Do new pens from boutiques normally have ink residue?

[DrWabbit]

Hi all,

 

I purchased a 149 from a Montblanc boutique. When I got home, I flushed the pen with water, just in case there was residue left from the manufacturing process.

 

To my surprise, the water which came out of the pen was greyish, though this cleared after two flushes. Moreover, when dipped in a glass of water, traces of dark ink emerged from under the collar / where the feed meets the section.

 

Is it normal for a new pen from a boutique to have traces of ink? It somehow doesn't seem right to me.

 

Would really appreciate feedback from others who have experience with flushing new pens.

 

Thanks in advance 

[Uncial]

Might have been dipped by a customer for a test. Sometimes MB also 'test-drive' the nib for you and include the little card with a number and some writing (usually only EF and BB/OB+ as far as I know)

[rickap]

In my experience it's hit and miss. I bought a Montblanc in 2019 that was half full of pale blue water. A more recent Montblanc purchase was dry, no hit of any ink at all. Most pens I've bought have no sign of ink in them. My Lamy Safaris had been tested with blue ink and I believe I have a few others that have had hints of usually blue ink.

 

   Rick

[DaveQuail]

My MONTBLANC 145 Meisterstuck Classique Platinum FP, Medium Nib (106522) was dry and free of residue when I received it. All my Lamy's, Safari and AL-Star, had ink residue on the feed and under the nibs. This is standard for Lamy, as each is tested before leaving the factory. This is confirmed by rickap in the previous post.

[DrWabbit]

Thanks @Uncial, @rickapand @DaveQuail. Its a 149 calligraphy - therefore, I suppose that means that they do not have a dedicated tester pen at the boutique, so it makes sense that it was inked for that purpose (though perhaps this isn't an ideal thing for a flex nib).

 

To provide more context about my question, I am a bit bothered about the ink residue because when I arrived home with the pen, I discovered that the "using your expression nib" instruction sheet was not included in the box. A little disappointing to be sold this special edition pen incomplete.

 

The ink residue, plus the missing sheet, make me wonder what the pen has been through. I've contacted the boutique about the missing instruction sheet and I await some concrete feedback from them. I've yet to ask about the ink residue - I'm cynical about the prospect of getting a straight answer from them about that 🤣

 

 

 

[Seney724]

On 10/25/2022 at 12:10 PM, DrWabbit said:

Hi all,

 

I purchased a 149 from a Montblanc boutique. When I got home, I flushed the pen with water, just in case there was residue left from the manufacturing process.

 

To my surprise, the water which came out of the pen was greyish, though this cleared after two flushes. Moreover, when dipped in a glass of water, traces of dark ink emerged from under the collar / where the feed meets the section.

 

Is it normal for a new pen from a boutique to have traces of ink? It somehow doesn't seem right to me.

 

Would really appreciate feedback from others who have experience with flushing new pens.

 

Thanks in advance 

It would appear that there are seven (7) official Montblanc Boutiques in South Africa and nine (9) Authorized Dealers.  If you made your purchase from one of them, you should have no difficulty in having them provide you with the missing booklet.  Since you say you went home following the purchase, I would assume you could simply return there and request it, in person.  You would also be well within your right to request a return and full refund if they say they cannot accommodate your request.  Given that sourcing a 149 Calligraphy from a non-grey market source (with a nose bleed price) has become difficult, you might want to just opt for a high quality xerox copy which surely they can prepare for you.

 

As for the presence of some traces of ink, it could be the result of a Factory test of the nib or an "in house" trial of the nib by a potential customer who has been granted permission to dip it.   In either case, the store is not wrong to have represented it as a new pen.  That is a common practice........ whether one likes it or not.

[gerigo]

Technically Montblanc does NOT allow for any trying of pens at the store. That's because they want to keep the nib pristine for the buyer of the new pen. If there is any sort of ink residue, you can return it to say this is not a new product and that it has been used. But of course in this day and age of increased competition and the sales staff getting higher and higher sales target, they usually allow customers some leeway.

[rochester21]

On 10/25/2022 at 7:10 PM, DrWabbit said:

 

Is it normal for a new pen from a boutique to have traces of ink? It somehow doesn't seem right to me.

You bought a used pen, dude. 

Someone else probably returned it or tested it only to discover the nib is scratchy. 

 

If i paid full price for a "luxury" FP from the "boutique" and discovered it was previously used i would go berserk, really. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rochester21]

On 10/26/2022 at 3:00 PM, DaveQuail said:

 All my Lamy's, Safari and AL-Star, had ink residue on the feed and under the nibs. This is standard for Lamy, as each is tested before leaving the factory. This is confirmed by rickap in the previous post.

I highly doubt that claim. They probably manufacture 100.000 Safari pens a month, not even luxury brands can afford to have their lens hand tested unless maybe we're talking $500+ models.

 

But i enjoy a good rumour, so i will double check this. 

[JulieParadise]

4 hours ago, rochester21 said:

I highly doubt that claim. They probably manufacture 100.000 Safari pens a month, not even luxury brands can afford to have their lens hand tested unless maybe we're talking $500+ models.

 

But i enjoy a good rumour, so i will double check this. 

It's not a rumour. People who have visited the factory in Heidelberg can confirm that, and there are also videos showing it, like Lamy's own videos or the one Goulet Pens did when they were there.

 

All Lamy pens I bought for my children or as gifts had ink residue on them.

[DaveQuail]

On 11/12/2022 at 5:34 AM, rochester21 said:

I highly doubt that claim. They probably manufacture 100.000 Safari pens a month, not even luxury brands can afford to have their lens hand tested unless maybe we're talking $500+ models.

 

But i enjoy a good rumour, so i will double check this. 

Please check this. There is even a discussion by Brian Goulet of gouletpens.com on this subject, on Youtube. See this video:

 

Edited November 13, 2022 by DaveQuail
Additional info

[JulieParadise]

See also here (min 4:10) 

and here (min 5:30) 

 

[CS388]

In most of the videos I've seen about Montblanc production, there seems to be a section where the pens/nibs are write tested by the staff at Hamburg, before being released to the boutiques. Usually with a blue ink.

 

I'm pretty certain that they would be cleaned up, before being released to the stores - but (as we all know) there would likely be some residue, if the nibs were to be stood in water, by the new owners.