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The first time I saw the 149 in a review, I seriously couldn’t get the hype. It looked uninspiring being a boring round top pen with gold trim albeit with a breathtakingly beautiful gold nib. I’d always wanted to try the pen if not, just for the nib. When I got around to finally trying it, at my very first Pelikan Hub (better times, eh?) in 2017, I was hooked. Understanding why the pen was revered as an icon, I wanted to own one someday. And I got my very first 149, one from the 1970s, a few months ago, and here are my thoughts about it. Design and Construction: The pen is huge! It has rounded ends, with the iconic Montblanc star on the cap end. The cap is pretty much straight throughout with the barrel tapering then bulging slightly, and finally tapering to the end. The section is straight without any curves to it and ends in a frustum-like lip, indicating the one-piece construction. The clip widens slightly towards the end and has no bend to it. The center band contains the engraving ‘MONTBLANC – MEISTERSTUCK NO149’ and is surrounded by two thinner bands. The ring at top of the cap is part of the clip and the one at the end is part of the piston filling mechanism. The material used is their ‘precious resin’ which feels light and is quite scratch resistance in my experience. I polished the pen the day I’d received it and in over 4-5 months, I’ve not had many scratches where the cap screws onto the barrel. The pen itself is put together well and feels very well made. Filling Mechanism: The 149 has a piston filling mechanism and holds quite a bit of ink. I’ve not measured it but one fill did last a few days when it wasn’t vacation and I had to write notes from online lectures. Since mine is an old pen, I had to lubricate the piston mechanism and I used a cut, bent, and filed paper clip to disassemble both the piston mechanism and the nib unit. Writing Comfort: I am quite versed with big pens having used oversized handmade Indian pens, but the 149 took some time getting used to, mainly because of the huge nib. The straight section feels slightly weird to grip and causes fatigue after a long writing session. I much prefer the M1000 section. The pen is well balanced though. Nib and Writing Experience: The nib looks stunning, let me just get that out of the way. It’s a bi-color 14c and is paired with a solid ebonite feed. Initially, I had a few issues with ink flow I did a heat-set but that did nothing. I then realized that the feed had been set too close to the nib and this was causing some issue with the seating, lifting the nib off the feed. So, I gently pulled the nib and feed and it came off very easily, without needing a knockout block. Once I set the feed further back and did a heat set, it was flush with the nib. The previous owner had ground the nib a bit to his liking, so I had to adjust it to suit my writing. I’ve inked it with Lamy Petrol and it writes a medium line, with ample wetness. The nib also has a bit of softness to it and that was something I had to get used to since all the pens I’d used before it were hard nails. Final Thoughts: I do not regret my purchase one bit, and I would love to get more 149s in the future. That pretty much sums it up .

My father gifted me his (broken) montblanc 149. This pen has a single barrel, round ebonite feed w grooved face, black plastic filler threads, but most curious it has an 18C tri color nib (1950's?). The piston shaft itself is broken, most likely because twisting it with a stuck piston sheared it. It has sat on a shelf since 1980, which should be a crime in itself. Can anyone fortune a guess as to how much this might cost to fix? Figuring in deferred maintenance, removing a friction fit piston, and fitting a new piston shaft. I've contacted Francis goosens via personal email, but would love to hear from the broader group of minds. Can anyone explain the 18C nib? Can anyone explain whether or not this can be fitted with a brass piston shaft, and the pros and cons if it can? Thank you so much! matthew fitzpatrick montblanc 234 1/2, 149 (broken)

I am interested in purchasing the legendary Meisterstück 149 fountain pen. I have begun my research on this fountain pen about a week ago. I'm in no rush. I have plenty of time to collect priceless knowledge from my Fountain Pen Network community. Here are my remaining questions: (1) What is the best year to purchase a 149? My priorities are to find something that is a collectible, but not too expensive (under $1000). I want to purchase used. I also want to keep as a secondary consideration of functionality. I do want a refined Meisterstück without all the design flaws and so forth. In other words, I'm looking for something that's a collectible but also at its peak regarding functions. (2) What is the difference between 14k and 18k nibs? I wanted to go with 18k because historically, the owners had insisted on 18k as an indicator of "pure gold." But of course, the writing experience is a priority as well, so I was wondering if the 18k nib writes much differently than the 14k. (3) What is the difference between 14k and 14c, or 18k and 18c? I understand that the "c" indicates an older pen, some say between late 1970s to early 1980s. I just want to know why the "c" nibs are so desirable. Is there something inherently special about the nib? Or, does it just indicate an antique -- it's old? (4) Has anyone run into any problems / risks purchasing used? I guess I like my pens to hold worth. I don't like to use it for 10 years, and it has dropped half its value. I figure purchasing a near mint used pen would allow me to purchase a higher priced collectible and simultaneously one that didn't drop that much in value. I'm presuming, if I can retain that condition, if I wanted to sell it one day, I wouldn't get that much less for it, compared to buying new and selling used years down the line. (5) I also considered waiting for the 100th year anniversary to get a Meisterstück. Does anyone have an opinion about that? Good or bad? That's probably going to come up in 8 years or so, but I'm sure Montblanc is planning something big for that one! Thanks for all your great input throughout my first few months here on Fountain Pen Network. Look forward to your input.