Waterman fountain pens from the 1920s are some of my favorite writing instruments out there. They can be a blue ripple, olive ripple, rose ripple, red ripple, black chased hard rubber, smooth hard rubber or, in this case, wood grain pattern.
I took the time today to work on restoring the fountain back to original condition. There are quite a few steps to work through to get a fountain, like this Waterman 52, back to looking and writing well again.
What I like to do is, ultrasonically cleaned the NIB, feed and section of the pen in a ammonia, water and dish soap solution for about 2-4 minutes. Then I hand cleaned the inside of the barrel and cap with mineral oil. I clean the pressure bar, which always has so much grit and grime on it that I typically have to take 2400 grit micro mesh to get looking as close to new as possible. Then I replace the old rubber sac, which rarely comes out whole, with a new, properly size, #15 silicone sac. Then I work on hand polishing the gold filled Clip Cap, cap band and gold filled lever box along with the Ideal 14K #2 NIB.
This particular fountain pen is made from smooth hard rubber displaying a wood grain pattern, which shouldn't be mistaken for red ripple. The red and black colors are great on this fountain pen. The barrel imprint at the center is crisp and reads, "WATERMAN'S REG U.S. WATERMAN'S IDEAL GLOBE Mark PAT OFF. FOUNTAIN 
PEN". The butt end of the barrel has the Waterman imprint as well, but not quite as crisp as the center barrel imprint and reads, "WATERMAN'S REG U.S. PAT OFF. MADE IN U.S.A.". The butt end of the fountain pen is stamped with the Waterman Fountain Pen Model number "52" imprint.
The lever box and lever are 18K Gold Filled. There is a small hint of brassing just above the globe imprint.
The threads on the cap and barrel are excellent with the cap always securing tightly. There are no monograms on the barrel. There are no cracks, nicks or repairs to the hard rubber. This Waterman 52 measures 5 5/16" in length capped and 6 9/16" posted. The 14K Ideal NIB has a Medium point measuring roughly .72mm, measured with digital calipers. 
When writing a sample the NIB writes with a medium line measuring roughly .53mm on the finest line in the writing sample and flexes up to roughly 2.24mm with medium pressure (see image, measured the widest line in the writing example), I didn't want to overextend the NIB's capabilities, but it is possible it could extend a bit more. The writing sample provided was done with the actual pen in the images. I have tested the filling mechanism with water and fills as it should. The writing sample was used by dipping the NIB in Parker Quink Black Ink.
This is an excellent, antique Waterman's 52 Fountain Pen that is in ready to write condition using this incredible flexible NIB.
