montblanc franz kafka

[davyr]

ah, montblanc. that 9 letter name has been the topic of so many heated debates and flame wars on the net. montblanc - white mountain - 4810 meters high. that famous, ubiquitous snowflake logo (or as richard b calls it, the "bird splat.") love it or hate it, montblanc, with it's mega-buck marketing, is here to stay, permeating our day to day life. what started as a simple german pen company is now a lifestyle arbiter. it's lavish boutiques sell not only pens, but other dee-lux items one simply cannot live the fabulous life w/o - leather goods such as wallets, moneyclips and briefcases, sunglasses, luxury watches, cufflinks, eau de toilette, and now, jewelry. some say (maybe rightly so) that montblanc has lost its way. that its pricey wares are no better than those costing far less lucre. and who can forget the shatter-prone "precious resin" fiasco from some years back? and who amongst up has not looked down their noses at the countless white-collar minions sporting bird splat 144 ballpoints as part of their corporate dress code? well now, dear reader, who is the snob now? are we out-snobbing the snobs? of course not! as fellow fpn'ers, i will give each and every one of us the benefit of the doubt - we can rise above this. so join me, gentle pen lovers, sans prejudice, as i present...the montblanc franz kafka fountain pen. ohh la la la la...

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franz kafka is the subject of the 2004 montblanc writers edition, limited to 18,500 examples, which stretches the meaning of the word "limited." kafka was born in prague in 1883, and died young, near vienna, of tuberculosis in 1924. he grew up a middle-class jew under the harsh glare of his father, a shopkeeper. he is famous for his novels and short stories, many dealing with paranoia, struggles with authority and bureaucracy, and feelings of being an outsider. he was adept at creating nightmarish, surrealistic, kafka-esque situations. he wrote during his spare time, toiling as a government insurance lawyer by day. he was barely recognized during his lifetime, having only published one short story. his written works were published posthumously, despite telling his friend to destroy all of his manuscripts. some famous works include "the trial," "the castle," "the judgment," and "the metamorphosis," with the famous opening sentence, "as gregor samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect."

 

like gregor samsa, the shape of the pen undergoes a metamorphosis. the cap end starts out cylindrical, transforming slowly as you travel down the pen into a squared shape. cool. the ballpoint edition does the opposite. the black resin has semi-translucent ends, which glow an eerie deep red, appropriate for the mood of the pen. the sterling silver accents lend a striking, modern look. all silver trim is simple and unadorned, except for the bird splat, which is recessed into the silver cap end. i likey, as it makes the logo less conspicuous while sitting in a shirt pocket. the clip is an elegant silver curve.

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/9606/dsc013344yc.jpghttp://img409.imageshack.us/img409/7340/dsc012997gn.jpg

 

the box is the typical writers edition box, and contains a silver polishing cloth within.

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remove the cap and you're confronted with a cockroach on the nib. despite the subject matter, it's beautifully engraved on the 18k, single color rhodium-plated nib. of the fine, medium, and broad points available, i chose the medium. the nib has some give, about average for modern pens, and the flow is above average. the feel of heavy metal to paper is exquisite. this nib is super smooth, one of my smoothest. it never skips and always starts up immediately - even after one month of neglect.

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/1813/dsc013583sz.jpghttp://img409.imageshack.us/img409/7452/dsc013684xl.jpg

 

the pen is large, but of lightweight resin. it's 14.8 cm (5 13/16") long, 13.4 cm (5 3/16") long uncapped, and about 3.6 cm (1 1/2") diameter wise at the section. the pen is well balanced unposted, but very backheavy posted. posted, the cap doesn't feel so secure, and i believe this pen was designed to remain uncapped. the section is unflared. although the nib is silky smooth, and the pen balanced and lightweight, it's not the epitomy of ergonomic writing. it's comfortable enough, just not cloud 9 :)9 comfortable. the cap unscrews in just a scoatch over one revolution.

http://img498.imageshack.us/img498/2103/dsc014242jb.jpg

 

unlike other writer series pens, this one's not a typical piston filler. it's a piston-type convertor, meaning one has to unscrew the section from the body for access. the convertor itself is substantial - metal clad, large, with cut out ink windows.

http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/8026/dsc019318ud.jpg

 

test results

 

cap and body (17/20): nice translucent black resin with striking sterling silver hardware. fit and finish exemplary

section (8/10): simple resin cylinder, some may not like the trim near the nib

nib performance (19/20): dangnabit it's smooth! (so smooth it made me cuss )

writing comfort (17/20): pretty comfortable

design (9/10): simple, sleek, modern design. nice departure for montblanc

value (7/10): purchased for a little less than $600, so ok value. retail not worth it. not really a limited pen as there are 18,499 others.

filling system (7/10): substantial convertor - larger capacity and better build quality than a typical cc

total: 84/100 (100 would be the perfect pen, which as you & i know, doesn't exist, unless of course you think otherwise, but then pray tell)

 

http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/7408/dsc013912gq.jpg

 

the montblanc kafka is one heck of a pen. as a writer, it performs marvelously, capable of holding it's own against many other high end companies. no, it's not a great value, but that's not it's raison d'être. many words could be inputted regarding branding and marketing, but i'll leave it to others (i'm tired). it's interesting to note the different perceptions of various brands in europe (in this case, specifically germany), north america, and elsewhere. as students, many germans use cheapo pelikan and faber castells, and find it strange that americans regards those brands highly (i.e. on par w/montblanc). (no flame wars, please, i love my pelikans too). this also pertains to cars, e.g. bmw and audi are both equally well regarded in europe, yet audi is relatively unknown and unseen in america, c/w bmw.

 

owning only one mb does not a montblanc expert make. but i'm wholly and surprisingly satisfied, despite all the negative hype hovering around the snowflake.

i'll happily purchase a 149 in the future. now, i just need to be strong enough to resist buying the proust, hemingway, jules verne...

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http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/7190/dsc012563jv.th.jpg next review, namiki yukari nightline...

Edited December 26, 2005 by davyr

[inkyfingers]

Nice review, nice pen!

[PaulK]

Very nicely done review...and beautiful pen ('bird splat' or not).

[tntaylor]

That Kafka is one sweet pen. I used to merely like the idea of the pen, but after reading your review, after looking at those pictures, I truly want one. Your close-ups are fantastic. I feel seduced over to the dark side!

 

t!

[Bryan]

I really like the idea of taking the LE design and continuing it onto the nib of the LE writing instrument. Too many companys simple slap a regular production nib onto their LEs. Not so with Montblanc...

 

Bryan

[Blade Runner]

I really like the idea of taking the LE design and continuing it onto the nib of the LE writing instrument. Too many companys simple slap a regular production nib onto their LEs. Not so with Montblanc...

 

Bryan

I agree with that Bryan.

If one is paying extra for a limited edition, it would be nice to have something other than a different color/pattern scheme.

 

Jeen

[Blade Runner]

Beautiful review and pen Dave.

I had no idea about the different cap and barrel shape. Neat!

Would love to see a photo of that filling mechanism.

 

Cheers,

Jeen

[emrecan]

Hi Dave

Thanks for the review and great pics.Its cool looking pen and you got a nice deal.Normal LE prices are mad!!!!

 

Take Care

Emrecan

[davyr]

thanks for the kind words everyone. glad you enjoyed the review.

 

I feel seduced over to the dark side!

search your feelings, t...your longing for the pen creates a wrinkle in the force, which can only be assuaged by a purchase!

 

Would love to see a photo of that filling mechanism.

hey, presto! your wish is my command. blurry convertor pic now added to the review...sorry, was the best shot i could take before my batteries died.

[TheNobleSavage]

I am not too crazy with the design of the barrel and cap. I do like the material used and the nib is just "Crazy Cool"!!! The converter seems to hold a ton more ink than the standard converter. It seems that it writes very nice and a wonderful review!!

 

TNS

[gylyf]

Thanks for the great review. That's a really nice pen, and the nicest of the writers' series, IMHO.

By the way, the famous bird splat is actually not a snowflake, but rather the snowcap of a mountain as you look down upon it (Mont Blanc literally means white peak, hence the name of the mountain). And that's my pedantic moment for the week, sorry. Thanks again...

David

[winedoc]

Another Great review! One of the good thing about FPN is that the reviews are excellent and they don't disappear. Kudos to all.

 

Kev

[Maja]

he was adept at creating nightmarish, surrealistic, kafka-esque situations.

 

What a super review, Dave--thank you so much!

The Kafka LE has a lovely red glint to it, I see.... ....

[petra]

Thanks for the great review! Pretty thorough, so I'm not going to write one of my own, but I will add a few additional thoughts...

 

The silver trim on this pen is just exactly right. I usually go for gold trim on a pen, but with the dark glowing red conveying the mood, it just has to be silver!

 

The review mentions "...not the epitome of ergonomic comfort..." Although the pen is larger than I expected it to be, it's not the weight, balance or shape that is a problem in any way. However, I find the section to be just a tiny bit too wide in diameter to be totally comfortable for my smaller hands. I always notice it when I first pick up the pen to write.

 

The tactile feel of the section kept reminding me of something, a faint deja-vu... and then I realized: the Kafka section is very similar in width ( mabe 1 mm wider) & shape to my Pilot Varsity. The Kafka section needs to have a slightly better "finger-friendly" profile.

 

I really love this pen -- the design, the concept, and especially the writing experience. The medium nib is really terrific, and the pen always starts up immediately. Although it initially freaked me out to spend so much money on a pen, I couldn't be happier!

 

Petra

 

[georges zaslavsky]

It is a nice pen and enjoy it

[Dan Carmell]

One little note: the filling system isn't really a converter, per se, as it is not removeable. It's simply an internal piston filler, , accessed by opening the barrel, much like the aremetric filler of the Parker 51 is accessed.

 

Great review and much better photos than I was able to take of my Kafka!

 

Dan

[brutalbassman]

[handlebar]

The Kafka is one of the few pens by MB i admire.The design is stunning as is the colour.

Thanks for the review.

 

JD

[Mike S.]

Very nice review, and great photos. I've been thinking about nabbing one of these at some point (I was a German lit major in college) -- together with the Jules Verne, it is one of my favorite MB Writer's Editions.

 

Mike

[grombabeu]

If I buy a Montblanc (except the 221 I had for nothing or so) one day, it will definitley be this one !

Thank you for the review !