Dear Pen Users,
with special Greetings for Montblanc fans,
It is about time, that I should put a review of Montblanc writing instrument. But what Montblanc, should I take as the first one, they produced so many of them?
I will start with one of my favourite, Ladies and Gentelmen here is the Montblanc Heritage 1912. So, the Montblanc Zone on my blog is being officially opened.
Why this model? Why not start with one from flagship series Meisterstuck? Or the one from fifties or sixties?
The explanation is simple, because this pen is one from the so called series “10 seconds pens“. And what is this? It is the maximal time which I have needed for undertaking the decision of buying that particular pen. In near future I will present you some other items were decision to buy was taken up in less than 10 seconds.
Let’s start with the Heritage.
This model, issued in August 2013, is a “second edition” for only a few percent of “first edition” original price. First was titanium limited edition released in 2012, 333 pcs with 18K gold nib. Pictures of titanium edition taken from Montblanc marketing materials you can find below.
If you are a Montblanc fan, you can easily discover what was the inspiration for this model. It was a safety pen called Rouge et Noir created in early 20th century. The brand Rouge et Noir was offered from 1908 to ca. 1923.
What is so special in this handy, almost “pocket size” pen? No, not the size is the most important. So, what defines this pen? Following items:
A – design
B – The Mechanism
C- nib
D – unbelievable celebration and comfort of usage
DESIGN
First impression – elegant with a drop of a classic vintage feeling. And also simple, short, black (as usual resin), beautifully crafted clip with engraved star on band and extremely big white star on transparent cap top. I do not know whether this star is made of mother of pearl or – what is most probable – simply painted with lacquer, but who cares when you look at it. It is an eye catcher and it is amazingly gorgeous!
THE MECHANISM
It is a unusual piston filler with a marvelous 2 step screw mechanism. How does it work? Very simple. You turn the knob right so the nib is going out, turn left the nib and it is disappearing into the barrel. But this is not the only action. If you extend the nib and pull the knob, by turning into this position you can fill the pen with ink. It works perfectly each time I use and I have used it for over two years.
NIB
First – it is … almost piece of minimal art. Small, plain, really flat nib (not common these days) and finally, the icing on the cake, triangular breather hole. Fantastic.
Second – it has a little reminiscence of past years, delicate line variation.
Third – 14K, white gold.
So, what is more to add? Of course usual 4810, star symbol, Montblanc name and karat engravings.
You can choose size from fine to broad.
USAGE
Using this pen is always a great fun.
Turning the cap off, turning the nib out it is like celebrating the writing all over again and again.
Writing is excellent! Soft with adequate ink flow and distinguished flex.
With its rather big weight in such a small size it is still very nicely balanced, so you can easily write without posting.
Although the nib is a little bit “noisy”.
Of course ink is Montblanc. This time Meisterstuck 90 years permanent grey. Please, notice how does the Tomoe River paper look in Hobonichi Planner 2016 from the other side. This paper is amazing! Papers will be the subject for another post.
Dimensions:
Length closed – 120,7 mm
Length open with nib inside barrel– 108,5 mm
Length open with nib outside barrel– 126,7 mm
Weight with ink – 49,5 g
To avoid destroying the nib (when it is extended and you would try to close the cap on the barrel) there is a small “needle” in the cap which hits special hole in the feder to prevent demolishing the nib. Simple, but working.
I do not recommend posting the cap, if you insist – you can, but it is not practical, it falls off almost immediatelly.
Is there anything that I dislike about this pen? Yes, and even more, I hate scratches made by the cap on the barrel. It is scratched just seconds after unboxing or maybe it is already scratched even in boutique or in the factory! And by the way, it is observed by nearly every user. Pen from this price level and from such manufacturer should not perform such failure. Although producer says that it is a “normal wear” of a product, in my opinion, it is a construction mistake which was not recognised properly by constructors or quality department. It is a shame.
But, nevertheless this pen looks and writes like a dream – except for this fatal scratches mentioned above, but f..k them. Pen is rather expensive, but it is worth each euro, dollar, pound … you name it … spent on it!
In my opinion the closest to Heritage within Montblanc pens (except Heritage 1914 which is extremely big, but one in orange is awesome) is Boheme, but this could be also a future subject for a review or even comparison between both of them.
Montblanc Heritage 1912 and Boheme Arabesque
The extraordinary piece of art for everyday use, take a sip of your favourite cognac and start thinking about Heritage 🙂
If I can advice, try Hennessy Fine de Cognac. It is very pleasant start of your adventure with cognacs. Assemblage of plenty of floral and fruity aromas. With its pale, transparent amber color it looks incredible and with its excellent smoothnes it will make your winter day, I hope.
Not only pens 
I like the pics and review. Helped me much with my buying of the heritage pen (fine nib). And incidentally, I’m also considering the traveler’s notebook and am undecided still though the hobonichi also sounds good. Ah, the trials of modern first world happy problems. Thanks for the wonderful review again (like esp the part where you simply said f*%k them). That somehow embodied the beauty we see in this pen.
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Thank you Eugenefor kind words 🙂 I hope you will enjoy your pen for many years. Traveler’s notebook and Hobonichi are completely different. You have to think what will be the main purpose of your new notebook and how you will use it. Than I can try to help you which one would suit you best. Feel free to contact me.
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