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Nathan Tardif recently released a Youtube video where he described a new fountain pen, the Noodler's Charlie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-FpVSf8udI He gives a great explanation about the importance of free speech and how the pen is meant to be in homage to Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical magazine that was recently attacked by terrorists in Paris. He doesn't want to charge for this pen, so he decided to replace the Platinum Preppy fountain pen that used to come with Heart of Darkness with this pen. Here are some images of the pen in the box (it comes wrapped in a plastic sleeve). This is a limited release of Heart of Darkness, so you will have to specifically ask for this set: On removing the pen and ink from the bottle, you can see its a very skinny pen. It's my thinnest pen by measuring barrel width, just below the Waterman Hemisphere: Its a simple design, but I find it elegant. It's definitely a step up from the Preppy. The pen feels much better in my hands than the platinum preppy, and I think it also looks nicer. CLIP: The Charlie's metal clip is springy and allows me to easily slide the pen in my jeans pocket without the fear that it might slide out. CAP: The cap is screwed on to the barrel, and with tightening feels like there's no chance the cap will accidentally disengage from the section while I'm on the move. The cap posts to the pen securely, and adds very little weight to the pen. I feel comfortable writing with this pen posted and unposted. The cap is made of a multi-color resin that is supposed to be unique for each pen. I don't think it's particularly beautiful looking, but the mix of colors does look interesting. FILLING: The pen is a simple eyedropper fountain pen. It comes pre-lubed with silicon grease. After filling the pen with ink, I recommend using a paper towel to remove any ink drops from the threads covered in silicon grease before screwing the barrel onto the section. BARREL: The barrel is made of the same biodegradable material the Ahab is made of. Yes, that means it also smells the same (for those that think its weird to sniff fountain pens... you don't own a noodle's pen yet ) The smell doesn't bother me, and I've gotten used to it. The barrel is also completely translucent; I like this because I like to watch the ink slosh around in my pen. The only marking on the barrel is a small imprint that says "NOODLERS INK CO". NIB: The nib of the fountain pen is much smaller than the Ahab's. This is made clear by comparing the pen to several other pens with relatively small nibs. From left to right are laid out: Kaweco Al-Star (stone washed) with broad nib, Noodler's Charlie, Lamy Vista, Noodler's Ahab. WRITING SAMPLE: Finally, after filling the pen with a few eyedroppers of Heart of Darkness, I took her out for a spin. She's a pretty smooth writer. The nib is as hard as a nail, but I wouldn't really take points off for that. I attempted to apply pressure to the nib, but there was no flex to be had. The nib is smooth and writes well. Comparing it to several other pens, I've concluded that its approximately the same size as a Faber Castell Medium. CONCLUSION: The Noodler's Charlie is a good writer. It's a simple eye dropper filling fountain pen with a pleasing design, and it writes well out of the box. If you're looking for a flex pen, head over to the Ahab, Konrad, Nibcreeper, etc. If you're looking for a solid no-frills writer, the Charlie may fit your bill. I haven't had much experience with Heart of Darkness yet, but based on my initial testing its a saturated black with no smearing on Rhodia paper. It's also waterproof and inexpensive. I like the pen, I like the ink. I think its a good deal.