Noodler's Ahab Flex Pen

[bongo47]

I got a Dec 25, and a clear demonstrator Ahab. I decided I'd just fill the 12/25 with Noodler's Concord Grape right away and then wait on the other one. I'm glad I did. The pen started out great, but then started some massiive inking all over the place. My hands always had ink on them with this thing. So I sent away for the new o-rings, and when they came, installed one on the demonstrator and then gave it a good cleaning. Filled that with Waterman washable blue. It worked great. No ink anywhere but on the nib. So cleaned out the 12/25, replaced the o-ring (which really makes a huge difference on the piston action) and then cleaned it thoroughly, taking it entirely apart. Put it all back together and filled with Waterman washable too. So far so good. My hands are clean and the pen seems to flow properly.

 

I like both pens a lot. They just feel great to hold. Not thrilled with the smell, but I think that's starting to fade. My assessment of these are that they are hobby pens. They are for the type of person who wants to take apart a fountain pen, and play with it. I had never really done that before. But now I have the confidence to pull out a nib and feed, so I've been cleaning pens like never before. In fact I got a couple of pens that had never really worked before performing like champs.

 

So kudos to Noodlers for getting me even more hooked on the hobby than before. Without these quirks I'd still feel like a total newbie.

[JonB55198]

On thing I didn't like about the pen was the section. Because it slopes toward the nib, sometimes my fingers get too close to the nib and feed and get ink on them. A nice concave section can prevent this I think.

[Caifanito]

On thing I didn't like about the pen was the section. Because it slopes toward the nib, sometimes my fingers get too close to the nib and feed and get ink on them. A nice concave section can prevent this I think.

 

Ha! So i'm not the only one! This didn't happen with my waterman and I was surpriced when I ended up with inky fingers after using the Ahab for a couple days. I felt like such a noob . But now there is a logical explanation for it!

[watch_art]

I really liked the section shape. Feels like you're using two different pens depending on where you put your fingers.

[Skeet]

Ok, I'll admit that I surmised the Ahab to be a lot of hype. Mainly, because we all love Noodlers inks, so naturally we wanted to show Noodlers some love. Besides, I figured $20 bucks was not a bad investment, considering I could get most of my money back if I decided to resell the pen. So, I placed an order for a fine-demonstrator with Pens Boutique and the pen arrived today.

 

After getting pass the "smell" the new Ahab was emitting, it was on to business. Ok, nice overall design. Hmmm. Ok, it feels pretty good and sturdy in my hand. Hmmm. Ok, yea, it kinda reminds me of the Diamond 530, but can it write?

 

You bet it can! And write it does. After cleaning it up, with a little soapy water + ammonia, the piston action really began loosened up. I dipped the nib in a bottle of Archival Vault, one pull on the piston, and the reservoir was full. After gravity took over, the feeder began to feed the nib perfectly. Nice flow of ink. No delayed start, absolutely no skipping, no RR tracks, and most importantly; no leaks. So the double-walled o-rings I ordered from Goulet Pens (www.gouletpens.com) may not be needed.

 

Anyway, I began practicing my "Civil War Era" handwriting at around 9pm, and all the while, I'm really, really feeling this pen. Folks, its 3:00am, and I've been writing since! I've only stopped briefly to jot down this quick review. Anyway, let's wrap this up, so I can get back to writing!

 

Pros:

 

• The price is affordable.
• Nice sturdy design (clear demonstrator)
• Simple parts that are easy to dis and reassemble.
• I like the "friction fit" nib/feeder design for personal adjustment.
• The piston sucks a ton of ink.
• The threaded cap is definitely a plus.
• The cap posts securely, with no wobble, and it feels really balanced.

Cons:

 

• The piston is somewhat difficult to operate, and it has the potential to cause an ink splatter. So clean it first and work the movement in soapy water, to loosen it up, prior to loading ink.
• The smell of the pen takes some getting use to. But, I'm sure with time; the smell will naturally wear off.

And that's it. Man, I really tried, but honestly, I can't find a single thing else wrong with this pen. So, I guess it wasn't all hype after all. Take a bow Noodlers. I applaud your effort.

Edited December 13, 2011 by Skeet

[tanalasta]

 

Pros:

 

• The price is affordable.
• Nice sturdy design (clear demonstrator)
• Simple parts that are easy to dis and reassemble.
• I like the "friction fit" nib/feeder design for personal adjustment.
• The piston sucks a ton of ink.
• The threaded cap is definitely a plus.
• The cap posts securely, with no wobble, and it feels really balanced.

Cons:

 

• The piston is somewhat difficult to operate, and it has the potential to cause an ink splatter. So clean it first and work the movement in soapy water, to loosen it up, prior to loading ink.
• The smell of the pen takes some getting use to. But, I'm sure with time; the smell will naturally wear off.

And that's it. Man, I really tried, but honestly, I can't find a single thing else wrong with this pen. So, I guess it wasn't all hype after all. Take a bow Noodlers. I applaud your effort.

 

The smell does dissipate with time ... although is still noticable if you hold the pen to your nose or have it in a confined pen case for a little while.

 

The double o-ring is much better than the single one. It floats up and down (mind you, I used a very small smear of silicone grease as well) just like a syringe. No sticking issues at all. I expect the o-ring to last for the life of the pen as the rubber appears tight and durable.

 

I'll be honest and say that despite a little inconsistency with ink flow (my Visconti homo sapiens is worse and that has been adjusted by a well reputed nibmeister ... and costed many, many times as much) it writes very well. The inconsistency is only when one is trying to flex the pen excessively and does not appear with normal writing pressure and even fast speeds. I'm very happy with my Noodler's ahab - well worth $20.

[AlejoPlay]

What do the pens smell like?

[nightwing]

I got my clear demonstrator yesterday, cleaned it, and filled it as an eyedropper. I have no regrets buying this - it's ten times better than the Flex Creaper pens. With the Creaper pens, I had an extremely difficult time adjusting the feed and nib to my liking. I think I ended up springing the nib. It just doesn't write very well.

 

In comparison, the Ahab is relatively easy to adjust! It writes very smoothly. It does railroad from time to time, but not nearly as much as the Creaper. I'm pleasantly surprised with this pen. I really do want to purchase another Ahab demonstrator, but that depends on what I get for Christmas (i.e. money!).

 

A few photos for you (apologies for the poor lighting - it's rather gloomy today):

 

Here's a writing sample. The burgundy ink is a mix that watch_art shared on FPN. Diamine Monaco Red mixed with Diamine Imperial Purple and water (in case you're wondering, it's 1 part Monaco Red, 1 part Imperial Purple, and 2 parts water).

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6506596001_b24e59cf09_b.jpg

 

I love how the demonstrator shows off the colour of the ink. I don't know how I was ever opposed to the idea of a demonstrator before!

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7157/6506596505_fa4f3886a5_b.jpg

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7011/6506596303_85bf4f87c8_b.jpg

 

I left the breather tube in the pen, as you can see in the following photo.

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6506596139_94c3e9ddfc_b.jpg

[fsnow55]

Good review. These pens are definetly nicer than I had expected, though I think I'd rather pay more for something even nicer with 14K semi-flex miester nib, like a Varuna, JEB or Edison.

 

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

 

They smell the same as the original piston-fill models. It's the same material. Personally, I kind of like the smell, but that's just me.

 

It does not smell like ebonite. Ebonite, or hard rubber, is strongly vulcanized, which means there are lots of sulfur atoms linking the polymer chains. You naturally get a sulfur smell, especially from a fresh surface.

 

How could a 100% ebonite feed not smell like ebonite? I guess I'm watching too much Beavis and Butthead.

 

Perhaps stuartk is smelling the vegetal resin or the manufacturing lubricants?

 

 

Mine smells too (I started a thread thinking it was just me, but it seems a common problem). I can stand more odors than most, but the smell is definitely not on the pleasant side. Still, I like the flex and will probably buy another if it's available in black, and would buy more as presents (intros to fpns for newbies), but for the smell.

[testrider]

I wonder if this is just me. I found that the ink in my AHAB evaporates very quickly even without using it, after a few days... I could see the ink level went down every day just letting it sit on my desk.

[79spitfire]

It's not just you, the ink level drops. I think this is more common than you might suspect, but not as obvious on a pen with an opaque filler/barrel.

[Caifanito]

I wonder if this is just me. I found that the ink in my AHAB evaporates very quickly even without using it, after a few days... I could see the ink level went down every day just letting it sit on my desk.

 

I'm not sure if it evaporates but I have noticed ink has lasted less than when I used the cartridges on the Waterman. Not sure if it's only my perception. I'm tempted to convert the Ahabs to eye dropper so I can have more ink.

 

Can someone kindly point me to where I can purchase the necessary O rings to convert the Ahab to eye dropper? Thanks in advance.

[watch_art]

o-rings? You could just put some silicone grease on the threads. No o-ring needed, really.

[Grendel]

Or you could move the o-ring thats on the Ahab section to its eyedropper position... It's in the manual.

[tanalasta]

The Ahab already has all the necessary o-ring in place although I do recommend the double walled o-ring for the piston - more as it does not stick - and a small (very thin) layer of silicone grease on the barrel threads and over the section o-ring and the piston o-ring will do more good than harm.

 

As for the question re: smell - it's a faint sickly sweet yet acrid aldehyde/plastic/chemical smell. Not the most pleasant but certainly not intolerable.

 

Although you could certainly use this as an eyedroppe, the ink capacity as is ... is very good and I can imagine flow may be inconsistent due to the fact that it is an uninsualted eyedropper and the large capacity/air within could cause variability as the air temperature changesor ink level drops.

[AlejoPlay]

I just ordered an Ivory Darkness and a Cardinal Darkness and a pack of the O-Rings and silicon grease from the Goulets. Very excited. It's my little XMas present to myself and hopefully can write some awesomeness with these in the new year (and maybe learn to use the flex some).

[CosmicSlop]

What do the pens smell like?

Put simply...it smells like my metal toolbox! Literally! It's a BAD smell.

 

However, I have three of them and only ONE smells bad.

Edited December 14, 2011 by CosmicSlop

[AlejoPlay]

What do the pens smell like?

Put simply...it smells like my metal toolbox! Literally! It's a BAD smell.

 

However, I have three of them and only ONE smells bad.

 

Well, we'll see when mine get here. I can't get one consistent description of the smell. I've heard Play-Doh (which smells awesome), I've heard wet feet, I've heard dog waste, I've heard plastic/chemical. I just hope whatever it is, I can live with it.

[CosmicSlop]

What do the pens smell like?

Put simply...it smells like my metal toolbox! Literally! It's a BAD smell.

 

However, I have three of them and only ONE smells bad.

 

Well, we'll see when mine get here. I can't get one consistent description of the smell. I've heard Play-Doh (which smells awesome), I've heard wet feet, I've heard dog waste, I've heard plastic/chemical. I just hope whatever it is, I can live with it.

 

 

OK... At it's worst it smells like a "sharp" Play-Doh smell. Even the ones with the "lighter" smell still have an aroma, not as pungent but it's still there.

 

However, it's nothing that'll stop me from using them.

 

Enjoy yours when it comes!

[belia]

What do the pens smell like?

Put simply...it smells like my metal toolbox! Literally! It's a BAD smell.

 

However, I have three of them and only ONE smells bad.

 

Well, we'll see when mine get here. I can't get one consistent description of the smell. I've heard Play-Doh (which smells awesome), I've heard wet feet, I've heard dog waste, I've heard plastic/chemical. I just hope whatever it is, I can live with it.

 

 

OK... At it's worst it smells like a "sharp" Play-Doh smell. Even the ones with the "lighter" smell still have an aroma, not as pungent but it's still there.

 

However, it's nothing that'll stop me from using them.

 

Enjoy yours when it comes!

 

I have four Ahabs. To me, their smell is definitely close to what I remember Play-Doh smelling like. The smell does lessen with time, which, in my case, is unfortunate because I really like the way they smell. To, me, not bad smelling at all. Unique? Yes. Bad? Definitely not. YMMV.