Leaking Montblanc

[BonZa]

Hello, I have just discovered this forum and hope I can receive some help

 

I was given a Montblanc fountain pen on my birthday 15 years ago by a dear friend.

I love this pen and writing and use it all the time everyday. I think it is a Meisterstuck 146.

 

since day one it has always leaked ink. I did return it to where it was purchased, but the problem persists. it doesnt matter if it is half full, full or near empty and I clean it regularly and only use Montblanc ink. it seems to be worse when I take it out of my shirt pocket and take the cap off.

the pen has a plunger and piston for filling

 

I have just accepted it as a leaky pen, but most times when ever I remove the cap there is ink where one rests there fingers, which can be embarrassing at times. sometimes the flow also stops as well and a couple of light taps tends to get it going

 

is this normal and if not what can I do.

[meiers]

No. These pens should not leak.

It requires service. Take it to Montblanc service.

[hari317]

It is not normal. MB should be able to fix it. send it off to their service centre. or Peter ford in Australia might be able to service your pen:

 

http://www.vintagepens.com.au/contact.htm

[orfew]

I agree with the others, that is not normal at all...send it to MB service.

[BonZa]

thanks for the advice

 

is servicing something I could do, as I am very mechanically minded or should I really just send it to peter ford.

 

I did have it serviced within a few months of buying it by MB as it leaked since new, but as it was returned to me in much the same leaky condition I gathered that was normal. MB gave me a lecture on keeping it flushed and clean (which I do)and seem to think there was nothing wrong with it. now I finally know its not. only took 15 years to find out

[hari317]

I suggest you send the pen off. leaks can be due to seal failures or cracked parts.

[Truffle Finder]

This may not be the solution to your problem, but I will say it anyway.

When you fill the pen, unscrew the 'blind cap' at the back of the pen, insuring that the nib is completely immersed in the ink, turn the knob back to the original position, then lift the pen out of the ink bottle, but keep it held just above the top of the bottle, and then undo the turning knob until 6 drops of ink fall back into the bottle!!!

Then screw the turning knob back to the closed position.

What is probably happening, is that [particularly when you place the pen in your shirt pocket] the pen [and the ink inside it] gets warmer, next to your body, and it expands very slightly, and it fills the 'ladder-feed', the excess exposed ink then evaporates, and then condenses on the inside of the cap, so that when you uncap the pen it has ink around the section of the pen!

It took me a long time to discover that in the standard Mont Blanc instruction booklets that come with all their pens, on page 30 [or thereabouts!] it explains this procedure, but why leave it till Page 30??? Mind you, it is as much to do with people not wanting to read the instructions, but it would be much better from MB's point of view if they put this vital bit of information on page 1.

But what do I know?

Best of luck with your pen, I hope that this solves the problem.

Truffle Finder.[AKA Henry Simpole.]

[Dante1]

This is very helpful information, Henry. Thanks for posting it to the group. My 146 occasionally leaks or seems to leak and I suspect that overfilling might be the problem.

[Truffle Finder]

I hope that it solves your problem, Dante1.

The incredible thing about this really quite simple filling procedure, is why Mont Blanc do not make it more apparent to buyers of their piston filling pens, with all their resources, one would have thought that they would have printed the information on page 1 of the pamphlet which comes with the pen!

With a company the size of Mont Blanc, I am sure that they must ensure that all retailers of their pens are told about this filling procedure, but of course this doesn't necessarily

help if the pen is purchased as a present for the 'user', which many of these pens are!

 

I have noticed that on the headings at the start of this forum there are already more than enough 'pinned' threads to read through before embarking on the 'news' printed here so perhaps it could be 'high-lighted' in some way, to draw attention to what I would consider 'essential reading' for any modern Mont Blanc piston filling pen owner!

Whenever I sell a MB pen to a customer from my stand at Portobello Road, I 'always' make sure that the customer knows about this procedure, [if I didn't, I almost certainly would see the person again complaining that the front of the pen seems to have 'perspired' ink!!!]

 

Truffle Finder, [AKA Henry Simpole]

[debussy]

try Peter Ford or there is a shop in Melbourne city called "Pen City".

they can do the service/repair too.

[da vinci]

This is a very helpful thread - thanks for posting.

 

I have a 146 that I bought in the early 1990's.

 

Ever since I have owned it, when you take the cap off, there is ink on the section of the barrel where you grip. Like the OP I just assumed thats how they were - I will send mine off for a service now. I havent really used it properly for 10 years, so I hope now I can get it back into rotation.

 

Interestingly when I bought, I was shown how to fill it which included twisting the filler to release 5 drops of ink to avoid over filling. Sadly it hasnt worked for me.

 

I dont mean to hijack, but I am in the UK - any suggestions as to where I send my pen? Just take it to a boutique?

Edited July 23, 2011 by da vinci

[cb2171]

l sent my meisterstuck for service repair as it leaked just like this. it came back with new barrel and plunger but still leaked. l didn't follow it up as the service took 6 weeks and i had to travel a long way to the nearest service centre. l bought another one which works fine, but after all these years l am still annoyed with this issue. i am appauled that a mb flagship pen should leak at all, i also use cheap fountain pens costing under £10 that never leak regardless of being stored upright or flat.