Which Montblanc Would You Recommend?

[bobby]

If you are buying fountain pens to write with, what matters at the end of the day is how well it writes. So, regardless of what you choose, make sure you test before buying. Buy from places that offer returns / exchanges. I own three MB 149 and all of them write differently. Among those, the best is one from 80's with a double broad nib 18c. I also have a more modern MB 149 with brass piston, but I don't find the nib as great. I am sure this varies greatly and hard to form any rules. I own many brands of pen, but I can tell you when a Montblanc 149 writes the way it should be, it is hard to match. Particularly if you write with somewhat heavy hand, the Montblanc rocks. If you are not dead set on MB, you may also find Pelikan M1000 a great option. In fact there is no lack of options. That is one great thing about fountain pens. So, I would suggest buy another brand as your second pen rather than yet another MB, unless of course if you already have so many, but just for some reason a bit short on MBs. One excellent way to have a good idea about pens in the market is visiting pen shows, if there is one in your area. I went to the Philadelphia show last weekend, and as usual, had a lot of fun and picked up a Sailor KOP, which has become now my new darling !

[Ghost Plane]

I know the “experts” pontificate about rotation. Which proves to me they none of ‘em actually WRITE with obliques.

 

For the last time...an oblique is simply a stub set at an angle to make your line variation more interesting!

 

Unless you’re one of those ballpoint-warped finger writers who waggle your pen all around the axis of the point, there’s no special grip for obliques. Pick up your pen. Let the nib find its sweet spot on the page. Close your fingers around it. Write. Enjoy the pretty line variation.

[zaddick]

I know the experts pontificate about rotation. Which proves to me they none of em actually WRITE with obliques.

 

For the last time...an oblique is simply a stub set at an angle to make your line variation more interesting!

 

Unless youre one of those ballpoint-warped finger writers who waggle your pen all around the axis of the point, theres no special grip for obliques. Pick up your pen. Let the nib find its sweet spot on the page. Close your fingers around it. Write. Enjoy the pretty line variation.

Amen to that! Folks are missing out by summarily dismissing obliques. Come into the light my friends. Edited January 19, 2018 by zaddick

[thygreyt]

I know the “experts” pontificate about rotation. Which proves to me they none of ‘em actually WRITE with obliques.

 

For the last time...an oblique is simply a stub set at an angle to make your line variation more interesting!

 

Unless you’re one of those ballpoint-warped finger writers who waggle your pen all around the axis of the point, there’s no special grip for obliques. Pick up your pen. Let the nib find its sweet spot on the page. Close your fingers around it. Write. Enjoy the pretty line variation.

 

I fully agree!

 

Ghost plane and her explanation was what drew me to the Oblique world..! I used to just ignore it because i dont rotate pens... now that i have tried the oblique broad side, there is no going back.

I now own 5 oblique pens, 3 italics and 5 mediums.

[Moose]

I know the “experts” pontificate about rotation. Which proves to me they none of ‘em actually WRITE with obliques.

 

For the last time...an oblique is simply a stub set at an angle to make your line variation more interesting!

 

Unless you’re one of those ballpoint-warped finger writers who waggle your pen all around the axis of the point, there’s no special grip for obliques. Pick up your pen. Let the nib find its sweet spot on the page. Close your fingers around it. Write. Enjoy the pretty line variation.

 

I think this is somewhat addressed toward me because I brought up obliques...I'm by no means an expert and I'm sorry if I came off that way. You are correct that I have never written with an oblique. I was under the impression that the angle on the nib of obliques was designed for pen rotation, apparently I was wrong. (I'm guessing I picked this up from Richard Binder's site where he says "Oblique Nibs: Now we come to the the oblique. An oblique is ground so that the writing tip contacts the paper properly when the pen is rotated in the user’s hand. “Rotating,” in this context, doesn’t mean turning the hand at the wrist so that it points in a different direction; rather, it means “rolling” the pen about its long axis so that the nib isn’t aligned straight upward when the person holds the pen in his or her usual way." He's a pretty well-respected nib-meister, so I assumed it was correct.)

 

Not that I don't believe you, but can you explain to me how two nibs with the same width would have different variation if one were oblique? For example, a CI that has a cross-sectional measurement of 1.1 mm should give the same line variation as an oblique CI with the same cross-sectional measurement, no? How does a rotational angle to the nib, in and of itself, contribute to line variation? Isn't it just that one tine is slightly longer than the other? An OBB should, by this logic, produce the same line variation as a BB, correct? Maybe I'm overanalyzing this or missing something...

[siamackz]

 

I think this is somewhat addressed toward me because I brought up obliques...I'm by no means an expert and I'm sorry if I came off that way. You are correct that I have never written with an oblique. I was under the impression that the angle on the nib of obliques was designed for pen rotation, apparently I was wrong. (I'm guessing I picked this up from Richard Binder's site where he says "Oblique Nibs: Now we come to the the oblique. An oblique is ground so that the writing tip contacts the paper properly when the pen is rotated in the user’s hand. “Rotating,” in this context, doesn’t mean turning the hand at the wrist so that it points in a different direction; rather, it means “rolling” the pen about its long axis so that the nib isn’t aligned straight upward when the person holds the pen in his or her usual way." He's a pretty well-respected nib-meister, so I assumed it was correct.)

 

Not that I don't believe you, but can you explain to me how two nibs with the same width would have different variation if one were oblique? For example, a CI that has a cross-sectional measurement of 1.1 mm should give the same line variation as an oblique CI with the same cross-sectional measurement, no? How does a rotational angle to the nib, in and of itself, contribute to line variation? Isn't it just that one tine is slightly longer than the other? An OBB should, by this logic, produce the same line variation as a BB, correct? Maybe I'm overanalyzing this or missing something...

In my writing experience a CI and an Oblique nib will provide max/min thickness and thinness at different line angles. A CI will produce its thinnest line if you hold it square and make a horizontal line. An Oblique held at its sweet spot will not produce its thinnest line at this perfectly horizontal plane, but rather on a line drawn 30 degrees or so from the horizontal plane. So the line variation using a CI and Oblique will be different when you compare your writing samples.

Also, for me an Oblique completely changes my handwriting. Nothing to do with rotation, etc. In order to stay in the sweet spot, I need to hold the pen at a different angle than I do with the CI. This causes my cursive to change dramatically. This could be just me though.

 

I am no expert, and the above is simply my anecdotal experience with obliques and CIs.

[zaddick]

An oblique nib with a stub or CI grind will give you variation on the diagonal lines vs the vertical and horizontal for regular stub or CI. So an OB CI will be thickest going from top left to bottom right and thinnest when going from bottom left to top right (assuming right handed).

[Moose]

In my writing experience a CI and an Oblique nib will provide max/min thickness and thinness at different line angles. A CI will produce its thinnest line if you hold it square and make a horizontal line. An Oblique held at its sweet spot will not produce its thinnest line at this perfectly horizontal plane, but rather on a line drawn 30 degrees or so from the horizontal plane. So the line variation using a CI and Oblique will be different when you compare your writing samples.

 

 

An oblique nib with a stub or CI grind will give you variation on the diagonal lines vs the vertical and horizontal for regular stub or CI. So an OB CI will be thickest going from top left to bottom right and thinnest when going from bottom left to top right (assuming right handed).

 

So the argument is not that an oblique nib will give MORE variation but that the variation will be DIFFERENT? In that case, a BB nib would have the same total line variation of an OBB, correct? Sorry, despite being in this hobby for more than a decade, venturing into the abnormal nibs is recent for me...and there's a LOT of conflicting information.

[zaddick]

Yes, the same amount of variation at a different angle. I like what an stub or CI oblique does for my cursive.

 

I think the comments about obliques big for people who rotate nibs has some merit. The point many of us try to stress is that pretty much ANYONE can use an oblique nib as easily as a standard nib and it is an opportunity to change the look of your writing without and special skills, especially if you have any stub or CI characteristics to the nib.

 

By the way an architect nib gives you thin vertical and thick horizontal lines, esse8thr opposite of a stub nib.

[siamackz]

 

 

 

So the argument is not that an oblique nib will give MORE variation but that the variation will be DIFFERENT? In that case, a BB nib would have the same total line variation of an OBB, correct? Sorry, despite being in this hobby for more than a decade, venturing into the abnormal nibs is recent for me...and there's a LOT of conflicting information.

 

Yes, this is the best of my experience with such nibs. Different, not more.

[ingolf]

Hello Prahasaurus:

 

if you are looking for a "not standard" pen that is working well and will be a good companion for a long time then you might take a look at my recommendations ...

• Lamy Dialog 3
• Montblanc Heritage 1912

 

The Lamy comes with a converter/cartride option, the Montblanc is a piston filler.

Both pens have a retractable nib. The Lamy has no cap and the Montblanc has a cap but cannot be used in capped mode.

These two pens are unusual but very attractive.

 

The Lamy has a 14K gold nib (with broad M), the Montblanc Heritage 1912 comes with a 14K gold nib (with broad .

 

 

My personal opinion regarding the writing quality is that the Heritage has one of the best nibs I´ve ever written with (better than a MB Meisterstück 149).

 

 

Regards, Ingolf.