Why Montblanc?

[Tritonus]

No deprecation intended, but how is it ethical for a company to sell a $1000 pen that will break on impact, whereas a 99¢ BIC pen won't break even if dropped from the top of a building.

I'm pretty sure most, if not all fountain pens will break if dropped from the top of a building!

[FoszFay]

No deprecation intended, but how is it ethical for a company to sell a $1000 pen that will break on impact, whereas a 99¢ BIC pen won't break even if dropped from the top of a building.

Have you seen the difference between a Toyota/Honda crash at 50km/h and the same speed crash involving a Ferrari/Lamborghini/McLaren?

 

Tom.

[meiers]

I love my old orange bicycle and my Montblanc Meisterstück 149 fountain pens.

I just do. There is no need to theorize or explain this preference.

[aawhite]

I guess we agree somewhere in there... but then again... Almost every Doctor - Lawyer - Banker - Professional I know wears a MB pen in their pocket like a status symbol... I'm not a collector and use my pens to death... but for most rich folks... they are a Toy - status symbol... For some reason the thought of that devalues your relationship with your pen... but it doesn't for me.

 

Talking about status symbol, someone once told me that in a northern Asian country, people could buy Montblanc caps (maybe fakes) and wear them in their shirt pockets as status symbol. They only carry the caps without the pen !

 

I cannot confirm the story, but if anyone from the region can, please do so.

Edited October 3, 2014 by aawhite

[aawhite]

No deprecation intended, but how is it ethical for a company to sell a $1000 pen that will break on impact, whereas a 99¢ BIC pen won't break even if dropped from the top of a building.

 

A point of clarification: What exactly do you mean by "on impact"? From what height and onto what surface?

 

If ALL Montblancs "break on impact" while other pens do not under the same conditions, then the problem is in the material. But if some break, and others do not, then it is a quality control problem. I find it difficult to believe that both situations exist in Montblanc . . . just my opinion.

 

On a side note: My Diplomat Esteem develop a crack on the section when it fell from a height of less the a meter (from my bed) to a carpeted floor. I bought a replacement nib and section, and found that there was an imperfection on the surface of the section. I had it replaced, only to find that all the other replacement sections had "similar" imperfections. A relatively low impact fall could have converted the flaw into a crack / break. The Diplomat plastic injection process could have had a flaw.

[mrchan]

No deprecation intended, but how is it ethical for a company to sell a $1000 pen that will break on impact, whereas a 99¢ BIC pen won't break even if dropped from the top of a building.

an olden day volkswagen can take a lot of knocks without any damage but a million dollar ferrari will scratch just on a little impact. And yes, it does cost more than 20+ times the amount of that volkswagen. Just because it costs more it doesnt mean its more resilient.

 

If price = resilience, a ferrari would be built like a tank. :/

Edited October 3, 2014 by mrchan

[kaisede]

I just get MB pens because their store is only two blocks away from where i work.

[aussielondon]

So true, I agree that for pens I don't care very much about, I hardly give them the time of day. Take stuff like Ancora, Montegrappa, Delta, Caran d'Ache, Krone, and a few others for example. I think people who keep bashing Montblanc secretly want one themselves and are just envious..So they just keep bashing it until they can finally afford one..Then they go ooh its so nice, I change what I thought about this previously blah blah blah..

 

As much as I love Nakaya and I own a pretty damn awesome one myself, some might say that the pen you own is turned from essentially rubber using a cheap cc filler system, why should it cost so much? Plus the one you like is the basic aka-tamenuri, it isn't a lot of work to give it a few extra coatings every now and then, its not like there is any artwork on it. Some might even argue for that basic one that it is far too expensive for 550$.

 

Machine make may guarantee precision compared to handmake, some might say that is a lot better. I'd prefer a machine made car than a handbuilt car from a safety perspective.

 

Plus MB pens have retained their value to some degree whereas many pens don't in the longer run. Too early to say for Nakaya, they don't come up all that often on the secondary hand market to judge.

It's why I say that the way the world is now (and I will come across as trolling for pro-Chinese so much that you will all think I am Chairman Mao himself)... is that Chinese pens are now up to a standard of quality that comes close or close enough to the traditional pen manufacturers of fountain pens and the gap is closing all the time.... their prices are low as anything, and they make them better everyday.

 

Failing to see the writing on the wall is something I can understand but I tell ya all, it's happening!

They are not about to become world #1 in GDP (overtaking the USA) for no reason.

[de_pen_dent]

It's why I say that the way the world is now (and I will come across as trolling for pro-Chinese so much that you will all think I am Chairman Mao himself)... is that Chinese pens are now up to a standard of quality that comes close or close enough to the traditional pen manufacturers of fountain pens and the gap is closing all the time.... their prices are low as anything, and they make them better everyday.

 

From a utilitarian point of view, I agree. A $1 Hero 616 writes like a charm, and the $10 Dukes and Jinhaos are surprisingly well made for the price.

 

From a design point of view - I think cheap pens look and feel cheap. I fully accept that there might be a placebo factor at work here, but if i look at the iridescence of the material on my currently-inked MB Jules Verne, or the shades of red on my Izumo's aka-tamenuri finish, the $10 pens look like $10 pens.

[Redbarchettayyz]

 

From a utilitarian point of view, I agree. A $1 Hero 616 writes like a charm, and the $10 Dukes and Jinhaos are surprisingly well made for the price.

 

From a design point of view - I think cheap pens look and feel cheap. I fully accept that there might be a placebo factor at work here, but if i look at the iridescence of the material on my currently-inked MB Jules Verne, or the shades of red on my Izumo's aka-tamenuri finish, the $10 pens look like $10 pens.

 

Agreed, I started on the cheap Chinese FPs before discovering my true pen love (vintage German piston fillers), and some of them were indeed surprisingly well made, and worked excellently at laying down a line, but in the hand they do look and feel cheap and unappealing compared to, say, any of my vintages, or even my modern pens like my m205. IMO the job of a good Chinese pen is to provide an affordable gateway into FPs in general.

[georges zaslavsky]

Everyone who has been on this site for the past week would've seen a certain topic on overpriced pens.

 

Many comments (including my own) involved discussion of the Montblanc 149 (and 146). I could argue both for an against Montblanc's 'prestigious', or high prices.

 

Why does everyone instantly bring up MB when talking about expensive pens? And pens costing more than they should?

 

I can think of more than 5 other pens (and I don't know that many makes/models) that are, IMO, priced more 'ridiculously' than the 146 and 149. Is it just because everyone knows of MB, and it is the most expensive pen THEY know of, even though there are many more that barely any people know of?

 

If you think the 146 and 149 are overpriced, what do you actually think they are worth, and what would you be happy paying for them new?

 

Tom.

The best way to know how a good a MB is, is to own one. I own six vintage MB 149s and three vintage MB 146s will again probably purchase another 149 from Gary Lehrer or someone I know that have 60's-70's MB 149 for sale. One of my daily user is a 149, it has been in my rotation since I acquired in 2006, even if I hadn't written with it for some time it starts immediately. I know the values of a pristine vintage 60's-70's 149 between 550-700$ and I would pay this price. I am not into modern MBs and neither am I into limited editions.

Edited October 3, 2014 by georges zaslavsky

[mrchan]

 

From a utilitarian point of view, I agree. A $1 Hero 616 writes like a charm, and the $10 Dukes and Jinhaos are surprisingly well made for the price.

 

From a design point of view - I think cheap pens look and feel cheap. I fully accept that there might be a placebo factor at work here, but if i look at the iridescence of the material on my currently-inked MB Jules Verne, or the shades of red on my Izumo's aka-tamenuri finish, the $10 pens look like $10 pens.

I'd have to really agree with this. No matter how many shiny Jinhaos you buy, Cheap pens will always look cheap. I don't think there is any getting away from that at the moment. There are well built and very functional cheaper pens (eg Pilot Metropolitan which is a fantastic value pen) but when it comes to the feel and overall aesthetic, the cheaper pens will always look cheap IMHO.

[max dog]

Has anyone noticed that the folks who have, or have had, a MB talk primarily of the pen? And then the folks who don't have, or don't want, a MB talk primarily of either the brand's status or price?

 

I don't have one, and to date haven't been sufficiently inspired to want one, but I do find the above observation curious. This discussion doesn't sway me one way or the other, but it does make me want to try one before ever ruling it out as an option.

 

(Naturally, there are exceptions to this generalised observation)

I think you hit the nail on the head with your observation.

Every time a thread like this comes up, you will find 2 camps of thought.

The first camp are those who hate what they think Montblanc is and stands for without really having any experience with their products.

The 2nd camp are people who actually have given Montblanc a fair chance and used their product (just trying one out for a few minutes at a pen shop don't count).

The opinions about Montblanc from this latter camp is usually very positive.

[georges zaslavsky]

I think you hit the nail on the head with your observation.

Every time a thread like this comes up, you will find 2 camps of thought.

The first camp are those who hate what they think Montblanc is and stands for without really having any experience with their products.

The 2nd camp are people who actually have given Montblanc a fair chance and used their product (just trying one out for a few minutes at a pen shop don't count).

The opinions about Montblanc from this latter camp is usually very positive.

Indeed. But also comparing the montblanc vintage pens with modern ones is like comparing a 1986-1991 mercedes 560sel/1992-1998 mercedes 600sel against a brand new 2008-2014 mercedes 600sel. Quality is good but not the same as it was previously. I am not much into modern Montblanc as I am in the vintage stuff

Edited October 4, 2014 by georges zaslavsky

[Arkanabar]

I just came back to this thread, and yes, I was telling the truth about having a bunch of ink on my fingers when I tried all the demonstrators at a Montblanc boutique. Folks have asked about circumstances.

This was in the previous millenium, perhaps over 20 years ago, quite possibly before I even owned my M200. The boutique was in Somerset Mall, a very pricey and upscale mall in Troy, Michigan.

[lsmith42]

 

Every time a thread like this comes up, you will find 2 camps of thought.

 

Then the real mystery, friends, is why, exactly, these threads keep coming up?

[pajaro]

Trolling. No mystery. Ah! Yes. Idiots.

 

I have some of the low end Montblancs bought twenty to thirty years ago, still working fine and satisfying. What's not to like?

 

[chas0039]

...I also do not find them to be overpriced. If they were they would not sell, and they do sell...

Their recent annual report indicates a big drop in revenue attributed to a decline in the Asian market. We will have to see how much longer they can keep their prices so high as the novelty wears off and the global economic slow down becomes the status quo. Very much like the drug market in the US, MB is priced as high as the market will bear, not based on realistic costs.

[de_pen_dent]

Their recent annual report indicates a big drop in revenue attributed to a decline in the Asian market. We will have to see how much longer they can keep their prices so high as the novelty wears off and the global economic slow down becomes the status quo. Very much like the drug market in the US, MB is priced as high as the market will bear, not based on realistic costs.

 

Novelty? Given how long MB has been making pens, "novelty" isnt quite the correct word. It is the opposite of the correct word, actually.

Edited October 6, 2014 by de_pen_dent

[chas0039]

Novelty? Given how long MB has been making pens, "novelty" isnt quite the correct word. It is the opposite of the correct word, actually.

OK, pick any word you like.