Since I first got my 149 I noticed that the nib point on the pen was not round like most other fountain pens Ive used(waterman phileas, waterman exception, cartier pasha), but the nib point was a little more sharp(sorry having a hard time describing it). I initially found that writing the 149 made my penmanship look kind of bad, but last night I started writing more on the side of the nib and all of a sudden it looks like I was writing with an italic nib. It just looks awsome. So does Mont Blanc do this to their nib on purpose? Or is this just a fluke? The documentation that came with the pen did not mention anything about my pen having an italic nib.

We have had a couple of discussions before about the cut of some MB nibs. Some of the nibs, depending on the age of the pen, seem to have a "square" cut to some M, B and BB nibs. I have two 149's, one M and one B, that have square cut nibs. The M writes a moderately "stubbish" line while the B writes a decidedly stub-like line. Personally, I really like the effect and enjoy writing with these nibs.

Yeah "Square" would be a great way to describe it. Mine is an extra-fine nib though.

I guess I did not express myself well in my initial comment. My personal experience with squared nib points is with M, B and BB. A squared nib could be any size. Your EF nib does no doubt have that same feature.

As I said, I really like the feel of that style point on paper. I hope you do, too.

I'm just curious, Legal Eagle, was this a new or used 149 when you purchased it?

Brand new, purchased February 2008.

Interesting... I'm not sure what produced this, but the two broad Pelikan nibs I have are also a bit stubbish (or, perhaps, "Italish"), producing just a bit of line variation.

Italic and oblique nibs are completely standard on the meisterstuck range, they have to be bought from a boutique, department stores don't have them. By the sound of the overall deceptiveness of this nib to you it sounds more like an oblique. If you were left-handed it would have been unusable to you. Within 28 days all nibs are changeable for free at a boutique, take guarentee. This type of nib is usually marked at the end of the box, but some branches use generics. I don't work for Montblanc so I am free to tell you they have a terrible reputation for leaking. I have always insisted that ink should have air on both ends: in front of the nib, but also at the back of the convertor or piston. always re-release a few drops of ink back into the bottle. Henry Simpole, London's indigenous pen maker likes them and says if completely full, your body temperature in your jacket makes the ink evaporate through the nib and permanently saturates the inner cap. A montblanc is a delicate, rather fragile pen, more so than any other brand, if you ever consider an alternative the Pelikan m805 from www.pelikanpens.co.uk should be an option. I just think the Waterman Exception or Edson beats both, but both body-shapes are subjective.

I got the same effect from an EF nib I had fitted in Spring of 2007. Not a full italic, but definitely a noticeable effect.