New Solitaire Released

[Uncial]

It might be in the process of being rolled out. Sometimes they roll out new models on the websites by region at different times.

[Centurion]

Any rumors on whether Montblanc will make the 149 Flex again? BTW, the 149 Flex nib as big as the regular 149 nibs?

[dbs]

8 minutes ago, Centurion said:

Any rumors on whether Montblanc will make the 149 Flex again? BTW, the 149 Flex nib as big as the regular 149 nibs?

 

Yes, everything looks identical to regular 149 except the tip of nib.  I have 149 flex and regular 149. Not very fun of 149 flex because it is hard to write, very hard to write until I found montblanc marine scent ink. This is the only ink works well on flex 149.

 

 

[Centurion]

51 minutes ago, dbs said:

 

Yes, everything looks identical to regular 149 except the tip of nib.  I have 149 flex and regular 149. Not very fun of 149 flex because it is hard to write, very hard to write until I found montblanc marine scent ink. This is the only ink works well on flex 149.

 

 

Oh? Why is the 149 Flex difficult to write with, and what was it about the Marine scent ink that solved it, any theories?

[dbs]

149 flex is very hard to start, and cannot write faster, or you will see line skipping. Gold leaf owners might have similar complains but that one is M based nib, little easier to handle. On my 149 flex, the only ink works well is Platinum iron gall ink and this marine scent ink. Now I understand why flex nib pens were phased out in 1990's because in 1990's life style people no longer have time to write slowly.

[Centurion]

4 hours ago, dbs said:

149 flex is very hard to start, and cannot write faster, or you will see line skipping. Gold leaf owners might have similar complains but that one is M based nib, little easier to handle. On my 149 flex, the only ink works well is Platinum iron gall ink and this marine scent ink. Now I understand why flex nib pens were phased out in 1990's because in 1990's life style people no longer have time to write slowly.

I read that the 149 Flex nib is an EF based nib, correct? But I remember all models of the flex nib say: "With varying pressure a line width can be created from extra fine 0.3 mm to double broad 1.6 mm." so what would be the difference between an EF based flex nib vs. a M based flex nib? The EF based nib has a smaller tipping area on the tip of the nib? If yes, why would a bigger size nib (149) have a smaller tipping area, why would Montblanc make the bigger nib have a smaller tipping area?

 

Thanks for answering my questions . . . maybe I shouldn't be chasing after the flex nib. 

 

[Lam1]

4 hours ago, dbs said:

149 flex is very hard to start, and cannot write faster, or you will see line skipping. Gold leaf owners might have similar complains but that one is M based nib, little easier to handle. On my 149 flex, the only ink works well is Platinum iron gall ink and this marine scent ink. Now I understand why flex nib pens were phased out in 1990's because in 1990's life style people no longer have time to write slowly.

 

That has not been my experience with the 149 Calligraphy.

Mine writes well with any ink that I  have tried, it never had a hard start and it never skips. And I mostly use it as a regular pen, often writing fast (that does require a light hand).

 

Perhaps you were a bit unlucky with yours?  Have you considered reaching out to MB?

 

[agentdaffy007]

My MB 149 flex writes perfectly upon returning from Hamburg. It likes certain inks more than others. Trial and error.

[Arcadian]

I have the 149 flex, Gold Leaf and the Montblanc x Fritz Schimpf Expressive. The latter had to be sent to Hamburg a couple of times, but now writes beautifully. The first two wrote perfectly out of the box, and I have yet to come across an ink that changes that. 

 

 - P. 

[Jreugenl]

@dbs Both of my 149 C write great with a plethora of different inks . I reckon yours is faulty somehow.

[agentdaffy007]

Mine for some reason hate Montblanc Permanent Blue. It tends to dry out too fast. I usually leave my pens uncapped for 5 to 10 minutes and expect them to write right away but not the case with MBPB ink. Some inks lay too thick of a line so I don't use those either. In any case, I only use my favorite ink in it which is ST Dupont Violet, the perfect ink!!

[fpupulin]

21 hours ago, dbs said:

https://www.montblanc.com/en-us/fountain-pens_cod38063312419042717.html

 

You should grab one

 

 

13 hours ago, Centurion said:

I read that the 149 Flex nib is an EF based nib, correct? But I remember all models of the flex nib say: "With varying pressure a line width can be created from extra fine 0.3 mm to double broad 1.6 mm." so what would be the difference between an EF based flex nib vs. a M based flex nib? The EF based nib has a smaller tipping area on the tip of the nib? If yes, why would a bigger size nib (149) have a smaller tipping area, why would Montblanc make the bigger nib have a smaller tipping area?

 

Thanks for answering my questions . . . maybe I shouldn't be chasing after the flex nib. 

 

 

Glad to see that a 146 with flexible nib has been added to the regular line up of the Meisterstücks. As it is possible to observe on the photos posted in MB website, they chosen to adopt the same medium flexible nib already proven on the Gold Leaf Solitaire. This limits at least in part, in my opinion, the fun you may have with a flexible nib.

The expressivity of a flexible nib is given by the difference between the narrow, ascending strokes, and the engrossed descending strokes obtained under the pressure on the nib. Being anything equal in terms of flexibility of the materials and the nib design, an extra-fine flexible nib will always have an edge over a medium as the narrow strokes of which it is capable are narrower compared to to the broad strokes. In the case of the 149 Calligraphy, this difference has a ratio of 1:5 or a bit more (0.3 to 1.6 mm). I do not know which is the size of the narrow strokes released by the M nib of the 146 Calligraphy, but guessing it may be in the order of 0.5-0.6 mm, and given a similar flexibility, the ratio narrow:broad would be only 1:3 or less, which translates in ”less expressivity”.

I understand the worry by dbs about the daily use of a EF flexible nib, but my experience- as well as that of tens of users who posted on this forum - is that the Calligraphy nib of the 149 behaves flawlessly with any ink on any kind of paper, both for calligraphic purposes and regular writing . Hard starting and railroading are almost surely due to an imperfect nib sample. I second the suggestion to have it checked by MB not to loose the opportunity to have all the fun this nib may give you.

A regular medium nib may be easier than a regular extra-fine for the beginner and for very quick writing, and for this reason I guess that the medium flexible of the new released 146 will have a own niche of users. I welcome the addition, but this makes harder to hope for a regular 146 with a EF flexible nib comparable to that of the 149 Calligraphy.

[AndrewUK]

Hi

So I received the flex version of the new burgundy solitaire today. It was an unable to resist purchase as the 149 Calligraphy is one of my favourite nibs plus I was looking for a metal MB. Two birds with one stone.

Saw it friday, ordered it saturday delivered to the UK on thursday from Italy. No problems with Brexit!

So I have been following this thread and got a bit worried about the observations re the Gold Leaf nib putting down a medium line versus the extra fine line of the 149.

On opening the box and seeing the label - curved nib and the instruction manual showing how to use the curved nib i was confused / concerned.

[AndrewUK]

However the nib is actually the flex nib. It looks to be marginally larger than a regular 146 nib and the tipping certainly doesn't look like its a medium.

Not going to have time to ink it up tonight but it looks promising.

 

ps the pen itself is absolutely stunning.

[ak47]

Hi AndrewUK. PLEASE let you know soon how it write!!

[Kyrtaax]

There seem to be a lot of contradicting details here!

 

On the Montblanc website, the nib on the flex burgundy solitaire looks exactly like the curved nib on the Maki-e LE 88. You can see how the tips on both are bent.

 

 

However, it appears that @AndrewUK has a recieved a regular flex nib, not a curved nib, in contradiction to his box & packaging and the website!

 

[fpupulin]

12 minutes ago, Kyrtaax said:

There seem to be a lot of contradicting details here!

 

On the Montblanc website, the nib on the flex burgundy solitaire looks exactly like the curved nib on the Maki-e LE 88. You can see how the tips on both are bent.

 

 

 

From this photograph I would say that the nib is a medium, with its characteristic broadly elliptic to rounded tip, flattened on the upper side. This is the kid of nib that I personally saw mounted on the Golden leaf.

 

No doubts, the photo posted by AndrewUK of the nib of his pen is different, likely a narrow F or an EF. Very interesting to know! We anxiously wait for a writing test, Andrew! 

[The Mustard]

This is a good thread. Congratulations @AndrewUKon your purchase of such a beautiful pen, I couldn’t resist ordering this from Wheelers and look forward to picking it up in the next few weeks when his new stock arrives.  I am really looking forward to hearing how it writes and the conclusion as to what nib it actually has! 

[a student]

12 hours ago, AndrewUK said:

However the nib is actually the flex nib. It looks to be marginally larger than a regular 146 nib and the tipping certainly doesn't look like its a medium.

Not going to have time to ink it up tonight but it looks promising.

 

ps the pen itself is absolutely stunning.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience. It is very very odd indeed that the contents of the box do not match the description of the goods on the box. 

 

10 hours ago, fpupulin said:

 

From this photograph I would say that the nib is a medium, with its characteristic broadly elliptic to rounded tip, flattened on the upper side. This is the kid of nib that I personally saw mounted on the Golden leaf.

 

No doubts, the photo posted by AndrewUK of the nib of his pen is different, likely a narrow F or an EF. Very interesting to know! We anxiously wait for a writing test, Andrew! 

 

Thank you for your observations. I was wondering whether you had also experienced, hands on, a curved nib, the Fude de Mannon kind? And if so what you made of that nib. From the image of the leaflet shown in AndrewUK's post, it would appear that the nib would need to be handled much more carefully than the MB 149 Calligraphy nib- a change in angle being a constant requirement 

[Michael R.]

Yes, it is a flex nib (888 on the nib). The curved nib should have /// on the nib.

 

So not only the website is confused… packaging also!