[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by MRM

If your Mont Blanc's performance disappointed you it either needs service or you need a refresher course on using a fountain pen. Mont Blancs are the Hamilton automatics of the pen world. You should send it in to the factory to be looked at.

Just before the 07-08 market crash a guy started a specialty pen boutique just down the hall from my firm at the time, on the 46th floor of the IDS Center. Beautiful space. We got invited to his grand opening as a neighbor, and I stopped by. He got me interested in mid-range collectible pens like Mont Blancs. I thought it would be nice to buy some pens I used in my practice that I could pass on down to my kids with a story of how I used them back in the day.

I got a limited edition Star Walker that needs work on its nib (I have no idea how I mangled it but I need to send it in for repairs). I got a couple of other fountain pens that are hidden away somewhere, because who uses fountain pens these days? And I bought some nice Mont Blanc roller balls and one nice fountain pen for my wife. She ignored them and asked why I wasted my money when I could have gotten a gift she appreciated. He ended up selling me a matching pair of Monte Grappa solid sterling silver rollerball/fountain pens just before the silver market exploded. Six months later I asked him about other models of the same brand. He forgot he had sold me the matched pair and looked at me seriously and told me that I couldn't afford silver Monte Grappas.

The Mont Blancs and Monte Grappas are packed away safely somewhere. I can find them if I have to. I'm glad I have them because they're little pieces of art, but I never really used them. The pen I use most (which Mrs. MRM borrowed today and agreed is the best writer she's ever used) is a Cross gel roller ball a client gave me that is a replica of the signing pens the president and Supreme Court use to sign official documents. It has a gold colored finish but there's no gold in it. The pen probably cost $40 and I bought a whole tube of refills for about $20, but it's a wonderfully balanced pen that fits well in my hand, writes like a dream, and is easier to use than the pieces of art I bought all those years ago.

P.S., nice piece, there, JB. I like the fatter barrel. It's more elegant and easier to use than their usual skinny pen and the black with gold accents is very elegant.

I did just that...sent it to them with a "service fee" check. Explained my problem..ink would quit flowing after a few sentences. I was using their ink..the stuff in the cute little boot bottle. They sent it back, saying it worked just fine. It didn't. Gave up, went back to my Scheaffer white dot fountain pen..which still works great. Like I said, now it's the space pen...I seldom write by hand these days, so that makes for a hassle getting a fountain pen ready. All the fountain pens stored away.