Noodler's Ahab Flex + Adjustment Tips

[SamCapote]

For many users, this is the first pen where they have felt comfortable taking it apart and fiddling with things to get it working right for them. That was one of the goals Nathan had, and which most pens don't support. TWSBI is also like this, but not as much adjusting potential with their plastic feed.

[Scribblesoften]

For many users, this is the first pen where they have felt comfortable taking it apart and fiddling with things to get it working right for them. That was one of the goals Nathan had, and which most pens don't support. TWSBI is also like this, but not as much adjusting potential with their plastic feed.

 

And thanks to FPN we are learning these lessons together.

[LeicaM2]

This thread is a great resource and the Ahab is a very cool pen--I did a search and read this thread but I am still having some issues with mine. Any advice would be appreciated. I adjusted the nib and feed exactly as per the photograph above, with approximately 9 of the horizontal bands showing on the feed and the nib tip 4mm beyond the end of the feed. The pen writes beautifully BUT about once a page in the middle of writing it dispenses a giant glob of ink that obliterates the text in the immediate vicinity. I was having this issue before and after adjustment. Any ideas?

[tanalasta]

Are you blotting the nib/feed well after the initial fill? Excess ink can sometimes blob like this ... or something that is causing the feed to be flooded (e.g. pressing too hard)

[jonro]

Excellent review! I just purchased an Ahab a couple of weeks ago and your assessment is very thorough. I'm disappointed in the Ahab because it is not ready for primetime out of the box. My nib (capped) dries out after a few hours of inactivity, which means I'm going to have to take it apart and go through the adjustment process. I wouldn't mind so much if I bought this as a "kit" pen, but I bought it thinking it was ready to use, like other modern pens I buy. When I have time, I'll try your adjustment instructions unless I decide to return it.

[Chthulhu]

I thank you as well! Out of the box, my feed was set in rather further than your photo shows, and once filled the nib displayed ink starvation with any attempt to flex, though it was quite juicy otherwise. Carefully pulling the nib and feed out, getting the edges of the feed even with the foredges of the nib, and gently reseating them made a tremendous difference.

[SamCapote]

This thread is a great resource and the Ahab is a very cool pen--I did a search and read this thread but I am still having some issues with mine. Any advice would be appreciated. I adjusted the nib and feed exactly as per the photograph above, with approximately 9 of the horizontal bands showing on the feed and the nib tip 4mm beyond the end of the feed. The pen writes beautifully BUT about once a page in the middle of writing it dispenses a giant glob of ink that obliterates the text in the immediate vicinity. I was having this issue before and after adjustment. Any ideas?

 

From what I was told by Nathan, that can happen when the top feed channel (runs length of nib underneath the nib) is not completely clear, and clean. The company in India was using a lubricant on their machines when cutting the ebonite to reduce heat and damage to the hard rubber. That lubricant being water repelling keeps ink trapped behind it, until the pressure builds up enough to slide over it, resulting in the blob.

 

My recommendation is to take out the feed, clean it with a soft toothbrush and a household cleaner like Formula 409 (not just a dilute dish soap and ammonia), rinsing it off afterwards. Also drag the dull side of an Xacto or box cutter blade--scraping down the two long channels to make sure nothing is blocking. Apparently some of that lubricant was of a waxy nature.

[emiliovillegas]

Great review! But on the unboxing part... you didn't say anything about the smell!

[USMCMom]

Great review! But on the unboxing part... you didn't say anything about the smell!

 

The smell wasn't too strong with either of my Ahabs and it went away before long.

[tanalasta]

Hmm... how best to describe the smell. Sickly sweet, with a faintly, acrid sweaty and not entirely plesant odour?

 

Nothing as nice as cellulose nitrate (celluloid) and it's camphor smell.

 

Since writing the review almost 4 months ago, the smell is largely neglible unless one holds the pen up to the nose. It really does fade with time.

[youstruckgold]

I'm crossing all my digits as all my Ahabs (3) have worked perfectly out of the box! My only issues in Ahab demo (my first) was:

• the oring broke and it leaked (50c later, new oring and all is right with the world)
• cleaning it out there remains ink residue in the demo (but this is the drama with all demos).

Keep on inking on!

[Ruminator]

My Ahabs arrived in today's mail. I flushed them and they are blotting now. I'll check the feeds in the morning before doing anything with them.

 

They are a nice pen in my hand. The weight is about right and the size will be very comfortable. They are intended to be used unposted, I believe.

 

Thanks all for sharing!

 

-=d

[Director Bob]

Just got the Ahab in the mail today (super fast thanks to the Goulet's). In less than an hour my hands were covered with ink (iroshizuku). As I search the internet and read comments, I realize I should have saw this coming. This is a really interesting "concept" and great looking pen. But it's designed for, well, people who like "noodling" around with a fountain pen. I, on the other hand, just want a pen that writes flawlessly with perfect flow and smooth nib right out of the box. Something I can feel comfortable taking to a meeting. That's not this pen. Cool idea and the fountain pen nerds are sure to love it but, mark my words, if the general public makes the mistake of buying this pen, fountain pens will no longer be making a comeback. Tinkerers, enjoy your inky hands!

[GFish93]

I have had nothing but problems with my Ahab. My Ahab seems to have a mind of its own. When I first got the pen it had a lot of ink flow issues, I cleaned it out with water before inking it up by the way. After reading some troubleshooting reviews on the pen, I cleaned the pen out again, this time using a brush to clean the feed. After cleaning I inked it up as an eyedropper, and had the same problems as I did before, this is when I began to mess with the nib and feed and started making adjustments to them. As a result I got a beautiful writing pen that was amazing and glided across my paper, but there was a problem, the pen would drip ink directly out of nib and feed section, It wouldn't leak out of the nib, but underneath the nib, sometimes it would be so bad that it would leak around the entire nib and feed section that connects into the piece where you hold the pen when you write. Now, when I was making my adjustments to the nib and feed, I did not bend the nib in the process, all i did was change how far the feed is inside the grip section. Sensing that I may have the nib and feed to far out, I pushed it in all the way, and the pen continued to drip all over the place. At this point, everything I tried had mixed results. Sometimes when I use a rag and just let the pen drip out, it would write great, until the next time I pick up the pen to use it again, it starts to leak. Also in case you were wondering, I did have the nib and feed placed in the grips section correctly. So, really at this point this pen does what it wants to, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, I also tried the converter that came with the pen, and switched between using it as an eyedropper and using it with the converter, and although I seem to get better results with the pen as an eyedropper, the outcome is the same, it works when it wants to.

[tanalasta]

Although I am fond of my Ahab (heck, $20 and it's nice and ergonomic, holds a ton of ink and has a bit of character) with long term use, I do find i it a rather temperamental pen. The relationship between feed and nib is easily dislodged during cleaning and I find that flow is not as well controlled as I like. It really lays down a very wet line and I suspect I will need to use heat to set the feed tighter if I really wanted to control the flow - something I am not prepared to do at this stage.

 

It also dries out quickly (or uses a lot of ink) due to it's wetness.

 

In the end, I do have it inked for letter writing and journalling but will be quick to say that I pick up a different pen for work.

[goldiesdad]

Thoughtful review ... Outstanding ... Thanks for the great info and pics... I have mine but haven't inked her up yet ...

 

Scott

[alc3261]

This thread is a great resource and the Ahab is a very cool pen--I did a search and read this thread but I am still having some issues with mine. Any advice would be appreciated. I adjusted the nib and feed exactly as per the photograph above, with approximately 9 of the horizontal bands showing on the feed and the nib tip 4mm beyond the end of the feed. The pen writes beautifully BUT about once a page in the middle of writing it dispenses a giant glob of ink that obliterates the text in the immediate vicinity. I was having this issue before and after adjustment. Any ideas?

 

Me too!!

I have tried the dismantle and scrub the feed and so far it seems to have worked.

Edited May 27, 2012 by alc3261

[gbb]

For some reason I can't post in the classifieds, so figured I'd ask here. I have an Ahab w a medium nib, not my preference, and would like to trade it for a fine nib if someone has one they're willing to part with. Please pm me if you're interested, and I'd also be interested in buying one outright. Thanks.

[stuartk]

For some reason I can't post in the classifieds, so figured I'd ask here. I have an Ahab w a medium nib, not my preference, and would like to trade it for a fine nib if someone has one they're willing to part with. Please pm me if you're interested, and I'd also be interested in buying one outright. Thanks.

 

Noodler's pens only come with one nib size, which is kind of a fine medium. If you want a finer nib, you may want to look into the Knox 35 nibs from xfountainpens. There are a couple of threads on FPN about doing this.

 

Here's one of the threads:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/212678-ahab-with-knox-k35-bulow-nibs/page__view__findpost__p__2394358__hl__%2Bahab+%2Bnib__fromsearch__1

[alc3261]

1341250504[/url]' post='2391560']

For some reason I can't post in the classifieds, so figured I'd ask here. I have an Ahab w a medium nib, not my preference, and would like to trade it for a fine nib if someone has one they're willing to part with. Please pm me if you're interested, and I'd also be interested in buying one outright. Thanks.

 

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