The story behind Mont Blanc pens, is it true?

Professor

Professor

Gold Member
Joined
Apr 6, 1999
Messages
3,403
Gentlemen (and ladies, I know you're out there),

I was thinking of giving my boss a Mont Blanc pen at our Holiday party on Jan. 3. She is Jewish, and I'd heard that Mont Blanc pens were originally crafted by Jewish craftsmen for Hitler and his little jerk buddies at their commission. The beauty of the story that I heard was that the white blot at the end of the pen is actually a rounded Jewish star, inset on the pen as a snub to the German regime and they never picked up on it. I really like this story, but I don't know if it's true. Any insight or clarification?

Thank you!

Professor.
 
Hello Professor,
I was under the impression that the white design on the end of the pen is supposed to represent the snow-capped Mt. Blanc. I will try to research this further for you. Regards.
 
IMHO, their current line of pens (with very few exceptions) basically sucks. They heavily marketed their line and name and now they've gone to pumping out tons of pens for money - can you say "Office Depot?"
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In any case, I feel their quality (what little of it they had) took a major plunge when they switched to plastic barrels for the vast majority of their line a few years ago.

They've noticed their excessive saturation in the market in the past couple of years and so have resorted to not allowing their retailers (especially Internet ones) advertise discount prices now. Can't have people perceive them as "cheap", can we?
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They're now trying to expand supposed prestige of their marque now by getting into other merchandise, like watches/jewelery(!?!) and leather accessories. Yuck.

FWIW, "Mont Blanc" = French for "White Mountain" Don't know about the Nazi angle - though I think its doubtful that its true.
 
The white spot represents the snowy cap of Mt. Blanc, the highest peak in Europe.

The Nazi angle is BS.

The pens do indeed suck. Mine sits in a drawer somewhere with a split barrel. I found out that they CHARGE for fixing the damn things.

Walt
 
Prof--

I had always heard that it was the snow-capped Mt. Blanc...

RE: the quality..they suck. The refilss suck and they are just an attempt at a status symbol now. I replaced my Mt. Blanc with a VERY nice Rotring set. They make their pens/pencils out of stainless steel and they are nice and heavy...my favorite in a writing instrument. The pen/pencil set (i got the black with gold accents) was around $90-100 and I love it. The pen/pencil set is (obviously a match) and they look sharp, write well and feel great and plus they are not the "look what I have in my pocket...aren't I important" type of pen.

IMHO--

David

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David P. Sproles
Eagle Scout Class of 1988
dps2970@hotmail.com
 
David, I agree, newer Mont Blancs are cheesy. I like the Rotrings too! Good feel and write smooth. Now if I could get one with a spell checker!
 
20 years ago Mont Blancs were nice pens- The ones I've handled recently didn't write as well as one of the Paper Mates plucked from the coffee mug on my desk. Watermans- well- I 'm not that impressed personally. The Rotrings, on the other hand still maintain their quality but they aren't cheap.

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"Never give a sword to a man who can't dance" (Celtic Proverb)
AKTI# A000107
 
This is a bit off-topic, but I just have to interject that I, too, have owned a Waterman and was not very impressed. I sold it after acquiring a Pelikan 800 rollerball. I have never had a Mont Blanc, but have used one and was not impressed. My stepdad gave his set away because he didn't like them. I have been a pen and mechanical pencil freak for as long as I can remember, and I have yet to find a high-end pen I like better than the Pelikan. In fact, I have a Pelikan 800 fountain pen on order. Granted, any pen can be used to write your name, but if you want pocket jewelry, I recommend the Pelikan.

P.S. I love the Rotring and Pentel mechanical pencils. Also, if you want to drool over lots of neat pens, check out
http://www.fountainpenhospital.com



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Chris Turner
Arkansas

"It's only a flesh wound!!!" - the Black Knight

"Well, they wouldn't hang a man for an accident, not even in Arkansas." - Captain Woodrow F. Call
 
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