Are Mont Blanc Pens worth it

[ethernautrix]

I can't help but wonder why it is so important that everyone must like the same things and why the arguments con (especially regarding MB) are repeated over and over again like a mantra (or counter-curse). If this is intended to convince the poor MB owners, I think it'll have the same success rate as using raising of voice as the main strategy to win an argument. No new arguments - just extra force. I don't usually give in to that kind of argumentation - rather the opposite. Just a thought.

 

+1

 

I can't help but wonder why some feel it necessary to criticize the preferences of others. A warning that is issued with the other's best interest obviously at heart is much more easily accepted than being told one is a tool for preferring something expensive over something cheap.

[FrankB]

Ah, I see the bullets are still flying. I am quite content to sit here behind the sandbags, sipping coffee and writing with my 149.

 

Meanwhile, Wow, Niksch! What a lovely MB collection!

Edited December 9, 2009 by FrankB

[dannzeman]

http://www.niksch.us/pen_pix/Vintage_MB_Tray.jpg

 

I love this pic. Awesome.

 

When I first started collecting/buying FPs I thought MBs were overrated, over priced pens. After a year of collecting and handling a decent amount of vintage and modern pens my opinion has drastically changed and I appreciate MB much more. I think MBs are worth it if you find them used. I'm thinking the 146 and 149 here, both of which I have and bought used. Vintage is different. I don't feel Limited Editions are worth it.

[georges zaslavsky]

Well well, the feeling of déjà vu forces me to post a reply. I was given my very first MB, a 146 for my 28th birthday, a late 60's-early 70's model with a medium oblique rose gold nib, it is one of my very best writers, it is in perfect condition and writing condition. My second 149 was a 1979 which was unfortunately stolen at my former workplace in april 2007. But because this 149 wrote so well during the time I had, I decided to replace it by two vintage 149s and later added two other vintage 149s again. I also added a second hand 1986 MB146 with excellent extra fine nib. I am not a MB collector, simply an enthusiast of vintage 146s-149s which are very good pens. I don't really pay attention to what marketing says but I always testwrite a pen before saying it is good or not.With the second/used market, there is a boatload of possibilities to find a nice used MB 146/149.But saying that a pen is just hype because of the marketing isn't logic and doesn't make sense, you have to try one to know what it is all about.

[lapis]

This should probably be in the MB forum, but I wanted responses from people other than MB lovers.

I didn't vote because my answer would be: "No, they are not worth it". I tried it out once so I can also say "I won't buy another one."

 

Mike

[BV1961]

I was disappointed with my Homage a Frederic Chopin (is that a 145 or 146), a nice Christmas present in 2007, but skipped like crazy and wouldn't start reliably. But I persevered and it now starts every-time and doesn't skip.

I know others had the same problem at the time - there were several threads indicating the same problem.

Since then my Visconti Van Gogh, Pilot capless, Rotring Newton and cheapie Cross all worked better from day one.

I would try before I buy another new MB.

I would still buy one though!

[GardenWeasel]

This is the kind of thread that encourages me to try a MB, maybe in 146 size, just to see what all the hoopla is about. Folks were certainly correct on how nice the LeMan 100 is... so maybe the MB too!

[latestarter]

My doctor loaned me his 149 for a couple of days after learning my passion for pens.

It wasnt the smoothest pen i have written with but was still very very good and had,

something special about it thats hard to describe,much like a high end car i guess.

Would i buy one? well no,only because if i was to spend that much on a pen i would

be single man!

[goodguy]

My doctor loaned me his 149 for a couple of days after learning my passion for pens.

It wasnt the smoothest pen i have written with but was still very very good and had,

something special about it thats hard to describe,much like a high end car i guess.

Would i buy one? well no,only because if i was to spend that much on a pen i would

be single man!

300$-400$ and you have one and its resonable for such a pen.

[DAYoung]

Here's a suggestion, folks.

 

I've almost no experience of Mont Blanc pens. And I've no bias for or against them.

 

If someone wants to send me a well-respected Mont Blanc (e.g. Meisterstuck), I will try it, and write a fair, generous review. I'll then post the review on my blog, link to it here, and send the pen back to its home by registered mail, undamaged and flushed.

 

For curiosity's sake, here's my review of the Quo Vadis Habana.

 

PM me if you're interested.

Edited December 14, 2009 by DAYoung

[Gojira]

I can't quite tell why some people regard MB as being over-priced. Sure, if you compare them to Sailors and Pilots they will definitely seem very expensive, especially the non piston-filler MBs. But put them alongside other brands like Omas, Visconti, Montegrappa, Krone, Aurora, St. Dupont, Cartier etc, and they seem to be priced reasonably. Of course, MB LEs and SEs command high prices but hey, they are after all limited.

 

I do have a very humble theory on why there seems to be a higher than average amount of complaints on MB fountain pens. MB has marketed itself as a lifestyle luxury brand as opposed to being a pen-maker and as such, a lot of people who would otherwise rarely use a fountain pen buy MB fountain pens for the sake of owning one and having a white bird-splat sticking out of their shirt pockets. These people are usually not well-versed in maintaining fountain pens, what more to say, piston-fillers.

 

I frequent a watch store near my office which is also a MB distributor. The manager is experienced at watch and pen repairs and during my last visit, he pulled open a drawer full of MB fountain pens in non-working order. Not so strangely enough, most of them were damaged because their owners filled them, left them in a drawer for several months and wonder why they won't start properly, fiddle with the piston-filler and try to effect some DIY. To make matters worse, these owners also buy into the "you can only fill your MB pen with MB ink" clause and guess what their usual ink of choice is? MB Blue-Black, an iron gall ink. There were also several pens filled with india ink and marker pen ink!

 

Everyone in my town knows what a MB pen is. I've yet to meet someone who knows what a Sailor pen is or that Pilot makes fountain pens. You put 2 and 2 together.

 

I can't afford a MB 149 (yet!), just as I can't afford most of the major marques...but I'll be sure to get a MB...I have tried a modern 149 with a broad nib (stub-like) and it was dreamy. The only MB I do own is a Starwalker rollerball...which is quite nice.

 

[latestarter]

My doctor loaned me his 149 for a couple of days after learning my passion for pens.

It wasnt the smoothest pen i have written with but was still very very good and had,

something special about it thats hard to describe,much like a high end car i guess.

Would i buy one? well no,only because if i was to spend that much on a pen i would

be single man!

300$-400$ and you have one and its resonable for such a pen.

 

Unfortunately Goodguy i am not the one you need to convince,that would be my dear wife!

 

Maybe one day but i do have other hobbies and she is very patient as it is lol.

 

Cheers David

[goodguy]

My doctor loaned me his 149 for a couple of days after learning my passion for pens.

It wasnt the smoothest pen i have written with but was still very very good and had,

something special about it thats hard to describe,much like a high end car i guess.

Would i buy one? well no,only because if i was to spend that much on a pen i would

be single man!

300$-400$ and you have one and its resonable for such a pen.

 

Unfortunately Goodguy i am not the one you need to convince,that would be my dear wife!

 

Maybe one day but i do have other hobbies and she is very patient as it is lol.

 

Cheers David

Do what I did then, put 20$ a side every month and in a year or so you will be able to be the happy owner of a classic, dream pen. Or get another job :ltcapd:

Edited December 14, 2009 by goodguy

[ArchiMark]

FWIW, since I got active in pens in June, I've bought/tried many, many, probably way too many over the past 6 months (hence my recent sales). This includes various MBs, vintage Parkers, Conway Stewarts old and new, vintgage Mabie Todds, recent ST Duponts, Visconti, Stipula, Aurora, Sailor, Pelikan, Pilot, and a few more that I can't remember right now....So, think I have a pretty good idea now what various pens are like and which ones I like too....

 

Conclusion I have come to after this journey is that there are a lot of really good pens out there! And from various manufacturers...

 

Having tried out so many, I don't think there's one best brand, but at least several great brands, each with their own distinct personality. Therefore, I don't think it makes much sense to get into arguments over which pen is best or whether they're worth it or not. To me, it seems like many times people at FPN are arguing over whether oranges are better than bananas, when both are good, they're just different....

 

Having said all that, I have found that for me at least, MBs are one of my favorite brands and like to use them a lot.

 

However, besides my various 149s and a few WEs, I also really enjoy using my Waterman Edsons, Conway Stewart Churchill, Stipula Florentia and Etruria, ST Dupont Olympio, Tibaldi Divina, and Sailor Professional Gear. Trying to pick out which of these are best or worth more is a bit like trying to decide which sibling is the best..They're all great and have something to offer and enjoy, which I think is the point of having pens, to enjoy the writing experience, right?

 

So, to sum up, buy what you like and enjoy it. Don't worry so much about what others think, use your own judgment.....

 

As they used to say, "Different strokes for different folks...", so, use what works for you, not others....

 

And finally, +1 for MBs!

 

[garnet]

I have a MB Generation RB and it's not a good writer at all even with the MB refills. Personally I'd never buy another MB and would never contemplate a FP and would go for a (more pen for the money) Pelikan every time.

[niksch]

I didn't vote because my answer would be: "No, they are not worth it". I tried it out once so I can also say "I won't buy another one."

 

Thanks Mike. One less competitor for me!

[niksch]

I'd encourage you to at least try a MB fountain pen...such as a 146. You don't have to like it, give one a test for a period of time. How can you compare a RB with an FP and then eliminate an entire brand of FPs based on lower price tier Generation pens?

 

I have a MB Generation RB and it's not a good writer at all even with the MB refills. Personally I'd never buy another MB and would never contemplate a FP and would go for a (more pen for the money) Pelikan every time.

[two2tone]

I bought this MB in 1992 and have been using it (in rotation) ever since. On sale and paid under $150 for both the FB and the matching mechanical pencil. It's still one of my favorites. The "Is is worth it?" question can be applied to cars, houses, clothes, etc. Only the buyer can answer that question. What's worth it to me, may not be to you.

 

Twotone

 

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m180/two2tone/MB.jpg

[Lizzie]

When it comes to Mont Blanc I adopt a 'live and let live" mind frame.

Even though they are overpriced and the WE and POA series are nice moneyspinners, they are still beautiful and objets d'art in themselves. I myself have the Yehudi Menuhin from the Donation Series and the Kafka set. There are some others I'd love to own, but as long as I've got a mortgage, I probably wouldn't spend that kind of money. But if someone else spends £15,000 on a Charlie Chaplin and gets his money's worth in terms of enjoyment, pride or happiness out of the pen - good on him!

So many people spend inordinate amounts of money on cars, clothes, boats and what not, and nobody bats an eyelid. And in those cases the depreciation is much higher than in a fountain pen.

[Bescomo]

I personally do not buy Montblanc due to the fact that every single fountain pen owner I know owns a Meisterstuck 149. I can easily borrow their pen and will not have to buy any Montblancs myself. In terms of value, the cost of a pen is how much you think it's worth. Say if you bought a pen for 400 dollars. The 400 dollars is the amount that you believe the pen is worth in your opinion; therefore, you bought it for that price. As a Chinese person, Montblanc is super massively overated in Beijing, my hometown. It's similar to seeing the amount of iPhones on the streets (on a smaller scale).