Montblanc M Artfineliner

[jagwap]

A few months ago I started looking for a decent fountain pen, and of course Montblanc were one of the brands considered. As a schoolboy we were encouraged to use fountain pens in the earier stages of my education, but things relaxed and rollerballs and early fineliner technologies were allowed. However I never really liked the feel of them, and the effect on my handwriting they had, with the less controlled friction.

 

Later, as I had small handwriting and most of my studies were technical, I migrated onto isograph drawing pens from Rotring. Here the friction was back, and the combination of a fine nib and that wonderfully black ink appealed. Not ideal for handwriting, but better than the other options.

 

Years later I recently got some Rotring pens for work use. They are as I remember them, scratchy, leaky but great for my kind of note taking.

 

While looking into a fine fountain pen, the Montblanc M came up in the searches, and looked interesting. After some research, it seemed it wasn't universally liked, but I wanted to check it out on my short list. In the end, I tried a few models and fell in love with the Heritage 1912 because of the nib, the fun factor of the mechanism and the overal feel in the hand.

 

However, when I tried the M Artfineliner I discovered something: it is indeed a finer nib than usual, and finer then the other Montblanc fineliners. The friction is wonderful: smooth but with resistance, and the feel in the hand is good. The barrel is substantial enough to allow good control, as many drawing fineliners are skinny in comparison, and the finger grip texture is good. Ink is nice, but not as black as Rotring. It looks dark grey in comparison. But then it doesn't leak into the cap when I travel, or need 10 minutes of rocking back and forth to start it.

 

If you do technical notes or diagrams, or just want a fine nib for whatever reason, check this pen. A lot of money for a drawing pen, but the best a I've used so far.

 

The Heritage 1912 came home with me that day, and I love it, but the Artfineliner gets more daily use at work.

[A1979]

Very interesting, thank you !