Wtt: Montblanc 144 M Nib For Something Interesting

March 8, 2011

I have a Montblanc 144 fountain pen with a gold M nib that I bought back in the late 1980s or early 1990s for $180.00. Please see full description and what I might consider trading for, below the photos.

For anyone interested in this pen, please read my response to several issues, further down in this thread.

I inked this up and used it once. I was not happy, and it has been stored away ever since. As you can see, I have the original box and papers. I'm not sure if it came with the converter, or if it came with nothing and I had to get the converter separately.

The nib appears to me to be fine - but since I am not an expert, I will disclose the unsettling experience I had the moment I tried out this pen. I was not a novice fountain pen user at the time; I had at least five or ten other pens, some of which I'd used for years. I had a Waterman with a gold nib that I'd used, as well as a Sheaffer Targa with a gold nib that I'd used a few times. I inked it up - and with the first stroke of ink on the paper, I saw a shiny, gold? flake. It was tiny, not wider than the stroke of ink, and I suspect that it was a scrap from the manufacturing process that stuck to the nib and came off at first use. But, as I say, I am not an expert and I don't have a loupe to examine the nib with, so I feel I must disclose this.

Yes, I know it is worth a fair amount of money. My life is chaotic right now, I do not have a PayPal business account, so I can't accept payments, and it seems simpler to me to try trading it for a pen or pens that I'm interested in. I'm willing to wait a while if necessary to find the right trade. Until I agree to accept an offer, or otherwise agree to place this on hold while we discuss the issue, the offer to trade is open to any FPN member.

I suspect it is worth enough, compared to the pens I might be interested in, that I might end up trading it for more than one pen, but I'll consider any reasonable offer.

So, what am I interested in? I like demonstrators, clear pens, and those with ink windows, but not exclusively. I like mainly piston fillers and eyedropper pens, but again, not exclusively. I tend to prefer either fine nibs or some sort of italic nib. I might consider a medium nib, but doubt I'd be persuaded to take a broad or very broad nib. Although you're welcome to try to convince me why I should. I am not interested in trading for pens with cracks, loose clips, or other functional damage. A list of some specific pens I'd find intriguing is below. More or less in order of interest, but that is pretty flexible. And if you have anything else you think I might like, you're welcome to try to convince me.

A modern, handmade ebonite eyedropper filler pen retrofitted with a really interesting nib would count for a lot, if anyone has such a thing

Older Pelikans in decent shape, especially with an interesting nib

Esterbrook J or LJ in copper with a decent nib

Ratnam Supreme

TWSBI 530/540, especially the orange or clear ones, but no pink ones

Osmia from 1950s or earlier with a Supra nib

Onoto, anything from 1945 or earlier

Any vintage pen with a really special nib might catch my interest

Edited March 9, 2011 by WanderingAuthor

March 8, 2011

PM Sent

March 9, 2011

Please don't trade this pen for a TWSBI or Esterbrook!

March 9, 2011

Steve sure is fast for having a bum wing right now...

March 9, 2011

Some of the people who sell here don't take PayPal. You could always ask for a check or money order.

March 9, 2011

Please don't trade this pen for a TWSBI or Esterbrook!

+1

March 9, 2011

WanderingAuthor, there is a Montblanc 145 on the forsale section that you might be able to trade for.

March 9, 2011

Since several issues have been mentioned in this thread, and other issues arise in relation to a few of the PMs I've received, I can see I need to clarify or explain a few things in relation to this trade. If you're interested in this pen, please read the whole thing carefully. I'm trying to give everyone a fair shot.

First, I wasn't expecting the feeding frenzy that I seem to have touched off. Sure, I hoped for a few offers, but I have the impression there are more than a few of you desperate to get your hands on this pen. I'm not an expert when it comes to values, especially when you add in the less easily defined factors such as condition, desirable colours, nib qualities, etc. So I'm going to need to take a little time to compare the offers.

A few of you PM'd me without posting in this thread, and, going by the timestamps on the messages I received, did so before anyone noted here that they'd sent a PM. In any case, although I'm happy to settle any difficult decisions by noting who got in touch with me first, I think it is reasonable, in what seems likely to be a complex trade, to ultimately choose the offer I find most tempting.

Although, as I've noted, I'm not an expert on values, I do understand that the Montblanc is more valuable than a TWSBI; I wasn't suggesting trading it for a single TWSBI - and I suspect even trading for two of them would be a bad mistake on my part. I was trying to give anyone who was interested an idea what they could throw in if they chose, that might help to sweeten the deal. But, with all respect to those of you who like Montblancs (and I firmly support anyone's right to collect any pens they like, without regard to the opinions of others), I'm not interested in trading for another Montblanc. I didn't enjoy this one; that's why I'm trading it. That in itself might not have put me off all Montblancs - but when I read about the company's incessant efforts to blame all problems with their pens on their users, I know that is not a company I want to have any dealings with, or a company whose products I am likely to be satisfied with. Sure, there are vintage Montblancs, and I might even be interested in trying one of those some day, just to see if the reputation was ever earned. But I presume those are worth more than this pen is. And it makes more sense to me to trade a pen that would otherwise just sit in my desk drawer for pens I will actually use.

One very important point. I don't object to anyone sending me a message (or posting here) listing various pens they might offer, in order to get a sense of what I might be interested in. But, before I can hope to make any decision, I will need a specific offer, not just a general list of possibilities. I will try to get in touch with you to let you know if your offer isn't clear enough, but eventually, to be fair to everyone else, I will eliminate from consideration any offers that are too vague to let me compare them with the others. (So far, of all those who sent me a PM, only one was clear in what they were offering. As I said, that's fine - it is reasonable enough to try to find out what I'm interested in. But sooner or later, I need some idea exactly what the trade is that you're proposing.)

Although I understand you can't all give me this information - and I won't count it against you if you don't - I will say that, for certain pens, I would be interested in knowing the date of manufacture. Specifically, if they were made somewhat before or during World War Two, I might find them of increased interest. (One caveat: this does include German pens - but please don't even bother offering me anything with specific markings associated with the NSDAP. If it has a swastika or a Nazi eagle or any similar symbol engraved on it, it is not a pen I would even consider. Just so no one misinterprets my interest in that period.) Yes, I'm a bit strange. If wondering why that matters really drives any of you crazy, I'll give you the long explanation...

Also, just to be clear, although I'm hoping to make a trade that gains me pens worth roughly what the Montblanc is worth, if an offer includes pens I'd really like to own, and it happens to fall ten or twenty dollars short of the value of my pen, that isn't going to make me reject it. I am more interested in what will please me most than in precisely balancing values. So I am going to be thinking about what your offers are worth, but I'm going to be thinking even more about what pens I would most like to own.

March 10, 2011

I've reached a trade with the first person to actually send me a PM (going by the timestamp on the PM), who made me a very generous offer.

I'm sorry to disappoint everyone else. It wasn't an easy decision to make. That's the first time I've wished I had more than one Montblanc. :roflmho: I actually turned down an offer that included a dove grey 1948 Parker 51 vacumatic filler (tbh, that person was starting to have pangs of regret at the thought of parting, and although they were willing enough to go through with it, I couldn't be that cruel).

March 10, 2011

I've reached a trade with the first person to actually send me a PM (going by the timestamp on the PM), who made me a very generous offer.

Are you at liberty to reveal what you are getting in trade? I can hardly restrain my curiosity.

March 10, 2011

For those who missed out, I too have a 144 (purchased by me in the late 80s-early 90s), with an 18kt medium nib, I would be willing to trade for something interesting.