Jump to content

Quantity Or Quality?


TripleOne

Recommended Posts

Dear FPN members,

 

I am about to complete my degree and I would like to treat myself to a nice writing instrument.

I am considering these fountain pens:

 

- MB Blue Hour Solitaire

- MB Le Petit Prince "Gold Trim" Holiday Set

- MB 146 Platinum

- MB 146 Yellow Gold

- Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age

- MB Patron of Art Ludwig II 4810

 

I currently own four 146s (Platinum, Unicef, 90th, and Ultra Black). I already have the Visconti Homo Sapiens and I love it so much that I'd like another. I could get the Visconti, and maybe two more 146s, or even the Solitaire. That's a total of 2-3 really good writing instruments. On the other hand, I could get the Patron of Art Ludwig II 4810. I respect Ludwig II, and I love the history, the castle, and the detailing on the fountain pen is extraordinary.

 

What are your thoughts on this?

Should I get a few fountain pens that are very nice, or go for the home run?

 

Thank you for reading this post and taking your time to reply.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 25
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • TripleOne

    5

  • kandarp

    3

  • Pravda

    2

  • siamackz

    2

You seem to like your MB 146s. The best writing 146s are those from the 1950s. They are celluloid pens and just way better than present Montblancs. When I learned this I promptly bought two of them, a Fine and an OB.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You seem to like your MB 146s. The best writing 146s are those from the 1950s. They are celluloid pens and just way better than present Montblancs. When I learned this I promptly bought two of them, a Fine and an OB.

 

In what way(s) are 1950s 146s better than the modern version (serious question because I'd like to know the basis for the claim)?

Edited by oPENbooks
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sure other members will chime in here. There are brass parts in these pens. The nibs are nicely flexible unlike modern nail nibs. Both of my 50s 146s write better than any of my pens, Pelikans some with custom nibs, Sailors some with custom nibs, Pilots and Platinums.

In addition, I have several Montblancs, two 344Gs , 75th anniversery 146, Platinum 149, An 14, 32, (2 )145s, a 144, and a 75th Anniversery 147.

Edited by Claud
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I prefer quality over quantity. Some people come to this same conclusion after amassing a large quantity and realizing they cannot use so many pens and they realize they could have had a quality pen they really wanted instead of a lot of mm pens they hardly or never use.

 

I still but a fair number of pens, but I will eventually reduce my collection to just those quality pens that represent something unique for me.

If you want less blah, blah, blah and more pictures, follow me on Instagram!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I prefer quality over quantity. Some people come to this same conclusion after amassing a large quantity and realizing they cannot use so many pens and they realize they could have had a quality pen they really wanted instead of a lot of mm pens they hardly or never use.

 

I still but a fair number of pens, but I will eventually reduce my collection to just those quality pens that represent something unique for me.

 

I'm inclined to agree with you. I have a small collection of 149s, a Parker Duofold (it has the best writing nib of any pen I own), a Platinum and some MB Rollerballs and Ballpoints. One excellent FP would be sufficient, to be honest. But amassing these things is addictive!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would get the Blue Hour Solitaire with a unique nib such as OBB or BB. I also love the Visconti HS bronze age. Have 2 of the HS Bronze finish with different nibs. My collection started with MB 146 pens of all ranges and styles. Now I prefer quality and as such have started liquidating some of my duplicates. It also seems you rather like the Ludwig. Perhaps that one ... with an interesting nib. If you don't have the HS bronze yet, I would do that one first as they are great everyday pens. I don't know ... tough decision 😯

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

you seem to be doing quite well on your own.

 

Try to get to a show or a MB botique and take a few for a test drive

penfancier1915@hotmail.com

 

Tom Heath

 

Peace be with you . Hug your loved ones today

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I prefer quality over quantity. Some people come to this same conclusion after amassing a large quantity and realizing they cannot use so many pens and they realize they could have had a quality pen they really wanted instead of a lot of mm pens they hardly or never use.

 

I still but a fair number of pens, but I will eventually reduce my collection to just those quality pens that represent something unique for me.

This is precisely where I am right now :( I wish I had better sense at the outset but maybe this was the only way to learn. I am in the process of consolidating my collection because too many average pens are just sitting around and I would much rather have a few amazing pens that could be inked more often

My Vintage Montblanc Website--> link

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's exactly what I'm doing too. I spent too much time, effort and money chasing down 'average pens', most of which I don't use.

 

This is precisely where I am right now :( I wish I had better sense at the outset but maybe this was the only way to learn. I am in the process of consolidating my collection because too many average pens are just sitting around and I would much rather have a few amazing pens that could be inked more often

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you ask me to choose from these 6, I would go with Patron of Art Ludwig II 4810.

 

but hey, you can have both quantity and quality.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This particular POA is not my cup of tea, so I am not biased towards it. Nevertheless, looking at your actual collection, it would surely represent a more “divergent”, and someway enriching addition. On the other side, it would also open the dangerous door of “above average” pens, which is a difficult door to close once disclosed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So which one are you getting?

 

I ended up getting all of them... :P

But I did avoid getting another Visconti HS.

 

This particular POA is not my cup of tea, so I am not biased towards it. Nevertheless, looking at your actual collection, it would surely represent a more “divergent”, and someway enriching addition. On the other side, it would also open the dangerous door of “above average” pens, which is a difficult door to close once disclosed.

 

Thank you!

That is so true.. I need to be more strict.

Edited by TripleOne
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

Announcements


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...