So Tell Us About Your Neponset

[Limner]

UH OH. I plan to use mine as eyedropper fillers, as well; that's what really sealed the deal, for me.

Going to sniff my pen now.

[bitterwonder]

I was under the impression that the filling mechanism is permanent.

That said, it does hold quite a lot of ink. I have become fond of it.

[spotted and speckled]

Mine is glued in too, but I was thinking a little heat (think blow dryer, not flame) would loosen it up. I want mine to go the eyedropper route too. Mine has no glue scent so I assumed it was shellac. I have a chestnut one.

[Limner]

hmmmm, I seem to remember seeing...something, either a review/description or video, that said both the Neponsets and the Ahabs were convertible to eyedroppers--and it mentioned the ink capacities of both--but now I can't find it (???). The filler on my ebonite appears to be quite solidly attached.

 

You're right, bitterwonder, it holds a large amount of ink, which should be enough for me; I do wish I could remove the filler to clean it more thoroughly, though.

 

Edited to add: I think it may have been the gourmet pens review of the prototype (http://www.gourmetpens.com/2014/08/review-noodlers-neponset-fountain-pen.html#.VIuPgr42xjA) that put me under the assumption.

Edited December 13, 2014 by Linda Medley

[TeaHive]

The info sheet that comes with the pen in its box shows images of the pen taken apart. But it doesn't mention converting it into an eyedropper. So I assumed it was meant to be taken apart like the Ahabs. Hmmm.. I'll try the hair dryer route when I empty the pen. I've used that method for a number of vintage pens that were shellacked. But It doesn't smell like shellac to me.

 

I suppose it does hold a good amount of ink as is, but for travelling, I guess I was hoping to have it eyedroppered for my sketch kit, and not having to carry extra ink! Ah well.

[TeaHive]

Ah, and here are a couple doodles on my "desk blotter." Actually a giant watercolor pad, lol. And the Neponset itself, which looks way more yellow-orange on screen than in real life.

 

 

[Kevan]

I have to say that some of the criticism of Noodlers pens is justified, in that they often require a bit of struggle to get to work. They can be made to work, and with the ebonite feeds, they can be customized to be used with other nibs.

 

It is somewhat annoying to hear people complain about the Neponset, an ebonite pen, which is lovely in the hand, (at least mine), and has a decent filling system which holds a bit of ink, and an ebonite feed and basically good nib. Because of the feed, you can certainly set up another nib which will change the whole character of the pen. Here is an example of a vintage nib that looks quite similar to the neponset steel nib, but a bit more expensive. http://www.nibs.com/vintage-warranted-fountain-pen-nibs.htm

 

If you look around, you will find many different pens, e.g. from Ranga on Peyton street pens, a great dealer, that are priced at about the same price for the same sized pen. Steel nibs etc. I cannot understand the complaining. When you look at pens in ebonite from places like Edison, or vintage ebonite, e.g. in Red, you will certainly be in the $100 price range, in general.

 

This is a very good pen. I am sure that there are problems, but then again, I bought a Pelikan m800 and the nib had to be exchanged, along with most other Pelikans I have used. And they are not as cheap, nor are they in Ebonite.

 

All I can say is great job Nathan

 

(bolding mine)

 

Annoying? Is it in any way unreasonable to expect a pen to work, as it should, straight out of the box without the need to "tinker" to get it right? Not in my book.

 

And ebonite is not some sort of premium or magic material just because the big companies want to charge big bucks for it. Sure, Ranga Pens have raised their prices recently but just 3 years ago or so you could get an ebonite pen from them for about $55 shipped. The nibs were hit or miss, but easily replaceable if you didn't like it, for a total outlay of about the price of a Neponset. But no matter what the price, like you said with your Pelikan M800, you expect the pen to work as it should when you receive it.

 

I have 3 Ranga pens. My first one wasn't to my liking when I received it and didn't fit its converter properly and there were flow problems. So when I contacted them, not only did I get a partial refund, but I also got another pen as an apology (totally unexpected). Needless to say, I was floored and they gained a customer for life. I have no idea if that's still how they do things, but they did it for me back then and I got a 3rd pen from them earlier this year.

 

If it had been a Noodlers pen, I'm sure the answer I would've gotten would've been "Tinker with it! Our pens are for people who enjoy the process of making the writing experience their own."

 

So why then, does Noodlers get a pass here from so many people? "Oh, but the Neponset has a music nib," or "Oh, tinkering is just part of the experience...great job Nathan!" If a big company had QC issues as shoddy as Noodlers pens do on a regular basis, there would be fire and pitchforks. I just do not get why it's "annoying" when they get criticized if literally 1 out of 3 pens need work out of the box (or in this case, just because the material is ebonite)? Generally, I say that a pen should work REGARDLESS of price, but I can sort of excuse a $20 Ahab or Nib Creeper (even though both of mine, bought when they were initially released, were sub par). But at $75, you've gotta step up your game -- I don't care what material it is or what nib is on it.

 

What's "annoying" to me is that they seem to have this built-in excuse for their QC and have repeated it so often that their customer-base/fanbase is used to it/accepts it/defends it. It's mind-boggling.

Edited December 13, 2014 by Kevan

[Limner]

Kevan, I completely understand where you're coming from, and I can only speak for myself. I am not a gullible fan who is easily charmed or bamboozled; I'm not inexperienced in the acquisition and use of fountain pens. I research products and manufacturers as thoroughly as possible prior to purchasing, and I know that Noodler's is basically a one-man show. Nathan--as well as Pierre Miller and even Charles Ackerman--are working to create products for a niche market, and don't have the capital/corporate resources that larger companies have.

 

Simply put, I've purchased their products because I choose to. Personally, I admire independent entrepreneurs, especially ones who are pioneers, and I will give them a chance. I will cut them slack that I would never give a larger company. Is it risky? Of course, and sometimes I get burned; but when that happens, I choose to stop supporting them.

 

Supporting an entrepreneur does NOT mean blindly applauding every product they put out. If I feel there is room for improvement, I will point it out.

 

At the end of the day, I like a little risk and adventure. I enjoy tinkering. I am committed to the support of independent entrepreneurs. I buy Noodler's because I WANT to.

 

And that's all I'm gonna say about it.

[Limner]

Ah, and here are a couple doodles on my "desk blotter." Actually a giant watercolor pad, lol. And the Neponset itself, which looks way more yellow-orange on screen than in real life.

 

IMG_0423.JPG

TeaHive, those look great! Is that a diluted wash of Black Swan/Eng on the face at the left, or did you just put clear water over your inklines to get the shading?

 

(Also, I bought my ebonite Neponset from ebay and it didn't come with the box or papers--I assumed there were conversion instructions included!)

[tinysnail]

TeaHive, those look great! Is that a diluted wash of Black Swan/Eng on the face at the left, or did you just put clear water over your inklines to get the shading?

 

(Also, I bought my ebonite Neponset from ebay and it didn't come with the box or papers--I assumed there were conversion instructions included!)

Want me to scan the handout that came with my Neponset? I can do that today, if you're curious.

[Limner]

Want me to scan the handout that came with my Neponset? I can do that today, if you're curious.

Thanks, tinysnail, that's very kind of you! I'd figured I could wait and look at the info that's coming with my acrylic one, but I won't be able to pick it up until next week.

[tinysnail]

Thanks, tinysnail, that's very kind of you! I'd figured I could wait and look at the info that's coming with my acrylic one, but I won't be able to pick it up until next week.

 

Not a problem at all!

 

First page:

 

Neponset 1 by tinylilsnail, on Flickr

 

 

(Might have to go straight to the flickr page to actually read it)

[tinysnail]

And, second page:

 

Neponset 2 by tinylilsnail, on Flickr

[TeaHive]

TeaHive, those look great! Is that a diluted wash of Black Swan/Eng on the face at the left, or did you just put clear water over your inklines to get the shading?

 

(Also, I bought my ebonite Neponset from ebay and it didn't come with the box or papers--I assumed there were conversion instructions included!)

 

Thanks! I just used water to wash over my ink lines.

 

This pen is a monster. It's taking over my hand, shoving other pens a side, being a bully... And I'm enabling it.

[Limner]

 

Not a problem at all!

 

First page:

 

Neponset 1 by tinylilsnail, on Flickr

 

 

(Might have to go straight to the flickr page to actually read it)

 

That's perfect! Thanks, again. I'm disappointed that on closer inspection, the first page doesn't include instructions for landing a dirigible, though.

I can't tell if the end of the section, where the filler is glued on, is threaded (like it is on the Ahab) or not. Might be easier to see once I've emptied it...

 

 

Thanks! I just used water to wash over my ink lines.

 

This pen is a monster. It's taking over my hand, shoving other pens a side, being a bully... And I'm enabling it.

 

That's great, even the fine lines look nice and crisp!

I know what you mean--being the tallest pen in the pen mug, I've been automatically grabbing it instead of any others!

[jmccarty3]

The filling mechanism on my Neponset is screwed in, not glued, and unscrews very easily. Now, if ink would only flow through the feed and nib . . .

[TeaHive]

FINALLY got the converter unscrewed. It was just so darned tight! The air bubbles that gave it the appearance of being glued onto the threads were there from silicone grease. I was starting to get worried there! I suppose the awful stink must be from the acrylic itself, though I don't remember my acrylic Konrad smelling so badly. The Konrad may have sat around on some stock shelf for awhile, is the reason I came up with for that.

 

Well, now that THAT anxiety has been dispelled, I can continue to enjoy this awesome writer and drawing pen. I may switch the music nib and feed over to my Truk Lagoon Ahab, though, as it's a demonstrator. And also fits in my sketch wallet more readily.

[mgmmaze]

Kevan, I completely understand where you're coming from, and I can only speak for myself. I am not a gullible fan who is easily charmed or bamboozled; I'm not inexperienced in the acquisition and use of fountain pens. I research products and manufacturers as thoroughly as possible prior to purchasing, and I know that Noodler's is basically a one-man show. Nathan--as well as Pierre Miller and even Charles Ackerman--are working to create products for a niche market, and don't have the capital/corporate resources that larger companies have.

 

Simply put, I've purchased their products because I choose to. Personally, I admire independent entrepreneurs, especially ones who are pioneers, and I will give them a chance. I will cut them slack that I would never give a larger company. Is it risky? Of course, and sometimes I get burned; but when that happens, I choose to stop supporting them.

 

Supporting an entrepreneur does NOT mean blindly applauding every product they put out. If I feel there is room for improvement, I will point it out.

 

At the end of the day, I like a little risk and adventure. I enjoy tinkering. I am committed to the support of independent entrepreneurs. I buy Noodler's because I WANT to.

 

And that's all I'm gonna say about it.

I couldn't have said it better myself. I am fairly new to fountain pens only been around for 7 months. I have 6 noodlers pens, so far only 1 flex nib was shot and nothing I tried would work, but I got one of Noodler's f/m nibs for 2 dollars and problem solved. That being said I was drawn to them because I seen some of Nathan's videos and I loved his company philosophy. I see people complain about things with pens here and there. I think most people seem to forget its just Nathan QC all the pens himself. On top of making all the ink himself, he has said he wont hire anyone cause it would raise prices all around. So if things "dont work" which like I have said only had 1 flex nib that didnt work so far, I let it pass since its 1 guy. Pens that come from India like Ranga I am pretty sure they have more than 1 guy doing all the QC. Hell if I lived in Massachusetts I would try and "intern" with Nathan just so I could give back to the community like he has given back to me personally by making pens affordable. And lastley to people who complain about Noodler's getting a pass for "tinkering" which I didnt need to do but I did just because I felt like it, dont buy the pens. Its that simple I will continue to buy the pens because they have brought me nothing buy joy and continue to try and modify some of the nibs that I can buy insanly cheap.

[acolythe]

I was very disappointed. I love the Ahab. My Neponset is harder to flex and it railroads more. And a music nib? Well it has three tines but it writes like a fine not a stub. For 75 bucks I could have had three Ahabs.

[jmccarty3]

After several months of struggling with my Neponset (the blue acrylic), I have decided that it's just not the pen for me. That doesn't happen very often, but it does happen. I plan to sell or trade it at the DC or the Dallas show, unless someone expresses an interest sooner.

 

http://i.imgur.com/AzRdW2q.jpg