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Hi everyone, I've received a MB 146 today, and I'm experiencing strange noises what I can't detect the source of. Here is a little vid about it: http://youtu.be/o9ciL6JGfW0 Any thoughts on this? FWIW Nib is 14k, the feed is like this one: The cap opens/closes with half a turn. This was a surprise for me after my Legrand.

Let me preface this by saying I am a newcomer to this forum. In my short time on this board I have gained an amazing amount of knowledge by researching the posts of those who have shared their experiences and knowledge. I thank you all for sharing, and totally blame you for causing the re-occurrence of my once-dormant OCD addiction for fountain pens. After 28 years of fairly constant use, my beloved MB146 developed the dreaded collar leak. For the purposes of this story we shall call my MB 146 Penelope. On August 19 I sent Penelope off to MBNA in Fort Worth for a spa treatment. The following day I subscribed to FPN and read both good and bad experiences by MB owners regarding the quality of MBNA repairs and the time those repairs required. I began to wonder if I had made a wise decision. So this is me beginning a thread to communicate my experience with an MBNA repair. Your mileage may vary. Yesterday, August 29, 2013, I received my estimate from MBNA $53 for parts and labor, including piston replacement and nib adjustment. $10 for return shipping and handling. In my opinion, $63 total cost is a reasonable price in 2013 dollars, if the work is done well. It took ten days from the time I sent the pen (shipped UPS Ground August 19 from Southwest Florida) until I received the mailed written estimate. In my world that is an acceptable response time for a multi-national company's repair service, given that at least half of those ten days may have been time-in-transit by the USPS and UPS. Yesterday afternoon, the same day I received the estimate, I called MBNA to authorize and pay for the repair. The young lady at MBNA who took my credit card information was very knowledgeable and pleasant. She may or may not have been in Fort Worth, but this was obviously not her first MB fountain pen repair rodeo. She went through the repair process with me and advised repairs would take one week and I should have the pen back in my ink-stained fingers within two weeks. (OK, she didn't really say "ink-stained fingers".) Stay tuned, boys and girls, for the further thrilling adventures of "Penelope at the Montblanc Spa"...

Recently I've been thinking a lot about windows. No, not those windows....I mean ink windows. When I first started my FP obsession, I never noticed them before---being too busy being awed by the wide array of nibs, finishes, and shapes of fountain pens. But now that things have calmed down (somewhat), I realize that I really like them. They're simple, functional, pretty things that remind me of stained glass when you hold them up to the light. They're not as blatant as, say, demonstrators (a personal dislike of mine), but petite, light, and floaty. And so useful, too! My MB 146 has a lovely blue striped window, and I'm currently hunting down a vintage Aurora 88 after seeing a picture of it (& its window) in someone's daily carry on FPGeeks. I know the modern 88 has a nice window too, as well as some Pelikans...(not talking about the tortoise ones, which have semi-transparent barrels...that's a rather different type of "window" than the ones I'm thinking of). Anyways, the point of this thread is, what do you feel about ink windows? And can you recommend any more pen models with them so I can Google image for some eye candy?

I am delighted with how Montblanc has serviced first my Boheme last year and now my 146 in gold, which is a decade old. I have what is, in effect, a new pen for £39. The blind cap was pretty loose and the flow was impaired and it looked rather grubby. Not now. And such courtesy at the Montblanc boutique at Westfield Shepherd's Bush in London. I would post an image but the pen is sitting snugly in a grey Montblanc pouch in a sealed black Montblanc envelope in a Montblanc bag together with a catalogue which the chap there gave to me. I will have to take the pen out one day and will post images then. I also saw and held the Einstein Limited Edition 3000 FP and am most sorely tempted. It's a solid piece of work and the formulae etched on the barrel are exquisite.

This got a bit long winded sorry... Introduction: I wanted find a better pen, a pen I could love as much as my P51s. I have been collecting fountain pens on and off since I was 16 and I have had a few modern Montblancs: couple 144s including a solitaire with the Barley pattern, as well as a 146 from the 90s. They are nice pens and while they had some character none of them became “must-haves” in my collection. I wanted something better and with the help of this forum I purchased a Montblanc 146 from the early 50s. Appearance and Design: As an owner of a modern 146 the first thing I noticed was that this pen is a bit shorter than a modern 146. I would not consider it to be oversized in any way; it is very comfortable, slightly shorter and thicker than a Parker 51. The proportions of this pen are nicer to my eye than that of the longer skinnier modern 146. The rings are a closer together and the branding is crisper and deeper than what you find on the modern version. The design is a clean and quiet classic. I can’t really fault it for anything. 10/10 Construction & Quality: The pen is very well made. The trim, even though 60 years old, looks nicer and more substantial than the trim on a modern 146. It is still a plastic pen but it has a great shine to it. This pen has a celluloid body that is supposedly stronger than the injection molded resin pens. It also has a two stage filing system that is a beautiful piece of engineering, likely discontinued to save costs. 8/10 Weight & Dimensions: This pen is not particularly heavy which is great for long writing sessions. As I mentioned above it is shorter than a new 146. The grip is slightly thicker than a standard P51. The one thing I don’t like about this pen is that posting the cap is a bit difficult. It will post straight if you give it a bit of pressure otherwise it will sit crooked which I find to be a bit annoying as I don’t like posting a cap with any force (this is not an issue I have with modern 144s and 146s). I have smaller hands and writing with the cap not posted is perfectly comfortable for me. 9/10 Nib & Performance: I bought this pen because it was supposed to have a superb nib. It has a fine two-tone 14C nib, which is larger and shapelier than its modern counterpart. The pen also features the flat ebonite “ski-slope” style feed. The nib is smooth with some flex and offers more feedback than the modern MBs I have used. The line is relatively wet with some noticeable line variation. I have left this pen with the cap off for over 30 minutes a couple times now and it has always started without skipping. This nib functions nearly as well as my P51 with the added benefit of some flex. 10/10 Filing System & Maintenance: This pen uses a two-stage piston filling system. I found it a bit strange to use at first, not understanding its design as the transition from the first to the second stage felt a bit jarring. Member fountainbel has provided a drawing here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/211729-vintage-mb-telescopic-pistons/page__p__2207740&do=findComment&comment=2207740 The piston uses cork, which still works without issue in my pen but I would imagine this is not as durable as a synthetic. This pen also features a pinstriped ink view window like the modern version. 7/10 Cost & Value: I have seen prices for early 50’s 146s in black celluloid range from $500-$900. I purchased mine for about $600. I was too impatient to wait around for a cheaper one to come up for sale. For a second hand 146 this pen is not cheap; a modern 146 can be had for around $200. Can you find a pen as good as this for less money? Yes, I think you can. I have Parker 51s and Conway Stewarts that cost under $100 that are just as nice to write with, the fit and finish doesn’t compare but the performance is near equal. 6/10 Conclusion: I have tried to be as objective as possible but let’s face it, this isn’t some white good like a toaster, it’s a vintage fountain pen, it has character and I love it. This pen was made when a Montblanc was a Montblanc. I use it as a daily writer and I will likely buy another when the right deal comes along. Final score