Montblanc 149 Extra Fine Nib

March 15, 2015

Hello,

does anyone here have examples of writing with montblanc 149 Extra fine nib and their opinion on how it writes...

Thank you

March 16, 2015

I have an EF nib and posted my findings a while ago:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/247681-montblanc-149-writing-samples/

Please note my pens are of different ages with different nibs and feeds; I bought none of them new and although I bought from reliable sellers, I have no idea what these pens have been through in their lives.

March 16, 2015

By the way, the EF nib looks like a needle compared to an F nib. Here's a comparison with the Agatha Christie ("146 size") F nib:

March 16, 2015

Thank you very much for your response...

What's your opinion on how the Extra fine writtes, does it need work or you can write like taking notes, I mean can it handle everyday writing. Normal and fast writing

March 16, 2015

I have an EF nib on my 149. It writes smoothly since the first day, but at the beginning I wasn't happy with the supposedly EF line, which was more like a Medium (at least for my personal taste). I therefore decided to send the pen to a "nibmeister", who regrinded the nib. Now the pen writes like a Western Fine, which is perfect for notetaking.

March 17, 2015

The 149 EF looks like a needle point but it doesnt write like one, its relatively smooth. It can certainly be used for everyday writing on a wide variety of paper. But as others have pointed out the line it writes is far from a Japanese Fine. There is some variation between MB nibs so you would have to test a particular pen to see if the line width is what you expect.

March 17, 2015

I agree with empty.

I'm always a little worried that a needle point like the EF will get damaged if I use if for fast writing, because I always suspect my hand is not light enough for such a nib unless I pay attention (and that is something I don't do when I write faster). The F looks less fragile and just because of that, I am more comfortable using the F for fast writing.

March 17, 2015

I have five 149's, purchased over the period 1979 to 2014. The latest purchase is a 90th Anniversary model. They are all EF because I use them as daily writers for note taking and, at times, for statistical notation. They are smooth and reliable, and were, out of the box, ready to go. I would estimate their EF lines to be somewhere between a Japanese F and Japanese M.

The shape of the nibs has changed somewhat over time, perhaps because of the change from 14c to 18c. The 14c nibs have more of a needle point (as in the picture posted above), but I do not consider them more fragile than the slightly stockier 18c nibs. In fact, these nibs are very resilient. I used to keep an inked 149 on my desk (in a locked office). Someone tried the pen, dropped it, and mangled the nib. It looked like a fork that had gone through a garbage disposal. I had it repaired locally and, by look and feel, it is as if nothing had happened. That was one of the pens with a 14c nib. I now lock my desk pens (Pelikan 800's) in a filing cabinet when I leave for the day.

March 18, 2015

As I have said many times, MontBlanc makes MASS PRODUCED nibs by HAND. That combination (making things by hand in bulk) leds to extremely low tolerances. EF means nothing, frankly. It might write like a true EF. It might write like a F. It might write like a M (as mine do almost every time!)

The best thing to do is grab a M, etc. pen for cheap and then send it to a nibmeister for $40 and have them turn it into a TRUE EF for you. That's what I do now and I love it. No compromises.