Ruthenium plating on Montblanc Grimm will wear off in a few days

[dbs]

And you will see brass material inside...worse than rose gold plated Heritage.

 

Just for your information, if you plan to get one.

[Tom Kellie]

~ @dbs:

 

If this is your Montblanc Brothers Grimm pen, how long have you been writing with it?

 

Days? Weeks?

 

Thank you for posting the images.

 

         Tom K.

[dbs]

I received the package on 7/15 and have been using it since then... 11 days.

 

 

[Arcadian]

Wow, that's disappointing. I have had mine for about as long, but not used it every day though. I'll keep a weather eye out for similar undue deterioration. 

 

 - P. 

[Paul-in-SF]

I'm not a materials engineer, but it seems kind of foolish to attempt to put any kind of plating finish on cap threads, that are subject to metal-on-metal friction every time you use the pen. It just seems like a sloppy design choice. 

 

I assume the 2nd photo is the end of the barrel. I don't know what caused it, but the plating certainly looks too fragile for an object designed to be actually used (instead of just looked at). 

 

So thanks for the warning. Hard pass. 

[Michael R.]

Just like on the Beatles, cap band on the calligraphy gold leaf, and others. 
 

So unfortunately no surprise 😞

 

Please stop making badly designed pens which just look good for a few days!

 

The Grimm really, really looks so good but please design the pens so they will last a few years with gentle use without having flaking trim, scratching glossy surfaces and so on.

 

Pens from past decades have shown successfully that it is possible.

 

Michael

[dbs]

The thread inside cap is resin, not metal. In fact, all wear off only appears on the pen -section, piston knob, nothing on cap (cap ring, cap top, clip).

 

Just another epic engineering failure.

 

[lionelc]

bit poor for a 1000+usd pen

[Uncial]

Has anyone yet made a pen with ruthenium plating that hasn't peeled off, crumbled off or rubbed away or dissolved in ink? I just wish they'd stop using it.

[admmarcos]

That's a disaster for a manufacturer like Montblanc and for pens in the range of thousand euros. That's unacceptable. I would return it.

[A Smug Dill]

On 7/30/2022 at 7:17 AM, Uncial said:

Has anyone yet made a pen with ruthenium plating that hasn't peeled off, crumbled off or rubbed away or dissolved in ink?

 

The ruthenium-plating on the trim and nibs on my Aurora Talentum Full Black, Aurora Ipsilon Quadra Cento Italia, Sailor Professional Gear Imperial Black (from early 2013, and often taken with me to the office for a couple of years), and Sailor Profit Black Luster — all of which I've had for a few years — has not peeled off, crumbed off, been rubbed away, or dissolved in ink. That makes two manufacturers and several pens (and my ‘stealth’ black Aurora Tu, which I've had since early 2020, is also doing fine).

 

Of course ruthenium-plating is susceptible to damage from abrasion and chemical attack, just as gold-plating is susceptible. Do you also advocate abandoning all gold-plating on pens?

[admmarcos]

I believe it is normal that, as time passes by, there are problems in the materials being wear off. But in a matter of days, is really a project problem. In this case, they would need to do a recall for the pens and fix this - at least to last longer. I heard some problems with the Kippling also that is also marking as you use it. While in the precious models (Christie, Dumas, Wilde, Dickens, Kafka, etc.), all you need is to polish your pens in a calm Sunday morning as part of collecting activities. That's my opinion.

[A Smug Dill]

1 minute ago, admmarcos said:

But in a matter of days, is really a project problem. In this case, they would need to do a recall for the pens and fix this - at least to last longer.

 

I agree, if wear and tear — through careful handling and use — is going to sufficiently damage the plating at multiple sites in a matter of days or even weeks. But abandoning ruthenium-plating as a ‘thing’ more generally, especially in pricey and fancy pen models, is uncalled for. I have no problem with the fact that pens with ruthenium-plating could lose resale value more quickly than equivalent models without ruthenium-plating, on account of susceptibility to cosmetic damage accumulated over six months or more, past the point (in time) when one would still think of the object as one's “shiny new pen”. The ability to preserve resale value plays no part of assessment of fitness for purpose of either a functional writing instrument or a display piece sought by collectors for its looks; so why not continue to use ruthenium-plating on high-end pens, caveat emptor and all?

[dbs]

On 7/29/2022 at 2:17 PM, Uncial said:

Has anyone yet made a pen with ruthenium plating that hasn't peeled off, crumbled off or rubbed away or dissolved in ink? I just wish they'd stop using it.

 

 

This has nothing to do with Ruthenium. Montblanc Egyptomania doue barrel also has Ruthenium plating. Mine at least had been constantly used for 3 months but no sign of any wear -- even for the Ruthenium plated ring around the piston knob.

 

The wear off is a type of design defect. Plating is too thin and then the surface also undergoes a mirror polishing process which further reduces the plating thickness. Montblanc need at least increase the plating thickness, or, use Palladium plating around section area to avoid polishing induced defect.

 

Short summary, lack of knowledge. It won't be solved with return/replace/repair. I will keep it in my engineering epic failure museum.

 

[Karmachanic]

Ruthenium's disappearing from MB nibs/trim is not a new phenomenon. 

 

 

[Uncial]

3 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

Ruthenium's disappearing from MB nibs/trim is not a new phenomenon. 

 

 

 

Or on Sailor Imperials or Auroras and wasn't there some other that also had pictures posted here ages ago? A Conklin or some US brand? Have to say though, my Imperial is as good as the day I bought it.

[fpupulin]

On my 146 Ultra Black the ruthenium of the nib and trims is still perfect, after a couple of years of good use, and visually spot on. I greatly prefer ruthenium over platinum on this kind of "stealth" models.So, I hope that producers do not dismiss ruthenium, but made the things right to ensure a reasonable life span of the trims in this material. 

[Nathanb]

On 8/1/2022 at 2:45 PM, fpupulin said:

On my 146 Ultra Black the ruthenium of the nib and trims is still perfect, after a couple of years of good use, and visually spot on. I greatly prefer ruthenium over platinum on this kind of "stealth" models.So, I hope that producers do not dismiss ruthenium, but made the things right to ensure a reasonable life span of the trims in this material. 

 

+1 my 146 UB with OBB nib still looks as fantastic as the day I received it.

 

Little concerned as I have a Beatles in the post and planned on using it as well.. 

[Carrau]

Knowing little about Ruthenium, I found this article on Ruthenium plating.  FAQs #4 and #9 were interesting in regards to the use of Ruthenium plating and problems encountered.

https://www.sharrettsplating.com/coatings/ruthenium

[NoType]

19 hours ago, Carrau said:

Knowing little about Ruthenium, I found this article on Ruthenium plating.  FAQs #4 and #9 were interesting in regards to the use of Ruthenium plating and problems encountered.

https://www.sharrettsplating.com/coatings/ruthenium

Thank you, Carrau.  The entire article was fascinating and not only arms one with facts to present to Montblanc boutique managers when they claim nib abuse caused the ruthenium to flake off, but also provides a firm foundational knowledge of the metal, increasing one’s confidence when positing an argument for a manufacturing defect.