Meisterstück 149 "fine" Nib?

[Vlad Soare]

Hello,

 

Yesterday I bought a new 149 with an F nib from a local Montblanc store. Well, imagine my surprise when I got home and noticed the thick line it drew on paper, even thicker than what I would expect from a medium nib, let alone a fine one.

Please take a look at the attached picture. The purple writing was done with a fine nib Parker. The blue one with a medium nib Parker. The black one was done with the Meisterstück.

 

I just don't get it. Is this really how a Montblanc F nib is supposed to write?

The nib size is not engraved anywhere on the nib or pen itself, but it was written on a sticker, and it was definitely an F. Could it be that they mistakenly used an incorrect sticker, and I actually got an M nib?

 

Thank you.

 

[littlepen]

Looks very thick for a fine nib IMO yes each nib is hand finished but looks very thick to me

[Hejie023]

Ya, that has to be either a defect or marked with the wrong sticker.

[Pen Nut]

Can I ask what paper you are using and what inks are in each of the pens ?

[Vlad Soare]

The paper is nothing fancy, just a spiral notebook, but it works well with all my fountain pens, so I wouldn't put the blame on it.

The inks are Waterman Purple, Waterman Blue Black, and Montblanc Mystery Black.

 

I'm glad to hear that it's not actually supposed to write like that.

This means I can go back to the store and ask them to fix the problem. I'll do that on Monday and will report back.

 

Thank you.

Edited January 25, 2014 by Vlad Soare

[Russ]

In my opinion, your F is proportionately narrower than my 149's M. It seems that MB nib tipping runs wide as a class.

 

Another way of explaining it to say that these are Montblancs; not Parkers, not Shaeffers, not anything else. They are large, robust, pens in a class all their own.

 

I learned to love the wide M on my 149. Big, wide, and wet.

 

I hope you find satisfaction. Return it if you want something finer. But maybe your wide F will grow on you?

[Pen Nut]

Sort of siding with Russ on this. My EF 149 is not as narrow as my F Edson and lesser quality paper amplifies my observations.

 

Get the tester box out in the shop and have a play with all the options and I am sure you will find the one for you.

[jar]

Gotta agree with the above. It appears to be an "F" nib. They may be able to find one that writes finer since there is no standard width for MB nibs, but it would be a matter of trial and error. If you find that too wide you might be better served just going to an EF nib or some other maker.

[Pens Woods]

Hi Vlad Soare,

Welcome to the world of Montblanc fountain pens. Generally, MB nibs run wide. You can see nib writing comparisons on the Montblanc web site. It is not a good idea to compare MB nibs to other pen manufacturers. Each company makes grinds nibs to their own standards of width. So, an MB fine nib will be a different width than say Parker. That said, IMO your nib looks like a fine.

 

Also, don't discount the paper you write on. Paper is very important in determining whether the ink sits on top of fibers, consequently, a thin writing line, or if the ink filters or soaks into the paper creating a wider line.

 

Good luck with your writing and let us know the results of your store visit. PS: Just for your information I have MB pens with BB, M, F, EF nibs.

 

Pete

[Chrissy]

I think it looks like a F nib too. My Montblanc F nibs look very similar to this

[Barry Gabay]

Despite the quality of their pens, Montblanc nibs lack an essential feature found on most other mfgrs' nibs: an engraved or stamped nib grade code. My wife's EF 149 (a wedding gift in 1980) is wider than several 149 fines I have used. I have 149 mediums which range from broad to a fairly generous fine. There seems to be little consistency among the grades. In my experience, this inconsistency is not unique to modern Montblanc nibs. I have had a couple of senior-size OMAS #557 medium nibs which were quite narrow. I own & happily use Pelikan 800 EF nibs which are nearly mediums. Because I have far more 149s than I do 800s or OMAS ogivas & Paragons, I find more inconsistent nib grading in those. All of those nibs, however, are a pleasure to use; they just are not what one expects from particular grades.

 

Now, for a little aside from the old days. Please indulge me. Several decades ago, I would stand for an hour or more at the sales counter of Fountain Pen Hospital, Fahrney's, Artlite, or the pen department on the first floor of Harrods, happily dipping a half dozen or more 149s with EF nibs or M nibs until I found the nib which felt perfect. Harrods even had spare nibs in their pen dept in case the ones on the pens did not suit. A free nib exchange could be done at the time of purchase. These days, a dipped nib is considered used. Ridiculous!

 

Enjoy the weekend,

Barry

[Russ]

Please be sure to return the pen in a timely fashion, with the sales receipt, to ensure Montblanc honors you as a recent, new sale and exchanges your nib without hesitation -- if you wish to change it out. The 149 is too good for you to be unsatisfied.

[meiers]

Despite the quality of their pens, Montblanc nibs lack an essential feature found on most other mfgrs' nibs: an engraved or stamped nib grade code. My wife's EF 149 (a wedding gift in 1980) is wider than several 149 fines I have used. I have 149 mediums which range from broad to a fairly generous fine. There seems to be little consistency among the grades. In my experience, this inconsistency is not unique to modern Montblanc nibs. I have had a couple of senior-size OMAS #557 medium nibs which were quite narrow. I own & happily use Pelikan 800 EF nibs which are nearly mediums. Because I have far more 149s than I do 800s or OMAS ogivas & Paragons, I find more inconsistent nib grading in those. All of those nibs, however, are a pleasure to use; they just are not what one expects from particular grades.

 

Now, for a little aside from the old days. Please indulge me. Several decades ago, I would stand for an hour or more at the sales counter of Fountain Pen Hospital, Fahrney's, Artlite, or the pen department on the first floor of Harrods, happily dipping a half dozen or more 149s with EF nibs or M nibs until I found the nib which felt perfect. Harrods even had spare nibs in their pen dept in case the ones on the pens did not suit. A free nib exchange could be done at the time of purchase. These days, a dipped nib is considered used. Ridiculous!

 

Enjoy the weekend,

Barry

Thank you for this, Barry.

How times have changed!

[max dog]

Montblanc nibs write very wet, so the line it puts down will by default look a lot broader than a line from a drier nib of the same width. I don't mind this at all as the wet juicy ink flow enhances shading adding to the character of MB nibs.

 

If you use higher grade paper, like Rhodia, the ink feathers/bleeds less maintaining better line integrity, so you should get a truer represenation of the nib width.

,

Edited January 26, 2014 by max dog

[orfew]

I agree the paper can make a huge difference. I have an MB with a fine nib. It writes like a fine on Rhodia but like a M or even B on my Moleskin.

[WilsonCQB1911]

I have a 149 F, and that looks about right to me by comparison. When I was in the store, I had a hard time telling the difference between their mediums and fines on the testers. It's fine enough for me, but it's no Japanese fine, if that's what you're looking for.

[Vlad Soare]

Thank you all for your replies.

 

I'm sure the paper makes a difference, but my comparison was made on the same paper. So the Montblanc nib's being thicker is a fact, not an impression induced by the paper.

 

I noticed that the leaflet I received with the pen shows writing samples of all nib sizes. The difference between adjacent sizes seems very, very small to me, to the extent that I could not distinguish the F sample from the M one unless I saw them side by side. That being said, my writing seems to be closer to the M sample (though in this case I agree that the paper I'm using may be at fault).

 

Anyway, I really love this pen. The nib is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, and it writes extremely smoothly. I'm not sure I really want to have it replaced with a thinner one. I'm afraid that a smaller size might sacrifice some of this smoothness.

It does write a bit thicker than I would like, but not by much. I don't find it actually unusable; I think I could get used to it if I tried hard. But this will require a major change in my routine. I'm used to scribbling short notes on small pieces of paper, and in the office I use a small notebook; I'll need to start using bigger ones. And I'll have to get used to my handwriting looking bigger and fatter.

 

A question to those of you who use even thicker nibs, like medium, or even broad: what are you using them for? What do you write with them? I imagine that you have to write so big that you'd probably fill up a whole A4 page with just a few words.

What am I missing? I'd like to give thicker nibs a chance, but I just can't figure out what I could use them for.

[jar]

 

A question to those of you who use even thicker nibs, like medium, or even broad: what are you using them for? What do you write with them? I imagine that you have to write so big that you'd probably fill up a whole A4 page with just a few words.

What am I missing? I'd like to give thicker nibs a chance, but I just can't figure out what I could use them for.

 

 

I often use B, BB, BBB, Stub and OBB nibs and find they work jess fine. I also have a few post 1950 fines and even one or three EF nibs but only from companies known for their nibs.

 

I use the pens I have for notes, creative writing, website design, programming, correspondence, journals, signing receipts, doodling, most any writing function. And paper is cheap. If it takes an extra page or three that is no big deal.

 

http://www.fototime.com/7A8488A415B5959/medium800.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/829583F3F0D689D/medium800.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/2E09369228DD4F5/medium800.jpg

 

 

Edited January 26, 2014 by jar

[meiers]

 

 

 

I often use B, BB, BBB, Stub and OBB nibs and find they work jess fine. I also have a few post 1950 fines and even one or three EF nibs but only from companies known for their nibs.

 

I use the pens I have for notes, creative writing, website design, programming, correspondence, journals, signing receipts, doodling, most any writing function. And paper is cheap. If it takes an extra page or three that is no big deal.

 

 

http://www.fototime.com/7A8488A415B5959/medium800.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/829583F3F0D689D/medium800.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/2E09369228DD4F5/medium800.jpg

 

 

A question to those of you who use even thicker nibs, like medium, or even broad: what are you using them for? What do you write with them? I imagine that you have to write so big that you'd probably fill up a whole A4 page with just a few words.

What am I missing? I'd like to give thicker nibs a chance, but I just can't figure out what I could use them for.

I write anything and everything with them. Just larger. People with tiny handwriting may find B nibs frustrating.

[A1979]

Well, my 149 EF did also write like a Medium. Oxonian fixed the "problem", but the line is still quite thick if compared to a Fine Pilot (obviously).