Stephen, I’ve been watching your videos since 2015; they’re what got me into the pen hobby. I’ve never before felt the need to leave a comment on RUclips, but this absolutely warrants one. I got a Nero Uno *Linea* for my 18th (a big thing for me as the most expensive pen at the time in my collection and a rite of passage). The Linea is more expensive than the regular (in the review), but I really enjoy the aesthetic. The pen didn’t write. At all. I tried everything without voiding the warranty. It was ridiculous (this is a £300-500 pen, iirc). I sent it back and got a better writer (I’ll be fair, Montegrappa UK was amazing). I used this for exams and lecture notes at university. Up until 4 months ago where I had a crack in the section (completely honest, this was not my fault). Montegrappa again received the pen and replaced the section no quibble whatsoever. Clearly these expensive pens are continually not writing and being sent back to Montegrappa with issues. I’m expecting to send this pen back a third time. As good as the UK Montegrappa customer service is, this is something you’d never expect with such an expensive pen. I’ll never buy from this company again. As I said, never felt the need to comment on a YT video, but this merits it. If you’re looking for something like this, go for a Pelikan, Pilot or Sailor.
I received the Montegrappa Nero Uno Fountain Pen and Ball point pen as a gift from my Folks when I got promoted in 2016 as Special Correspondent. I had the exact same issues with the fountain pen. However, I wrote a lot with it, despite its skipping issues, and ensured that it finally started writing the way I wanted it to. I used Mont Blanc ink in it, from day one and after a few days it was writing like a dream. I loved it so much that I bought the exact same pen again as a back up, incase something awful were to happen to my favourite Montegrappa fountain pen, and I've been extremely happy with the pens. I absolutely love the design (mine has the old styled medium nib, which personally, I prefer over the new one) and the fact that it is a slightly longer pen is really what I love about it because I have big hands and find it difficult to write with small pens. I am currently using Private Reserve Ink in it and there has been no dip in it's performance, whatsoever. Personally, I don't think anybody can beat Italians when it comes to design and Montegrappa Nero Uno is a shining example of this. With a little patience, this pen can definitely be an outstanding performer, as I have seen. (Atleast, patience worked with me, in this case.) Montegrappa pens, if you are willing to put in the effort to customise the writing to your taste, can IMHO, be a wonderful life long companion.
I have this pen. Bought it new and got a deal for $300. Mine had good ink flow from the beginning, but it is not as wet as a Pelikan. It has feedback that reminds me of a pencil with the tip a bit rounded. I admit I was worried that I would have nib issues when I ordered it, but I liked the look of it and the unusually shaped nib. Montegrappa did figure out how to get the facets to line up with the cap and barrel. The last quarter turn of the cap seems like it gets itself sealed shut. I think it looks great and is very comfortable to write with. I often wonder why dealers send pens to buyers and reviewers without checking the pen out first. I would not ship a pen unless I knew it would work.
My Montegrappa Emblema had a hard start / dry problem out of the box. Got the nib tuned, and it has worked will since. I had similar issue with a Visconti. Had to replace the nib on the Visconti to get it to write well. But I have 4 Delta pens, and they all wrote great, right out of the box. So, in my experience, the most reliable Italian pen maker is the one which is no longer in business. So sad...
Most definitely not limited to Italian pens but.... I have had problems with the nibs on out of the box German Pens as well. At one time I was very drawn to this particular model, but would probably wait for a really good deal on one.
Hi Stephen, just looked at your video and have to witness that all Montegrappa pens did perfectly write out of the box. I have a symphony, a Sterling silver Gothic and the NeroUno linea pink gold finish. Generally I can only agree with you on regular issues with Italian pens, I experienced this with Delta, Visconti and even in the past with Omas. Anyway keep on with the cool reviews, they are really enlightening. Beste Groeten vanuit het mooie Luxembourg ;-)
I have a Nero Uno that writes perfectly...BUT...there's a long story behind getting one that actually writes. I bought a Nero Uno, and the nib had a baby's bottom so severe, it looked like the tipping on the nib had an inverted V-shaped grind...I sent it back and after 4 weeks, it came back with the same issue...basically they bent the nib around a bit and resent it...I sent it back *again* and then it took 3 months for the retailer to find a new unit that wrote satisfactorily. I bought it for EUR 280 and I was bloody miffed too. The Italians *really* need to up their QC game. Cheap Jinhaos, Wing-Sungs, PenBBSs write out of the box...I've never had an issue with TWSBIs not writing out of the box, Pilot have been flawless, Lamy have been trouble-free...the only pens that have troubled me are the very expensive flagships. My 149 had to have a nib swap for baby's bottom, my M805 Ocean Swirl had to have a nib swap for the same issue, my Visconti Watermark had to have 2 nib replacements before it felt like a 1500-Euro pen...
I purchased a montegrappa NeroUno linea Doetto 2 weeks ago. The pen would not write at all. I check the tines slit and found it tighter than a ducks butt. Two days of 1 hour sessions got it aligned, gaped, smoothed and ink flowing properly. I also had problems with two Fortuna pen's nibs (bock) which Kenro no longer stock or have any replacements, they changed to JoWo that won't fit Bock section. New pens have JoWo nibs but there still a lot of montegrappa pens being sold with Bock nibs that can not be exchange , replaced or serviced by Kenro. Real Customer Service ( NOT!).
I have a Montegrappa Elmo that wrote perfectly out of the box. Fantastic writer, starts easily every time. I often write short comments, recap for three minutes and write again (editing) and this has presented none of the problems you found. Flow is even and the nib superb. But, of course, the Elmo is 1/3rd the cost! Is there a pattern here?
I bought the pen about a year ago. I’ve hardly written total of one page with it. Frustrating experience similar to yours. A beautiful paper weight. I intend to get it tuned, but due to Covid... you know how it goes. Have to wait till the nib meister becomes available. Stay well and thank you for great content.
Calling a pen that doesn't write a paperweight is great insight; truly I laughed. I have 4 Montegrappa pens that I have bought over the past 3 years, although none of them are a Nero Uno. While they take some effort to start writing and they dry out very quickly, once they get going they are great writers. I find mine are smooth and write effortlessly without pressure. I'm saddened to hear of the qc problems you and others have had.
Hi Stephen, since you requested, I want to say that over the last 4 years, I’ve purchased 3 of the ‘standard’ Fortuna pens. They are by far my favorite writers. I love them. They are smooth and write effortlessly. I’ve had no problems at all. Consequently, I’m both perplexed and saddened by your repeated problems with the brand. I can only conclude that you are being sent lemons. Quite possibly, in my purchases, I’ve just been lucky! But you are exactly right - this should not be the case with a company of this stature. Thank you for your work Stephen, and my best. Vernon
I have a NUmero Uno Duuetto in rose gold. It's certainly not wet. It's acceptable - short of dry. I have a dozen anda half pens - some a bit expensive - and I find it's pretty hard to go past a Lamy.
It's Bock nibs and the pen makers. Bock is overpolishing nibs and makers are not tuning them and slapping them into pens. Aurora doesn't seem to have these problems and they make their own nibs. Visconti and Montegrappa use Bock nibs. Not to say Sailor or Aurora or Pelikan or other in house nib brands are immune to issues, but they don't seem nearly as prevalent.
Stephen, wonderful pen, but sadly disappointing in it's performance. On the bright side, Joost does offer nib tuning (optional) before it leaves the shop so maybe it can be corrected then?
Do you think there are quality pens to be had in the $100 price range. I have and enjoy metropolitans and safaris. But am thinking about going up a notch in quality. And recommendations?
Mr. Brown, do you think that one could recover the problem by using a very wet ink (such as Mabie Todd Blackbird)? Would that be some kind of workaround?
I have the same issues from what Stephen has shown in this review with my copper mule. The converter wouldn't draw any ink, as well as having to apply pressure to have the pen write. I tried the warm soapy water trick to have a little success in getting the pen to write smoother, but it still writes very dry. It was a grail pen for me to be excited to write and draw with, but the poor performance that Stephen's NeroUno was the same as mine. I was really disappointed with Montegrappa, and I can't risk spending that amount of money on a paper weight.
It seems in my experience that as the cost goes up the chance of problems rises exponentially. I have no idea why cheap Chinese pens can write just fine and yet so many expensive Italian pens have issues. But I've mentioned before that I have a Pelikan M805 and M1000 that are crap, so it's not just them. Anymore when I order a pen I just assume it will be problematic so that I'm thrilled if it isn't. To those who can't accept the fickleness of pen manufacturing I would suggest finding a different hobby.
Hi there, I have a NeroUno I once offered to you for a review :) the older style nib didn't work for me with a specific type of paper and 4001 ink. Hardstarts. On rhodia...this is BAR NONE the smoother writer of my collection. Including M805, MB solitaire, vintage pens, cheap pens & expensive pens. I would buy again. Love the styling too!
I have a Montegrappa Expressone and a Ducale. I'm looking to sell both of them because, and I concur with you in your review on this point, they look lovely, but they cannot write. It is a pain to have pens in your collection that don't serve their sole purpose. I really no longer rate Montegrappa as a luxury brand despite its price point. It simply doesn't deserve it
Hi A great video as always! Thanks so much. Since you asked for the viewers' experience, I'll share mine (not limited to the Nero Uno, if you don't mind). I have an older Nero Uno where the nib looks different. Doesn't seem to have an ebonite feed either. But it writes like a dream. One of the best pens I have. However, I was in a Montegrappa store not too long ago trying out the newer pens. The store manager very graciously let me try the pens. I tried three Miya Carbons! And none of them worked! After the first one wrote badly, I was sure the second one would be trouble free! But to my disappointment, not so ... After that I turned towards the Nero Uno Grande. Since I had a Nero Uno which I liked very much I thought nothing could go wrong here. I found, as I also see in your video, the nib design is completely different now. Instead of an improvement however, it's a disappointing decline. Shocking actually, how pens of the Miya Carbon price point could just turn out to be failures one after the other. And after that the Nero Uno Grande (looks big and obviously more expensive than the Nero Uno regular) went the same way. Not sure why Montegrappa felt they needed to redesign the Nero Uno nib and feed. If it ain't broke ...
Thanks for the pen review. I’d expect that for a pen at that price there would be careful attention to ensure that the pen writes before packaging it for sale! It’s disappointing that this isn’t the case. Great customer service shouldn’t be an excuse or consolation for this. You expect your expensive pen will perform well. It could be a gift and you don’t wish your gift recipient to be sending their pen in for repairs when it’s snazzy and expensive. I have several pens at and above that price and they’ve fortunately all worked fine. I’ve been lucky. My only Montgrappa has been a Fortuna Copper Mule and it wrote well.
Oh that's not a pleasant writing experience at all. The higher end Montegrappas have ebonite feeds that are made in-house. Looks like this one has one of such feeds. I too have had issues Montegrappa nibs in the past, but that was with their "entry-level" pens with steel nibs, they did not write at all due to the tines being pressed to close. Then I ventured into their higher end pens with celluloid bodies and 18K nibs with ebonite feeds and never had issues with ink flow like you're seeing on this particular pen. The nibs were well tuned out of the box. I have four and they're among the nicest pens I own. Of course they write well too and have their own unique character. Montegrappa customer service is very good and hasn't disappointed yet. I've sent a couple of pens back for nib exchange and a minor repair. They did a great job and didn't take half a year. The nib issue with your pen is certainly a warranty issue that they should fix for free.
had the same problem with a NeroUno though it was a more expensive model, returned it in the shop for a vintage OMAS arte italiana. i'm not impressed with Montegrappa....
Mine was the perfect writer.. I will review it soon. After this I bought another Montegrappa. But alas! That performed as yours in this video. Poorly. So there's definitely QC issues.
I find their nibs to be like writing with a shovel. Their one genius pen is the one touch roller ball that uses fountain pen ink; actual fountain pens- not so much.
I know that the review is about a Montegrappa pen, but I couldn’t feel more related to this issue. I recently bought a Visconti Opera Master Stardust, and even though the finish is beautiful, the pen doesn’t write. Seems baby’s bottom and something else. I will be sending it with other Visconti (London Fog) to Michael Masuyama, who has become in a kind of hero to me. It’s just a mixed of frustration and anger (sorry about that). This should not happen! I admit it, we are part of the problem, since we continue to accept this quality control issues through our purchases. I will stop buying Viscontis unless I try them first or are tested before, which in my case is almost impossible since I live in Perú, but, nevertheless, I will do that. We have to be coherent. Cheers from Perú! 🙌🏻
Another great review. I’m sorry to hear this about Italian pens. They make beautiful pens but if they don’t write, why bother. I don’t want to spend hundreds on a pen, only to have it take vacations traveling around the country to nib meisters. It’s doubly sad because my late wife, who was not a pen person, thought the Visconti was beautiful. I had thought of getting them in her memory, but if they don’t write, she wouldn’t approve of spending that much on a dud.
I have a jinhao 911 which cost me less than $3 delivered, which since I have own it (a year) has never failed to write, never skipped. I love the attention to esthetic the Italian manufacturers take, but it seems across the board - Montgrappa, Visonti, Pineider, etc - that they have issues with manufacturing and quality control. Until these improve markedly I won't be acquiring any of them.
I have a Montegrappa, another model. Unfortunately it is so dry that I can say it is not writing. I have read do many people having the same problem. I will never buy Montegrappa fountain pen again. I think Montegrappa has an important thechnical problem.
i have a montegrappa. i can't remember which model. but it's not this one. it's a nice looking pen but it skips and dries out after only one missed day of use and even in the middle of writing. i wouldn't buy another
Hello Stephen. Thank you for viewing your honost opinion. I am a new proud owner who recently purchased a similar Montegrappa NeroUno Grande 2019 edition pen with a new large 18K medium Nib from Stilo Fetti via Degli Orfani 82 in Rome, Italy. It is indeed a massive, beautiful uniquely, well-balanced, octagonally-shaped black resin pen as you have described, but I beg to disagree with you and many other commenters, that it writes lousily. On the contrary, the medium nib is a smooth-writing wet nib using Aurora black ink. Perhaps its that because your using a fine nib your using in the video demo, and that you may be using an incompatible ink brand? Now C'mon guys, its a shame that some viewers here are comparing this Italian beauty with a cheap, ugly Jinhao Chinese pen only a cheapskate (forgive my for being rather straightforwardly blunt) would purchase. Its like comparing a Masserati to a Cherry. I believe that italians reserve their fine quality stocks for local consumers who they value more, rather than those for export. Overall, though, I loved your video presentation. Thank you and Godbless- Rowen T. Yolo, MD, Manila, Philippines
The ink brand shouldn't matter: any fountain pen should be compatible with any ink brand, and I used a quality ink here. I would expect a fine nib to function just as well as any nib grade. So unfortunately, some of these pens simply do not function properly, as I point out and also demonstrate here, and I am clearly not alone, given the many viewer comments echoing my experience.
This is a strange comment: "I believe that Italians reserve their fine quality stocks for local consumers who they value more, rather than those for export." If that is the case why would Montegrappa et al burden their overseas distributors with the continuous risk of having to deal with warranty work, disgruntled clients and eventually reputational risk to both the manufacturer and their supplier? At those prices one would expect performance or does "hand made" halt at the point where they put the components together and chuck the pen in a box? You can buy an aluminium fountain pen for £10 from Muji (I have three of them) and it writes like a dream straight out of the shop with the supplied cartridge, never mind having to flush it with soapy water first.
75% of my collection is made up of German pens. I have a few French and some US made. I also have one Japanese. I have one Italian pen, this exact one, which I purchased less than a month ago. It is a beautiful pen to behold, but the writing experience is horribly bad. I hope my nibmeister can do his magic. This could be my first and last Italian fountain pen. What a shame!!!
I don’t foresee myself buying any Italian pens. The primary reason is the high cost of them, secondarily, they tend to have tacky designs, and thirdly, the QC issues I commonly hear of.
Nice design but outrageously overpriced that does not write out of the box, says it all. Half of the price Leonardo pens are much better quality. Thank you Stephen!
stprk Can’t share the all positive experience with the Leonardo. I have two, one with a medium and another with a broad nib. Both are steel nibs. The broad wrote fine but the medium frequently skips with occasional hard starts. A friend of mine got two after looking at one of mine. Both hard started and skipped. He had the fine nib exchanged and even then it still skips but not as badly.
Stephen, I’ve been watching your videos since 2015; they’re what got me into the pen hobby. I’ve never before felt the need to leave a comment on RUclips, but this absolutely warrants one. I got a Nero Uno *Linea* for my 18th (a big thing for me as the most expensive pen at the time in my collection and a rite of passage). The Linea is more expensive than the regular (in the review), but I really enjoy the aesthetic. The pen didn’t write. At all. I tried everything without voiding the warranty. It was ridiculous (this is a £300-500 pen, iirc). I sent it back and got a better writer (I’ll be fair, Montegrappa UK was amazing). I used this for exams and lecture notes at university. Up until 4 months ago where I had a crack in the section (completely honest, this was not my fault). Montegrappa again received the pen and replaced the section no quibble whatsoever. Clearly these expensive pens are continually not writing and being sent back to Montegrappa with issues. I’m expecting to send this pen back a third time. As good as the UK Montegrappa customer service is, this is something you’d never expect with such an expensive pen. I’ll never buy from this company again. As I said, never felt the need to comment on a YT video, but this merits it. If you’re looking for something like this, go for a Pelikan, Pilot or Sailor.
That there is a holy grail pen! I just ordered one with a Mammoth ivory body and celluloid cap... gold plated.. I can't wait to get it!
I received the Montegrappa Nero Uno Fountain Pen and Ball point pen as a gift from my Folks when I got promoted in 2016 as Special Correspondent. I had the exact same issues with the fountain pen. However, I wrote a lot with it, despite its skipping issues, and ensured that it finally started writing the way I wanted it to. I used Mont Blanc ink in it, from day one and after a few days it was writing like a dream. I loved it so much that I bought the exact same pen again as a back up, incase something awful were to happen to my favourite Montegrappa fountain pen, and I've been extremely happy with the pens. I absolutely love the design (mine has the old styled medium nib, which personally, I prefer over the new one) and the fact that it is a slightly longer pen is really what I love about it because I have big hands and find it difficult to write with small pens. I am currently using Private Reserve Ink in it and there has been no dip in it's performance, whatsoever. Personally, I don't think anybody can beat Italians when it comes to design and Montegrappa Nero Uno is a shining example of this. With a little patience, this pen can definitely be an outstanding performer, as I have seen. (Atleast, patience worked with me, in this case.) Montegrappa pens, if you are willing to put in the effort to customise the writing to your taste, can IMHO, be a wonderful life long companion.
I have this pen. Bought it new and got a deal for $300. Mine had good ink flow from the beginning, but it is not as wet as a Pelikan. It has feedback that reminds me of a pencil with the tip a bit rounded. I admit I was worried that I would have nib issues when I ordered it, but I liked the look of it and the unusually shaped nib. Montegrappa did figure out how to get the facets to line up with the cap and barrel. The last quarter turn of the cap seems like it gets itself sealed shut. I think it looks great and is very comfortable to write with. I often wonder why dealers send pens to buyers and reviewers without checking the pen out first. I would not ship a pen unless I knew it would work.
I wonder if the folks in quality control at Montegrappa are having a little too much grappa. Thanks for the presentation.
Probably a whole mountain of it.
One of the best comments I have read in a while...Funny Indeed.
Star Gazer agreed xD
My Montegrappa Emblema had a hard start / dry problem out of the box. Got the nib tuned, and it has worked will since. I had similar issue with a Visconti. Had to replace the nib on the Visconti to get it to write well. But I have 4 Delta pens, and they all wrote great, right out of the box. So, in my experience, the most reliable Italian pen maker is the one which is no longer in business. So sad...
Most definitely not limited to Italian pens but.... I have had problems with the nibs on out of the box German Pens as well. At one time I was very drawn to this particular model, but would probably wait for a really good deal on one.
I have the bigger version of the same pen (“Nero Uno Grande”), Fine nib. The pen wrote quite well out of the box, no skipping or similar issues.
I have a NeroUno linea with baby's bottom, so I believe that montegrappa has issues with quality control
Hi Stephen, just looked at your video and have to witness that all Montegrappa pens did perfectly write out of the box. I have a symphony, a Sterling silver Gothic and the NeroUno linea pink gold finish. Generally I can only agree with you on regular issues with Italian pens, I experienced this with Delta, Visconti and even in the past with Omas. Anyway keep on with the cool reviews, they are really enlightening. Beste Groeten vanuit het mooie Luxembourg ;-)
Always enjoy your reviews! Thanks for your honesty, dry humor and poetic words. :D
I have a Nero Uno that writes perfectly...BUT...there's a long story behind getting one that actually writes.
I bought a Nero Uno, and the nib had a baby's bottom so severe, it looked like the tipping on the nib had an inverted V-shaped grind...I sent it back and after 4 weeks, it came back with the same issue...basically they bent the nib around a bit and resent it...I sent it back *again* and then it took 3 months for the retailer to find a new unit that wrote satisfactorily. I bought it for EUR 280 and I was bloody miffed too.
The Italians *really* need to up their QC game. Cheap Jinhaos, Wing-Sungs, PenBBSs write out of the box...I've never had an issue with TWSBIs not writing out of the box, Pilot have been flawless, Lamy have been trouble-free...the only pens that have troubled me are the very expensive flagships. My 149 had to have a nib swap for baby's bottom, my M805 Ocean Swirl had to have a nib swap for the same issue, my Visconti Watermark had to have 2 nib replacements before it felt like a 1500-Euro pen...
My one is that good I nearly bought a second. Use a wetter ink. De Atramentis Aubergine seems to work a treat
I purchased a montegrappa NeroUno linea Doetto 2 weeks ago. The pen would not write at all. I check the tines slit and found it tighter than a ducks butt. Two days of 1 hour sessions got it aligned, gaped, smoothed and ink flowing properly. I also had problems with two Fortuna pen's
nibs (bock) which Kenro no longer stock or have any replacements, they changed to JoWo that won't fit Bock section. New pens have JoWo nibs
but there still a lot of montegrappa pens being sold with Bock nibs that can not be exchange , replaced or serviced by Kenro. Real Customer Service ( NOT!).
That was very exciting. I am without words.
I have a Montegrappa Elmo that wrote perfectly out of the box. Fantastic writer, starts easily every time. I often write short comments, recap for three minutes and write again (editing) and this has presented none of the problems you found. Flow is even and the nib superb. But, of course, the Elmo is 1/3rd the cost! Is there a pattern here?
I bought the pen about a year ago. I’ve hardly written total of one page with it. Frustrating experience similar to yours.
A beautiful paper weight. I intend to get it tuned, but due to Covid... you know how it goes. Have to wait till the nib meister becomes available.
Stay well and thank you for great content.
I have this pen as a Grande since a long time.
Calling a pen that doesn't write a paperweight is great insight; truly I laughed. I have 4 Montegrappa pens that I have bought over the past 3 years, although none of them are a Nero Uno. While they take some effort to start writing and they dry out very quickly, once they get going they are great writers. I find mine are smooth and write effortlessly without pressure. I'm saddened to hear of the qc problems you and others have had.
The older version of nerouno was oem by MB, it got the same nib as generation and it is awesome. It is really a pity they don’t use MB nibs now.
Hi Stephen, since you requested, I want to say that over the last 4 years, I’ve purchased 3 of the ‘standard’ Fortuna pens. They are by far my favorite writers. I love them. They are smooth and write effortlessly. I’ve had no problems at all. Consequently, I’m both perplexed and saddened by your repeated problems with the brand. I can only conclude that you are being sent lemons. Quite possibly, in my purchases, I’ve just been lucky! But you are exactly right - this should not be the case with a company of this stature. Thank you for your work Stephen, and my best. Vernon
My wife has one of those, the nib also has a sweet spot where if you rotate at all it won't write. Interesting nib.
I don't see the NeroUno on their website anymore
Thank you, Stephen.
I have a NUmero Uno Duuetto in rose gold. It's certainly not wet. It's acceptable - short of dry. I have a dozen anda half pens - some a bit expensive - and I find it's pretty hard to go past a Lamy.
It's Bock nibs and the pen makers. Bock is overpolishing nibs and makers are not tuning them and slapping them into pens.
Aurora doesn't seem to have these problems and they make their own nibs. Visconti and Montegrappa use Bock nibs.
Not to say Sailor or Aurora or Pelikan or other in house nib brands are immune to issues, but they don't seem nearly as prevalent.
Montegrappa uses Jowo nibs.
What a pity! so nice design. Thanks for this review. I was tempted to buy it.
Stephen, wonderful pen, but sadly disappointing in it's performance. On the bright side, Joost does offer nib tuning (optional) before it leaves the shop so maybe it can be corrected then?
Do you think there are quality pens to be had in the $100 price range. I have and enjoy metropolitans and safaris. But am thinking about going up a notch in quality. And recommendations?
Is this the grande model?
I own a NeroUno rollerball which has served me well for 10 years.
Mr. Brown, do you think that one could recover the problem by using a very wet ink (such as Mabie Todd Blackbird)? Would that be some kind of workaround?
Nice review however if you posts the cap I hoped that it will be writing smoothly.
Sir
It will be very good if the wring sample should be zoomed in
Its my personal opinion
I have the same issues from what Stephen has shown in this review with my copper mule. The converter wouldn't draw any ink, as well as having to apply pressure to have the pen write. I tried the warm soapy water trick to have a little success in getting the pen to write smoother, but it still writes very dry. It was a grail pen for me to be excited to write and draw with, but the poor performance that Stephen's NeroUno was the same as mine. I was really disappointed with Montegrappa, and I can't risk spending that amount of money on a paper weight.
It seems in my experience that as the cost goes up the chance of problems rises exponentially. I have no idea why cheap Chinese pens can write just fine and yet so many expensive Italian pens have issues. But I've mentioned before that I have a Pelikan M805 and M1000 that are crap, so it's not just them. Anymore when I order a pen I just assume it will be problematic so that I'm thrilled if it isn't. To those who can't accept the fickleness of pen manufacturing I would suggest finding a different hobby.
I wonder, if there are folks working in something like QC ...
Hi there, I have a NeroUno I once offered to you for a review :) the older style nib didn't work for me with a specific type of paper and 4001 ink. Hardstarts. On rhodia...this is BAR NONE the smoother writer of my collection. Including M805, MB solitaire, vintage pens, cheap pens & expensive pens. I would buy again. Love the styling too!
Such a beautiful design, such a shame it is useless. Thank you for the fair and thorough review Stephen.
nice video, love your channel, can you do some advice on piston fillers , comparison etc... greetings from Breda :)
I have a Montegrappa Expressone and a Ducale. I'm looking to sell both of them because, and I concur with you in your review on this point, they look lovely, but they cannot write. It is a pain to have pens in your collection that don't serve their sole purpose. I really no longer rate Montegrappa as a luxury brand despite its price point. It simply doesn't deserve it
Hi A great video as always! Thanks so much. Since you asked for the viewers' experience, I'll share mine (not limited to the Nero Uno, if you don't mind). I have an older Nero Uno where the nib looks different. Doesn't seem to have an ebonite feed either. But it writes like a dream. One of the best pens I have. However, I was in a Montegrappa store not too long ago trying out the newer pens. The store manager very graciously let me try the pens. I tried three Miya Carbons! And none of them worked! After the first one wrote badly, I was sure the second one would be trouble free! But to my disappointment, not so ...
After that I turned towards the Nero Uno Grande. Since I had a Nero Uno which I liked very much I thought nothing could go wrong here. I found, as I also see in your video, the nib design is completely different now. Instead of an improvement however, it's a disappointing decline.
Shocking actually, how pens of the Miya Carbon price point could just turn out to be failures one after the other. And after that the Nero Uno Grande (looks big and obviously more expensive than the Nero Uno regular) went the same way.
Not sure why Montegrappa felt they needed to redesign the Nero Uno nib and feed. If it ain't broke ...
Thanks for the pen review. I’d expect that for a pen at that price there would be careful attention to ensure that the pen writes before packaging it for sale! It’s disappointing that this isn’t the case. Great customer service shouldn’t be an excuse or consolation for this. You expect your expensive pen will perform well. It could be a gift and you don’t wish your gift recipient to be sending their pen in for repairs when it’s snazzy and expensive.
I have several pens at and above that price and they’ve fortunately all worked fine. I’ve been lucky. My only Montgrappa has been a Fortuna Copper Mule and it wrote well.
Writing costs extra.
Oh that's not a pleasant writing experience at all. The higher end Montegrappas have ebonite feeds that are made in-house. Looks like this one has one of such feeds. I too have had issues Montegrappa nibs in the past, but that was with their "entry-level" pens with steel nibs, they did not write at all due to the tines being pressed to close.
Then I ventured into their higher end pens with celluloid bodies and 18K nibs with ebonite feeds and never had issues with ink flow like you're seeing on this particular pen. The nibs were well tuned out of the box. I have four and they're among the nicest pens I own. Of course they write well too and have their own unique character.
Montegrappa customer service is very good and hasn't disappointed yet. I've sent a couple of pens back for nib exchange and a minor repair. They did a great job and didn't take half a year. The nib issue with your pen is certainly a warranty issue that they should fix for free.
All show and no go!
had the same problem with a NeroUno though it was a more expensive model, returned it in the shop for a vintage OMAS arte italiana. i'm not impressed with Montegrappa....
Mine was the perfect writer.. I will review it soon. After this I bought another Montegrappa. But alas! That performed as yours in this video. Poorly. So there's definitely QC issues.
I find their nibs to be like writing with a shovel. Their one genius pen is the one touch roller ball that uses fountain pen ink; actual fountain pens- not so much.
I think you might be referring to Monteverde, not Montegrappa...
I know that the review is about a Montegrappa pen, but I couldn’t feel more related to this issue. I recently bought a Visconti Opera Master Stardust, and even though the finish is beautiful, the pen doesn’t write. Seems baby’s bottom and something else. I will be sending it with other Visconti (London Fog) to Michael Masuyama, who has become in a kind of hero to me. It’s just a mixed of frustration and anger (sorry about that). This should not happen! I admit it, we are part of the problem, since we continue to accept this quality control issues through our purchases. I will stop buying Viscontis unless I try them first or are tested before, which in my case is almost impossible since I live in Perú, but, nevertheless, I will do that. We have to be coherent. Cheers from Perú! 🙌🏻
Another great review. I’m sorry to hear this about Italian pens. They make beautiful pens but if they don’t write, why bother. I don’t want to spend hundreds on a pen, only to have it take vacations traveling around the country to nib meisters. It’s doubly sad because my late wife, who was not a pen person, thought the Visconti was beautiful. I had thought of getting them in her memory, but if they don’t write, she wouldn’t approve of spending that much on a dud.
Mine did the same. Had to run it over micromesh. Italian pens are quality controlled not to write at this point.
Strange, I have 2 Montegrappa pens, of the much more expensive kind than this one. Both write superbly. And not dry.
Gorgeous pen, ridiculous that they charge this much for it and clearly don't have QC sorted out for it.
I have a jinhao 911 which cost me less than $3 delivered, which since I have own it (a year) has never failed to write, never skipped. I love the attention to esthetic the Italian manufacturers take, but it seems across the board - Montgrappa, Visonti, Pineider, etc - that they have issues with manufacturing and quality control. Until these improve markedly I won't be acquiring any of them.
They are Dry.
I have a Montegrappa, another model. Unfortunately it is so dry that I can say it is not writing. I have read do many people having the same problem. I will never buy Montegrappa fountain pen again. I think Montegrappa has an important thechnical problem.
i have a montegrappa. i can't remember which model. but it's not this one. it's a nice looking pen but it skips and dries out after only one missed day of use and even in the middle of writing. i wouldn't buy another
Seemed like it wrote more consistently as a reverse writer.
Hello Stephen. Thank you for viewing your honost opinion. I am a new proud owner who recently purchased a similar Montegrappa NeroUno Grande 2019 edition pen with a new large 18K medium Nib from Stilo Fetti via Degli Orfani 82 in Rome, Italy. It is indeed a massive, beautiful uniquely, well-balanced, octagonally-shaped black resin pen as you have described, but I beg to disagree with you and many other commenters, that it writes lousily. On the contrary, the medium nib is a smooth-writing wet nib using Aurora black ink. Perhaps its that because your using a fine nib your using in the video demo, and that you may be using an incompatible ink brand? Now C'mon guys, its a shame that some viewers here are comparing this Italian beauty with a cheap, ugly Jinhao Chinese pen only a cheapskate (forgive my for being rather straightforwardly blunt) would purchase. Its like comparing a Masserati to a Cherry. I believe that italians reserve their fine quality stocks for local consumers who they value more, rather than those for export. Overall, though, I loved your video presentation. Thank you and Godbless- Rowen T. Yolo, MD, Manila, Philippines
The ink brand shouldn't matter: any fountain pen should be compatible with any ink brand, and I used a quality ink here. I would expect a fine nib to function just as well as any nib grade. So unfortunately, some of these pens simply do not function properly, as I point out and also demonstrate here, and I am clearly not alone, given the many viewer comments echoing my experience.
This is a strange comment:
"I believe that Italians reserve their fine quality stocks for local consumers who they value more, rather than those for export."
If that is the case why would Montegrappa et al burden their overseas distributors with the continuous risk of having to deal with warranty work, disgruntled clients and eventually reputational risk to both the manufacturer and their supplier? At those prices one would expect performance or does "hand made" halt at the point where they put the components together and chuck the pen in a box? You can buy an aluminium fountain pen for £10 from Muji (I have three of them) and it writes like a dream straight out of the shop with the supplied cartridge, never mind having to flush it with soapy water first.
75% of my collection is made up of German pens. I have a few French and some US made. I also have one Japanese. I have one Italian pen, this exact one, which I purchased less than a month ago. It is a beautiful pen to behold, but the writing experience is horribly bad. I hope my nibmeister can do his magic. This could be my first and last Italian fountain pen. What a shame!!!
Too bad. Love Leonard Cohen.
I don’t foresee myself buying any Italian pens. The primary reason is the high cost of them, secondarily, they tend to have tacky designs, and thirdly, the QC issues I commonly hear of.
Maybe you have to read that manual, lol
Nice design but outrageously overpriced that does not write out of the box, says it all. Half of the price Leonardo pens are much better quality. Thank you Stephen!
stprk
Can’t share the all positive experience with the Leonardo. I have two, one with a medium and another with a broad nib. Both are steel nibs. The broad wrote fine but the medium frequently skips with occasional hard starts. A friend of mine got two after looking at one of mine. Both hard started and skipped. He had the fine nib exchanged and even then it still skips but not as badly.
@@curtism5333 I just got lucky on my Momento Zero Fine nib which is excellent. Sorry to hear your bad experience.
not impressed.....