Search the Community

It's that time again! Montblanc writers edition 2013: Honore de Balzac Dandy Turquoise has landed. A bit to early for a full review, but some initial thoughts and photos below. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5469/9353641584_730e95024f_z.jpgMontblanc Honore de Balzac Dandy Turquoise by Bigeddie100, on Flickr Let me begin by complaining: It is hot. >30c but still I soldered out in the sweltering heat to Birmingham to find it. The boutique received 4 bottles, they now have two left for those who are interested. Availability of MB LE inks seems to be low at first but will ramp up within a few months. On top of the heat and travelling woes, my scanner hated this colour, without tinkering with it until it was beyond recognition I could not get it to show any kind of vibrancy that the ink has on paper. As a result photos will have to suffice for now. Discussion of the pen is on the MB forum here. I was interested to learn that Balzac's works have been censored by the Vatican, Russian Federation, Spain, Canada and US as late as 1953. Interesting choice MB, makes me want to read them! On to the ink: Packaging is the same style as the previous writers edition incarnations, 35ml glass bottles, quite heavy / thick for their size. The Identity number on the bottom is 109356. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5321/9353649116_240a1e10e4_z.jpgMontblanc Honore de Balzac Dandy Turquoise by Bigeddie100, on Flickr http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5459/9353652326_e766ecd431_z.jpgMontblanc Honore de Balzac Dandy Turquoise by Bigeddie100, on Flickr Use: It has been my experience that most Montblanc inks (pre-2010 excluded) perform very well, this ink seems to be no exception. The ink flows and lubricates quite nicely, on the wet side of average. Colour is very similar to the aquamarine safari. Shading is present, but not excessive due to the light colour. No evidence of feathering but some bleed through on the copy paper, less so than the MB Diamond, about the same as MB Royal Blue which is generally quite good. Water fastness is low to non-existent. Rhodia: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2809/9350885527_810e9182c8_z.jpgMontblanc Honore de Balzac Dandy Turquoise by Bigeddie100, on Flickr 90gsm Copy paper: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7329/9353665658_1aa5e78d0b_z.jpgMontblanc Honore de Balzac Dandy Turquoise by Bigeddie100, on Flickr (bleed on copy paper) http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2822/9353667464_db1b57a18c_z.jpgMontblanc Honore de Balzac Dandy Turquoise by Bigeddie100, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3822/9353659130_6734aa5f1d_z.jpgMontblanc Honore de Balzac Dandy Turquoise by Bigeddie100, on Flickr Conclusion: I like it, one of those colours that won't be used for writing much though. As an alt colour it will serve me well against pretty much everything that I would use to write. I will be stocking up on the swift before MB runs out for writing purposes though http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3786/9353656986_041e5e4cdc_z.jpgMontblanc Honore de Balzac Dandy Turquoise by Bigeddie100, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3747/9350876867_074968b0bb_z.jpgMontblanc Honore de Balzac Dandy Turquoise by Bigeddie100, on Flickr

During the past five years or so, I have been watching for, bidding on, and losing eBay auctions for Montblanc Writers Edition Oscar Wilde ballpoint pens. For the latest Oscar Wilde ballpoint pen auction of interest to me, I bid, was outbid, and then bid again, as usual, several times during the duration of the auction. Not expecting to win, since I never have in the past, I bid once again this afternoon before taking my sister to the train station. When I checked the listing for the auction ending price a couple hours ago, I was shocked and surprised to find that I had won the auction! This has never happened before -- that is, I won the auction without any last-second bidding. In fact, my last bid was placed over two hours before the end of the auction! I had managed to buy an Oscar Wide pencil first-hand (with all papers and boxes) from a pen store a few years ago -- the only Oscar Wilde series piece that I had seen in any pen store. After that, I had started watching for the pens on eBay. So, now, I must wait for the delivery of my new Oscar Wilde ballpoint pen! To date, this will be the most expensive single pen that I have ever purchased; my purchase of a four-piece (pencil, ballpoint, fountain pen, rollerball) Caran D'Ache Hexagonal Escalie (sp??) brown lacquer set on eBay is my only purchase for which the price was higher -- about twice as high as for this pen. Yikes! But, truth be told, the Caran D'Ache Hexagonal set is FANTASTIC and each piece writes like a dream, making the set well worth the price and one of my favorites. The Oscar Wilde ballpoint pen that I won has one of the lowest winning auction prices for an Oscar Wilde ballpoint pen that I have ever seen on eBay. It would seem that the other bidders forgot the ending time for the auction based on how rapidly they had outbid my other bids. The only lower-priced listing including an Oscar Wilde ballpoint pen that I have seen was for a ballpoint pen and pencil set listed by a seller that did not have a sufficient long-term feedback rating for my tastes and the pencil (which I did not need anyway) had some condition issued. So, now, I must endure the anticipation of receiving my new Oscar Wilde ballpoint pen! Darn international shipping -- at least five days to wait for the arrival. Of course, it could be longer as my last pen took a detour to another city -- tracking listed the pen as "missent" -- due to the postal service. Stuff happens. LOL! : )