Mb 149 Expression Nib - Calligraphy?

[ljz]

  On 8/26/2019 at 8:59 AM, Pravda said:

I cannot speak for past pieces because I dont recall the exact dates. The Marco Polo is now old, them having a few left over pieces at flagship boutiques isnt unheard of. Hannibal was same the year before.

 

This year its Amundsen and nobodys having it by walking in into a boutique for quite some time.

This is Amundsen LE5 and LE65 in my local boutique.

[ljz]

Both of them are already there for quite a few months.

[ljz]

There are artisan editions to Dynasty Qing Emperor Kangxi too.

[ljz]

My sales manager always says that the wonderful pieces will first be distributed amongst Hamburg, Berlin and Munich. So it’s no surprise that I can have an earlier access to all those beauties since I’ve established a good relationship with the manager there.

[Pravda]

That's amazing.. I was able to take pictures for myself (not to distribute) of the Maki-e and Amundsen at the preview event in April, I was under the impression that they were shown only there so I dismissed any other photos as preview shots vs boutique ones..

 

 

Anyway, can't wait until the 1st to share with you guys my impression of the Gold Leaf 146 flex and I know MJChaug9 has been enjoying his 149 in the meantime, which I believe will have more reviews. '

 

What other pieces are you seeking nowadays Ijz if I may ask?

[ljz]

I was able to gain an access to all the fountain pens which will be released this year at the beginning of last November. It was a prototype exhibition event held in Hamburg. Even though all the guests were not supposed to take pictures or videos according to the rules and regulations stipulated by Montblanc, the representatives there would not prohibit them from doing so as this might create an uncomfortable or even awkward atmosphere for the vip customers. So Geheimhaltung is rarely enforced during the event.

 

To Pravda, Im not too interested in the fountain pens released this year. Leather(LPP or Great Masters)- or silver(POA 888)-made pens are not my cup of tea. Leather is prone to wear and tear and silver will be oxidised by air. Or maybe Im too young to enjoy those products, I dont know. I like this year heritage and Walt Disney only. I should not comment that much in this forum as I dont like to use a flex nib. Sorry guys.

 

Will be going to the event again on this November to see whats coming out in the following year.

[Nurmister]

  On 8/25/2019 at 3:23 PM, Pravda said:

 

 

Every pen that's not in the regular production must have a limitation right? Even if un-announced.

 

Like the 90 Year Anniversary.. they said 'lets make x amount of pieces to sell over 2 years' for example.

 

The Blue Hour Skeleton was not officially limited, but it is so rare because they only made 150 pieces. The 90 Year Skeleton same story they made 500. The UNICEF skeleton, they made 1,000.

 

When I sat down with Axel (head of nib department) he said 'we will only make 500 of these nibs'. That is because they don't follow the standard template and are forged differently.

 

To clear things up slightly and to support your point, the box on the 149 flex says: "limited edition".

 

This means they are not numbered, but will stop being produced after a year or two.

 

That said, Axel said 500 *of what* nib? The 149? Or 146 gold leaf?

[Nurmister]

  On 8/25/2019 at 4:44 PM, arcfide said:

 

So the Elixir inks are non-fountain pen inks?

 

As per appelboom's website, that is the implication. But their description may be off. Once the inks come on the MB website we'll have a more reliable source. Or if someone who has the ink can chime in, that would be good.

[Pravda]

  On 8/26/2019 at 1:49 PM, Nurmister said:

 

To clear things up slightly and to support your point, the box on the 149 flex says: "limited edition".

 

This means they are not numbered, but will stop being produced after a year or two.

 

That said, Axel said 500 *of what* nib? The 149? Or 146 gold leaf?

 

 

He was talking about the Gold Leaf. I would say the 149 is also naturally limited to some number, whatever it is, but I venture its slightly bigger than the 146 considering that its more popular and also much cheaper.

[Nurmister]

  On 8/26/2019 at 2:16 PM, Pravda said:

 

 

He was talking about the Gold Leaf. I would say the 149 is also naturally limited to some number, whatever it is, but I venture its slightly bigger than the 146 considering that its more popular and also much cheaper.

 

Got it. Thanks for your insights; I'll be releasing my own on the 149 flex after 1st Sept!

[CS388]

Pravda, you got the gold leaf 146? I have to say: that's a fantastic looking pen. Congratulations.

I like the black trim - although am unsure as to what the material is? Is it metal?

 

Looking forward to your pictures, once the time is right.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[Pravda]

  On 8/26/2019 at 11:23 PM, CS388 said:

Pravda, you got the gold leaf 146? I have to say: that's a fantastic looking pen. Congratulations.

I like the black trim - although am unsure as to what the material is? Is it metal?

 

Looking forward to your pictures, once the time is right.

 

Thanks for sharing.

CS388 Thank you! Its very pretty to look at I have to admit.

 

Im no expert but I believe its lacquered metal, much like the 1914 ie not resin, adorned with a real gold leaf as you can see the specs of gold or texture change with the light.

 

Im holding off on my review because first its not officially released but also because Im on my second piece and unable to get the blasted nib to write.

[arcfide]

  On 8/26/2019 at 1:50 PM, Nurmister said:

 

As per appelboom's website, that is the implication. But their description may be off. Once the inks come on the MB website we'll have a more reliable source. Or if someone who has the ink can chime in, that would be good.

 

My wife picked up the ink when she heard me raving about it, so I have a bottle now. It is most certainly a fountain pen ink as far as I can tell. It includes fountain pen instructions, and as I mentioned above, the literature at the store indicates that it is a pigmented carbon black ink, much in the same vein as Platinum Carbon Black.

 

The only thing I see different in the instruction sheet that was included in the box compared to the instruction sheet in some other MB ink I have is at the bottom, below the notice about permanent inks requiring more frequent flushing. In bold below that notice, on the next line, is a statement to the effect of "Do not use in flex nibs." Since this does not look like a booklet that was produced specially for the Elixir inks, I suspect that this is the new tag line for all instruction sheets going forward. I have written to MB to ask them about this line. My general suspicion right now is that all of the inks are fine for all the MB pens provided that you do proper maintenance and wash out the pen frequently in the case of the pigmented and higher particle content inks such as the MB Permanent Black.

[arcfide]

  On 8/26/2019 at 2:16 PM, Pravda said:

 

 

He was talking about the Gold Leaf. I would say the 149 is also naturally limited to some number, whatever it is, but I venture its slightly bigger than the 146 considering that its more popular and also much cheaper.

 

Both the 146 Gold Leaf Solitaire and the 149 Calligraphy say "Special Edition" on the boxes when I looked at them. It does seem reasonable that they would produce more of the 149's.

[arcfide]

  On 8/27/2019 at 5:30 AM, Pravda said:

CS388 Thank you! Its very pretty to look at I have to admit.

 

Im no expert but I believe its lacquered metal, much like the 1914 ie not resin, adorned with a real gold leaf as you can see the specs of gold or texture change with the light.

 

Im holding off on my review because first its not officially released but also because Im on my second piece and unable to get the blasted nib to write.

 

Are you having trouble getting the flex nib to write? I'd be very interested to hear your stories there. All three nibs in the 149 and the single nib in the 146 that I tried wrote well, all flex nibs.

[jagwap]

  On 8/27/2019 at 5:30 AM, Pravda said:

CS388 Thank you! Its very pretty to look at I have to admit.

 

Im no expert but I believe its lacquered metal, much like the 1914 ie not resin, adorned with a real gold leaf as you can see the specs of gold or texture change with the light.

 

Im holding off on my review because first its not officially released but also because Im on my second piece and unable to get the blasted nib to write.

If it is laquered metal, I guess this is a fairly substantial pen to hold? One of the many aspects of the 1914 that I like is that it has quite a presence in the hand despite its size.

 

Pity about the nib playing silly-buggers. I hope you find a joyful solution. I fancy this pen, and a flex nib is the excuse I need if I get on with it on paper.

[arcfide]

  On 8/27/2019 at 10:40 AM, jagwap said:

If it is laquered metal, I guess this is a fairly substantial pen to hold? One of the many aspects of the 1914 that I like is that it has quite a presence in the hand despite its size.

 

Pity about the nib playing silly-buggers. I hope you find a joyful solution. I fancy this pen, and a flex nib is the excuse I need if I get on with it on paper.

 

Having held both the 149 and the 146 in the hand, the 146 Gold leaf is very heavy compared to the resin 149. It's definitely substantial and settles into the hand with a very solid weight. I don't know if this is accurate, but I believe the salesman said that it was lacquered brass as the base metal.

[mjchuang9]

I have practiced the expression flex 149 for a week.

 

At first, I inked the Homer, the line variations can show exactly as the booklet did, without pressure of 0.3mm up to a stroke till 1.3mm , but I felt I would make an effort to achieve that.

 

Then I tried the second one Jacques Herbin Bleu de minuit, which is a much wetter ink, cannot write as thin as 0.3mm, however it skipped sometimes ( skipped in Blue Hour too I don't understand why. May try again later ).

 

Finally I inked J. H. Terre d'Ombre, it writes perfectly with/without pressure. In fact I prefer wetter inks, MB ink is generally neutral, a little bit dry to me.

 

I like to take small notes directly on books, it only can be done by 146 EF, and now I can use the flex too. you will feel a little bit scratchy yet it is an advantage too for small notes.

 

Using the flex is more like sculpture than writing. So be patient !

Edited August 27, 2019 by mjchuang9

[Michael R.]

There are videos available in some of the facebook groups ;-)

[Tom Kellie]

  On 8/27/2019 at 3:39 PM, Michael R. said:

There are videos available in some of the facebook groups ;-)

 

 

~ Michael R.:

 

There are videos showing the flex Expression nib in use?

I ask because Facebook isn't available in the area where I live.

Tom K.