Best Montblanc Fakes To Buy

[BillH]

A few quickie pictures from this morning, to illustrate a side by side real vs fake. The real 145 I have is a platinum but should be ok for this purpose. Fake on top, real on bottom. The real nib is gold, the fake is steel. Weight of the real MB is 21g, the fake is 18g.

 

 

 

 

 

[CS388]

Gosh, BillH, that's a very convincing fake. Even side by side there's little to tell them apart!

 

How does it write? I had a fake 145 some years ago (didn't know it was fake when I bought it) and it was an excellent writer.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[Kalessin]

The fake one does show cruder edges on various rings, and with some of its plastic shaping and edges. The nib is noticeably cruder on the fake, with incorrect plating.

[BillH]

Gosh, BillH, that's a very convincing fake. Even side by side there's little to tell them apart!

 

How does it write? I had a fake 145 some years ago (didn't know it was fake when I bought it) and it was an excellent writer.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

 

Like niksch already mentioned, it writes ok for a stiff nib, although this one needed a little tweeking also. It definitely does not write comparably to a true Montblanc pen. You are lucky if you got one that was excellent; this one is/was not.

 

And in a side by side "roll off the table test" (don't ask) the Chinese counterfeit shattered into a number of pieces, while the true MB just needed its nib realigned. The counterfeit in the pictures has a seriously cracked section and no longer ink tight. The back end also broke off. Quite brittle. Glued back together simply to see if it could be repaired... not so much.

[niksch]

The fake one does show cruder edges on various rings, and with some of its plastic shaping and edges. The nib is noticeably cruder on the fake, with incorrect plating.

 

Agreed, but I could only tell the differences because they are side by side (which is why I ordered a fake one). Standing alone, it is a very convincing fake. And unless you ask for better photos of the details, which I doubt you would receive, most folks, including me would be duped. The price and seller's location give it away, though.

[niksch]

Gosh, BillH, that's a very convincing fake. Even side by side there's little to tell them apart!

 

How does it write? I had a fake 145 some years ago (didn't know it was fake when I bought it) and it was an excellent writer.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

After realigning the nib and then adjusting the ink flow, it's a pretty tolerable writer. A fake to be sure, but a tolerable writer. I concur with BillH that it doesn't write even close to a real MB nib, or even a TWISBI for that matter, but it's better than a Stratford.

[BillH]

"but it's better than a Stratford."

 

[CS388]

Like niksch already mentioned, it writes ok for a stiff nib, although this one needed a little tweeking also. It definitely does not write comparably to a true Montblanc pen. You are lucky if you got one that was excellent; this one is/was not.

After realigning the nib and then adjusting the ink flow, it's a pretty tolerable writer. A fake to be sure, but a tolerable writer. I concur with BillH that it doesn't write even close to a real MB nib, or even a TWISBI for that matter, but it's better than a Stratford.

 

Yes, I was probably exaggerating to call it an 'excellent' writer.

I did take it apart and realign the nib and played with the feed and did various smoothing techniques, before it became a good reliable writer. (I thought I had bought the real deal and was willing to spend time on it!)

In the end it was smooth, wet and reliable - it even became my daily user, for a while.

 

I discovered it was a fake purely by Googling the serial number. I'd even taken it to a boutique to buy a converter for it and the sales assistant had put the converter in for me and filled it with ink in the shop.

 

Thanks.

[jschwerin]

Wow, that fake looks pretty close. I own a 145 and the fake looks really good (with the exception of the convertor). Thanks for sharing BillH.

 

Did you by chance try the flashlight or magnet test? If so, did it pass either one?

[BillH]

Wow, that fake looks pretty close. I own a 145 and the fake looks really good (with the exception of the convertor). Thanks for sharing BillH.

 

Did you by chance try the flashlight or magnet test? If so, did it pass either one?

 

 

The nib sticks to the magnet, so not gold despite the 14k and 585 stampings. But shining a flashlight through the cap and body will show red. It also shows the material is quite a bit thinner than the real MB body and cap. It also says Pix on the cap ring.

 

Makes you wonder how many of these things find their way out of China, then onto the 'bay at "real MB" prices?

 

Buyers beware... you won't be able to tell it's a fake until you get it in your hands.

[Cordovian]

 

Agreed, but I could only tell the differences because they are side by side (which is why I ordered a fake one). Standing alone, it is a very convincing fake. And unless you ask for better photos of the details, which I doubt you would receive, most folks, including me would be duped. The price and seller's location give it away, though.

 

Imagine if the seller said they were in Germany and sent you a tracking number that USPS identified as originating in Germany. Would you question the authenticity less?

 

You really can't go on seller nation of origin or listed shipping locations anymore. Here's two screen caps of the tracking number for a MB 100th Anniversary FP I won on Ebay. This same tactic could be used on any website. The first one is from the USPS website showing an origin of Germany. The second is from the Deutsche Post website showing the true origin.

 

USPS:

 

Deutsche Post:

 

If I receive a fake, as I'm expecting, I'll photograph it and post it.

[Tom Kellie]

Imagine if the seller said they were in Germany and sent you a tracking number that USPS identified as originating in Germany. Would you question the authenticity less?

 

You really can't go on seller nation of origin or listed shipping locations anymore. Here's two screen caps of the tracking number for a MB 100th Anniversary FP I won on Ebay. This same tactic could be used on any website. The first one is from the USPS website showing an origin of Germany. The second is from the Deutsche Post website showing the true origin.

 

If I receive a fake, as I'm expecting, I'll photograph it and post it.

 

~ Cordovian:

 

What you've posted is eye-opening.

This is entirely new to me. Thank you for posting it here.

Such a clear-cut contrast reveals the underlying reality.

Tom K.

[BillH]

 

~ Cordovian:

 

What you've posted is eye-opening.

This is entirely new to me. Thank you for posting it here.

Such a clear-cut contrast reveals the underlying reality.

Tom K.

 

 

And me as well... that's just depressing. I've had two like that in the past 18 months, the worst example being a Pelikan school-type pen listed as being in the Netherlands. It arrived in a month, from Pakistan. The other was listed as being in NYC but came two weeks later from Germany.

 

 

Along with some other very poor experiences lately buying from various internet "artists", "craftsmen", and "vendors" I'm very close to ending my internet sourced purchases.

[Shannon]

Good grief! I just purchased a 145 that I would have bet was authentic. Now seeing how good that fake is.... I'm wondering.... That post strikes fear into the hearts of MB buyers.

[praxim]

Good grief! I just purchased a 145 that I would have bet was authentic. Now seeing how good that fake is.... I'm wondering.... That post strikes fear into the hearts of MB buyers.

 

It made me go back to check my MBs. All passed all tests, happily for me.

[torstar]

 

It made me go back to check my MBs. All passed all tests, happily for me.

 

you try to save a buck and ignore bricks and mortar and this is the massive risk you take...

[praxim]

 

you try to save a buck and ignore bricks and mortar and this is the massive risk you take...

 

No.

 

Firstly, you impugn a bunch of good sellers, whose only apparent crime is not to have capital invested in a shop on the high street, only in their pens and their potentially fragile reputations.

 

Secondly, I knew the pens, all piston fillers, would be fine anyway. The smiley I used may have hinted that it was a mild joke.

 

Thirdly, last I knew the nearest Montblanc boutique, about 300 Km from here, was selling zero of my six preferred Montblancs dating from 1955 to 1991. The only other I might have in mind is even older.

 

If saving bucks were my priority, I would hardly have spent what I have in the last couple of years. It has far more to do with market access.

[niksch]

 

You really can't go on seller nation of origin or listed shipping locations anymore.

 

Maybe you cannot go by the country or origin anymore. But if it's China? Your Spidey senses ought to be activated.

[Cordovian]

 

Maybe you cannot go by the country or origin anymore. But if it's China? Your Spidey senses ought to be activated.

That was my point. The seller did not list his location or shipping origin as China. In my case he said he was listed as a US seller with a shipping origin of Boardman, OR.

 

When I received the tracking number, which USPS showed as coming from Germany, I was suspicious. It wasn't until I checked Deutsche Post that I learned the origin was China.

 

Had the seller stated he was in Germany I would have been none the wiser. I'm going to contact USPS and see if I can get this loop hole closed.

[Shannon]

 

you try to save a buck and ignore bricks and mortar and this is the massive risk you take...

It's not about saving a buck. Not all of us - I'd venture to say most of us - don't live near a good pen store. Therefore, we have to rely on The Interwebs

Edited June 11, 2018 by Shannon