Mont Blanc Meisterstuck pen kit?

[jbswearingen]

I've been asked by a friend to make a pen for him from a piece of ipe that came from a deck he built for his dad.

He owned a MB Meisterstuck for something like 15 years before he recently lost it, and absolutely loved the pen, so he'd like it to resemble that as closely as possible.

He's looking for something similar to this, a Meisterstuck Classique:

Can any of you help point me at a kit that will replicate this, including the finial, if possible? He'd prefer the Parker cartridge over the Cross. He'd also like a gold finish; I'm recommending a titanium gold plating.

 

[glycerine]

Looks like a European kit, but not sure if you could mod one to take a parker refill. And copying the finial could get you into trouble...

 

[wood-of-1kind]

Euro pens are "styled" after Montblanc's. Pretty well all of our pen suppliers (CSUSA, Penn, Berea) have this style. The M-B (star) logo is proprietary on the end cap and none of the "kit" providers supply this.

 

[jbswearingen]

Okay. I thought much the same. I've seen the Euros, but was hoping one would be available for the Parker type. Thanks!

 

[Justturnin]

The Premium Designer at PSI takes a parker. It is currenly only offered in gold from what I see.

 

[PenMan1]

I'd use a Perfect Fit convertable set and change out the flat top with a domed one like the Mont Blanc. And perhaps make a custom insert for the centerband.

I do this all the time, as it is a very simple conversion. The reason I discourage the European is because it uses a Cross style BP refill. Even with Private Reserve ink, this pen will NOT write or perform as well as the Mont Blanc.

With the Perfect Fit, you get a Parker style refill. Loaded with a PR Easy Flo 9000, this set will look and feel like the Miesterstuck AND outperform it in every way. I sell hundreds of these each year.

 

[PenMan1]

The Premium Designer at PSI takes a parker. It is currenly only offered in gold from what I see.

Chris:
I got one of these to "evaluate". IMHO, it is NOT a good choice. The Plating is inferior, even by PSI standards.

If it were offered in premium platings and with a better tranny, I'd say "maybe". But as is, it looks and feels cheap and crappy.

Respectfully submitted.

 

[jbswearingen]

Thanks, Andy. I looked up Perfect Fit pen and found it at Bear Tooth. Where would I look for the round finial?

 

[juteck]

The 8mm Roundtop from Berea take the Parker refill, and has a black finial. I used one of these daily for several years before I started using a fountain pen. Twist operation was reliable, and the pen felt solid with a nice heft to it. I still leave it on my desk at work so no one messes with my FP!

http://www.bereahardwoods.com/pen-kit/supplies/pk-rt-ballpoint.html

(photo from Berea website)

 

[jbswearingen]

You guys are great. Thank you so much for the quick help!

 

[PenMan1]

Oh, and the studs for making a dome finial for the Perfect Fit are offered by CSUSA, along with a European cap mandrel.

The CSUSA Americana BP, the Berea Flat top series, the Perfect Fit and all European/Designer sets all use the same stud size, making custom caps very simple.

 

[PenMan1]

Good call, John! I totally forgot about Berea Round top ( simply because I found Perfect Fit in more plating choices).

Over the years, I've built many round top 8s with never a problem.

 

[Justturnin]

Chris:
I got one of these to "evaluate". IMHO, it is NOT a good choice. The Plating is inferior, even by PSI standards.

If it were offered in premium platings and with a better tranny, I'd say "maybe". But as is, it looks and feels cheap and crappy.

Respectfully submitted.

Good info. I have never turned one of these so it is nice to know.

 

[juteck]

I've never used one of the Mont Blanc's, so not sure how the mechanism "feels". To me, the Berea roundtop feels solid and has a definite stop point in both twist directions. The perfect fit seems to have a looser feel to it, but also a definite stop when twisting to extend the refill. I also find that the perfect fit has a lighter feel to it compared to the roundtop - not as much heft. The roundtop would take less modification than the perfect fit to meet your requirements, but I think either would be a good choice.

 

[turn4fun]

The Perfect Fit uses a Schmidt tranny that is really nice and smooth. It's a single twist and the nice thing about it is it doesn't easily break if it's rotated too far clockwise. Berea's double twist Euro is a much heavier pen and it's double twist tranny can break if rotated too far counter clockwise. Personally, I like the Perfect Fit better to replace your customers lost pen. It's closer to the light weight of his old pen and has a very smooth one-way tranny like the old one. If you wanted to, you could even turn a black finial with a round white center. Anyway, that's my 2 cents.. Larry