2022 year in review

King Charles got ink on his finger from a leaky pen, probably from a Montblanc Meisterstück Le Grand Solieteir Silver. Frustrated that this happens "every stinking time". It is not clear from the images and video the exact make of the pen, but what is visible is that it is a silver / metal body with a plastic grip and screw on cap.

In a picture of the desk, posted by the Daily Record, mentioning an ink well received as a gift from his sons, the finial of the pen seems to look a lot like a Montblanc.

I assume that the queen was a far more practical person, using a Parker 51, a workhorse of a pen, built to last a lifetime and more. I bet she also had far fewer problems with her pen.

Anyway, it is reliving to find out that this is not a struggle just for me.

I had a fair share of funny accidents with inks. One of them took place during university almost in the morning, after I worked all night at a project, I was ready to print it with my ink jet printer. The project was due in just a few hours, and of course everything that can go wrong will... So I ran out of ink in the printer and I tried to refill the cartridge at 4 a clock in the morning with a syringe. The only sensible thing I did, was that I tried doing it in the bathroom. Because I have seen too many doctor movies, I wanted to get the air out of the syringe before refilling the cartridge. Why? Don't ask! I had a sticky syringe that wasn't moving, so I did the obvious and pushed harder. The ink splashed my face and head. Of course, it didn't come out completely, but the important thing was that I managed to print the project.

 

Lamy 2000 gets competition from Chinese pen companies, Moonman (Mahjon) Ti500 a titanium piston filler similar looking fountain pen, and maybe from Jinhao that came up with a plastic model 80, that takes a lot of design features from the very popular and appreciated Lamy 2000.

Apparently, Moonman (Mahjon) was not impressed by the efforts of German pen makers (Kaweco) and continued borrowing design elements from iconic writing instruments.

The all body titanium pen comes has two body options, brushed or shiny. The body seems in pictures to be well machined and transitions are very smooth looking.

It has a partially hooded nib. The cap clips on the top part of the pen instead of having the ears that Lamy 2000 has.

Lamy Safari special color edition for 2022, strawberry (a lighter red compared to the standard red color) and cream colors.

On a more personal note, the writing instrument that I used the most in 2022, is the Koh-I-Noor 2 mm clutch pencil Versatil 5216. All metal pencil inspired by the traditional Versatil line but now comes in more colors.

I like the pencil quite a lot, it is comfortable to hold, sturdy and reliable, and the color is very nice. I like the dark purple combined with the vintage aspect of the pencil.

Hamburg, Germany and Montblanc in a duty free shop

I just came back from Hamburg, Germany, after a very short trip. And I learned 2 new things.
First, I have to look for flights with more time between them or I should get in a better shape. It was a short and intense trip, as for my flight to Hamburg I had to change planes in Munich, and because the first one had a delay of over an hour I had to run for about 15 gates to get to my second flight just to realize that the gate number had changed and had to run back another 28 gates. I was completely out of breath. I can't even believe that a few years back I ran a full marathon.

The second thing I learned is that Montblanc is also a perfume maker ?!? What ?!?
Maybe Paco Rabanne will start making inks... Not trying to be mean but I do not like this kind of style of business even though this seems to be the future for all brands.
Have someone produce whatever you want to sell, and you use the brand name to make people pay as much as possible for a generic product.
I just hope this is not like Armani watches (replace Armani with whatever clothing brand you would like), pricey pieces of quartz that you should pay around 30 $.

I can't say much about Hamburg as I did not get the chance to visit anything. But I saw a lot of construction sites, brick buildings, and graffiti. Oh, let's not forget about the bubble machine on a car.

Montblanc fountain pen in The Infiltrator

Another spotting on the big screen, but this time is of a different magnitude. Mostly you see actors using pencils or ballpoints, but in the movie The Infiltrator, Bryan Cranston uses a fountain pen. It is a very short appearance. The fountain pen used is a nice white and silver. Very classy and elegant.

If you take a closer look the fountain pen has the grip and the top part silver color. The barrel is a mate white.

On the grip, there is some engraving. The cap is a screw type.

The fountain pen featured is a Montblanc Meisterstuck Solitaire. It is a very nice fountain pen with a gold nib 18k plated with Rhodium. The grip section, end of the barrel and the clip is platinum plated.

On the grip, there is a beautiful engraving with Montblanc.

The price of the pen is between $ 650 - $ 1000.