I got some replies from people that dont understand why I like MB pens.
To be honest its very hard to explain why I like it,maybe its a lot psychological.I always wanted Mb fountain pens even before I got into pen collecting.
I just dreamt about it untill I got few years ago my MB 149 and fell in love with it instantly.I totaly understood why so many makers copy this pen,its classy and very well built and the sheer size of this pen command respect and of course its a great writer.
The MB 146 came next and it was just as good only in a smaller and more managable size (but still big).

Then came the Virginia Woolf and everything I was hoping to get with this pen came true.Its classy but not overly screamish,a wonderful writer and in my eyes unique in its design oh and dont forget all 3 pens are piston fillers.

I hear some people saying MB make bland design pen.Well first its a matter of personal taste.Where they see bland design I see timeless classic,amazing design and I am talking about the Masterpiece family.
The LE pens are nothing less then gorgeous in my eyes.If somebody tells me he cant stand ALL the pens MB design then I think MABYE he dislike the company so much he will not give the pens a fair chance (please correct me if you think I am wrong).

As for being pricy well-yes MB pens are expensive but lets face it many other makers are also very expensive and if you dont want to spend 400$+ on a new pen then what I can say is "You are ABSOLUTLY RIGHT",even though I spend a lot on pens I think there is no logical reason to do so but telling me MB make expensive pens and that's why I dont want to buy them then remember wonderful makers like OMAS,VISCONTI...etc make expensive pens too and add them to your list of I dont want to buy pens from.

And last but not least there advertising.Well everything bad you want to say about it is your right and in many cases you might be right but for me I dont care I see pens and not advertising machine.

Bottom line I love MB pens but I also love Visconti,Omas,Delta,Parker,Waterman,Sheaffer...and the list goes on and on and on.I do like MB best but just like my friends liking somebody doesnt mean I dont like other

Well said! I for one appreciate your attitude and enthusiasm and always look forward to your posts even though I'm not a Montblanc fanatic.

Doug

Well, you like Alfa Romeo as well, so you can't be all bad

I think Montblanc Meisterstück pens have a timeless design indeed. About the advertising; Montblanc does a superb job in promoting their brand image!

Personally I am not hooked to Montblanc pens (though I wish I had the funds to buy all the interesting vintage ones!) but I can certainly see why they appeal to many people.

I am with you here, Montblanc makes beautiful pens. I think the Meisterstuck design is probably the most copied pen ever. Some of their special editions are fantastic. When I walk into a MB Emporium it's much like viewing an art exhibit.

To me, MB is the Rolex of pens. They both get alot of unfavorable opinions hurled at them, but they do what they claim. Personally, I'm a black and gold Meisterstück guy (FPs, BPs, MPs). And, yes, I do think I'm charged too much for the pen and especially in light of the recent price hike. But, like my Rolex Datejust, if this is the pen that makes me smile, and I like writing with it, then so be it. By the way, I'm also a fan of MB Meisterstück leather accessories. It has nothing to do with the little white snowflake, I just like the quality of the leather, the look and feel, and the leather ages very well. Aside from the price, and I live in the Boston, MA area, I really do not like the MB boutiques. Or, perhaps, better said, I do not like the people in the boutiques. The guys are way over the top [and not in a good way] in how they speak with you. I mean give me a break ... do you really think I believe the phony dialect and annunciation? Although, and to be honest, MB does hire really good looking and flirtatious women.

Lastly, I've never met a pen or watch I didn't like, and I've owned and ised alot of them, but MB is among my top three favs for pens and leather.

d.

I love my Montblanc Meisterstuck 145 with B nib because I can't stop writing with it. I believe it's my perfect match made in heaven. I got it 40% off at Zales Outlet store, and the only problem was that I thought that I needed M or OM. I researched the subject of nib replacement and tried to write with other nibs in MB Boutiques, and got interested in the Mozart too. In the same time, I observed that my B 145 was taking more and more space in my life, replacing other good writers (even my old friend Kaweco has less quality time with me now). Finally, I had to accept it - this was the ONE. And something really good happened, I stopped itching for multiple other pens. Somehow, this one good quality pen saves me from my addiction to all the FP in the world which I want to write with and buy.

And it's true that the more I write with my Montblanc 145 the better it works for me. It melts in my hand, my writing becomes effortless, and the touch is so addictive, so buttery smooth, the ink flow is so wet, oh, my...

I may go to LA FP Show to sell my other pens instead of buying new ones. But it's what I think I'll do. I still have some affairs going with other pens. But 145 owns me more and more. And I didn't even know that I could love B nibs...

Ever since the cap broke on my student Pelikan and I saw a 149 advertized in an art magazine, I wanted to move up to one. But they were very expensive. How could I justify spending $34.00 on a pen? I mean membership in the Playboy key club was $25.00 and i couldn't afford that either. I never got my key to the club but I did eventually get a 149. It was a lot more by then but now days I have a lot of MB's and all of them were purchased before the price of any of them went over $200. I have lots and lots of pens now but still keep coming back the MBs. My hand is better suited to the 146 though. Now that I am retired and on a fixed income, I doubt I'll ever get another one at the prices they are today. That's OK, I have enough to last.

I don't think they have the distinction of being the original classic design though, I think it and all pens like it owe their design heritage to the Sheaffer Balance pen. Nearly all pens IMO, are derived from the Parker flat top and streamline and Sheaffer Balance.

I had placed an order for Sheaffer Balance Walt Disney Limited Edition, just before I read this message. Classic is eternal, and that's what MBs are about. When we get to the source of that perfect elegance, we stop looking for anything better.

Agreed. The only current German manufacturer who kept close to the traditional shape is Pelikan, in my opinion.

When I started collecting vintage pens, I picked a Parker 51 as a daily user, and that was good for about five years. Then I purchased a MB146 from the Pentrace green board. It was well taken care of, but the medium nib was too broad for me and it rarely got inked. A year or so later, I found a Meisterstuck 84 (gold filled) with an EF nib at a silly dirt-cheap price on Ebay. The pen was beautiful, but the nib was awful. Two trips to a nibmeister couldn't help it. Back to the Parker 51. Then, about five years ago, I found an early eighties 149, NOS in box with papers, at an antique mall for $100. It has the sweetest EF nib in the world, and has been my daily writer ever since. Now I have three 149's, including a very early "precious resin" model from about 1960 (Thanks Barry!), two 146's of various vintage, plus a 22, 134, 332, 220, and two 1960's second-tier models yet to be identified. My Tibaldi Iride may have the world's best EF nib, but its other problems (no cap vent) causes it to be a desk only pen. My 149 EF's will be with me always, hopefully.

It is one thing to like Montblanc pens, I like them myself as I own a 144, 145 and 146, but it is another thing to make almost a post a day posing a question such as best looking nibs or best design and then answering your own question with "why Montblanc of course!" That gets a bit annoying.