Montblanc Pens and Montblanc Ink

Hello All,

Recently I received a Montblanc pen as a gift (Meisterstuck 149). I really enjoy the pen and am using two different Montblanc inks.

I have a question though - do you have to exclusively use Montblanc inks with their pens?

This sounds like a very elementary question - and it probably is - but they recommend only using their ink for their pens, and given it is an expensive pen, I am not wanting to ruin anything. Is it a marketing ploy to only use their ink, or is there a legitimate reason to only use their ink for their pens?

Thanks for the help! I've learned a lot from the various posts in this sub-forum.

I sold Montblanc (among other pens) for several years and Montblanc does in fact claim that they will not honor the warranty if you use any other ink. I sent hundreds for repair and to be honest they never charged any extra fee based on the fact that another ink was used. They certainly do not have the time and the resources to test the ink on the pen they receive for repair.

Of course if someone is uninformed enough to use a non water based ink in a FP any pen supplier will charge fees for the repair. Trust me I've seen several people using acrylic based calligraphy ink or india ink in a fountain pen!

The biggest issue I've seen with 149's is people not taking care of it properly and letting ink dry up and break the piston, regarless of the maker of the ink.

FancyDan said:

do you have to exclusively use Montblanc inks with their pens?

Click to expand...

No; unless you are silly enough to tell them that you used something else

I've been wondering the same thing with my 144.
I haven't used other inks in it yet though, I really like the montblanc royal blue and midnight blue so I will probably stick with those.

No, you can use other inks as well, as long as they are fountain pen friendly. I would stay away from very intense ink colors as well. OTOH, Montblanc makes excellent inks, so if you like them, use them.

Some safe inks (all blues):

Akkerman washable blue (probably the safest, now that the original Sheaffer Skrip washable blue is not available anymore)
Pelikan 4001 blue
Parker Quink royal blue
Lamy blue
Lamy turquoise (relatively low dye intensity, so I would consider it safe)

Have fun!

FancyDan said:

Hello All,

Recently I received a Montblanc pen as a gift (Meisterstuck 149). I really enjoy the pen and am using two different Montblanc inks.

Click to expand...

Holy Moly! That's some gift! Someone must love you. As for the ink, you can use what you want although I have found that Noolder's and Mont Blanc is not a good mix. This is becaus Noolder's is a very lubricating and free flowing ink and Mont Blanc is a very "wet" writing pen (some compare it to writing with a tube of toothpaste) the combination produces a lot if nib creep and very wet writing.

Now for the longest time they have made the claim of not honoring warranty but I have found that is mostly scare tatics from vendors. Plus there is absolutely no way they can tell what ink you used.

Ohh ... one of the best inks for German piston fillers! (typically wet writers)

Eeyore said:

Ohh ... one of the best inks for German piston fillers! (typically wet writers)

Click to expand...

I agree that the Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black is a great ink...unfortunately, it's not imported into the United States due to some obscure regulations regarding one of its ingredients. I brought back some from Europe last Spring, and I plan on bringing back more the next time I travel there.

Ah yes, you are correct ... for some strange reason it is not exported to the USA anymore. Sam Fiorella from Pendemonium told me about that (she put on her site that the ink was entirely discontinued, giving me a heart attack lol).

That is one of the inks you surely need to pick up then when you are abroad. However, my new love is Akkerman #10, and AFAIK that is available in the USA. It shares a lot of properties with the Pelikan ink.

I use Montblanc ink in many pens. I think it's great ink.
The only ink I have not had any luck with is Noodlers in MB pens.

I love the vintage MB inks like Emerald Green. It has a really nice vibrant look to it.