Modern Montblanc really is terrible

[Fleetlord]

I really didn't want to believe it, but the scuttlebutt is pretty much true.

Modern MB is not a great pen company anymore. They are a lifestyle products haberdashery

I have older MB pens that have always been great, so I figured all the negative comments on pen forums were just haters...

I just got a 149 Origin pen from an AD. Out of the box the pen was skipping a bit and wouldn't write reliably with MB ink. Just too dry it seems.

Worse was that the piston was quite stiff. As in hard to move.

Most comments on forums is that MB doesn't lubricate the piston as it will smear the ink display window and people will complain. Doesn't matter anyway as nobody uses these pens anyway..etc.

Well, today I go to change ink and flush out pen and the piston snaps and the endcap just spins. So it has to go back somewhere..

I look as to who does MB service in the USA? Not MB. It's a 3rd party name MyJewelryRepair.com or some $%^^. WTF. They can't even offer factory service on their pens in the US anymore?

So now, do I send back to AD for another pen that will probably have a dry piston too..or send to their "service" center and get it sorted.

I guess this will be my last new MB...

[SoylentGreenChi]

Sorry to hear this. I am a MB fan and my experiences have been a bit hit or miss. When I had a problem with a brand new 145, the AD/Boutique said I’d have to pay for the repair when it was a manufacturing defect (the manufacturing defect was obvious, similar as in your case). The good news: after I protested, they did do the fix under warranty and the work of MyJewerlyRepair was superb. So hopefully your case ends well, too, and without a rigamarole re: warranty.

I love my MB pens, but I am aware that my Pilot 823s write equally well, if not better, for half the cost. What can I say, I like the snow cap dot on the pen cap!

[IGY]

Warranty should handle this.

In my experience the Montblanc pen quality has been fine. Although I agree that Richemont has pushed the brand towards overpriced lifestyle odds and ends that does little for me.

Other pen brands that I also own and rate highly are Namiki (although I dont like cartridge converters which they are, despite being high end). And Pelikan (my favourite fountain pen company) although their nibs tend to be middle of the road standard nibs. However as this is what most people want and what most Montblanc buyers get as they know no better, standard sized and grind nibs will hardly be a disadvantage to most pen buyers.