Montblanc Writers Edition Pens 1992-2009 - Review

[omega]

This is a review of the family of my favorite pens made by my favorite pen maker so you could call this a labor of love.

 

The way I see the WE pens is pens that were design to attract both kind of pen fans both the users and collectors.

 

They are beautifully crafted but yet never forgetting to keep these pens easy and fun to use.

 

Each pen has its own identity and uniqueness some are heavier then others, some are wider, some made of metal some flashier then others.....etc

 

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u330/alfa170a/Picture005-6.jpg

 

As I said I love all the pens but obviously I have my favorites and find some are better writers then other to my hand.

I do like the domed style better for writing. It feels more natural and comfortable in the hand.

 

Its funny how wide the price range of these pens in the second hand market and how it can fluctuate and change.

2 good examples are the Hemingway and Jules Vern.

They had problem selling this pen and you could get it for a significant lower price. Now as we all know the pen is in high demand and is priced accordingly in the second hand market.

The opposite is the Vern. Its prices used to be much higher and it lost about 20%-30% of its value (wouldn't be surprised if it will go up again as its a great pen).

 

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u330/alfa170a/Picture003-15.jpg

 

The biggest problem to me is to decided which of these amazing pens has the best design.

So after a long personal debate and I mean L O N G it came down to these 6 pens:

1.Hemingway

2.Agatha

3.Schiller

4.Dumas

5.Poe

6.Oscar Wilde

 

You are probably asking yourself. Hey didn't you forgot the Proust or maybe Kafka or Shaw ?

No I didn't forget them, these are all wonderful and very close to the ones on the 6 list but I like these 6 best.

 

So the Hemingway doesn't need any explanation why its in the list.

Its classic 139 design and red/black colour theme is timeless and the clip is simply oozing with class.

 

The black Agatha is the most classic modern domes shaped MB and the clip is the heart of the pen.

 

The Schiller is yet another pen I have been admiring. The clean look of the body with the vibrant read cap and vintage look of the clip leaves me always drooling.

 

For the longest time the Dumas was my favorite WE. What a beautiful complex design based on the 139. Nothing short of a drool pen.

 

The Poe is a pen I fell in love only after I saw it in real life. The blue colour and overall design of this pen simply work on me. Its a colplex design that you enjoy more and more as time goes through.

 

And the Wilde, what a special pen this is.

So different then all other WE's.

Barrel looks like tiger skin, so not a classic MB design.

 

Ok, in the end I was left with 2 pens the Wilde and Hemingway and yes the Hemingway won.

The Hemingway is the one with the best design. Its the WE king.

 

The best writer is of course my Vern. Its the one I'd take over any other WE for everyday use.

 

I need to have one rather negative about the WE collection.

I think MB could have went the extra mile with the book like boxes, they are basically made of paper and its not uncommon to see the falling apart.

The POA boxes on the other hand are much better made.

For the price we all pay for these WE's I would expect MB to make them feel more solid.

 

I tend to divide the WE's into 4 categories.

1.Pens that are based on the 139 which is the:

Hemingway

Dumas

 

2.pens based on the domed MB's which include's

Agatha

Schiller

Wilde

Voltaire

Dostoevsky

Poe

Proust

Dickens

Verne

Cervantes

Woolfe

Faulkner

Thomas Man

 

3.Pens based on the 146

Shaw

Fitzgerald

 

4.Pen that doesn't fit any of these categories

Kafka

 

So I am going to divide my review to these 4 categories.

 

So from pure performance perspective there really is no difference between the Hemingway and Dumas as I found out on the review I wrote comparing these 2 pens a while back.

As I wrote there if you like the shape and want to get one of these two then and don't care which one of them then go for the Dumas as it will cost about 1/3 of the price of the Hemingway.

 

From the domed shape pens the variety is big and they all are good writers.

I really like them all and choosing one for this review is hard.

Yes my favorite writer is the Verne but its mostly because of the amazing nib.

It is a heavy pen and not everybody would enjoy it as I do.

So after a long time of pondering I was left with these pens.

Poe, Agatha, Woolfe and Dostoevsky.

If a weight is an issue for you and you like light weight pens the Dostoevsky is the pen for you.

So at the end I chose the Agatha.

There is something about it that simply sits so nice in my hand. The second was the Poe and these pens really feels almost identical in the hand but still the Agatha wins by a very small margin.

 

Between the Shaw and Fitzgerald again it was a very hard choice.

These pens are so different it is nearly impossible to compare them.

The Fitzgerald is smaller, lighter and simply feels nimbler.

The Shaw on the other hand is heavier and I enjoy holding something that is bigger heavier and with a presents.

Forced to choose one I will go with the Fitzgerald but its a very tough choice for me.

 

Comparing the Kafka to any other pen is impossible. Its a long, slender and light.

Its a darn good writer but at the end of the day I would go with other WE.

 

So I have the Dumas vs Agatha vs Fitzgerald.

For me its an easy choice, the Agatha wins hands down between these 3 pens as I always loved the feel of the domed pens best in my hand so there you have it the Agatha is the best WE when it comes to writing.

 

I want to mention few features on few pens which I love.

They make these WE unique and stand out compared to other pens.

 

1.Hemingway-I love the clip, its my favorite clip on any pen its simple and classic.

Basic design with simple red/black colouring and timeless design makes this pen an all time classic.

 

2.Agatha-obviously is the clip.

This snake with rubby eyes is quite a statement. The basic black domed body/cap is also a timeless design.

 

3.Wilde-the sheer size of the pen and tiger patern resin is simply stunning!!!

 

4.Dumas-again the basic 139 shape is a classic but more then that the MOP like resin with gold stripes in between is causing me to drool everytime I see the pen.

 

5.Poe-the beautiful blue resin of this pen is something you you gotta see in real life as pictures don't do it justice.

 

6.Proust-thats an easy one. The silver body is unique in the WE world and the vintage feel it gives the pen is great.

 

7.Schiller-the bright red cap and black body simply look mesmerizing and the vintage looking clip seals the deal for me.

 

8.Verne-the blue body is gorgeous. Looks like the pen has waves going up and down the barrel, oh and don't forget the unique groove at the top of the cap where you can rest the pen.

 

9.Kafka-the most different of the WE pens.

The dark red body is very unique and beautiful.

 

10.Shaw-I love the green and silver stripes along the pens and cap.

 

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u330/alfa170a/Picture003-16.jpg

 

Pen statistics

 

1.Hemingway

Made 1992

FP 20000

BP 30000

Size capped 134mm

Size uncapped 124mm

Posted 160mm

Total weight 33.1gr

Weight uncapped 23.1gr

 

2.Agatha

Made 1993

FP 23000

BP 18000

Sets 7000

Size capped 142mm

Size uncapped 127mm

Posted 170mm

Total weight 34.4gr

Weight uncapped 20.4gr

 

3.Wilde

Made 1994

FP 15000

BP 8000

MP 7000

Sets 5000

Size capped 145mm

Size uncapped 134mm

Posted 169mm

Total weight 33.6gr

Weight uncapped 23.9gr

 

4.Voltaire

Made 1995

FP 15000

BP 8000

MP 7000

Sets 5000

Size capped 149mm

Size uncapped 129mm

Posted 167mm

Total weight 36.6gr

Weight uncapped 19.6gr

 

5.Dumas

Made 1996

FP 15000

BP 11000

MP 4000

Sets 5000

Size capped 135mm

Size uncapped 125mm

Posted 159mm

Total weight 36.3gr

Weight uncapped 26.3gr

 

6.Dostoevsky

Made 1997

FP 16300

BP 7300

MP 2300

RB 6300

Sets 700

Size capped 145mm

Size uncapped 130mm

Posted 163mm

Total weight 26.8gr

Weight uncapped 15.7gr

 

7.Poe

Made 1998

FP 14000

BP 12000

Sets 3000

Size capped 146mm

Size uncapped 125mm

Posted 167mm

Total weight 30.2gr

Weight uncapped 16.5gr

 

8.Proust

Made 1999

FP 17000

BP 16000

Sets 4000

Size capped 135mm

Size uncapped 121mm

Posted 148mm

Total weight 35.4gr

Weight uncapped 20.7gr

 

9.Schiller

Made 2000

FP 14000

BP 12000

Sets 4000

Size capped 135mm

Size uncapped 124mm

Posted 160mm

Total weight 26.8gr

Weight unposted 16.7gr

 

10.Dickens

Made 2001

FP 14000

BP 12000

Sets 4000

Size capped 149mm

Size uncapped 130mm

Posted 163mm

Total weight 43.2gr

Weight uncapped 18.2gr

 

11.Fitzgerald

Made 2002

FP 14000

BP 12000

Sets 4500

Size capped 139mm

Size uncapped 121mm

Posted 150mm

Total weight 28.5gr

Weight uncapped 17.7gr

 

12.Verne

Made 2003

FP 14000

BP 12000

Sets 4500

Size capped 141mm

Size uncapped 126mm

Total weight 62.5gr

Weight uncapped 33.7gr

 

 

13.Kafka

Made 2004

FP 14000

BP 12000

Sets 4500

Size capped 150mm

Size uncapped 132mm

Posted (you can't cap this pen)

Total weight 39.9gr

Weight uncapped 21.2gr

 

14.Cervantes

Made 2005

FP 13000

BP 13000

Sets 4000

Size capped 137mm

Size uncapped 127mm

Posted 163mm

Total weight 51.3gr

Weight uncapped 27.6

 

15.Woolf

Made 2006

FP 16000

BP 18000

Sets 4000

Size capped 137mm

Size uncapped 126mm

Posted 160mm

Total weight 30.7gr

Weight uncapped 21.5gr

 

16.Faulkner

Made 2007

FP 16000

BP 18000

Sets 4000

Size capped 138mm

Size uncapped 126mm

Posted 162mm

Total weight 43.2gr

Weight uncapped 24.3gr

 

17.Shaw

Made 2008

FP 16000

BP 18000

Sets 4000

Size capped 142mm

Size uncapped 133mm

Posted 165mm

Total weight 61.4gr

Weight uncapped 31.4gr

 

18.Mann

Made 2009

FP 12000

BP 15000

RB 6000

Sets 3000

Size capped 140mm

Size uncapped 126mm

Posted 161mm

Total weight 57.5gr

Weight uncapped 33.2gr

[omega]

Very nice review. I think the Schiller would even be better if the body of the pen was a little larger. The cap on the pen is a nice color but it looks awkward with the smallish size body. I agree it's hard to move away from the Dumas with the fathers signature. Nice scrolling. The sons "a. dumas" looks rather ordinary. Anyway have all but FSF and Kafka. Working on a couple select POA.

[tanburi]

Which island you said you found that treasure on? Still got the map?

[shrinknib]

Hey Amir, you will need to update this every year now!

This year Twain...next year??

 

And how about pinning this review?

This is definitive

 

Well done and congratulations.

I'm getting one of these soon....

[jniforat]

+1 to pinning this thread--this is a GREAT reference article.

[jasam]

Hey Amir, you will need to update this every year now!

This year Twain...next year??

 

And how about pinning this review?

This is definitive

 

Well done and congratulations.

I'm getting one of these soon....

 

+1 This MUST be pinned...

[goodguy]

Hey Amir, you will need to update this every year now!

This year Twain...next year??

 

And how about pinning this review?

This is definitive

 

Well done and congratulations.

I'm getting one of these soon....

 

 

+1 to pinning this thread--this is a GREAT reference article.

 

 

Hey Amir, you will need to update this every year now!

This year Twain...next year??

 

And how about pinning this review?

This is definitive

 

Well done and congratulations.

I'm getting one of these soon....

 

+1 This MUST be pinned...

I am deeply honored and humbeled by your kind words

I plan to continue to update this review (if the mods will let me) and just hope to be able to afford a new WE every year.

Edited July 30, 2010 by goodguy

[RussianToronto]

Your collection is amazing =P

 

Thats what I call a "mb guy" haha

[judgetim]

I know it has not been released yet, but having now had a chance to see the forthcoming Mark Twain and each of the past editions, I feel partial to the Mark Twain. That might be due to having been raised in Missouri, along the Mississippi.

[goodguy]

I know it has not been released yet, but having now had a chance to see the forthcoming Mark Twain and each of the past editions, I feel partial to the Mark Twain. That might be due to having been raised in Missouri, along the Mississippi.

As a pen collector and as a WE collector I have to admit that I never cared too much about who the writer is.

I like reading books and do so everyday but I collect pens so I judge it according to its design and functionality and not who its named after but thats me of course.

If you like the pen then get it and if not then forget about it.

 

Of course in a case you collect the entire family then you need to get it all whether you like it or not.

[corbinreynz]

Strike up the band and lays down some drinks, throughout the review has finally arrived! Goodguy Congratulations! Thank you for posting all the polls that is very useful. I'd like to see more pictures.

[goodguy]

Strike up the band and lays down some drinks, throughout the review has finally arrived! Goodguy Congratulations! Thank you for posting all the polls that is very useful. I'd like to see more pictures.

When I posted this review it was limited to 4 pictures only and now its too late to add any more pictures to the original post

[maria322]

So many amazing pens in one review! *dies happy*

 

Yuki

 

 

I second that! *not dying, but on life support*

 

Is this collection insured? It's quite the group...I dare estimate $500 a pen? WOW.

[goodguy]

So many amazing pens in one review! *dies happy*

 

Yuki

 

 

I second that! *not dying, but on life support*

 

Is this collection insured? It's quite the group...I dare estimate $500 a pen? WOW.

Please excuse me if I will sound a bit vain :embarrassed_smile: few are more then double your estimate.

[breaker]

congrats on your collecton

awesome review and pics

[Bo Bo Olson]

 

My new pen is Old....no wonder it was on sale at the B&M.

Well I didn't ask any dumb questions....the wife wanted to buy me a MB so I got a wet noodle arm, it twists easy.

 

I walked in and saw Virgina Woolf as a for sale pen and it was moved into the number one position before I saw any of the other pens in the Sale.

 

It and the Aurora Verdi were the finalists.

Both are very pretty pens.

 

That was a great article.

 

I'd never even asked when my Woolf was made.

It was. It is.

That was enough.

[seriph]

What a wonderful review - yes yes yes I know it has already been said, but I add my humble acknowledgement. A great collection.

 

Fascinating about which pens are our favourites too! We all have them and we all have reasons for it.

 

I long for a Cervantes because of Don Quixote, not because it is an exceptionally beautiful pen but because I am reminded that "nobility knows no station" - dig a hole and solve a problem - what isn't noble about that? Provided we find our level in life and apply ourselves to learning and giving, we will have perhaps fulfilled our reason for being. The Don taught me that there is beauty in all and for all.

 

I yearn for the Twain because of his writings and what he too gave the world and in particular how he added to my own life. His stories are simple, but not simple that equates to simplistic, rather the simplicity that Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote of:

 

------------ I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity. -------------

 

Twain taught me the basic principles of fairness and willingness to consider things beyond myself and that instead of "wondering about wonders" to travel around my nearest corner to meet a world of wonder.

 

... and I cherish the hope that one day I'll earn the right to own a Dickens - With his gentle and encouraging style, he wraps us in a better way to be, in A Christmas Carol. He offers with great style, tales of deep human transformation, from selfish to enlightened yet told without a shred of condescension. To be able to render his vision of Victorian Europe with such poise in a currency that returns such dividends even now .... that's true human genius.

 

And finally, the first among the Writer's Editions for me - The Hemingway. What an icon. His writing was beyond definition. His style if it be labelled such, was for me the embodiment of one thing - restraint. He "removed" every piece of extraneous verbiage from his books so that what remained was purest essence. When I read The Old Man and The Sea I was in awe. I had gone from a year's investment in reading Lord of The Rings, with its magnificent richness, to a book that when it wants to say "the boy walked to the water" says "The boy walked to the water"!!!!!!!!! It caused an explosion of imaginings in me that were so evocative I almost needed to wash the sand from between my toes.

 

Hemingway - here was a man.

 

 

Thanks again for your wonderful review. It reminds me why I love people

 

steve

Edited July 24, 2011 by seriph

[kp288908]

Nice review. The Montblanc Virginia Woolf is my grail pen. It's likely out of my reach, but it's perhaps one of the most beautiful fountain pens I've ever seen. Aside from the Montblanc Greta Garbo, of course. =)

 

Thanks for such a comprehensive review.

[mongrelnomad]

 

And finally, the first among the Writer's Editions for me - The Hemingway. What an icon. His writing was beyond definition. His style if it be labelled such, was for me the embodiment of one thing - restraint. He "removed" every piece of extraneous verbiage from his books so that what remained was purest essence. When I read The Old Man and The Sea I was in awe. I had gone from a year's investment in reading Lord of The Rings, with its magnificent richness, to a book that when it wants to say "the boy walked to the water" says "The boy walked to the water"!!!!!!!!! It caused an explosion of imaginings in me that were so evocative I almost needed to wash the sand from between my toes.

 

Hemingway - here was a man.

 

 

Oh yes. Hemingway: much imitated, never matched.

[John Batista]

Great collection..... JB