New Montblanc Specialty Nibs

[jmccarty3]

Just arrived home from work to find the new issue of Pen World.

 

Many fans of Pelikan (and many of us are fans of both brands) have lamented the discontinuation of double and triple broad, oblique, and other specialty nibs from their line.

 

Montblanc, on the other hand, is making more of these specialty nibs available, which to me is a very smart move.

 

On page 54 of the current Pen World is an article by the eminent collector Julian Kreeger, whom many of us have had the pleasure of meeting at the shows, entitled "Montblanc: Merging Culture and Writing." A photo accompanying this article shows five new nibs: a left oblique (which most of us in this country would call right oblique); a triple-tined calligraphy nib, which looks to be a fairly crisp italic; a triple-tined Signature nib, which appears to be cut more like a stub and is 4 mm wide (!); a curved nib for the Asian market, which has features of the fude and Waverley nibs; and an extra-extra-fine nib. At present, these are "bespoke" nibs, but if there is demand for them, they may be made more widely available. It is encouraging that Montblanc seems to have noticed the withdrawal of Pelikan from the specialty nib market, and is trying to fill a need. One hopes that they have done their homework on the design of the feeds necessary to keep up with the huge nibs. I also hope that Montblanc will make their nibs as easily interchangeable as Pelikans are. I might even be persuaded to buy a modern 149 to accompany my four vintage ones, if it allows me to use more than one of these nibs.

[CS388]

...snip...

 

I also hope that Montblanc will make their nibs as easily interchangeable as Pelikans are.

 

The newer Montblanc pens seem to be using a gasket/seal, instead of the old (pink) sealant, on the nib/feed/case unit.

 

As long as you have a tool (and a collection of nib units), it looks as if they would be a straightforward swap.

 

The tools are widely avaiable, not sure where you would obtain the nib units, though.

[FredRydr]

The remaining issue is the sticker shock, compared to Pelikan.

 

Fred

[zaddick]

The remaining issue is the sticker shock, compared to Pelikan.

 

Fred

This is the chicken and egg issue... the bespoke nibs are very expensive and not well advertised. There will not be a surge in interest given their current system, so demand will not support the addition of any of these to a standard lineup. I would buy the music or signature 6B nibs if they did not cost me as much or more than the pen and take forever to get.

 

The sales staff never mentions these nibs to me. I even had to argue about the existence of the #9 03B nibs at the boutique. Often people who buy the custom high end pens, and can afford these nibs, don't plan to use the pens so are fine with M.

[Vlad Soare]

Often people who buy the custom high end pens, and can afford these nibs, don't plan to use the pens so are fine with M.

 

Or maybe they plan to use them for normal writing, which means being able to write more than just a couple of letters on a page.