My first decent pen

[Daveyboyz]

I just received a Mont Blanc Starwalker pen through the post and thought I would share the experience.

 

My first impressions were what a good looking pen it is with its platinum metalwork and you would be hard pushed to know it was secondhand.

 

I wasn't expecting it to be inked though so that was the first surprise when I opened it to see what sort of arrangement was inside and found it full of ink that I was lucky not to transfer to my lap.  So I guess this is "an eyedropper" where I need to load ink directly into the pen body somehow?    I was always used to one of those cartridges with a plunger and I would pull the ink out of my bottle...   now I have several bottles more coming my way all diamine but exotic colours...

 

Anyway I thought I would write a letter and see how it goes... I have only learnt to write Russian this year so I have been corresponding with friends I met travelling around Eastern Europe.   Unfortunately by the second paragraph I had a few problems and realised by the fourth the pen was going dry.

 

 

 

 

It has a 14ct nib which is presumably a good thing but in truth it doesn't seem to write any better than my Jinhau though I do like that the cap not only posts but screws on to the rear of the pen (and the clip aligns so that it doesn't interfere with my hand)

 

I guess now I need to buy a syringe or something to load it with.

 

[Daveyboyz]

I see I should have read the "posting a review" thread before undertaking this since I have only just skimmed the surface.   

[Mike B]

I have a Starwalker as well. It is a nice pen and, like you, I like the way the cap screws onto the back of the barrel for writing.

The pen is supposed to use international cartridges only. I looked around a few years ago and found there was a Pelikan converter that fit nicely. I think a small Kaweco converter will fit as well. But you will definitely need something to keep all those incoming inks in!

Enjoy the pen.

[Daveyboyz]

Thanks for the guidance got a few cartridge converters on their way 🙂

[sansenri]

not an issue, use a syringe to fill your cartridge, it's easy and lets you use whichever ink you like.

Just a precaution, do it over a sink, even if you happen to overfill you will not stain your desk!

[austollie]

Thanks for the review. I really like the extended writing sample.

 

Personally, I am not into modern Montblanc pens, albeit that I do like the look of (but not the cost of) the Montblanc M.

 

I also use a syringe (with blunt draw-up needle) to fill my cartridges.  I usually hold the cartridge with a tissue, just in case I end up overfilling it.

 

Even though I write with bottled ink, I have a preference for cartridge fillers.  They are easier to flush and clean than piston fillers.  I find the usage of converters messier than filling with a syringe and the large international cartridge holds a lot more ink than a converter.

[half_inked_one]

I usually put an empty cartridge into a clothes peg to create a stable stand, that way it is easier to fill it and to not get fingers painted in case of overfill...

[gtei]

20 hours ago, Daveyboyz said:

So I guess this is "an eyedropper" where I need to load ink directly into the pen body somehow?

 

None of the modern Montblanc pens are designed to be loaded via eyedropper directly into the pen's body.

 

Reload an empty Montblanc cartridge or international standard cartridge with a blunt syringe or use a cartridge converter.

 

Congrats on the new Montblanc pen. Nice shading of ink too.

[txomsy]

As for the ink starvation issue, it should not happen. Maybe, if it came loaded with ink, some ink had dried in the feed and is causing the problem. You may want to give it a good flush under the faucet in a kitchen sink to wash it out. Or even let it rest in water with a tiny drop of dish-washing gel overnight.

 

[Karmachanic]

1 hour ago, txomsy said:

ink starvation issue

 

No mention of an empty cartridge.  So I guess this is "an eyedropper"

The feed was saturated and ran out of ink?

 

[txomsy]

Ink can dry in the channels of an eyedropper (or "eyedroppered") pen too.