The Meisterstück 149 Calligraphy Appreciation Thread

[fpupulin]

The Meisterstück 149 Calligraphy has certainly represented one of the most unexpected and most authentically innovative novelties presented by Montblanc in recent years. I am not saying this for the tried and tested body of the 149, which is among the most durable classics of the brand, but for the nib with which Montblanc wanted to respond to the growing return of interest in flexible writing and in the traditional nibs with this feature, no longer in production in Hamburg for fifty years.

It is no coincidence that, on the forums dedicated to fountain pens, as well as in the pages of bloggers specialized on these topics, the 149 Calligraphy has accumulated dozens of pages of comments, questions, short and long videos dedicated to the pen itself and its performance, and above all a large number of opinions, sometimes conflicting but often of great interest.

The rank of opinions was highly variable, including a large number of ideas and considerations derived from the daily use of this innovative nib, but also a certain amount of "impressions" without any basis in an actual test of the Calligraphy nib's performance.

Among those who actually own a 149 Calligraphy, the voices of those who have turned to the fans' forums to present some problems, some presumed or real defect of their nib, in search of expert advice, have been more frequent – and this is certainly normal. However, given the novelty of this nib, I imagine that many potential interested in the purchase were simply looking for basic information about a product which they could not have a reservoir of similar experiences to draw on. The result was that if one brings together the many things written on the 149 Calligraphy nib, it ends with the impression that it is an anomalous, unpredictable and somewhat bizarre nib, an instrument with strictly individual characteristics, of which there are no two equal, which does not work well unless after a break-in period and probably not too functional out of the box, too dry, too wet, not flexible enough, and that requires an expert hand for its correct use. Of course, as an overall picture, this is not a very encouraging scenario.

But, as a happy owner of this unique and truly flexible nib, I can say that most of these things are not true. Thanks to Montblanc's experience in the field of pens and nibs, of which I think no one can doubt, the Calligraphy nib of the Meisterstück 149 is a standard nib, with its own well-predictable characteristics, although different from those of other nibs of the Hamburg house. From what I have seen on the net of other Calligraphy nibs, I would say that most of them - if not all - seem to behave roughly like mine. Since Montblanc nibs are manually finished, a certain rank of individual variation must be taken into account, but this is true of all nibs with a handmade component, not specifically for the Calligraphy.

And here is the reason for this topic, a space for all those who use with satisfaction their Calligraphy nib daily and an invitation to tell - and I hope to show - their experiences, so that others can also approach with confidence this interesting tool and, indirectly, support what I consider a commendable commitment by Montblanc to the culture of writing.

For now, I'll start:

[Edo98]

  On 6/7/2020 at 12:39 AM, fpupulin said:

The Meisterstück 149 Calligraphy has certainly represented one of the most unexpected and most authentically innovative novelties presented by Montblanc in recent years. I am not saying this for the tried and tested body of the 149, which is among the most durable classics of the brand, but for the nib with which Montblanc wanted to respond to the growing return of interest in flexible writing and in the traditional nibs with this feature, no longer in production in Hamburg for fifty years.

It is no coincidence that, on the forums dedicated to fountain pens, as well as in the pages of bloggers specialized on these topics, the 149 Calligraphy has accumulated dozens of pages of comments, questions, short and long videos dedicated to the pen itself and its performance, and above all a large number of opinions, sometimes conflicting but often of great interest.

The rank of opinions was highly variable, including a large number of ideas and considerations derived from the daily use of this innovative nib, but also a certain amount of "impressions" without any basis in an actual test of the Calligraphy nib's performance.

Among those who actually own a 149 Calligraphy, the voices of those who have turned to the fans' forums to present some problems, some presumed or real defect of their nib, in search of expert advice, have been more frequent – and this is certainly normal. However, given the novelty of this nib, I imagine that many potential interested in the purchase were simply looking for basic information about a product which they could not have a reservoir of similar experiences to draw on. The result was that if one brings together the many things written on the 149 Calligraphy nib, it ends with the impression that it is an anomalous, unpredictable and somewhat bizarre nib, an instrument with strictly individual characteristics, of which there are no two equal, which does not work well unless after a break-in period and probably not too functional out of the box, too dry, too wet, not flexible enough, and that requires an expert hand for its correct use. Of course, as an overall picture, this is not a very encouraging scenario.

But, as a happy owner of this unique and truly flexible nib, I can say that most of these things are not true. Thanks to Montblanc's experience in the field of pens and nibs, of which I think no one can doubt, the Calligraphy nib of the Meisterstück 149 is a standard nib, with its own well-predictable characteristics, although different from those of other nibs of the Hamburg house. From what I have seen on the net of other Calligraphy nibs, I would say that most of them - if not all - seem to behave roughly like mine. Since Montblanc nibs are manually finished, a certain rank of individual variation must be taken into account, but this is true of all nibs with a handmade component, not specifically for the Calligraphy.

And here is the reason for this topic, a space for all those who use with satisfaction their Calligraphy nib daily and an invitation to tell - and I hope to show - their experiences, so that others can also approach with confidence this interesting tool and, indirectly, support what I consider a commendable commitment by Montblanc to the culture of writing.

For now, I'll start:

Hello

Congratulations for having such a great fountain pen and thanks for sharing your experience with us, by the way your calligraphy is quite beautiful and elegant .

[Croma]

Hello:

Thank you for opening this thread.

In my opinion, I consider Montblanc 149 Expression Nib as the best modern fountain pen with flexible nib on the market. After testing and measuring its flexibility, the nib behaves like a true flexible.
This is likely to show variations in their behavior. In fact, all nibs, even rigid standards, can have differences from one piece to another of the same model. We're talking about something related to the uniformity of a batch of processed metal. There may be little variations, we have to assume it.
However, I agree with you on the fact that it is the first flexible nib that deserves the actual consideration of flexible, with a measured IR of 2, Flexible.

My personal analysis of this model I presented this other thread, including flexibility data (https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/350141-montblanc-meisterstuck-calligraphy-149-expression-nib/).
Best regards.

[fpupulin]

[max dog]

Thanks FPUPULIN for starting this thread.

I think to appreciate the Montblanc Special Edition 149 Calligraphy flex fountain pen, a little context is in order. Ever since I got into fountain pens some 11+ years ago, it seems flex has always been a capability many have desired, but was just not available in new modern fountain pens. If you wanted flex, it was either going vintage or seeking out a good nibmeister who can customize your modern pen for flex. Modern pen manufacturers tended to avoid investing in the extra cost and headache of producing and supporting fountain pens with flex. They probably feared the floodgate of complaints from people use to using ballpoints. The vast majority of the fountain pen users could not do proper flex writing anyway, and most people getting into fountain pens demanded smoothness and a nib that will make a consistent line without fuss.

The few modern fountain pens, touting flex or softness, that were produced did not really exhibit “true” flex that you could get from a dip pen or vintage flex pens, and the few that did have enough softness to give significant line variation just did not have a feed that could supply enough ink to the nib consistently to prevent railroading. Modern attempts at flex usually resulted in a mushy nib that was soft but lacked spring back, and easily sprung, or was way too rigid to allow practical flex writing, and they all railroaded easily. Vintage flex pens yielded great flex and ink flow, but were often very scratchy and wrote like firehoses to be practical as an everyday writer for people use to ease of use of a ballpoint/rollerball.

The magic with the Montblanc 149 flex pen is that it provides the best of both worlds. A well behaved reliable EF nib for normal unflexed everyday writing with vintage flex like ink flow that increases the more you flex and is very resistant to railroading, and has flex with enough snapback that rivals vintage flex performance. It is a soft nib that has enough rigidity to make normal unflexed fast writing easy and practical, while being soft enough to make controllable flex writing easy. For the flex, I could compare it to my vintage Waterman’s Ideal #2 nib. In the 3 months I’ve been using my 149 Calligraphy pen, it has become my reliable everyday work horse, and when I want flex, it is right there for reliable uninterrupted, railroad free, flex writing! And it is one remarkably responsive and tactile nib when writing normally to give some minor line variations in response to the slight writing pressure variances exhibited by your hand.

It is not a pen for everyone. If you want a super smooth writer that writes like your favorite ballpoint and rollerball with a uniform consistent line, this pen is not for you.

A couple of caveats: The nib tines are by design very tight to control ink flow and prevent a firehose effect when normal writing. It needs to be tight to control the ink flow and yield a true EF line for normal writing. The no/light pressure writing will initially yield a very faint line (sometimes appear as hard starts on upstrokes) and exhibit a lot of feedback requiring some pressure to get a wetter line. The nib in my opinion needs a short break in period (1 to 2 weeks of everyday use) to open up a little for a better ink flow that will make the nib smoother and yield a more saturated line when little or no pressure is applied.

Edited to add: In terms of smoothness, when I first go the pen it had feedback comparable to my Pilot Falcon Elabo SF and Aurora Style F. It has smoothed out more since then, and right now it is as smooth as my 146 EF. It is a true EF nib, so it is not going to get as smooth as a typical fine or medium nib.

Edited June 7, 2020 by max dog

[fpupulin]

  On 6/7/2020 at 10:44 PM, max dog said:

 

I think to appreciate the Montblanc Special Edition 149 Calligraphy flex fountain pen, a little context is in order. [...]

 

 

 

Thank you so much, max dog, for sharing with us your experience with the 149 Calligraphy. It is certainly a pen that grows on you, isn't it?

[fpupulin]

[max dog]

  On 6/8/2020 at 1:15 PM, fpupulin said:

 

 

Thank you so much, max dog, for sharing with us your experience with the 149 Calligraphy. It is certainly a pen that grows on you, isn't it?

My pleasure fpupulin! Yes the pen gets more irresistible with use. One bad thing about this pen that others should beware of before getting it is that it tends to make all your other treasured fountain pens obsolete as it continues to grow on you, and you begin to hone your penmanship and flex skills with this pen! I will post some more writing samples later, but of course it won't compare to your beautiful calligraphy lines, but it will be fun.

[fpupulin]

Daily use...

 

For those strange cases of life, my wife and I have been confined by the virus on two different continents... So that I fill a little of my evenings by writing her a letter every day.

 

In the past 82 days, since I purchased my 149 Calligraphy on March 17th, I have written her all my letters with this pen.

 

I would say that, for me, the Calligraphy does her honest duty even for simple daily writing.

 

 

 

Edited June 9, 2020 by fpupulin

[fpupulin]

I almost understand our member mjchuang9, who owns three 149s Calligraphy!

 

Well, maybe three is too much (who knows?), but if money was not an impediment, I would happily purchase another one, to fill with a shady grey ink!

[max dog]

Ink: Montblanc Royal Blue..today

Edited June 9, 2020 by max dog

[max dog]

Montblanc Burgundy Red - (March 22 2020)

Edited June 9, 2020 by max dog

[max dog]

Previously posted - MB Irish Green (March 16 2020)

Edited June 9, 2020 by max dog

[max dog]

From Feb 26 after 2 weeks of use, the nib opened up nicely giving consistent saturated EF line and much more smoothness.

Ink = MB Permanent Blue

[max dog]

  On 6/9/2020 at 12:38 AM, fpupulin said:

I almost understand our member mjchuang9, who owns three 149s Calligraphy!

 

Well, maybe three is too much (who knows?), but if money was not an impediment, I would happily purchase another one, to fill with a shady grey ink!

Indeed, one for my Burgundy Red, and one for Irish Green ink! The Oyster Grey looks amazingly nice used with this nib. Will make more use of MB Grey. I guess it will be the Cool Grey (Oyster Grey replacement). Hopefully it will look as amazing as Oyster Grey does.

[nibtip]

I have both oyster and cool. They are identical. You could also give the spider heritage metamorphosis a try. Though it is a dryer ink. Or more precisely unsaturated.So I dont know how it will behave in this pen.

I am still waiting for my 149 calligraphy.

Ive had nothing but good experience with Montblanc.

Edited June 9, 2020 by nibtip

[fpupulin]

max dog: which ink did you have in the shot of the Calligraphy of February 26th?

[fpupulin]

[max dog]

  On 6/9/2020 at 9:13 AM, nibtip said:

I have both oyster and cool. They are identical. You could also give the spider heritage metamorphosis a try. Though it is a dryer ink. Or more precisely unsaturated.So I dont know how it will behave in this pen.

I am still waiting for my 149 calligraphy.

Ive had nothing but good experience with Montblanc.

Congrats on getting the 149 Calligraphy. Hope it arrives soon, and let us know what you think when you get it. It's good to know about the Cool Grey. My bottle of Oyster Grey I've had for a few years now will require replenishing soon, and will replace it with Cool Grey for sure. I also have a bottle of the Grey Einstein Ink which is a little darker that I really like. Will consider that Spider Heritage Metamorphosis ink. I presume it is one of MBs new special editions.

 

 

  On 6/9/2020 at 7:00 PM, fpupulin said:

max dog: which ink did you have in the shot of the Calligraphy of February 26th?

Hi fpupulin, it is the Montblanc Permanent Blue. Great combo with this pen and Moleskine as it won't bleed even if I flex it on that paper. Impressive ink.

[fpupulin]