Reviewing Noodler's Ink Konrad

[revdrjaydwright]

I've been fascinated by the flex nib for some time, and I've waited for just the right moment to purchase an inexpensive flex to mess around with. I realized I needed to purchase the Konrad not only because of its price point and the various improvements it strives to achieve over the Ahab and original Noodler's flex pen, but also when I found myself begging an out-of-town friend to bring his Ahab on his next visit. "buy your own," I told myself.

 

And, I wanted to give the Konrad a good review because so many of you in the FPN community have given me great advice and best practices for this sometimes confounding little guy. My experience, thus far, has been nothing but pleasurable.

 

Let the review commence.

 

The appearance and design is a fairly basic classic American FP look. Noodler's is going for the "vest pocket pen of the 1950's" according to the literature that came with the pen and this is captured particularly with the teardrop clip. I do love the throw-back feel of the pen. Being in my early 30's, I have an acute appreciation for things that might have been in common use while my parents were growing up.

 

I really like the tortoise shell style with the brown. The shade of the brown, however, is quite dark, and as you can see in the photo below (left to right - New Dunn, Konrad, Visconti Tortoise Demonstrator), the Roaring 20's brown is much closer to the deep black of Gate City's New Dunn rather than another tort pen in the Visconti. (I only mention this because I have several dark and/or black pens, and would like to mix it up a bit.

 

The blind cap covering the piston mechanism is nice and rounds the pen off nicely.

 

The construction and quality of the pen are in some ways commensurate with the $20 price tag, yet in other ways remarkable. I absolutely love that the folks at Noodler's have handcrafted the ebonite feeds, and it shows quite clearly when you disassemble the pen and look at the vents on the feed. This attention speaks of artisans and craftspeole that care about their products and in my experience would thus result in an increased price. The pen as a whole, though, feels like an inexpensive instrument - notice I didn't say cheap, but inexpensive. It's a nice instrument but there is a marked difference between this pen and the next tier up pricewise.

 

I do appreciate the ease of which I can disassemble the pen, clean it out, and reassemble it without much hassle. (Thanks to all the FP pioneers who demonstrated this on videos!) A thumbs up in the construction and quality category.

 

The nib and performance of Konrad are intriguing. I bought a flex pen because I wanted a flex pen. As you can see, I'm a novice (as of today) flexer. Nevertheless, the performance has been great. The regular writing I've done with Konrad results in a nib size close to my Lamy 2000 F, but just a little larger - not quite a M though.

 

And, I've had a couple of railroad experiences and a couple of slow starts. But, I just tap the nib lightly on the paper and ink resumes flowing nicely. I'm thankful I've not had the huge headaches that others in the community have.

 

Filling system is a nice piston fill - great ink capacity. Maintenance is super-easy with the pen's quick and simple disassembly.

 

Cost and value is right on par. $20 seems just about right. I don't feel like I have a steal, but at the same time, I don't feel like I overpaid for this instrument.

 

In conclusion, the Noodler's Ink Konrad is a nice-looking pen hearkening back to the mid-century. The handcrafted ebonite feed, while perhaps causing some problems for some users, has worked excellently for me and demonstrates in part Noodler's commitment fountain pen writing and its growing community. The flexing nib combined with the piston filling mechanism make the pen really fun to write with and a great addition to my growing collection.

 

Thanks for reading. Happy writing!

 

JDW

 

 

 

http://instagr.am/p/NP9wCUMsB0/

 

 

http://instagram.com/p/NP-a_AssCP/

 

http://distilleryimage4.instagram.com/4410d790d15c11e1854522000a1e8896_7.jpg

 

http://distilleryimage11.instagram.com/15c6f1e8d15d11e18a411231380fddd1_7.jpg

Edited July 19, 2012 by watch_art

[inkstainedruth]

How does yours write? Does it seem to do better with a certain type of inks over others? Mine was somewhat finicky and a fairly wet writer (so called "well-behaved" inks like Asa-Gao just were drippy). It does well with J. Herbin's Rouge Hematite (in spite of the clogging nib creap gunkiness) but even better with Noodler's Kung Te Cheng, and has pretty much become my daily writer (I have the Red Mesa Tortoise, and have been considering getting one of the Hudson Fathom Blue ones as well).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[revdrjaydwright]

Mine writes just fine. I've only used two inks in it so far - Noodler's Pecan Brown and PR Avocado. With both of tthem it behaved ok I suppose. With the avocado I wish it wouldn't write quite so wet because the green is lost especially when flexing. I know I can adjust the feed in relationship to the nib to solve this, but at this point I'm still messing around. I haven't tried asa-gao yet. That is a precious ink to me, and I'm not quite sure I want to go there.

As far as making mine a daily writer, it's going to take some more quality time with the pen. I just got it Wednesday and used it in the office some. Two things working against it becoming a daily writer at this point are the weight and the smell. I like a pen to have a little more heft to it - not necessarily labor-intensive just some substance. And, I've found that piece wanting so far. And, despite my washing the pen with water and soap twice, it still has a funky smell to it.

Thanks for reading the review - i hope it was helpful! Thanks for your comments!

[revdrjaydwright]

BTW, just saw a photo of the Hudson model - very nice! I like the bright shade of blue compared with the other three Konrad offerings.