to early Rider pens. However, the other stamps on the pen are identical with Waterman pens of the same time frame. The end of the barrel is stamped “12 PSF” standing for Pocket Self Filler, the pen appears to have been made by Waterman to Mr. Rider’s specifications.

The filling system seems simple, straightforward and to work well. One can only speculate why Waterman did not adopt this filler. Perhaps Mr. Rider’s price was too high or perhaps there were Patent problems (but my research has disclosed no Patent application for any similar filling system nor any applications on behalf of either Rider or Waterman for this design). Mr. Rider continued to work on the pull filler and made several other prototypes but never marketed a pull filler under his own name either.

Addendum by Richard Binder

Although Mr. Fultz found no similar patent applications, there was indeed one: U.S. Patent N^o 1,212,297, issued January 16, 1917, to William A. Welty, who called the design the Servo filler and used it in a series of pens produced by his company. Shown here is a Servo pen:

The information in this article is as accurate as possible, but you should not take it as absolutely authoritative or complete. If you have additions or corrections to this page, please consider sharing them with us to improve the accuracy of our information.