Montblanc 234 1/2 Fountain Pen - Fully Restored

Produced in the 1940's and recently restored by Hepworth Dixon. This stunning Montblanc 234 1/2 vintage fountain pen is now offered for sale via our website.

Restoration involved a full overhaul of telescopic spiral filling mechanism, the original cork seal had shrunk allowing ink to ingress internal workings at rear of pen barrel. Unused for decades, dried ink now clogged spiral flutes resulting in total seizure.

Having carefully retracted piston assembly through rear of pen, we set about the task of intricately restoring individual spiral telescopic sections. Image on below shows our newly restored piston assembly, fitted with new wax sealed, two part cork barrel seal.

Restored piston assembly shown
at three levels of extension

The amber ink view window on this pen is very clear. What many do not realise is that the whole barrel is in fact made from amber coloured resin. The gloss black appearance was achieved by by dipping the amber body, including thread section in black celluloid with the ink view window masked off. Over zealous owners could easily over polish their prized position, wearing away the outer black coating, resulting in unwanted barrel transparency.

Clear amber ink view window

The inside of ink view widow on this 234 was heavily ink stained, even after ultrasonic cleaning. By internally plugging barrel with rubber bungs to protect blackened areas, we were able to polish window, removing  ink stains effectively.

The same level of care must be adopted when attempting to polish barrel exterior. Fortunately this 234 was free of dents and abrasions, so only very fine cut plastic polish was needed to bring up a gloss shine. Cap is made soley from black celluloid, so with cap rings and Montblanc lettering masked and clip removed, hand polishing soon brought surface finish back to a high standard.

Nib has been tested, and is proven to be manufactured from stainless steel. This material was used extensively during the war years as gold had become scarce and hard to obtain. Nibs of this period were also made of Palladium, very few as the cost of palladium was very similar to that of gold.                                                                                                                                                              Initial impressions of a quality Montblanc fountain being fitted with a steel nib were questionable. Having written with this pen, any doubts on nib performance had been totally unfounded, it writes beautifully.

Overall this has been a particularly satisfying restoration project. Now complete, this rare fountain pen is available to purchase through our website: 

www.hepworthdixon.com/montblanc_fountain_pens.html 

Collectors of fine vintage fountain pens can read detailed description, and view many more images.