Newly Rediscovered Montblanc 146

[Marcwithac]

Every so often, when I rummage through my vintage fountain pen collection, I stumble across a pen that I acquired decades ago but never restored or inked.  This week I discovered a real gem – a 1950s Montblanc 146 in black celluloid with an ebonite ski slope feed and two-tone nib.  The pen was in its original box, or at least the box it was in when I acquired it while I was living and working in Prague in the mid-1990s.  It also came with two German language documents, one of which appears to be a 25-year guarantee (although that document refers to Models 22 and 24).

 

To my great surprise, the telescoping piston still works; the pen fills and empties perfectly.  So, after about a hundred flushes (there was plenty of ink still in the pen from whenever the previous owner last used it), I filled it with Montblanc Homer blue ink.  The nib required no tuning or smoothing; it writes beautifully.  The pen will now be part of my regular rotation for a while.

 

Posted below are some photos I took earlier today of the pen and the box with papers.  I also included a family reunion shot with my other two 146s, a 1950s green striated version and a later (I think 1980s) burgundy model, as well as a writing sample on Tomoe River 52 gsm paper.

 

While my primary purpose is to share this find and the photos, I am curious about several aspects of the pen and I’m hoping that some of the MB experts on this forum might be able to provide additional information.  Two of the questions relate to markings on the turning knob.  As you can see from the photos, in addition to the model number, the turning knob is stamped “KEF” and “OK”.  I understand from my research that KEF is the nib size, that EF is obviously extra fine and that the K stands for Kugel, which denotes a ball shaped tip.  Is that correct?

 

The “OK” is trickier.  I saw in a post somewhere that a third imprint on the turning knob could indicate the identity of the importer.  That would make sense in this case.  The wide cap band reads “Masterpiece”, not “Meisterstuck”, meaning that the pen was made for the export market.  As noted above, I bought this pen from its previous owner in Prague.  Could OK refer to the importer for Czechoslovakia, as it was known then?  (I note that the Czech airline previously used “OK” as a trade name for some of its services – an odd choice for an airline – but that’s probably not relevant.)

 

My last question relates to the seal on the piston.  Given how well the filling mechanism works, I’m guessing that the seal is not cork.  I read somewhere (though I can no longer find it) that in the late 1950s Montblanc started using a plastic seal on the 14x models.  Does anyone know if this is true?  Or is it possible that the original cork seal has remained perfectly intact, with no shrinkage, after all these years?

 

[CS388]

That is beautiful! 

The celluloid 146 was a grail pen for me, for many years.

 

I, too was surprised to find that mine has a plastic/elastomer piston seal. I've had a couple since then and they also had the plastic seal. Very happy about this - a bit of lube in the barrel and it still works as well as the day it came out of the factory. Same with my celluloid 144 pens - all but one had the more modern seal in them.

 

I've whittled down my whole pen 'collection', now. Just a handful of users and a couple of keepers alongside them. The celluloid 146 is both a user and a keeper.

Having read your post, I think I'll ink it up next - once my 144g is empty.

 

Enjoy it in good health.

[niksch]

A wonderful story and a wonderful pen.  I can confirm the poly/elastomer seal in pens that fit your description.  I have restored many and am currently restoring a striated 146 that has all the traits of an early '50s 146, but also has a synthetic or elastomer seal.  

 

WRT the OK stamp.  It's plausible that this is an importer stamp.  There is solid evidence that certain MB pens of the 1950s contain a JB imprint for Jhaveri Bazaar.  I think this is also mentioned in this Montblanc forum.  But, I cannot determine the meaning of the OK imprint.

 

Perhaps Michael R.  will respond, or you could message him directly.

 

 

 

[Marcwithac]

Thanks.  I found Michael R’s comparison of feeds under “Dating Montblanc 146”.  The ski slope version on my pen is third from the left in Michael R’s photo, so I imagine that means early 1950s.  My green striated 146 has the feed second from the left in that photo and appears to have a cork seal, although I haven’t removed the piston to confirm this.