Blue Hour Skeleton Plating Wears

[lumuchien10230]

I purchased this pen, uses only Montblanc Midnight Blue (not the iron gal version), always wipes off external inks after filling. Had this pen for around a year, this is what happened:

 

https://youtu.be/JSqO9a5IWkw

 

Edit: Added a picture from the video

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10B9nR3HDHynNI7hIap59-OLkESC1Vde6/view?usp=drivesdk

 

Anyone have similar issues?

Edited July 22, 2020 by lumuchien10230

[CS388]

Sorry, but with the reflections, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be seeing?

 

Plating gone from ... ? The section? Nib? Collar?

 

Either way, you shoud contact Montblanc about this, whether it has happened to others, or not.

These pens should be good for many years of use.

[Michael R.]

Yes, happens to a few Montblancs with plated sections rings at the front, not only this one.

Of course this should not happen but it does because this happens to plating which gets micro damage from normal use in combination with water based liquids (=ink).

I've had this happen two or three times in a row on my Nikolai I. Had to pay the first exchange. The next ones happened again within the warranty of the repair and were free. After that I stopped using the pen as I do not want to send it to MB once a year for maintenance.

 

Sorry to see this still is a problem especially on some top of the line pens (but really should not happen to any > 250 € pen).

 

Hope your pen is still within warranty or that Montblanc will replace it for free on good will!

 

Cheers

 

Michael

[mjchuang9]

My blue hour skeleton had the same issue of corrosion only after I inked a week later. It was unbelievable that this happened in my most expensive MB pen at that time. After 6 months returned from Hamburgs the crazy thing happened again, although they fixed the corrosive part, there was a thick pod into the piston and there was a thin thread lying on the surface of Piston too. So it was sent again for another 6 months. They didn't clean the inner completely just removed the pod out.

 

Edited July 23, 2020 by mjchuang9

[Matlock]

A growing number of pen manufacturers think that it is a good idea to put a plated ring on the section (I thought that MB had learnt the lesson when they changed from the 144 to the 145). I am afraid that it is something that you will just have to learn to live with or don't buy a pen with that ring.

[Michael R.]

That's one (maybe THE) reason why I prefer pens without plated rings near the section.

Or use solid material (stainless steel, sterling silver, solid gold...).

 

On Montblanc's newer designs with metal section the design requests such a ring. Also all the new & wonderful Leonardos have it.

[jamesgibby]

The other issue which is similarly why I don’t like metal in the section is that the ring sometimes becomes unstuck! Had it with my Thomas Mann and had to re glue it with some ‘bubblegum’ sealant

[jhsd1124013561]

On 7/23/2020 at 11:22 AM, mjchuang9 said:

My blue hour skeleton had the same issue of corrosion only after I inked a week later. It was unbelievable that this happened in my most expensive MB pen at that time. After 6 months returned from Hamburgs the crazy thing happened again, although they fixed the corrosive part, there was a thick pod into the piston and there was a thin thread lying on the surface of Piston too. So it was sent again for another 6 months. They didn't clean the inner completely just removed the pod out.

 

 

This is very very worrisome information, thanks for sharing this.

 

I did purchase the Blue Hour and 90th Anniversary Skeleton, but kept both uninked.

 

Now I am worried about the nib ring plating

[Dione]

3 hours ago, jhsd1124013561 said:

This is very very worrisome information, thanks for sharing this.

 

I did purchase the Blue Hour and 90th Anniversary Skeleton, but kept both uninked.

 

Now I am worried about the nib ring plating

No need to worry about the nib ring plating while you're keeping them both unlnked. It won't begin deteriorating until you start filling them with ink and writing with them.

[Karmachanic]

17 minutes ago, Dione said:

It won't begin deteriorating until you start filling them with ink and writing with them.

 

Not fit for purpose?

[A Smug Dill]

1 hour ago, Karmachanic said:

Not fit for purpose?

 

Well, if the purpose of the pen is to serve as a writing instrument, then one has to argue that it could well be fit for purpose, in spite of loss of aesthetic enjoyment and/or resale value, if any visible deterioration of the section ring plating does not interfere with the pen's function.

[agentdaffy007]

Hi, after extensive research, I decided to wax my plated section ring with Renaissance Wax. We will see if it helps. Gotta prevent the problem before it happens.

 

I have enough of this wax for 1000 years.

[Karmachanic]

1 hour ago, agentdaffy007 said:

 I decided to wax my plated section ring

 

On a pen that sells for $9000.

[Dione]

4 hours ago, agentdaffy007 said:

Hi, after extensive research, I decided to wax my plated section ring with Renaissance Wax. We will see if it helps. Gotta prevent the problem before it happens.

 

I have enough of this wax for 1000 years.

I wonder when you dip the end of the section into ink to fill the pen whether the ink will go up onto the section ring from just inside the edge and you might get ink moisture underneath the wax and keep it there.

[agentdaffy007]

10 hours ago, Dione said:

I wonder when you dip the end of the section into ink to fill the pen whether the ink will go up onto the section ring from just inside the edge and you might get ink moisture underneath the wax and keep it there.

 

I guess we will find out in a year!! It's not a $9000 pen but a $2500 pen.

[Dione]

Please note that some repairers do not recommend the use of Renaissance Wax on fountain pens.

[Karmachanic]

2 hours ago, agentdaffy007 said:

It's not a $9000 pen but a $2500 pen.

 

Where might one find this pen at that price?

That aside I'd still hold MB responsible for a solution.

[meiers]

Personally I would not worry about it. Metal plating wears off over time without affecting the functionality of the pen. Still at those prices MB should use solid gold and avoid this problem altogether. 

[agentdaffy007]

11 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

 

Where might one find this pen at that price?

That aside I'd still hold MB responsible for a solution.

 

You must be mistaken me with someone else. I have a MB JP Morgan fp.

[NoType]

Although the OP’s pen is the Blue Hour Skeleton, reports by other members here and elsewhere in the forum have revealed that corrosion of the nib collar’s plating, and other related problems, are not confined to that particular model — it seems that Montblanc pens across many price points might be vulnerable, a troubling statistic.