Montblanc 149 Calligraphy Nib: A Personal View For Those Still On The Fence

[Frank C]

35 minutes ago, Wolverine1 said:

Thanks, FrankC for the info.  I am in Michigan, so, I will follow your advice and contact MB directly and try to get myself a Calligraphy 149 pen. Thanks again.

Most Wolverines are in Michigan, I believe. Although there is a Wolverine who goes to my church here in Las Vegas. I do know that my local boutique at the Palazzo Hotel had a 146 on Tuesday of this week. That is a smaller pen and the smaller nib doesn't have the range of the 149 nib. It is also more expensive than the 149. They have a 146 tester at the boutique and I tried it; it's not the same. Boutiques are getting the 149s from time to time, you just have to catch them at the right time. I will add that it is worth the effort. My 149 Calligraphy is a very useful Extra-Fine nib when I'm not flexing it. I'm just now learning how to take full advantage of the flex. If MB USA isn't able to help you, there are several European stores that have the pens in stock. The price, with shipping and customs is a little more than in the USA with state taxes added. 

[Wolverine1]

Thanks, Frank. Yes I am a Wolverine, I attended college at the Univ of Michigan and was a letterman in track and cross-country. So, I am a very proud Wolverine.. GO BLUE!!!!! :):):)

 

I am a bit under the weather, had eye surgery in my right eye on Monday, but by next week I should be OK< and I will look at the different pen vendors in Europe, and also see if MB in the USA can help me get a 149 Calligraphy with a fine nib.  Thank you again.

-Sid

[fpupulin]

As I finished the fill of the Blue Permanent ink in my pen, and after washing her thoroughly, I decided to give the Aurora Black a try, to share with you my impressions of this ink and its behavior with the Calligraphy nib. I used it on the quite cheap paper of the Moleskine ruled cahier, which I use to most, on a more fountain pen-friendly paper by Graf von Faber Castell, and on a high-quality laid paper. Eventually, on the same papers, I compared the Aurora Black with Montblanc's Black Permanent, one of my inks of choice.

 

 

In the first image, you can see the same letter written, from left to right, with Montblanc Blue Permanent, Aurora Black, and Permanent Black. It is possible to observe quite clearly how with both permanent Montblanc colors the Calligraphy nib can release a thinner stroke than it produces using the Aurora Black, which is much more fluid. In the next image, which shows the reverse of the sheet, it is also possible to observe how Aurora Black is the only one of the three inks that bleeds through the Moleskine paper.

 

 

A comparison of writing follows, always on the same paper. 

 

 

Here we can see, first of all, how the Black Permament is decidedly blacker than the Aurora Black in terms of darkness. Also in this more extensive text, Black Permanent is the ink that makes the most of the Calligraphy pen's ability to trace extra-fine lines. The Aurora bleeds through the page, as you may observe in the nest shot, while the Montblanc never crosses the fibers of the paper. 

 

 

Furthermore the Black Permanent, being denser, does not feather, while there is a noticeable feathering by the Aurora Black. An enlargement of part of the texts reveals this clearly.

 

Top, Aurora; bottom, Montblanc

 

The feathering of the Aurora is still visible, although less pronounced, in the following image, with a couple of lines written on Graf von Faber Castell paper. In this case, I haven't photographed the back of the sheet, but here too there is a fair bleeding of the Aurora, absent in the text written with Black Permanent. 

 

]

 

Neither inks bleed through on good quality paper, as was to be expected. Even in this image, however, it is possible to observe how the Black Permanent is darker, more black, and allows to trace finer strokes.

 

 

In the last shot, it can also be seen that the color of the Montbalnc ink is more neutral, while the Aurora Black has a slightly greenish tint. Under tap water, when washing it from the pen, the Aurora shows a purple undertone, which completely absent in Montblanc ink.

 

 

In conclusions, for my tastes and for my use of it, Montblanc's Black Permanent is a decidedly preferable ink. I find it superior in terms of darkness, color neutrality, and absence of feathering and bleeding through all types of paper, including the less sophisticated ones that I use most frequently.

[maclink]

@fpupulin Thanks for that. I'm a growing fan of MB Permanent Black as well, though for different reasons.  The demonstration has been great, especially the inks favourable behaviour regarding bleed-through.  

[invisuu]

Thank you fpupulin, that was a great post! Do you shake the bottle before filling?

 

I simply do not understand how it is possible I get so different results from you. This isn't to imply I do not believe you (!), I'm just really curious. I will try to do the same tests you did on my side again, to verify.

 

EDIT: Permanent Black is indeed blacker than Aurora from my testing as well. This person here did a digital comparison of black inks and found Permanent Black to be the blackest ink next to Noodler's Polar Black of them all actually:

 

Ink Comparison: 32 Black Inks — Macchiato Man

[agentdaffy007]

Thx for the comparison between Aurora and MB.

 

Anybody tried Sailor Kiwa Guro Nano Black?

[maclink]

5 hours ago, agentdaffy007 said:

Thx for the comparison between Aurora and MB.

 

Anybody tried Sailor Kiwa Guro Nano Black?

 

Yes. That’s a fabulous ink as well. What I like about Kiwa Guro is how it flows. The texture is special. It’s thicker than the regular inks but yet handles well. I would use it more often but spillage and regular handling is a bit more tedious as for pigmented inks or any permanent ink for that matter.  MB permanent black is my current default permanent ink since it’s clear from my experience with it that MB put a lot of effort with success, in making this ink fountain pen friendly.  

[Frank C]

Thank you Franco and others for posting here. My pen ran out of MB Permanent Black yesterday. After a soak and rinse, it was ready for a refill today. I have my bottle of Aurora Black—one of my favorites—on the counter in preparation for filling it. I had a few things to do in the meantime and I logged onto FPN. I'm glad I did. I'm going to stick with MB Permanent Black for now. 

 

Thanks also for posting the link to Macchiato Man's review of black ink. I am always on the hunt for the "perfect" black ink. MB Permanent Black may be it. 

[agentdaffy007]

My favorite ink for the MB 149 Calligraphy is the Sailor Sei-Boku. I am tempted to buy the Sailor Kiwa-Guro for it.

 

I have Pelikan 4001 Black, it makes my pen write real dry.

 

J.Herbin Perle Noire, too wet, my pen writes like a Medium.

 

Aurora Black, I will not even going to attempt.

[Dankoh69]

On 3/18/2020 at 7:32 AM, fpupulin said:

In less than a week I finished the first "full" of ink in my new 149 Calligraphy. I must admit that the pen has seen a lot of action ...

 

Now, taking advantage of the empty barrel and before refilling with a classic black ink, I rinsed the nib to try it with a bit of color (nothing bright), and here is the result of the Calligraphy nib with Graf von Faber Castell Deep Sea Green on the bambagina cotton paper. Wow! I like it...

 

 

 

Very nice penmanship indeed. And the green is amazing...

[Dankoh69]

On 3/18/2020 at 3:31 PM, Thymen said:

I look at your handwriting..... then I look at mine ....

I can understand how you feel... 😭

[Dankoh69]

On 5/8/2020 at 3:11 AM, TheDutchGuy said:

 

Thank you! Without going into details, I basically need to re-learn how to write. It’s challenging and will take time, but perseverance is my middle name and that should pay off in the end.

Stay strong... fight on...