Montblanc 149 Nibs

[Barry Gabay]

Whatever name is used for them ( Hebrew, Arabic, architect) certain EF and F Montblanc nibs from a few decades ago have a distinctive wedge-shaped iridium tip. They give a wide horizontal and narrow vertical line. When I first got one, an F nib 149 purchased 1981, I didn't really like the effect. The writing appeared strange because it was the opposite of conventional nib flexibility or softness which produced wide vertical and narrow horizontal. Now, these nibs are among my favorite 149 nibs.

 

Pictured below are three 149 nibs which are wedge shaped. L to R, they date from early 1980s, late 1970s, mid-1980s. The writing samples shown are in the same order. Although it may not appear so clear in the samples, the nibs do produce the effect of what is currently termed architect. Also shown are my wife's two 144 nibs. They date from 1990s and have the same characteristic nib.

By the way, does someone know the origin of the term "architect nib"? I have heard stories, but nothing definitive. I assume it is a misnomer, though catchy. The architects and civil engineers I knew years ago used Rapidograph, Rotring, an Osmiroid stylographic needle-point pens for extremely thin lines. They did not want any line variety whatsoever.

 

Stay healthy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[fpupulin]

Here, Barry, is a macro shot of my most recent EF nib on a 149. The pen was of 1988, and during service the original ebonite feeder was replaced by a plastic one (with the typical letter "C" of the after-service plastic feeders).

 

On the shot from the rear, you can easily see how the diagonal cut at the nib tip is longer than wider, and this confers to Montblanc extra-fine nibs their so-called "architect" character.

 

 

My EF nib of 1977-78, as well as the nib of my Hemingway (standard 149 nib of 1992, the first three-toned again), are exactly the same. I do not own any extra-fine 149 younger than these, but I bet they must be very similar, as I strongly suspect that this kind of "cut" is simply Montblanc's concept of an extra-fine tip.

 

I was quite happily surprised by the recent release of the 149 Calligraphy with her extra-fine, flexible nib, because the geometry of this nib is really different and the tip is not at all cut the "architect" way, but its much smaller and quite "round" both from above and seen from the side.

 

I will try to accurately photograph the Calligraphy in the next days, to offer a comparison.

 

Stay safe.

 

 

P.S. Which nib you got on your recently acquired 149 Platinum?

Edited April 30, 2020 by fpupulin

[Barry Gabay]

Thank you for those great photos, fpupulin. The detail is excellent. I believe you are correct about Montblanc's design & production of EF nibs. There are also F nibs which have the same iridium characteristics producing wide horizontal and narrow vertical.

 

The 149 Platinum had a lovely, very narrow EF nib which was rounded evenly to produce a consistent line with no variation. I sold it to someone in March to help finance a 149 Calligraphy model. I hope get that model once stores reopen, along with another 149 Platinum. These would be my two major purchases for the year.

 

Stay healthy. Your contributions here are always a beautiful education. Thank you again.

[fpupulin]

Thank you for those great photos, fpupulin. The detail is excellent. I believe you are correct about Montblanc's design & production of EF nibs. There are also F nibs which have the same iridium characteristics producing wide horizontal and narrow vertical.

 

The 149 Platinum had a lovely, very narrow EF nib which was rounded evenly to produce a consistent line with no variation. I sold it to someone in March to help finance a 149 Calligraphy model. I hope get that model once stores reopen, along with another 149 Platinum. These would be my two major purchases for the year.

 

Stay healthy. Your contributions here are always a beautiful education. Thank you again.

 

Dear Barry:

 

I am glad that you decide to give a try to the Calligraphy, and I am sure you will not regret it. In my very humble opinion, this nib is the most exciting true novelty Montblanc has presented in years, and we are lucky that they decide to offer it on the simple body of a 149, which has resisted with grace the test of time, with no frills. You will like it, because it is different from any another modern nib made by Montblanc, and in a way different also from the splendid flexible nibs of their pens until the Sixties.

 

Against the warnings expressed by some sellers about its safety for the pen, I am using my Calligraphy with MB Black Permanent ink, and the duo is so good that I can not put the pen at rest...

 

More glad again to know that you will reacquire the Platinum 149. It is a gorgeous pen with a sophisticated color scheme and I am sure that you will treasure her.

 

Take care, and thank you for posting here.

[BlueJ]

Barry, in answer to your question:

 

By the way, does someone know the origin of the term "architect nib"?

 

I recall reading that some famous architect, possibly Frank Lloyd Wright himself, favored this kind of nib, or at least this style of lettering (broad horizontals and narrow verticals) for text appearing on his architectural diagrams, or for other documents. I am confident the actual lines in the drawings were uniformly thin.

 

I think this was discussed on FPN but cannot track down the post now. Perhaps others can find the information.

Regards,

J

[Michael R.]

Some close-ups from my 149 nibs. Different generations of the finer nibs; not sure if all are extra-fines.

 

'hope you like them :-)

 

P1530250 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530252 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530256 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530259 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530260 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530261 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530262 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530263 by pensninks, auf Flickr

[Michael R.]

P1530271 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530275 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530277 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530308 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530307 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530313 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530332 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530338 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530337 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530339 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530340 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530356 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530361 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530383 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530386 by pensninks, auf Flickr

Cheers

 

Michael

Edited May 2, 2020 by Michael R.

[Aysedasi]

Amazingly good photos Michael.....

[Michael R.]

thank you :-)

[fpupulin]

Extraordinarily well-taken and much interesting photos, Michael!

 

It seems that the "architect grind" changed a lot along time. It is much less pronounced in the 14C nibs (I guess from the end of the Sixties to mid-Seventies), which according to your pics are much more flat on the underside, so that the tip has just a small curvature.

 

It is then very pronounced in the nibs of the late Seventies and probably until the Nineties. So much so that the iridium tip is strongly flattened laterally, and almost the full length of the iridium is used to confer to the tip its characteristic curvature, which is responsible for the "architect effect".

 

If the first nib you shoot after the Calligraphy is, as I guess, a quite recent nib (this century), the "architecture grind" and the associated lateral compression of the tip is still very evident in recent production.

 

This kind of nib with quite long tines and laterally flattened tip, made with a long and smooth curvature on the lower part of the iridium, is what I associate with the "Montblanc extra-fine concept".

 

It is quite clear from your photographs that this shape was introduced at some point, probably during the Seventies.

 

The recent Calligraphy (thank you for the great shots) is somewhat a revival of Montblanc's tips of the Sixties and early Seventies, with virtually no lateral compression of the iridium and, as a consequence, a curvature with a much shorter arc on the tip, which produces an almost identical line width in both the vertical and horizontal strokes.

 

Very, very informative images.

 

[Michael R.]

You are very accurate on "dating" my pens ;-)

 

The Calligraphy indeed has an interesting shape and is pretty much flat underneath. So it almost looks like it is a combination of at least a few nib grinds used before.

 

The next one is my most recent regular nib; a three tone 18K nib. The same is true for the last one installed in a 139 tribute pen combined with a 60s ebonite feed.

The others belong to 60s and 70s pen. I hope those are easy to put in chronological order as the feed is always correct for those periods of time.

 

The one before the last one - with loss of plating - might be a fine nib, but I'm not sure. Maybe it was worked on before and does not show the same state anymore compared to leaving the factory.

 

I'm surprised that most 149s I own are fitted with extra fine nibs! Since I picked those based on the different time-frame features and whenever I cannot withstand great deal rather than nib size.

Lovely pens.

 

Glad you like the pictures :-)

Cheers

 

Michael

[TheDutchGuy]

Wonderful images, thank you! Whatever one may think of architect grinds, the craftsmanship needed to make such nibs is obvious from your photos.

[fpupulin]

So, today I had the chance to photograph, side bi side two extra-fine nibs that I can date with precision.

 

The first I bought ion December 1978, so It should be of that year or maybe 1977. The other I bought new in 2020, so it was produced this year or maybe in 2019.

 

In these photographs I have included a larger part of the nib because I was interested in showing you that not only the tip is differently shaped, but that the two nibs have a very different general geometry. The large wings of the Calligraphy are someway reminding of the 149 nibs made during the Fifties and Sixties, with the large, very curved wings of the tines that produced a distinct flexibility.

 

 

 

 

You will probably note that my EF nib of 1978 is thinner, at the tip, than the Calligraphy nib, and in theory it would be capable of vertical strokes finer that the latter. Actually, the flow of this nib is more conspicuous and this, associated with the large horizontal strokes, produces a final effect that its much less extra-fine than the Calligraphy.

 

In the first photograph you may also appreciate that the slit of the Calligraphy nib is much narrower toward the tip, with the two tines pushed very much against each other, to reduce the flow and allow the very fine line of which this nib is capable. As the tines of the Calligraphy spread out with the softest pressure, the flow increase and a much broader line can be traced, with a behavior typical of a flexible nib.

Edited May 2, 2020 by fpupulin

[fpupulin]

I am also including two composites with the four views of the two nibs, as a visual reference of their unique geometry.

 

 

[fpupulin]

[...]

 

I recall reading that some famous architect, possibly Frank Lloyd Wright himself, favored this kind of nib, or at least this style of lettering (broad horizontals and narrow verticals) for text appearing on his architectural diagrams [...].

Regards,

J

 

 

I found a similar statement in the AD of a pen sold through the web, but I found it through WorthPoint, to which I am not subscribed, so I could not retrieve the original posted page. I quote textually:

 

"The nib is made of 18kt gold and its stroke is Architect's, its particularity is that the vertical lines are much thinner than the horizontal and this gives the writing a very special character, really a spectacular fountain pen.A more exotic regrind is that to Architect’s Point. Named after the style of writing used by Frank Lloyd Wright, this regrind is the opposite of cursive italic, and provides for broad cross-strokes and narrow down-strokes. This also tends to be a particularly useful customization for those practicing Arabic or Hebraic calligraphy."

 

The last part of the sentence is however extracted from a presentation by nibs.com of the different types of nib tips existing.

 

 

It would be interesting to go back to the original source of Lloyd Wright's statements about his preferences in fountain pens nibs, but I have been unable to find any further information on the web.

[Barry Gabay]

What dramatic photos, MichaelR & fpupulin! They are stunning.Thank you very much. I agree that the nibs from late 1970s (two-tone 14C nib & solid ebonite feed) and into early 1980s ( two-tone 14C nib & split ebonite feed) show the most characteristic contrast of width in the horizontal and narrow vertical.

 

The quote by fpupulin, I believe, describes the nib in question with absolute accuracy. "This kind of nib with quite long tines and laterally flattened tip, made with a long and smooth curvature on the lower part of the iridium, is what I associate with the "Montblanc extra-fine concept"." In total agreement, I would only add that I first encountered this nib on a149 purchased new in the box with its nib width sticker "F" in late 1981.

 

Found this link to Wright's handwriting. http://www.aspghandwriting.org/main/ASPGAnalysis_FWright.html

[niksch]

I love this topic. I have a couple of EFs in early '60s models that give a very narrow vertical stroke, and much wider horizontal stroke.