The Meisterstück 149 Calligraphy Appreciation Thread

[fpupulin]

2 hours ago, maclink said:

Fabulous! What ink were you using there?

I forgot to answer your question. The ink is MB Blue Permanent.

[Tasmith]

2 hours ago, fpupulin said:

A dear friend of mine, and exquisite botanical painter, gifted me for Christmas some handmade papers produced in a French paper mill I didn't know existed, the Moulin de Larroque.

I got two types, one laid paper with envelopes in A4 format, which I haven't tried yet, and this "Lys" paper, a 250 g papier d'art in the 25 x 16 cm format. Spectacular!

 

 

The sign of the pen
is a thread that unravels
from the boundaries of soul

Inspires me to start practicing Copperplate again.  Got out of the routine this past summer.

[invisuu]

MB permanent blue became my favorite ink overnight, even though I don't even like blue inks generally speaking, and I've tried well over 150 inks so far. It's amazing. MB permanent black is also a great ink, but it's "just" black, whereas I find the permanent blue shades beautifully and has a very nice, purple-less shade. I personally hate blue inks with purple-ish tints - they remind me of Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue which I was forced to use for well over 10 years! Nothing against the ink, it's a perfectly fine ink, but it's the enforcement at school that made me hate it. Permanent blue flows even better than permanent black; I find it easier to control, and the permanent black a tad bit more "flowy". I'm saying flowy to indicate a bigger flow and not wetness, because I correlate wetness with water content and the permanent black is extremely black, not watered down at all. Definitely one of the blackest inks out there.

 

Anyway, I've got something very exciting to share, and I will finally no longer be just a taker in this thread, but also a contributor. I don't know when this changed, or if it even has changed for all Montblanc 149s, but the nib unit can be unscrewed easily without any tools whatsoever. It's not glued in there at all. Just press the nib firmly, but gently, with your thumb and the feed with your index finger, and unscrew it counter-clockwise. This WILL NOT misalign your nib, as the feed and the nib are a single unit! This gives you easy access to the barrel to clean out, lube the piston, or even swap the nib to some other pen body, if you are so inclined.

[Inkyways]

15 hours ago, invisuu said:

MB permanent blue became my favorite ink overnight, even though I don't even like blue inks generally speaking, and I've tried well over 150 inks so far. It's amazing. MB permanent black is also a great ink, but it's "just" black, whereas I find the permanent blue shades beautifully and has a very nice, purple-less shade. I personally hate blue inks with purple-ish tints - they remind me of Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue which I was forced to use for well over 10 years! Nothing against the ink, it's a perfectly fine ink, but it's the enforcement at school that made me hate it. Permanent blue flows even better than permanent black; I find it easier to control, and the permanent black a tad bit more "flowy". I'm saying flowy to indicate a bigger flow and not wetness, because I correlate wetness with water content and the permanent black is extremely black, not watered down at all. Definitely one of the blackest inks out there.

 

Anyway, I've got something very exciting to share, and I will finally no longer be just a taker in this thread, but also a contributor. I don't know when this changed, or if it even has changed for all Montblanc 149s, but the nib unit can be unscrewed easily without any tools whatsoever. It's not glued in there at all. Just press the nib firmly, but gently, with your thumb and the feed with your index finger, and unscrew it counter-clockwise. This WILL NOT misalign your nib, as the feed and the nib are a single unit! This gives you easy access to the barrel to clean out, lube the piston, or even swap the nib to some other pen body, if you are so inclined.

How do do you unscrew the Nib unite from 146/149 without a tool??? I know it can be done with a adjusted (hand made -hair pin tool )  I need my all pens to get cleaned and r-Lube  the pistons. Thank you the answer!!

[invisuu]

26 minutes ago, Inkyways said:

How do do you unscrew the Nib unite from 146/149 without a tool??? I know it can be done with a adjusted (hand made -hair pin tool )  I need my all pens to get cleaned and r-Lube  the pistons. Thank you the answer!!

It is also my understanding that the nib unit is glued in and requires additionally a tool for this task.

 

I don't know if this has changed for all pens or just the calligraphy, nor if there's a cutoff date when they have made the change, but the calligraphy 149s can be screwed in and out with hands alone easily, just like Pelikan's pens.
 

There's really nothing to it, you just press the nib firmly, but gently, and unscrew it. That's it.

[Inkyways]

All right then . 🙂  You were talking about the MB Calligraphy pen and it can be easily clean by removing the nibs by un screwing !!!!

My pens are several  vintage  MBs of 146 and 149 They have that locking latches  two security grooves to unscrew. I'll try with a paper clip tools one day as the tools available  for this is a bit expensive to my budget. Thanks for the answer!!!

[invisuu]

You are right. That's why I'm so excited. It means I can service my pen easily myself without sending it to Montblanc - at least the simple stuff like removing ink staining, lubricating the piston, etc. As far as I know, that is only the case with the calligraphy Montblanc 149s, but perhaps I am mistaken? I know for sure that just a few years ago, this wasn't possible for any of the Montblanc pens.

[Uncial]

News for Burgundy fans - the new calligraphy MB Solitaire in burgundy gradiated lacquer has finally arrived and is now on sale. Calligraphy model seems very, very limited. 

 

....I failed to resist.

[fpupulin]

I tried the new laid, handmade paper that I received as a gift for Christmas, produced in France by an artisan paper mill called Moulin de Larroque.

 

It is splendid, with some inclusions of grouped fibers which, if touched by the ink, transform it into a half-centimeter stain ... Like the paper of the past, that of the eighteenth century.

 

I used my trusty Calligraphy, which for the first time I tried with an ink that I find beautiful, produced by Rohrer & Klingner in Leipzig, the Alt Gold-Grün (which I translate as Old Golden Green). The behavior of the flexible nib of the Calligraphy is flawless even with this ink, and even when I oblige it to a style of writing that is not the most suitable for a pointed nib: a modified Gothic.

 

[N1003U]

4 hours ago, fpupulin said:

I tried the new laid, handmade paper that I received as a gift for Christmas, produced in France by an artisan paper mill called Moulin de Larroque.

 

It is splendid, with some inclusions of grouped fibers which, if touched by the ink, transform it into a half-centimeter stain ... Like the paper of the past, that of the eighteenth century.

 

I used my trusty Calligraphy, which for the first time I tried with an ink that I find beautiful, produced by Rohrer & Klingner in Leipzig, the Alt Gold-Grün (which I translate as Old Golden Green). The behavior of the flexible nib of the Calligraphy is flawless even with this ink, and even when I oblige it to a style of writing that is not the most suitable for a pointed nib: a modified Gothic.

 

Lovely calligraphy, @fpupulin (as usual), and I agree, Alt Goldgrün is a beautiful ink. Rohrer & Klingner inks are IME great quality and a great value.

[Uncial]

That paper looks great.

I like your Omega too.

[fpupulin]

[como]

Here are some criteria I considered while evaluating a modern flex pen:

 

- True Extra Fine

- Flex

- Versatile (workable with different inks and paper)

- Robust

- Ink flow

- Snapback

 

I ended up with 149C (and now a 146C too) and a Pilot Custom 912 with Spencerian grind.

 

The 149C/146C score high on all but the Snapback. While it's good, Pilot 912 Spencerian is slightly better. The problem with the Pilot 912 Spencerian is that it is only meant to write Spencerian script with (this nibs.com says so on its website), so I can't really use it on any of the beautiful artisanal fibrous paper (Fabriano Unica, Amalfi...). The ink flow is problematic at times. I think it's more than just the plastic feed issue. When material is ground away at the back side of the FA nib to add flex, it doesn't always deliver a perfect capillary action. So on Versatility, Robustness, Ink Flow, I strongly prefer 149C/146C. I play with 149C a lot more than the Pilot 912 Spencerian, as it has much more paper options. On Tomoe River paper 52gsm (and surely many other smooth paper that I don't have), it's very much fun and pleasure to write with Pilot 912 Spencerian. So please take your paper preference into consideration too when you make a choice. I won't go into the design preference of the pens. Each to his/her own.

 

Edit: Sorry I meant to post the above in the "MB released 146 Flex in resin" post.

Edited January 13, 2022 by como
posted in the wrong post

[lionelc]

wrong thread, i was looking for comparisons -  have found my answers on the 146 calligraphy thread

[Anthony4579]

 After following many threads on this forum for recommendations, advice, and just enjoyment I finally decided to post.  I have been collecting pens for more than 40 years, everything from ballpoints and roller balls to fountain pens. Until the last few years fountain pens were more the exception in my collection. I still have my very first fountain pen bought 40+ years ago, a Montblanc Classique that the resin split apart on from what I think is age.  That pen like many others came out of trips to visit the city where my mother was born Hamburg, Germany. As luck would have it one of my uncle’s customers (he had a tool and die business) was Montblanc. I have a silver barley ballpoint I was able to buy during a visit to the Montblanc facility in Hamburg back in the 80’s.  Since I always found fountain pens to be less convenient for note taking in school and subsequently work my collection primarily focused on other writind modes.  However over the past few years that started to change and I started to build up my collection of fountain pens (Aurora, Montblanc, Parker, Sailor). My interest in different types of nibs also began to be piqued especially due to the various threads in this forum. That led me to really wanting to get my hands on a 149C and after much hunting, some fortunate luck and help I was able to land one this past week (then got crazy lucky and landed a 146C). The attached image is from a very amateurish attempt to use the 149C, clearly exposing very little of the pens capabilities. But I look forward to learning how to get the most out of this fantastic nib and to learn more from this forum as well as to now participate.

[DvdRiet]

17 minutes ago, Anthony4579 said:

 After following many threads on this forum for recommendations, advice, and just enjoyment I finally decided to post.  I have been collecting pens for more than 40 years, everything from ballpoints and roller balls to fountain pens. Until the last few years fountain pens were more the exception in my collection. I still have my very first fountain pen bought 40+ years ago, a Montblanc Classique that the resin split apart on from what I think is age.  That pen like many others came out of trips to visit the city where my mother was born Hamburg, Germany. As luck would have it one of my uncle’s customers (he had a tool and die business) was Montblanc. I have a silver barley ballpoint I was able to buy during a visit to the Montblanc facility in Hamburg back in the 80’s.  Since I always found fountain pens to be less convenient for note taking in school and subsequently work my collection primarily focused on other writind modes.  However over the past few years that started to change and I started to build up my collection of fountain pens (Aurora, Montblanc, Parker, Sailor). My interest in different types of nibs also began to be piqued especially due to the various threads in this forum. That led me to really wanting to get my hands on a 149C and after much hunting, some fortunate luck and help I was able to land one this past week (then got crazy lucky and landed a 146C). The attached image is from a very amateurish attempt to use the 149C, clearly exposing very little of the pens capabilities. But I look forward to learning how to get the most out of this fantastic nib and to learn more from this forum as well as to now participate.

 

Congratulations! It's a beauty!

[como]

@Anthony4579 Congratulations on your new 149C and 146C! Have fun with them!

@fpupulin Can people who have 146C also join here in this thread? I bought one and feel that both pens have the same nib characteristics. A separate thread will not be nearly as much fun without you, and it will be about an almost same pen just smaller 🙂.

[fpupulin]

5 hours ago, Anthony4579 said:

 After following many threads on this forum for recommendations, advice, and just enjoyment I finally decided to post.  I have been collecting pens for more than 40 years, everything from ballpoints and roller balls to fountain pens. Until the last few years fountain pens were more the exception in my collection. I still have my very first fountain pen bought 40+ years ago, a Montblanc Classique that the resin split apart on from what I think is age.  That pen like many others came out of trips to visit the city where my mother was born Hamburg, Germany. As luck would have it one of my uncle’s customers (he had a tool and die business) was Montblanc. I have a silver barley ballpoint I was able to buy during a visit to the Montblanc facility in Hamburg back in the 80’s.  Since I always found fountain pens to be less convenient for note taking in school and subsequently work my collection primarily focused on other writind modes.  However over the past few years that started to change and I started to build up my collection of fountain pens (Aurora, Montblanc, Parker, Sailor). My interest in different types of nibs also began to be piqued especially due to the various threads in this forum. That led me to really wanting to get my hands on a 149C and after much hunting, some fortunate luck and help I was able to land one this past week (then got crazy lucky and landed a 146C). The attached image is from a very amateurish attempt to use the 149C, clearly exposing very little of the pens capabilities. But I look forward to learning how to get the most out of this fantastic nib and to learn more from this forum as well as to now participate.

A great, great couple of pens you bought, Anthony! They will give you years of fun and satisfaction. Congratulations!

[fpupulin]

1 hour ago, como said:

@Anthony4579 Congratulations on your new 149C and 146C! Have fun with them!

@fpupulin Can people who have 146C also join here in this thread? I bought one and feel that both pens have the same nib characteristics. A separate thread will not be nearly as much fun without you, and it will be about an almost same pen just smaller 🙂.

Would you open an appreciation thread on the 146 Calligraphy, I think it would be great and that pen absolutely deserve it. We would have two german threads, for great utility of both owners and perspective owners of these extraordinary pens. 
Of course, I could not post on the 146 thread, but I would certainly be one of the most assiduous readers!

Go ahead, my friend.

[como]

@fpupulin Thank you for your kind words. I will not start a 146C thread. It would be about a pen same as 149C but smaller, AND without all the beautiful calligraphy works and photographs that you do here. Just me repeatedly showing photos with terrible lighting, composition and boring (and even awful) chicken scratches. 😀 No, really, I'd better not! I will just hang around here, if you don't mind. 🙂 I will leave that to some of our more capable members here.