Something I have noticed about the ink used in MB pens

[Sinistral1]

I am new to the world of Montblanc pens, with a 22 I have never used and now my second MB, a Meisterstuck 146 with a flexible fine nib that I just bought on eBay today.

 

But, I have been writing with and collecting Waterman pens for over 30 years +.  I only have two MB inks and tons of Sailor, KWZI, Diamine, J Herbin and Colorverse inks.  Why can't I use my existing inks in my MB pens?  I'd love to hear what you MB veterans have to say on this matter.  Thanks!

[silverlifter]

5 minutes ago, Sinistral1 said:

Why can't I use my existing inks in my MB pens? 

 

They are your pens: you are free to use whatever inks you desire in them.

[Sinistral1]

I guess the better question would be - if I use non-MB inks in my MB pens, will they damage the pens?

[brokenclay]

There's no imperative to use the pen manufacturer's ink in any pen. Many pen makers don't produce any ink.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

30 minutes ago, Sinistral1 said:

I guess the better question would be - if I use non-MB inks in my MB pens, will they damage the pens?

generally? no.

 

i would start here:

http://www.richardspens.com/ref/care/inks.htm

 

[austollie]

I use several MB Carrera pens from the 1970s as daily writers.  Not once have I used MB ink and I've had no problems.  I use inks from Pelikan, Diamine, Parker and Lamy.  All work well and are yet to cause damage.

[bunnspecial]

MBs since the 60s I think have had elastomer piston seals. The nibs on all but the basic 3-series line are gold.

 

There's basically nothing in them that I'm concerned about damaging with most any ink around. Yes, I've used Noodlers and Private Reserve in mine. I use a lot of MB ink, but that's because I like their inks and I use them as good, safe, and interesting inks in most every pen. I use Japanese inks-specifically Iroshizoku-as the mood strikes me.

 

I do follow two rules:

 

1. I don't use inks that are known to stain in them because I don't want to stain my ink windows, especially the striped/clear windows on resin 149s and most 146s. That means no BSB.

 

2. Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Red, which I've used a lot of in the past, is off limits in all of my good pens. I can't pinpoint or explain why, but it's an ink that seems to me to find its way everywhere.

[A Smug Dill]

1 hour ago, Sinistral1 said:

I guess the better question would be - if I use non-MB inks in my MB pens, will they damage the pens?

 

I have not heard of Waterman Serenity Blue damaging any pens (that, for the sake of discussion, are not already defective or structurally compromised before that). Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue is most likely just as harmless. So the answer to your revised question is not a definite positive.

 

On the other hand, I'm confident you can find a damaging ink if you tried; so the answer is not a definite negative either. I noticed a lot of different shimmer inks have appeared in the Chinese market and on AliExpress the last year or so, and frankly I wouldn't trust any of them in anything but my most expendable Chinese fountain pens.

[Sinistral1]

I did read the R Binder fact sheet and it looks like as long as I practice good pen maintenance on a regular basis I can use my non-MB inks in my new 146 with no problem.  No sparkly or shimmer inks though, no matter how beautiful they are!  Thanks for everyone's words of wisdom.

[PAKMAN]

I'll just add that I also have about 6 MB pens and have used non MB inks in them primarily with no issues. MB like other manufacturers like to imply that you must use their inks but that is really not the case.

[Tom Kellie]

~ @Sinistral1:

 

To date there's never been any discernible negative effect from writing with ink made by other manufacturers in the Montblanc fountain pens on my writing desk.

 

         Tom K.

[bunnspecial]

Here's a somewhat interesting one for me...

 

My wife drug me to her favorite vacation destination, Disney World, last week(I say drug, but did enjoy it, but that's a side note).

 

Last year's "Great Characters" pen was Walt Disney, and yes I do have one. On the Disney property is a high end watch store that also sells MB pens(plus MB watches, wallets, etc). I'd looked at the WD pen there back in December before buying it(elsewhere).

 

Last week, I looked and they had the edition of 1901 on display. They had the rollerball out, but said the FP was in stock. As interesting as it is, for $3600 I'd rather buy something else like a Hemingway or a 139 or plenty of other pens.

 

I did, however, ask if they had the LE ink. Everything I've read is that it's an absolutely useless ink, but the box is interesting and I'd also like to have it to go with my pen. I'm sure I could find it with some hunting, but it's also sold out at a lot of the places where I normally buy ink.

 

They told me that they would only sell me the ink if I bought the pen, but were VERY insistent that I could use any ink Montblanc ink in the pen and "Would you like to buy some blue or black?" They also had the 80 days ink, which I have(and had the pen in my pocket filled with the ink) but asked about anyway and they insisted that you could "only" buy LE inks with the pen "But they work with any ink." I have quite a few LE inks, and don't have the companion pen for most of them, but it definitely wasn't worth arguing.

[Sinistral1]

Because I plan to do callighraphy with my 146, I am considering getting the "elixir" yellow gold by MB.  Does anyone know if it is a shimmer ink?

[mizgeorge]

2 hours ago, Sinistral1 said:

Because I plan to do callighraphy with my 146, I am considering getting the "elixir" yellow gold by MB.  Does anyone know if it is a shimmer ink?

 

The elixir gold is far from shimmering - in fact it's pretty matte.  The nearest thing to a shimmer they've made would be the 'golden elixir', which was 24k gold and cost in the thousands per bottle. I've seen it, but never tried it!

[Frank C]

I tend to use the more "difficult" inks in cartridge converter pens because they are easier to clean and damaged converters can easily be replaced. By difficult, I mean highly saturated, shimmering, sheening, pigmented, etc. inks. Having said that, I only use Montblanc ink in Montblanc pens, although any standard ink should work just fine. 

[Sinistral1]

Since MB made this "golden elixir" I now know what to buy after I win the lottery.  Thanks mizgeorge for the description of the new yellow gold elixir.

[meiers]

On 6/5/2021 at 10:07 PM, Tom Kellie said:

~ @Sinistral1:

 

To date there's never been any discernible negative effect from writing with ink made by other manufacturers in the Montblanc fountain pens on my writing desk.

 

         Tom K.

I agree.

[meiers]

On 6/5/2021 at 6:40 PM, Sinistral1 said:

I am new to the world of Montblanc pens, with a 22 I have never used and now my second MB, a Meisterstuck 146 with a flexible fine nib that I just bought on eBay today.

 

But, I have been writing with and collecting Waterman pens for over 30 years +.  I only have two MB inks and tons of Sailor, KWZI, Diamine, J Herbin and Colorverse inks.  Why can't I use my existing inks in my MB pens?  I'd love to hear what you MB veterans have to say on this matter.  Thanks!

 

On 6/5/2021 at 6:49 PM, Sinistral1 said:

I guess the better question would be - if I use non-MB inks in my MB pens, will they damage the pens?

I occasionally fuel my Montblanc pens with Waterman, Diamine and Sailor inks... without any problem. Using a good quality fountain pen ink really is the only important consideration. There are liquid inks that are NOT meant for fountain pens and they will gum up your feed. Those inks are not even allowed in my home.

[NeverTapOut]

I might use other popular ink brands however I always go back to MB inks. I just like their inks better. I think inks are classic colors just like the pens. I wish they had an Iron Gall ink.

 

[bunnspecial]

6 hours ago, NeverTapOut said:

I might use other popular ink brands however I always go back to MB inks. I just like their inks better. I think inks are classic colors just like the pens. I wish they had an Iron Gall ink.

 

 

They until 2012 or 2013, and IMO it was one of the best around. I doubt we'll see another, especially now with the permanent line inks, but who knows, they may surprise us.

 

Fortunately I have a couple of bottles of iron gall midnight blue.