The Meisterstück 149 Calligraphy Appreciation Thread

[jmccarty3]

On 7/10/2023 at 8:34 AM, txomsy said:

That is true, I had a beloved Montblanc Slimline fall during a course in (I believe) Marrakesh and, certainly it fell nib down. The tines were misaligned, but I could more or less get them back though I couldn't totally get rid of the scratching. It was a pity, for much as it is considered a 'nail', this particular EF had enough line variation to give a nice and pleasurable flair to my writing. It is still a most beloved one and still a favorite.

I still mourn my first Waterman L'Etalon EF nib, that had just a bit of architect character to it, as some MB EF nibs do. I didn't drop the pen, but accidentally hit the end of it with my hand. It skittered across the desk and the nib was bent by a hard object. I got it repaired and it writes OK, but it never regained that magical architect quality. I bought several other L'Etalon EF nibs trying to match it, but without success.

[txomsy]

That is the magic of engineering tolerances: many processes have contained error margins that allow for slight differences. These slight differences are what give each pen its distinct 'personality' and by virtue of their randomness, are very difficult to find (or reproduce) again.

 

A cursory review of this thread will show that the 149C (and 146C) also have a different personalities each. I suppose that, after such a major event, one has to assume that -no matter what (repair or re-procurement)- one will have to deal with a "new" pen with a different personality --and adapt.

 

Paraphrasing and venturing into potentially forbidden trails, attachment brings unhappiness, detachment and embracing change brings us closer to bliss.

[fpupulin]

A few things written with the Calligraphy nib that I somewhat fixed...

 

 

 

 

 

[fpupulin]

And another couple written in Italian:

 

 

[ak47]

4 hours ago, fpupulin said:

And another couple written in Italian:

 

 

🤩

[txomsy]

Wonderful flourishes. You never cease to amaze me.

[fpupulin]

Again in Italian…

 

[a student]

On 7/22/2023 at 4:43 AM, fpupulin said:

Again in Italian…

 

 

The reconstructed nib is doing great- this nib has at least two lives

[fpupulin]

I have created a motto for my 149 Calligraphy "Lazarus".

 

 

 

The meaning of the sentence, in English, should be: "It is necessary to have known death, for life to rise again".

 

I'm not entirely sure about my Latin version. If anyone has a way to make it truly, or classically correct, it would be welcome.

[como]

@fpupulin The other day my MB Curved Nib slipped out of my hand as I finished flushing it. Luckily I caught it mid air so it didn't fall on the kitchen floor. I felt my heart skipped a beat. If it were the 149C, it would have skipped two! Your 149C knew that it was not time to go yet. May your faithful 149 Calligraphy accompany you for many years to come.

[Mags]

On 1/3/2021 at 11:14 PM, fpupulin said:

At home, as children, it was tradition that on the first day of the year some things were done as a wish to be able to do them all year round. We studied or worked at least a few minutes, and did the things we love the most. Since I can remember, I have always written a few lines to be able to put on the leaf the date of January 1st, I often drew some scribbles, when I was older I wrote a few lines of an article or a book and I took at least one photograph.

 

Also this year I did my part. I did it by calligraphying a thought on the feeling of the first day of a new year, what for me has been and continues to be an experience of rebirth and facing a world still intact.

 

In my thought I wanted to say that loading a pen is, in practice, filling it with ink, but conceptually it is also filling it with still unwritten words ...

 

The words of the pen may have colors, nut most of the things I write in honest handwriting are black words. In fact, my black pens with pointed calligraphy nibs are all loaded with black ink. The two vintage "calligraphics" that I own in pearl gray celluloid are never loaded with colored inks, for fear of indelibly staining them. But for the concept of this new year writing, "black words" was no good, because it sounded pessimistic and gloomy. "Blue words" was better, a blue of sky and hope, like indigo.

 

So, I emptied my 149 Calligraphy of the Black Permanent ink, washed it well, and loaded it with Blue, to give the writing an aesthetic sense. Blue Permanent, pretending it's indigo.

 

Then I chose a large sheet, so that there was room for some squiggles. Beautiful and difficult paper, perfect for thin strokes, obstinate for thicker ones, where it forces the nibs to railroad frequently: the Ingres by Hahnemühle absorbs, it dries up the nib. On the upper right corner, the rooster symbol of the German paper mill can be seen in filigree. I would need the white Ingres, which behave better with blue inks, but I don't have any more: the cream one does its duty anyway. I drew the guiding lines: since there is enough space on the sheet, I drew them at the right distance.

 

 

The Hasselblad Super Wide C/M is a constant presence on my desk, and since I like its lines very much, I let it stick its nose into the photograph. Moreover, perhaps not everyone knows that the Montblanc Meisterstück 149 and the Hasselblad Super Wide were born very close each other, the first in 1952 and the second in 1954: two objects that have just been modified in over sixty years and still make their work perfectly!

 

What a great pen, my friends!

 

 

Love the handwriting. Thanks for sharing.

[fpupulin]

18 hours ago, como said:

@fpupulin The other day my MB Curved Nib slipped out of my hand as I finished flushing it. Luckily I caught it mid air so it didn't fall on the kitchen floor. I felt my heart skipped a beat. If it were the 149C, it would have skipped two! Your 149C knew that it was not time to go yet. May your faithful 149 Calligraphy accompany you for many years to come.

 

I'm happy that you were able to caught your Curve Nib before it hits the floor! I can only imagine that the particular construction of that nib would be even more difficult to fix than the Flexible Calligraphy. 

 

And you are right, my friend @como, my "Lazzaro" Calligraphy was not yet ready to go. She knew the pen land of the shadows, but she came back from obscurity... and she still doing her work. I am happy with her. 

 

[fpupulin]

17 hours ago, Mags said:

Love the handwriting. Thanks for sharing.

 

Thank you, @Mags, for "re-posting" the image of a kind of script I have no practiced for long time. Your message remembered me that that kind of unorthodox Spencerian is quite funny to write.

 

I wrote the first message with the "normal" extra-fine nib of a 1972 Meisterstück 149 and MB Enzo Ferrari ink (the gift of a friend).

 

 

Then I put hand tis the 149 Calligraphy and, of course, she gave a lot more fun in writing style. Ink is Diamine Golden Brown.

 

[fpupulin]

Of the two sheets above, the upper one has been written with the extra-fine nib of a 1972 Meisterstück 149 (Diamine Writers Blood). The lower one with the nib of the 149 Calligraphy from 2019 (Diamine Golden Brown).

 

With my photo/microscope I photographed both nibs under the same conditions and at the same magnification (7.125x) Looking at the photomacrographs, you will note that the top nib (the 1972 extrafine) has a much narrower point than that of the 149 Calligraphy (bottom image). It's also more angular, with cleaner cuts, while the Calligraphy is more rounded and smoother around the corners.

 

 

However, on the paper (Fabriano Ingres 90g for both trials), the thin strokes of the Calligraphy nib are clearly thinner than those produced by the extra fine nib. 

 

No doubts other factors come into play to determine how much thin a nib can write, including the width of the duct between the tines of the nib, the proximity of the nib to the feeder, the tension that the tines exert against each other when they are in the rest position (without pressure), the variable thickness of the gold foil along its entire length and width, and who knows what other trick that the Hamburg technicians have applied to the Calligraphy nib so that it can write so thin even if its tip would not suggest it.

[Inkyways]

Very interesting comparison  of the two nibs. I have few MB pens and planing to grind one or two nib to a XF line one day.

I guess there are many other factors too play. it is the writing skills . Very nice work. 

[fpupulin]

[fpupulin]

[fpupulin]

On the trusted Fabriano Ingres of 90gsm, with the Garnet Red Iink by Graf von Faber Castell. Done in the first morning, with a beautiful light hitting the sheet.

 

 

[a student]

@fpupulin remarkable piece of writing, as always. Incidentally did you form an opinion on the MB 149 Calligraphy Curved Nib", or indeed do much writing with it?

[kazoolaw]

"Whispering to paper" -vivid metaphor of the pen communicating with paper.