Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Old but New to Me: 1970s Montblanc 149

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Let me introduce you to Walter, my 1970s Montblanc 149. I looked long and hard for just the right 149. I knew I didn’t want a modern one. I wanted one that was lovingly used with a 14k nib with some bounce to it.

I chanced upon some desirable Montblancs on the Fountain Pen Geeks “For Sale” forum. But they were all sold before I could snag one. The seller, Barry Gabay, let me know that he had some others I might be interested in. Sure enough, he had a 1970s Montblanc 149 with a bouncy 14k nib. I bought it, completely unaware that I was purchasing it from the editor of Pen World Magazine!

When the pen arrived, I immediately fell in love. When I fall in love with a pen, I usually give it a name. There was no question he would be named “Walter.” I am a rabid Breaking Bad fan, and this gorgeous black 149 made me think of Walter White in his Heisenberg Pork Pie hat.

Of course, my Walter isn’t an evil meth maker, he’s just an innocent victim of my fountain pen addiction.

Like Walter White, my Walter has a few bruises and scars. These do not bother me in the least--in fact, I love that Walter’s finish bears marks of use. It gives him character.

The 149 is a large pen, measuring 5.8 inches/147mm capped, 5.2 inches/132mm uncapped, and 6.6 inches/168mm posted. It is perfectly balanced, and I adore large pens. My 149 has plastic piston threads, and the piston works flawlessly--as smooth as Heisenberg talking himself out of a tight situation.

The cap has a simple clip, somewhat brassed, but that’s what a rough life will do to you. The cap ring is engraved with Montblanc Meisterstück No. 149. “Germany” appears in tiny letters on the clip band.

The most stunning thing about any MB 149 is the enormous nib. This gorgeous hunk of 14k gold is tritone with beautiful scrollwork, the Montblanc logo, and the number 4810 (the height in meters of Mont Blanc).

The nib is a medium and is juicy, smooth, and bouncy. The solid ebonite feed supplies plenty of Kobe Mikage Grey ink to the nib. Walter is a delightful writer. He and I have collaborated on some rather dark poetry and prose.

I know some people think that Montblancs are overrated and ostentatious. I disagree. Even though the pen is large and can command attention, the simplicity of this black and gold cigar-shaped pen also allows it to be classic and stealthy--like black Ray-Bans over piercing green eyes. Yes. Go ahead and say it: “I am the danger.”

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Posted on April 5, 2019 by Susan Pigott and filed under Montblanc, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Pilot FriXion Fineliner Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

It's been quite a while since I've tested out the Pilot FriXion pens. I'm not normally in need of any erasable options, so these pens just don't get the exercise they deserve. With the latest Fineliner version from Pilot, I decided to give it another go.

The Pilot FriXion Fineliner is an erasable pen with a fine plastic tip that works great for drawing lines that retain crisp lines around the edges. These pens really remind me of the Staedtler Triplus and Paper Mate Flair pens, which is fair since they share the plastic tip designation.

It's hard to describe — any Pen Addict will understand — but the Fineliner is a delight to use. The ink flows well, the plastic tip is crisp but smooth, and there's even a small bit of shading present in the light blue and red ink colors that I'm using. I've been using these pens quite a lot in my everyday use, and I haven't seen any degradation in the tips. I'm fairly confident that the tips will outlive the ink supply. Since these aren't refillable, that works out great.

Writing, drawing, and scribbling with these pens is great fun, but what about the other signature feature of any FriXion pen? How well does it erase these nice markings? Wonderfully. I've used FriXion pens in the past and have mixed feelings about their ability to erase. In the case of the Fineliner, I've been impressed with how well it works. I think the main difference in the performance is that the plastic tip doesn't create as much of an impression on the paper compared to a metal roller ball. Whatever it is, it's magical.

Along with the great writing and erasing experience, the dry time is also remarkably fast. You can write something and erase it almost immediately without blurring anything. And, if anything does blur, you can just wait a couple of seconds for the ink to fully dry and then erase away the mistakes.

Everything else about these pens is remarkably simple. The slim body is lightly decorated and branded, the cap is small and able to post securely, and the eraser on top of the cap matches the color of the rest of the pen. It's a great package!

Now, with any FriXion pen, there are some drawbacks. The main one being that this is not permanent ink. It's funny to point that out since the main marketing feature of this pen is that the ink is erasable, but I'm referring to the archival properties. You can't rely on this ink to last in notebooks for years and decades to come. Maybe it will be fine, but there's also no promises that it will endure.

The Pilot FriXion Fineliner is available in a variety of fun colors for just over $2 a piece. You can even pick up a six-pack or twelve-pack if you want to round out a complete set while also saving a couple of bucks.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on April 3, 2019 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Pilot, FriXion, Pen Reviews.

Laban Ocean Blue Fountain Pen: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Laban Pen Company is a Taiwanese brand founded in 1981. Their motto is “Refill your soul by writing.” I tried to find out more about the company, visiting their website and Facebook page, but neither of these offered any specifics about the founders. The company sees itself as carrying on the long tradition of writing by hand and creating beautiful instruments to aid in that process.

I’ve never owned or used a Laban pen, so I was excited about the opportunity to try the Ocean Blue fountain pen. It comes in a black clamshell cardboard box.

The Laban Ocean is part of a two-pen series called “Land and Sea” (the other pen is the Laban Forest). The blue acrylic barrel is meant to mimic “waves breaking gently on the sand” (Facebook Post February 13). The remainder of the pen (cap, grip, bottom section of the barrel) is a marbled ivory color.

The pen is adorned with gold-plated accents. The cap has a medal-like finial with the Laban crest.

It also has two thin gold bands at the top, a gold spring-loaded clip, and a wide gold band near the bottom, etched with the company name. The acrylic is thick and the cap is sturdy and of excellent quality.

The body of the pen is made of the same thick acrylic. The grip and bottom of the barrel are both accented with gold rings (two where the barrel meets the grip and one between the barrel and the bottom of the pen). This is a large pen, measuring 5.9 inches/150mm capped, 5.2 inches/132mm uncapped, and 6.8 inches/172mm posted. Because the cap weighs 14 grams all by itself, posting really throws the balance off.

Not only is the acrylic thick, but the threads inside the grip and the barrel are metal, adding extra weight to the pen. The pen weighs 34 grams overall.

The Laban converter is plastic and inserts into the metal portion of the grip. I found that the converter slips in and out a bit too easily. I’d like it to be more snug.

My Laban has a gold-plated, stainless steel fine nib with engraved scroll work and nib size. The number 3952, “Laban,” and “Germany,” seem to be printed or etched onto the nib. This is the only detail that detracts from the pen. Close up, you can see that these items seem smudged. I searched long and hard to discover why the number 3952 is etched on the nib. 3,952 meters is the height of Yushan Mountain (the highest mountain in Taiwan), so perhaps this is why the number appears.

The nib is a smooth writer, but it does not offer any flex, bounce, or line variation. Still, the feed provides plenty of ink to the nib which is juicy and fun to write with. I’ve not experienced any dry starts, skipping, or rough writing with this nib, even though the tines are slightly misaligned.

I am deeply impressed with the Laban Ocean Blue fountain pen. I took it to a faculty meeting yesterday, and everyone at the table wanted to look at it. The ivory and blue acrylics work really well together, all the gold accents make this pen look like a high-end luxury pen, and the pen has the heft of a Montblanc 149. You can purchase the Laban Ocean Blue from Vanness for $104.00, which I think is an incredible price for so much elegance.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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