Show Me Your Wet Noodle Pens!

[vxv]

i've been reading about Wet Noodle nibs, and so much of the replies are that the wet noodles are extinct and old and made from companies off the market now.

Whats the youngest pen you or a friend has that you would consider Wet Noodle?

Show me some pics if you can, please.

[sombrueil]

I could show you pens that were sold to me as wet noodles. But I don't think they are. They are very flexible, but I'm not sure I've ever written with a real wet noodle.

[MTHALL720]

Do you mean flexible or just really wet and lays down lots of ink?

[vxv]

Do you mean flexible or just really wet and lays down lots of ink?

one that has a lot of line variation, which i think would just be flexible.

[vxv]

I could show you pens that were sold to me as wet noodles. But I don't think they are. They are very flexible, but I'm not sure I've ever written with a real wet noodle.

i would love to see those

[Thoreauback]

I just acquired one not too long ago! It's an early Wahl-Eversharp. It's not much of a writing sample, but it hopefully gives you a rough idea of the flexiness: http://imgur.com/a/cMQNu

[vxv]

I just acquired one not too long ago! It's an early Wahl-Eversharp. It's not much of a writing sample, but it hopefully gives you a rough idea of the flexiness: http://imgur.com/a/cMQNu

what a nice flexible nib! i love the little heart breather hole. thanks for sharing!

[sombrueil]

I will work on photos tomorrow. It's bedtime here.

[prime.lens]

I just acquired one not too long ago! It's an early Wahl-Eversharp. It's not much of a writing sample, but it hopefully gives you a rough idea of the flexiness: http://imgur.com/a/cMQNu

 

That is lovely. I, too, would be very interested in finding out the answer to the OPs question. What's the youngest pen that would produce this sort of line variation?

[balson]

america abandoned flex nibs before many other countries. the British and Canadians held on to flexible nibs longer, you can find pens into the 1960's with flexible nibs, but if you do find one from that time they are usually semi flex at best. my best guess would be that you can still find them up into the 1930's, but you will have much better luck with a pen from before 1910.

 

i am not well versed on german pens, but mont blanc or pelikan might have held onto flexible nibs later than most, perhaps bobo will chime in with his expertise of german piston fillers.

[Goudy]

The youngest? Probably the Desiderata fountain pens, which are designed to take modern, highly flexible dip nibs: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/285758-desiderata-mercury-flex-pen/

 

 

[vxv]

america abandoned flex nibs before many other countries. the British and Canadians held on to flexible nibs longer, you can find pens into the 1960's with flexible nibs, but if you do find one from that time they are usually semi flex at best. my best guess would be that you can still find them up into the 1930's, but you will have much better luck with a pen from before 1910.

 

i am not well versed on german pens, but mont blanc or pelikan might have held onto flexible nibs later than most, perhaps bobo will chime in with his expertise of german piston fillers.

interesting. wonder why.

what about japanese flex nibs? people seem to say that those are the most flexible nowadays but I am a litle unsatisfied with the popular G pen versus one of my Hunt nibs.

[balson]

interesting. wonder why.

what about japanese flex nibs? people seem to say that those are the most flexible nowadays but I am a litle unsatisfied with the popular G pen versus one of my Hunt nibs.

 

 

i have a couple theories about that.

there are a lot of practical reasons for the switch over to firm nibs. you can write faster with a firm nib than a flexible nib, this plays in well with americas love of productivity. pens with firm nibs are more reliable and easier to design because the ink only has to flow at one speed, and the nib itself is less prone to damage. and firm nibs are needed for carbon copies.

 

i think the aesthetic of cursive writing with a variable line weight likely went out of style to some degree with the rising popularity of modernism. this seems to be supported by the fact that if you look at the timeline of art deco, prior to art deco most pens were flexible, and by the end of art deco most pens were firm. the lines created by a flexible nib pen lend them selves much more to art nouveau than art deco. it seems possible to me that even though it was still prevalent in media that some people may have viewed it as being old fashioned by the 1950's.

[sombrueil]

My Pelikan 400NNs from about 1959 are as flexible as my Waterman 52s from the 1900's. However, both these pens also had a wide variety of flex.

[vxv]

My Pelikan 400NNs from about 1959 are as flexible as my Waterman 52s from the 1900's. However, both these pens also had a wide variety of flex.

what do you mean by the ending part?

[sombrueil]

I mean that if you are looking for vintage flex, be aware that just buying an antique BCHR waterman won't guarantee a flexible nib, because pens were made for many (indeed, all) needs, so there are nails and noodles and everything in between. My particular pens are flexible because I was searching for such.

Edited March 4, 2015 by sombrueil

[vxv]

I mean that if you are looking for vintage flex, be aware that just buying an antique BCHR waterman won't guarantee a flexible nib, because pens were made for many (indeed, all) needs, so there are nails and noodles and everything in between. My particular pens are flexible because I was searching for such.

thank you

i was searching for flexible pens too

Edited March 4, 2015 by isoin

[sombrueil]

Here's some of my flexible nib pens from different eras. I could get more line variation from them with better technique but I don't like forcing them to go so wide. The photos are as usual very poor. That's how I roll.

Waterman 52, pre-WWI

 

Eversharp Skyline, pre-WWII (early 1940's)

 

Pelikan 400NN,1959 Germany

[vxv]

 

Here's some of my flexible nib pens from different eras. I could get more line variation from them with better technique but I don't like forcing them to go so wide. The photos are as usual very poor. That's how I roll.

Waterman 52, pre-WWI

watermansample1.jpg

watermansample2.jpg

 

Eversharp Skyline, pre-WWII (early 1940's)

Skylinesample1.jpg

Skylinesample2.jpg

 

Pelikan 400NN,1959 Germany

pelikanNNsample1.jpg

pelikanNNsample2.jpg

 

what a lovely bunch of fountain pens! you have very nice writing too, i like your tails the most.

is it just me, or did the 400nn's stroke not fill in the ink for the l, 0, and n?

[sombrueil]

yes, that's called railroading; it doesn't usually do that. I wasn't being sensitive to the nib having a little flow problem just then.