I went overseas for a week and by accident took my Montblanc 149 with me. A bit of background. The 149 was the pen of my life. I bought it when I made tenure at UC Berkeley, signed the birth certificates of my children with it, my marriage license, my job contracts, everything for the last ten years. I can honestly say I was sad as it was more the memories that the pen embodied rather than the pen itself. The pen was a joy to write with and as time passed, the pen came to mean more. I was heartbroken and despite best efforts at trying to recover the pen, it was gone.
So, the decision. A replacement act or something similar, but new. Money wise, I have good travel insurance; so that was not a problem. A month of search and consideration of Montegrappa, Omas, Pelikan, Montblanc (limited editions and others), Caran d'Ache (I liked the 1010, but a little out of my league price wise and too much for someone who likes simplicity over all other attributes), Visconti, and anything else you can think of. A walk through the pen department at Harrods and I spot a rather simple fountain pen in red lacquer. A pen by Namiki. I try the pen out and what a dream.
I love the dimensions of the 149, and wanted to keep that part. All other pens had been rejected due to nib size, decoration, dimensions of the pen, weight, and a host of aesthetic reasons. But the tactile quality of the Namiki stuck with me. An email to a fellow Purist (and self confessed pen nut) in Singapore and the pen of my new dreams was found. Saturday, a delivery from the TNT man....
The sublime lines, the black of the lacquer (I am sure that black holes are made of this), and the simplicity of the 18K nib. Back in the day, when I would look at my grandparents pens, the nibs of the better pens were 18K gold as the nib would be more pliable and adaptable to the owners hand writing. A beautiful pen, something of yesteryear, made today... love it...
With heart felt thanks to SJX for being a true Purist friend - I owe you one on this my friend. My thanks for the service of FK Tan for great service. My thanks - the pen is perfect and all I had hoped for.
Andrew H
