Restoration Of A Meisterstück L139 / before and after

[tamas]

Greetings from Budapest! A few days ago, I finished restoring my Montblanc L139 pen. I had been putting it off for months because I couldn't take it apart at first, and one of my nightmares is that such a pen would break in my hands. So I warmed up with a similarly worn-out Eversharp desk pen. Then I turned my attention to this fantastic pen.

Opening it was the most difficult part. This is a common problem with old pens. If it breaks while I'm opening it, I immediately lose a few pounds

But I managed it, so I was able to restore the piston as well. I left the star in its original condition.

 

I tried to do a thorough job so that future generations can also enjoy such a beautiful pen.

 

 

[Mercian]

@tamas Wow!

That is some really beautiful restoration!

 

Very well done! 

[lamarax]

Szia Tamás!

 

Kiváló munka! May I ask which method, compound, or combination did you use to polish/restore the ebonite parts?

[KAC]

First class work on a first class pen!

How were you able to remove the cap and, as a previous post asked, what other details on the restoration can you provide?

Finally, how did you find that pen?

 

It's original condition was generally (and surprisingly) satisfactory, but you've done outstanding work on returning it to "as new" condition!

[Opooh]

@tamas

Awesome job, I can imagine it costed blood, sweat and tears before startung up sucha difficult task. Old celluloid and ebonite can break ecven by looking at them in a way of speaking.

[tamas]

On 10/10/2025 at 11:09 PM, lamarax said:

Szia Tamás!

 

Kiváló munka! May I ask which method, compound, or combination did you use to polish/restore the ebonite parts?

Γεια! Ευχαριστώ για την αναγνώριση! 

A friend of mine works at the museum, and he gave me some cream for this. I rarely work with ebonite. I ask him for some sometimes.

[tamas]

On 10/10/2025 at 11:34 PM, KAC said:

First class work on a first class pen!

How were you able to remove the cap and, as a previous post asked, what other details on the restoration can you provide?

Finally, how did you find that pen?

 

It's original condition was generally (and surprisingly) satisfactory, but you've done outstanding work on returning it to "as new" condition!

 

 

Thank you for your feedback! There was nothing particularly interesting about the repair. I could say that I use most of the techniques when restoring other pens. I am referring to gilding and polishing the nib. I polished the rings under a microscope because only the metal could be polished here. Unfortunately, restoring a pen takes quite a lot of time, but in such cases I enter a state of flow (Csíkszentmihályi Mihály). 

[tamas]

15 hours ago, Opooh said:

@tamas

Awesome job, I can imagine it costed blood, sweat and tears before startung up sucha difficult task. Old celluloid and ebonite can break ecven by looking at them in a way of speaking.

You are absolutely right. Unfortunately, I have experienced this awful moment a few times in recent years. Most of the time, it was the Eversharp Skyline that cracked (okay, not that many times, but 1 out of 25). I have mostly repaired old Hungarian pens, and they cracked more often.

[lamarax]

8 hours ago, tamas said:

Γεια! Ευχαριστώ για την αναγνώριση! 

A friend of mine works at the museum, and he gave me some cream for this. I rarely work with ebonite. I ask him for some sometimes.

 

Nagyon köszönöm a választ  Is that cream to be found commercially? Can you please ask your friend?

[stoen]

Congratulations, @tamas,

 

This is exactly kind of topic that I love to read: success stories of salvaging old worthy pens and restoring them to a state they deserve.

 

It’s actually a L139G, isn’t it?

 

I understand that the tricky part was ordering two new silver rings and fitting them to the cap tube…

 

Personally I’d wish to see also some recoating of the upper part of the barrel in black celluloid, and fixing the casein star (or snow flake), but you’ve already put the pen into a remarkable condition!

 

🙂

 

[tamas]

17 hours ago, stoen said:

Congratulations, @tamas,

 

This is exactly kind of topic that I love to read: success stories of salvaging old worthy pens and restoring them to a state they deserve.

 

It’s actually a L139G, isn’t it?

 

I understand that the tricky part was ordering two new silver rings and fitting them to the cap tube…

 

Personally I’d wish to see also some recoating of the upper part of the barrel in black celluloid, and fixing the casein star (or snow flake), but you’ve already put the pen into a remarkable condition!

 

🙂

 

Thank you for your kind words! The ring is original, I only used a microscope to polish it. It has orange windows and is striped. I think it's an early piece. Someone recently offered me $3,500 for it.  I might sell it. I'm thinking about it.

[stoen]

8 hours ago, tamas said:

Someone recently offered me $3,500 for it.  I might sell it. I'm thinking about it.

Well, if 3500 is more important to you than this pen, the solution is obvious. Also gice versa.

Good luck either way!

🙂

[Opooh]

On 10/16/2025 at 12:44 PM, tamas said: Someone recently offered me $3,500 for it.  I might sell it. I'm thinking about it.

If I were you, I would think twice. Finding a nice looking 139 south of 3800 $ ain’t easy, especially if it has a nice flex golden or palladium nib.

[tamas]

On 10/18/2025 at 2:15 AM, Opooh said:

If I were you, I would think twice. Finding a nice looking 139 south of 3800 $ ain’t easy, especially if it has a nice flex golden or palladium nib.

Many older or aging collectors face the fact that if they don't have a descendant who appreciates fountain pens (I don't), life could end at any moment, and then their descendants will sell them not in dollars, but in forints. So I'd rather spend that money on something else: I'll buy a few fountain pens with it

[Opooh]

4 hours ago, tamas said:

Many older or aging collectors face the fact that if they don't have a descendant who appreciates fountain pens (I don't), life could end at any moment, and then their descendants will sell them not in dollars, but in forints. So I'd rather spend that money on something else: I'll buy a few fountain pens with it

I understand, the situation is a bit the same overhere. But pens like a 139 are  on top of the pen chain, they will always fetch top $$. I made listings of those pens in my collection with price evolution, so they know what to do in case of … . 

[jcridge]

Wow...  Jaw drop.  Fantastic job and a beautiful pen.

[VivienR]

Back to it's near former glory!  

[stoen]

On 10/20/2025 at 8:33 PM, tamas said:

… life could end at any moment …

Precisely because of this, there are some pens, which are symbols of longevity, as well as navigating through life’s ups and downs to me. We change our computers every five years, but the pens are still there.

Such has been my 149 friction-fit, which I purchased as high school kid, from the first money I’ve earned, and has been with me ever since. At one point it has almost gone, but I managed to restore it…

… or a celluloid 144G, which used to belong to my grandpa, as well as a red tortoise Pelikan 101N…

 

Some other pens, which I’ve found in ruins or in scrap and managed to restore them, have different stories. Most likely I give them into good hands, once in a while.