1912 Heritage Initial Impressions

[WilsonCQB1911]

So I just got a 1912 Heritage with a medium nib today. I've inked it up with Iroshizuku Ajisai, which is an ink I use a lot in my 149 with fine nib, so I felt that it would give me some common ground when evaluating the 1912 against the 149.

 

Some background - I'm a leftie, and have found that getting a pen that works well and reliably for me is somewhat of a challenge. I don't know if this is because of my leftiness or just because I'm difficult. In any event, I've sold more pens than I currently own. Currently in my stable are a 149 in fine (in Germany for repairs, because I dropped it and the local repair service couldn't replace the collar I cracked), Conway Stewart Churchill in medium, Visconti Homo Sapiens in fine, and a Pilot Metropolitan (in medium of course). These are the pens that have lasted for me and the ones I cannot find fault with, or at least their qualities have far outweighed and perceived or real flaws. The 149 is the king of them for me, and about as perfect as a pen can get.

 

So with that in mind I walked into my local boutique with cash I had been saving up over the last few months that was "burning a hole in my pocket" and needing to be spent. I had planned to get another 149, as I'm leery about getting anything else since that pen works so well for me, and I didn't want to drop a lot of money again on an expensive pen that didn't work for me. However, I had the 1912 in the back of my mind because I liked the looks and it intrigued me.

 

The only 149 they had was in broad, which is too wide for me to be usuable. However, they did have the 1912, in medium only, and I pulled the trigger on that. That was my plan going in. 149 in fine, or the 1912, which I knew they had in medium.

 

I like the looks of the pen. It's pretty short when capped and retracted, but has decent heft, and I love the all white cap top. When the nib is extended it's actually a long pen and I don't feel the need to post it (I rarely post pens). The nib seems a bit small in appearance for the pen, but it works. The retracting/extending thing is a bit of a gimmick for me and I would be fine without it, but it doesn't bother me. It can seem a bit cumbersome to use since you have to unscrew the cap, and then unscrew the nib before you can start writing. I've found myself already reaching for a pencil instead for quick notes.

 

The piston mechanism seems long. I'm not sure how much ink it holds, but the screw for the piston takes at least twice as long to retract as the 149. I think there's more travel for the screw than there is on a 149 for the same length of vertical movement. When I went to drop back 3 drops into the ink bottle it seemed like it took more movement of the mechanism than on other pens. Not an issue, just an observation.

 

Now the important part, the nib. I can happily say that the nib reminds me very much of my 149 in fine. It's smooth, with just a hint of drag to aid in controllability, and it lays down a nice wet line. I've had no issues with reliability so far, but I just got it, so it's unfair to evaluate it so quickly and throw too much praise at it. My 149 in fine is closer to a medium in width, so this medium is very close to the width of my fine. It's just a hair thicker I think. It's a very soft nib, and I've noticed that it tends to feel smoother on rough paper than other pens because of this.

 

So far so good. I'll give more thoughts as I continue using the pen.

[BrandonA]

Glad you like your pen.

 

Since buying mine at the start of August it has been the only pen I've used in my house. I've not used any of my limited editions since this purchase.

 

There are other threads on the pen which include ink capacity details. Not sure of specific volume but it holds less ink than other 146 sized pens.

 

When I started reading your post I was interested to see how you'd get on as you stated the you like the 149 so much. Glad it isn't too small for you.

 

I tend to rest the cap on the pen with the nib exposed rather than fully capping it because as you said it does take time.

 

People have also commented on scratches forming on the barrel due to the screwing/unscrewing of the cap. I've not experienced this but you might want to take care when doing this.

[WilsonCQB1911]

Glad you like your pen.

 

Since buying mine at the start of August it has been the only pen I've used in my house. I've not used any of my limited editions since this purchase.

 

There are other threads on the pen which include ink capacity details. Not sure of specific volume but it holds less ink than other 146 sized pens.

 

When I started reading your post I was interested to see how you'd get on as you stated the you like the 149 so much. Glad it isn't too small for you.

 

I tend to rest the cap on the pen with the nib exposed rather than fully capping it because as you said it does take time.

 

People have also commented on scratches forming on the barrel due to the screwing/unscrewing of the cap. I've not experienced this but you might want to take care when doing this.

 

Glad to hear that you have positive long-term impressions. I'm sure I will as well.

 

I'm not too concerned about scratches from honest wear/use. My 149 has scratches on the body from the cap as well.

[WilsonCQB1911]

Glad you like your pen.

 

Since buying mine at the start of August it has been the only pen I've used in my house. I've not used any of my limited editions since this purchase.

 

There are other threads on the pen which include ink capacity details. Not sure of specific volume but it holds less ink than other 146 sized pens.

 

When I started reading your post I was interested to see how you'd get on as you stated the you like the 149 so much. Glad it isn't too small for you.

 

I tend to rest the cap on the pen with the nib exposed rather than fully capping it because as you said it does take time.

 

People have also commented on scratches forming on the barrel due to the screwing/unscrewing of the cap. I've not experienced this but you might want to take care when doing this.

Do you know where people were quoting the fill level? My very unscientific test yielded about .5 ml, which I was surprised at.

[meiers]

The heritage pen is my current favorite.

[Gary1952]

Hi,

 

I just received my MB 1912 today and I note that the cap does leave a light mark around the circumference of the pen's body as previously described by Bigeddie.

 

Currently I can remove this mark (blemish) by using a polishing cloth, however, I suspect that with time permanent scratches will result.

 

The marking is caused by an interior sealing ring (it appears to be made from some form of relatively hard plastic) near the lip of the cap that contacts the pen body when the cap is fully screwed into place.

 

I intend to sand a couple of microns of this sealing ring to prevent it from contacting the pen body.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Gary1952

[meiers]

Hi,

 

I just received my MB 1912 today and I note that the cap does leave a light mark around the circumference of the pen's body as previously described by Bigeddie.

 

Currently I can remove this mark (blemish) by using a polishing cloth, however, I suspect that with time permanent scratches will result.

 

The marking is caused by an interior sealing ring (it appears to be made from some form of relatively hard plastic) near the lip of the cap that contacts the pen body when the cap is fully screwed into place.

 

I intend to sand a couple of microns of this sealing ring to prevent it from contacting the pen body.

It doesn't bother me at all.

[Gary1952]

Poor engineering design (particularly from a German Company reknowned for the fabrication of high end products) certainly bothers me.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Gary1952

[Gary1952]

Additional comments concerning scratches:

 

It looks to me as though the cap liner and the integral sealing ring are made from metal. No wonder it scratches the pen.

 

That said, it is a delightful pen to use.

[WilsonCQB1911]

So the nib des not have as generous of a sweet spot. It skips on me at times. It's not a pen flaw, but rather a user error, as I rotate my pen too much. I love this pen though. The nib really is quite wonderful. So I'm just going to work harder at perfecting my writing technique.

 

How does one clean the 1912? I think I read here that you should not get water into the mechanism or it will rust? I can see some ink inside the barrel from the nib. Should I just leave it?

[meiers]

Leave it.

I was warned against rinsing the inside of the pen with water.

There is a lubricated metal mechanism inside this pen.

[WilsonCQB1911]

As an update, this pen is getting better the more I use it. I have used 3 different inks so far and after the last one I used some pen flush as it was iron gall ink. I don't know if that made a difference, or me switching to an MB ink, or just some nib wear in, but it's writing very reliably now.

 

I'm happy with the pen.

[meiers]

As an update, this pen is getting better the more I use it. I have used 3 different inks so far and after the last one I used some pen flush as it was iron gall ink. I don't know if that made a difference, or me switching to an MB ink, or just some nib wear in, but it's writing very reliably now.

 

I'm happy with the pen.

I love mine.

[WilsonCQB1911]

I thought I'd provide an update, 5 weeks after purchasing this pen. Is that really all? It seems like a lifetime ago.

 

So, I had some skipping and hard start issues with the pen as first received. Probably a baby's bottom, or maybe just a break-in issue? This was causing me to think that the pen had a narrow sweet spot. My 149 90th had to break in a little and adjust to me writing as well before it became a reliable writer for me.

 

Perhaps to everyone's horror, I actually bent the tines closer to the feed (intentionally) in order to reduce ink flow and get the pen to write a bit drier. Nothing bad happened, and I was able to create the result I desired. Additionally, (whether due to this, or just by breaking the pen in from writing) I no longer have the slightest hint of hard starting. The pen will write with a feather's touch and starts up immediately. It also has a generous sweet spot, and is an amazingly smooth and wonderful writer. It amazes me how just by moving the tines down that tiny bit I can change the way this pen writes for me so drastically.

 

This pen has moved up significantly in my favorite pens category and is in the top 2 I would think at this point. I love the reliability I get now as well as that wonderfully soft nib it has. Now that the ink flow is turned down, it writes a finer line than my gusher 149 90th in fine with iron-gall ink. My 1912 is a "medium". I'm a huge fan of Montblanc anymore, having tried a wide range of manufacturers. MB nibs are hard to beat, let alone match.

 

Beautiful looking, and beautiful writing. The pen is nice too .

[orfew]

I thought I'd provide an update, 5 weeks after purchasing this pen. Is that really all? It seems like a lifetime ago.

 

So, I had some skipping and hard start issues with the pen as first received. Probably a baby's bottom, or maybe just a break-in issue? This was causing me to think that the pen had a narrow sweet spot. My 149 90th had to break in a little and adjust to me writing as well before it became a reliable writer for me.

 

Perhaps to everyone's horror, I actually bent the tines closer to the feed (intentionally) in order to reduce ink flow and get the pen to write a bit drier. Nothing bad happened, and I was able to create the result I desired. Additionally, (whether due to this, or just by breaking the pen in from writing) I no longer have the slightest hint of hard starting. The pen will write with a feather's touch and starts up immediately. It also has a generous sweet spot, and is an amazingly smooth and wonderful writer. It amazes me how just by moving the tines down that tiny bit I can change the way this pen writes for me so drastically.

 

This pen has moved up significantly in my favorite pens category and is in the top 2 I would think at this point. I love the reliability I get now as well as that wonderfully soft nib it has. Now that the ink flow is turned down, it writes a finer line than my gusher 149 90th in fine with iron-gall ink. My 1912 is a "medium". I'm a huge fan of Montblanc anymore, having tried a wide range of manufacturers. MB nibs are hard to beat, let alone match.

 

Beautiful looking, and beautiful writing. The pen is nice too .

Thanks for the update. The Heritage is a great pen. I love that it is innovative and that it hearkens back to the past. It also writes extremely well.

[meiers]

I have had mine now for close to 9 months. It's an absolute joy.

Edited May 11, 2014 by meiers

[jpblu]

I have it since a few days , it's only GREAT

Link the continuation of your finger !!

I love my MB 149 75th years two

[Nek]

Congrats on the pen purchase and thanks for sharing your initial impressions.

 

This is one of my favorite pens and I use it all the time. I love this pen!