Vintage Pen Montblanc 149 Celluloid This vintage pen is a 1955 Meisterstück 149 piston-filler in Celluloid. This was an early production model, while Montblanc pens were still being hand made by master machinists (prior to the introduction of injection molded ‘Precious Resin’). Outer two cap bands are sterling silver, otherwise gold-filled trim. Visualated barrel window with perfect vertical lines. Three-tone 18C nib, rarer than 14C. Even rarer is that this one is medium, FLEXIBLE. Near …
This is a 1927 Model #7 LF in Red Ripple with “Pink” color band on the cap and “Pink” imprinted nib. 7 “Pink” LF in Red Ripple! This has become one of the “holy grails” of pendom, because of its wonderful fine, triple-flexible nib. Waterman color-coded their caps and nibs for easy selection of the type of nib the user wanted. This was their answer to the Wahl Eversharp “Personal Point” pens. Item #18 in …
The fine flexible nib on my pen keeps catching the paper when I’m writing, and then ink splatters everywhere. Sometimes the tines get misaligned. What am I doing wrong? With nibs that accommodate pressure, make sure you’re only applying light pressure on the downstroke, and no pressure on the upstroke. It’s usually pressure on the upstroke that causes fine, and other, nibs to get caught. This can cause ink splattering when the tines are caught …
I was writing quotes with pens that I already have but I get asked about flex nibs all the time, and having bought a few of my favorite vintage flex pens from Go Pens here, I thought I’d highlight some gorgeous pens with flex nibs for those of you who might want to snap one up. If I don’t first. I have copied Gary and Myrna’s red box system to highlight the pen in question …
I get asked this question a lot: what’s the best flex nib? I can’t answer that because I haven’t used that many compared to the amount that are available. What I can say is my favorite flex nibs are found on vintage Watermans. Although some modern flex pens offer some semi-flexible nibs, and they are getting better and better, I still say, if you want a nice, soft, juicy nib, go vintage!
A stunning line up of Pelikans – many with flexible nibs. If you’re searching for a nib that will offer some line variation, look no further. Catalog #75 has a few Pelikans you may want to look at. #172 is sold: a 1948 100N in the rare Grey Pearl. This pen had a broad, italic, extra-flexible nib. A marvelous nib! #173: a 1950 100N in Green Pearl. This is a NOS, mint condition Pelikan with …
Maybe you’re not interested in flexible nibs. That’s okay. I can look past that and still like you. However, vintage pens offer much more than just flex nibs! You can also fine hard nibs as well, like this Pelikan below with a hard extra-fine – it’s precise and crisp, much like the modern Pilot PO nib. The best of both worlds, of course, is having one of each.
If I really had to pick a few pens from my pen case to call my favorite, these four would be among them: a Waterman 12, a Waterman 94, a Waterman 42, and a Pelikan 400NN, all with flex nibs (to various degrees). I think they’re beautiful, interesting pens, and the nibs are out of this world.
