Question about Monteverde pens

[southpaw52]

I own a Monteverde fountain pen years ago. It was a lovely pen but had issues such as stop and start skipping etc. I like the looks of the new pens especially the Mountain series.

For those that are currently using a Monteverde, how do you like it, any issues?

[Lady Onogaro]

I bought a Monteverde Intima a year ago, and I also had issues with the nib (hard starting and skipping). I tinkered with it but was unable to solve the problems. (By the way, the nib was one of the black ones, so I don't know whether the coating on it was an issue--I suspected so). So I replaced the nib with a Goulet nib.

So a week or so ago, I noticed that the black finish on the section was coming off (just peeling away, it seemed). This was after a simple water flush (no detergent of any kind--just diluted water). So I called Ron at Pen Chalet (where I bought the pen) and asked him if he knew of any issues. He said not with that pen but others. So he contacted Monteverde, and they shipped me out a new section. It turned out they also sent a new nib and feed, too. So I tried the whole package; the nib, which was a 1.1 stub, was scratchy, but it did write without any hard starts or skipping. So I used a little Mylar, and it smoothed right up. And now I like it.

I hope this is helpful.

[Dronak]

I have a Monteverde Impressa that I bought about 6 weeks ago, and it's generally been fine for me. Sometimes I have a little trouble writing, but I think that's mainly because it's a stub nib and I've never used one of them before. I understand that it's got a smaller sweet spot than the usual round nibs though, and I probably just need to learn where it is and adjust to it so that I can hit it consistently. I like it because it gives a different look to my handwriting, but it does seem to take a little getting used to.

The only negative I think I've seen so far is a small amount of peeling at the very top of the grip, on the side of the wider ring into which the nib and feed sit. I think I felt it before I saw it, and IMO it's still not as easily seen as felt. I'm not sure what caused it or why, because I'm generally careful handling my fountain pens. Since there's no obvious color difference, I thought it might be a protective coating; you know, like the plastic they put over electronic screens that you remove once you take the item home. But it doesn't seem to be like that elsewhere on the pen, so I don't know. It doesn't really bother me right now, but I hope it doesn't get significantly worse. If I tried to get it fixed, I suspect they'd charge me saying it's wear and tear and not a manufacturing defect, and it would cost more than I'd be willing to pay for a pen of its value.

I hope this is of some help.

[Hawk]

No problems with the two that I own. My first one is a Stealth; it has small chips on the coating on some of the edges. This is a work pen that doesn't get the best treatment. My second one is a purple swirl; it's only problem is the logo on the top of the cap has worn away. they are decent writers (I'm not a perfectionest), no problems with skipping or starting. A good value for the buck.

[sharmon202]

I have two Monteverde pens, Artista Wild Stripes, Invincia Nighthawk. Neither writes worth a darn, dry, skippy, hard starters. They are in permanent storage and I will not spend another penny on Monteverde. Just my experience.

[BillPorter]

I bought a Monteverde Napa a couple of weeks ago. I found it a bit scratchy and a dry writer. I was able to get a little more separation between the tines and smooth it with micro-mesh. Even though I had flushed it when I first got it, I found that it tended to dry out after a few sentences. Another flush didn't help so I did a more extreme flush with a 50/50 mixture of water and 409 cleaner. It's now working pretty well, but still takes a stroke or two to start up most times. Overall, I'm glad I bought the pen as it has finally become a good writer, but I'm not in love with it. A small detail: there is a little wheel at the end of the clip that, through its rotation, is supposed to make it easy to slide the clip onto ones pocket. The little wheel on mine doesn't turn, it's just fixed in place. Hope this helps.

[kaisnowbird]

i had two Monteverde - the Intima Volcanic Grey and Artista Crystal. Like mentioned by others, the Intima (1.1 mm) had flow issues and the section plating loss was minor but unsightly. The Artista Crystal's injection molding was not done very well, one side of the barrel wall was thinner than the other, which is noticeable in a demonstrator. The nib was middle of the road and fairly boring.

I moved on and won't revisit the brand.

[KBeezie]

Might be a special situation for me, but the only Monteverde I owned was a Invincia Deluxe Nighthawk, not even a month of owning it, the black paint on it stated to brass away severely. Monteverde didn't seem to want to say much about it, sort of a it's an exclusive out of production model so not like they could do anything about it (though they could have just replaced the section with the glossy one from the same carbon fiber pen). Ended up going thru the retailer Goulet which as noted it was a discontinued model at the time, and after showing pictured noted the severity of the brassing (it was also noted that the nighthawk was not discontinued due to brassing but for other reasons). The retailer refunded me for the pen especially since it couldn't be corrected as the model no longer existed, very generous, and is much more than the manufacture could do (which was nothing) since there was no warranty alternatives to a freshly discontinued model.

Also in ongoing interaction with them (ie: Yafa owns them), it seems their customer support is next to none, so I decided I'm not going to buy any Yafa owned pens going forward, especially since I tried a more expensive modern Conklin Glider that they make and was not impressed with the quality. Friend of mine also got a modern Conklin to which they started gluing in the nibs and feeds (as opposed to friction fit or a collar that could be unscrewed).

The Yafa company also seems to be pretty ambiguous about where the pens are made, such as Monteverde saying U.S.A. on the pen, doesn't say it's made in USA just has it on the pen, and are pretty vague when asked just that they source parts from europe etc (which means they could have the metal or nib from europe, but still have them produced in China).

PS: A Jinhao 159 in black lasted 6 months without losing a single speck of paint while being carried naked, as opposed to the nighthawk that was baby'd in a case for a month and ended up looking like this :



to one year later before I finally sold it (matched it up with a bexley nib that was suddenly losing it's plating). Oh and for most of the year from 1 month to this picture, it stayed in it's box, only being taken out maybe once every 2 or 3 months for play.

[Scrawler]

I used to have a Monteverde Jewelria which was hard starting and dry. I had to floss and shim the nib to get it working nicely.

[lowjax]

I just ordered a Monteverde Jewelria on Friday. Wish I would have read this thread first. Maybe mine will be good. Almost all the reviews I read online were between decent and excellent.

[Scrawler]

I just ordered a Monteverde Jewelria on Friday. Wish I would have read this thread first. Maybe mine will be good. Almost all the reviews I read online were between decent and excellent.

The Jewelria is a very nice looking pen. I am knowledgeable about nibs and it was no big deal to me to floss and shim it. I pretty much expect to have to do something with most modern pens when they are new. From flushing residue out of the feed to adjusting the nib. The person I PiFed it to is very happy with it and you will likely be happy with yours.

[lowjax]

Thanks Scrawler. If it isn't working right, I know a few people that can fix it, so I'm not too worried. I don't like to have to fiddle with new pens though. I kind of expect them to work out of the box.

[naimitsu]

My Napa is in for repairs as the barrel snapped in 2 at the view window. I know it arrived, but I have not heard anything from them about the repair (though I specifically asked them to call or email me for payment if/when necessary).
The M nib it came with wrote fairly well. No issues with hard starts or scatchiness that I could discern. However, I didn't use that nib much as I replaced it with a Goulet Jowo 1.1mm stub almost immediately.

I also had an Impressa with a 1.1mm stub. Depending on the ink, it either wrote fine or had major issues with skipping and hard starts. As long as you keep a well lubricated ink in it, it seemed to do fine.

The other half had an Invincia Color Fusion with a 1.1mm stub. That nib would not write for anything. I tried flossing the slit, and all I got for my effort were holes in my brass shim. I tried separating the tines, but that didn't do anything. I finally got fed up with it and took an xacto knife to it, and the damn thing started to flow. However, because the material of the nib was softer than the xacto knife, there were some rough spots. I took some micromesh to it and smoothed it out. It is now one of the wettest 1.1mm stub I have ever written with, which is what we were trying to go for. Apparently the other nicks in the slit are only cosmetic as the new owner of the pen has not complained about scratchiness, and we see him every day at work!

And somewhat related, I also have Conklin Stylograph in a 1.1mm stub. It suffers from an inconsistent flow issue, which makes it look like I'm writing with a dip nib. I haven't decided if that's an issue or a feature of the nib. It may be due to the crescent shaped breather hole.
It also has some start issues when paired with a dry/unlubricated ink. It doesn't have the hard starts that its Monteverde cousin seems to suffer from, but sometimes it has the opposite problem of laying down more ink than I like.

I've been eyeing a couple Deltas and Stipulas, but as they are also under the Yafa umbrella, I'm hesitant to try them due to issues I've experienced with the Monteverdes and Conklins, especially since those two are in a higher price range. I've heard many good things about the Deltas at least, but I heard similar things about the Monteverdes and Conklins, so I take any praise for a Yafa pen with a grain of salt.

[Laura N]

My answer: