Montblanc 344G

[penwash]

I think I luck out and get a very good sample of this wonderful pen:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/792/27530633678_e7ebe4bf50_c.jpg

[jar]

Neat. The "G" designation meant a smooth finish on the pen IIRC.

[WmEdwards]

Was the "G" not the designation for a gold nib (upgrade) rather than steel in the school pen?

[penwash]

Was the "G" not the designation for a gold nib (upgrade) rather than steel in the school pen?

Whatever the G meant back then, the nib in this pen has won my heart :)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/796/41490231742_35e38f99fa_c.jpg

[jar]

Was the "G" not the designation for a gold nib (upgrade) rather than steel in the school pen?

Not IIRC. I have seen G models pens with both steel and gold nibs but all with the smooth solid black body. But I may well be wrong.

[penwash]

Was the "G" not the designation for a gold nib (upgrade) rather than steel in the school pen?

Not IIRC. I have seen G models pens with both steel and gold nibs but all with the smooth solid black body. But I may well be wrong.

Just curious, if it's not smooth, what is the alternative? Does the body have some chasing patterns?

[AzJon]

For the curious the "G" delegation stand for the German Glanz which can translate as shine, glossy, or clarity (among others). IIRC, this meant the pen had a gold nib (polished and shiny!) and I've heard that the 3-44G had a higher gloss polish on the barrel vs. the 3-44, but that seems unlikely.

[FredRydr]

For the curious the "G" delegation stand for the German Glanz which can translate as shine, glossy, or clarity (among others). IIRC, this meant the pen had a gold nib (polished and shiny!) and I've heard that the 3-44G had a higher gloss polish on the barrel vs. the 3-44, but that seems unlikely.
That has been my understanding, too, and I still don't see the need for the suffix. I tried to find something about this in the two Rosler books (Diary and Collectable Stars), but no luck. There has been repeated discussions about this on FPN's Montblanc subform.

[AzJon]

For the curious the "G" delegation stand for the German Glanz which can translate as shine, glossy, or clarity (among others). IIRC, this meant the pen had a gold nib (polished and shiny!) and I've heard that the 3-44G had a higher gloss polish on the barrel vs. the 3-44, but that seems unlikely.
That has been my understanding, too, and I still don't see the need for the suffix. I tried to find something about this in the two Rosler books (Diary and Collectable Stars), but no luck. There has been repeated discussions about this on FPN's Montblanc subform.

I always assumed that the G delegation was just another tier within their 3rd tier pens. Like getting an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus. Same phone, but one has more bells and whistles (and larger in this case, so not a perfect analogy). MB also used to always mark the nib size on the piston knob, which also seems unnecessary.

Probably a silly question, but has anyone ever actually contacted Montblanc directly and asked?

[jar]

Probably a silly question, but has anyone ever actually contacted Montblanc directly and asked?

I was not asking about that but rather just buying some ink when the helpful sales person called the manager over since I was using a fake Montblanc. He had noticed my supposed 146 was smaller and looked like something other than precious resin and the snow cap was yellow which one should never eat.

I hold out little hope learning about a 344G from Montblanc.

[penwash]

Probably a silly question, but has anyone ever actually contacted Montblanc directly and asked?

I would if I knew who to ask over there. Asking a store clerk at my local mall probably would be quite futile :D

[AzJon]

Probably a silly question, but has anyone ever actually contacted Montblanc directly and asked?

I was not asking about that but rather just buying some ink when the helpful sales person called the manager over since I was using a fake Montblanc. He had noticed my supposed 146 was smaller and looked like something other than precious resin and the snow cap was yellow which one should never eat.

I hold out little hope learning about a 344G from Montblanc.


Well, alrighty then!

Perhaps not a boutique, but directly contacting MB in Hamburg. I find it amazing that a company with such a history as Montblanc wouldn't have information on former models.

[penwash]

I found this thread (http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/302368-344-the-humble-montblanc/?hl=344g) on FPN where the first post was sourced from Penboard.de.

It sheds some light into the version of this particular pen:

344G(1). First production run, 1950 (?) Models 344G and 344.

The star on the top is outlined white. On the cap there is engraved: MONT-^^BLANC. The cap ring, unengraved, leaves a free lip. The piston knob is short (with 344G or 344 and the tip size engraved), the ink window is amber and the body is made in celluloid. The feed is made in ebonite, with a “ski-slope” shape. The section is a smooth center-concave shaped cylinder.

So celluloid is the material of this pen unlike the other production runs in which they switched to injection molded plastic.

I actually own the first production run sample :D

[piscov]

I know this pen ;) I also enjoyed testing and tunning that nib!

I believe the G stands out for gold nib. In germany Gold is spelled Gold and shynny is Glanzig, so the G can derivate from any of the words although it makes more sence to me that it derivates from Gold.
You can find the G in many pens from the WWII and Pst WWII period. Back in those days the use of gold was restricted in the industry as it all should go to Germany's war effort. Gold was used to pay war supplies and materials from other countries like steel, oil, diferent metals to produce weapons.
I do not recall haveing ever seen any pre WWII war pen with such an engraving, so I assume the G was used to tell the buyer he was getting a more deluxe version of such pen

I have found G marked on 1st tier to 3rd pens like. Bellow there is a non exaustive list of pens where I've seen it :
MB 14X ( 2,4, 6 and 9 sizes) series from 1951 to 1955
MB 24X series All sizes and also the 2 diferent design, the stremlined and rounded toped pens and also the early flat top)
MB 234 1/2, MB 236
MB 342, 344, 334 1/2

All of these pens had Steel nibs version available.

Sometimes we find G marked pens with non gold nibs, but from my experience this is a lot rarer than finding G marked pens with Gold nibs. I believe this is probably due to after market repairs were the original gold nib was replaced by a steel one. Back in the day pens were utilitary products and probably if a repair was needed this would be done looking more on the function rather than trying to keep the pen original.

As to asking Montblanc about any information, unfortunatelly the pen community has a lot more knowledge regarding pre 1970 pens than current Montblanc services. Maybe with the new museaum being finally open to public they will start gathering knowlegde and sharing it. In any Montblanc Boutique you get the a fantastique service and some boutique emplyees have great knowledge about the more recent pens, but when you want to know about pre 1960 pens they just do not know them. This is quite undestandable; they have very good training for current models and no training for older ones as they are in the bussiness of selling new products :)

Will, please keep sharing those fantastique drawings with us!! This is the kind of use all great nibs should have!

[Pterodactylus]

It is very unlikely that G stands for Glanz.

Imo G stands for Gold and I´ve never heard something different anywhere.
The gold nib pens were tagged with G.

If a G marked pen has no Gold nib in it for me that would mean that the original nib was replaced some time (valid for at least Montblanc pens)

[penwash]

It is very unlikely that G stands for Glanz.



I asked someone at the Ft. Worth (Texas) Montblanc's Repair Center of what the G in 344G stood for. They said 'Glanz'.

I guess that's as authoritative as it comes.

[AzJon]

It is very unlikely that G stands for Glanz.

Imo G stands for Gold and I´ve never heard something different anywhere.
The gold nib pens were tagged with G.

If a G marked pen has no Gold nib in it for me that would mean that the original nib was replaced some time (valid for at least Montblanc pens)

When they use Edelharz as the descriptor for their resin, I would not be surprised that the "G" stood for Glanzig or Glanz. On that note, I've now seen multiple forums with multiple contributors heavily into MB collecting all more or less agree that the "G" stood for Glanzig or Glanz so that you "never heard something different anywhere", this thread included, means you are either not looking very hard or are assuming that people are wrong across multiple platforms.

Edit to add: "G" representing Goldfeder is a likely possibility, but it doesn't make sense to see a "G" delegation on something like a 244 where it wasn't offered with a steel nib at all. There would be no need to stamp it "G" when the 2xx line was assumed to be the second tier pen that would have gold nibs vs. the 3xx lines that could come with either.

[Pterodactylus]

Glanzig ist not even a German word ;).... so they must have be real experts :pound: , you can say glänzend if you want.

And if you would speak German (I‘m a native German speaker) you would also doubt that a German pen company would give theirpens a tagging „Glanz“ or „Glänzend“, (which means shiny).
These attributes could be found for different products like cleansing agents or rinsing agents, but for sure not on luxury pens.

An explanation lˋve heard and believe is that after WW2 when it was allowed to use gold as nib material again, the G for Gold was used to Tag the ones with Gold nibs as premium ones.
Which make sense as it gives you an additional selling position.

[Pterodactylus]

Glanzig ist not even a German word ;).... so they must have been real experts :pound: , you can say glänzend if you want.

And if you would speak German (I‘m a native German speaker) you would also doubt that a German pen company would give theirpens a tagging „Glanz“ or „Glänzend“, (which means shiny).
These attributes could be found for different products like cleansing agents or rinsing agents, but for sure not on luxury pens.

An explanation lˋve heard and believe is that after WW2 when it was allowed to use gold as nib material again, the G for Gold was used to Tag the ones with Gold nibs as premium ones.
Which make sense as it gives you an additional selling position.

Only because something is written in the net even several times does not mean it is true, especially in non German speaking sources commenting/guessing about German companies.

[penwash]

Only because something is written in the net even several times does not mean it is true, especially in non German speaking sources commenting/guessing about German companies.

Did you not read my comment above? Someone working for Montblanc, at a Montblanc Repair Center told me G is for 'Glanz'. Who is guessing here?

[piscov]

It is very unlikely that G stands for Glanz.

Imo G stands for Gold and I´ve never heard something different anywhere.
The gold nib pens were tagged with G.

If a G marked pen has no Gold nib in it for me that would mean that the original nib was replaced some time (valid for at least Montblanc pens)

When they use Edelharz as the descriptor for their resin, I would not be surprised that the "G" stood for Glanzig or Glanz. On that note, I've now seen multiple forums with multiple contributors heavily into MB collecting all more or less agree that the "G" stood for Glanzig or Glanz so that you "never heard something different anywhere", this thread included, means you are either not looking very hard or are assuming that people are wrong across multiple platforms.

Edit to add: "G" representing Goldfeder is a likely possibility, but it doesn't make sense to see a "G" delegation on something like a 244 where it wasn't offered with a steel nib at all. There would be no need to stamp it "G" when the 2xx line was assumed to be the second tier pen that would have gold nibs vs. the 3xx lines that could come with either.

There are 24X series pens with steel nibs. 24X series pens had 2 versions. The later one that I believe you are refering to and an early one that had flat tops and that was produced either with Gold or steel nibs. Even if the later version was not produced with steel nibs that alone does not mean the G was not an indication that G stands for gold. Remember that in the very early 50's, when the later 24X version was produced, MB also produced other models with gold or steel nibs, and having the G was a way to diferenciate and give the buyer a more premium feel.

Without period documentation we cannot be 100% sure, but it does a lot more sence than G stands for Gold rather then Glanz.

As I said early, current Montblanc boutique managers and employes have no clue about pre 1970 fountain pens. They are not definitelly a good source to explain this. Even the repair guys are not a good source, they are only trained in modern pen repairs. If you take a pre 1960 pen to a Montblanc repair service they will not repair it or will deliver it to an outside repair man. They no longer have in house expertise or replacement parts regarding these pre 1970 pens.

I really doubt G stands for anything else than Gold nib

[piscov]

Will, the most important here in this thread is your fantastic talent to use that great nib to make your drowings. I envy your talent! I wish I could give my pens 10% of the good use you give yours!

One suggestion, why don't you make a thread about your drawings? Christof has a great thread about his collection and also about is drawings and is IMHO the best thread on FPN.

A thread that could show us an alternative use of a fountain pen by a talented user like yourself is something I would follow eagerly.

[Pterodactylus]

Only because something is written in the net even several times does not mean it is true, especially in non German speaking sources commenting/guessing about German companies.

Did you not read my comment above? Someone working for Montblanc, at a Montblanc Repair Center told me G is for 'Glanz'. Who is guessing here?

I still does not believe it, it just make no sense.
Nobody would name a product like that.

If I would tell you that e.g. Parker tagged their gold nib pens with G for glaze, would you believe me? I guess not.

[Pterodactylus]

I can give you several German sources which claims that G stands for Goldfeder (gold nib):

http://www.fountainpen.de/sini-ueberblick-50.

Modell mit der Zusatzbezeichnung "G"
Nach dem 2. Weltkrieg waren die Goldvorräte erschöpft . Montblanc produzierte deshalb auch Füllhalter der Meisterstücke mit einer Stahlfeder. Um dies zu kennzeichnen, bekamen die Meisterstücke mit einer Goldfeder die Zusatzbezeichung "G". Hier war garantiert, dass dieses Modell eine Goldfeder besitzt.


https://www.penexchange.de/forum_neu/viewtopic.php?t=620

......

G means 100% Goldfeder, your explanation does not make sense, and if you would speak German you would also know it.

[FredRydr]

...if you would speak German you would also know it.
Thank you. Knowing the language to understand the origin of an abbreviation makes sense.

What was the need to mark the pen for the gold nib? Warranty? Marketing?

penwash, what a great pen!

[Pterodactylus]

Hi Fred.

Modell mit der Zusatzbezeichnung "G"
Nach dem 2. Weltkrieg waren die Goldvorräte erschöpft . Montblanc produzierte deshalb auch Füllhalter der Meisterstücke mit einer Stahlfeder. Um dies zu kennzeichnen, bekamen die Meisterstücke mit einer Goldfeder die Zusatzbezeichung "G". Hier war garantiert, dass dieses Modell eine Goldfeder besitzt.

Translation:
Models with the additional tag „G“
After WW2 the gold supply was depleted. Montblanc produced therefore also Masterpiece pens with steel nibs. To Tag which kind of nib was used the Masterpieces with gold nib got the additional tag „G“. This guaranteed that pens with the „G“ tag were equipped with a gold nib.


I copied this text from the 50s Masterpiece section of fountainpen.de

[AzJon]

"Glanz" has more connotations than just "shiny" at least when compared to English. Again, if someone decided to translate Edelharz as Precious Resin, which is a gross mis-translation IMO, Glanz as a descriptor doesn't seem far off. If quality resin can be a sell point, why not a term that, historically, can also mean "brilliant" in the gemstone sense of the word as well as "glamour". Not exactly a modern one-to-one translation to "shiny". Case in point, there are vintage Christmas decorations named Shiny Brite, which were made by a German immigrant no less, when he could no longer import them from Germany directly.

See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiny_Brite

We can go round and round concerning linguistics, but saying Glanz is equal to Shiny is a lazy translation in the same way as if we translated Sehnsucht as Craving. Not technically wrong, but also a poor translation.

Goldfeder is the most likely delegation, to me, especially with Vasco's input regarding 2xx with steel nibs.

[penwash]

Will, the most important here in this thread is your fantastic talent to use that great nib to make your drowings. I envy your talent! I wish I could give my pens 10% of the good use you give yours!

One suggestion, why don't you make a thread about your drawings? Christof has a great thread about his collection and also about is drawings and is IMHO the best thread here in FPN.

A thread that could show us an alternative use of a fountain pen by a talented user like yourself is something I would follow eagerly.

Hi Piscov, thank you for your kind comment on my sketches.

We have quite a few drawing/sketching threads here on FPG under the Arts & Calligraphy sub-forum.

One of them is this: https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/13418-Show-me-your-fountain-pen-sketches

I'm glad that quite a few of us like to use fountain pens for drawing, not just writing. To me, it is very enjoyable and the approach and experience is very different than pencil.

[piscov]

Thanks Will! I have marked that thread for follow up!

Kind regards,


Vasco