Meisterstuck Unicef Solitaire

May 17, 2017

Not a review per se... this is mostly me sharing impressions and nice pictures.

First comment will be on how heavy the pen is! a whopping 40 grams uncapped, and ~74ish grams capped. The standard 146 is 17grams uncapped.

I absolutely love the theme, the design, the marketing name...

The theme is about writing, the first characters learned in the 6 most common alphabets around the world.

The Design,

The pen is made out of metal and blue lacquer and the cap is adorned with the 1.9mm saphire as it always is on the unicef models (this is my first though).

The characters are displayed horizontally in "rings". There are 5 rings on the cap and 5 more on the body of the pen.

The blue lacquer is not blue-black, more along the lines of a wet tolstoy blue ink.

The letters seem to be made out of metal and you can feel them with the tip of your fingers as they are slightly debossed

And the marketing name..

"The gift of writing". It feels appropriate. As soon as i saw the pen, understood its meaning and read the slogan i was ready to buy this pen. I bought it a few weeks back but had the nib exchaged from a Fine to a medium, and when the pen returned to me i was away on travel...

I have been writing since im 5, composing simple poems and paragraphs since im 10... and using fountain pens for the last 2 years now.

Interesting side note: Despite english not being my first SPOKEN language, it has always been the language in which i think, in which i count, and in which i read and write... My father is American born and raised, my mother is not.

Anyhow, so giving the gift of writing felt like something nice to do from someone who has enjoyed writing for such an integral part or life.

The nib:

The nib is a bi tone 18k medium. As you can see in the picture below i have 6 different 146 nibs (the 90th rose gold nib is missing as the pen is with montblanc at the moment)

3 are 18k nibs (Leonardo, Twain, and UNICEF)

and 3 are 14k (Rose gold, platinum 146 and gold 146)

While all 6 are mediums all 6 are different.

Leonardo and 90th ann nibs are to remain round.

Twain is a stub by Dan Smith

The remaining 14k nibs are to be cursive italics with added flex by Mike Masuyama

and the last 18k nib (unicef) is to become a stub by Mike Masuyama.

The reason for saying this is that i tend to move nibs from pen to pen depending on what i want to use that day. I dont see myself having all 6 pens inked at the same time...

So if i know i will be in need of a lot of fast writing i will likely use a round nib, is I can slow down a bit i will use a stub, and if i have the time to sit down and write, i'll use the cursive italics.

Presently the UNICEF is using the 14k cursive italic with added flex and inked on Kosumosu. It will likely change withing a few days.

Without further wording: Pictures.

And a picture hosted by FPN so Tom K can see the picture (my favorite)

I focused not only on the saphire and the cap's engravings i purposely aligned the word "writing" in front of the pen, and the child on the desk on the side of the pen.

Edited May 17, 2017 by Reed_thoughts

May 17, 2017

Great pictures! I'm glad you enjoy your pen and find it meaningful.

May 17, 2017

That is a beautiful writing sample. Nice. Your pen is wonderful. Your post made my day.

Edited May 17, 2017 by meiers

May 17, 2017

That is a beautiful writing sample. Nice. Your pen is wonderful. Your post made my day.

Thank you for the comment! I am glad it made your day.

The ink is Kon Peki (look at that sheen..!) and the nib used was the flexible 14kt cursive italic. Its a lovely nib... and its likely staying on the pen for a long while... it matches it perfectly.

May 17, 2017

Great pictures! I'm glad you enjoy your pen and find it meaningful.

thanks!

Its easy to tell which photos were taken with the cellphone and which were done with the DSLR and macro lens...

May 17, 2017

Great pictures of a wonderful pen. Congratulations may you enjoy it in many happy days

May 17, 2017

And a picture hosted by FPN so Tom K can see the picture (my favorite)

~ Reed_thoughts:

Thank you!

It's the sole image I see, and what a beauty.

I understand why it's your favorite.

Tom K.

May 17, 2017

I love the idea of swapping your nibs. What type of nib removal tool do you use? I would be interested in doing the same with a few of my pens. Can you share a photo of the nib removal tool and how it works?

May 17, 2017

~ Reed_thoughts:

Thank you!

It's the sole image I see, and what a beauty.

I understand why it's your favorite.

Tom K.

You are an inspiration in more ways than one... Your photos are just astonishing!

This photo I composed and thought of it while remembering you.

I am glad you like it.

I love the idea of swapping your nibs. What type of nib removal tool do you use? I would be interested in doing the same with a few of my pens. Can you share a photo of the nib removal tool and how it works?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-2015-MONTBLANC-146-149-NIB-REMOVAL-TOOL-FOUNTAIN-PEN-REPAIR-RESTORE-/262986321499?hash=item3d3b34ce5b:g:j9cAAOSwJcZWeWYX

I bought the 3 tool set because at the time it was 15 for one tool and 20 for the 3.

It took 2 months more or less, but they work perfectly to remove the piston and the nib. Some pens you COULD remove the nib without the tool, but if the nib unit were to be stuck you could either SERIOUSLY misalign the nib or even bend/break fins on the feed.

The tool makes everything so much simpler, cleaner and just worry free.

Great pictures of a wonderful pen. Congratulations may you enjoy it in many happy days

Thank you! I do hope to do so.

May 18, 2017

You are an inspiration in more ways than one... Your photos are just astonishing!
This photo I composed and thought of it while remembering you.
I am glad you like it.