Damaged Montblanc

[MorganP]

Hello.

 

I have a Montblanc Meisterstuck No. 149 circa 1988. The nib is a Medium, No. 4810. It also says 18K 750.

 

Unfortunately it slipped out of my hand a few years ago and fell onto a hard floor. The nib is now bent at the base and no longer writes.

 

When this happened, I called Montblanc to inquire about a nib replacement and was told I would need to ship the pen to NYC for evaluation and repair. A price estimate was hard to give, but I was told perhaps $200-$300 plus insured shipping both ways. 

 

This was much more than I wanted to pay, as I am not a fountain pen enthusiast at all. This pen was a gift, purchased and received brand new in the late 1980s. I used it quite a bit for a couple of years before putting it away in a drawer, where it spent most of its life. On a whim I bought some ink a few years ago and enjoyed using it again for making notes and lists for a while before accidentally dropping it. 

 

My question now is what to do with it. Is it worth anything as is? If so, how much? Or should I give it away to someone who will fix and appreciate it? I'm aware that this model costs a lot now, so I imagine someone might appreciate reviving an older one. But I also don't want a dishonest opportunist to flip it to an unsuspecting buyer, as the damage is not easy to see. You have to try writing with it to understand the damage. 

 

Perhaps I should sell it for a small amount as is? Or could a local jeweler or other service fix it for less than Montblanc? The Montblanc phone rep implied that it absolutely had to be fixed by Montblanc and no one else, but maybe this is just sales?

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

[silverlifter]

Post some photos of the damage. A nib technician should be able to repair the nib for a fraction of the price MB wants to charge you.

[bunnspecial]

Repairing Montblancs isn't exactly rocket science at least as far as a normal tear-down goes. You need some special tools but virtually all of the repair guys(and a lot of hobbiests) have them. These are very popular pens. Aside from that, chances are good that if you send it to Montblanc they'll end up just sending you a new pen. I doubt they'd even try to fix the nib but would just replace it, and typically you get parts replacement "escalation" due to incompatibility of new parts. You MIGHT get your cap back, or it could be that(literally) the only part original to your pen returned to you is the clip.

 

A photo of the damage would tell a lot, but chances are good a nib guy could probably put it right. Medium nibs are probably about the most common around, so a replacement isn't exactly impossible to find.

 

For reference, my 147 with a lovely and somewhat uncommon 18K gold BB nib went through the washing machine(I kicked myself for that one) and I ended up with both tines upturned. I sent it to a good repairman who straightened the nib and also replated it(it had lost some of it rhodium plating, and he masked off and redid that). I think it was maybe $125 or $135 all said and done, but $75 of that was plating-rhodium isn't cheap and there was a fair bit of work to mask it correctly.

 

With that said, if you do decide you don't want to bother with repairing it, I'm sure there are plenty of people, including me, who would be happy to buy it from you for a fair price taking the nib damage into account.

[Dione]

The price that Montblanc quoted you was for replacing the nib with a new one. It's possible that a skilled repairer might be able to repair the nib but that wouldn't be inexpensive either.

If you are interested in getting a decent price for it then you would still do so on ebay, even though it is damaged. Any potential buyer will have to choose to either pay for a nib repair or replacement.

Describe it accurately and take as many pictures as you can and you will be able to sell it on there.

[MorganP]

Thank you all for the replies. I have attached some photos of the damage. Sorry, they are blurry -- cheap old camera. 

 

As you can see, the metal and plastic portions of the nib are misaligned. It looks like the inner (plastic) portion is straight and the outer (metal) portion is bent sideways. I've tried bending the metal back, but it won't stay. Looks like the nib might need to be taken apart so the metal can be reshaped. 

 

Also, the two halves of the tip are bent such that one half is almost on top of the other. I was able to correct this somewhat by hand, but the halves are still not quite aligned. 

 

If I could have this repaired for a reasonable price (maybe $100 or so), I would happily keep the pen, as it does have some sentimental value to me. 

 

 

 

 

[bunnspecial]

I can’t tell if the tips are actually bent or if it’s just a case of the nib being rotated on the feed that’s forcing it out of shape. If it’s the latter you may be lucky and it will just involve resetting the nib to the feed. 
 

If it’s the latter, the fix will probably be to pull the nib unit, knock out the nib abd feed, and then set them correctly. That in and of itself wouldn’t be a huge repair, but for pens of this vintage Montblanc used a special sealant that will need to be replaced(I’ve used rosin type sealants there before, although you can get “correct” sealant) and many people will opt for a general service while that far in.

[como]

This nib can be straightened out on a nib block. Best send to a nibmeister if one doesn’t know what to do or doesn’t have the right tools.

[MorganP]

14 minutes ago, bunnspecial said:

I can’t tell if the tips are actually bent or if it’s just a case of the nib being rotated on the feed that’s forcing it out of shape. If it’s the latter you may be lucky and it will just involve resetting the nib to the feed. 

 

Maybe a little of both? I'm able to realign the tips by hand, but once I apply pressure as if trying to write with the pen, the tips flip back into a slight overlap. Looks to me like they need to be separated ever so slightly. 

 

In any case, even with the temporary realignment (by hand), there's still the matter of the nib being rotated on the feed. Thanks for the shop referrals. I'll send pics and get an assessment or two. Glad I found this forum and didn't just take Montblanc's line. The phone rep was a bit condescending and not too helpful. 

Edited October 10, 2021 by MorganP

[silverlifter]

26 minutes ago, MorganP said:

If I could have this repaired for a reasonable price (maybe $100 or so)

 

It will cost less than that, including postage, for a nib specialist to return it to like new.

[Lam1]

This should be easy to repair. 

I strongly recommend  Michael  Masuyama (Mike It Work - Nib Repair and Adjustment ).

It will probably cost  less than $100 and it will come back writing better than ever

(I have no affiliation, just a very happy customer). 

[entertainment]

I have had four or five MB 149 nibs adjusted by Michael Masuyama (mostly because they skipped) as well as several other pens.  He always did a great job.