Montblanc - The Beatles - What Do You Think?

[Michael R.]

"plating wear" and "plating flaking off" are definitely two different things. I agree with @como that the latter is much, much worse!

It's a good idea to avoid such things as ruthenium plated nibs, gold plated steel nibs but also plated sections rings on the end of any pen's section!

 

The ruthenium trim looks very nice on modern Montblanc pens but durability is not good at all! It is annoying to see that many modern pens have a very limited timespan keeping their intended and original appearance! Especially if those are $$$ pens from any major brand including Montblanc.

During product development they must know that this will happen and it seems that they are ignoring this for the sake of "looks" (when new).

 

I'm experiencing plating loss on the black cap rings on my gold leaf 146 pen also from normal and gentle use and carrying in a Montblanc pouch.

And some recent Montblanc models come with those technical design flaws more often in my opinion...

 

Cheers

 

Michael

 

 

PS: of course I still bought the Beatles SE pen because it looks so nice; it's not a daily writer but still I'm always a little bit concerned when using it

 

[Nurmister]

Thanks everyone for your anecdotes. Indeed the platinum plating on Montblanc 149s generally stands the test of time -- I usually only find plating loss when the nib has been over-polished to remove patina. It seems the problem is less with the plating method (I believe electroplating is used for both platinum and ruthenium), and more with the material. That said, the platinum plate on the cap-bands of a classique rollerball I have also flaked off, but the clip has been fine. Strange. I suppose durability is a function of several factors, many of which we can't know as end-consumers. 

A blacked-out matte 149 would be pretty crazy though. Haha.

[Nurmister]

22 hours ago, Navidn said:

Hi

what is the best reasonable price to pay for MB Einstein FP? 
Do you know anyone selling?

 

I have no idea, but check Ebay -- specifically the sold listings. Price can be unstable for rare out-of-print pens.

[sansenri]

20 hours ago, Uncial said:

I'm not sure it's the ink. I don't think I've seen a single Imperial nib that hasn't at least started the process of 'peeling'. Mine has it right at the very edge, so fortunately not so noticeable yet

If not the ink, what else?

My opinion is that the plating is delicate and just different pH might work at it. Mine looks as though the plating was corroded in bubble forms...

Fortunately it's my only plated nib. Performance of course has not changed at all, and it's a very nice nib.

[Uncial]

5 hours ago, sansenri said:

If not the ink, what else?

My opinion is that the plating is delicate and just different pH might work at it. Mine looks as though the plating was corroded in bubble forms...

Fortunately it's my only plated nib. Performance of course has not changed at all, and it's a very nice nib.

 

I think it just peels off over time. Sailor insist that if you use only their inks that it wont happen. In the Imperial i have only ever used one Sailor ink (It's used for a specific purpose) but its still peeling.

[meiers]

I think the Beatles pen is really cool. But it won’t find its way into my modest collection.