Noodler's Eel

[Perdu]

This is the first time I have posted on this forum. I've been using ink pens since my first years in high school and I suppose the habit just stuck. My current pen is a 20+ year old Montblanc Le Grand, bought in the days when they had 14K nibs. My draw to it was I used to be able to see Mont Blanc out of my living room window when I lived in Geneva/France. I haven't used it in a few years and I went to fill it last night. The piston was frozen and I had to force it to move; I thought I would break the pen. Doing some web searches I found this is not an uncommon problem in piston pens. I did manage to fill the ink but I did some more research and found that Noodle's make an ink called "Eel" that lubricates the the piston and from reviews it works with a side effect that is is really smooth writing. The only down side is it's apparently slow drying. Well, I have some on the way and I'll let you know the results.

My other pen is a 17 year old Meisterstuk 149 that I've never really got along with. It doesn't have the fast flow I need in a pen, so I'm thinking of getting the nib reconditioned/finished. There are a few companies out there that do that but does anyone know what Montblanc charges?

[Bisquitlips]

My last repair with them was $60.00 plus shipping. Well worth it.

[Lion]

Gary, sounds like you have a couple of nice fountain pens. My oldest pen is a MontBlanc stainless steel roller ball that is 15 to 20 years old. It was my Dad's pen and I enjoyed using it but it's now retired since I got started with fountain pens!!!

[JimC]

I just sent a pen off, to have the nib exchanged. Certainly not a "service" on a new pen... I sent via USPS to the MBNA center in TX, and contrary to their instructions for UPS or FedEx. (USPS was "convenient" for me, but Express Mail took an extra day on their end since they apparently weren't set up to accept those kind of packages.) I suppose they finally got the pen, but I would heed their instructions if you are sending something in...