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

[Tom Kellie]

Morning Glories

Bespoke Small Signature and a Wee Spiderling

[Tom Kellie]

Pomegranate Bloom and Bespoke Small Signature Nib

[Tom Kellie]

[Uncial]

Never really warmed to the Red Dog Zodiac ink.

I picked up the Red Fox (from the Little Prince series) ink and it is really lovely. I saw a review of it here on FPN that made it look a bit dull. There is a slight watery quality to it, but it's a really unusual colour with very pleasant shading.

[amberleadavis]

 

Pomegranate Bloom and Bespoke Small Signature Nib

 

 

 

DROOL DROOL DROOL DROOL DROOL DROOL

[nishantdr83]

For all the broad nib lovers out there, I just got off the phone with MB Boutique in Tysons... Despite my insistence, Hamburg will not give me a OBBB in the Skeletons or Dumas. I am borderline mad at this point .. Does anyone have Axels email so I can find out about this policy that keeps changing every month ??

[Tom Kellie]

For all the broad nib lovers out there, I just got off the phone with MB Boutique in Tysons... Despite my insistence, Hamburg will not give me a OBBB in the Skeletons or Dumas. I am borderline mad at this point .. Does anyone have Axels email so I can find out about this policy that keeps changing every month ??

 

~ nishant:

 

A private message has been sent to you with the information you're seeking.

I'm truly sorry that you're encountering such difficulties.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

DROOL DROOL DROOL DROOL DROOL DROOL

 

~ amberleadavis:

 

Were it somehow possible, I'd truly love to give you a Bespoke Small Signature nib.

Likewise Ghost Plane, zaddick, meiers, Zdenek, Shannon, BillH, da vinci, farmdogfan and others.

As an ink delivery system, it's nonpareil.

The ink flow is extraordinary, yet completely controlled by the fingertip pressure.

Smooth, with top-of-the-line feedback.

Every day I smile, only regretting that there aren't several on my writing desk, inked in various hues.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

Never really warmed to the Red Dog Zodiac ink.

I picked up the Red Fox (from the Little Prince series) ink and it is really lovely. I saw a review of it here on FPN that made it look a bit dull. There is a slight watery quality to it, but it's a really unusual colour with very pleasant shading.

 

 

~ Uncial:

 

From what I've read, your perception reflects what most others feel.

The Year of the Dog Red Chine ink struck most as being too pale or lacked anything distinctive, while the Red Fox ink has been favorably received.

Nonetheless, my experience in writing for over ten hours per day with Red Chine in a 90th Anniversary 149 EF nib has been nothing less than stellar.

It's being used for a major (175 page) book revision (a translation from written Chinese into English) requiring extensive corrections on nearly every line.

For that specialized, limited purpose, writing marginalia, inserting corrections and crossing out flaws, it is as fine of a red ink as I've used in my life.

I might seldom, if ever, use it to write notes in cursive, but for corrections, it's been superb.

There are a few more days to go in the revisions. I'll continue using Red Chine through to the end, as its quality has been consistently satisfactory.

Tom K.

[nishantdr83]

I am surprised you have a Twain missing in your collection, Tom. Easily my favorite WE so far... the balance and ergonomics are pure perfection.

 

BTW, Thanks for providing me with the email address. I wrote to that one as well as Axels email that dear Pravda provided. Now fingers crossed while I hope for their positive response.

Edited June 19, 2018 by nishant

[flipper_gv]

For all the broad nib lovers out there, I just got off the phone with MB Boutique in Tysons... Despite my insistence, Hamburg will not give me a OBBB in the Skeletons or Dumas. I am borderline mad at this point .. Does anyone have Axels email so I can find out about this policy that keeps changing every month ??

 

At the price the skeleton pens are, this is ridiculous.

[Ghost Plane]

 

At the price the skeleton pens are, this is ridiculous.

 

Amen! They need to wake up, realize that these aren't presentation pieces for a lot of us, and let us turn them into the daily users they were designed to be.

[blottingpaperforlife]

Nishant , I hope you get a constructive response from Montblanc. As Ghost Plane said these are functional pens for daily use. I can understand if the Skeleton or the Dumas pens were sent for cosmetic repair and they are unable to repair

Here were talking about the essence- the nibs.

Montblanc destroyes the manufacturing tools of specific limited edition and special edition pens after a certain time period. I would like to think this doesnt apply to nibs (wishful thinking, perhaps)

[Kalessin]

Montblanc destroyes the manufacturing tools of specific limited edition and special edition pens after a certain time period. I would like to think this doesnt apply to nibs (wishful thinking, perhaps)

 

I haven't heard definitively that they destroy manufacturing tools -- is there a good reference for this statement?

[Ghost Plane]

Buried somewhere in one of the factory tour threads, I believe someone repeated what they were told. I have vague memories of seeing it. I believe Tom Kellie has access to Axel, as does Pravda. Might be a good time to get it from the horse's mouth, rather than a filtered hearsay via boutique personnel. If it is true, Axel might also be the best person to reach upper management with the news of the proverbial murder of the golden goose, i.e. the pen buyers who stop buying those models due to lack of usable nib sizes.

 

If THAT doesn't counteract the accountants' insistence on defaulting to F and M nibs, I don't know what will.

[Pravda]

I have actually heard that OBBB story from another prominent FPN memeber who recently acquired a skeleton but didnt mention it here (I think).

 

So he contacted Axel and had it finally resolved.

 

With Nishants encounter, it seems that its the US boutiques in consistency that are denying those requests for some reason.

 

I got the OBBB on 2 of my skeletons and I even disliked one and had another sent to me, ie no shortages there.

 

As for destruction of tools, its a Chinese telephone thing. They DO destroy the seals to mark the limitation number xx/xxxxx but everything else stays in case a customer needs a repair or nib exchange.

[flipper_gv]

 

Amen! They need to wake up, realize that these aren't presentation pieces for a lot of us, and let us turn them into the daily users they were designed to be.

 

I'm sure someone at Montblanc is having a hard time understanding an OBBB can be daily pen. Still, the price of producing such a nib shouldn't be an issue when considering a lot of people buy Montblanc partly because of the obliques selection.

[jmccarty3]

I pray that the powers that be at Montblanc realize what an opportunity has been handed to them by Pelikan's abandonment of the specialty nib market. How many times do we have to say, "Take our money, please," before they understand?

[niksch]

Buried somewhere in one of the factory tour threads, I believe someone repeated what they were told. I have vague memories of seeing it. I believe Tom Kellie has access to Axel, as does Pravda. Might be a good time to get it from the horse's mouth, rather than a filtered hearsay via boutique personnel. If it is true, Axel might also be the best person to reach upper management with the news of the proverbial murder of the golden goose, i.e. the pen buyers who stop buying those models due to lack of usable nib sizes.

 

If THAT doesn't counteract the accountants' insistence on defaulting to F and M nibs, I don't know what will.

I was told that by the MB rep who was my tour guide of the MB factory back in '99. That could have been some sort of "information operations", but the message was consistent.

[niksch]

Thank you, Amberlea! And in the meantime, I made a new friend:

 

 

Shannon, your handwriting is so beautiful!