How To Service a Montblanc 146 & 149 Fountain pens

Here, I bring you a tutorial on how to thoroughly "service" your Montblanc 149 [146 is similar]. please see timestamps as the video is on the longer side. I am not an expert in the field, but I have done this numerous times. Please follow this at your own risk. But, I do welcome any questions. Thanks for watching
00:00 Introduction
01:12 Recommended Tools
02:21 Vintage 149
04:27 Piston removal
07:27 Word of caution on piston spindle
09:35 The nib and section
16:10 Putting the nib back together
17:20 Greasing up the piston
17:15 Assembling the piston
23:02 Writing Sample
24:25 What to inspect when getting a used MB 149
29:35 The modern 149
36:52 A 15 second trick to make the nib juicy
36:55 A 15 second fix to dry nib problem

[@puregon]

Excelente trabalho!

[@Shak-MD]

Thanks.

[@dimitridiakovasiliou2453]

Thanks for the informative tutorial with precautions and warnings. I’m sure one day I will want to clean and grease those pistons.

[@Shak-MD]

Do it!

[@dimitridiakovasiliou2453]

OK, it’s 2 AM and I had to try it. My 146 C has a very stiff piston and the piston knob is loose (it wasn’t like that when I first got it so I figured it must have gotten loose?). All done now and thanks to your tutorial it was so easy!!!
What I discovered is that the spindle and piston were completely dry; no grease at all. So weird … so now it is smooth and the play in the piston knob is gone. It feels like a brand new pen now.

[@Shak-MD]

I have done that too. Sometimes the piaton becomes so smooth that the "piston play" and piston turn can be mistaken...and one can have an inky situation. 😀. I'm glad it worked for you.

[@dimitridiakovasiliou2453]

@@Shak-MD Interesting! Didn’t think of that. I’ll keep an eye out to see if it happens again. Thanks.

[@mjfletch5737]

Thanks for a very informative video on the 149. I have my father's 149 that's been sitting in drawer for two decades and appears the piston shaft (black plastic) that attaches to the piston head (opaque plastic) is badly cracked and needs to be replaced. Any suggestions on best places to search for parts?

[@Shak-MD]

Thank you. You need a piston replacement , which can be found in many places. Montblanc service center can fully revive the pen for around 100+shipping. This is agood deal if the pen needs a lot of attention and you are not comfortable working with it.
If you need just the piston, there is no place better than fivestarpens on ebay. I shop with them often. I will link you to what you need:
www.ebay.com/itm/126083946266?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=MAVD_-0IRDK&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=asnov5WOR2W&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Good luck. Please reach out through the channel email if you still have problems.
Cheers,

[@mjfletch5737]

Thanks for the source for parts. I'll order the part and then come back to your tutorial on disassembly and cleaning.@@Shak-MD

[@EverGreenElephant]

I cannot recommend to do it. It was impossible to re-assemble the nib unit. The nib and the feed are super super tight. I have to send it back to Montblanc.

[@Shak-MD]

Fair enough. I have occasionally had difficulty with re-assembly. I noticed it only occurred when trying to fit modern feed and nib into older collar. Especially in 146 modles.

[@EverGreenElephant]

@@Shak-MD It's a M146 which I baught used and with flow issues. Quite frustrating.

[@Shak-MD]

@EverGreenElephant Feel free to send it to a friend to take a look at it :) . I work with older 146s quite frequently :). Can also send it to MB, but it would cost half of the price.

[@EverGreenElephant]

@@Shak-MD I'm located in Germany, so I think it's more convenient to send to MB