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Aditkamath26

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The first time I saw the 149 in a review, I seriously couldn’t get the hype. It looked uninspiring being a boring round top pen with gold trim albeit with a breathtakingly beautiful gold nib. I’d always wanted to try the pen if not, just for the nib. When I got around to finally trying it, at my very first Pelikan Hub (better times, eh?) in 2017, I was hooked. Understanding why the pen was revered as an icon, I wanted to own one someday. And I got my very first 149, one from the 1970s, a few months ago, and here are my thoughts about it.

 

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Design and Construction:

The pen is huge! It has rounded ends, with the iconic Montblanc star on the cap end. The cap is pretty much straight throughout with the barrel tapering then bulging slightly, and finally tapering to the end. The section is straight without any curves to it and ends in a frustum-like lip, indicating the one-piece construction. The clip widens slightly towards the end and has no bend to it. The center band contains the engraving ‘MONTBLANC – MEISTERSTUCK NO149’ and is surrounded by two thinner bands. The ring at top of the cap is part of the clip and the one at the end is part of the piston filling mechanism.

 

The material used is their ‘precious resin’ which feels light and is quite scratch resistance in my experience. I polished the pen the day I’d received it and in over 4-5 months, I’ve not had many scratches where the cap screws onto the barrel. The pen itself is put together well and feels very well made. 

 

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Filling Mechanism: 

The 149 has a piston filling mechanism and holds quite a bit of ink. I’ve not measured it but one fill did last a few days when it wasn’t vacation and I had to write notes from online lectures. Since mine is an old pen, I had to lubricate the piston mechanism and I used a cut, bent, and filed paper clip to disassemble both the piston mechanism and the nib unit.

 

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Writing Comfort:

I am quite versed with big pens having used oversized handmade Indian pens, but the 149 took some time getting used to, mainly because of the huge nib. The straight section feels slightly weird to grip and causes fatigue after a long writing session. I much prefer the M1000 section. The pen is well balanced though. 

 

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Nib and Writing Experience: 

The nib looks stunning, let me just get that out of the way. It’s a bi-color 14c and is paired with a solid ebonite feed. Initially, I had a few issues with ink flow I did a heat-set but that did nothing. I then realized that the feed had been set too close to the nib and this was causing some issue with the seating, lifting the nib off the feed. So, I gently pulled the nib and feed and it came off very easily, without needing a knockout block. Once I set the feed further back and did a heat set, it was flush with the nib. The previous owner had ground the nib a bit to his liking, so I had to adjust it to suit my writing. 

 

I’ve inked it with Lamy Petrol and it writes a medium line, with ample wetness. The nib also has a bit of softness to it and that was something I had to get used to since all the pens I’d used before it were hard nails.

 

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Final Thoughts:

I do not regret my purchase one bit, and I would love to get more 149s in the future. That pretty much sums it up :) .

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I love everything about them (except the price of course - second hand prices always feel a lot less painful) and own far too many.

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Excellent review of one of the all-time greatest fountain pens. Thank you for your insights and photos. Much appreciated. 

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Bought a 90s version for $325 in the Caribbean in 2001—it has never been out of my rotation since. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Very good review.

I have to admit I was one of those who did not understand why the MB149 was an icon: too boring, too overpriced, too pretentious...

Until I tried one (mine is from late 1980s, bought second hand) and I got convinced. I love this pen and I love to use it, but not publicly - when seen by others I prefer to use other not so "obviously expensive" pens, even if they are actually expensive: Montegrappa, OMAS...

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whats the nib like? do they make it completely smooth or add a bit of toothiness like sailor or pelikan

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On 6/27/2021 at 1:22 AM, Uncial said:

I love everything about them (except the price of course - second hand prices always feel a lot less painful) and own far too many.

 

For sure! Second hand is the way to go for me, at least for now. 

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On 7/2/2021 at 5:50 PM, Barry Gabay said:

Excellent review of one of the all-time greatest fountain pens. Thank you for your insights and photos. Much appreciated. 

Thank you!!

 

On 7/6/2021 at 8:38 AM, jameswatts said:

Bought a 90s version for $325 in the Caribbean in 2001—it has never been out of my rotation since. 

Same with this one! Has never gone out of rotation yet :) 

 

On 7/6/2021 at 11:34 AM, Sagarb said:

Nice detailed review,thanks.

Thank you for reading!

 

On 7/14/2021 at 10:14 PM, lfmarsan said:

Very good review.

I have to admit I was one of those who did not understand why the MB149 was an icon: too boring, too overpriced, too pretentious...

Until I tried one (mine is from late 1980s, bought second hand) and I got convinced. I love this pen and I love to use it, but not publicly - when seen by others I prefer to use other not so "obviously expensive" pens, even if they are actually expensive: Montegrappa, OMAS...

Thank you! I can see how using it publicly would invite a ton of questions, considering the HUGE size and the beautiful nib :) 

 

On 7/20/2021 at 3:04 AM, TrotskiKazotski said:

whats the nib like? do they make it completely smooth or add a bit of toothiness like sailor or pelikan

The nib on this one was ground slightly by the previous owner so I'm afraid I don't know how a new one would write.

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Hi folks,

 

Thanks for the review!

 

I ended up buying a couple of 149s during lockdown. Previously I'd been a little skeptical, but, hey, lockdown. So the first was from the late 1960s early 1970s with a (probably) EF nib. The spiral was broken, and it was one of the ones with the tiny bucket holding the spiral and not the circlip. It also had a rather crudely carved name on it in Chinese characters. Of course, I had it apart in the process of fixing the spiral, and the construction blew me away. It's almost like the Ürfüllfederhalter (I know it's not the first) in terms of simple German design with a piston and an ebonite feed. I got another, later, one to keep it company, then realized I actually only need one. The first was more sentimentally attractive, so I sold the 1980s one. I also ended up getting a 146 for my partner, who *destroys* pens, and it's been a rock solid performed for her.

 

Overall, I'm very impressed, and I see why people love these pens. It performs really nicely and consistently. I can throw it in my bike bag and it doesn't leak or burp, take it on a plane or, I am sure, use it to stir my tea. And it just keeps rolling.

 

As for the nib, the experience with both of mine (and the 146 and a MB12) is that the EF nib is very much towards the smooth end of the spectrum yet has a bit of character to it. Both my 149s had a touch of spring, enough to be comfortable but too little to be considered flex.

 

Being completely honest, I can see how a person might choose a 149 as their only lifetime pen and be completely happy with it.

 

Cheers,

 

Ralf

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  • 3 weeks later...

One of the first pens I bought early on ( about 2 years ago) was the MB 149. I swallowed hard and bought it new. I have heard a lot of pen reviewers disparage Mont Blanc pens , mostly because they are very expensive (and yes, no more for me) and some because they didn't think they were "worth it", for whatever that means. I have since bought another 8-10 higher end pens that write very well but my 149 medium nib still tops the list as to smoothness. It certainly won't win a beauty contest  , except for the nib, since it is a basic black classic shape but I still pull it out regularly "for exercise" and absolutely love it. Just saying!!

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Excellent choice , one can't have too many 149s and I have some with semi flex to flex nibs. In terms of confort, it is a great pen. Enjoy it in good health👍

Pens are like watches , once you start a collection, you can hardly go back. And pens like all fine luxury items do improve with time

 

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On 7/21/2021 at 8:27 AM, ralfstc said:

 

. . . .

Overall, I'm very impressed, and I see why people love these pens. It performs really nicely and consistently. I can throw it in my bike bag and it doesn't leak or burp, take it on a plane or, I am sure, use it to stir my tea. And it just keeps rolling. . . . 

 

When I use mine to stir my tea, I use the pen nib up. I tried nib down and it has a deleterious effect on the tea and any subsequent writing, although the pen is undamaged. I also find that my lips and mouth become discolored. This causes some consternation among my coworkers, but I seem to have suffered no ill effects. I used to use the Montblanc Iron Gall Blue Black in one of my pens. I don't recall ever using that one to stir my tea.

"One can not waste time worrying about small minds . . . If we were normal, we'd still be using free ball point pens." —Bo Bo Olson

 

"I already own more ink than a rational person can use in a lifetime." —Waski_the_Squirrel

 

I'm still trying to figure out how to list all my pens down here.

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When I use mine to stir my tea, I use the pen nib up. I tried nib down and it has a deleterious effect on the tea and any subsequent writing, although the pen is undamaged. I also find that my lips and mouth become discolored. This causes some consternation among my coworkers, but I seem to have suffered no ill effects. I used to use the Montblanc Iron Gall Blue Black in one of my pens. I don't recall ever using that one to stir my tea.

 

Perhaps your taking the Pens and Tea reviews too seriously. :)

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4 hours ago, awarrenj said:

When I use mine to stir my tea, I use the pen nib up. I tried nib down and it has a deleterious effect on the tea and any subsequent writing, although the pen is undamaged. I also find that my lips and mouth become discolored. This causes some consternation among my coworkers, but I seem to have suffered no ill effects. I used to use the Montblanc Iron Gall Blue Black in one of my pens. I don't recall ever using that one to stir my tea.

 

Perhaps your taking the Pens and Tea reviews too seriously. :)

 

:doh:

"One can not waste time worrying about small minds . . . If we were normal, we'd still be using free ball point pens." —Bo Bo Olson

 

"I already own more ink than a rational person can use in a lifetime." —Waski_the_Squirrel

 

I'm still trying to figure out how to list all my pens down here.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 7/19/2021 at 6:04 PM, TrotskiKazotski said:

whats the nib like? do they make it completely smooth or add a bit of toothiness like sailor or pelikan

 

 Wrote with an '80s 149 and now am the proud owner of an '80s 144 that was refurbished (nib was tuned adjusted among other things) by Montblanc.

 

 Both pens have a hint of tasteful tooth that adds a sense of precession to the tipping material without over or under-doing it. I prefer the tooth on these Montblanc nibs to that on Sailors.

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I have 4 149s, spanning late 1960s production to ~2019. The EF, made around 1990, is very smooth. The rest are B and larger, and all have a bit of tooth to them but I agree a lot less than Sailors. It's perfect for my taste.

 

My experience with other MBs, mainly 146s and the two digiit models, is that F and larger tend to have tooth to them while EFs are the only ones where I don't really perceive it.

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On 8/16/2021 at 11:27 AM, Frank C said:

 

:doh:

Just curious, is that herbal tea or the high-test caffeinated style?

“Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today, because if you do it today and like it, you can do again tomorrow!”

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7 minutes ago, Gloucesterman said:

Just curious, is that herbal tea or the high-test caffeinated style?

High-test caffeinated. I drink it like the British, with milk and sugar. Now, in the evening, I will drink herbal tea to avoid the caffeine. I don't need to stir it. For Japanese green tea, I alternate Sailor, Pilot, and Platinum pens. I don't use the Nakayas, although I could. After all, urushi lacquer was originally used for eating and drinking utensils. 

"One can not waste time worrying about small minds . . . If we were normal, we'd still be using free ball point pens." —Bo Bo Olson

 

"I already own more ink than a rational person can use in a lifetime." —Waski_the_Squirrel

 

I'm still trying to figure out how to list all my pens down here.

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49 minutes ago, Frank C said:

High-test caffeinated. I drink it like the British, with milk and sugar. Now, in the evening, I will drink herbal tea to avoid the caffeine. I don't need to stir it. For Japanese green tea, I alternate Sailor, Pilot, and Platinum pens. I don't use the Nakayas, although I could. After all, urushi lacquer was originally used for eating and drinking utensils. 

Oh my, what an astute and articulate imbiber.

Thank you

“Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today, because if you do it today and like it, you can do again tomorrow!”

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