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Exchanging Writer's Edition Pens


penmaxwell919

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I have been a longtime lurker since last August, when I started using fountain pens, and reading articles here and other's posts have been enough to help me solve a lot of the problems that I've encountered. But now I have a problem that I have found some information on but it is contradicting other posts so I want to ask others from this community for the most up to date information and advice.

 

I have discovered Montblanc's Writer's Edition recently and immediately got hooked. My first purchase was a Dumas with a medium nib, but after inking it up and filling around 10 pages, I've concluded that I can't use a medium nib. From my previous post surfing I thought that the stubbiness of Montblanc nibs would be ok but it is just too thick of a line for my handwriting, so I'm thinking about the nib swap program that they have. So far I have gathered enough info about the nib swap program to know that Montblanc will replace the nib on my pen with my desired nib and if they don't have that specific Dumas nib in stock that they will make one to order. My question is regarding which channel I would go through. I'm in Dallas, Texas and the Fort Worth service center is 11 miles away. But an old post by a former Montblanc reseller specifically said to contact Montblanc service center in Hamburg directly. Does anyone have the most up to date information on who I should contact to get a fine or extra fine nib exchange? Thank you in advance for your help.

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I believe you should first make contact with Fort Worth, but the pen would need to be sent (by them) to Hamburg for a nib exchange. This is assuming you have stamped and dated documentation to prove that you bought your Dumas brand new from an authorised Montblanc outlet within the last few weeks. That's the only way you will get a free nib exchange from Montblanc.

 

Whether they will make a Dumas nib to order in the event they don't have one would be something you would need to find out if they don't have a F nib. With some WE's they only used to make nibs in F, M and B to start with, so it's doubtful that an EF would be readily available.

 

One other option would be to have the current nib ground to your liking.

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I’d take it into your local boutique and give it to them. They will sent it to Hamberg and then contact you when it is ready to be collected. This is what I did last year when I change the nib in my Wilde and had them repair the nib on my Proust.

My Collection: Montblanc Writers Edition: Hemingway, Christie, Wilde, Voltaire, Dumas, Dostoevsky, Poe, Proust, Schiller, Dickens, Fitzgerald (set), Verne, Kafka, Cervantes, Woolf, Faulkner, Shaw, Mann, Twain, Collodi, Swift, Balzac, Defoe, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, Saint-Exupery, Homer & Kipling. Montblanc Einstein (3,000) FP. Montblanc Heritage 1912 Resin FP. Montblanc Starwalker Resin: FP/BP/MP. Montblanc Traveller FP.

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A month ago I had my son, who lives in FW, take one of my pens to the service center in FW for a nib exchange. They would not take it from him and directed him to the boutique in Dallas...

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Right, the Fort Worth service center doesn't deal directly with customers. You should take your Dumas to the boutique at NorthPark. As Chrissy said, you will need documentation of purchase from an authorized dealer to get a free nib exchange.

Rationalizing pen and ink purchases since 1967.

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Take it to a Boutique, and they will take care of the rest.

 

In my experience, changing the nib for Peggy Guggenheim and Heritage 1912, the pen HAS to go to the Dallas center, then the technicians will request the nib. If its not available, the request goes to germany, while the pen simply stays (or so i was told). Once the nib arrives from the motherland, the nib gets fitted on the pen, and it returns to you.

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scout around and see what they can do and what it costs....

 

who are these people insisting on changing nibs?

 

have never thought of it once for over 60 pens, except for screwing in a new nib for my Pelikan 800

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My Dumas wrote too wet and wide for my liking, so I handed it to Mike Masuyama and he made it write just like I wanted! Love it now!

PAKMAN

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I recently got a writers edition pen nib changed, the Saint-Exupery, for an Oblique double broad, which I believe it is the widest nib they can do on a WE pen. Once it came back the person from the local boutique explained to me that Montblanc has to fabricate a new nib for these type of requests, and in the case of Writer's editions, they only have the tools for certain years and at some point they don't keep them anymore. In these type of cases they will be able to exchange the nib for a nib of the same size (the nib if the 146) but the one used in the regular line, not with the special design engraved on the nib.

I would recommend for you to take your pen to a Montblanc boutique or authorized dealer and verify if they could use the same flour de lis nib that the Dumas has. Or decide if you are OK if they have to change it for a stock nib. @PAKMAN also has a great suggestion, a nibmeister like Mike Masuyama can help you finding tuning or adjusting the nib on your pen.

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I don't want to give you false hope (especially seeing the Dumas nib is probably the most beautiful nib MB ever produced in my view) but the Dostoevsky I own, which was produced the year after the Dumas, went in for a nib exchange only a month or to ago and was done without a problem. I had to pay for it of course, but at the time every pen shop and MB boutique insisted with great surety that it would not be possible. I emailed Hamburg and they said, send it in!

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I have a couple of Dumas in Hamburg right now for nib change. It took a bit of arm twisting but they are making me new nibs now. Arm twisting since I wanted an O3B nib for it.

 

Similarly, the boutique in Singapore is giving a hard time again for exchanging the Homer M to O3B saying that only OBB is offered in the broadest nib. Again, awaiting reply from higher powers.

 

I wish MB staff would not play dodge ball at every opportunity.

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If the MB 149 has never been used, should you keep the original nib? Its a 18C from 50s or 60s and tri-color....wide B or BB?

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I have a couple of Dumas in Hamburg right now for nib change. It took a bit of arm twisting but they are making me new nibs now. Arm twisting since I wanted an O3B nib for it.

 

Similarly, the boutique in Singapore is giving a hard time again for exchanging the Homer M to O3B saying that only OBB is offered in the broadest nib. Again, awaiting reply from higher powers.

 

I wish MB staff would not play dodge ball at every opportunity.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/337454-homage-to-homer-thread/page-4

fpn_1532214219__yes.png

 

 

~ nishant:

 

I'm very sorry that you're experiencing obstinacy about OBBB nib exchanges for #9 nibs.

I'd read (as shown above) that OBBB nibs were being offered for the Homer #9 nib.

From another source there was compelling reason to believe that OBBB nibs would be available for all #9 nibs.

Your experience is disturbing, as it shouldn't require special effort to obtain OBBBs.

I hope that you'll eventually receive a green light for your OBBB request.

Tom K.

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I believe you should first make contact with Fort Worth, but the pen would need to be sent (by them) to Hamburg for a nib exchange. This is assuming you have stamped and dated documentation to prove that you bought your Dumas brand new from an authorised Montblanc outlet within the last few weeks. That's the only way you will get a free nib exchange from Montblanc.

 

Whether they will make a Dumas nib to order in the event they don't have one would be something you would need to find out if they don't have a F nib. With some WE's they only used to make nibs in F, M and B to start with, so it's doubtful that an EF would be readily available.

 

One other option would be to have the current nib ground to your liking.

I called Fort Worth after I made the post because I figure it wouldn't hurt to have more information. The ambassador, that's what they call the customer service reps there, emailed me a form to fill out and mail back with my pen. She said that it would cost between $200-$400 depending on which Writer's Edition it was and the condition of the nib and that they could not tell me unless someone inspects it. I also asked her what they would do if that specific nib was no longer available and she said that that situation comes up alot because Montblanc makes alot of specific nibs for specific models, and under that situation that they would just make the nib I request.

 

Also, she mentioned that the $40 service charge would be waived because I called them directly and that it would only be charged if I went through a boutique.

 

Thank you for reply they confirmed what you suggested.

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I’d take it into your local boutique and give it to them. They will sent it to Hamberg and then contact you when it is ready to be collected. This is what I did last year when I change the nib in my Wilde and had them repair the nib on my Proust.

Thanks for your reply. I called Fort Worth after I made this post and because I wanted to see if they were open to the public because I live closer to there than any other boutique.

 

They emailed me a form to fill out and mail back with the pen. They would mail it to Hamburg after I confirm that I wanted the work done. By the way, they said that if I didn't want the work done after finding out the estimate, that they would mail me back the pen at no charge. The cost would be $200-$400 depending on the model and the condition. i'm going to call a few more people to confirm what the rep said. You know how these companies work. Sometimes the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing.

 

Fyi, the rep said that she would waive the $40 charge because it was going to the service center directly and not via a boutique. So maybe you can confirm with the boutique on future services.

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I use a boutique all the time. I think the $35 or $40 inspection charge is a bluff as I have never been charged. But maybe they charge now since it used to be free and they probably got a lot of pens for authentication from folks worried they bought fakes. Anyhow, if I elected to do the work it was never charged. And sending it from the boutique meant no shipping fees for me and the risk of mm loss was on MB.

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A month ago I had my son, who lives in FW, take one of my pens to the service center in FW for a nib exchange. They would not take it from him and directed him to the boutique in Dallas...

That's weird. Did he ask them if it was possible to ship it to them because I did ask the rep if I could just drop it off and she told me that it wasn't open to the public and that i should definitely send the pen in. This was after she said that she would email me a form to send in with the pen.

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I use a boutique all the time. I think the $35 or $40 inspection charge is a bluff as I have never been charged. But maybe they charge now since it used to be free and they probably got a lot of pens for authentication from folks worried they bought fakes. Anyhow, if I elected to do the work it was never charged. And sending it from the boutique meant no shipping fees for me and the risk of mm loss was on MB.

How much did the nib exchange cost you and what model/models did you send in?

 

I wonder if it is one of those charges that the reps have a lot of leeway with. Most luxury brands would have that to give their customers a perception of exclusivity.

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Right, the Fort Worth service center doesn't deal directly with customers. You should take your Dumas to the boutique at NorthPark. As Chrissy said, you will need documentation of purchase from an authorized dealer to get a free nib exchange.

I would definitely have to pay for it because I didn't buy it from a boutique or an authorized dealer if they have those for Montblanc.

 

In the email form that they sent me it does suggest to bring the pen to the nearest dealer as the preferable choice but if there aren't any near by they instructed me to mail it to Fort Worth.

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scout around and see what they can do and what it costs....

 

who are these people insisting on changing nibs?

 

have never thought of it once for over 60 pens, except for screwing in a new nib for my Pelikan 800

I only recently discovered the Writer's Edition and I didn't get a chance to buy one at a Montblanc boutique. i actually didn't know that they still past models available, and only found out later. So I purchased mine off of Ebay and it seems like most of them have medium nibs.

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