Montblanc 145?

[darrenk]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm both new here and new to Montblanc pens and I'm wondering if I could get some guidance. I've always wanted a Montblanc fountain pen (I was lent one a little while back and fell in love) and there's a 145 for sale on the forum. I'm just wondering if I could get more information.

 

All the searches I do for 145 refers to a 145 chopin and this sale doesn't seem to be a chopin (packaging is different etc). I was just wondering about size, how they write, do they use cartridges etc. Also, how much should I pay for a good second hand version?

 

Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

Darren

[niksch]

The 145 is a convertor/cartridge pen. Slightly larger than the modern 144 or Classique. The 145 cap screws onto the barrel, the 144 cap is a slip on cap. Compare the caps and you will see the difference, especially in the cap rings and their proximity to the cap lip. Not sure about how to price a used 145 pen, but a rule of thumb we use around here is to search closed eBay auctions for sales price and/or previous sales here on FPN and average those prices.

 

If you have questions about a sale post on FPN and the pen in particular, it's best to ask the seller. MB has used a multitude of packaging over the years, so differences may not be unusual.

 

Hi everyone,

 

I'm both new here and new to Montblanc pens and I'm wondering if I could get some guidance. I've always wanted a Montblanc fountain pen (I was lent one a little while back and fell in love) and there's a 145 for sale on the forum. I'm just wondering if I could get more information.

 

All the searches I do for 145 refers to a 145 chopin and this sale doesn't seem to be a chopin (packaging is different etc). I was just wondering about size, how they write, do they use cartridges etc. Also, how much should I pay for a good second hand version?

 

Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

Darren

[darrenk]

Thank you for taking the time to reply Niksch, much appreciated.

 

I wonder if you would know where I could find the measurements of the pen to allow me to compare with existing pens I have. Also are you saying all 145's are exactly the same (ie the only difference between a chopin and a "normal" 145 is packaging)?

 

Thanks again.

 

Darren

[penparadise]

Meisterstück sizes

[darrenk]

Thanks for all the information. I've purchased the 145 and hopefully I'll be using it daily soon. It'll be my first Montblanc (I have a few watermans and Parkers) and I'm now wondering if people are just buying cartridges or a converter? I've been using Noodlers Blue in my pens, would this be fine on the MB?

 

Thanks,

 

Darren

[pavoni]

Thanks for all the information. I've purchased the 145 and hopefully I'll be using it daily soon. It'll be my first Montblanc (I have a few watermans and Parkers) and I'm now wondering if people are just buying cartridges or a converter? I've been using Noodlers Blue in my pens, would this be fine on the MB?

 

Thanks,

 

Darren

 

Hi Darren. The MB 145 was my first Montblanc and it continues to serve me well after some five years. Whilst I have now acquired other pens, the 145, because of its portability and convenience, is probably the pen I most rely upon. I haven't used the converter yet, preferring instead (with this pen given the small size of the converter) to rely upon the convenience of cartridges. The fact that it carries two cartridges means that I am safe to take it on my travels up and down the country or abroad as necessary. This pen therefore is my travelling companion. I have only ever used MB Black cartridges with the 145 and probably will continue to do so. I can leave this pen untouched for a couple of weeks at a time (though I like to write a few lines with each of my pens as often a possible) and it still writes straight away, without hesitation or skipping of any sort. Great pen. You will love it.

 

Pavoni.

Edited January 30, 2011 by pavoni

[CS388]

Hi Darren,

 

I used a converter in my 145, most of the time. This was purely for convenience and economy.

 

If I ran out of ink away from home, I would buy normal International Standard cartridges (99p per bag from W.H. Smith) and these worked fine.

 

However, I have read posts on this forum about MB pens needing MB ink/cartridges to qualify for for warranty cover? I don't know if this is truth or myth? Worth checking, I guess

 

Fortunately, I never needed it. My 145 was a hardy pen and a great workhorse which took anything I threw at it, in it's stride.

 

Hope you enjoy your's.

[Ghost Plane]

It's a great sales tool for MB inks. I've never yet had a pen turned away for warranty and I've used Private Reserve, J. Herbin, Waterman, and Noodler's Tulipe Noire.

[darrenk]

Thanks for all the information. I'm looking forward to receiving the pen soon and I think I'll try some Noodlers Blue to start with, although I do travel a little for work and the thought of having 2 cartridges is very attractive.

 

I'll report back when the pen arrives.

 

Darren

[darrenk]

Well the pen arrived today and I hastily filled the converter (after giving it a good flush) with some Noodlers blue. First impressions.. well I normally use a Waterman prospective daily and this pen is a LOT lighter and feels smaller in hand (about the same size in reality).

 

The one thing I am a little disappointed with is I believe the Waterman is a smoother writer with the MB feeling fairly scratchy... Is there anything I can do about this?

 

Darren

[CS388]

Well the pen arrived today and I hastily filled the converter (after giving it a good flush) with some Noodlers blue. First impressions.. well I normally use a Waterman prospective daily and this pen is a LOT lighter and feels smaller in hand (about the same size in reality).

 

The one thing I am a little disappointed with is I believe the Waterman is a smoother writer with the MB feeling fairly scratchy... Is there anything I can do about this?

 

Darren

 

If it just arrived today, I'd recommend that you write a bit more with it before you think about any changes/adjustments. Knock out a few sides of A4 paper, full of writing, see if the scratchiness persists.

 

It may be that it needs adjustment to your personal writing style - but it's just as likely that you need to bed it in a bit.

 

Quite common with brand new pens, also with pre-owned pens when the previous owner has had a different writing style to the new owner.

 

There are some tricks, like writing on a brown paper bag or even on a coin - but I'm not familiar enough with them to explain. I'm sure other members will chip in, if the problem persists.

 

Fingers crossed.

[darrenk]

Well, after almost 4 days of using the 145 as my daily pen at work, I've come to love the balance and "spring" of this pen. It just seems more accurate then my waterman. However, the scratchiness of the nib has remained but I think that may have something to do with it's weight. Being used to the metal bodied waterman, the MB was very light and I wonder if what I perceive as scratchiness may actually be more "feel" through the nib. I'll continue to use the 145 as my daily with the Waterman alternating as the stand in I think.

 

Another quick newbie question, has anyone flown with a 145? Safe to place it in my top pocket or not take the risk and bag it?

[Noonan]

Nice pick-up. The Chopin is one of my favorites.

[Chris]

Yes, I've flown with my 145 several - many - times without incident. I didn't bother to check whether it was full and it often ended up laying down but it behaved fine. Maybe I was lucky or maybe it just copes better than my ears with the pressure changes.

 

 

Chris

[darrenk]

Thanks for the reply Chris. I am currently on my business trip and threw caution to the wind and carried the 145 in my shirt pocket with a full cartridge - it didn't even think of leaking. So I think I'll simply fit a new cartridge this afternoon when I hop on the plane home and hopefully I'll be fine again.

[redisburning]

My only MB is the 145.

 

It's actually my favorite pen in a lot of ways, the feel of the nib when it writes (more on this later), the shape, the feel, the cap, and some sentimental stuff.

 

I havent used a cartridge with mine, I use the converter. And Ive tried a few different inks, but they all have the same issue in this pen for me. My example likes to stop working for a few letters, seemingly arbitrarily, which is quite frustrating. I suspect this might be an issue with the converter as when it is behaving itself it lays down quite a wet line. Mine is a M sized nib and I use it pretty much only on clairefontaine as that is the paper I use 95% of the time.

 

Does anyone think a cartridge would be worthwhile to test, or am I going to need to have the pen sent out to have some work done? I really do like the pen, otherwise, though.

[Chris]

Mine has the converter inside and it is one of the few converter pens I have that has never shown any sign of fuel starvation requiring a quick twist of the screw, so maybe something is amiss or maybe it is the ink? I have used many different inks in mine without issue though.

 

I agree, a lovely pen and lovely writer, especially for those of us whose hands are not XXL

 

Chris

[wtlh]

I found the Chopin nib to be quite soft (at least the one on mine, about 7 year old now). The nib is definitely softer (more flexible) than that of the modern Pelikan nib. Although I would not call it a flexible nib, the tines does spread on light-moderate pressure and you do get a line variation on the right paper (it did on the Oxford 90gsm paper, and mine was a medium nib). The converter on the pen is what I regard to be the best in all pens that I have seen and used. It has every feature desirable: screw in, so that one don't have to worry about the converter falling out while filling, there is a small spring coil inside which solves the surface tension problem on a lot of the converters that does not have the feature, filling is as efficient as it can get---for me, a single cycle of piston action gives 99%-100% fill, this is even better than the piston filler of my Pelikan, and finally the capacity is decent, not huge, but actually not that much different from a modern piston filler.

[Rimdeker]

Hey, my first not-so-cheap-and-simple fountain pen I ever owned was a Waterman Hemisphere. I have used that pen for two years, until I could finally afford the Montblanc Meisterstück 145 Hommage à Frédérich Chopin platinum version. I bought it in January and I was really happy to finally own one, because I really really wanted to have one. But the moment I tried it out I was highly disappointed by the scratchiness of the nib (an M nib) compared to my comparably cheap Waterman Hemisphere. About a week, ago I bought two more Waterman pens, both Waterman Expert ones and they're about as smooth as my Hemisphere and only a quarter of the Montblanc's price while looking very elegant, as well. I tried cleaning it, flushing it, using it a lot on different sorts of paper but it remained scratchy. Two days ago I gave my pen to Montblanc for checking and stuff, the guy assured me that when I get it back, it'd be perfect and well... I'm thinking that if it persists to be scratchy, I will sell it. It's really painful for me to say this but yea... I will definitely never ever buy another Montblanc pen ever. Waterman is the way to go... Hell, I'd probably even prefer Lamy.

[jar]

Hey, my first not-so-cheap-and-simple fountain pen I ever owned was a Waterman Hemisphere. I have used that pen for two years, until I could finally afford the Montblanc Meisterstück 145 Hommage à Frédérich Chopin platinum version. I bought it in January and I was really happy to finally own one, because I really really wanted to have one. But the moment I tried it out I was highly disappointed by the scratchiness of the nib (an M nib) compared to my comparably cheap Waterman Hemisphere. About a week, ago I bought two more Waterman pens, both Waterman Expert ones and they're about as smooth as my Hemisphere and only a quarter of the Montblanc's price while looking very elegant, as well. I tried cleaning it, flushing it, using it a lot on different sorts of paper but it remained scratchy. Two days ago I gave my pen to Montblanc for checking and stuff, the guy assured me that when I get it back, it'd be perfect and well... I'm thinking that if it persists to be scratchy, I will sell it. It's really painful for me to say this but yea... I will definitely never ever buy another Montblanc pen ever. Waterman is the way to go... Hell, I'd probably even prefer Lamy.

 

Welcome home. Isn't it nice that today there are pens to suit just about everyone?