What Makes The Montblanc 149 Special Other Than Its Size?

[georges zaslavsky]

I have six vintage MB149's and they are fantastic writers and also have three or four vintage MB 146's, they are great writers too. The nib, the relaibility and the filling system are what makes the difference.

[taike]

I've been following this thread to dip into the MB mindset and as part of research for a review I'm working on.

 

Over on reddit I ran across a post that expresses a valuable perspective on this pen. Maybe you've seen it. If not, it's worth a read.

[Freddy]

It Ain't......................

Redactin' Re above "worth a read".....'Tis of course my personal opinion and yours has..will differ.

Still your friend and mine,

Fred

Bad Moon Rising.....C.C.R.

Edited August 5, 2019 by Freddy

[Intensity]

I've been following this thread to dip into the MB mindset and as part of research for a review I'm working on.

 

Over on reddit I ran across a post that expresses a valuable perspective on this pen. Maybe you've seen it. If not, it's worth a read.

Thank you for sharing that post and discussion. I am of the same opinion that fountain pens in this day and age have transitioned from simple writing utensils to objects of subjective sentimental value. How much subjective value a particular pen might have is subject to many factors and is particular to each individual. When one spends more than $20 (or even $5) on any pen, they are paying for sentimental value. I.e. a cheap ballpoint or gel pen will do the job, and if one wants to dabble in calligraphy for personalized letters, art stores sell cheap dip nib supplies. Somehow Montblanc has achieved the association of financial and/or career success with its brand—justified or not. For more involved hobbyists new layers of curiosity are added by the mystique surrounding the Montblanc nibs and nib grinds.

[samasry]

It Ain't......................

Redactin' Re above "worth a read".....'Tis of course my personal opinion and yours has..will differ.

Still your friend and mine,

Fred

Bad Moon Rising.....C.C.R.

Some folks are born with MontBlanc in hand

Lord, don't they help themselves, oh

But when the taxman comes to the door

Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no millionaire's son, no

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate one, no

C.C.R

Edited August 6, 2019 by salmasry

[Karmachanic]

Thank you for sharing that post and discussion. I am of the same opinion that fountain pens in this day and age have transitioned from simple writing utensils to objects of subjective sentimental value.

 

For more involved hobbyists new layers of curiosity are added by the mystique marketing surrounding the Montblanc nibs and nib grinds.

 

Fixed it !

 

As one who started using fountain pens some sixty years ago I can definitely say my handful of pens are writing utensils.

[Intensity]

 

Fixed it !

 

As one who started using fountain pens some sixty years ago I can definitely say my handful of pens are writing utensils.

You might want to think that... but here you are on a fountain pen forum, discussing fountain pens It definitely implies you put a lot more thought and sentimental value into your fountain pen supplies than simply thinking of them as writing utensils.

[txomsy]

I didn't want to get into this, although I've followed the thread. IMMHO:

 

From my point of view, nowadays, what makes it so special is only marketing. I got one when I finished my PhD. As I remember it, in those times it was already an "expensive" pen, but not much (85-100 EUR of today accounting for inflation). Current prices are ludicrous by all means.

 

Let me explain, and at the same time, answer the full question.

 

What made MB pens (of which the 149 is just an example) special was that, at the time, they were better yet somewhat more expensive than others, and most middle class people could get one, or be given one as a present.

 

I have a 146 that belonged to my father, a primary school teacher, since, I think, he graduated. In a post-WWII depressed Country, where teachers where in the lowest end of middle class, some would say lowest class, in income. I remember him telling me that in his first job he would go out with the village priest on Sundays to hunt a hare so they could eat any meat during the week.

 

My mother, another primary school teacher, had another 146. That they have survived so many years of writing, grading, correcting student's works and correspondence, tells you about their quality. I can attest how many other brand pens I have broken over the years.

 

There were also lower priced models, middle and lower range, and school pens. And not only "precious resin", but also in other materials, and a lot of "affordable" ones. As I remember it, most people who did a lot of writing usually preferred to use an MB. Seeing someone with an MB told you about a professional that minded quality, conspicuousness, sober looks and preferred to make one expensive buy once, that would last a lifetime, over flashyness or fashion. Those who wanted to show off their financial wealth would despise the MB and look for a Rolex and flashy, showy Cartier or other luxury pens in precious metals and jewels. This was in Europe, so maybe in the US it wasn't so.

 

Thing is, when these technically savvy, knowledgeable workers succeeded, they would stick to their trusty old tools for everyday use. They might still get a showy pen and a gold Rolex for display, but would work with their trusty old MB. You could see them with the showy pen on occasions, but you would see them with their MB always.

 

With Ballpoint, Felt-tip, rollerball pens and computers people stopped buying FPs, the image left was that the 146-149 were the EDC pens "attached" to successful professionals and managers. And anybody who wanted to be perceived as such started to look for an MB, specially an LE to draw attention. Not because it was a trusty, lifetime tool, that would accompany them throughout their professional life, but because they thought that if they were seen with one, they would get the same recognition as those seasoned, admired, successful professionals, technicians and managers. Which is what modern MB caters for. Vanity. That is what you pay for.

 

So, is it special or not? It certainly was until the 90's, while they still maintained a range of excellent writing tools at excellent prices. I would have taken a 146/149 before any Pelikan, Parker, Waterman or Shaeffer. As they reduce their offer to luxury, vanity products, frozen mostly on ancient designs, they also reduce their functional value (after all, if most people do not buy them for their functional value, why add functionality beyond that necessary to "justify" the vanity, price and purchase?).

 

Yes, I have my father's 146, and my PhD 149. Both are plastic (precious resin). But what you would see me with every single day for the last 30 years is actually my metal slimline/noblesse (never knew which it was) always on a shirt or jeans pocket. It was less expensive (today, accounting for inflation, it would be sub-$100). It is more discrete and easy to pass unnoticed. And has endured abuse no 146 or 149 would ever take. And it is no longer made.

 

Does it mean that if you want to look like a "World-Class Successful Professional" you must get a Slimline/Noblesse now? Judging by the evolution of their prices lately, it seems some people are starting to think so.

 

Does it mean that the 149 or any other MB are "special" and better from the point of view of someone who values efficiency over presumption? I wouldn't know. I got a few 2^nd-hand Slimlines recently (for my sons), but I suspect that modern Kaweco AL/Brasss/Copper pens might be better value, and they are available. I do also suspect that much as I prime the sentimental value of my 146 and rarely use it (though my parents did every day), my sons may also keep their Slimlines and use something else.

 

From another point of view: MB were pens for people that wanted functional pens to last a lifetime. In my parent's time, it was a clerical item and the 146/149 was their pen. I made a decision to have a more active life and wear my pen everywhere, the steel Slimline was my pen. But I don't see MB making the functional pen for my sons' lifes. And that makes me sad.

 

It is a sad tale indeed. Maybe 30 years from now, people will go crazy around looking for patina-aged brass Sports or copper Liliputs because that is what winners cherish. Or -shrug- cheap Jinhaos. Jeez! Vanity!

Edited August 6, 2019 by txomsy

[txomsy]

If you were long-time computing experts it would be easier to explain.

 

A 149 is like a Macintosh. It was the computer of the '80s, orders of magnitude better than any IBM-PC or clone, the computer for the rest of us. It enabled you to do things way more efficiently than any PC. It was more expensive, but the quality and performance-price ratio justified extensively its use among savvy professionals.

 

Those Pro.'s and their Co.'s that got into Macintosh would be much more efficient than those that got a PC. They succeeded faster. And soon everybody identified Apple with success (at least in several key industries, specially Marketing and Design, but also R+D).

 

Then Apple increased its prices. The Macintosh became a vanity product. The price-performance ratio was no longer as good, but people stuck to the perception of success=Apple.

 

Then they repeated the same with the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad...

 

Is it better an iPhone than a Nokia, Ericsson, Samsung, Huawei or Xiaomi? When the iPhone appeared first on the market, there was no doubt, it was better than any other phone of the time. Nowadays, a thread on it would be as long as one on modern MB pens.

[Uncial]

All of those reasons could be used in relation to Visconti, the new incarnations of Omas, Montegrappa, Dunhill, Sailor's limited editions and various kinds of specials. So often threads like this talk as if Montblanc are the only pens which ask an exorbitant price. I can't argue that it's not horribly expensive, but it is odd that people complain about this in relation to Montblanc when there are so many other brands which make Montblanc look like a bargain, yet nobody ever starts threads about the value of Visconti's (for instance). Is it simply that they don't have a lower priced entry level pen range?

[txomsy]

Right you are. I suppose that it's only because the OP asked about the MB 149.

[como]

Pen making is tough business. Everyone wants robustly built body, nibs with personality, stunning material and worthy filling systems. When you put all these together and spend the marketing budget to get the pens to the market, they say it's too expensive and not worth the price!

[Thymen]

Oh my, how sour these grapes are...

[Karmachanic]

You might want to think that... but here you are on a fountain pen forum, discussing fountain pens It definitely implies you put a lot more thought and sentimental value into your fountain pen supplies than simply thinking of them as writing utensils.

 

You are free to infer whatever you wish!

[como]

Assuming that you are referring to my comments. They weren't meant to be sour grapes, but a perspective from pen makers. I imagine that life as a pen user is still a lot easier than a commercial pen maker. Already quite a few went bust. My comments have more to do with the difficulty of striking the right balance with limited resources. I am just a pen user, but I do think about how challenging things can be from the business side.

 

Oh my, how sour these grapes are...

[samasry]

Assuming that you are referring to my comments. They weren't meant to be sour grapes, but a perspective from pen makers. I imagine that life as a pen user is still a lot easier than a commercial pen maker. Already quite a few went bust. My comments have more to do with the difficulty of striking the right balance with limited resources. I am just a pen user, but I do think about how challenging things can be from the business side.

 

 

It is a low probability that he was referring to your comments.

Edited August 6, 2019 by salmasry

[Thymen]

Nah, don't mean anything bad. I just wanted to indicate there are many different ways of looking at things. Maybe, even likely, you are right when you say that marketing lures us into buying things we either don't need, are overpriced or both. But not always..

 

I spent quite some money on pens and inks the past year and a half, but less then I would have spent on a single holiday. I have many reasons, but showing off is not one of them. On the contrary: most time people ridicule me for using fountain pens. And if they find out I spent € 100,-- or more on a single pen, they think I am crazy.

 

What got me started is the fountain pen my grandfather bought when he was a young man, in the year of 1920 or so. After WWII, my father was in a military hospital, and in the year and a half he needed to recover from his injuries nobody was able to visit him. To far away, too expensive. My grandfather had been a forced laborer in Germany during the war, suffered a lot over there and when he finally came home after war ended, he was too weak to earn a decent living. So, no money to visit his son in hospital.

 

But every other Saturday he would go to the local grocery store and buy a few loose sheets of letter paper, and have his fountain pen filled from a large bottle of ink. And he would write a letter to my father. Stamp-free envelopes were supplied by the military.

 

I never knew my grandfather. I so much wish I had. He died just a few years after the war, broken by the hardships he suffered in Germany. But they did not break his spirit. He was adored by the people around him, for being a most kindhearted and gentle person, even to those who did him so very wrong.

 

I've been told, by people that knew him the best, that I look just like him, both in appearance and in character. I feel honored by that, and even more wish I could have known him.

 

The fountain pen my grandfather used, and the letters he and my father wrote, they are here with me. I won't use that pen, even though I could. It needs restoration, but I am anxious to have it done. Don't want to have it ruined.

 

So I bought a pen myself, over 20 years ago. To be given to my eldest son, together with my grandfather's pen and the letters, after I am gone. A Shaeffer Grand Connoisseur. Last year I bought another pen, a Montblanc 146, for my youngest son. Both are quality pens that will last a long time, or at least long enough. And I use these pens; they are intended to be given used, half-worn, and not Mint-In-Box. And with the letters I am going to write to my children, once my hand-writing has improved enough to be legible.

 

I scoured the Internet a long, long time for pens that were classic in appearance, and of the best quality. And I found that Montblanc to be what I was looking for, just like the Shaeffer that I found in a pen store when these were still common. So I bought them. For personal reasons. Not for showing of...

Edited August 6, 2019 by Thymen

[Aysedasi]

I have two 149's. Love them to look at, but neither rank in my top 20 of the fountain pens I own for their writing pleasure. I love large pens and go back to both of them every few months thinking, 'They're MB 149s, I must love them and they must be superior writers' but for me, the simple fact is that they're not, Both have a bit of age, one I believe is about 30 years old, the other probably 15-20 (not that I'm an expert at all). I so wan't to really like them, but for me, a pen can only be as good as it writes. I hang on to them because I somehow feel as though I have to have one, but the reality is I will probably let them both go eventually. Maybe I'll even get a modern one and see how that performs....

Edited August 6, 2019 by Aysedasi

[Freddy]

Outstanding read..Thank you.

Fred

Estate planning portability

Lives

On

Under

The TCJA

[samasry]

Nah, don't mean anything bad. I just wanted to indicate there are many different ways of looking at things. Maybe, even likely, you are right when you say that marketing lures us into buying things we either don't need, are overpriced or both. But not always..

 

I spent quite some money on pens and inks the past year and a half, but less then I would have spent on a single holiday. I have many reasons, but showing off is not one of them. On the contrary: most time people ridicule me for using fountain pens. And if they find out I spent € 100,-- or more on a single pen, they think I am crazy.

 

What got me started is the fountain pen my grandfather bought when he was a young man, in the year of 1920 or so. After WWII, my father was in a military hospital, and in the year and a half he needed to recover from his injuries nobody was able to visit him. To far away, too expensive. My grandfather had been a forced laborer in Germany during the war, suffered a lot over there and when he finally came home after war ended, he was too weak to earn a decent living. So, no money to visit his son in hospital.

 

But every other Saturday he would go to the local grocery store and buy a few loose sheets of letter paper, and have his fountain pen filled from a large bottle of ink. And he would write a letter to my father. Stamp-free envelopes were supplied by the military.

 

I never knew my grandfather. I so much wish I had. He died just a few years after the war, broken by the hardships he suffered in Germany. But they did not break his spirit. He was adored by the people around him, for being a most kindhearted and gentle person, even to those who did him so very wrong.

 

I've been told, by people that knew him the best, that I look just like him, both in appearance and in character. I feel honored by that, and even more wish I could have known him.

 

The fountain pen my grandfather used, and the letters he and my father wrote, they are here with me. I won't use that pen, even though I could. It needs restoration, but I am anxious to have it done. Don't want to have it ruined.

 

So I bought a pen myself, over 20 years ago. To be given to my eldest son, together with my grandfather's pen and the letters, after I am gone. A Shaeffer Grand Connoisseur. Last year I bought another pen, a Montblanc 146, for my youngest son. Both are quality pens that will last a long time, or at least long enough. And I use these pens; they are intended to be given used, half-worn, and not Mint-In-Box. And with the letters I am going to write to my children, once my hand-writing has improved enough to be legible.

 

I scoured the Internet a long, long time for pens that were classic in appearance, and of the best quality. And I found that Montblanc to be what I was looking for, just like the Shaeffer that I found in a pen store when these were still common. So I bought them. For personal reasons. Not for showing of...

 

It is a great uplifting personal story, and gives a good sentimental motivation in your case.

However, it does not really provide justification as to why others should pay inflated prices for the MB 149.