Mont Blanc 149

[Legal Eagle]

Here is yet another review of the Mont Blanc 149. You most likely know everything about this pen already. It is a piston filler and holds alot of ink. The 149 is a fairly light pen weighing in at 33.6 grams when it is full of ink. Capped it is 5 3/4" long, uncapped it is 5 1/4" long, posted it is 6 3/4" long. This is the only pen I can post of the 3 FP's I own, I don't like posting my pens. There is a nice little ink window near the section of the pen but in all honesty it is kind of hard to tell how much ink is in the pen by looking at the ink window. The nib is a very pretty two tone deal. My nib is an extra fine but writes more like a medium-fine. Of the 3 fountain pens I own it is tied in 2nd place with my waterman exception.

 

Nib Functionality- 4/5 This nib is the least smooth of my 3 pens, but is by no means scratchy.

Nib Esthetics- 4/5 Very pretty nib and is large to fit the size of the pen.

Flow- 5/5 No problems with flow. It starts up right away every time I go to use it, even after sitting for a couple of days. Im very lucky though, as all of my pens are quite reliable.

Filling System- 5/5 The piston fill system is in my opinion the best of them all.

Cost- 3/5 Considering that this pen is made out of plastic and cost almost exactly the same as my waterman exception which is made of platinum and laquer I have docked points from the cost score.

 

Total- 21/25

 

Here are some pictures I took yesterday.

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn249/LegalEagle14/Picture007.jpg

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn249/LegalEagle14/Picture008.jpg

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn249/LegalEagle14/Picture012.jpg

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn249/LegalEagle14/Picture014.jpg

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn249/LegalEagle14/Picture010.jpg

[goodguy]

Well I guess you wrote a review on the MB 149 too :ltcapd:

You really have a lot of time on your hands tonight.

 

For me this pen is the winner but its a known fact to many Mont Blanc is my favorite company and the 149 is my favorite pen of all.Sorry to see the nib isnt as good as the other two,did you thought of sending it to a nibmaster to get it smoothend ?

 

Thank you for all 3 reviews and beautiful pictures,it made my evening more interesting thats for sure.

[Legal Eagle]

Sorry to see the nib isnt as good as the other two,did you thought of sending it to a nibmaster to get it smoothend ?

 

 

Don't get me wrong the nib is not bad by any means, just a little bit toothy and not in a bad way either. It is still very enjoyable to write with and I would not want to spend 6 months away from this beauty waiting for a nibmeister to do his work. Im serious when I say that the Pasha is crazy smooth, it could make many nibs seem rough in comparison.

 

[Blade Runner]

Congrats on a great pen. I hope your 149 gives you as much writing satisfaction as mine has for many years without a problem. The MBs I own have a slight feedback (not scratchy) that I actually prefer over a slippery smooth nib, so give it a try before sending it out. You may lprefer it.

Happy writing!

[goodguy]

Im serious when I say that the Pasha is crazy smooth, it could make many nibs seem rough in comparison.

I wonder how would I like the Pasha's nib.I love of course smooth nibs but they must also give me feedback or I get bored.

Some pens (I wil refrain from saying which or this will turn ugly very fast) have very smooth nibs but they are very boring and thats why I will not buy them.

Edited April 14, 2008 by goodguy

[HDoug]

Thanks much for the review. Also, that ink mix looks interesting (in both form and content). Is it also (semi) waterproof, and does it fluoresce under UV light? If so, that could must at least be a candidate for best all-around ink!

 

Doug

[Legal Eagle]

I wonder how would I like the Pasha's nib.I love of course smooth nibs but they must also give me feedback or I get bored.

Some pens (I wil refrain from saying which or this will turn ugly very fast) have very smooth nibs but they are very boring and thats why I will not buy them.

 

I think this might be the case with my Pasha as it has a very smooth nib with little to no feedback.

 

Thanks much for the review. Also, that ink mix looks interesting (in both form and content). Is it also (semi) waterproof, and does it fluoresce under UV light? If so, that could must at least be a candidate for best all-around ink!

 

Doug

 

 

Yeah that ink is pretty great. The ink is semi waterproof. I don't have a black light to see if it will fluoresce, but you could check out my thread about it in the Inky Thoughts forum Cozumel Blue

Edited April 14, 2008 by Legal Eagle

[ilubiano]

great review.

 

Quick Q: is the creep seen on your nibs due to the blue or the nibs themselves? from the pictures it looks like pretty intense creep, but then again that might just be the way it looks in the pictures and not really the case at all.

[Legal Eagle]

great review.

 

Quick Q: is the creep seen on your nibs due to the blue or the nibs themselves? from the pictures it looks like pretty intense creep, but then again that might just be the way it looks in the pictures and not really the case at all.

 

The blue is caused by nib creep from the blue ink. It's not nearly as bad as it appears, but nib creep doesn't bother me.

[pmormack]

Doesn't MB make the nibs for Cartier pens?

 

The one thing I would question about your review is the comment about value. Specifically you call the 149 a plastic pen. Wouldn't it be better to call it a hybrid plastic and metal pen? It does have metal internal components. Also, metal and weight do not necessarily equal value. There is another discussion about this point in Writing Instruments.

 

Also, I don't believe that the Exception is made out of platinum. Isn't it just platinum plated in spots?

 

Otherwise, thank you for your comparative comments. I like the idea of all-metal pens, but they always seem to be just a little too heavy for me, but I tend to write a lot.

[georges zaslavsky]

Nice review from a classic

[Rufus]

I'm going to (soapy mouth) your collective bubble: the MB 149 is the worst FP I have owned. I currently own, and use, 36 FPs and none has been as problematic as my (former) 149: it leaked from every nook and cranny that an FP could leak from. It spent more time with MB for repair than it spent in my hands. One day, however, I was released from this purgatoryy when I dropped said FP and it broke in half; the people at MB said it couldn't be repaired. Now the sceptics among you MB-sycophants are going to say that this is not typical of MB; it's an out-lier, but my second MB, a 146, fared no better. Although this MB still takes up valuable space in my home, since SWMBO is the rightful owner, it is riddled with its own problems. My experience with MBs is limited to these two, but that's enough for me, as there are many wonderful FPs out there. And did I mention price? Every time you buy one you give succour to MB, but you are the sucker. Goodguy, you and I vehemently disagree on MBs, but we do agree on the Omas Ogiva Guilloche, so all ins not lost.

[Rufus]

I'm going to (soapy mouth) your collective bubble: the MB 149 is the worst FP I have owned. I currently own, and use, 36 FPs and none has been as problematic as my (former) 149: it leaked from every nook and cranny that an FP could leak from. It spent more time with MB for repair than it spent in my hands. One day, however, I was released from this purgatoryy when I dropped said FP and it broke in half; the people at MB said it couldn't be repaired. Now the sceptics among you MB-sycophants are going to say that this is not typical of MB; it's an out-lier, but my second MB, a 146, fared no better. Although this MB still takes up valuable space in my home, since SWMBO is the rightful owner, it is riddled with its own problems. My experience with MBs is limited to these two, but that's enough for me, as there are many wonderful FPs out there. And did I mention price? Every time you buy one you give succour to MB, but you are the sucker. Goodguy, you and I vehemently disagree on MBs, but we do agree on the Omas Ogiva Guilloche, so all ins not lost.

 

Admin., hold on for a minute here: who substituted "(soapy mouth)" for the perfectly good and inoffensive word I used. According to the OED the word "(soapy mouth)" means, inter alia, "pierce slightly; make a small hole in". Perfectly acceptable in the context in which it is used. I strongly object to such mindless censorship.

 

[Lloyd]

Rufus,

It is very unfortunate that you had such horrible experiences. However, nearly every brand has people that have suffered plenty of horrible experiences. Do a search here and you'll see this. There are plenty of unbiased well-informed FP users that enjoy MBs (including Mr. Binder). While most don't see them as the pen to end all pens, they definately make some excellent pens when their QC doesn't fail (at their prices, their QC should be far better). As to their service, I've had some excellent service but I know others have experience poor service. Once again, this can be said of all manufacturers' services- even Chartpak. Please try to not see MB nor other pen companies in such a black & white perspective.

[goodguy]

I'm going to (soapy mouth) your collective bubble: the MB 149 is the worst FP I have owned. I currently own, and use, 36 FPs and none has been as problematic as my (former) 149: it leaked from every nook and cranny that an FP could leak from. It spent more time with MB for repair than it spent in my hands. One day, however, I was released from this purgatoryy when I dropped said FP and it broke in half; the people at MB said it couldn't be repaired. Now the sceptics among you MB-sycophants are going to say that this is not typical of MB; it's an out-lier, but my second MB, a 146, fared no better. Although this MB still takes up valuable space in my home, since SWMBO is the rightful owner, it is riddled with its own problems. My experience with MBs is limited to these two, but that's enough for me, as there are many wonderful FPs out there. And did I mention price? Every time you buy one you give succour to MB, but you are the sucker. Goodguy, you and I vehemently disagree on MBs, but we do agree on the Omas Ogiva Guilloche, so all ins not lost.

Ah Bryan I like you too much to let you have it so I will do a very simple thing I will bring my MB Virginia Woolf and show you how well MB pens are.

[Rufus]

Rufus,

It is very unfortunate that you had such horrible experiences. However, nearly every brand has people that have suffered plenty of horrible experiences. Do a search here and you'll see this. There are plenty of unbiased well-informed FP users that enjoy MBs (including Mr. Binder). While most don't see them as the pen to end all pens, they definately make some excellent pens when their QC doesn't fail (at their prices, their QC should be far better). As to their service, I've had some excellent service but I know others have experience poor service. Once again, this can be said of all manufacturers' services- even Chartpak. Please try to not see MB nor other pen companies in such a black & white perspective.

 

Lloyd, your point is well taken. I have, however, been using FPs for over fifty years and my worst experiences have been with the two MBs. Of course I've had problems with other FPs, but nothing matches those I've experienced with the 146 and 149. Perhaps I'm just unlucky, but I wanted to convey my experience for balance.

 

[mturk]

About ten years ago, when I owned and collected nothing but Parker 51s, I went insane a purchased a MB149 from the green board at pentrace. I tried hard to like the pen, but it wrote like the end of a bent paper clip and I traded it for... a Parker 51 vac. Then about five years ago, I was in an "Antique Mall" and one of the vendors had an uninked 14k nibbed 149 in the box with papers intact. It had an EF nib (F to most of us) and I filled it just because. I don't think there has been a single day since that my main writer hasn't been a 149 or 146, usually that second one from the antique store. I have 4 149s of various vintage now, and 3 146s. I still collect Parker 51s, but I rarely ink them any more.

[Blade Runner]

If someone told you that a cracked in half 149 couldn't be repaired, that would be incorrect, because

MB will actually fix/replace everything but the nib for $50-60 dollars last time I checked.

If you kept the parts, you could still send it to Bethlehem and get it working. You diidn't throw away the parts I hope.

If you kept the correspondence of the MB employee who told you this falsehood, you might be able to get a free replacement.

You kept the email or letter I hope. Perhaps you could show it to us.

Edited April 15, 2008 by jeen

[Rufus]

If someone told you that a cracked in half 149 couldn't be repaired, that would be incorrect, because

MB will actually fix/replace everything but the nib for $50-60 dollars last time I checked.

If you kept the parts, you could still send it to Bethlehem and get it working. You diidn't throw away the parts I hope.

If you kept the correspondence of the MB employee who told you this falsehood, you might be able to get a free replacement.

You kept the email or letter I hope. Perhaps you could show it to us.

 

I chucked it in the bin; it was 1996 or 1997, so I haven't kept anything and this was the time before e-mail. But why should I have to put up with this when I have paid a premium price for "precious resin"? Even my Lamy Safari for one tenth the cost has performed better

Edited April 15, 2008 by Rufus

[Blade Runner]

If someone told you that a cracked in half 149 couldn't be repaired, that would be incorrect, because

MB will actually fix/replace everything but the nib for $50-60 dollars last time I checked.

If you kept the parts, you could still send it to Bethlehem and get it working. You diidn't throw away the parts I hope.

If you kept the correspondence of the MB employee who told you this falsehood, you might be able to get a free replacement.

You kept the email or letter I hope. Perhaps you could show it to us.

 

I chucked it in the bin; it was 1996 or 1997, so I haven't kept anything and this was the time before e-mail. But why should I have to put up with this when I have paid a premium price for "precious resin"? Even my Lamy Safari for one tenth the cost has performed better

 

Ooh that's too bad! The nib alone would still be worth a lot.

 

I would add that I've owned other popular modern brands with at least 3 pens of each of those brands requiring repair or adjustment, often right out of the box. Not happy about that of course, and I can empathize with your frustration. But after reading the forum long enough, one can perceive that all brands have qc issues, and despite one's own small sampling of problem pens, there are a much greater number of folks with those very same pens who have had no problems and love their pens. In regards to MB, I have had far fewer qc issues than some other brands. I wish you good luck in the future. And don't throw away anything, and get everything in writing!

Edited April 15, 2008 by jeen