Dating Montblanc 149s

[BlueJ]

Granddad,

I am on travel now, but I may have just the pen for you. I will send you a personal message (PM) when I get home tomorrow.

[Erik Dalton]

Thnks, Zaddick & BlueJay! I took into consideration your suggestion to start with a more narrow fountain pen. Sorry if this is in bad form to ask, but since you have 15 extra fountain pens, is there one that you don't use anymore and could maybe recommend for a novice? If so I'd be interested in trying it out for the right price. If you don't want to part with any of your collection, I also completely understand;) Thnks

Hi grandad. The pen you have is a grail pen for most fountain pen users. For some it takes a lifetime to save up for one. Start off with less expensive pens, once you are comfortable, you will be so glad you held onto your grandads pen. He left you a treasure, a pen that will last you a lifetime.

If you are still in the market for starter pens hit me up on messenger.

[Granddad75]

Thanks for the chart, David & Kai. I posted some pics of my 18C tri-tone nib that Ithought was 1960s, but could even be 1950s. It has round ebonite grooves face feed and black plastic threads, but what looks like a 1 piece barrell (this is what I'm not sure about;) Will try and get a good pic of the barrell. If this is the case, according to the chart, it could be 1950s. How close to finding out which decade can you really get on a fountain pen of this age? Thank-you for the helpful chart/pics!

[BlueJ]

The very valuable 1950s 149 had two narrow silver bands flanking the wide lettered gold band near the mouth of the cap. Pens after 1960 have all yellow gold plated "furniture" until you get to the modern pens, where some have all platinum or all rose gold finish. The very early pen was also made of a different material (celluloid.)

[zaddick]

Thanks for the chart, David & Kai. I posted some pics of my 18C tri-tone nib that Ithought was 1960s, but could even be 1950s. It has round ebonite grooves face feed and black plastic threads, but what looks like a 1 piece barrell (this is what I'm not sure about;) Will try and get a good pic of the barrell. If this is the case, according to the chart, it could be 1950s. How close to finding out which decade can you really get on a fountain pen of this age? Thank-you for the helpful chart/pics! image.jpg

Face only grooves would put the earliest date for the pen in the early-mid 1960s.

[Granddad75]

Was asked to post a photo of the piston ring. Does this answer anything else about this pen? If a different pic would help, feel free to tell me:) Thanks guys!

[Granddad75]

I'm thinking maybe the piston is different than what I originally thought. It doesn't unscrew as far as the ones pictured and I was afraid to force it and break something. Could it be a different type?

[zaddick]

looks like a friction fit pston, used until the late 1960s. It does not change my assessment of the age of your pen.

[Granddad75]

What is a friction fit piston if you don't mind me asking? The directions inside mention that you unscrew the piston and it fills the pen through pulling the ink inside. Is there a reason why it wouldn't unscrew very far? Should I have it cleaned or serviced due to age? Thanks, Zaddick!

[Granddad75]

Found this pic of a 1952 MB 149 on their website. Can anyone point out the major differences between this one and the 1960s one that you think would be closer to what I currently own? The history is really fascinating! Thanks all

[Granddad75]

Tried to take this pic as close to how the other was taken as possible. Cheers!

[zaddick]

That pic is of a pen from 1991 or later. Looks like a 2 piece resin barrel and a tri-tone 18k. MB's website is well known to have errors. This thread already has pictures of all the differences, but that ink window and the lip by the nib are a give away from 10 feet.

[zaddick]

What is a friction fit piston if you don't mind me asking? The directions inside mention that you unscrew the piston and it fills the pen through pulling the ink inside. Is there a reason why it wouldn't unscrew very far? Should I have it cleaned or serviced due to age? Thanks, Zaddick!

Modern MB pens have a piston assembly that can screw completely out of the rear of the pen using a special tool. You can see two little holes in the metal disc that separates the body and piston nob. Before about 1968, the resin 149s (starting in about 1958) had a piston assembly that was fit into the pen with friction. Sometimes it is also called press-fit. To extract it you have to heat the barrel enough to pull it out, but be careful not to do damage. There are no tool holes in the metal plate between the piston nob and the pen body. The ring is also a bit flatter and more rounded at the edges of the ring.

[Moonshae]

On Sunday, my judgment was a little impaired (ahem) and I made the mistake of reading FPN. Ended up buying a 149. It arrived today. It was advertised as M, but I think it is an OM, as it is scratchy when held like any of my other pens, but if I rotate it slightly counterclockwise, it's smooth as a dream.

 

Based on the chart and pictures on page 2, the following characteristics suggest a manufacture date between 1985 and 1990: split ebonite feed, 14k two-tone nib, two-piece construction, and plastic threads. One thing I noticed is that the ring by the end is not rounded, but it's sharp, like in the pictures of the brass threads.

 

 

 

 

[Erik Dalton]

Nothing wrong with that pen. The ring at the fill cap is normal. Enjoy your pen.

[zaddick]

On Sunday, my judgment was a little impaired (ahem) and I made the mistake of reading FPN. Ended up buying a 149. It arrived today. It was advertised as M, but I think it is an OM, as it is scratchy when held like any of my other pens, but if I rotate it slightly counterclockwise, it's smooth as a dream.

 

Based on the chart and pictures on page 2, the following characteristics suggest a manufacture date between 1985 and 1990: split ebonite feed, 14k two-tone nib, two-piece construction, and plastic threads. One thing I noticed is that the ring by the end is not rounded, but it's sharp, like in the pictures of the brass threads.

 

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Looks more like an F width. Did you check tine alignment? Pics are not super clear on my phone.

 

Rounded rings at the piston nob stopped in about 1968. Your age estimate seems accurate.

[Moonshae]

Sorry about the blurry pics. They were sharp until I downsampled them for posting. The alignment seems good to me:

 

 

 

F makes sense based on the line. The seller didn't really know what she had...said it was platinum with a medium 18k nib and thought it was current production.

[zaddick]

How do the tines look straight on (looking directly at the point from thr smallest view)? The is no OF width on modern 149 pens and it does not really look oblique to me.

 

At the end of the day if it writes well with a little rotation then it's nothing to prevent you from enjoying the pen.

[Moonshae]

Looks like one of the tines is a little off:

 

 

Do I just gently keep pushing that tine up until I can see that it gets better alignment? It almost looks twisted a little.

 

[zaddick]

Basically yes. Go slow and keep writing until it improves enough to stop fiddling.