149 Demonstrator pictures

[jslallar]

Thanks for the info Multiechelon , much appreciated.

[shrinknib]

Hello Sean, great to see you still lurk here every now and then!

You have certainly done a lot of rotations with pens, mostly interesting and unusual MB's, especially the platinum 149.

The hemis, the 149 LE's and the demo's.

I still have and use mine, still enjoying it a lot.

I was thinking about the Japanese pen thing at one time but never seemed to get around to doing it.

Still enjoying mostly MB's.

 

And BR- I don't know if anyone has a definitive answer on where these pens are from. I think they were mainly prototypes and testers, with examples back to the celluloid days that I have seen. Some people suggest they were special gifts by MB, others suggest they may have been "removed" by employees. But they weren't production MB pieces specifically, and that is why spare parts are very difficult to find.

Prices are difficult to estimate and depends on how many of the parts are transparent, cracks and nib.. but always what someone is prepared to pay for it!!

[Multiechelon]

Hi Jeremy. That is the good thing about mixing a hobby with one's writing instruments. The hobby can evolve or we can just be happy with what we have. I am content with three Nakayas (plus one on order) but that will surely change at some point in the future.

 

BR, No one knows for certain, but I do have another story that sheds some light on how these pens likely got into the wild.

As has been documented in a few other FPN threads, when I was using MBs I had a very good relationship with my local boutique. Relatively speaking, the number of passionate fountain pen users they see every month is quite low relative to customers buying other items. I also sent a large number of LEs and WEs in for nib exchanges (well over 50 pens) and I bought 149s as gifts.

During the course of my MB habit, two things happened. First, several people on FPN were interested in getting an Obama "Yes We Can" engraved 149; there is a thread on FPN about this. I went into the Boutique to see if the manager could get them from other boutiques. I learned two things in that process. First, the YWC pens were not a separate SKU. So the only way a boutique would know if it had any remaining YWC 149s was to look in its inventory and see if one was there. Second, orchestrating product moves between boutiques was not easy. The boutique's manager acquired six YWC 149s for me by calling around to her connections. This took a few months and over the course of that time we got to talking about MB's retail system.

Another interesting facet of MB's retail system is that every SKU ever produced is on the price list. You can walk into a MB Boutique and ask for the current retail price for a Hemingway. Now of course they have long since sold out of Hemingways but the price list is adjusted for inflation at periodic intervals and everything gets updated. So I then started asking for pens I wanted and if the price was good I asked the boutique manager to track them down. For example, she found me a NOS Year of the Golden Dragon pen stand. It had been sitting in the Mexico City boutique for a decade.

At that time, I carried five MBs with me in a Venlo five pen case and the manager was of course observant enough to see my rotation change. At one point, there were five Hemingways in the case, then five 149 75th LEs, and then there were three demonstrators plus a Hemingway plus one that rotated. We talked quite a bit about the demonstrators because I was trying to find more of them and my sense was MB would price them at a level less than the outside market. She was going to Germany for a training session and she said she would look into finding me another one (or two). When she came back she said she would be able to get me one. I asked how much it would be and she said not to worry about it. A couple months later she had to break the bad news that she could not get it.

I never pressed her on it but my sense of the situation is that they are used for some internal testing or perhaps as some initial machine startup and they were not attributed any value or purpose (beyond the original intent). As such, if they left the factory they would not really be noticed. She asked for permission to get one and it was denied. If she had just picked it up off the line no one would have probably said anything or noticed anything.

Of course this does not add any new content beyond what we already know. But it captures one other experience I had with these demonstrators.

Sean

[shrinknib]

What a nice story Sean, really a collection of a number of your experiences with MB.

It is very interesting I guess how fragmented the MB boutique set up is.

I remember in Sydney showing the manager a picture of my demonstrator and it nearly blew her mind.

She gathered all the other employees around as no one had seen one.

I still think they must be made every now and then in the factories as Max had a few celluloid versions for sale I was looking at in the past also.

Hopefully there'll be something nice to bring you back to MB one day!

[Multiechelon]

I completely agree. The MB sales regions operate very differently from one another.

 

And of course things are very manager dependent. I liked the boutique manager before the manager I worked with but he was very different. He would say things that struck me as very funny (given I am a FP zealot) but of course from his perspective they were totally true. For example, I once had a Verne FP with me and I took it out to write something. When he saw it, his response was "I would trade all my WE FPs for Verne BPs. We can sell Verne BPs all day." And at that boutique (and I suspect most boutiques) it was totally true. I'd be in there with a Skeleton Star 333 and a solid platinum 149 and know one would know what those pens were. But in the time I was there writing up an order for a nib exchange, they would sell 30 RBs and BPs.

 

I am sure I will add a MB back into the rotation at some point. I have almost done it a few times so it is just a matter of time.

 

Sean

[KJY]

I completely agree. The MB sales regions operate very differently from one another.

 

And of course things are very manager dependent. I liked the boutique manager before the manager I worked with but he was very different. He would say things that struck me as very funny (given I am a FP zealot) but of course from his perspective they were totally true. For example, I once had a Verne FP with me and I took it out to write something. When he saw it, his response was "I would trade all my WE FPs for Verne BPs. We can sell Verne BPs all day." And at that boutique (and I suspect most boutiques) it was totally true. I'd be in there with a Skeleton Star 333 and a solid platinum 149 and know one would know what those pens were. But in the time I was there writing up an order for a nib exchange, they would sell 30 RBs and BPs.

 

I am sure I will add a MB back into the rotation at some point. I have almost done it a few times so it is just a matter of time.

 

Sean

 

Dear Sean,

 

Thank you for your lovely stories!

Really nice to read.

Sounds like that MB-store is doing business very well.

[Coral_Montblanc]

Hi, is there anyone that can recomend me a custom pen maker that can make me a 149 demonstrator , i mean the barrel and the assembly...from my original MB 149 .thanks in advance

[Opooh]

Hi, is there anyone that can recomend me a custom pen maker that can make me a 149 demonstrator , i mean the barrel and the assembly...from my original MB 149 .thanks in advance

Caution, you are on thin ice! Strictly, a 149 demonstrator made out of the factory is a fake and knowing the policy of the Firm, this is not the best place to get an answer. Some people could get troubles. The. best way to get a 149 Demonstrator are sites like penboard.de, at least 3 demonstrators , right from the factory, for sale in the last 3 years, I know because I bought one there.

[meiers]

Caution, you are on thin ice! Strictly, a 149 demonstrator made out of the factory is a fake and knowing the policy of the Firm, this is not the best place to get an answer. Some people could get troubles. The. best way to get a 149 Demonstrator are sites like penboard.de, at least 3 demonstrators , right from the factory, for sale in the last 3 years, I know because I bought one there.

Thanks for the tip.

[Multiechelon]

I am happy to have a reason to update this thread. After a long (4+ year) absence, I am again writing with MB 149 demonstrators.

 

About five years ago I was traveling extensively for work. I started investigating cartridge-based pens and really enjoyed Nakayas, eventually settling on the Dorsal Fin V1. The only two I have left are a heki-tamenuri and shiro-tamenuri:

 

 

A tamenuri finish is the polar opposite of a demosntrator-style pen, but it is stunning in it own right:

 

 

Slightly off topic, but this is a size comparison of the Dorsal Fin V1s with a 149 demonstrator and a MB Hemingway:

 

 

About a year ago, my work schedule changed and I again started writing primarily from one location. As much as I liked the Dorsal Fin v1, I could not find a stand that could hold the pen air tight. That led me on a journey to find pens that could fit the MB 149 stand. In particular, I had to decide on the mix between regular 149s, 149 demonstrators, and modern 139-style pens (Hemingway, Dumas, YoTGD) that would all fit in the 149 stands.

 

I knew I mainly wanted demonstrators, but I was not sure how quickly I could acquire them. I started emailing fountain pen friends I had not talked to in five years. I was fortunate to acquire three clear demonstrators but then I really got lucky when a former FPN friend sold me back my black-tipped 149 demo and my Binderized Waverley XXF MB Hemingway. Here are three of the demonstrators capped:

 

 

And uncapped:

 

 

I am still partial to the pink goop of the original two demonstrators I owned. Here is a side shot:

 

 

And a top-down shot:

 

 

While all this was happening, the other 149 demonstrator I acquired had never been inked. So it has sat empty next to the other pens while I decide what ink to use:

 

 

Here are some pictures of the clear demonstrator:

 

 

 

 

 

For now, I think my writing rotation is going to be five pens, but that poses a problem for the unused clear demonstrator because it can't crack the rotation:

 

 

I guess I have to buy another stand, and find a sixth ink I like to use. These are the kinds of problems that are unique to FPN.

 

Sean

 

 

 

 

 

[zaddick]

Great to see your current rotation Sean. I hope you enjoy these for many years.

[Multiechelon]

Thank you zaddick. The hunt to get the new demonstrators was fun, but it was even better to get my old pens back. Since I like to write with my pens in stands, I just find this 149 form factor to be the best for my writing style.

 

Sean

[zaddick]

Thank you zaddick. The hunt to get the new demonstrators was fun, but it was even better to get my old pens back. Since I like to write with my pens in stands, I just find this 149 form factor to be the best for my writing style.

 

Sean

When the proverbial wind changes direction again, please let me know as I'd like a well vetted 149 demo.

 

Any hunting for the YotGD pens? I was inspired by your earlier interest in the pens and ended up finding one to modify into a modern 139. I had a custom clip made and a vintage 139 nib and ebonite feed installed. Nice pen and nib combo. With the single cap band or looks almost like a portly 138.

[Multiechelon]

Hi zaddick that sounds like an awesome modification to the YotGD. That reminds me of what Wael did with a Hemingway, in this thread: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/154920-hemingway-with-1950s-vintage-nibfeeder/

 

I really like the form factor of the modern 139 pens. I have owned a few YotGD. I know the Hemingway and YotGD have ink windows but I think why I prefer the 149 demonstrator is I can see exactly how much ink is left. I also know which pen is in which stand with a quick look. That said, I am definitely looking for another YotGD (and YotGD stand).

 

I may know of one other 149 demonstrator that is available. I was looking to buy it before I bought back my black-tipped demonstrator. I will send you a PM.

 

Sean

[jhsd1124013561]

Here is my lucky find, it is a black headed one, but with clear feed sleeve

 

 

[johnnyblanc]

Here is my lucky find, it is a black headed one, but with clear feed sleeve

 

 

 

 

Very nice find! It looks absolutely mint. Will you ink it?

Edited October 21, 2019 by johnnyblanc

[jhsd1124013561]

Very nice find! It looks absolutely mint. Will you ink it?

Thank you! Right now I think I am going to keep it as it is. Looks like once inked, the section part is hard to clean.

[zaddick]

Where did you find the pen? Was it floating about in the wild? Hard to imagine that, but it would be exciting.

[jhsd1124013561]

Where did you find the pen? Was it floating about in the wild? Hard to imagine that, but it would be exciting.

 

Lucky find on the ebay.de, actually

 

Price tag was quite high, but I managed to cut a deal for it, still cost quite a bit

 

But no regret

Edited October 21, 2019 by jhsd1124013561

[zaddick]

Thanks for letting me know. Prices paid can soon be forgotten and replaced by pleasant memories of use or admiration.