Mb 149 Expression Nib - Calligraphy?

[lecorbusier]

Picture (finally) posted in the preceding post...Things must have changed since I last visited...

Edited September 11, 2019 by lecorbusier

[grantmm]

My pen arrived today It writes great, but I do have a concern about the nib seating and if something is wrong.

I inked the pen up with the Beatles ink, wiped off the excess, and began to get a feel for how the pen would write for normal use. Even before I put any pressure on the nib to get an idea of what the flex feels like, the nib was weeping ink pretty regularly. Is this normal for flex pens? Should I send it back to Montblanc for adjustments or repairs?

 

This was after a light wipe down on the tip and then writing for a few sentences. The split portion of the nib was clean before starting.

 

 

This is what it looks like after a few words with no pressure: The spot right above the 4810 is where it originates from.

Edited September 11, 2019 by grantmm

[zaddick]

My pen arrived today It writes great, but I do have a concern about the nib seating and if something is wrong.

 

I inked the pen up with the Beatles ink, wiped off the excess, and began to get a feel for how the pen would write for normal use. Even before I put any pressure on the nib to get an idea of what the flex feels like, the nib was weeping ink pretty regularly. Is this normal for flex pens? Should I send it back to Montblanc for adjustments or repairs?

 

 

That does not sound normal at all. I'd contact MB or your dealer about an exchange.

[loganrah]

I have to disagree; all of my flex nibs do this to some degree or other. This is pretty extreme, I don't usually get quite that much ink on the tines, but weeping from between the tines seems to be normal for at least Pilot and Platinum flex nibs.

 

My hypothesis would be that it is because they tuned to be wet writers to keep up with the flex, so when you aren't flexing there is a lot of ink flowing down to the tines that has to go somewhere.

That said, since this is such an expensive pen it's probably worth taking it in to a boutique or at least sending some photos to Montblanc and seeing what they say.

[dubhe]

Mine has a bit of ink on the tones after use, but not enough to be concerned about. I would try a different ink but if it continues have it looked at by MB.

[zaddick]

I've heard of "old man strength" though I have yet to experience it. Reading all these posts on the new flex nibs, I took out an early 1960s 149, inked it up with some Oyster Grey and gave it a test run. The ink is a bit too wet for the copy paper.

 

Edited September 12, 2019 by zaddick

[grantmm]

Thank you for all of the advice It really helped understand what to expect and what might be involved with the new nib.

 

An update after switching inks. The pen is doing a lot better today. No ink weeping found after a lot of writing The ink is the new Sand of the Desert.

 

 

The ink you can see is from the fill earlier.

 

[loganrah]

Nice shots of the writing. Any chance you've got another modern flex pen you could write on the same sheet of paper with for comparison sake? I'd love to know how this compares to Pilot FA nibs in particular.

[dbs]

 

The ink is the new Sand of the Desert.

 

Performance of Sand of Desert and newer WE Homer ink is close to Sailor's pigment ink, does not like regular Montblanc dye based ink.

[wanderlust]

Nice shots of the writing. Any chance you've got another modern flex pen you could write on the same sheet of paper with for comparison sake? I'd love to know how this compares to Pilot FA nibs in particular.

 

You can refer to my post on Page 9, which compares Pilot FA, Omas Extra Flex, ASC Magic Flex, together with Montblanc 149 and 146 flex nibs.

[dbs]

Montblanc said only 15 flex nib 149 pens were delivered to U.S and they are all sold out. The next batch will around end of September to the beginning of October.

[gerigo]

That's absolute nonsense. I just spoke to my favorite brick and mortar pen retailer yesterday and he said that they have 13 Expression 149s in the back. Are they artificially trying to inflate demand to appeal to your FOMO to get you to make the purchase?

 

Montblanc said only 15 flex nib 149 pens were delivered to U.S and they are all sold out. The next batch will around end of September to the beginning of October.

Edited September 14, 2019 by gerigo

[MalcLee]

Nib creep sorted with an ink switch. Thank you to all whove suggested this handy trouble shooting tip.

[Tom Kellie]

~ MalcLee:

 

Another positive story about Montblanc Petit Prince Sand of the Desert.

Thank you for this handwriting sample.

It's very good to know that the ink change resolved the issue.

Happy writing with your 149 Expression Nib!

Tom K.

[Lszuk]

Nib creep sorted with an ink switch. Thank you to all whove suggested this handy trouble shooting tip.

Is that with normal writing pressure? Would you recommend this nib for everyday writing? Is the ink flow adequate without sig. pressure? (previous samples seemed to indicate a dry flow with minimal pressure).

 

Thanks.

Edited September 16, 2019 by Lszuk

[gerigo]

Nope this nib I will not recommend for everyday writing because it's very dry and very fine. That is unless you write with a heavy hand. I find this nib so dry to be unusable except for flex writing.

Is that with normal writing pressure? Would you recommend this nib for everyday writing? Is the ink flow adequate without sig. pressure? (previous samples seemed to indicate a dry flow with minimal pressure).

 

Thanks.

[Penryn87]

I am one, pretty impressed that MB actually put a flex ... or perhaps super soft?? ... nib on a fountain pen.

[MalcLee]

Is that with normal writing pressure? Would you recommend this nib for everyday writing? Is the ink flow adequate without sig. pressure? (previous samples seemed to indicate a dry flow with minimal pressure).

 

Thanks.

 

I do write with a heavier hand and the above post was written with my usual everyday writing pressure. Even with this drier Petit Price "Sand of the Desert" - there weren't any hard starts at all. It is a very well tuned nib, and quite fun really.

[hawpunch]

Couldn’t resist and ordered mine. Should be here on Wednesday. Really excited to test the flex and finally have a 149 in the collection. If the nib is as much fun as some are proclaiming, this maybe the 149 I keep.

[arcfide]

Is that with normal writing pressure? Would you recommend this nib for everyday writing? Is the ink flow adequate without sig. pressure? (previous samples seemed to indicate a dry flow with minimal pressure).

 

Thanks.

 

I think the question as to whether this nib is appropriate for normal, everyday writing has less to do with the wetness of the nib and more to do with the style of your normal, everyday writing and how much you want to "press down" on your nibs and at what angle. I do think that these nibs will write a little wetter than at first after they have broken in a bit. However, you can't have a super wet writing nib with the tines let out without resulting in a gusher when the tines are flexed.

 

With a tiny bit more pressure it's easy to get this nib to write pretty wet, and if you want it to write drier, you just use very little pressure. But the problem with an every day writer is whether or not you twist the nib a lot during writing, and whether you will apply a lot of heavy pressure on the nib during times that are not the down stroke. This nib is a pretty tough nib as far as flex nibs go as far as I can tell, but it's still a true flex nib, and you don't want to be dragging it all over the paper without the right technique or you'll just be putting more stress on the nib than it was really intended to take.

 

If you have a daily hand that keeps a good nib angle and has the right sorts of pressures, then this is going to be a great everyday nib, but if you don't have that, then you'll experience everything from hard starts to dry writing to overly wet writing to even potentially premature wear on the tines.

 

I'm using mine everyday, but I have practiced using flex nibs as an everyday nib, and it isn't without its quirks.