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Hi! I'm quite new to collecting pens, but trying to learn as much as I can. I've recently inherited a couple Mont Blanc fountain pens, and I'm having some issues with one of them - a 342. It's been working just fine for the last 6 months, but recently when I tried to unscrew the cap, the gripping section stayed in the cap, while the body came out - leaving the reservoir open. Since then I haven't been able get the front bit out of the cap. Is there any way of doing this yourself, or do I have to hand it in to professionals? Thanks a lot in advance!

There's a wonderful gentleman in Holland who collects and trades Montblanc pens. I've had the good fortune of obtaining my old 146 EF from him some time ago and today I visited him once more to admire his incredible collection of Montblanc goodness. Many different pens were tried, including F, KF, M, OM, OB, OBB and a slew of other nibs. I personally lean towards nibs that draw a finer line on the page and preferably add character to the text, such as "stubbish" and "architect-ish" nibs. I've learned to ignore MB nibsizes and to just try everything, since variability between nibs is high. Anyway, today I fell in love with a New Old Stock 342 in lovely burgundy red, with a nib labeled "F arrow". I can't display a real downward arrow here, but there is an actual little arrow on the piston knob next to the F. I'm assuming this indicates a semi-flex or flex nib. That, it certainly is. Whether it's an F, well, that's debatable. It's a stubbish nib, just as I like it. Downstrokes are western M, sidestrokes are western F to EF. The nib is extremely bouncy and feathery, very cushiony and totally addictive even if I don't use its flex capacity. Inking this old pen up for the first time in its 61 years of existence was a very special experience. It writes like a dream. No other pen I own makes my writing look this good. The writing sample really doen't do it justice, nor do the photos, which were taken indoors by artificial light. The price sticker is still on the pen: 32.50 Kr, which indicates the pen was originally sold in Scandinavia somewhere. All things considered, this is one helluva nice pen. Sure, the material doesn't feel as high-end like the Meisterstück pens, but if a pen writes this well, then who cares?