Montblanc Heritage 1912
I'm never buying a Montblanc. Overpriced. Just for those who want to show what they earn... In this case, not so. I can't say that I've ever bought a pen as much as I love this one. Economists or psychologists will tell you that this is cognitive dissonance. Since I paid so much, I have to love it right?
Well, I bought a Montblanc - THE Montblanc in my opinion.
The Montblanc Heritage 1912 is built like the old Simplo filler - Montblanc's original name, and is a safety-like pen. Not a real safety since the nib does not descend and get covered with ink in the barrel. Rather, Montblanc made some very modern additions to an aesthetically very simple pen.
Let's start with the top of the cap - lined with a beautiful snow-cap (not snow-flake) that represents the snow-cap of Mont Blanc, the 4810m high mountain. It is lacquered and the snowcap displays an iridescent finish that is eye-catching. Below that, a knurled bit just under the clip ring. Most interestingly, this is where one should hold the cap when capping the pen, because of the retractable nib, it is really under here where the threads holding the pen to the cap are. As such, this is where one should apply pressure to not put excess torque and give on the threads.
The cap itself is not tapered, and ends right into the barrel. Inside the cap is a small plastic ring at the bottom, in order to not have a cap ring for I believe both structural integrity as well as to prevent the aforementioned give and torque on the threads. However, many have complained that these will scratch the barrel, and in my experience so far, they in fact do leave some wear marks on the barrel. Not excessive, as long as you cap the pen with the knurled region near the top of the cap. Wear and tear, nothing to write home about, but for those who love pristine pristine pristine pen bodies, this may not be the pen for you - of course until you write with it - then you know you should have bought this pen earlier in your pen journey.
When you uncap the pen, you see the retracted nib inside of the barrel. Here it is poking out. And as you can see, the threads are right at the tip. Inside the cap there is a pin, so there is no risk of capping the pen with nib extended and ruining your investment. Sorry I was unable to take a photo of that.
Apologies for the dust and lint - as a mom of 3 now... housekeeping gets tough! But here is another shot of the nib poking out of its home.
Extended, the nib is just fantastic. It is small, about size 5 or so. Stamped is a very simple 4810, Montblanc snowcap, and then the Au585 14k Markings. Breather hole is a very interesting triangle shape, and in this case I bought a double broad which is very very stubby and amazingly wet.
The mechanism is very interesting. At the back knurled part where the piston knob usually is, twisting it pushes the nib up and down. But when you pull it out, this engages the piston itself and fills as you normally would. Is this cumbersome to use? Well, it's not a quick draw pen, but rather a smell-the-coffee-as-you-journal Sunday morning kind of pen.
In the photo below, we can see that the nib is cut very thin, with not a lot of tipping, making it a very bouncy and very vintage-like experience. This is by far the best nib I've ever used. There was a small bit of skipping at first, but after some flushing, it resolved. Smooth and extremely responsive to hand weight, this is the best nib I've used in a very long time. In fact, it is very reminiscent to my Montblanc 144 1950s vintage.
Although capped it is small, the pen is as long as the Lamy 2000 or Parker 51. This is really quite full size which is good because the pen cannot be posted. Can't be posted?! Right. But still, once you've had this nib, as long as you don't have giant hands, you'll be alright :)
Here is a writing sample showing the stub-like qualities. What do you think? Leave me a comment!
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