Meisterstück 149 "fine" Nib?

[RPB]

I can also say my 149 EF writes as wide as my Richard Binder Namiki VP in F. Cant say for sure if it is wider though. I feel my VP is a better nib in terms of ink flow and consistency. The 149 EF can be too wet at times and my 'e' blocks out too. Still, I have thought about getting it made even narrower.

[max dog]

 

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 use to prefer finer nibs too, but the more I got into wetter and broader nibs, I found the line they put down more interesting. I find wetter broader nibs leave open more possibility for line variation, shading, expression than really fine nibs.

Edited January 27, 2014 by max dog

[Sridhar]

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.

 

 

Hi Vlad,

This is a doubt that I have been having for some time now and given the amount of broad stubs that Greg Minuskin makes, I would tend to think that there are more people who prefer broad nibs than fine. A corollary to that would be that a majority of people in the world who write with fountain pens would have big handwriting and they like to put down a thick line.

Does that mean also that they have bigger hands? A common enough perception is that people with smaller hands, smaller handwriting, and those who work with figures prefer EF and F nibs….

Any thoughts?

best,

S

[meiers]

I have ordered an OBB nib for one of my 146s. All my other pens are XF, F or M. Time for a nib adventure.

[Vlad Soare]

Does that mean also that they have bigger hands? A common enough perception is that people with smaller hands, smaller handwriting, and those who work with figures prefer EF and F nibs….

Any thoughts?

 

I don't know about that. I have fairly big hands, but I still prefer fine nibs.

 

 

PS: Just for your information I have MB pens with BB, M, F, EF nibs.

 

Do you find that there are significant differences between them as far as the overall writing experience is concerned? Does an EF write noticeably drier than an F, with more friction between the nib and the paper? Does it dry up faster than an F when left with the cap off? Or are they more or less the same?

I'm still pondering whether to go back to the store and ask for an EF, or to just train myself to accept the F. This Meisterstück is probably the smoothest pen I've ever used, and I'm afraid I might lose some of that smoothness if I went for an EF.

How does an EF Montblanc feel in comparison to an F?

Edited January 27, 2014 by Vlad Soare

[Pen Nut]

Get one of these and the problem is solved !! Sold this one and kinda wish I had hung onto it

 

[PenPat]

I received a Nakaya piccolo (Fine) and an MB 149 (Medium) this week. These are both new pens, one from nibs.com, the other from the local MB boutique. At the MB store, the medium nib of the test pen looked medium to me. To my chagrin, in the office, the medium nib of my 149 looked thick. So I was thinking of swapping out the Medium nib for fine, but I thought I should try different paper first because the nib is otherwise perfect -- I am worried I am going to get something worse.

 

I know you are discounting the paper, but what I found is that with some paper (thin paper), the difference between the MB 149 medium and the Nakaya fine is accentuated. With heavier paper from the office copy machine, the difference between the MB 149 medium and the Nakaya fine is what I would expect from their nib sizes. With our letterhead, the MB 149 is actually on the thin side! I believe the MB is more sensitive to paper because it is a wet writer. I can't wait to try out the MB 149 on better paper I ordered from goulet pens.

[Vlad Soare]

Wow, that's quite a difference!

The blue writing is also thicker in the lower sample than in the upper one, so the paper is affecting both pens, but the difference seems indeed to be more noticeable in the Montblanc.

 

Anyway, I've tried it on several kinds of paper, and it looked more or less the same. I wouldn't want to start buying special paper from the internet in an attempt to find a magic one. I need a fountain pen that writes well on the papers I have on hand. So, I took it back to the store today, and they offered to send it to Montblanc for a free nib exchange. I should get it back in about three weeks, this time with an EF nib.

The guy in the store took a look at the nib with a powerful loupe and declared that it's indeed an F. He also said that the thick writing looks OK to him for an F nib. But, he let me try out a Montblanc with an EF nib. It wasn't a 149, but still a Montblanc. Well, that nib was very thin, exactly like the F in my Parker. I was expecting the EF to be just barely thinner than the F, but in fact the difference was great. And despite its thinness, it was still silky smooth. It was exactly what I had been looking for in the first place. If my 149 comes back with a nib that writes and feels like that, I'll be a happy man.

Edited January 28, 2014 by Vlad Soare

[meiers]

It should.

[Vlad Soare]

My pen is back, this time with an EF nib.

 

The nib is superb. It works flawlessly, with no issues at all. Instant start, good and consistent ink flow, everything I would expect from a high quality fountain pen.

I've noticed two differences in comparison to the original F. The first one is that it has a bit of feedback, which I really like. Some of you may remember my thread about feedback and its importance. Well, now I understand. The nib is very smooth, but not slippery. My feeling is that the amount of feedback is just perfect. From this point of view I like it better than my Tribute, which has almost no feedback at all.

The second difference is that horizontal strokes are noticeably thicker than vertical ones. I had read about this feature of Montblanc's EF nibs, and mine does have it, indeed. This seems like a very nice feature at first glance, but unfortunately I can't seem to figure out how to get advantage of it in practice. It doesn't show at all in my normal, cursive handwriting. It's only visible when I draw horizontal and vertical lines, but not when I write actual letters. So I guess it's also a matter of technique.

 

On the other hand, I'm puzzled by Montblanc's standard of nib sizes. Although it's designated as an EF, there's nothing that could be called "extra-fine" about it. It's a bit thicker than the F in my Tribute and has nothing in common with the EF I had tested in the store.

But anyway, at least I can use it now. While it's still somewhat thicker than I would have liked, it's not as overly thick as to be unuseable, like the original nib was. I guess I can get used to it.

 

[Alex2014]

I also received the MB149 from Appleboom NL with an EF nib (thank you for your suggestions!) and I am delighted with it. It's rather a soft F nib with a pleasant feed-back and smooth. As I use to write with a low pressure, I cannot take advantage from the flexibility. All your considerations are really very accurate. If I had bought the FP with F nib, maybe I'd have been equally disappointed as you were.

[Pen2009]

I learned to accept that MB's EF does not have any relevance to the actual lines it lays down on the paper. MB's EF is close to Japanese M. It is quite obvious by looking at the tipping of their nibs.

[Steven]

I have a Mont Blanc Chopin with EF nib that writes like a medium. The problem with the nib is POOR quality control. The vertical line it draws is 0.4mm wide where as the horizontal line is 0.6mm wide. There is no excuse for the lines drawn in both directions, or for that matter in any direction, for this type of nib to not being equal in width.

[Joe in Seattle]

One wonders if this particular Pen, and model, is designed for signatures rather than real writing. My 146 F writes like a medium.

[Vlad Soare]

Steven, I believe it isn't a matter of quality control, but the nib was actually designed to write like that. Mine is the same, and so seem to be other Montblanc EF nibs.

Unfortunately, I don't know how to take advantage of it in practice, how to add a bit of line variation to my handwriting. The line variation shows very clearly in horizontal and vertical lines, but not in real letters. Letters are always thick.

Edited February 22, 2014 by Vlad Soare

[max dog]

With my EF nib, if I hold the pen at a more vertical angle, I get a finer horizontal stroke. The lower the angle, the broader the horizontal stroke. The vertical stroke should remain the same.

 

The angles are with reference to the horizontal plane i.e. the paper. A lower angle hold means the top end of the pen is closer to the paper than for a higher angle hold.

 

Here is a picture to illustrate the line variation by varying the angle of the pen relative to the paper.

At the higher angle it lays down a fine line, and lower angle a medium line.

 

See this link which describes this in more detail:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/239583-montblanc-ef-nib/

Edited February 22, 2014 by max dog

[Vlad Soare]

To everyone who suggested I should try a better paper: you were totally right!

I ordered a Rhodia notebook and received it today. The difference is really stunning!

The nib draws a very fine line. Almost too fine. I'm afraid I might regret having swapped the original F for an EF.

 

[logantrky]

If I've learned anything with the MBs I own or have owned, there is not too much standardization with the nib sizes. Of course, this is mostly because the nibs are handfinished, as others have mentioned.

 

MBs usually run bolder than other brands. That's part of the charm for me. If my F and EF MBs hadn't run larger, I would probably not have gained such an affection for B/BB nibs today.

[georges zaslavsky]

My 1979 MB 149 with an extra fine nib writes just like your pen

[stevesurf]

I believe your 149 F nib looks about right; my 149 EF nib seems only slightly lighter: