Which One Would You Keep?

[dmvara]

So I am at a point in my life that I don't need a lot of fountain pens and I have these two and I'm trying to decide which to keep. The anniversary is all about the look for me and it just doesn't write like the ones the vintage ones produced by MB. The weight of the anniversary is very nice. I had a broad nib placed on it and it still doesn't have a generous flow of ink like the KOB full flex nib on my 146. Kind of a tough choice and it sort of boils down to function versus form. Any suggestions? Your honest opinion would be much appreciated. Thanks and have a wonderful week!

 

David

[Raif79]

Dump the anniversary. Life is too short to be hindered with poor writers. No matter how pretty, if it's not fun to write with, it has to go!

[Mulrich]

Keep the one with the best feel and weight. You can always get a nib fixed but pen size you're stuck with.

[Out0Mind]

Do you like to write or do you like pretty things? I'd get rid of the one you won't write with; after all, pens are writing tools, and they'd look equally good in your suit pocket.

[dmvara]

Thanks for all the honest comments. I'm going to take the anniversary one back and see if the nib exchange was done correctly. They said it was. We shall see. Above all, I agree that a nice pen doesn't necessarily mean it writes welll. If MB can find a way to save money in production costs and still charge more for the final product, they will. That is my honest opinion.

[zaddick]

Keep the anniversary pen and get the nib tuned. You could also get a vintage nib fit to the pen.

 

I find the 1950s 146 pens too small to use without posting.

[Chrissy]

I wouldn't keep the anniversary pen if I didn't like everything about it, and how it wrote.

[Pravda]

I also would say keep the anniversary and get the nib tuned. This way you would have both form and good writing win/win situation.

 

Alternatively, if the idea is to slim down to 1 pen regardless, you may want to get rid of both and get something new that will have the 'new' factor

[JLS1]

I'd go with the vintage 146 (but then again, that's most of my collection so I'm biased). With that said, I would see if you can get the Anniversary nib tuned as other have suggested; maybe bring in both pens to show the difference and what you are looking for?

[gclyn]

You could always send the anniversary one to a good nibmeister. They can fix it. But, like others previously posted....regardless, keep the one that you instinctively always reach for, or the one that feels the best when your writing, or gives you a cerebral/spiritual feeling when using it. If it's going to be your daily writer, you have to want to love using it.

[dmvara]

You could always send the anniversary one to a good nibmeister. They can fix it. But, like others previously posted....regardless, keep the one that you instinctively always reach for, or the one that feels the best when your writing, or gives you a cerebral/spiritual feeling when using it. If it's going to be your daily writer, you have to want to love using it.

I certainly agree. It's such a difficult choice and I appreciate all the good comments. I'll have to decide what makes me happy. Thanks a million.

[dmvara]

Thanks to the many who have chimed in. I definitely appreciate it. I'll have to find a nibmeister to see how close they can get to getting the ink flow like the vintage ones. Any suggestions? Thanks!!

[gclyn]

Thanks to the many who have chimed in. I definitely appreciate it. I'll have to find a nibmeister to see how close they can get to getting the ink flow like the vintage ones. Any suggestions? Thanks!!

 

I have sent pens to three nibmeisters and they were all great...Linda Kennedy (apprenticed under Richard Bider), Mike Masayama, and Dan Smith.

 

I just got back my MB 149, Nakaya Neo-Standard and Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze from Dan, I asked him to regrind the nib for a finer line and increase flow....all three write just the way I want and are a dream to write with.

 

Not sure about turn around time for each though.

[dmvara]

I have sent pens to three nibmeisters and they were all great...Linda Kennedy (apprenticed under Richard Bider), Mike Masayama, and Dan Smith.

 

I just got back my MB 149, Nakaya Neo-Standard and Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze from Dan, I asked him to regrind the nib for a finer line and increase flow....all three write just the way I want and are a dream to write with.

 

Not sure about turn around time for each though.

Great info. I lack the basic knowledge of how the grinding process works, but I know I would not want to lose the size of the stroke which is currently a broad nib. I am uncertain if getting a more generous amount of ink to flow comes at the sacrifice of a small nib in the process. Hmm. Thank you again

Edited June 30, 2016 by dmvara

[Sasha Royale]

"Need" is irrelevant on this forum. The choice you make would be entirely subjective. Your choice.

Is there a reason that you must be rid of one or the other ? What would be the harm in having both ? Some of us have more than one fountain pen.

Edited July 1, 2016 by Sasha Royale

[max dog]

If I had to choose between the two, I'd keep the sterling silver one without hesitation. Just send it to Montblanc repair and invest in a nib service for about $90 to restore it's writability. Check ebay and you will see sterling solitaire 146s hold their value ($700 and up on avg), and this one being an anniversary edition, even more so.

Edited July 1, 2016 by max dog

[dmvara]

"Need" is irrelevant on this forum. The choice you make would be entirely subjective. Your choice.

Is there a reason that you must be rid of one or the other ? What would be the harm in having both ? Some of us have more than one fountain pen.

 

Interesting pov. For me, keeping both is not an option. In this forum, there are different tastes and opinions and while one person may think having 5 fountain pens is more than enough another may think that owing 5 is just scraping the surface of a collection. It boils down to a matter of preference and in this forum I respect another's opinion and expect the same in return. That being said, I am probably leaning towards keeping the 146 anniversary because it has a nice balance and I'll only do this if I can find someone to grind the nib for a better flow of ink. I think I'm just used to the ink flow on the vintage 146 which is a full flex nib which right now seems like a viable option to keep simply because the vintage pens were better built to begin with. Thanks again and have a nice day.

 

:-)

[BrandonA]

i don't think owning MB is always about "need". Instead I think it is about "want" or "resire".

 

If I were you (and luckily I'm not) I would sell them both as you clearly don't have any real passion or love for either otherwise you wouldn't have started this thread.