My First Montblanc

[tinct]

This was a bit of an impulse purchase. I always wanted to try a Montblanc, and when a vintage one came up for sale for a fair price, I just went for it.

 

This was purchased locally from a fellow who had another Montblanc pen. He stated that he had never used it, but there are 2 scratch marks on the barrel, one or two minor scuff marks, and dried blue ink on the section and in the barrel.

 

This resin, single barrel pen came in a beige clamshell case with instructions and a lifetime guarantee.

 

Cell phone pictures:

 

The Montblanc star is a clear white

The clip ring has "Germany" stamped

Montblanc Meisterstruck 149 with gold rings

18C tricoloured medium nib, very smooth, very responsive, very wet.

Writing upside down isn't really this nib's thing.

 

This would suggest a 1970s pen slated for the French market. If the documentation is believed, this was sold in the US, though. Overall, this is great pen, except the medium nib is broader than I can handle.

 

Any suggestions to dry the flow of ink would be greatly appreciated!

 

Edited May 28, 2014 by tinct

[orfew]

Congrats, that is a very nice pen. I hope you get many years of use from it.

[blINK]

Awesome pen. Congratulations! I like the French ruled paper, too. You may want to try a drier ink like R&K Salix but ultimately, you may want to have a professional adjust it for you. If you got a good deal on the pen, you'll probably still be ahead of the game after having it adjusted. Plus, if it writes the way you want it to, that's the most important thing.

[zaddick]

I'd suggest trying to write with it for a while. If you still find the line too wide or wet, then get the nib modified. Good purchase!

[Keyless Works]

Congrats! Very nice pen.

[PhilH]

+1. Wait a while. Handwriting looks great

[londonbooks]

Good for you. The 149 is my favorite Montblanc. It should be easy enough to make adjustments.

[tinct]

I'm a bit worry it won't settle because my everyday pen is a Pilot VP in F that I've been using for 4-5 years. But I'll give it a shot.

[AndrewC]

Here is an article from Pentrace that might help with dating your pen. I'm not much of a MB collector-just a user I'm afraid-but I love the ones I do have. Someday I hope to get a 149. Your pen looks great. He might have filled it to check that it worked, but never actually "used" beyond that. As others have said, try different inks, send it to a pro, get the nib narrowed, all are options.

 

My Montblanc 149s - 1952 to 1990 by Lex Villines Article # 405 Article Type: Pen Identification

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s1.jpg

Full view of Montblanc 149s

Vintage and less vintage I don't have any 90's vintage 149's
These range from 1952 to about '90, they only come in black

l to r
1. circa 1952 celluloid
2. circa '59 celluloid
3. early 60's
4 & 5 mid 70's to early 80's
6. about '90

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s3.jpg

Same line up but with a vintage 146 first in line to show the size difference

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s2.jpg

The stars

I just like this shot, you can see the yellowing on the early celluloid star

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s3.jpg

Filler knobs

The 50's celluloid pens have the model heat stamped on the filler knob, I have yet to see one with the nib style stamped and I believe it's because in the day if you bought one of these the nib of your choice was fitted for you. I think this allowed the store to keep a smaller inventory of expensive pens on hand. Also note the gold band near the filler, early pens have a rounded band and even into the 60's this is true, after about 1972 the band is flat and wide

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s4.jpg

The Nibs

The nibs differed, the earliest were 3 tone with the gold/silver/gold and in the later 60's the two tone nibs were produced.

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s5.jpg

Ink window

Almost all aged celluloid pens will have some ambering in the ink window

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s6.jpg

Ink window

This one shows how the black stripes wear on the early pens

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s7.jpg

Later resin ink window

The resin pens always seem to have nice clear windows

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s8.jpg

Filler threads

This is one of the best ways to break down the main era of your pen,
The first pens made from 1952 to 1959 have a telescoping filler and when the knob is back you can see white colored metal, in the 60's to the late 70's you see a black plastic area there. About 1990 the part is made of brass and they're still made that way today.

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s9.jpg

The feeds

The first feeds were flat with grooves, mid 50's to late 50's are rounded with full length grooves, 60's is rounded with grooves only on the sloping face of the rounded feed, 70's on have no grooves

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s10.jpg

Cap band imprint

Early export pens have a very tiny MADE IN GERMANY stamped in them, this '59 model is stamped on the cap

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s11.jpg

Barrel imprint

the circa 1952 PENS have this imprint on the barrel

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s12.jpg

Top cap ring

60's and 70's just have GERMANY

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s13.jpg

Top cap ring

From 1980's

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s14.jpg

Top cap ring

This one is made about '90

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s15.jpg

Cap clips

The clips are probably the least reliable way to date a 149. Early 149s have a short hump in the middle of the clip, later ones have a longer hump and the newest have the short hump again, also as you can see there are about as many different stampings as there are pens

Final text
There you go, just about everything I know about MB 149's.

Most of the info I have about specific dates or era's came from the great Barry Gabay article in the December '02/January 03 and Feb/Mar 03 issues of Pen World magazine. Some of my observations are a little different but that is what I have found on my pens. I tend to think of them as celluloid then early plastic and later plastic with the brass filler. Beyond that it really doesn't matter much as all of them are great writers. You really have to try a BB flex nib to really get a feel for what made these early pens stand out and shine in the ball point era.

Thanks for looking.
lex

 

[TheModernGent]

Here is an article from Pentrace that might help with dating your pen. I'm not much of a MB collector-just a user I'm afraid-but I love the ones I do have. Someday I hope to get a 149. Your pen looks great. He might have filled it to check that it worked, but never actually "used" beyond that. As others have said, try different inks, send it to a pro, get the nib narrowed, all are options.

 

My Montblanc 149s - 1952 to 1990 by Lex Villines Article # 405 Article Type: Pen Identification

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s1.jpg

Full view of Montblanc 149s

Vintage and less vintage I don't have any 90's vintage 149's

These range from 1952 to about '90, they only come in black

l to r

1. circa 1952 celluloid

2. circa '59 celluloid

3. early 60's

4 & 5 mid 70's to early 80's

6. about '90

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s3.jpg

Same line up but with a vintage 146 first in line to show the size difference

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s2.jpg

The stars

I just like this shot, you can see the yellowing on the early celluloid star

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s3.jpg

Filler knobs

The 50's celluloid pens have the model heat stamped on the filler knob, I have yet to see one with the nib style stamped and I believe it's because in the day if you bought one of these the nib of your choice was fitted for you. I think this allowed the store to keep a smaller inventory of expensive pens on hand. Also note the gold band near the filler, early pens have a rounded band and even into the 60's this is true, after about 1972 the band is flat and wide

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s4.jpg

The Nibs

The nibs differed, the earliest were 3 tone with the gold/silver/gold and in the later 60's the two tone nibs were produced.

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s5.jpg

Ink window

Almost all aged celluloid pens will have some ambering in the ink window

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s6.jpg

Ink window

This one shows how the black stripes wear on the early pens

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s7.jpg

Later resin ink window

The resin pens always seem to have nice clear windows

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s8.jpg

Filler threads

This is one of the best ways to break down the main era of your pen,

The first pens made from 1952 to 1959 have a telescoping filler and when the knob is back you can see white colored metal, in the 60's to the late 70's you see a black plastic area there. About 1990 the part is made of brass and they're still made that way today.

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s9.jpg

The feeds

The first feeds were flat with grooves, mid 50's to late 50's are rounded with full length grooves, 60's is rounded with grooves only on the sloping face of the rounded feed, 70's on have no grooves

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s10.jpg

Cap band imprint

Early export pens have a very tiny MADE IN GERMANY stamped in them, this '59 model is stamped on the cap

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s11.jpg

Barrel imprint

the circa 1952 PENS have this imprint on the barrel

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s12.jpg

Top cap ring

60's and 70's just have GERMANY

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s13.jpg

Top cap ring

From 1980's

 

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s14.jpg

Top cap ring

This one is made about '90

http://www.pentrace.net/lex_images/MB149/149%27s15.jpg

Cap clips

The clips are probably the least reliable way to date a 149. Early 149s have a short hump in the middle of the clip, later ones have a longer hump and the newest have the short hump again, also as you can see there are about as many different stampings as there are pens

Final text

There you go, just about everything I know about MB 149's.

Most of the info I have about specific dates or era's came from the great Barry Gabay article in the December '02/January 03 and Feb/Mar 03 issues of Pen World magazine. Some of my observations are a little different but that is what I have found on my pens. I tend to think of them as celluloid then early plastic and later plastic with the brass filler. Beyond that it really doesn't matter much as all of them are great writers. You really have to try a BB flex nib to really get a feel for what made these early pens stand out and shine in the ball point era.

Thanks for looking.

lex

 

Wow, lovely collection, and very informative post

[GeekyGirl]

Beautiful pen, congratulations on your purchase! You might try Pelikan 4001 inks, which are considered drier inks, or, as someone else mentioned, the R&K inks.

 

Have fun with your prize!

[Vlad Soare]

Overall, this is great pen, except the medium nib is broader than I can handle.

 

I've been there. My first Montblanc was a 149 with an F nib, and even that was too broad for my taste. I sent it back to have its nib replaced with an EF.

Four months later, I'm using a 146 with a B nib, which I love, and I don't understand how I could ever write with that skinny EF.

The 149 now sits in a drawer, and I have yet to decide whether I should sell it, or send it to Montblanc to install a BB on it.

 

So I would suggest you give it a chance. Once you get used to it, chances are you'll want something even broader.

Edited May 28, 2014 by Vlad Soare

[Opooh]

A 149 as first MB, well you certainly took the bull by the horns. Congrats!

[GTOZack]

lucky guy, my first ever FP was an older sheaffer targa with 1.1?? mm italic i still use it once in a while to sign cards

Edited May 28, 2014 by GTOZack

[George.A]

A 149 as first MB, well you certainly took the bull by the horns. Congrats!

Indeed, a great start with MB! I'm curious how will you perceive the rest (144 or 146) if you get very familiar with the 149 .