I bought this Waterman in eBay a few weeks ago and forgot about it until it arrived the other day. It’s a Forum and they were launched in 1980 or thereabouts. That makes it forty years old – hardly vintage for me but long out of production. I do vaguely remember them being current stock and I have a distant memory that the pattern is from some artist’s abstract work. I’m not quite interested enough to look it up. There were other versions of essentially the same pen: the Agora which had psychedelic patterns and the Atrium which had metallic designs.
To the pen itself: it’s a school pen, cheap when first sold and cheap when I bought it, but a very good pen for the money. In shape it harks back to earlier times with its straight sides and flat ends. It’s more slender than the average. It posts well. So far as I know this pen was intended to be a cartridge filler only and was never issued with a converter. The nib is EF or F depending on the paper. It would be no good to those who insist on flexibility but it’s perfect for me, a faultless wet deliverer of ink to the page.
I believe the pattern is a veneer on top of plastic and I have heard that it can chip at the ends. That hasn’t happened to this one – yet, at any rate!
I am most impressed with the little pen. The plated steel nib with its short slit and no breather hole does the job splendidly. The kids of the eighties and nineties were provided with a very good pen at a low price. I suppose that Waterman hoped to make money on the sale of cartridges, and probably did. It’s a different story now that you can get such a kaleidoscope of colours by so many manufacturers in cartridges that fit this pen. It’s a keeper.
Goodwriterspens's Blog 
I love Waterman Forums and have four of them. Yes they are cheap but they’re nice writers and there’s something about the variety of colours that appeals to me.
I have just one of them. A corporate give away in company colours from Bull which is a French IT company that I worked for in the 1980s. It still works and it does take a standard Waterman convertor.
I have a Sheaffer fountain pen. I like this pen because it is the classic stainless steel nib that is low maintenance and very easy to clean. This pen requires less pressure to use and has made my handwriting and invites fancier. It is absolutely an excellent tool for calligraphy beginners.
I’m pleased to hear that your Sheaffer works so well for you. I have a Sheaffer Calligraphy Set and I use one of the stub nibs for addressing envelopes. It’s very good.
I have been a huge fan of Waterman Pens since the late 90s. It was a Waterman Carene ballpoint pen that was given to the Seller from her employer and I won the auction for $9.00. I fell in love with Waterman and what I attempt to do is to have a complete set of Ballpoint/Roller Ball/Fountain Pens. I have quite a few sets but have not used most after I stopped working 😦 I just purchased the Forum Roller Ball and waiting for it to arrive, however, I am sure that I will love it simply because it is a Waterman.
That sounds like a lovely collection. I’m very fond of the Forum.