Montblanc Writers Edition: Leo Tolstoy 2015

[jsolares]

Not sure how exact the scale is but the body came in at 32g and the entire pen is 56g, and it took 1g of ink.

Edited January 7, 2016 by jsolares

[santander02]

Thanks.

Muchas gracias.

[JohnEbach]

I got my Tolstoy for Christmas as well and its beautiful. I have not inked it yet. I was waiting on he MB Tolstoy ink which my store has not yet received. I may have to break down and put some other blue in it. lol. Its a beautiful pen for sure. Guess my Balzac can finally retire from the rotation.

[Dcharles]

Hello, I'm new to the forum. For those of you that have this pen, what color is the cap? I handled the ballpoint version at Paradise Pen store and it was black, online and in the picture above it is black. The closest boutique to me is about an hour and half away, they had one fountain left in stock and agreed to ship it to me. It just arrived today and the cap is a light gray color, I'm rather disappointed with it, it is not near as sharp looking as the black one. This is my first Montblanc, is the color variation normal? I'm thinking about exchanging it for a 1912 or a 149 as I am not happy with it.

[Uncial]

It should be slate grey.

[JohnEbach]

I took this photo hoping that it might help, but not like I thought it might. As Uncial just said its a slate gray, so I tried to take it beside something that was really black, but you can't see the difference very well.

[kenny]

OK, I spent a lot of time at the MB boutique today obsessing over the standard WE Tolstoy vs. the 1868 version.

 

When the Tolstoy first came out last fall, I actually refused to buy it. I really disliked this pen. It was the first WE I have ever refused to buy.

Instead, I went with the special 1917 version of the JFK ballpoint, to match the 1917 JFK FP I already had.

 

I was at the MB boutique with my wife buying a gift for a nephew, and saw the Tolstoy again. This time, I didn't have the negative reaction I had before. I still don't think it's in my top 10 WE, though. It still just seems like a jumble. I think the 1868 is a somewhat better looking version than the standard, but it's only gold plated. I didn't think that the price justified the margin of increased appearance. I mean, the 1868 is FOUR TIMES the cost of the standard. I didn't think it was four times better looking. Not sure the gold plating is worth so much of an extra cost. Heck, I have a Semiramis 888 that had a SOLID gold body AND a diamond in the clip I got years ago, which looks like would currently sell for only about twice the price of the Tolstoy 1868 on eBay.

 

So instead, I got the standard Tolstoy WE, and popped for the Duke of Milan Patron of the Arts 4810 LE pen (from 2013, still in the store). I liked the look of the 4810 better than the 888 Duke of Milan, actually.

 

So in the end, I get two pens for a little less than the 1868 Tolstoy.

 

Sadly, I have to wait to ink each of them, because after buyting them they are off to Germany to get their nibs exchanged for Fine nibs, which I prefer. ETA about 6 weeks, I am told.

Edited April 18, 2016 by kenny

[zaddick]

Was that the SF store Kenny? I was in the Friday looking at those pens and the new ReN pens.

[kenny]

Was that the SF store Kenny? I was in the Friday looking at those pens and the new ReN pens.

 

 

No.

Chicago.

[mk2579]

They are great writers, and I read their stuff...well, not Proust, but, I don't care for them enough to buy the pens. For that, it would need to be a Kerouac, Joyce, Melville, Tolstoy etc...That's the tough selling point about these pens, since I'm not collecting all of them, I would have to find both a writer I really like and a style I really like in one pen. That has only happened with the Hemingway, but not enough to pay the price that they currently go for.

[mk2579]

I wonder if they'll do a Bellow or Roth...

 

Do all the Writers Editions have to be male? How about a female writer- Toni Morrison perhaps? I don't see anyone on this forum buying it (Though I probably would!). Would make a nice change though. Perhaps something 20's or 30's- era aesthetic, inspired by her novel "Jazz". Maybe I'll write to Montblanc and ask them... Oh wait, do they have to be deceased?

[da vinci]

I wonder if they'll do a Bellow or Roth...

Do all the Writers Editions have to be male? How about a female writer- Toni Morrison perhaps? I don't see anyone on this forum buying it (Though I probably would!). Would make a nice change though. Perhaps something 20's or 30's- era aesthetic, inspired by her novel "Jazz". Maybe I'll write to Montblanc and ask them... Oh wait, do they have to be deceased?

I have 2 of the Virginia Woolf writers edition FPs as well as the BP and MP. Great pens.

[mk2579]

Damn I forgot about Virginia Woolf! Ok I'll put that letter to Montblanc back in the drawer...

[mk2579]

*I understand Agatha Christie was also a woman...

[Lemajada]

Definitely not one of my favourites in the series.

[mk2579]

I bought the Leo Tolstoy in the end- nice pen. I think its quirky looks are fitting for the Writers Series and believe they will mellow with age and when seen in the context if the series as a whole. It's lighter than it looks and has a very smooth, wet medium nib too. I'm glad I bought it. I was going back and forth between the Tolstoy, ReN and Andy Warhol. The seriousness of the Tolstoy won.