What Makes The 147 Travel Friendly

[Matlock]

If the cartridge is really empty then that is fine but quite often there is some ink left and then you could be in the same boat as dimos. If you get through 8 cartridges then perhaps you should get a piston fill pen but that would hold nothing like the ink that those 8 cartridges hold so you would need a spare bottle of ink or a travelling ink pot. Perhaps a box of 6 cartridges tucked in your luggage would answer the problem? It would take up a lot less room than that bottle or ink pot.

I prefer a piston fill pen but the 147 fills the need when I am travelling. Sorry about the wrong spelling of "disengaged" but I thought it was part of the magic of this forum to spot spelling mistakes .

[niksch]

Sorry about the wrong spelling of "disengaged" but I thought it was part of the magic of this forum to spot spelling mistakes .

 

Haven't seen much of that lately. I usually only point out the errors of my daughter's work. Frustrates the heck out of her. We have so many members for whom English is a second of third language, it's not usually a big deal.

[hari317]

The 147 is a nice pen that delivers on performance. I think the secret to its performance is its feeder.

 

I have never faced the leaking cartridge problem with a 147. The problem with 147 is that it is designed for the MB cartridge shape which is slightly different (has a longer slender neck) than other international short cartridges. Pelikan short cartridges for instance, do not fit perfectly into the 147 tray. Such imperfect fitting can cause the cartridge to leak.

 

Having said all this, the mechanical design of the 147 tray is sound, like most MB products. The tray does not depend on the backup cartridge to provide any mechanical support to the "in use" cartridge. The mechanical support is provided by a tab on the tray. This is a major advantage over the Pelikan Ductus and the Omas Mezzo's "me too" designs.

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/MB%20Rs/IMG_5998_1.jpg

more pics are here.

[mackdaddy]

I have a 147 and a Pelikan Ductus. Both are excellent pens and while I have not taken the Ductus on a plane, I would not hesitate to do so. There is no tab in the cartridge tray, and that is probably by design. The Ductus takes Pelikan long cartridges, which I believe were introduced with the Ductus (Pelikan experts feel free to chime in). I use Pelikan Edelstein cartridges in the Ductus.

[Matlock]

I have a 147 and a Pelikan Ductus. Both are excellent pens and while I have not taken the Ductus on a plane, I would not hesitate to do so. There is no tab in the cartridge tray, and that is probably by design. The Ductus takes Pelikan long cartridges, which I believe were introduced with the Ductus (Pelikan experts feel free to chime in). I use Pelikan Edelstein cartridges in the Ductus.

I believe that you are correct (I use Pelikan Edelstein cartridges in several of my c/c Pelikans). There are many pens that will take two cartridges back to back but I think the 147 is the only one that has a tray. I know that some pens require the second cartridge to properly locate the first one, not so with the 147, as hari317 has pointed out.

[CraigR]

I owned a 147 for a number of years and used it extensively. When I bought it from a Montblanc Boutique it did not come with a pouch or any cartridge storage other than the internal carrier. I have always enjoyed using cartridges - the convenience and ease of refilling the pen being most important.

 

Travelling with the 147 was seamless and I never had a leakage problem. A few times, I was caught with just the 1 spare cartridge in the carrier. When I ran out of ink in the primary cartridge, I placed the second one in the front position and made sure that it was secure before re-assembly. I didn't have leaks but could see where it would be possible if the cartridge didn't fully seat and came loose during use. I have used the empty cartridge in the carrier in the backup position without incident.

 

Great pen. I sometimes wish I had it back.

 

Craig.

[scratchofapen]

Well, it might be that simply the amount of ink and air in an cartridge is too small to cause any leakage big enough to not get "caught" in the fins of the feed.

 

All beside the "unsecure without the second cartridge"discussion....

[fravin]

I think the answer here is not about the leak in flights. I presume that none of the modern fps will leak in flight.

 

The travel friendly of 147 may be about the ease of refueling it with cartridges. In field work, walking in Louvre's galleries or in the back seat of a cab after a great meeting is too difficult to refill a piston pen. This event can ruin your suit if the driver brakes and you split ink! Or you will need to find a table in the middle of the Louvre's gallery (oh, wait, there's no tables inside the galleries!)...

 

The easy steps to change a cartridge in 147 is done even uncapping the pen. You can do it very easy and fast, while standing in front of the paint. No one you note you...

[david6]

I will be flying to America tomorrow and the pen I will be taking with me will be my 147. I have had leaks with other pens while inflight but so far NOT with the 147.

[mmg122]

Is it possible to buy the leather traveling pouch for the 147 separately? Like Craig, I have the pen without the pouch.

I've flown many, many times with my fountain pens in tow. The only pen I ever had leak (into the cap) on me was a Parker Vac Junior. It had a marvelous nib that I loved writing with...unfortunately that was Juniors last flight. In fact, my MB 147 joined the family soon after.

[da vinci]

Is it possible to buy the leather traveling pouch for the 147 separately? Like Craig, I have the pen without the pouch.

I've flown many, many times with my fountain pens in tow. The only pen I ever had leak (into the cap) on me was a Parker Vac Junior. It had a marvelous nib that I loved writing with...unfortunately that was Juniors last flight. In fact, my MB 147 joined the family soon after.

I have seen the pouches for sale (look genuine to me) on the auction site.

[orfew]

The 147 is my go to pen. I have had it for 15 years or more and have never had any problems with it. Sometimes I use the case it came with and sometimes it sits in my 3 pen MB case. It is truly a great pen.

[mmg122]

Thanks davinci...just found a BIN and it's winging it's way to Detroit.

[niksch]

Ha! Just for this post I can report that I flew in an aircraft from Denver to Nashville, and drove a small car from Nashville to Huntsville, AL. No leaks on three 149s or three 146s. All pens contained different colors of inks, and I specifically loaded them for this trip. No leaks on the return trip to Denver, and surspreinsliunly enough, the pens all had the same color of ink that I initially filled them with. So much for leaking and other MB magic.

[Opooh]

Ha! Just for this post I can report that I flew in an aircraft from Denver to Nashville, and drove a small car from Nashville to Huntsville, AL. No leaks on three 149s or three 146s. All pens contained different colors of inks, and I specifically loaded them for this trip. No leaks on the return trip to Denver, and surspreinsliunly enough, the pens all had the same color of ink that I initially filled them with. So much for leaking and other MB magic.

1+

I prefer an " inbuild " cartridge AKA a pistonfiller.

[macball]

I agree that it boils down to preference for ink supply. The nib and feed of a 146 and 147 are identical. Neither are susceptible to burps, fa*ts, leaks or dribbles in an airplane. I too, sometimes like to take the 1" square special edition ink bottle filled with royal blue on a trip or meeting. Its nice to have the bottle... something familiar on the hotel credenza, and go through the piston filler ritual. On the other hand I have also appreciated the convenience of using cartridges. Just throw a tray in your luggage and never have to worry about leaks or running out of ink near the end of the day of note taking.

[hari317]

The nib and feed of a 146 and 147 are identical.

The nibs are identical, but the feeds are not.

 

Incidentally, I am in the middle of an overseas trip at the moment, and my pen for this trip is a 147. Perfect performance, even during the 9hr flight and landing.

[meiers]

Ha! Just for this post I can report that I flew in an aircraft from Denver to Nashville, and drove a small car from Nashville to Huntsville, AL. No leaks on three 149s or three 146s. All pens contained different colors of inks, and I specifically loaded them for this trip. No leaks on the return trip to Denver, and surspreinsliunly enough, the pens all had the same color of ink that I initially filled them with. So much for leaking and other MB magic.

I have taken my 149's on many a transatlantic flight without them leaking a single drop of ink.

[jar]

I think a key to what makes the 147 travel friendly is that it is just plain boring when it comes to reliability. Throw a cartridge in and it just works.

[meiers]

The nibs are identical, but the feeds are not.

 

 

I didn't know that.

How are they different?