Noodler's Ahab Flex Pen

[AlejoPlay]

I love the smell of Play Doh!

[SamCapote]

It smells like when I used to buy 35mm camera film canisters, with rubber band overtones. It diminishes over a couple weeks so you have to put the pen right under your nose to still smell it.

[watch_art]

Whatever it smells like - I really like it. I like the tool box analogy. So old motor oil, burnt transmission fluids, axle grease, and dirt. Just perfect.

[dannzeman]

Supposedly a prototype of the new BLACK Ahab was just found in a bar... ;)

http://fpgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Black-Ahab-02a-Thumb.jpg

[Plumdragon]

I just got my purple demonstrator. The smell IS there, but it's not horrid. I think a combo of the plastic and play-doh, yes... but more to me? The tool handle smell. It's not overpowering, and it's already less a couple of hours later than when I first smelled it. Washing the thing seems to have helped considerably.

 

Also, the o-ring on the piston was a "serious bear" as Mr Goulet put it. I gave up trying to be gentle with the previous occupant and just grabbed it off with a pair of nail clippers. Pen is fine, double o-ring simple to put on.

 

I LOVE the flex. I use fountain pens fairly regularly, but I'm also a calligrapher. It's a great mix of the two and very much in my non-existent budget. Thanks, Nathan!

[jiraltan]

To me they smell like cat litter (not necessarily used cat litter).

[SamCapote]

Supposedly a prototype of the new BLACK Ahab was just found in a bar... ;)

http://fpgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Black-Ahab-02a-Thumb.jpg

 

 

LOL!

[dannzeman]

Supposedly a prototype of the new BLACK Ahab was just found in a bar... ;)

http://fpgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Black-Ahab-02a-Thumb.jpg

 

 

LOL!

 

Did you enjoy that, Sam? We sure had a lot of fun with that post!

[Caifanito]

Supposedly a prototype of the new BLACK Ahab was just found in a bar... ;)

http://fpgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Black-Ahab-02a-Thumb.jpg

 

NOOOOO....last thing I need...another Ahab .

 

I'm weak....I owned one fountain pen for months! And only in the past few weeks I've bought 4 others....that was until today! I couldn't help my self so I stopped by the Pen Boutique store which is 10 mins away from my office. I walked out with some more goodies! Libelle Pen wrap, Ahab demostrator and J Herbin Violette Pensee which will fill the newest Ahab! That black Ahab looks like it may be the next hehe.

 

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f226/Caifanito/12152011140.jpg

 

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f226/Caifanito/12152011141.jpg

 

 

 

 

The Blue and Red Ahabs are my daily use pens now so I have them in the pen holders in my bag.

[SamCapote]

Supposedly a prototype of the new BLACK Ahab was just found in a bar... ;)

http://fpgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Black-Ahab-02a-Thumb.jpg

 

 

LOL!

 

Did you enjoy that, Sam? We sure had a lot of fun with that post!

 

Yeah, I still wonder if that iPhone story and police raid was an intentional "inside Jobb" to create all the buzz with the imminent release....but your article was inspiring!!!!!!

 

 

Also, I just posted some new info in this thread after a phone con with the Tardinator.

[dannzeman]

Supposedly a prototype of the new BLACK Ahab was just found in a bar... ;)

http://fpgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Black-Ahab-02a-Thumb.jpg

 

NOOOOO....last thing I need...another Ahab .

 

I'm weak....I owned one fountain pen for months! And only in the past few weeks I've bought 4 others....that was until today! I couldn't help my self so I stopped by the Pen Boutique store which is 10 mins away from my office. I walked out with some more goodies! Libelle Pen wrap, Ahab demostrator and J Herbin Violette Pensee which will fill the newest Ahab! That black Ahab looks like it may be the next hehe.

 

...

 

The Blue and Red Ahabs are my daily use pens now so I have them in the pen holders in my bag.

Nice haul! I especially like that Libelle pen wrap.

[arz]

I recently received the purple demonstrator and I love it, except for an issue I haven't had with my other Noodler's pens. The cap trim is corroding. It almost looks as though it was already corroding, then a layer of silver color was added, and in some places it has worn away and reveals a slightly brownish brassing. It coincides with the lower ring on the cap trim. Has anyone else experienced this or am I the only unlucky one? It's actually a little more pronounced in this photo than in real life.

[SamCapote]

I recently received the purple demonstrator and I love it, except for an issue I haven't had with my other Noodler's pens. The cap trim is corroding. It almost looks as though it was already corroding, then a layer of silver color was added, and in some places it has worn away and reveals a slightly brownish brassing. It coincides with the lower ring on the cap trim. Has anyone else experienced this or am I the only unlucky one? It's actually a little more pronounced in this photo than in real life.

 

Nope, now that you mention this....I just looked at my transparent emerald, purple, cobalt, ruby, honey pens. Cobalt and Emerald are OK. Honey is very minor in one area. Ruby is a bit more noticeable especially with a loop. Purple is the most noticeable. It is mostly at the lower decorative line, but my purple also has another electroplate defect. It appears they cut that line after it was electroplated, and then tried to go back and re-electroplate on top of the chipped edges. That almost never works. You have to strip the original electroplating off and do it over from scratch.

 

My purple is the only one I'm going to ask to be replaced...but I'm guessing most of the current retailer stock has the same problem. None of my first batch of Ahabs have this issue.

Edited December 17, 2011 by SamCapote

[tanalasta]

Guess that may be one of the inherent idiosyncracies with keeping costs down and getting manufacturing right in India.

 

I remember reading somewhere that even TWSBI with all their experience went through thousands of samples before they got the lacquering and consistency required for production.

 

Having received a TWSBI 540 today where the fit, polish and finish are very impressive given the cost of the pen ... Part of me does wish that perhaps ... Nathan could have priced this pen at $40-50 and improved on the QC a bit. But I do admit there is indeed a price differential and at $20, there's going to be compromises. My hat still goes off to Noodler's and I appreciate they're not like Parker and co who could churn out a $10-20 FP by the millions on pre-existing equipment.

[geeklib]

I received mine today (kudos to the Goulets for really good service and quick shipping!)! I didn't expect it to reach me before Christmas, but it did, and I quickly became very excited.

 

The pen feels very nice in my hands, balanced and not too heavy, but big enough to feel substantial still. Having read about other people's troubles here, I decided to give it a quick clean before I tried to ink it, which I think was a good idea. There was a bit of gunk in the feed, but I used a safety pin very carefully to clean it out, and then rinsed everything in water with a drop of dishwashing soap.

 

I've still had a bit of skipping, but nothing major, and it seems to be improving my the minute as the pen "warms up". I realized I probably won't be using the flex much - since starting my FP habit I've grown accustomed to not using a lot of pressure when writing, so using the flex feels like too much of an effort for longer writing sessions. I still enjoy the pen very much, and I'm perfectly happy that it lays down a fine/medium line. This might very well be a new daily writer for me, and I'm already drooling over some of the other colors.

[arz]

Thanks, Sam Capote, for checking your pens! I am sad, but also a little relieved, that I'm not the only one with the issue. I got mine from the Goulets and their employee told me to contact Noodler's distributor, which I did and I'm awaiting a reply.

 

My pen works perfectly, though. No skipping or anything. I hope that they will just replace the cap.

[AlejoPlay]

I just got my Ahabs. The most I did pre-inking was clean with ammonia and soap and change the O-Rings. The Red one has a harder time sucking up ink for some reason The black one fills beautifully. Both write really well (Noodler's Red Black in one and Pelikan Blue/Violet mix in the other) but they skip and railroad when I try to flex (and then choke).

 

I read Noodler's recommends letting the feed soak in the ink some, so I am going to leave them be before adjusting by pulling out the nib and feed and scrubbing them down.

[Pengrump]

Got my two Ahabs from the Goulets today. Excellent service, as always. Thanks, Brian and Rachel.

 

Since I'm crazy about lapis pens, I got one in lapis inferno and one in medieval lapis. Didn't bother to change the o-rings, though I got a set of the new ones. It took me about three minutes of twisting and tugging to get the piston loosened on the lapis inferno pen. Then I sucked up five loads of water mixed with ammonia and Palmolive dish soap, followed by five loads of clear water. Filled the pen with Noodler's Eel Blue, and it wrote perfectly. (We won't mention that the ink bottle was badly behaved because only half full and turned my hands blue, will we? Not the pen's fault.)

 

Then it was time for the mediieval lapis pen. I got the piston loose on this one in only a couple of seconds and went through the same routine to clean it as the other pen. Filled it with Black Swan in Australian Roses, and it wrote normally, then stopped, putting down only a trace of a line, then laid down too much ink, then blobbed on the page, then stopped again, then wrote again. Hmmmmm! I guess this one needs more TLC. After I write it out, I'll pull the nib and feed and "brush their teeth."

 

Very odd. Two nearly identical pens with such different results. All in all, I'm pretty satisfied though. I've had more trouble from pens that cost 10 times as much.

 

P.S. These pens don't smell nearly as bad as the smaller Noodler's flex pens, let alone the kings of stink: my two Wality piston fillers.

Edited December 17, 2011 by Pengrump

[SamCapote]

Got my two Ahabs from the Goulets today. Excellent service, as always. Thanks, Brian and Rachel.

 

Since I'm crazy about lapis pens, I got one in lapis inferno and one in medieval lapis. Didn't bother to change the o-rings, though I got a set of the new ones. It took me about three minutes of twisting and tugging to get the piston loosened on the lapis inferno pen. Then I sucked up five loads of water mixed with ammonia and Palmolive dish soap, followed by five loads of clear water. Filled the pen with Noodler's Eel Blue, and it wrote perfectly. (We won't mention that the ink bottle was badly behaved because only half full and turned my hands blue, will we? Not the pen's fault.)

 

Then it was time for the mediieval lapis pen. I got the piston loose on this one in only a couple of seconds and went through the same routine to clean it as the other pen. Filled it with Black Swan in Australian Roses, and it wrote normally, then stopped, putting down only a trace of a line, then laid down too much ink, then blobbed on the page, then stopped again, then wrote again. Hmmmmm! I guess this one needs more TLC. After I write it out, I'll pull the nib and feed and "brush their teeth."

 

Very odd. Two nearly identical pens with such different results. All in all, I'm pretty satisfied though. I've had more trouble from pens that cost 10 times as much.

 

P.S. These pens don't smell nearly as bad as the smaller Noodler's flex pens, let alone the kings of stink: my two Wality piston fillers.

 

Yeah that's the exact behavior related to the lubricant and/or ebonite particles interfering mainly with the top air channel, and Nathan believes mostly right over the perpendicular breather blow hole. When an air bubble meets the lubricant, it is held back (towards the nib tip end), then likely suddenly builds up enough pressure to get the bubble suddenly moving and overcoming the "lube block" resulting in that blob of ink. Another suggestion Nathan had in addition to brushing with a toothbrush (paying especial attention to that blow hole), was to lightly drag an X-acto or utility blade knife to scrape along the length of that top air channel a couple times.

 

I made it clear to him that people who have never taken a nib/feed out of a pen, let alone worked with ebonite just have no experience with any of this, so there is a learning curve. This hands on tinkering was one of his goals to empower people to know and take care of their own pen like many used to do decades ago.

[SamCapote]

Thanks, Sam Capote, for checking your pens! I am sad, but also a little relieved, that I'm not the only one with the issue. I got mine from the Goulets and their employee told me to contact Noodler's distributor, which I did and I'm awaiting a reply.

 

My pen works perfectly, though. No skipping or anything. I hope that they will just replace the cap.

 

I do too, but I don't think they have any extra colored transparent ones beyond this run. I had a somewhat similar problem with a $125 Stipula Passaporto I bought from Farhrneys earlier this year, where they did not have the surfaces completely clean before electroplating shown here. There were a good number of other minor defects reported in that thread that are somewhat similar to this Ahab, but In my post, you can see the result of my having to pay for return shipping, and that will follow for the rest of my life.

Edited December 18, 2011 by SamCapote