Montblanc Agatha Christie Repair Issue

[Dave_g]

Hi,

I bought a great MB Christie from an auction house however the piston knob was welded shut with something.  I thought it was from using India ink but after a few trips into the ultrasound take I freed up the filling knob.  I guessed that ink had leaked behind the piston and solidified the mechanism shut.  I inked the pen after the initial cleaning and I thought everything was fine.  It writes perfectly.  I went to refill the pen after using almost 90% of the ink and found that some ink had leaked behind the piston again.  As I flushed out the ink, Noodlers Legal Lapis from the revivor, I was getting bubbles of ink around the filling knob threads.  Defiantly a NO NO!!!    The pen didn't leak while I was using it.

 

So my Question is:  If I make a brass tool to unscrew the filling mechanism, how easy is it to unscrew the keeper nut from the body???  If I can do it, should I put TWSBI silicone or Vaseline on the filling piston and clean out the reservoir?

 

Enclosed is a PIX of the pen and my finger after I tried to unscrew the filler knob.  The Snake bit me!!

 

Thanks,

 

Dave G.

 

 

 

[Dave_g]

Knurls on the filling knob that burned my skin.

[Ron Z]

There are tools on the market for removing the piston mechanism from MB pens.  Dale Beebe at pentooling.com sells them, and you'll also find them on Ebay.

 

Ink should never end up in the back end of the pen.  If it is, you likely have a leaking piston seal.  I frequently see these with scored contact surfaces that allow the seal to leak.  MB will of course have the original seals.  Custom Pen Parts in the UK has reproduction seals.  I had an Agatha, but never opened it.  I suspect that they use the same seals as the 146/149 pens.  I, and other pen mechanics regularly use silicone grease to lubricate MB parts.

[Dave_g]

Thank you!

[Phonz]

Same experience here! I sent the pen to the MB hamburg shop, only to find out that they don’t have the parts to repair the Agathas anymore! (Dec 2024)

[Seney724]

3 hours ago, Phonz said:

Same experience here! I sent the pen to the MB hamburg shop, only to find out that they don’t have the parts to repair the Agathas anymore! (Dec 2024)

Not sure where you are located but at least you were able to get your pen into the Hamburg service repair facility. 

 

I am in the USA and recently tried to get one of my pens into the Hamburg shop where a bonafide MB service technician could evaluate it but I was told I had to send the pen to the third party "My Jewelry Repair" (MJR) repair & service business which is currently managing Montblanc USA Warranty and Service business.  I was advised that whether it ultimately went to Hamburg or not was at MJR's sole discretion.  But, of course, if MJR did so, it would be at my cost.  So, just to get my pen evaluated and repaired would cost me round trip insured, expedited shipping first to MJR in California and then to Montblanc in Hamburg.  IMO, that's insane.

 

I was hoping that by now the MJR folly would have come to an end and the MB Service Center would be re-established but, AFAIK, there has been no movement in that direction.

[NoType]

2 hours ago, Seney724 said:

I was hoping that by now the MJR folly would have come to an end and the MB Service Center would be re-established

@Seney724 As long as MJR (a two-decade old subsidiary of thirty-one year-old M & G Jewelers, the self-proclaimed largest jewellery repairer and watch servicer in North America) successfully ends the loss-leader tradition of Montblanc US Service, Montblanc US will continue to subcontract repair and service work to them in order to fulfill Montblanc’s post-pandemic “C-suite” (CEO, CFO, COO, etc) mandate to reduce costs.  
 

If you have access to a Montblanc boutique, they will shoulder all shipping costs involved, only charging you for the repair.  However, even the boutiques send the item to MJR, which acts as a “triage centre” and decides whether to send the piece to the Montblanc HQ in Hamburg, send it to the Richemont Service Centre in Fort Worth, or keep it in MJR in Southern California.  Generally speaking, almost all numbered limited editions are sent to HQ with a few exceptions (e.g., High Artistry Orient Express LE1883 149), and almost all regular productions and special editions remain at MJR (e.g., the non-limited Around the World Solitaire LeGrand and The Origin Collection Solitaire LeGrand).

 

Unfortunately, this situation seems not to be a temporary one.

[Seney724]

1 hour ago, NoType said:

@Seney724 As long as MJR (a two-decade old subsidiary of thirty-one year-old M & G Jewelers, the self-proclaimed largest jewellery repairer and watch servicer in North America) successfully ends the loss-leader tradition of Montblanc US Service, Montblanc US will continue to subcontract repair and service work to them in order to fulfill Montblanc’s post-pandemic “C-suite” (CEO, CFO, COO, etc) mandate to reduce costs.  
 

If you have access to a Montblanc boutique, they will shoulder all shipping costs involved, only charging you for the repair.  However, even the boutiques send the item to MJR, which acts as a “triage centre” and decides whether to send the piece to the Montblanc HQ in Hamburg, send it to the Richemont Service Centre in Fort Worth, or keep it in MJR in Southern California.  Generally speaking, almost all numbered limited editions are sent to HQ with a few exceptions (e.g., High Artistry Orient Express LE1883 149), and almost all regular productions and special editions remain at MJR (e.g., the non-limited Around the World Solitaire LeGrand and The Origin Collection Solitaire LeGrand).

 

Unfortunately, this situation seems not to be a temporary one.

Thanks for your insights @NoType  You are always a wealth of information and information.

 

Speaking for myself and myself only, I'd prefer that someone with years of experience, someone who has spent his or her full time as the person who has seen, evaluated and managed the work on countless irreplaceable vintage Montblanc fountain pens, be the one with the oversight of mine.  I appreciate MJR's "self-proclaimed status as the largest jewellery repairer and watch servicer" in North America but I want a "career" fountain pen person doing (or directing) the work on my pen, not someone who is still learning the craft.  Stated otherwise, I want the professor, not the intern.

[maia]

@Seney724

8 hours ago, Seney724 said:

Thanks for your insights @NoType  You are always a wealth of information and information.

 

Speaking for myself and myself only, I'd prefer that someone with years of experience, someone who has spent his or her full time as the person who has seen, evaluated and managed the work on countless irreplaceable vintage Montblanc fountain pens, be the one with the oversight of mine.  I appreciate MJR's "self-proclaimed status as the largest jewellery repairer and watch servicer" in North America but I want a "career" fountain pen person doing (or directing) the work on my pen, not someone who is still learning the craft.  Stated otherwise, I want the professor, not the intern.

@Seney724, reaching out the correct people at the right time is something that applies to all life aspects. Unfortunately, there's no clear path to achieving that...

[Seney724]

2 hours ago, maia said:

@Seney724

@Seney724, reaching out the correct people at the right time is something that applies to all life aspects. Unfortunately, there's no clear path to achieving that...

Precisely!

Well stated @maia!