Mont Blanc Service In Melbourne

[shrinknib]

I've just come into this late.

The pen looks to have significant issues, and as Greg has hinted likely the nib is misaligned on the feed or the nib itself needs some minor work- if everything else is working OK such as flow and filling then hopefully the expensive bits are fine.

You could buy a loupe and some micro mesh and have a look, or the other way to "run in" the nib is doing figure eights on some brown paper bag, and that could do the trick.

 

But kai has very sound advice, from lotsa experience. If an authorised repairer has a look then the warranty will not be void- and if you don't like what they are recommending then you don't have to follow it.

 

It is disappointing to have a new pen not work out of the box.

I have never had this issue with MB before, mainly on my Italian pens.

 

All the best spicy and we might catch you around!

[shrinknib]

I've had a pen at pencity for 2 years now...... Still not looked at.

 

I ring up every six months or so, just to remind them. I'm now regarding it as an experiment (which is why I haven't claimed it back) but will probably just collect it at the end of the year. Hopefully they won't charge me rent or storage costs.

 

A friend had a repair done at Mont Blanc's Sydney store and it was quick and not too costly all things considered.

 

unfortunately your experience is not an isolated one..we live and learn

:embarrassed_smile:

[Spidy]

Well I finally went to Mont Blanc service in Melbourne today with my 149, 147 and 146. This 149 had the skipping issues (photo attached in this thread). The 147 had a broken gill (if that's the right term) in the feeder and slightly misaligned tines and the 146 had a gap between the barrel and the piston filler cap.

 

Before I continue let me first say how impressed and surprised I was when I got there. Not what I expected at all. I was greeted by someone then introduced me to Matt Jones, the technician who did the repairs. I told him my problems and he asked if I wanted to wait. Of course! Why leave the pens when all three can be serviced on the spot!

 

So I waited patiently while he did the 149 and 146 under warranty. Both pens were returned to me as I hoped they would, perfect. He even polished out a slight blemish on the 146 cap. I tested both pens and both performed as I had hoped they would. The 149's flow was improved and the 146's cap was fixed.

 

We then moved on to the traveller. I asked about the standard service rates Mont Blanc had in Australia and was pleasantly surprised to find out the 147 could be repaired for $95 (John at Pen city quoted me $150 for the feeder alone). I agreed to the price, he took the pen away and made the repairs.

 

Now, at this point, let me say I am not disappointed with Matt's workmanship. I'm only disappointed with the outcome. The reason I'm so disappointed is that the traveller was a beautifully smooth and fluent writer, even a little thin for a medium nib, which I like. But when it was repaired and the tines straightened, the line was a lot heavier, but worst still, the nib is very scratchy.

 

I was so angry with myself because I wasn't going to repair the 147 and only decided at the last minute to take it with me. When I was in the shop I still wasn't sure I was going to go ahead with the repair. It was after our discussion on prices that I decided, $95 is reasonable, so why not. Matt later explained that the pen has been used by someone for a few years and the iridium has worn off more on one tine than the other. Now that the tines are aligned, the pen has a completely new character to it.

 

I was shattered.

 

I gave the pen to my daughter to test drive it, she also noticed the difference. She has a lighter hand than me and after a while she said she found the sweet spot. The pen needs to be rotated slightly clockwise for the scratchiness to disappear (or be less prevalent as it's always there, just in different degrees of harshness).

 

One good thing I did realise after taking the pen back and trying it for myself, it seems the line lays down a little thinner and the scratchiness is somewhat mitigated.

 

I wonder if all this pen needs is to ware into my hand again?

[shrinknib]

This is the Meatloaf " two outa three ain't bad".

There is a difference between some worn iridium and no iridium at all and exposed gold.

If there is some tipping material then it can be easily fixed with some micro mesh or by a nib grinder- as Greg said earlier.

 

Overall this sounds like a very good outcome.

Much better than I would have guessed.

Thanks for the update spidy

[tanalasta]

To be honest, iridium is reasonably hard wearing and in my experience ... you'd have to use it as a daily writer for perhaps years!

 

If you wish for it to be smoothened, you could either DIY (expensive if you're not experienced ... a MB nib is NOT where to start) as if you accidentally micromesh off all the tipping or change the nib tip shape in an adverse way, it'll end up worse for wear. I suspect a trip to Greg Minuskin or John Mottishaw or Mike Mayusama will fix your problem. Although the cost of postage and the fix can be quite prohibitive, especially at Auspost rates (Courier costs are $80 there and $40 back insured + cost of the tuning which is usually only about $30-40)

[Spidy]

To be honest, iridium is reasonably hard wearing and in my experience ... you'd have to use it as a daily writer for perhaps years!

 

If you wish for it to be smoothened, you could either DIY (expensive if you're not experienced ... a MB nib is NOT where to start) as if you accidentally micromesh off all the tipping or change the nib tip shape in an adverse way, it'll end up worse for wear. I suspect a trip to Greg Minuskin or John Mottishaw or Mike Mayusama will fix your problem. Although the cost of postage and the fix can be quite prohibitive, especially at Auspost rates (Courier costs are $80 there and $40 back insured + cost of the tuning which is usually only about $30-40)

tanalasta in another thread I reported that I took the pen back to MB service and thy readjusted it for me. I'm happy to report the pen is now a lot smoother and I'm very happy with it. I'll use it as is for a while and decide later if it needs more attention. Though, I must say, right now, I don't think that will be necessary.

[ruffcat]

sorry to resurrect this old thread, but in the interests of fairness I wanted to say that this week I picked up my pen from Pencity and it was repaired nicely and writes beautifully again. So, though it took a very long time, it was a happy outcome.

Edited May 18, 2012 by ruffcat

[The Pensmith]

I'm pleased that Ruffcat has picked up his/her pen from Pen City. But, it took two years! Seriously, that is an intolerable delay.

 

We pride ourselves on a two to three week turnaround for repairs - maximum, unless we need to source parts from overseas and they take a while to arrive. Generally, we try not to source parts we can make ourselves. And, we make a lot of parts ourselves for a lot of brands!

[Eccles]

I've had a pen at pencity for 2 years now...... Still not looked at.

 

I ring up every six months or so, just to remind them. I'm now regarding it as an experiment (which is why I haven't claimed it back) but will probably just collect it at the end of the year. Hopefully they won't charge me rent or storage costs.

 

A friend had a repair done at Mont Blanc's Sydney store and it was quick and not too costly all things considered.

 

unfortunately your experience is not an isolated one..we live and learn

:embarrassed_smile:

 

I can attest to that. I have had a number of pens there for at least 3 years, still unfixed, still unreturned, and when I raised this it was, by some twist of logic, my fault??? I've asked for an invoice so I can pay, I've asked for them to be returned unfixed, I've had email enquiries ignored, and verbally I've been promised quotes and repairs... nothing has eventuated. I'd write them off to experience, but one, a GT P61, was a gift from my wife. Also the paid order for 4 Parker deluxe converters I placed to be shipped with my returning pens has fallen off the account history.

 

I too got the 'sick repairer' story not all that long after I sent the pens in.. it happens, bad luck fpr me but in all reasonableness I was prepared to wait. Subsequently my pens were 'lost' somewhere in the workshop, then eventually found (I'm not entirely sure if it's all of them, but I lost records in a PC crash). The verbal quotes over the years are, compared to others I've since seen quoted from the US, rather on the high side... but I sent them there and I have an obligation to my part of the bargain.

 

Sadly, Peter Ford of Melbourne Vintage Pens, who had a great rep (also at a price) and was used by the pen shop in Brisbane, has retired. His business was bought by John from Pen City. So, my future repairs are US-bound, and I've already found that Greg Minuskin does a great nib job.

 

Glenn.

[Spidy]

I've had a pen at pencity for 2 years now...... Still not looked at.

 

I ring up every six months or so, just to remind them. I'm now regarding it as an experiment (which is why I haven't claimed it back) but will probably just collect it at the end of the year. Hopefully they won't charge me rent or storage costs.

 

A friend had a repair done at Mont Blanc's Sydney store and it was quick and not too costly all things considered.

 

unfortunately your experience is not an isolated one..we live and learn

:embarrassed_smile:

 

I can attest to that. I have had a number of pens there for at least 3 years, still unfixed, still unreturned, and when I raised this it was, by some twist of logic, my fault??? I've asked for an invoice so I can pay, I've asked for them to be returned unfixed, I've had email enquiries ignored, and verbally I've been promised quotes and repairs... nothing has eventuated. I'd write them off to experience, but one, a GT P61, was a gift from my wife. Also the paid order for 4 Parker deluxe converters I placed to be shipped with my returning pens has fallen off the account history.

 

I too got the 'sick repairer' story not all that long after I sent the pens in.. it happens, bad luck fpr me but in all reasonableness I was prepared to wait. Subsequently my pens were 'lost' somewhere in the workshop, then eventually found (I'm not entirely sure if it's all of them, but I lost records in a PC crash). The verbal quotes over the years are, compared to others I've since seen quoted from the US, rather on the high side... but I sent them there and I have an obligation to my part of the bargain.

 

Sadly, Peter Ford of Melbourne Vintage Pens, who had a great rep (also at a price) and was used by the pen shop in Brisbane, has retired. His business was bought by John from Pen City. So, my future repairs are US-bound, and I've already found that Greg Minuskin does a great nib job.

 

Glenn.

 

Glenn, I assume you're sending your non MontBlanc pens to the US?

 

If they're MontBlancs, why not use the Montblanc repair centre in Melbourne?