Montblanc Red Gold 149 Obbb

[Tom Kellie]

Montblanc Red Gold 149 OBBB

~ Writing with two Montblanc 149 OBBB nibs throughout 2016 was a deeply fulfilling experience after years of having strictly written with EF nibs.

With passing time, the notion of a permanent rotation of OBBB nibs became appealing, such that at all times one OBBB might be inked, ready to write.

The initial yellow gold OBBB was followed by a platinum OBBB, both of which were comfortable to handle for a wide variety of writing tasks, both specialized and general.

Accordingly, a red gold 149 OBBB was ordered on 1 November. It arrived eight weeks later on 26 December, with a bottle of Montblanc William Shakespeare Velvet Red Ink.

The photographs which follow illustrate the unwrapping of the red gold OBBB, various pen details and a handwriting sample.

To my great surprise, the red gold 149 OBBB is the smoothest writing fountain pen I’ve ever used, producing crisp clear lines with minimal effort.

It’s a joy to use, thanks to Montblanc nib craftsmanship. As OBBBs are my daily writers, the red gold OBBB is an especially welcome addition.

Special appreciation is owed to Ghost Plane for her stalwart promotion of the broadest nibs, as well as for her cookies.

Additional gratitude is due to Pravda who has developed my understanding of the value of special handling and care of fine writing instruments.

In Montblanc’s China World Trade Center boutique in Beijing sales specialist and new father LIU Yang (刘洋), ‘Johnny’, has skillfully arranged all details of the nib exchanges for all three OBBB pens. Heartfelt thanks to him and to Montblanc China.

In a separate post comparison images of the red gold, yellow gold and platinum 149 OBBBs will by added with the hope that others might consider adding an OBBB to their fountain pen collections.

Unopened

Opened

Bubble-wrapped

Boxes

Authenticity

Details

Bag

Unveiled

Brand

Glisten

Oblique

Reverse

Logo

Nib

Together

[Wolverine1]

Congratulations on your wonderful, new 149, Tom!!!!!

Edited December 26, 2016 by Wolverine1

[Tom Kellie]

Trois

Craftsmanship

Comparison

Quiver

Precious

Scrutinize

[fromthecrowd]

Congratulations with a great 149 OBBB set! The red gold appears to be somewhat finer than the others on the photo. The ink has great shading. Very nice!

[Grzgrz]

Tom, this pen is great! I understand your satisfaction with the new OBBB, great nib writes. Thank you for the amazing pictures of all three nibs OBBB together. The joy of writing.

[da vinci]

Very interesting post Tom, thank you - and wonderful nib comparison shots

[mehandiratta]

amazing

[jmccarty3]

Congratulations on an outstanding (and rare) set of 149 OBBBs, as well as your excellent photography. Now I can't wait to get my platinum one!

[masterguns]

Thanks for the fantastic pictures! You have beautiful triplets.

[Mastiff]

Thank you once again Tom for inspiring me. I especially like the trio of different colours- gold, red and platinum.

[Zdenek]

 

Montblanc Red Gold 149 OBBB

..... an especially welcome addition.

 

It is not an addition but rather an addiction. Sorry, I could not resist. ... Anyway, use that beautiful pen in the best health, Tom.

 

Edit: One of the pictures is a nice wallpaper on my desktop.

Edited December 26, 2016 by Zdenek

[Pravda]

Viewing this thread just puts you in a good mood.. The nibs are gorgeous, particularly together! Congratulations Tom Kellie

 

I particularly want to commend your photography skills, being successful in capturing the subtle differences between the various gold trims; I've never been able to do so with my mobile camera, to distinguish between the yellow vs rose gold.

 

I couldn't have imagined how much joy you can get out of using these nibs until I got my 1st. It is really something very special

[thygreyt]

Gorgeous pens and pictures.

[Tom Kellie]

Photographing the Three OBBB Nibs

~ The red gold 149 OBBB was delivered slightly after 12 noon on a chilly but sunny afternoon.

As there are both south-facing and north-facing windows, ample natural light is available in the university faculty housing where I live.

To reduce glare in photographs, the north-facing windows seemed the best option, offering softer light from sunlight reflected off of an adjacent building.

All images, aside from the handwriting sample, were made on the kitchen counter beside the sink, as that provided a flat surface with suffused natural light.

Most of the images of the opening process were made while standing on a sturdy chair from the study, in order to shift perspective to a higher viewpoint.

I own no tripod or flash so they weren’t used. The 30 minute shooting session at around 2:30 pm was entirely handheld with piano jazz playing in order to set the mood.

The camera for all images was a Canon EOS 1D X with an EF 100mm f/2.8L IS macro lens.

The camera settings were: ‘M’ manual shooting mode, f/6.3 aperture, ISO 800, 100mm focal length, shooting speeds ranging between 1/100 and 1/200 sec.

To accommodate the reduced light from the north-facing windows, ISO 800 was used, as no kitchen lights were on.

The goal was a soft, natural light look in order to bring out subtle micro-contrasts in the nib features without the distraction of harsh lighting glare.

Fountain pen nibs present a special challenge as they’re curved with significant detail continuing at different depths.

What’s ideal is a setting which isolates the nibs from the background yet which allows for clear presentation of the fine craftsmanship.

In accordance with those considerations, f/6.3 was a compromise which provided both depth of detail and subject isolation.

The soft off-white lining of the Montblanc box and the cream silk pen bag provided fine texture to contrast with the high gloss finish of the precious resin and red gold.

The polished black stone kitchen counter top, the blue glasses, and the chopsticks were left in several images to provide visual context.

The handwriting sample is the first time that the inked pen had ever written after delivery. It was with a mixture of relief and delight that its stellar ink flow qualities immediately became apparent.

As I don’t own a smart phone, a camera and lens is how I record images of interest. Most of my photography is wildlife ecology, especially in Kenya and South Africa.

This is a URL ink to the originals of the photos which may be viewed or downloaded at full size.

http://tomkellie.zenfolio.com/p95719045

When threads in the Montblanc forum include photos, whether taken with smart phones or cameras, they are especially appreciated, as the love of fountain pens is both visual and tactile.

It’s 4:30 am here. Later in the day, when light conditions are optimal, I’ll make a few more images of the three OBBB nibs with handwriting samples to show their similarities and differences.

It’s very nice of so many to visit this thread and offer supportive comments. Thank you all so much!

[zaddick]

Congratulations Tom. A lovely set of nibs. Is a 90th rose gold O3B next?

[Ghost Plane]

I have seen nirvana. *swoon*

[meiers]

B E A U T I F U L.

Thank you for sharing your photography so generously.

[Tom Kellie]

Three Pens, Three Inks

Triptych

~ The three titles were written with the Bespoke 149 EEF in a cameo appearance.

[Tom Kellie]

Bespoke EEF with Three OBBBs

Just Like Old Tines

Crossroads

Celebrating Red

Get-together

Pen & Ink Quartet

[Pravda]

I'm saving these pics for my desktop wallpaper, we have a professional photographer in our midst

 

I particularly like how we get to see the EEF alongside the OBBB to help form a perspective because in pictures I've noticed that writing with one nib size alone it could be anything.