What is so great about Mont Blanc fountain pens? Why are they so crazy expensive?

[jchch1950]

Someone gave me a used and badly treated MB. leather agenda that is more than fifteen years old. After a polish with shoe cleaning wax, it looks very well, not as new but as a well-maintained high-quality leather good, with a lot of personality.

[torstar]

Pens, yes

Other stuff, no way.

 

[Arcadian]

I think it is wonderful that a worldwide luxury brand is founded on the concept of writing culture. A champion of writing by hand in an age of computers. The fact that they can use that as a marketing device to also sell bags and perfumes is not something that detracts from their worth as a champion of our hobby, but rather is to their credit (and to the credit of our hobby, too). And while the current move to limit some of the nib options, moving them from free exchange options to bespoke nib options, is unfortunate, I take heart in seeing Montblanc continue to offer rather amazing nibs in their Calligraphy series. And the mere fact of their bespoke nib program as well, even if it is very expensive. So I toast the Meisterstück's centenary, and will continue to enjoy their pens, both vintage and new. 

 

 - P. 

[tommym]

I grew up in a house with a lot of Montblanc 149s. Mom used them as a secretary in the 1950s in Germany. My personal Montblanc was an MB 145 Classique; it was simply a better road warrior than the 149. The MB 145 Classique has now been retired to the china cabinet in the living room. That said, my devotion to MB soured when they outsourced their repairs to a third-party "jewelry" vendor. Before that change, the local Montblanc Boutique handled warranty repairs (even on MB pens they did not sell) on behalf of the customer. My experience in that respect was nothing short of exceptional. After that change, the local Montblanc Boutique discontinued that "courtesy" service and pointed me to MB's out-of-state third-party "jewelry" vendor. Dealing directly with that out-of-state third-party "jewelry" vendor was like pulling teeth. I had enough of that nonsense and moved on from MB. Mom called Montblanc in Germany and blasted them (in German), and they clarified that since her pens were purchased in Germany, she could indeed send her pens back directly to Montblanc in Germany for servicing. I ended up sending my MB 145 Classique (purchased in the USA) to Mike Masuyama for the needed repairs and tweaking. 

 

Are they worth the money? I wouldn't buy another MB based on what I said above. But, I have to admit I definitely feel that I got my money's worth out of my MB 145 Classique over its 30 years of service in a work environment; I paid full retail price for that pen. Mom, on the other hand, got all of her MB 149s free via her company in Germany, so she made out like a bandit in that respect. 

 

Tommy

[PhiloPlume]

22 hours ago, tommym said:

Mom called Montblanc in Germany and blasted them (in German

Love it!

 

Do you have another favorite "replacement" fountain pen manufacturer that has taken MBs place for you?

[tommym]

5 minutes ago, PhiloPlume said:

Love it!

 

Do you have another favorite "replacement" fountain pen manufacturer that has taken MBs place for you?

 

Yes, Ranga Pens out of India.

 

Tommy

[PhiloPlume]

22 hours ago, tommym said:

Yes, Ranga Pens out of India.

There was a flex nib pen from India that GouletPens a few months ago that I almost bought didn't.  I wonder if it was Ranga.

[tommym]

34 minutes ago, PhiloPlume said:

There was a flex nib pen from India that GouletPens a few months ago that I almost bought didn't.  I wonder if it was Ranga.

 

One of the features that drew me to Ranga Pens was the wide nib selection and easily replaceable threaded nib units. Ranga offers Ranga (Kanwrite), JOWO, Bock, and Schmidt.  Since the feed and threaded housing are specific to each nib manufacturer, you can't swap a JOWO for a Schmidt, etc. Still, options are good. With Montblanc, it was like pulling teeth to get them to swap one nib for another on a new purchase, especially if you wanted one of their 3B or O3B nibs. I got tired of that.

 

Tommy