Montegrappa 1930 Extra questions

[maclink]

The Montegrappa 1930 Extra - it's said to be an iconic pen from Montegrappa.   It's really nice looking.

 

However, this does not seem to be a popular pen on this forum.  There are very fiew enduser reviews to find on YouTube.

 

Is there a reason for this since it's certainly a gorgeous looking pen?  It's a bit pricey, but there are equally and/or more pricey pens that are quite popular, so I doubt that it's the price.

 

I've been eyeing one for a while and wondering if I'd be doing the right thing taking the plunge.  Although I'm very much a subscriber to the dictum, 'to each his own', I'm curious about the experiences of real world users. 

[kazoolaw]

If you look in the Italian Pens area you will find a long photo thread singing the praises of this pen and its variants.

[Namo]

Like kasoolaw just said, there is an awesome photo thread on the Italian pens forum. And you will find a lot of people that know a lot. 

I do have one Montegrappa 1930 Extra, the Black Bamboo, and it's probably the finest pen I have. The balance of the pen is perfect and the nib is amazing. The only thing I don't really like is the low ink capacity. I think the filling mecanism is some kind of captive convertor. I have an EF nib, so i'ts not a problem really, but ot would if the nib was a B or even a M. 

The material is incredible, and it's the only time I bought a pen because of how it looks, and after one year of daily use, the pen is still flawless. 

[como]

Personal opinions of course, but here we go:

 

Pros: 

- Beautiful material (celluloid, sterling silver trims)

- Classic design

- Well balanced

 

Cons:

- Captive converter (1. as @Namomentioned, relatively small ink capacity; 2. takes longer to move the piston up and down, so cleaning can be tiresome; and 3. potentially high repair cost)

- Rather expensive (but not out of proportion with the material and craftsmanship involved and a size 8 gold nib, in my opinion)

 

Question mark:

- Some nibs are somewhat soft and flex, while others rather on the stiff side

 

I have had 2 Montegrappa 1930 Extra (and 1 Miya). The only thing I don't like is the captive converter. I just dislike any pens which have zero possibility of self-servicing. I saw one member of FPN did it ( @Andrew_LI believe), very clever, but let's not go there, very complicated. I sometimes restore vintage pens for fun, but I don't want to mess with this one 😀.

 

It was not a light decision to buy these pens. I made my decision with the heart, not the head, like with most of my pens 😀.

 

Hope this helps.

[maclink]

3 hours ago, como said:

Personal opinions of course, but here we go:

 

Pros: 

- Beautiful material (celluloid, sterling silver trims)

- Classic design

- Well balanced

 

Cons:

- Captive converter (1. as @Namomentioned, relatively small ink capacity; 2. takes longer to move the piston up and down, so cleaning can be tiresome; and 3. potentially high repair cost)

- Rather expensive (but not out of proportion with the material and craftsmanship involved and a size 8 gold nib, in my opinion)

 

Question mark:

- Some nibs are somewhat soft and flex, while others rather on the stiff side

 

I have had 2 Montegrappa 1930 Extra (and 1 Miya). The only thing I don't like is the captive converter. I just dislike any pens which have zero possibility of self-servicing. I saw one member of FPN did it ( @Andrew_LI believe), very clever, but let's not go there, very complicated. I sometimes restore vintage pens for fun, but I don't want to mess with this one 😀.

 

It was not a light decision to buy these pens. I made my decision with the heart, not the head, like with most of my pens 😀.

 

Hope this helps.

Thanks for this. You certainly helped.  I too agree that it's a bit hairy having a pen that can be difficult to self-service, especially when what needs to be done isn't that complicated in principle.  In such instances anyway, I would go with using this pen only with well-behaved inks that washout easily.

 

I may well take the plunge which would be a purchase with the heart for sure.

[Andrew_L]

As Como wrote - the biggest problem of modern 1930 Extras is the built-in converter(captive converter), which has a small volume and is very, very, very difficult to services. Therefore, a more interesting purchase is the old, early version of the Extra with a real piston-filling system, but not even because they have a piston is because of the pleasant big soft nib. From the more modern models, I would prefer to buy Miya's - the nibs are not as large as the Extra's, but it is as soft and pleasant as the early Extras.

 

ps: Montegrappa's captive converters fail quite often and repairs are expensive(very), while they are not covered by the warranty .

[Toll]

I also have one in the tortoise brown color — it is a flawless writer — comfortable to use — and stunning to behold. 

[Andrew_L]

There is no point in arguing with the fact that 1930 Extra is a beautiful fountain pen with a huge beautiful nib. But technically there are sometimes problems and you must known about it before buying.

 

ps: I also have one in Deep Blue (Midnight Blue), but earlier version without 1930 (true piston) and I serviced several other's 1930's so I have something to compare with :).

[como]

Have you not heard of such thing/person as a high maintenance beauty? Not that it has no cure, just that it would be expensive. The Turtle Brown, Malachite and Bamboo are my favorites. I took the plunge and i am still happy. Maybe one day I won’t be any more. If that happens, I will have to remember that I once was happy, and for a long time (I hope).😀

[maclink]

37 minutes ago, como said:

Have you not heard of such thing/person as a high maintenance beauty? Not that it has no cure, just that it would be expensive. The Turtle Brown, Malachite and Bamboo are my favorites. I took the plunge and i am still happy. Maybe one day I won’t be any more. If that happens, I will have to remember that I once was happy, and for a long time (I hope).😀

You took the plunge and got all three? 🙂

[Andrew_L]

Como, you are definitely a romantic!

[como]

27 minutes ago, maclink said:

You took the plunge and got all three? 🙂

I have had the Extra 1930 in Turtle Brown, Miya in red celluloid, and La Verde Roma (same style as Extra 1930 but with section in celluloid, by Novelli/Corsani) in Malachite. So far so good. I have been careful not to overturn the piston when it reaches the ends.

[como]

10 minutes ago, Andrew_L said:

Como, you are definitely a romantic!

Sometimes... I sold off some beautiful vintage Onoto pens in celluloid before I learned how to fix a plunger, for the fear that one day they might break. Looking back, it would be probably a much easier and less costly fix if it even happens. The vintage Onotos had fantastic nibs for sure!

[vdiantonio]

I have one in parchment and love it.  Great writer and a beautiful pen!  And a super big nib!