Enjoying Montblanc Pens — Broad, Oblique, Extra Fine, Le & Bespoke

[Tom Kellie]

Lunar New Year Jiaozi (饺子) Prepared by Peking University and University of Oregon Graduate QIU Wenhui for His Family in Fujian Province, Liancheng County, Futang Village

[Tom Kellie]

Wrote this for my Sweetheart. Happy Valentine's Day!

 

 

~ Hi, Jeremy!

 

Thank you for posting another excellent handwritten poem.

Seeing different pens and different inks, carefully labelled, showcases quality in a way that textual description never attains.

Your wife was blessed to receive such a nice Valentine's Day present.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

Tom--

 

Now you know why we have been raving about these "lesser" vintage Montblancs. They are such an unalloyed joy to write with. Zuji is looking more handsome and prosperous by the day. I hope you and he both enjoy "his" year!

 

[Pravda]

Wrote this for my Sweetheart. Happy Valentine's Day!

 

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This is beyond cool..!! Really like how you identified the pens/inks something I would totally do and my wife will wonder why the hell shed care lol

 

jconn been quite enjoying your recent images and writing samples lately! Thanks for sharing with us

[jconn]

This is beyond cool..!! Really like how you identified the pens/inks something I would totally do and my wife will wonder why the hell shed care lol

 

jconn been quite enjoying your recent images and writing samples lately! Thanks for sharing with us

My pleasure. This has actually been a night-time ritual for me for a while, an excuse to use my fountain pens for something artistic. Normally, I just throw them into a folder, thinking some day I'll put them into my own coffee table book. This thread has actually encouraged me to start scanning and cataloging what I'm making, so maybe I can do something with it... I have at least enough to line the bottom of a bird cage!

 

[jconn]

 

~ Hi, Jeremy!

 

Thank you for posting another excellent handwritten poem.

Seeing different pens and different inks, carefully labelled, showcases quality in a way that textual description never attains.

Your wife was blessed to receive such a nice Valentine's Day present.

Tom K.

 

I think I'm the lucky one! She's cooking for me this weekend, since we're both quite busy, she with work and me with school. The best way to a man's heart is through his stomach, after all.

 

Plus, she doesn't give a hoot about fancy-schmancy fountain pens, so I never have to worry about her sticky fingers lifting pens from my collection!

 

It's a match made in heaven!

[Tom Kellie]

[Tom Kellie]

~ By “unposted” I meant that while writing it was unposted. For the image, it was posted inorder to stabilize the nib so that the top was clear.

Except for the Platinum Mozart, I generally don't post any fountain pens while writing, no matter how small the pen.

In photographs, they're almost all posted, as doing so facilitates positioning of the upper side of the nib so as to obtain optimal lighting.

The four newly arrived mid-century pens, two 24s and two 32s, are far more enjoyable writers than I'd ever have supposed.

Contrasting their feather-light build, with the stability of nibs on paper is a delight, including the superb feedback from the two 24s.

I'd anticipated receiving pens which, like me, were somewhat worse for wear after five or six decades of use.

Wrong! Sitting on the desk they glisten with the fresh glow of youth. Were it possible to do likewise, I'd once again be spry.

Had I known about these pens two or three years ago, there would've been more of them sitting on my writing desk.

Color yours truly totally satisfied.

Tom K.

[Ghost Plane]

This is beyond cool..!! Really like how you identified the pens/inks something I would totally do and my wife will wonder why the hell shed care lol

 

jconn been quite enjoying your recent images and writing samples lately! Thanks for sharing with us

Pravda, you might want to draw an analogy between the careful shading with eyeliners, shadows and mascara used by your wife to enhance her beautiful eyes. Perhaps seeing the similar artistry expressed by your pens and why quality products matter in the results will help her appreciate. I know I’ve picked up some eyeliner techniques from the calligraphy threads. (Girl secrets)

[Ghost Plane]

 

~ By “unposted” I meant that while writing it was unposted. For the image, it was posted inorder to stabilize the nib so that the top was clear.

Except for the Platinum Mozart, I generally don't post any fountain pens while writing, no matter how small the pen.

In photographs, they're almost all posted, as doing so facilitates positioning of the upper side of the nib so as to obtain optimal lighting.

The four newly arrived mid-century pens, two 24s and two 32s, are far more enjoyable writers than I'd ever have supposed.

Contrasting their feather-light build, with the stability of nibs on paper is a delight, including the superb feedback from the two 24s.

I'd anticipated receiving pens which, like me, were somewhat worse for wear after five or six decades of use.

Wrong! Sitting on the desk they glisten with the fresh glow of youth. Were it possible to do likewise, I'd once again be spry.

Had I known about these pens two or three years ago, there would've been more of them sitting on my writing desk.

Color yours truly totally satisfied.

Tom K.

Now that I see the length posted (my writing stance requires length) I’m tempted to hunt a few of these when the pen fund finally replenishes.

[thygreyt]

Just yesterday Dan (nibsmith.com) returned me the 90th ann 146 with an oblique stub nib. But mostly I'm happy to have it back where i can enjoy it! Also, here is a shot of the 3 146s with matching nibs to trim. (i change the nibs from one pen to another)

 

When the 1912 returns from its nib exchange, the collection will be complete!

 

[Ghost Plane]

Just yesterday Dan (nibsmith.com) returned me the 90th ann 146 with an oblique stub nib. But mostly I'm happy to have it back where i can enjoy it! Also, here is a shot of the 3 146s with matching nibs to trim. (i change the nibs from one pen to another)

 

When the 1912 returns from its nib exchange, the collection will be complete!

 

MVIMG_20180216_090955.jpg

That’s a pretty spread

[Tom Kellie]

Just yesterday Dan (nibsmith.com) returned me the 90th ann 146 with an oblique stub nib. But mostly I'm happy to have it back where i can enjoy it! Also, here is a shot of the 3 146s with matching nibs to trim. (i change the nibs from one pen to another)

 

When the 1912 returns from its nib exchange, the collection will be complete!

 

~ Reed_thoughts:

 

It's an apprentice metallurgist's dream.

Your photography captures the color distinctions so well. That's not that easy to accomplish.

Best of all, your nibs are in regular use. It arms the heart to see fine quality pens being used as...well...er...pens!

When your 1912 returns, this thread would warmly welcome another of your excellent pen photographs.

Thank you for posting this image.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

Now that I see the length posted (my writing stance requires length) I’m tempted to hunt a few of these when the pen fund finally replenishes.

 

 

[Tom Kellie]

~ There are moments when it seems that my creaky old brain may finally be safely switched off, as those I know seemingly already know everything.

Their purported expertise on subjects far and wide tends to be stated in no uncertain terms, with all of the swaggering self-assurance of unchallenged pundits.

For example, during the past week two long-time friends, neither of whom post in FPN, but both of whom are regular fountain pen writers, told me their views of Montblanc Limited Editions.

They work in different parts of the globe, both very distant from me. They asserted that I oughtn't ever consider either Patron of Art pens or Writers Edition pens, but urged me to stick with 149s.

Their reasoning, completely separate from one another but similar in rationale, was that, as one of them wrote: “Montblanc Limited Editions tend to be too small for you, because you're used to 149s”.

When I replied to both that my hands were adaptable to Classiques and to a Mozart, each in their own way reemphasized the comparatively small size of Limited Editions relative to 149s.

This occurred prior to the arrival of the smaller-sized 24s and 32s, which I'm finding to be remarkably useful writers with exceptionally sensitive feedback.

Not being an expert, never having attended a fountain pen show, and realizing how little I know, I wondered if those pens I admire are indeed so much smaller than 149s.

Accordingly, I looked for the dimensions, capped and uncapped, of half a dozen Limited Edition pens which I've admired, in order to compare them with a contemporary Platinum 149.

In several cases, it was also possible to compare the pens’ masses with the mass of a 149, as an added means of understanding the relative size differential.

The pens I selected aren't in any sense systematic, as this was no more than low-key idle curiosity. They're simply pens I enjoy seeing whenever I encounter them in FPN threads.

While they're all smaller than the 149, they don't seem to be diminutive, like a Mozart. The mass of a couple of the Patron of Art pens is considerable. I wouldn't want my head tapped by an Oppenheim!

Friendships matter far more than petty quibbles over minor viewpoints, so I'll not mention this to either friend. They're wonderful individuals who want the best for me in everything, including fountain pens.

For fun, and nothing more, here are the comparative dimensions of the pens I looked up, with a few representative images, in the same order as the list.

Tom K.

[Cyrille81]

I really like the Max von Oppenheim PoA. I really prefer this 4810 version in comparaison of the 888 version.

[thygreyt]

In my experience with the limited editions, specially maecenas, which is heavy, is that with use the hands get used to them. When they are heavy they are also great to be let Alone to write. They just move with your hand guiding them, and their weight presses against the paper.

[Ghost Plane]

In my experience with the limited editions, specially maecenas, which is heavy, is that with use the hands get used to them. When they are heavy they are also great to be let Alone to write. They just move with your hand guiding them, and their weight presses against the paper.

Exactly! That’s why I prefer heavier pens when I’ll be writing a lot. Less holding on. All I have to do is steer. It relaxes my hand.

[Cyrille81]

Exactly! That’s why I prefer heavier pens when I’ll be writing a lot. Less holding on. All I have to do is steer. It relaxes my hand.

 

Yes same for me for example with the UNICEF skeleton in comparaison with my 149.

[Tom Kellie]

I really like the Max von Oppenheim PoA. I really prefer this 4810 version in comparaison of the 888 version.

 

 

~ Cyrille:

 

Thank you for bringing to my attention the difference between the 4810 and the 888 versions.

After looking at images of the two, I fully agree with you. The white barrel of the 888 lacks the geometric intricacy of the darker 4810.

The subdued decorative pattern with images taken from the ruins at Tell Halaf is aesthetically pleasing.

A camel on the nib is especially pleasing. What's surprising to me is the considerable mass. Not a pen to juggle.

Tom K.