Montblanc 149 vs Sailor KOP (King Of Pen)

[georges zaslavsky]

I thought MB would win but the nib on KOP balances it out.

 

The KOP needs an internal filler for such a chunky pen. but needs to stay on it simplistic design (no extra furnitures) then it will be worthy of its label.

If you take a vintage mb 149 from the 60's -early 80's it will beat the sailor very easily. Even a modern 149 properly tuned by Greg Minuskin or Mike Masumaya will again beat the Sailor.The 149 used in, the review is one of the latest ones (nib design and feed), if it was an older one, the Sailor would have lost

Edited January 21, 2012 by georges zaslavsky

[goodguy]

Yes - another great comparison review of quality chunky pens - thanks. :meow:

 

My pleasure

 

This is the review I needed to see since I bought a MB149 and was curious about the KOPs. Now I know I have a king MB!!

Thanks- Carlos Alvarez.

Glad you are even happier with your 149

 

Great review. NTL, I prefer the MB.

 

Thank you

 

I thought MB would win but the nib on KOP balances it out.

 

The KOP needs an internal filler for such a chunky pen. but needs to stay on it simplistic design (no extra furnitures) then it will be worthy of its label.

If you take a vintage mb 149 from the 60's -early 80's it will beat the sailor very easily. Even a modern 149 properly tuned by Greg Minuskin or Mike Masumaya will again beat the Sailor.The 149 used in, the review is one of the latest ones (nib design and feed), if it was an older one, the Sailor would have lost

Georges is a very smart knowladgable man, wish I had an older 149 to try its nib.

[aardvark]

Thank you for the review. I've been thinking about adding a KOP to my collection, I just have to decide on the nib! I hope to try some at the LA Pen show next month.

 

//mark

[beurling]

what a fabulous comparison..both pens are on my list...i want an oblique broad 149 but i want a specialist nib on the sailor...that's what sells them for me....i couldn't choose between the 2 to be honest but thanks for an awesome review...i'll defo be getting the oblique nibbed MB when i can afford one..i always thought it was all the name but having written with one recently it was a fabulous experience...

 

as for sailors..i cant wait to start selling them so i can sample the delights of their specialist nibs!!

[mjchuang9]

Whenever I write sailor 95th piston-filler realo, I always recall MB 149. Sailor should learn from Pilot/Namiki ,Nakaya to have his own style since their nibs are unique.

[wspohn]

what a fabulous comparison..both pens are on my list...i want an oblique broad 149 but i want a specialist nib on the sailor...that's what sells them for me....

 

yeah, that's where the Sailor surpasses the Montblanc - in choice of nibs, many of them just delightful to write with (I have a King Eagle that is really unique).

 

OTOH, I prefer the look of the MB, although the original KOP would give the MB more of a run:

 

http://www.penboutique.com/images/product/large/8018.jpg

[georges zaslavsky]

yeah, that's where the Sailor surpasses the Montblanc - in choice of nibs, many of them just delightful to write with (I have a King Eagle that is really unique).

 

OTOH, I prefer the look of the MB, although the original KOP would give the MB more of a run:

 

http://www.penboutique.com/images/product/large/8018.jpg

I don't think so, a tiny converted pen doesn't compare to a piston filler. And compare a 60-early 80's and it will beat the (bleep) of the sailor. Just because one offers speciality nibs doesn't make enough good arguments to say a piston MB filler is a bad pen.

[wspohn]

yeah, that's where the Sailor surpasses the Montblanc - in choice of nibs, many of them just delightful to write with (I have a King Eagle that is really unique).

 

OTOH, I prefer the look of the MB, although the original KOP would give the MB more of a run:

 

I don't think so, a tiny converted pen doesn't compare to a piston filler. And compare a 60-early 80's and it will beat the (bleep) of the sailor. Just because one offers speciality nibs doesn't make enough good arguments to say a piston MB filler is a bad pen.

 

Georges, you really have to start working on that reading comprehension a bit, and stop repeating what you'd like a post to have said rather than what it really did say "

No one here has said anything even vaguely resembling "to say a piston MB filler is a bad pen" Where on Earth did you dig that up?

 

Let's try this again (or go back to my post and try reading it all over again more carefully, whichever you prefer). I SAID: Sailor KOP offers a better nib choice than MB, but MB looks nicer (to me) than the current KOP, although it would be a closer contest with the original KOP which in fact look quite a bit like a MB in the first place.

 

I decline to waste any more time debating your statement about filling systems - if filler systems is where it is at for you, good for you. For me, I assess how a pen looks and how well it writes and consider how it fills last or not at all. Different strokes.

 

Oh, and if you can find anywhere where I, or anyone else stated that the 149 was a 'bad pen' you just get back to us on that, OK? If it is there, I sure missed it.

Edited February 1, 2012 by wspohn

[beurling]

i just re-read this whole thread and nowhere has anybody said either the MB or KOP is a bad pen..people have shown preferences for one over the other which is understandable as personal tastes vary wildly...

 

personally filling system isnt high on my list....if that was the case then my Duofold Cenntenial which I have owned and loved for 20 years would be a bad pen because it is a C/F???? I don't think so....a filling system either works well..or it doesnt..surely the aesthetics..the way the pen feels in the hand and the way the nib puts ink to paper are the most important things????

 

I like the MB as much as I like the KOP....both the same and yet both different...

 

oh and as an aside...i'd just like to point out the analogy of comapreing bmw to lexus being similair for these 2 pens...way erong..since modern day BMW's may aswell have been built like French cars..they are truly awful quality wise..it's sad to see the Marque fall so far and if it weasnt for its perfected brand image it would be in deep deep trouble.... just remember...all that glitters isn't always gold...

 

saying that i'm saving for a MB and a Sailor to be my 2 purchases this year

 

i just wanna re-iterate my thanks to goodguy for an interesting review of 2 very evenly matched pens.

 

Buzz

[Postscript]

It is the rabid reactions of MB enthusiasts who redirect this thread in my honest opinion. But I am considered a troll in their elite forum so go figure. Just expressing a personal opinion as someone who may consider buying an MB 149, thanks,

 

Post Script

[beurling]

this reminds me of some of the petty squabbles and arguments i used to see from being in car clubs...

 

it's really pathetic...totally changed when i got involved with motorbikes ( though there are still the petty types with them ) but for the most part a bike fan was a bike fan regardless of the ride...

 

i would challenge anybody here to call either of these pens "rubbish" or "no good" as that would just prove them as being unintelligent misfits in all honesty...rant over...

[wspohn]

I'll add my congratulations to Amir for a great review. Sorry to have injected any hint of argument, but I didn't want to see a good review marred by unchallenged twaddle.

 

FWIW, I own 7 MB FPs and 8 Sailors and have both the 149 and KOP, so I have no axe to grind here. (Funny that Georges' disdain for anything with a converter doesn't extend to his beloved Waterman Man 100s) If anyone just HAS to have a piston filler, and wants a Sailor, buy a Realo model.

[goodguy]

I'll add my congratulations to Amir for a great review.

Thanks Bill, that means a lot to me!!!

[beurling]

sorry to thread hijack slightly..but amir..what's the car in your pic..looks sweet!! i can't place it!

[goodguy]

sorry to thread hijack slightly..but amir..what's the car in your pic..looks sweet!! i can't place it!

Its an Alfa Romeo GTV6 with a 2500cc engine.

This was a sweet ride back in the day when they didnt have power stearing and the rear wheels were the ones moving the cars.

 

Ahhhh those were thd ays my friend

[beurling]

sweet indeed...love the wheels on it...suit it perfectly!!!

 

i was just saying to somebody the other day kids nowadays couldnt drive without their electronics...i learnt in rear wheel drive cars that you were never sure you were going to get home alive in..proper cars

[goodguy]

sweet indeed...love the wheels on it...suit it perfectly!!!

 

i was just saying to somebody the other day kids nowadays couldnt drive without their electronics...i learnt in rear wheel drive cars that you were never sure you were going to get home alive in..proper cars

You are British so you might know what car I learned to drive on (here in North America they never heard of this car).

Peogeot 504 with a 1.8L engine and a manual stick.

Ohhh those were the days when cars were made of metal, oil and rubber unlike today its make of chips and electronics.

My first car was a crappy Autobianchi with a tiny little engine with no power and TONS of fun to drive.

After that I had an Alfa Sud 1351cc Ti which was as much fun to drive as it was unreliable.

Today's cars might be safer and much more reliable but they are half the fun at the most!!!

[wspohn]

Today's cars might be safer and much more reliable but they are half the fun at the most!!!

 

I was also brought up on British sports cars and restore, drive and race them, so prefer the mechanical simplicity of the old cars, although one of my more recent projects involved sticking an American V6 into a 1956 MG, and using the modern fuel injection was sure the right move.

 

Modern stuff isn't as much fun, but OTOH, you can accomplish a lot with computers. With minimal mechanical modification, I bumped my daily driver from 260 BHP to 350 BHP (and that is out of a 2 litre engine smaller than the one my old Triumph TR-3 had!)

[beurling]

Today's cars might be safer and much more reliable but they are half the fun at the most!!!

 

I was also brought up on British sports cars and restore, drive and race them, so prefer the mechanical simplicity of the old cars, although one of my more recent projects involved sticking an American V6 into a 1956 MG, and using the modern fuel injection was sure the right move.

 

Modern stuff isn't as much fun, but OTOH, you can accomplish a lot with computers. With minimal mechanical modification, I bumped my daily driver from 260 BHP to 350 BHP (and that is out of a 2 litre engine smaller than the one my old Triumph TR-3 had!)

 

when we built my mates hayabusa turbo we could have gone down the electronics route..as it is all our modifications were mechanical ( obviously working with fuel injection though ) and the only electronics we changed was the ecu..we have a bike that is ultra reliable mechanically compared to the more troublesome electronicfests that you see instead.

[goodguy]

 

Modern stuff isn't as much fun, but OTOH, you can accomplish a lot with computers. With minimal mechanical modification, I bumped my daily driver from 260 BHP to 350 BHP (and that is out of a 2 litre engine smaller than the one my old Triumph TR-3 had!)

Wow Bill that is VERY impressive!!!

 

when we built my mates hayabusa turbo we could have gone down the electronics route..as it is all our modifications were mechanical ( obviously working with fuel injection though ) and the only electronics we changed was the ecu..we have a bike that is ultra reliable mechanically compared to the more troublesome electronicfests that you see instead.

OMG isnt the Hayabusa already the fastest bike on the planet ?

Are you guys trying to break light speed ?

You are aware it is phisically impossible LOL