Montblanc 149 Review - 2021

[maclink]

My experience has been mixed.  One with a F nib settled down with use after an initial period of intermittent hard starting.  It stopped after using with about a fill and a half of writing.

 

The other is a 146 with a B nib.  That one hard started quite reliably after a moment (>10s) of not writing, typically on the dowstroke.  This one struck me as baby's bottom behaviour.  3 fills later still a pain.  This one, I bought pre-owned at a great price so after some nib tuning experience with other of my pens, I took the plunge and retuned it and it's now fixed and writing well.  Of course, if it was new, I'd have sent the pen back in.

 

So, if persistent and especially if you're thinking of a different nib grind, I'd go for the free nib exchange, another advantage of purchasing new. 😁 

[bunnspecial]

My last two new pens have been LEs, one a 146(80 days) and one a "Great Characters"(Walt Disney). The latter has the funky metal body MB seems to like for LEs these days and looks like a #6/146 sized nib to me.

 

The Great Characters was perfect OOB-a generous flowing fine that starts every time. The 80 Days is an M that starts every time(something true of virtual all my MBs of any age) but has too narrow of a sweet spot for my liking and is also dry.

 

I want an OM in the latter so haven't addressed it.

 

With that said, I'd try a good flushing before sending it in for service. I've had more than one new pen I was less than happy with(the last one before this was a Lamy 2000) but flushing made a night and day difference. Hard starting MAY indicate a baby bottom, though, which happens when they get too aggressive on polishing, so if it doesn't improve I'd definitely send it in. DO a nib swap at the same time if you want it.

[NickUK]

Thanks all. 
 

Quick update….. It’s going back!

 

Even if it was perfectly tuned, I think it’s just going to be too thick for me. 
 

I think my perfect nib would be a skinny broad…. But I’m swapping for a medium as it’ll be more suitable for 90% of what I write! 
 

Will update once it’s back at the end of the week!

[agentdaffy007]

I have noticed that quite often the B and BB hard starts. I was never lucky with them.

 

As for Medium, it will work like a charm, almost guaranteed.

[Detman101]

5 hours ago, NickUK said:

 

Is that so? Because I am very close to sending it back for a Medium.

 

The hard starts cause it to write really poorly - It doesn't feel very smooth at all.

Oof...I'm sorry to hear that it's a bit disappointing.
I think the "Settling in" that I referenced was to the "flex" ability of the "Calligraphy edition"...now that I think about it.
You may be correct in considering sending it back if it does not write the way you prefer...especially before the return time runs out.
🤔

[Frank C]

I would say that you should write a few pages with it before you give up. How old is your bottle of ink? Of course, if you think that you would prefer a medium nib, then go ahead and send it back. Having said all that, my MBs have always written well out-of-the-box. I do know that not everyone has been so fortunate. 

[NickUK]

8 minutes ago, Detman101 said:

Oof...I'm sorry to hear that it's a bit disappointing.
I think the "Settling in" that I referenced was to the "flex" ability of the "Calligraphy edition"...now that I think about it.

 

I spoke to the MB boutique, and they said that if anything, it would get thicker as it settled in (but likely wouldn’t change all too much).

 

6 minutes ago, Frank C said:

I would say that you should write a few pages with it before you give up. How old is your bottle of ink?

 

I wrote about 5 pages of B5 and 4 of A5 - There were times when it seemed OK, but definitely needed way more pressure than my other pens - If I applied no pressure at all, no ink would come out.

 

Even if it was tuned perfectly, I think I got a fat Broad, which is just a touch too big for my everyday usage.

 

The ink was brand new (sent from Montblanc with the pen), and I tried it on 3 different types of paper.

[Karmachanic]

Silly question.  Did you flush it prior to its first inking?

[NickUK]

10 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

Silly question.  Did you flush it prior to its first inking?

 
Yep! 

[GWT1]

Congratulations on the new 149. I just got my first 149 it’s a broad also and love it it seems to be on the medium side of broad but still more broad than my medium in my 146 and my 60’s 32 medium. The 149 is older split ebonite feed with plastic thread on fill knob, two piece barrel, 18k nib “B”

 

[NickUK]

2 minutes ago, GWT1 said:

Congratulations on the new 149. I just got my first 149 it’s a broad also and love it it seems to be on the medium side of broad but still more broad than my medium in my 146 and my 60’s 32 medium. The 149 is older split ebonite feed with plastic thread on fill knob, two piece barrel, 18k nib “B”

 

Nice! I don’t suppose you have a writing sample do you (anything that could be comparable with my A5 pic above would be ideal!)

 

I’m 50/50 on which nib I prefer (2 tone vs tri tone) - They both look so good!

[bunnspecial]

3 hours ago, agentdaffy007 said:

I have noticed that quite often the B and BB hard starts. I was never lucky with them.

 

As for Medium, it will work like a charm, almost guaranteed.

 

I have two Bs, late 60s and late 70s, and an OB from 2019. All of them typically will start as soon as they touch the paper. If I'm using a high saturation ink and they've been uncapped, I can have hard starting if I stop writing for a few seconds, but that's a consequence of inks like that especially in the big 149 open nib. With more normal saturation inks, that is less of a problem.

 

I have B, BBs, OBs, and OBBs in other MB models. The only one that will sometimes hard start is my celluloid 144 OB, but I attribute that to the celluloids not having as good of cap sealing. My celluloid MBs, and basically all my other pens of any make, that have vent holes in the cap will hard start if they sit for 2-3 days. Used daily, they generally start fine.

[Frank C]

2 hours ago, NickUK said:

 

I spoke to the MB boutique, and they said that if anything, it would get thicker as it settled in (but likely wouldn’t change all too much).

 

 

I wrote about 5 pages of B5 and 4 of A5 - There were times when it seemed OK, but definitely needed way more pressure than my other pens - If I applied no pressure at all, no ink would come out.

 

Even if it was tuned perfectly, I think I got a fat Broad, which is just a touch too big for my everyday usage.

 

The ink was brand new (sent from Montblanc with the pen), and I tried it on 3 different types of paper.

So, a new bottle of ink, that is not the problem. Wrote about 9 pages, that is enough time for any "settling in". My guess is that it has "baby's bottom". You can either have a nibmeister work on it or send in back to MB. As a new pen, MB is the right choice. If you don't like the broad nib, anyway, then definitely send it back to get a medium. I am sorry to hear that your experience with this luxury brand has been less than stellar, but they will sort it out for you. 

[NickUK]

3 minutes ago, Frank C said:

I am sorry to hear that your experience with this luxury brand has been less than stellar, but they will sort it out for you. 

I usually judge brands/experiences on how they deal with the issues, and in this case, it’s been flawless, so I have absolutely no complaints what so ever. 
 

Wanting something that has a human touch (the nib finishing) and uniformed performance just isn’t going to be possible. 
 

I accept that, and whilst it’s frustrating (especially when you are dealing with the sale remotely), I appreciate it’s just part of the experience. 
 

I’d have been interested in trying multiple broads in the shop, but I have a feeling that when it’s all said and done, the line variation and juicy writing looks great in isolation, and really shows off the ink/cursive in photos…… But I just don’t think it’s for me. 
 

I can see why people say “I have a super nice fountain pen, and I’ll be damned if it’s going to look like a rollerball on the page”, and I completely see where they are coming from. 
 

A broad, BB or BBB will really highlight the fact you have something that most others don’t. 
 

But comparing the 2 passages in my writing sample, I think the medium width does enough to showcase the ink, makes it stand out, and looks better/more legible than the broad. 
 

Just my 2 cents on it anyway!

[arcfide]

Sounds like you're getting a chance to take advantage of "buying new!" Sounds like you've made the best call possible with sending it in, especially considering that you are likely to be more happy with the Medium. The medium is likely to be pretty wet anyways, so I'm sure you're right that you'll get to show off your inks and handwriting plenty with that nib. My experience has been that Montblancs tend to write very well, but they are highly polished, and that can have an interesting effect, particularly with Broads. I find this true for any of the makers of highly polished stub nibs (Montblanc B, Waterman Stub, Lamy 2000 B). I can think of at least three things to consider:

 

Firstly, ink can have a pretty substantial effect on the feel and writing of a pen that is so highly polished. If there's even a hint of baby's bottom, then a drier ink could exacerbate the issue, whereas a free-flowing wet ink like Sailor inks (I think the standard MB black and blue might also fall under this category, but I don't know about the latest stuff) can "hide" this quite well. Different inks that are higher or lower viscosity would always be a part of my nib diagnosis. 

 

Secondly, most people who are used to round/ball-tipped fountain pen points don't realize how much they can get away with in terms of nib rotation and still have the pen feel and write normally. But this is only exaggerated with any high-polish stub nib. Even a little rotation on a slightly dry stub nib can cause a hard or dry start. I think part of the "settling in" for some of these pens is the user also settling in to what the pen needs as far as pen rotation. All of my high polish stub nibs have had this behavior, across all of the manufacturers. The more toothy stubs don't seem as sensitive to this, or maybe their toothiness "teaches" you how to align the nib faster with those pens. Usually your hand will home in on the rotation during that first stroke, so it won't show up as much through the rest of the writing, but it can show up more in the first stroke after lifting the pen, even discounting changes in the wetness of the tip. 

 

Thirdly, I've seen a *huge* difference in the performance of high polish stub nibs depending on the paper I have used. I've found that the smoother the surface sizing/texture, and the tighter the surface binding is, the more likely to exhibit hard starts the stub is. That's because even the tiniest hint of a baby's bottom might trigger a hard start on such paper. Comparatively, on rougher paper, the nibs get progressively and proportionally more responsive. I have one stub nib that will hard start like mad on LIFE L Writing Paper (very smooth and polished), but will start instantly and with high levels of aggression the moment it kisses regular copy paper. 

 

I think these sorts of stubs are a balancing act, and one that the pen maker can only do so much for, considering that they can't control the paper you will be writing on. 

 

Of course, this is all moot for you now, since you're going to a ball pointed medium nib, so I suspect that any of those issues should disappear, and if they don't, then I would expect either an ink issue or some baby's bottom. I'd definitely do any problem diagnosis with either Montblanc Royal Blue, Waterman/Parker Blue, or Sailor Black/Blue ink. Between those three, any pen should be able to write well with those. I'd also make sure to verify that the paper isn't causing some issue. 

 

If I knew I would be using rougher paper, I'd probably accept some hard starts on smoother paper, since that extra smoothness of the polish means that the glide will be much better on rougher paper. But if I wasn't ever going to use rough paper, then I could accept a less forgiving grind of the nib to get a better starting flow. As an example, if I used Verge de France from G. Lalo, I might seriously consider keeping a high  polish on a nib if I wanted to have a smooth writing experience on that paper without lots of feedback. 

 

Just as some examples, high polish nibs I've encountered have come from Waterman, Lamy, and what I've seen from Montblanc. Higher tooth stubs I've seen come from Pilot, Platinum, Sailor, and Aurora. I've heard that the Pelikans are also high polish grinds. 

[agentdaffy007]

Montblanc Royal Blue and Sailor Sei-Boku are among the best inks out there. Their flow, lubrication and shading are simply amazing. I'd say MB RB is the best of their regular lineup.

[NickUK]

5 hours ago, arcfide said:

Just as some examples, high polish nibs I've encountered have come from Waterman, Lamy, and what I've seen from Montblanc. Higher tooth stubs I've seen come from Pilot, Platinum, Sailor, and Aurora. I've heard that the Pelikans are also high polish grinds. 

I’ll not quote your whole response, but thanks for taking the time to reply!

 

I was very conscious of my hand positioning when writing, and it definitely wasn’t due to my rotation. I could draw the same vertical line 3 or 4 times, in the exact same position before the ink flowed - When it did, it was a big fat broad. 
 

Weirdly, I found it wrote worse on slightly toothier paper (from a feeling POV). It gave way more feedback, and I’d go as far as saying it was downright disappointing to use. 
 

Smoother paper wasn’t too bad, but again, the hard starts and general performance of the pen required way more pressure to write with than I’d expect. 
 

I’m positive there was something wrong with the nib, but at the same time, I also don’t think I’d be lucky enough to find a broad that I liked, when buying remotely (and not being able to try the pen). 

[GWT1]

On 7/27/2021 at 5:47 PM, NickUK said:

 

Nice! I don’t suppose you have a writing sample do you (anything that could be comparable with my A5 pic above would be ideal!)

 

I’m 50/50 on which nib I prefer (2 tone vs tri tone) - They both look so good!

Sory for slow reply back! Been on short vacation, I will get a small sample together tonight and post it!

[NickUK]

4 minutes ago, GWT1 said:

Sory for slow reply back! Been on short vacation, I will get a small sample together tonight and post it!

Thanks - Hope you had a great time.

 

I sent my broad back and I have the Medium arriving tomorrow so I can compare.

 

The Broad I had was on the thick side and wasn't very well tuned.

[NickUK]

Hello all!

 

I have a sad end to this thread I'm afraid!

 

I received the Medium back at the end of last week, and whilst it's pleasant enough - it really isn't an impressive writing tool as far as I'm concerned.

 

However, I will caveat this by saying it is very much my personal preference for ultra smooth nibs - I dislike any tactile feedback what so ever, and this medium provided just enough to make me notice.

 

To some, it might be the perfect balance of smoothness and control.

 

So, to summarise this whole experience (and again, this is from my POV alone)........

 

Positives:

 

• Forget what anyone says. Buying a new Montblanc fountain pen is an experience in itself, and well worth the added cost over buying second hand.

• The build quality and packaging are premium.

• The aesthetics of the nib are second to none.

• The size and weight are fantastic - Obviously you need to like a larger pen, but I personally don't find this to be massive in the slightest.

 

Negatives:

 

• You really need to buy this in person, or be prepared to send it to a nibmeister.

• For the price, I'm expecting much more perfection out of the box. Call me naive, but the hand finished nibs need to be better (even if not consistent, they need to be damn perfect writers) - But again, it's a preference thing.

• The sheer number of these that come up second hand - Whilst it's a testament to the longevity and timelessness of the pen, for me, it makes it just a little less special.

 

 

If I'm honest, the negatives are things I probably knew before buying the pen, but I still lived in hope I'd get the perfect pen out of the box.

 

So until such a day where I can try many different MB nibs, my time in this sub- forum is over!

 

I just want to say thank you to everyone who has read, commented, and helped in this process - It's much appreciated.

 

My eyes have now turned to the Pelikan M1000 (which I've managed to get for half the price of the MB in the UK) - I've bought both Fine and Medium so I can compare.

 

I also briefly looked at the Pilot Custom Urushi, and if money was no object, I'd probably have bought one.

 

Thanks!