Mont blanc

[Sparky]

I recently received a montblanc pen and I am very knew to fountain pens. Yesterday I received a reply f rom this a knoweldge person who responsed to a question about cartridges for it, and he indicated that montblanc stirs up a lot of controversery among pen enthusiasts. Is that because there are inherent problems with MontBlanc's (i.e. did I get a lemon)...

 

Thanks

[playpen]

Hi Sparky! What's your problem with the MB?

[Sidney]

Montblanc's marketing is pushing the "white star" as a status symbol. Fountain pen users are not looking for status symbols, but rather a fine writing instrument.

[Sparky]

I actually don't havea problem with it at all. I guess what prompted my inquiry wasthe comment the gentleman made that a mont blanc is controversial. I took that to meant that its performance may not be very good. So it got me wondering and I thougththat there would be others definitely more knowledgeable than me who might be able to let me know what the controversy is about.

Thanks!

Sparky

[Ray]

Sparky,

 

Montblanc is a controversial make of pen becuase opinion on them tends to be polarised. People either love them or hate them. Most who hate them decry Montblanc's bulldozer approach to marketing, which has made Montblanc the brand most associated in the public perception with luxury pens. This allows Montblanc to command a premium price.

 

We're enthusiastic members of a special interest community, and strange things happen in this sort of community. We can, for instance, wear our taste and knowledge conspicuously on our sleeve by showing contempt for the market leader and advocating more obscure (at least to the public at large) brands. That happens a lot.

 

There is fair criticism of Montblanc - the 'precious resin' material is often said to be less sturdy than the maker would have you believe, for instance, and because of the brand awareness in the mass market, Montblanc pens tend to be overvalued compared with models of similar quality from other manufacturers. But there is also a lot of unfair criticism of the brand; 'proper' collectors can be snooty about the popular favourite.

 

So long as the Montblanc you have is a genuine one (becuase guess which brand the counterfeiters have concentrated their efforts on?) you absolutely do not have a lemon. Montblanc pens are well designed, well built and usually work beautifully. Enjoy your pen.

 

Ray

[Sparky]

Ray... thanks for the background on Mont Blanc.... definitely the kind of information from experience and knowledge in the field. Glad I found this community....

 

Sparky...

[PaulK]

Hi Sparky. I think, to add to everyone's point, that MB has the same marketing opinion as Rolex has to the watch community. I have one and I love my pen. Is it the **best** pen? ..nope....but it is well-made and smooth writer. Don't get caught-up in the hype and emotion. Form your own (educated) opinion. Stick around here 'cuz you'll see some pens that will water your eyes.

 

If you like your pen, that's **all** that counts. Think folk on here will agree: there's much more important stuff to get deeply worried about in this world.

 

Regards,

 

Paul

[Michael Wright]

Hi Sparky

 

I think I'm the person who got you puzzled. Sorry about that.

 

It's like people said. MB do the sort of marketing that can really get up your nose, and have managed to get the image that they are "The best pen in the world." People who spend a lot of time with pens know that it isn't that simple.

 

MB also managed to make one pen that was very brittle and broke easily, which was silly of them, and what was sillier is that they kept on selling it. So some people, in reaction to these two facts, are inclined to say that MB pens are rubbish. Which is no more true than the MB marketing department's view of their pens. The analogy with Rolex is perfect.

 

I've got a few MB pens (mostly oldish), and am happy with them, though they're not my favourites. OTOH, my Partner On Life's Journey has only one pen, which is a MB 146, and she's very happy with it indeed. The plastic, which MB annoyingly call "precious resin," is distinctive, and I like its feel and glossiness. The nibs are good. If you break a bit of a MB pen, they'll replace all the broken parts for quite a reasonable charge.

 

Enjoy your pen, and I'm sorry if I caused you any consternation

 

Michael

 

BTW, you won't find real flame wars on this site

[Bill_D]

Think folk on here will agree:  there's much more important stuff to get deeply worried about in this world.

Don't listen to Paul. He's insane. Fountain pens aren't a matter of life and death -- they are much more important than that. You will soon understand.

[KCkc]

I love my MBs. Beauty is in the eye of beholder. However I do not find their looks particularly attractive. BUT I am happy with their nibs and flow characteristics.

 

Beware of 1990s 144 which has a trim ring corrosion issue (major one IMHO).

 

Having said that I have :

1. MB146 - 2 of them that I am committed to keeping for life

They are really comfortable writers for extended writing. They are from late 1980s since they have W. Germany on the clip. No precious resin explosion nor implosopn. I did not get them brand new, so I am exempt from the harms of MB promoting them as luxury items since mine were reasonably priced (30% of MSRP). Cannot complain.

 

1a. Just got my 147 Traveller in MED and it has a very nice wet smooth nib.

 

2. My ex von Karajan has one of the smoothest wet FINE nib and the cap band is interesting

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/ebaywatch888/PT%20Sales/IMG_1606.jpg

 

3. My vintage 334 1/2 is still going strong. I think it is from the 50s. Cannot complain again since it is holding up really well.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/ebaywatch888/PT%20Sales/IMG_1609.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/ebaywatch888/PT%20Sales/MB334.jpg

 

4. Finally, my Proust has a glassy FINE nib and I like its nice art work.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/ebaywatch888/Guts/IMG_1691.jpg

[JimCouch]

...he indicated that montblanc stirs up a lot of controversery among pen enthusiasts...

As you can see from all the responses!

 

Jim

 

Edited for spelling

Edited May 8, 2006 by JimCouch

[Guest Denis Richard]

<Moderator hat on>

I have removed the posts that I considered inapropriate and all subsequent replies to these posts ('cause one need to keep the coherence of the thread or my OCDs are not satisfied ) Lets resume the thread, keeping the positive debate going.

<Moderator hat off>

Edited May 9, 2006 by Denis Richard

[Michael Wright]

I guess if you have to operate in a BS environment, then the marketing BS of the white star can be a useful bit of counter-BS. If they're going to write off your ideas as those of a tree-hugging geriatric hippy, waving the magic bird-splat could put them off balance.

 

Hey, sparky, see what I meant?

 

Enjoy your nice pen -- I'm going to fill up my 146.

 

Michael

[Sparky]

Michael...

I now see how passionate people can be about mb's... Amazing though, I just got one mb, and now I want to try another FP.... the pelikans get good reviews from what I have been reading and they look good too.

 

Does this mean Im' FP addicted or is it an early newbee phase and it will wear off soon.....

[Guest Denis Richard]

Does this mean Im' FP addicted or is it an early newbee phase and it will wear off soon.....

It's the early sign of addiction. Welcome to the support gr... I mean *club* Sparky.

[DrPJM1]

I believe MB's are overpriced due to their brand image and advertising budget. They are nice pens and I have kept mine for years, but would not buy another. There are plenty of nicer-writing nibs out there.

[Michael Wright]

Michael...

I now see how passionate people can be about mb's... Amazing though, I just got one mb, and now I want to try another FP.... the pelikans get good reviews from what I have been reading and they look good too.

 

Does this mean Im' FP addicted or is it an early newbee phase and it will wear off soon.....

They say the first 30 years are the worst.

 

Seriously, there are many, many nice pens out there, and if you persist, you will discover that not only is there no "best" pen, there is also no uniquely right pen for you.

 

Pelikans are very good pens, and they compete directly with MB (to the point of also having been bought up by an international luxury brands company). I very much like the 200 and 400; they seem small pens, but are just the right size for many people; you can also interchange the nibs very easily.

 

But Aurora are also a very reliable brand, and are Italian, rather than German. And then, of course, there are the Japanese brands.

 

Slightly less damaging to the bank account are old pens -- especially the great American pens of about 1930 to about 1960.

 

I shouldn't be leading you astray, should I? Of course, you could just concentrate on Montblanc. MB pens up to about 1960 are totally uncontroversial. OTOH, they are very expensive indeed. But on yet another hand, the economy line MB pens of the 1950s can be reasonably affordable, are well made, and have lovely nibs.

 

When I first bought a decent hi-fi set up, the people who looked after me said "There, that's a nice lot of equipment for you budget. If you want to be happy with it, never listen to anybody else's." You can stay happy with your MB, or you can start looking at other pens. If you do, be prepared to end up with a lot of pens. Unless you can discipline yourself to sell anything you don't really, really, like.

 

Enjoy

 

Michael

 

with too many pens

[Stylo]

I think one needs to separate the MB image/marketing from the actual pens. Sure, we can talk about value, about how you are getting a better deal say with a Pelikan M1000 than with a MB 149. But right there, a bell should ring to tell you that just sounds silly. The M1000 may be a better value, but it is not itself a good value at all, so talking about value is almost a moot point anyway. When you are buying such high-end pens, value is not really the driving factor. You buy more based on highly subjective and personal criteria, so any MB is just as fair game as any high-end Pelikan, CS, Waterman, etc.

[TheNobleSavage]

I Own a 149 and after a few minor adjustments, this pen is really a solid writer that I really enjoy using!!! Then again, it is a 1970's-1980's model and it is as sturdy as any other in my collection. I always found the styling of the Meisterstuck to be very classy and it was one of my must have pens and I am glad that I bought it.

 

I also bought a 145 and a 146 for my wife, she adors the 146. I honestly hated to give it up after testing it out, especially with the factory oblique broad nib. I buy most of my pens used due to the fact that they have been tried tested and true!!! Plus at 50% off of market, you cannot argue!!!!

 

When I carry my 149, I seem to also carry my Pelikan M1000, Bexley Prometheus and my Stipula Etruria Ocean Blue. I find them large and comfortable to use!!! Dont let the hype scare you away from Montblac. They are fantastic pens but extremely pricy. I dont care too much for the lack of warranty and advertising BUT by their aggressive advertising, they are winning over more Ball point and rollerball pen users into fountain pen users. This can only better our hobby, the more the better IMHO!!!!

 

 

TNS

[marklavar]

I have a 149 which I purchased last year. Fine nib. An excellent writer and very smooth - my only criticism is that the fine nib is anything but fine - more like a broadish medium! But that's Montblanc for you. As I said before, I am very satisfied with the pen.

 

Yes, Montblanc is pricey - but only for models from the limited editions and the Solitaire collections. I don't find the Meisterstuck range particularly expensive when compared to ther major prestige brands like Omas, Krone, Dupont etc.

 

There is one thing I dislike about Montblanc: the lack of colours. Every pen seems to be in black! I find this very offputting, and is the main reason why I only have one MB in my collection.

 

As for Pelikan, yes it does offer better value for money, but a Pelikan is a very different pen from Montblanc.