Montblanc Solitaire, Only A Few Defects!

[RebeccaN]

First of all I would like to warn the reader that I am a ball point pen enthusiast, this is my first time here, so I dont know if people will like me. If there are some ball pen lovers out there, please I would really appreciate to receive some feedbacks so at least I know I am not the only one.

I love handwriting, I really enjoy it, I think it is one of the most precious and valuable gift we have, and we should preserve it.

I love ball point pens, also fountain pens, roller ball pens, pencils, I do love all writing instruments and the paper I write on it. I love their smell, the feeling when you touch them, their weight. Bottom line, I like pens.

Since my primary passion is for ball point pens here I would like to review the Montblanc Meisterstuck Solitaire, one of my favorite pen.

 

montblanc biro.jpg

 

I bought this model a few years ago from one of my favorite pen store in Italy during a business trip.

The finishing is giselle in 925 silver and for what I know they are not making this finishing any longer, what a pity!

I am sure everything has already been written and reviewed about this pen so I will be limiting my review only to those very few aspects I believe could be considered defects.

I like heavy pens, if they are lighter than 1.40-1.23 oz. I have difficulties in getting the right balance. I write a lot, almost everything by hand, I cannot keep up writing more than few pages if the pen is too light. So my first complain is about the weight, it should be at least 0.35 oz. heavier.

My second complain is related to the vibrations of the point of the refill during writing, basically there is too much play between the point of the refill and the hole of the point of the pen. This is a problem that almost 90% of all ball pens have, and it is fine if you write with a $3 pen, but if you pay $600 and more for a pen this is something that it is not right.

I was able to fix this problem by changing the spring, in facts the solution is not in tighten the hole, if you do that the refill wont get through anymore, but in using the proper spring that would be able to create a tight body among the refill, the spring and the hole. Sometimes it is just useful to turn upside down the spring and you wont have this annoying problem anymore.

I may have to say something also regarding the gold plating finishing of the clip, after a few months it has started to peel off a little bit. For example I have never found this problem on the Cartier pens, which in my opinion are better finished than the Monblanc, but I will save this for one of my next review.

This pen is a real classic, its design will always be liked for the years to come. Price off course is high, you pay a lot for the brand, particularly if you choose the plastic one ( they call it special resin, but at the end is plastic), where the real value could be very limited. I would definitely suggest to buy a silver one.

Again, I understand that I am in a fountain pen world fans here, but again, I would really like to find someone like me who likes ball point pens and being able to exchange some passionate opinions. So if there is someone, please let me know.

I have a confession to make...although I have already mentioned it in a previous FPN post... I actually have never used a fountain pen before!!! I recently discovered this forum when I received a Mont Blanc Document Writer as a gift...and wanted to exchange it for a ballpoint or rollerball! So yes-- I do love those pens too... Yours looks gorgeous. Thanks for sharing -- and enjoy using it!

[Quill1]

Very nice pen and write up. I've just got a 146? 75th Anniversary BP to go with my 146 75th Anni. FP as for work purposes a FP is unfortuanetly not always appropriate. The thought of having a solid sterling silver pen appeals to me.

[MBFan]

I have a LeGrand BP and a Hemingway BP, both of which I absolutely love. I don't always use them, but when the mood strikes me I like to have a nice BP to write with. I hope you've found yourself at home here, and have a few more BP and FPs to share with the group

[lovingball]

Thank you all for letting me know that you also like ball point pens.

Just to exchance some opinions and suggestions I would like to let you know that I have recently discovered a new and very unique bp pen from loclen, it's called Spica. I was thinking of writing a review on this fantastic pen but I was hold back by the fact that we are on a fountain pen network, but it looks like that from the many posts I read also on different topics concerning bp pens, here there are many people who like ''Biro'' pens too. So be ready for my next pen review.

[agentdaffy007]

I once had a similar MB BP like yours. Mine was all Stainless Steel. I found it way yoo slippery to have a good grip on it. Not only that, the tip of the pen was way too tapered making it even harder to hold.

 

I ended up selling it on eBay.

 

Now, i am using the MB Legrand BP Unicef Edition and it is magnificient. It works great and it is very well balanced.

My other favorite has to be the Caran d'ache Ecridor Maya pattern. It is like the 849 but heavier.

 

I think both MB and CdA makes some of the best ballpoint refill in the industry. So smooth, but not glass smooth like ST Dupont which tends to be annoying after a while.