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My First Mb!

ParkerNT

By ParkerNT
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ParkerNT Near Mint

ParkerNT

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Most of my pens are in the $100-$200 range, with the exception of a C.E. Levi Colossus that I had commissioned to celebrate a new job. I always thought that Montblancs were out of my reach, and for the most part they are. I have recently amassed enough money for another custom pen and was trying to decide between a Newton, an Edison and a Scriptorium. While I was weighing my options I thought I would peruse the classified here on FPN for inspiration...

 

That's when I saw it: an early 90s Meisterstuck 149 with a fine 18k bi-colour nib...for not much more than I was thinking of spending anyway! So several PMs later I have an unused flagship pen heading my way. When I jump into the world of Montblanc I jump in with both feet :)

 

I have a pretty pile of pens with several different filling mechanisms so I am familiar with piston fillers. But this is the first pen of this caliber and price that I will have owned, or even handled for that matter (except for the demonstrators that I scribbled a few lines with in the MB boutique in Las Vegas).

 

Being an older/unused pen, are there any particulars that I should look for when I get it or precautions that I should take? How should I kick the tires, so to speak?

 

Since I never really considered Montblanc an option for me, I didn't bother to hangout in this sub-forum. But now, I have spent all night last night and the greater part of today in here and have read the king's share of the 149 reviews here on FPN as well. I am obviously excited and anxious to get this behemoth in my hands, but I don't want to make a rookie mistake out of haste.

 

And of course, I will post pics when I get it!! That goes without saying ;)

 

Thanks for any advice!

 

ParkerNT

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Mister Mont Blanc Vintage

Mister Mont Blanc

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First off, welcome to the Montblanc forum!! And congratulations on a wonderful find! I share your enthusiasm as the 149 is my favorite pen and I hope it becomes yours. I am not as knowledgeable as most of the experts here but if it hasn't been serviced by the owner, I would say you are pretty safe on the inside unless it does need servicing (piston lubrication) in which Montblanc can do that. Aside from that, I personally would just look at the nib alignment with a loupe and I'm guessing it will be fine since it came from one of our members. Other than that, I would give it a good flush with water and ink it up and enjoy! You've probably already read it here but the fine nib will most likely be thicker like a medium as MB nibs run wider than other Western brands.

I keep thinking about selling some of my pens but all that happens is I keep acquiring more!

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Knock_Kneed_Man Near Mint

Knock_Kneed_Man

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First off, I would like to say welcome to the MB world and you could not have picked a better MB to begin with.

 

I agree with Mister Mont Blanc above. Without knowing the history/ service history of the pen it is hard to say what/ if anything you should/ will need to be done to the pen. I would follow his advice and flush the pen multiple times with distilled water, check the alignment of the nib, then fill it with your favorite ink and enjoy the hell out of it! My 149 is my work horse and has never let me down. Enjoy your pen!

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Komitadjie Extremely Rare

Komitadjie

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Congratulations on the new one! I've only had a very brief time to use mine, but I can already say you're going to love it if it's anything at all like the 149 I've got! :)

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JLS1 Collectors Item

JLS1

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You've received some good advice above, so the only thing I would add is to flush it out thoroughly be gentle on the piston for the 1st few fills. Other than that, congratulations and welcome to the madness, ;)

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Behike54 Rare

Behike54

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Nicely done!!!!!

 

Enjoy it in peace and good health!

 

“My tastes are simple: I am easily satisfied with the best.” - Winston Churchill

 

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I like mango cheesecake Vintage

I like mango cheesecake

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You can't stop with one. I have three 149's and was going for a 4th. I stopped short and eventually sold the 3rd 149, so now I have only two.

 

But I have 9 MB's altogether.

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playtime Extremely Rare

playtime

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congrats! looking forward to your pics:)

"Writing is 1/3 nib width & flex, 1/3 paper and 1/3 ink. In that order."Bo Bo Olson

"No one needs to rotate a pen while using an oblique, in fact, that's against the whole concept of an oblique, which is to give you shading without any special effort."Professor Propas, 24 December 2010

 

"IMHO, the only advantage of the 149 is increased girth if needed, increased gold if wanted and increased prestige if perceived. I have three, but hardly ever use them. After all, they hold the same amount of ink as a 146."FredRydr, 12 March 2015

 

"Surely half the pleasure of life is sardonic comment on the passing show."Sir Peter Strawson

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Mister Mont Blanc Vintage

Mister Mont Blanc

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Thanks for all the warm welcomes! I just hope thag my shirt pockets will be up to the challange lol!

It's another related addiction... Having to buy my shirts based on the pocket size! Haha

I keep thinking about selling some of my pens but all that happens is I keep acquiring more!

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ParkerNT Near Mint

ParkerNT

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Got an email this morning, the pen was dropped at Poste-Italiane this morning! Now it's just a waiting game...

 

I didn't mention in my first post, but this pen is new old stock. The gentleman bought out an authorized dealer that closed shop. Being NOS, are there any tips other than flushing and being gentle with the piston knob for the first few fills? Should I worry that the piston grease has begun to dry out after years of non-use?

 

Thanks again for all the help!

 

ParkerNT

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ParkerNT Near Mint

ParkerNT

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Got the pen yesterday! Looked it over and flushed with water a couple times, flawless :) There was no evidence of ink and the piston moved fluidly. This pen is truly beautiful! It lays down a nice wet fine line and has just a bit of feedback, very nice! I've only used it for a very limited amount of time, but so far it is definitely meeting and exceeding my expectations.

 

And that nib!!! It is stunning, I found myself mesmerized, just looking at the pen and rolling it around so that I could see it from every angle.

 

I am very happy :D

 

ParkerNT

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jar Ancient Artifact

jar

Posted
Posted

Got the pen yesterday! Looked it over and flushed with water a couple times, flawless :) There was no evidence of ink and the piston moved fluidly. This pen is truly beautiful! It lays down a nice wet fine line and has just a bit of feedback, very nice! I've only used it for a very limited amount of time, but so far it is definitely meeting and exceeding my expectations.

 

And that nib!!! It is stunning, I found myself mesmerized, just looking at the pen and rolling it around so that I could see it from every angle.

 

I am very happy :D

 

ParkerNT

 

Great. My personal experience says that you'll find it continues to get even better over the next week or two as you and the pen get together.

 

 

 

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georges zaslavsky Museum Piece

georges zaslavsky

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congrats on your 149 :thumbup: it won't be your last one

Pens are like watches , once you start a collection, you can hardly go back. And pens like all fine luxury items do improve with time

 

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meiers Donor Pen

meiers

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The 149 is very easy to maintain.

When the piston started to get a little "stiff" I learned how to remove and lubricate it.

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ParkerNT Near Mint

ParkerNT

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I feel somewhat remiss that I still haven't posted pictures...I will I will...

 

I have been using the pen everyday since it arrived, and it gets better and better. I am using PR Electric DC blue and it's a great combo! The fine nib is wet enough to get pretty decent shading from the ink on good paper and I love the size. The girth feels great in the hand and I think it has actually made me penmanship a little better, due to it forcing me to slow down a bit. Although, the length of the nib makes me feel as if i'm holding the pen half up the barrel :)

 

I ran enough ink out of it the loose sight in the window if I hold the pen perfectly vertical and then refilled. I am now going to run it dry just to get an idea of how much ink/how long I can write between fills. If I have the pen on its side in bright light, it looks a though it is about halfway full... This thing holds a ton of ink!! my c/c pens are definitely feeling inadequate now!

 

And yes, I feel this is definitely not my last 149, although it will be a while before I drop this much on a pen again...and it will have to be a real deal too ($900 is just out of my reach for a pen - and my wife would kill me anyway lol)

 

I will put up some writing samples when I post pics...soon.

 

ParkerNT

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