The Meisterstück 149 Calligraphy Appreciation Thread

[fpupulin]

14 hours ago, Uncial said:

[...] I feel I'm now at the point where I'm really admiring the engineering of the thing. I'm very impressed that they've been able to pull off the seemingly impossible. [...] 

 

Just that, Uncial! The Calligraphy nib is a fine engineering tool, and it is fortunate that Montblanc is committed to producing something that we would hardly have hoped possible. Moreover, judging by the slowness with which Calligraphy nibs are produced and distributed, it is legitimate to assume that their manufacture is anything but easy, in terms of production.

[maclink]

23 hours ago, dftr said:

The Spencerian nib is clearly the better tool if you wanted to learn or focus on spencerian writing,

 

I think this matters with the size of your writing.  While learning Spencarian during this last week while on a break from work, I  started with writing lower case lettering at 4+mm, then the size was reduced to 3mm while writing upper case letters 9-10mm in height.  My Pilot Falcon with a soft-fine nib and filled with Sailor Kiwaguro definitely performed better when I tried to produce line variation with that size writing. The falcon nib is stiffer and the ink flow more responsive to pressure in that easing pressure, correspondingly eases ink flow.  With the 149C filled with MB permanent black, the ink flow isn't as nuanced.  Even though the pressure on the nib is definitely less, the line width isn't as correspondingly reduced as with the Pilot Falcon.

 

Things however changed when I tried some text with 10mm lowercase and 30mm uppercase lettering.  I could then producing nice line variation with the 149C.  I'm quite sure the paper, ink and paper combination yield different results and this requires as much exploration and attention as with technique with using the pen. 

 

The 146C, which I managed to get a hold of as well (I made an order on this one when getting the 149C was in question.  Since I was so pleased with the 149C, I did not cancel the order on the 146C), the nib offers more resistance than the 149C when flexing and with MB Toffee Brown, I can produce nice line variation even with smaller text so this provides more intrigue.

[fpupulin]

Here I wrote a few lines with the 149 Calligraphy, with various X-heights, between 10 and 2.5 mm.

 

 

In my opinion, in writing with a pointed pen, the main thing to learn is to keep the hand light, very light, on the ascenders. To get acceptable results, you need to do some exercise, but don't think these are exhausting exercises.

To give an idea, I "play" with my pens, when I'm not too tired, half an hour before going to bed, and sometimes a little more on weekends, family commitments permitting ...

[maclink]

In looking at your sample, you're experiencing what I am.  It's not that you can't get 'any' variation. 

 

[fpupulin]

I don't want to be defense attorney for Montblanc 149 Calligraphy ... the pen doesn't need it.

 

When I started this thread, a couple of years ago, I did it because it seemed useful to me that other aficionados could see, in practice, the extraordinary ductility of what I consider Montblanc's most successful modern nib. Two years later, I confirm my impression and continue to believe that - availability and money permitting - the 149 Calligraphy (and now probably also the little sister 146) is the essential Meisterstück to buy.

 

I do not say this for the indisputable calligraphic skills that the Calligraphy series nibs have proven to possess, but rather for their characteristic of "simple" extra-fine nibs, perfect for everyday writing. In fact, in the last couple of years, since I got my 149 Calligraphy, I haven't even inked my 149 with extra-fine, fine and medium nibs, and I'm seriously considering selling them.

 

Having christened the 149's flexible nib as Calligraphy has somehow shifted its emphasis towards the calligraphic side rather than the simpler and more realistic side of an excellent flexible nib made essentially for... writing.

 

The many pages of this thread bear witness to the fact that with the 149 Calligraphy you can do calligraphy and you can run various different scripts, even if for some styles the Calligraphy nib obviously remains sub-par compared to tools designed exclusively for this purpose. In my opinion, it compensates with its extraordinary flexibility and ease of use, even and above all in everyday writing.

 

However, as the Calligraphy nib is often called in the dock as to its ability to execute that particular form of script which goes by the name of Spencerian, and to execute it in small size , I am attaching an unassuming example I wrote yesterday for this purpose, with an x-height of 2.5 mm.

 

 

It is clear that the Calligraphy nib of the 149 cannot replace the juicy broad and extra-broad nibs of the Meisterstück line, but for thin writing it does its job really well.

 

I conclude by saying that if there is a truer sense of this thread it is to invite people to approach the flexible Montblanc nib without prejudice. One may find he does not need any other ...

[dftr]

These are very good points and I admire the look of your simplified Spencerian.  I tend to practice w/ French Ruled Papers and I write correspondences w/ letters so I haven't had the chance to explore larger guidelines.  My Spencerian ruler only goes upto 3mm guidelines!  But yes it must be emhasized how versatile this nib is.  Using it today at work and it's easy to jot things down on counters or small corners or signing something quick and not worrying about the nib catching.  

 

I also feel that the issue w/ hard starts/skips is improving as I use it more and not just w/ MB perm blue.

[Kyrtaax]

[dftr]

It's very nice writing Kyrtaax.  Is that MB irish Green?  I got a bottle but have not opened it yet.  

That seems like the level of flex I have as well but my 149 is just a few weeks older than yours.

[Kyrtaax]

@dftr

[LyaT]

I grabbed a 149 calligraphy from Iguana sell over the weekend when I saw the stock came back. Received the pen today, and I LOVE it!

 

I read a lot of about the flex nib on this thread, so I knew this would be a very good pen, but I was still shocked by how nicely it wrote. The nib is not as stiff as Pelikan 400nn semi-flex. It is not as soft as Nakaya soft-medium. The 149C is just right. The right width, right wetness, right amount of flex at will. 
 

I inked it with MB pierced sky blue, on TR paper. The ink wrote wetter than in my MB 146 F or 149 M pens. Maybe because the line is thinner in 149C that’s why it feels wetter. I wrote fast, and the flow kept up with it.

 

This is becoming my favorite pen, after only a few hours. I want to share this experience for anyone who might be hesitating. 

[fpupulin]

9 hours ago, Kyrtaax said:

 

It is a very flexible nib, Kyrtaax. Montblanc says it may reach a broad stroke of about 1.6 mm, and I found this quite accurate.

 

When you will have taken some confidence, the nib will easily flex to a point where the feeder touch the paper, so preventing flexing it more. When doing some "free-style" calligraphy, I often touch the paper with the feeder at the maximum flex. Nothing happens, but you can not flex more.

 

Not sure if my nib has become more flexible during two years of use and abuse. But to be honest, I abused it since the beginning. If I remember well, it made 1.6 mm strokes - and after that I touched the paper with the feeder - since its first day at home.

 

Your calligraphy is beautiful, and it well deserves a nib like that of the 149 Calligraphy. I am sure you will have a lot of fun!! 

[dftr]

Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to flex the nib to that extreme.  One time I leaned my bike over to the point where my pedal scraped the road; it was a disconcerting feeling and I prefer to stay away from the limit though I suppose if you're going to spring the nib, the time to do it is in the first 2 years.

 

Some other inks that work well w/ the 149 Calligraphy: Akkerman 26 (Groenmarkt Smoargd) and JHerbin Poissuere De Lune.

 

 

[A Smug Dill]

On 2/28/2022 at 6:35 AM, maclink said:

I think this matters with the size of your writing.  While learning Spencarian during this last week while on a break from work, I  started with writing lower case lettering at 4+mm, then the size was reduced to 3mm while writing upper case letters 9-10mm in height.  My Pilot Falcon with a soft-fine nib and filled with Sailor Kiwaguro definitely performed better when I tried to produce line variation with that size writing. The falcon nib is stiffer and the ink flow more responsive to pressure in that easing pressure, correspondingly eases ink flow.  With the 149C filled with MB permanent black, the ink flow isn't as nuanced.  Even though the pressure on the nib is definitely less, the line width isn't as correspondingly reduced as with the Pilot Falcon.

 

Thank you for testing that and sharing your observations!

 

[fpupulin]

Do not pay too much attention to the writing, which is not particularly accurate, but to the variety of styles that require different degrees of flexibility and line variation.

 

I do find remarkable how the 149 Calligraphy can manage them all. It is what can rightly be defined as a pen of extreme flexibility, or ductility.

 

 

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[fpupulin]

After two almost exact years of daily use of my 149 Calligraphy (I bought her on March 7, 2020), after having abused her for 700 days by putting undue pressure on the nice nib to get thick lines and fine lines, after having loaded it with the recommended inks, with those not mentioned, and also with those that the parent company suggests not to use, the beautiful still writes perfectly and even the window is as candid and transparent as the first day.

I celebrate her birthday this way:

 

 

 

I took the following photograph of my 149 Calligraphy's nib a few days ago, under the microscope. You can appreciate the still perfect alignment of the tines - despite the much use - and the perfect central slot, which practically closes at the tip, as it was when new.

 

 

[DvdRiet]

12 minutes ago, fpupulin said:

After two almost exact years of daily use of my 149 Calligraphy (I bought her on March 7, 2020), after having abused her for 700 days by putting undue pressure on the nice nib to get thick lines and fine lines, after having loaded it with the recommended inks, with those not mentioned, and also with those that the parent company suggests not to use, the beautiful still writes perfectly and even the window is as candid and transparent as the first day.

I celebrate her birthday this way:

 

 

 

I took the following photograph of my 149 Calligraphy's nib a few days ago, under the microscope. You can appreciate the still perfect alignment of the tines - despite the much use - and the perfect central slot, which practically closes at the tip, as it was when new.

 

 

wow! wow! wow!!

[Doggy Daddy]

To those of you who may have had the opportunity to try both the 146C and 149C. From a writing & performance standpoint, if you could only have one, which would you pick? Being larger, I would expect the 149C nib to be the slightly softer of the two and to have a greater range, however, Montblanc claims they both will flex from 0.3 mm to 1.6 mm. If you have been fortunate enough to try both of these pens, what has your experience been?

 

As I have small to medium hands, I never really considered the 149 and just assumed it would not fit as well as the 146, which I find to be very comfortable to write with (for health reasons travel is very difficult and I have never had the opportunity to hold a 149). However, if the consensus is that the 149C significantly outperforms the 146C then I may have to reconsider.

 

Thanks very much in advance to all who take the time to respond to this question. As I wasn't quite sure where this question belongs, I also posted it to the "MB released 146 Flex in resin" thread, so please forgive me for the duplication.

[fpupulin]

Just looked at my notebook (regular Moleskine Cahier) resting of the desk, where I was taking a few notes in preparation of a chapter my forthcoming new book. I thought that the image could be of some utility for those who are not sure that the 149 Calligraphy may be used as a daily pen with an extra fine nib.  

 

On the right page there are previous lines, which I traced to show a friend of mine how the capillarity of a nib works.

 

[dftr]

Shoot, I'm really impressed you could could get such nice writing in a moleskine.  Hemmingway used one but I think he used a pencil too.  I had horrible feathering years ago... maybe they've changed their paper.  I realize most of the world uses ballpoints or gel pens.