Montblanc 149 Stand

[dusac]

Hello. I have a couple of 149s (an OBBB modern as signature pen and a 14c 70's vintage B as my daily writer).

 

I'm eyeing a stand for 149, and the modern (crystal one) runs in the mid-300$, and a vintage one (resin or plastic) runs around 200$.

 

Now that.. is not pocket money by any means (that's half of a Faulkner, as I look at).

 

For the owners of the stand, do you really use it or eventually find it too cumbersome and just cap the pen the old way? Is it practical or "just for shows"?

 

Thank you,

 

DusaC

[niksch]

I use multiple 149s, and yes, I use multiple 149 pen stands...both at home and at work.

 

 

[Multiechelon]

Hi DusaC,

 

I am a big fan of 149 pen stands. There are five of them on my desk, and just yesterday I ordered a few more.

 

I like them so much because they are very functional. The pen slides into the stand, it does not screw in. So you have immediate access to your pen. For me, it lets me easily switch between pens while I am writing. This is why I like so many of them. It lets each inked pen be ready to go at a moment's notice.

 

All 149s (except the celluloid 149s) fit in the stand. I have 1960s 149s and 1990s 149s and they all fit no problem. But the celluloid 149s are a little thinner so they do not fit.

 

If you have found the crystal one in the mid $300s, that must be from an authorized dealer (or ebay merchant) discounting the price. I can't remember off the top of my head but I think the MSRP is $400+ in the US. That said, twice a year Montblanc holds a sale and in my experience the stands are always discounted quite a bit in that sale. So if you live in the US, waiting for the sale could be a good thing. But I bought a few of my stands from a local authorized dealer and he gave me a very good price on them. So if you are impatient (and how on FPN is patient) you can get your local authorized dealer to discount the price.

 

If you write with your fountain pens a lot, you won't regret getting a stand.

 

Sean

[dusac]

Hi Sean,

 

Thank you for the detailed response. The best info is that the pen slides in rather than screws in. I thought it is like a pen cap, and screwing and unscrewing the pen in the stand each time I use it wound make the usage of the pen rather tedious. But quick slide changes it quite a bit.

 

You convinced me to buy one. The cheapest I found is at WordLux with $325 and free shipping. If that is close to the discounted MB price, I'll bite the bullet now, if not I'll wait...

 

ACD

 

(looks like it's time to sell some Pelikans to buy the stand...)

Edited July 24, 2010 by dusac

[niksch]

 

 

I like them so much because they are very functional. The pen slides into the stand, it does not screw in.

 

 

Interesting, because all of mine, new and old style, are threaded.

 

Eric

[talkinghead]

 

 

I like them so much because they are very functional. The pen slides into the stand, it does not screw in.

 

 

Interesting, because all of mine, new and old style, are threaded.

 

Eric

 

Sean and Eric,

 

I know that they are screw in, BUT, I just slide my in to where the threading starts, so I can retrieve it quickly. Does the job and my pen never runs dry or is harding starting because I don't screw it in. This is both the #146 and #149 stands.

 

Rick

[Multiechelon]

 

 

I like them so much because they are very functional. The pen slides into the stand, it does not screw in.

 

 

Interesting, because all of mine, new and old style, are threaded.

 

Eric

 

Maybe this is a case where my wording was imprecise, but I actually don't think so. I don't see threads in mine. I bought these five stands at two different points over the past 18 months:

 

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu82/multiechelon/149PenStand/149PenStand_01.jpg

 

Looking in the stand, I do not see any threads like one would see in a 149 cap.

 

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu82/multiechelon/149PenStand/149PenStand_02.jpg

 

About 3/8 of an inch down there is a small ridge for the pen to rest on. And farther down from that (into the stand) there are vertical grooves but I assume that is part of the manufacturing process (it does not have anything to do with the pen itself).

 

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu82/multiechelon/149PenStand/149PenStand_03.jpg

 

Here is a more close-up view of the stand. Aside from the ridge, everything at the top of the pen stand is smooth.

 

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu82/multiechelon/149PenStand/149PenStand_04.jpg

 

So unless I am missing something (which is totally possible) I am pretty confident that the 149 stands I own do not have threads.

 

Sean

[RussianToronto]

Haha nice, you can engrave the ink color on the stands.. or nib sizes?

 

Bit confused about sizes they have different models? Aka for the 146 / 149?

[stevlight]

Do they make a stand that holds 3-4 pens in one stand?--That would be very useful as i do not have room for all of those stands.

[niksch]

I'm actually buying broken pen stands for 146s and 149s to do exactly that Steve.

 

 

[stevlight]

Niksch--Let me know how much one for 3 149's would cost--I may be interested!

[talkinghead]

 

So unless I am missing something (which is totally possible) I am pretty confident that the 149 stands I own do not have threads.

 

Sean

 

 

Interesting.... mine are of the earlier models, black with the gold "cartouche" on the base for engraving. The caps have threads on the earlier models Sean..I'll try and get a piciture up. But like I said before, I just slide mine in like you do and don't screw the pen in anyways.

 

 

Rick

[dusac]

Hm... Bit the bullet, bought one. 345$ - that is not cheap, but you were convincing...

 

DusaC

[Multiechelon]

DusaC, that is a fair price for the stand. Let us know how you like it.

 

Rick, it is good to know that earlier versions were threaded but the pen can still just rest in the stand and work properly. The fact that the pens can rest in the stand and not dry out is the best feature of the stand; it allows for immediate access.

 

The stand's cap is just epoxied in place. At one point, I did think about pulling out several caps and putting them all on one stand. It would just be a matter of drilling extra holes into a stand. But then I gave up on that thought. Now Niksch and stevlight have me thinking again.

 

RussianToronto, each model does have its own pen stand since the diameter of the pens are different.

 

Sean