What Mbs Are You Using Today?

[Wael El-Dasher]

Eloquently said @kirkwrites.

 

I believe it's primarily a matter of attitude. I used to take my vintage L139, among other MB pens, to jobsites where I'd be there for 10 hour shifts. Mind you I'm in an airconditioned job trailer reviewing shop drawings and attending endless meetings, where everyone feels the need to speak if not to just hear the sound of their own voice, so I'd doodle with it and such.

 

Certainly I wasn't always climbing the scaffolding with it, but I would bring it with me when I had to go up our high-rise project with the engineers to review progress of the works and I'd use it to make sketches up there on our construction drawings. I have very fond memories of resolving design issues with these wonderful pens. I was very careful and completely cognizant that I have a very expensive pen in my shirt pocket and thankfully all was well. There was an instance when I did leave the pen behind as I had to sport the safety harness and climb a 4 story steel truss on the 70th floor of the building to review a connection detail, felt very risky to have the fountain pen in my pocket.

 

These days I'm working on far less exotic building projects but a few weeks ago, while at a job site, the client asked to borrow my pen to write us a nice hefty check on the spot, and I was very happy to hand him my MB Proust, which I love to carry in my shirt pocket. I will now forever remember that wonderful moment. Refer to Exhibit A below  

 

Cheers

 

Wael

 

 

[The Mustard]

Today it is Dostoevsky with Diamine Imperial Blue ink. Felt it was time for a break from broad nibs and all the Christmas greens and reds

[Tom Kellie]

~ @The Mustard: 

 

Beautiful ink, beautiful photo, beautiful fountain pen.

 

Thank you for posting such a tasteful image.

 

      Tom K.

[lionelc]

as always - impressive mb collection @The Mustard, a great looking christmas pen

[Kyrtaax]

[Tom Kellie]

~ @Kyrtaax:

 

Welcome to Fountain Pen Network and the Montblanc Forum!

 

It's very nice to have you join us.

 

Thank you for posting the superb handwriting sample with an image of your 149 nib and cap.

 

That's truly a lovely fountain pen, laying down beautiful lines in your hand.

 

May 2022 and beyond continue to be filled with deeply satisfying handwriting using your 149.

 

      Tom K.

 

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

A Pre '23 MB Safety Pen, with a Simplo #6 weak kneed wet noodle nib. The second weak kneed wet noodle I've had in my hands. The other one at a live auction, was on a MB Safety Pen also.

Repaired and polished by Francis.

Francis didn't have any large snowflakes so repaired it with a smaller one. I would have been happy with a blue or green top...enough to work and not confuse anyone with a red cap from MB's beginnings.

Francis said polishing the pen was a lot of work.

That nib is so much better than what I can write, but ....of course I just un-capped and twisted the nib and feed out of the body....and and scribbled a few words.

The last picture shows the ruined finial of the cap that the original photo's didn't show. I'd not expected such grand work, so didn't do a true before and after photo.

[Andrew_L]

Wow! Cool pen! Congratulations!

[Bo Bo Olson]

Thank you.

I have to thank my wife (the flea market Champ) for being nice enough to tell the man what he should charge for his items on his table before his house to 'earn' the free pen, and Francis Goossens for his repair wonder.

[flodoc]

146 w/14k medium nib and MB Royal Blue.

[The Mustard]

Charles Dickens with Diamine Teal ink. 

[Jip]

This week I got a Montblanc Heritage Rouge et Noire marbled fountain pen with medium nib from the Duty Free outlet store at an Airport. for 350 USD! A steal if you ask me! 

Its a nice addition to the other Heritage pens I have. I'd love to have a Tropical Brown in the collection as well, a friend of mine owns one but he's not selling it to me 😢 😆

 

Interesting is that the Marbled version is a full metal pen, the cap as well versus the resin caps used on the other models. It is missing the "Montblanc" engraving on the side of the cap as well versus the resin models. 

Instead of a metal ring above the grip section it has a small black part. So beside the aesthetically differences it seems Montblanc changed their manufacturing process a bit on the body of the pen as well. Not sure if its time specific or model specific.

 

 

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

I like that marbled/rippled pen.

 

I have to get a silver clip made for my pre-24 MB Safety Pen by my local goldsmith. And I can take a copy of the picture of both clips to her.

Though the longer I look at it, it would be much cheaper to use the snake clip.

 

#6 Simplo Weak Kneed Wet noodle nib.

The little cap top with the spike and the white cone is the original finial cap, before Francis re-made it. Polishing it he said was a lot of work.

[cmd]

I’m in love with this little medium nib, new pen and first Montblanc. I don’t like metal sections or small pens — usually. 

 

 

[darazs]

 

232 and 234 1/2 

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

I've not used my semi-flex KOB MB 234 1/2 Deluxe ('52-54 only) this year.

But there is a few differences between the 234 1/2 and the 234 1/2 Deluxe Meisterstuck clip and a single wide cap band instead of the two narrow cap bands of the regular 234 1/2.

4 1/2 is the nib size.

A decade or so ago, back when I was a 20 pen noobie, I did a balance test, and I was very surprised my thicker bodied standard sized  234 1/2 won; in spite of the back weighting of the brass guts and the telescopic piston.

Second was the thin medium-long semi-flex Geha 725 Goldschwing; F. A very sleek pen with rolled gold trim and top and bottom rolled gold disks. 3rd another surprise the silver P-75, semi-nail M. 4th was my 400nn with a maxi-semi-flex OF.

Each is so different, each has great balance.

 

The regular 234 1/2 is much cheaper than the Deluxe, but I imagine the regular has the same balance and same great nib; so would recommend looking for it, especially if you want a slightly thicker girthed standard sized pen.  (about the same girth as a Pelikan 600 or a Osmia 76)

[desidude02]

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

 

Help me choose 

 

Steve 

@montblanctherapy

[darazs]

On 3/9/2022 at 2:17 AM, Bo Bo Olson said:

I've not used my semi-flex KOB MB 234 1/2 Deluxe ('52-54 only) this year.

But there is a few differences between the 234 1/2 and the 234 1/2 Deluxe Meisterstuck clip and a single wide cap band instead of the two narrow cap bands of the regular 234 1/2.

4 1/2 is the nib size.

A decade or so ago, back when I was a 20 pen noobie, I did a balance test, and I was very surprised my thicker bodied standard sized  234 1/2 won; in spite of the back weighting of the brass guts and the telescopic piston.

Second was the thin medium-long semi-flex Geha 725 Goldschwing; F. A very sleek pen with rolled gold trim and top and bottom rolled gold disks. 3rd another surprise the silver P-75, semi-nail M. 4th was my 400nn with a maxi-semi-flex OF.

Each is so different, each has great balance.

 

The regular 234 1/2 is much cheaper than the Deluxe, but I imagine the regular has the same balance and same great nib; so would recommend looking for it, especially if you want a slightly thicker girthed standard sized pen.  (about the same girth as a Pelikan 600 or a Osmia 76)

 

Very nice! I like the clip "13x style".

[Bo Bo Olson]

That 13x clip is called the Meisterstuck clip.

Enough folks didn't really like the 'modern' torpedo/cigar shape of the 146/9. So for two years '52-54 MB made a higher class trimmed 234 1/2.

The 742 (mine is rolled gold) is also standard sized, but that if a very, very heavy pen; with a very great nib..

I do like the medium-large '50-60 146 more than the modern 1970-now large sized 146. Better balance, better nib. The 50-60 MB 146, was a great maxi-semi-flex nib in a less than beater pen, that I'd gotten just to swap the nib into my then only only large 146. The restoration that Francis did on that pen was a wonder. I'd been too ashamed of that pen to have taken any before pictures. There was just two rills in place of the cap band. Slightly 'bent, so it didn't screw on properly.

 

I should really ask around what  pen or pens did MB make in the medium-large size if any between 1960&70. There was a decade where no 146 was made before 1970 and the large 146.

 

 

I do have a three drawer glass topped cherry-wood pen box...

A three drawer Pelikan pen holder.

(Pen cups....full of pens needing cleaning.)

 

I keep some of my fountain pens in armband cases. Some in velvet, which I got later. I keep my MB Virginia Woolf  in a brown bakelite case with inside a red velvet bottom and an orange silk top inside, made for a gold smith, back in the when.

I'll have to take a picture of it.

 

In a wider black velvet, two 146's and in narrower blue armband case, waiting for use (unused since returned from being re-corked by Francis)., an Osmia semi-flex F medium-small 883.

 

The pictures of the Woolf are with permission of Pentime. He takes a much better picture than I could dream of.

I do so like my eyes only  bling of the nib. It's got a on the fat side of B stubbish  nib, that MB often has on it's wider nibs.

 

The clip is a combo of mat and polished gold.

 

Inked with MB Toffee.

 

What ever you do, take the paper you use to the B&M. I 'knew' the modern MB was wide, and in the B&M on sale day....got it for 1/3 less, I used their paper and the M looked wide enough. When I got home, on better paper, the M wrote M!

I swapped the nib in for a B.......with out instructing MB to chose the B from middle of tolerance; so I got a B=BB or the fat border of B.

So It gets used a bit less than It should be.

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

As mentioned above, my armband boxes I keep some of my fountain pens in.

Bakelite wristband case I keep my Woolf in. I'm rather happy with that bakelite case, in to me, it adds a bit of class to my pen that gets stored in it.

 

A 883 medium small Osmai with semi-flex F nib in the blue velvet one, two 146's in the wider black velvet one in the rear.

 

Just moved the armband boxes out of the drawer into a well figured box that had been laying around the house. I don't know what kind of wood it is, or if someone hit it with a torch to bring up the figure.

Only short bottles of ink fit.........no MB even the short LE's.

Pelikan, Herbin, Rotring, Waterman.

 

The box gives me an easier to grab possibility than having the pens in a drawer and those inks 'lost' in my various ink boxes.

In the bottom of this picture and a coupe other boxes off  a bit out of the way in the my library.

 

Inks that are out of sight don't get use much, and I 'knew' I had a 4001 BB but had forgotten where it was. Know I know.