Noodler's Charlie Fountain Pen (Included With H.o.d.)

[amberleadavis]

Here is how it looked when I used water and washed it with a wet brush.

 

[fiberdrunk]

Here is how it looked when I used water and washed it with a wet brush.

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to show me how the ink performs. It looks like it has a little water resistence at least. I may have to get a bottle of this for my son. He loves red, and the color is fantastic.

[amberleadavis]

It's a lot of fun! Glad you to have helped.

[Starguard]

I got a Charlie with my HOD, I was given a sample of the Vermilion (which I've fallen in love with so a bottle will be mine next payday!) Not so much with the pen. Love the way it writes, but from the get go it burped and was a hard starter to boot. I have to admit I did learn an important lesson....always watch the pen as you gently shake it to prime the feed! I was able to clean up the splatters with wet paper towels and it didn't land on anything other than the floor and my lunch bag (I was at work when I went to use it) so no harm done. The floor looked a little like a crime scene though!

[Kiaxa]

My Charlie was fun while it lasted. I had really bad dribbling problems (got as bad as a full drop of ink every second or two) and in my attempts to fix the problem I ended up snapping the feed in two (pushed the feed in to far and tried twisting to ease it out). Being into model kits I have access to a few different chemical based plastic bonding agents (the kind of glue that melts plastic together) but I don't know if that would work on ebonite and I'm not sure if when dried, it would react with the ink. I really did enjoy the pen when it wasn't dribbling, burping, or being generally finicky.

[Arkanabar]

I have two of the older Noodler's free eyedropper.

One is green, and has the flex nib shown in the linked picture; the other is blue, and has the same nib as the Charlie has above. However, mine both still have the cap band. They both came in a 4.5oz bottle of Borealis Black I got from Goulet. I gave the green one to my wife, and kept the blue. It was mostly well-behaved, but it did give me one really bad burping episode. One morning in February I took it from my car (say, 45-50 degrees F) to my office (75 or so) and tried to start writing with it. It was over half-empty when I did so. Burp, burp, burp, Chesterfield Archival Vault everywhere. At this point, I blame myself.

Edited August 30, 2015 by Arkanabar

[Tas]

I LOVE my Charlie.

Surprisingly seriously, seriously smooth.

 

Bought a bottle of HOD yesterday and I'm already in love with that too. Easy my blackest ink. The swab I made looked like a black hole.

 

The other freebie pen in the box, whose nib sent shudders down my spine has been taken apart. It's feed used to repair an old but much loved nib creeper. Brilliant. Nathan, Noodler's I thank you !

 

[Maine Vintner]

I just received three Charlies at the Commonwealth Pen show; came with the purchase of the three ink colors released for the show. Great little pens - smell funny; writes great. Fingers crossed on the burps / leaks :-)

 

John

[Stxradley]

I don't have an Ahab, but I do have several FPCs and Konrads (including an ebonite Konrad, which is longer than the standard size ones.

How does this new Charlie pen compare size-wise to those, particularly the Creapers?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I just got my bottle of Lexington Gray with a Charlie pen today and I can say it is extremely similar in size to the Creapers. I talked with Goulet before I bought. They said the Creaper nibs can be swapped with the Charlie so you could use the Charlie pen and have a Creaper with eyedropper capacity.

 

It writes stiffer than the Creapers but I would say it's not as stiff as some other pens like a Kaweco or a Lamy. It writes beautifully and the little note included says to refill it when it gets down to 1/3 full as it is an eyedropper pen and will possibly leak from the heat from your hand changing the air inside if it gets lower than 1/3 full.

 

The handy Noodlers bottle came with an eyedropper squeeze top which made it super convenient to fill right out of the box.

 

I love it. I actually got it because I do a lot of artwork and I love the black bulletproof since I can watercolor over it. I am looking forward to playing with the gray.

Edited October 24, 2015 by Stxradley

[Tas]

I love it. I actually got it because I do a lot of artwork and I love the black bulletproof since I can watercolor over it. I am looking forward to playing with the gray.

Just you wait to play with Lexington. That stuff just doesn't budge

Edited October 24, 2015 by Tas

[Stxradley]

Thanks so much! I have played a little just to test it out and I can already see I am in love, with both the Charlie and the Lexington. In fact, I was just on Goulet looking for more Pen and Ink combos. I post all my artwork to Instagram @stxradley. Currently in a sketch a day challenge. So fun. Great way to stretch those artistic muscles. But the grey will definitely make an appearance today! ❤️

[Tas]

 

 

Thanks so much! I have played a little just to test it out and I can already see I am in love, with both the Charlie and the Lexington. In fact, I was just on Goulet looking for more Pen and Ink combos. I post all my artwork to Instagram @stxradley. Currently in a sketch a day challenge. So fun. Great way to stretch those artistic muscles. But the grey will definitely make an appearance today! ❤️

 

Beautiful.

Post some of your faves on FPN, I and I'm sure others would love to see your work.

[clazbill]

Thanks for the review. I've been interested in Heart of Darkness for a while and the Charlie pen has nearly pushed me over the edge from "maybe" to "waiting for shipping". I've not been a great fan of the Noodlers Pens - they work well, when adjusted right, and I haven't taken the time to get them adjusted. So many other pens that take less work to write well.

 

Anyway, glad to know that the Charlie pen isn't an amazing step up or anything; lets me keep my budget in place a bit longer!

[j.librarian]

I've been using fountain pens consistently for about a year now, so still a newbie. I received the Charlie with an order of ink and really like the size; I'm fairly petite. Someone noted above that eyedrop pens may blot when the ink runs low, which is what I've been grappling with. Are there other recommendations for working with a really wet pen (heavy ink flow)? Do I perhaps need to mess with the nib/feed positions? I appreciate any assistance!

[DaynaE]

I got one of these with the big bottle of Baystate Blue that I ordered. I am unsure about it, as I fear that the pen will leak/burst/ what have you. I may at some point gather the courage to fill and use it, but I am just worried about it leaking. In the original post they mention putting it in a pocket, which just frightens me! I am just too inexperienced with eyedroppers!

[GeekPriest]

After an initial bad experience with the Charlie (a leak mainly), I cleaned the pen thoroughly and reloaded it. It is quickly becoming a favorite. (I also like the Heart of Darkness ink, as it works well on common papers, and I don't actually care for the Rhodia coating.)

 

Does anyone know who the supplier (manufacturer) of this pen is?

[Starguard]

I've been using fountain pens consistently for about a year now, so still a newbie. I received the Charlie with an order of ink and really like the size; I'm fairly petite. Someone noted above that eyedrop pens may blot when the ink runs low, which is what I've been grappling with. Are there other recommendations for working with a really wet pen (heavy ink flow)? Do I perhaps need to mess with the nib/feed positions? I appreciate any assistance!

 

One thing I ran into on mine, the nib and feed were not set in the section completely. I pinched them gently from the top and bottom and pushed, and I was surprised how far out they really were. Most of my leaking problems stopped at that point, but you really really really need to make sure you never let it get more than half empty or you will get burps and drips. I like the size of the pen too, my hands are very small, about 5 1/2 inches from the top of my middle finger to the heel of my palm. I don't need to post my TWSBI vac mini or my TWSBI mini at all.

[darazs]

Thanks for the review. It took me little time to order a bottle of HoD and support the Charlie pen!

[Wravis]

More than a burping or slight leaking problem. My Charlie hemorrhages ink. The cap is completely filled every time I unscrew it. Any ideas?

[MRose]

I'm a happy owner of two Charlie Pens, I don't have any problems at all with them. One is the dedicated to The Heart of Darkness the other one has Baystate Blue and I really like them allot

Edited February 16, 2017 by MRose