Over the past two weeks or so I've been writing with my primary Atlanta pen show acquisition, a classic model Omas 360 fountain pen. (Side Note: I've used the term "classic" as opposed to "vintage." Omas introduced the 360 in the 1990s, so it's not been around as long as other Company designs such as the Ogiva or the Paragon, which I believe date to the 1930s, if not earlier.)

I love the lines on this pen.  It's triangular in shape, so it won't roll off the desk.  I'm also a huge fan of the Omas "greek key" trim. — I love the lines on this pen. It's triangular in shape, so it won't roll off the desk. I'm also a huge fan of the Omas "greek key" trim.

A few years back, Omas changed the design of the 360, omitting the rounded cap-top in favor of an angled-flat top that more prominently displays the Omas "O" logo. They also changed the pen from a piston filler to a cartridge-converter model, horrifying many traditionalists. I like the new look, and I don't mind CC model pens. I travel a lot for work, and if I want to take a fountain pen with me on the road a pack of cartridges is perfectly adequate. Given my terrific experience with this pen, I fully intend to pick up the newer model at some point.

For my first 360, however, I wanted the original. From listening to the Anderson Pens podcast I had heard that Atlanta featured a prominent dealer in vintage/discontinued Omas pens. The 360 was actually far down my list of pens to acquire at this show, but I've always wanted one (black, with silver trim), and the price was way, way, way too good to pass up. I managed to negotiate a small additional discount because of some pretty severe nib misalignment, but fortunately I was third on Mike Masuyama's list (following Mr. Pen Addict himself, Brad Dowdy) so the nib was no deal-killer.

Build Quality

The 360 is a solid, well made pen. It's made of resin, so it's not particularly heavy, and it's a good size (slightly under 6 inches capped). The 360 is large enough to comfortably use unposted. You can post the pen, and the cap fits perfectly onto the back, but posting transforms the 360 into a long pen and the balance is somewhat off due to top-heaviness. I've been using the pen both ways, but generally unposted. The piston is smooth, and it holds a reasonable amount of ink.

Nib

Omas nibs are known for their smoothness, and for being slightly "springy." This one is no exception. The one trouble spot with these pens is that they are often set to write extremely wet right out of the box. This has been was my experience (I have an Omas Ogiva that is currently being worked on), and I've seen this issue commented on elsewhere. http://tinyurl.com/8kbhmud. I immediately took the pen to Mike Masuyama and had him smooth the nib and reduce the flow. The pen now writes a beautiful, smooth, fat medium line.

A nice, standard Medium Nib.  Silky Smooth. — A nice, standard Medium Nib. Silky Smooth.

Triangular Section

One thing that people either love or hate about this pen is the fact that the section, like the rest of the pen, is triangular. Personally, I've got a thing for triangular writing instruments, both pens and pencils, so this wasn't an issue for me. The pen sits well in the hand, given how I hold a pen, but I can see that it's a love-it or hate-it thing. If you hold the pen in a way that causes the triangular section to dig into you fingers, this won't work for you. In the new 360, Omas apparently has rounded off the section so that it will appeal to more people. I've not seen or held the new version, so I can't comment further.

The Verdict

So far, I really like this pen. I can see it making its way into the regular rotation. It's a great pen to keep on your desk, since it doesn't roll, and the unique shape and styling almost makes it a piece of art. The Masuyama nib seals the deal.

Three photos, from left to right: The pen uncapped, a writing sample with P.W. Akkerman Voorhout Violet, and how I spent my Saturday morning.

The Good:

The pen's design is iconic. The solid black resin, gold trim, and white snowflake on the cap are classic, if not "vintage." It's a nice looking pen without the "bling" quality that makes some of the MB limited editions hard to carry day-to-day.
The build is quality. The pen has good heft, good balance posted or unposted, and the piston is solid. I have a two-tone gold nib, which dates the pen to the 1990s or later. The nib was originally a medium (see "The Bad," below).
It is a piston filler. I love piston-filling fountain pens that you have to fill from an ink bottle. There's an intangible classiness to them. I'm also a big fan of Montblanc ink. The piston on this pen is smooth, works well, and holds a large amount of ink.
It's a custom medium stub nib that has great line variation. I had this pen custom ground to about a .7mm stub nib. It has nice line variation while remaining practical for day-to-day writing. Photos of the nib and a writing sample are below.

This pen tends to generate strong opinions among the pen community. Some are very vocal in their dislike of all things Montblanc, primarily because of the no-holds-barred marketing campaign by the company, the astronomic retail prices charged for a new pen in a Montblanc boutique or authorized retailer, and what some perceive as annoying questions they get from people immediately upon learning that they collect pens, such as "So how many Montblancs do you have?" or "Do you have a Montblanc?" On at least two occasions, I personally have mentioned to two separate acquaintances that I visited a pen show, only to be met with, "Did you see a lot of Montblancs there?" And the truth is, you do, because so many people have received these pens as gifts, never used them, and try to unload them for cash (particularly the more common 144's, 146's, and 149's), that there are hoards of them at shows, and they often go for prices far below the retail prices charged in boutiques. Keep in mind that a pen purchased secondhand does not come with a Montblanc warranty, so you're on your own if the pen breaks, and it will be up to you to locate a reasonably priced pen repair person or pay Montblanc their standard charge to fix it.

That said, once you understand that the market for second hand Montblanc pens can be far easier on the wallet to navigate, it makes it much easier to enjoy these pens as pens, and not as status symbols. The one Montblanc that I have is the Meisterstuck 146 "Le Grand," the second-largest of the Meisterstuck series, following the 149 "Diplomat." I purchased my 146 at the 2012 Washington D.C. pen show. I've used the pen fairly extensively for the past year, and intentionally waited to review it so that I could give it a fair shake.

The Bad:

The nib, as originally purchased, had a terrible baby's bottom that caused the pen to skip on the downstroke every time I wrote with the pen. This required work by two different nibmeisters to fix to my satisfaction. The first ground it to a gorgeous medium stub, but the flow issue persisted. Mike Masuyama, of Mikeitwork.com, finally figured out what was going on at the 2013 D.C. Pen Show a year later, right when I was at the point of selling this thing. Now, however, I have a nice medium stub nib that is customized to my hand. Though it's become one of my favorite daily writers, a pen that retails for well over $500 should not have issues with the nib out of the box. (For those unfamiliar with the term "baby's bottom," check out Richard Binder's Glossopedia at www.richardspens.com. In short, the nib is too rounded due to the manufacturer's efforts to make it smooth, resulting in the ink not reaching the surface of the page.)
The price. I paid below retail for this pen. However, once you consider that I had to pay an additional $65 over the course of a year for nib work to get the pen writing consistently, that jacks the price back up into the questionable category.

Conclusions:

Am I glad I own this pen? On the whole, probably. I'm not going to sell it. I would consider it a 146 to be an essential piece for any collector who wants to have a sampling of the "big pens" in their collection. That's a personal preference.
Would I buy more Montblanc pens? If the price was right. I'd love a 149, but it's not at the top of my wish list. I've also eyed the Johannes Brahms limited edition and the Midnight Black Starwalker, but it's not been enough to get me to pull the trigger.
The medium stub nib pushes this pen over the edge for me on this particular pen. It's wide enough that you get the line variation, without the "shovel" quality that renders some stubs too wide and wet for everyday writing.