Noodler's Ahab Flex Pen

[SamCapote]

I finally got Nathan's permission to lift my promised "Cone of Silence" about this pen. I felt like I was going to explode not being about to talk about it. Here is his paper insert to wet your whistle. Photos of pens will follow.

 

 

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab1s.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab2s.jpg

 

Let me say up front that regardless of the cost, this is an unbelievable pen, based on size, feel, functionality, durability, utility, writing, adaptability between a plunger-rod ink filling compartment or made into an eyedropper. When you consider that it is selling for $20, and designed for user serviceability...IMHO, it is creating a rift in the fountain pen space-time continuum, and charting a whole new direction. I consider this as a revolutionary pen, and am enjoying using it as much as my 1970 era Montblanc 149, Pelikan M1000, and some of my vintage Waterman flex pens.

 

This is the first Noodler's Pen that I REALLY love, and it is going to get a LOT of attention. Once I receive my orders from GouletPens.com and IsellPens.com, I will have 8 of these in various colors. You can go to those websites to see the offerings. Apparently more translucent colors are coming.

 

The barrel, cap, and section are made of a celluloid derivative that Nathan calls a vegetal resin. It has a nicer, softer, warmer feel than my MB 149, or any of the modern pens I have used. It is more like the feel of a Waterman 52 Vintage pen, but not with a shiny, polished surface. It does not slip around in your fingers. The resin seems very sturdy, and not showing any marks from posting or other use. I dropped it once (on purpose) from table height onto a marble floor, and could not see any sign of damage. I would never DREAM of dropping one of my more expensive pens as a test.

 

The Ahab size is about the same width and length capped & posted as a Pelikan M800. The cap posts securely, and in my hand achieves a perfect balance. The pocket clip is a distinctive whale shape. The underside has a rounded knob, and despite being folded over, does not catch on my shirt when sliding all around. There is a double fold of the end of the clip metal, tucked up under the ball of the inside, so no sharp edges anywhere. Nothing is glued in the pen--all screw fittings. I'll take some closeups photos later.

 

The Ahab nib and feed is a whole other design from previous smaller Noodler Flex pens--which I was just not crazy about for various reasons. This larger Ahab nib is not scratchy--at all, and the feed delivers ink just like you hoped it could. It writes a fine line (same as my Pelikan M1000 XF nib) with light to normal pressure. With medium pressure, it flexes out to give a line the width of my Pelikan M800 Italic Broad--which is supposed to be 1.5mm size--and with ink flow that keeps up easily. No more skipping or trying to get it started. I have let it sit unused, nib end up for 3 days, and it immediately started writing without priming or tapping. I don't know if that will happen with every ink, but the 5-6 that I have used so far (Noodler's Violet Vote, Black, Waterman Havana, Montblanc Collodi Brown, Parker Penman Sapphire, Hakase Real Squid Sepia, and R&K Alt Grun) work great. The only thing I have noticed is that the ink evaporates more quickly than most other pens, but I consider this a small issue compared to all the benefits.

 

The nib has a typical ball of "platinum group tipping metal," and you can easily verify the separate welded tipping of a shinier silver metal contrasting against the steel alloy nib. The nib and ebonite feed are a friction fit, but there is a recessed tongue/slot matching the shape of the back end of the nib. There is no question where the nib should be positioned when sliding back into the section, and when it is fully seated. The feed can be set a bit farther back from the nib tip to optimize ink flow. Nathan gives a diagram illustration of being able to easily carve the ebonite feed to further enhance ink flow or air. He actually numbers the horizontal feed vents and gives suggestions of how many vents to open up with a razor to give more generous flow...all the way to having a gusher (see above handout). I have had no need to modify how it came stock. This feed also has a small plastic breathing vent tube that goes back and ending inside the hollow plunger rod. Nathan said that some of these feeds may need to be flushed a couple times in a dilute ammonia & drop of dish soap in a glass to clean off any residual machining oils. I did not do that with the prototypes he sent me.

 

To fill the pen, you unscrew the barrel from the back of the section. The plunger filler system is a removable cartridge chamber that is the fastest filling system with this quantity of ink that I have seen. Two plunges with nib/feed and front of section in the ink, and the chamber is completely filled. This system makes it a dream to flush out ink rapidly, and it is easy to pull out the nib/feed if you want to wash or soak it. This inside chamber has the air around it once back inside the barrel, insulating against heat expansion of your hand which becomes an issue if you convert it to an eyedropper by removing the plunger chamber. Nathan wanted to make this pen easy to take apart and put back together, and without any special tools.

 

One of the parts that apparently can wear out over time is the plunger O-ring seal, so these initial Ahabs are being sent with a simple O-ring that you can buy at nearly any hardware store. However, the downside of this first run O-ring is it tends to have an initial sticking after it has been in a fixed position for a while. You can help dislodge it by twisting the plunger rod as you push. Once it starts moving, it then moves back and forth easily and smoothly.

 

When I told him this O-ring's initial sticking might result in someone ejecting ink before they were able to loosen it up, Nathan then had an O-ring specialist engineer a new double edged O-ring kind of like is used in the plunger of a plastic medical syringe. These new double edge O-rings are now available, and I highly recommend getting one or two eventually. Put a tiny bit of silicone grease on the new o-rings (no more than 1 or 2 poppy seeds is needed), and work back and forth a few times.

 

Other than photos, I don't know if there is anything else to mention about these new pens. I want to say again, that IMHO, the Noodler's Ahab Pen is going to blow people away. I cannot imagine that Nathan will be able to keep up with the demand, and he could easily sell these for over $100 in terms of their performance and function. He is limiting the price to only $20, which is just unbelievable. This is a pen you can feel comfortable giving to a novice because of how simple it works, how well it is designed, the quality of the materials and writing experience, and worst case they don't like fountain pens--you are out $20. It's a no brainer.

 

Photos to follow

 

OK, I have a Whaling Boatload of photos. I tried to make all of them about a 400 pixel thumbnail to help with loading time. I'll put the most important ones here, and then add the others to a new post below.

 

 

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/AhabSizes.jpg http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/AhabWritings.jpg http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/AhabWriting2s.jpg

 

 

 

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/Ahab-FullFlexs.jpg http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/Ahab-Compare1s.jpg http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/Ahab-Compare2s.jpg

 

Compares to M1000 XF tip, and second image below shows various close-up cell phone images of Ahab tipping.

 

 

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/Ahab-Compare3s.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/AhabTippings.jpg

 

The rest of the photos, I will add in a new post below, as they have to do with the various parts of the pen & the O-rings.

Edited November 18, 2011 by SamCapote

[watch_art]

DUDE! Awesome! So is the nib really that nice? I can't wait to try it out then.

[Soundsider]

Well-timed and informative. I liked the originals and look forward to Monday's release.

 

/Soundsider

[deenurse]

Great review, can't wait to place my order on Monday.

[MrsGouletPens]

Yay! A very well-thought out and thorough review. So glad to see Nathan has produced such a knockout. Can't wait to hear everyone else's feedback after next week.

 

You mentioned flushing the pen to eliminate the residual machining oils from the feed-cutting process... I would definitely recommend this. I saw this same issue with the '2nd generation' regular-size flex pens... for anyone having flow issues, the majority were resolved simply by giving the pen a good cleaning. So I would recommend doing that with these as well... some inks won't be a problem, but others could interact with those residual oils.

 

And yes, replacement o-rings (the new style) will be available, I believe 2 for $1. We'll be doing a video this weekend on how to replace them. The second batch of pens later in December will come with the new o-rings already installed.

 

Again, great review - looking forward to your pictures!

[Fabienne]

Oh, Sam, I hate you! I did want to get an Ahab, now I am again obsessed with getting an Ahab. Good news all around. Thanks...and I DO mean that!

[USMCMom]

Excellent review, Sam, thank you!!

[lovemy51]

great, Sam! just stop talking about "it should sell for over $100", will ya'? it can give Nathan ideas...!!!???

 

eeehhh, where are the pix?? :embarrassed_smile:

[Oranges and Apples]

great, Sam! just stop talking about "it should sell for over $100", will ya'? it can give Nathan ideas...!!!???

 

eeehhh, where are the pix?? :embarrassed_smile:

 

Pix are back up

[testrider]

Do you have any writing samples to show the possible line variation?

Thank you.

[SamCapote]

I posted most of the comparison images in the first post, so you may have to refresh the page to see them. The rest of these show the various parts of the Ahab, including some closeups of the clip, nib, feed, plunger assembly, and old vs. new O-rings. I don't think these need explanation, except that it is no small thing to get that complex design of the new O-ring. It works exceptionally well. You should be able to zoom in with the full size photos of the nib/feed and other parts. I could not get a good photo showing the carved out recessed groove that the nib fits into on the inside of the section, but you will see it if you remove the nib and feed, which just pull straight out with your fingers. The ebonite feed is extraordinary with all the channels, fin vents, and air tube.

 

Let me start with the clip which is shaped like a whale...ok...you need some imagination....but you can see the idea. The right side is sitting on top of the screw off cap which keeps the clip in place. Next are some views of the underside of the clip, trying to show how it is double folded over, and I could not get it to catch on a cotton shirt when clipped pen was moved all different directions.

 

 

 

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/AhabWhale.jpg http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/Ahab-Clip1s.jpg http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/Ahab-Clip2s.jpg

 

 

OK, now the overall Ahab parts

 

 

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/AhabPlungers.jpg http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/AhabPlunger1s.jpg http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/AhabPartss.jpg

 

 

 

OK, now a closer look at both sides of the feed with all the channels and vents

 

 

 

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/Ahab-Feed1s.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/Ahab-Feed2s.jpg

 

 

And then I got a pretty close match to Nathan's stock O-ring from this cheap Chinese box of O-rings I got on Amazon or Ebay. The one that fits from this kit is marked as R-02 but if you don't have one of these kits around the house, you can just take the old one to most hardware stores that have boxes of o-ring assortments and match it up. However, the new O-ring is quite unique and well designed. I recommend picking up 1 or 2 spares...not like these wear out soon....I would guess o-rings with occasional tiny dab of silicone would last many decades--making it highly likely that if the time comes when you need an o-ring, you probably won't remember where you put the spares. LOL!

 

 

 

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/Ahab-R02s.jpg http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/AhabOring1s.jpg http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/AhabOring2s.jpg

 

 

OK, Sportsfans....that's all the photos I took. Man oh man, did this take a long time to do this review. The pen is worth the time I spent, and I'll probably end up with about 15 of them before I'm all done.

[Hangglidernerd]

Well...thanks for the review ...I think.

I was already itching a bit to get one Monday but now it full blown case of full body poison oak itching for one!

I want it I want it I want it!

I already love my 2 Noodler's flexies and now...that new nib looks...well...great.

[Edgar Allan Bo]

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/pens/Ahab/Ahab-Compare1s.jpg

 

woah, that nib is HUGE compared to the standard noodlers flex-pen.

[Soundsider]

Sam, again...beautiful work and great, crisp photographs to support your points!

 

I'd like to ask you one question based on your comment about having chance to "play with" a number of pens:

 

The pen is worth the time I spent, and I'll probably end up with about 15 of them before I'm all done.[/b][/color][/size]

 

I had started a topic several days ago asking for members' positive experiences with the October re-release of Noodler's original Flex pens, and it drew several comments about concerns regarding build consistency. I only have my two original Flex instruments and with the cleaning and adjustment suggestions provided by Nathan and by Brian Goulet mine write beautifully. Can you comment on the level of consistency and build quality in the fairly large sampling of Ahabs you've worked with? Have you been able to get equivalent results with all your pens, and can you offer any "tuning" suggestions for potential new Ahab owners (hopefully including myself)?

 

Again, with sincere thanks,

 

/Soundsider

[New_Falcon]

Many thanks for the detail review.

 

I think that Noodler's are definitely going to have a hit on their hands.

 

Now I'm thinking that when these come out in plain black, I'm going to need at least 5.

 

Thanks again for the review and thanks to Noodlers for really bringing out some excellent products.

[opus7600]

How's the smell? My Noodler's large rollerball still has a..."fragrance" that makes me uneasy when I uncap it.

[Scriptorium Pens]

I was considering just one of these just to see what they were like, but with such a great review I'll definitely be getting at least 2 of them, the clear and the medieval blue for sure. Thanks for the detailed coverage! Now to wait patiently for Monday!

[meowmda]

Thanks for a great review, and the comparison shot with other pens. I'm glad this is truly a bigger pen with a wider section to hold. I really like the regular flex pens but the narrower section is kind of annoying for long periods of writing.

[mirosc]

Thank you very much. It's a great appetizer!

 

Two questions:

- how responsive is the nib? (how fast springing back to normal)

- how consistent are the several pens you have? (any variations in production, or are all the same quality)

[PAKMAN]

Well I'm ready! Clear Demo for me!!