The Meisterstück 149 Calligraphy Appreciation Thread

[N1003U]

7 hours ago, fpupulin said:

Prorsus.

[a student]

14 hours ago, fpupulin said:

 

Remarkable display of highly skilled use of the MB 149 Calligraphy indeed.

[a student]

17 hours ago, txomsy said:

To me it sounds like nitpicking. As the article says, the problem is one of design and easy to solve by choosing an appropriate letter form and weight.

 

 

Quite right. Though I think the context as you know is the times when printing had just taken off- the good man Gutenberg may even have been alive! 

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

I am in sheer awe of your writing.

[txomsy]

@fpupulin I see you like to adapt lettering as required. Linguaque.

 

That's even more impressive a feat.

[fpupulin]

The pointed nib is certainly not ideal for writing with gothic characters, but every now and then I enjoy using the Calligraphy for some more unlikely script, like this "elongated" and slim Gothic... 

 

It's like pretending to have only one pen and having to make due with her! 

 

[InesF]

Thank you @fpupulinfor starting this thread and all contributors for sharing your insights. Reading here since spring 2021 (it's quite a bit to read), the love and passion for flex fountain pens in all these contributions inspired me a lot!

 

Starting to write with flex fountain pens in early summer 2021, they quickly became my favourites and I use others (the stiff ones) quite rarely now. However, cursive and italic are still a thing!

 

Although I do not own a MB 149, I feel like home in this thread!

Thank you!

[a student]

18 hours ago, fpupulin said:

The pointed nib is certainly not ideal for writing with gothic characters, but every now and then I enjoy using the Calligraphy for some more unlikely script, like this "elongated" and slim Gothic... 

 

It's like pretending to have only one pen and having to make due with her! 

 

That is precisely why the following piece, all the more remarkable that it was written with 149, seemed to out do the conceivable possibilities and keeps one guessing how it was achieved. Such an accomplishment really!

[fpupulin]

On 10/6/2021 at 9:03 AM, txomsy said:

@fpupulin I see you like to adapt lettering as required. Linguaque.

 

That's even more impressive a feat.

 

[fpupulin]

2 hours ago, a student said:

 

That is precisely why the following piece, all the more remarkable that it was written with 149, seemed to out do the conceivable possibilities and keeps one guessing how it was achieved. Such an accomplishment really!

 

 

Do not forget that this is a flexible nib, and therefore capable of making very broad and narrow strokes. This applies to any possible handwriting. You just press on the verticals and release on the diagonals. Of course, since the nib must open and close the tines on the engrossed strokes, they have a not so crisp start and final as one would require. On this point, the flexible nib will never be able to imitate the sharp line on the vertical strokes that a cut nib is capable of. 

But after all, don't we just do it to play with our pens?

[fpupulin]

Yesterday I took advantage of a quiet Saturday morning to take some pictures of the Calligraphy nib with my stereoscopic microscope. With the microscope equipped with LED lights it is easier to obtain strong magnifications and at the same time keep an accurate control of lighting. I used the Leica stereo to shoot the nib with 1.6x, 2.5x, 4x and 6x magnifications. 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know if the Calligraphy pen, as well as the other Montblanc nibs, is hand-finished. Observing the tip of the nib with the microscope, I was quite amazed by the precision of the processing, the regularity of the curves and bevels, as well as the precision of the transition surfaces between the iridium tip and the gold blade, which is certainly carried out automatically. 

 

 

 

 

As I had my hands on the microscope, I also took some photographs of the nib that has the most beautiful design among those in my collection, the Montblanc Writers Edition Alexandre Dumas. Under the scope, it looks truly magnificent. I am presenting it into another thread, as the Dumas does not belong here...

[maclink]

Fantastic images. The MB nib grinds are some of the best I’ve seen. 

[scud80]

Wow those pics are great!  I only recently started looking for one of these ... hoping to find one around retail sometime.  This would be my only flex nib, so I'm sure the learning curve will take a while to surmount.

[txomsy]

12 hours ago, scud80 said:

Wow those pics are great!  I only recently started looking for one of these ... hoping to find one around retail sometime.  This would be my only flex nib, so I'm sure the learning curve will take a while to surmount.

You can prepare yourself trying first with a dip-pen nib. An introductory level one, like the Zebra-G may provide enough practice and, who knows, maybe you like it so much that you do not miss the MB Calligraphy if you cannot find it.

[torstar]

😀

 

I couldn't even dream of achieving the things on here....

[fpupulin]

Echoes from an ancient world...

 

The Calligraphy may confer some expressivity also to my rusted Greek...

 

[fpupulin]

Pseudo-calligraphic Greek, with a little push by the little demon (bleep)...

 

[como]

@fpupulin Franco, it's amazing that you did all these different scripts with just one pen! Obviously switching in and out of different languages is also no issue for you 🙂

 

I have been trying to write Spencerian uppercases. I finally got to a point when I start to enjoy these big curves (though still no easy task for me)!

 

Paper: Fabriano Ingres

Ink: MB Royal Blue

[Jreugenl]

This thread is a huge inspiration. Thank you all for your contributions! I now own 2 of these pens. Mostly I use them for drawing. Something I do without so much skill but with much joy  

 

 

 

[fpupulin]

On 10/19/2021 at 2:51 AM, como said:

@fpupulin Franco, it's amazing that you did all these different scripts with just one pen! Obviously switching in and out of different languages is also no issue for you 🙂

 

I have been trying to write Spencerian uppercases. I finally got to a point when I start to enjoy these big curves (though still no easy task for me)!

 

Paper: Fabriano Ingres

Ink: MB Royal Blue

My dear friend, this is extraordinarily good!! Taking control over the hand to trace large curves is without any doubt one of the more difficult aspects of calligraphy. 

Tracing large calligraphic letters is like piloting an helicopter, where you have to control contemporarily the four horizontal directions of the sheet, plus the “vertical” axis of the hand pressure. 

 

Your control of the horizontal movement, and at the same time your notable lightness of the hand,  are truly remarkable. Well done, como!

 

Your 149 Calligraphy must be very proud of what you push her to do!