Noodler's Charlie, Love Or Hate It? What Do You Do With It?

[Chmara]

I have finally run out of Baystate Blue in my Charlie and hope to have the dried results off my hands soon. I learned that burping a Charlie before use is as essential as burping a newly fed infant after feeding it if you want a good result keeping your clothes or paper dry.

 

Otherwise the nibs on all three Charlies are smooth and consistant. Fearing burps I only use them in practice sessions where I do not mind the gaseous blob products occasionally if I am forgetful of rewarming the barrel after a phine call and having set the pen down long enough to breathe and cool.

 

The Baystate Blue instrument took 5 weeks in use every other day to run out attesting to the reason for the early adoption of fountain pens for writers over dip pens. With the fine nib ink goers a long way. That counts if you are being paid by the word as they were in the old days.

 

Cleaning the finally empty pen is as easy as any eyedropper, UNLESS you wish to completely clarify the formerly clear barrel. Mine has repeated cleanings with no ink between cleanings -- and the barrel remains a pleasant blue tint.

 

For the price the Charlie is the second finest pen I have ever owned (and I am 76 with my last "free" pen being a gift Parker on my 15th birthday.) The arker was the last fountain pen I tried to use until October 2017.

 

Charlie ain't for everyone -- but the memory of what it stands for in freedom of expression's vault of imposition of terror to attaion censorship -- surely is.

Edited February 11, 2018 by Chmara

[IndigoBOB]

I love the Charlie!!!

 

Yes you may need to heat set the feed and clean it out, but I don't have any other pen that works as reliably with Kung Te-Cheng to put down a deep line of that beautiful ink to do it justice.

 

I have an FPR #5.5 Fine nib on it and it's fantastic!

 

I love the larger ink capacity because it's a wetter pen from the ebonite feed. I love that it's a demonstrator (1/2 demonstrator) with visibly sloshing ink.

 

I never usually like pens this small, but I like its resin material, I feel it has that tad bit more grip that I prefer.

 

I never usually prefer using pens I have to post, and even though I can use it well unposted, I like posting it.

 

The pen just hits the spot, and I got another one when re-upping on my Heart of Darkness inventory. I much much prefer this over the Platinum Preppy, which is a great pen for the price, but I really like the Charlie and what it offers and has continued to provide me ever since I first tried it. It's a pen you can make work and can work with anything you throw at it.

[Honeybadgers]

I have finally run out of Baystate Blue in my Charlie and hope to have the dried results off my hands soon. I learned that burping a Charlie before use is as essential as burping a newly fed infant after feeding it if you want a good result keeping your clothes or paper dry.

 

Otherwise the nibs on all three Charlies are smooth and consistant. Fearing burps I only use them in practice sessions where I do not mind the gaseous blob products occasionally if I am forgetful of rewarming the barrel after a phine call and having set the pen down long enough to breathe and cool.

 

The Baystate Blue instrument took 5 weeks in use every other day to run out attesting to the reason for the early adoption of fountain pens for writers over dip pens. With the fine nib ink goers a long way. That counts if you are being paid by the word as they were in the old days.

 

Cleaning the finally empty pen is as easy as any eyedropper, UNLESS you wish to completely clarify the formerly clear barrel. Mine has repeated cleanings with no ink between cleanings -- and the barrel remains a pleasant blue tint.

 

For the price the Charlie is the second finest pen I have ever owned (and I am 76 with my last "free" pen being a gift Parker on my 15th birthday.) The arker was the last fountain pen I tried to use until October 2017.

 

Charlie ain't for everyone -- but the memory of what it stands for in freedom of expression's vault of imposition of terror to attaion censorship -- surely is.

 

Hey, I sent you four free pens last week!

 

[mannschott]

I don't use my Charlie Pens often, but I'm always surprised by how much I like them when I do. Most recently, I used a set of three, two of which I'd fitted with FPR nibs and one with a nib creeper flex nib. I filled them with Purple Heart, Army Green and Operation Overlord Orange (all from Noodlers).

 

 

I had some issues with burping when they were new, but find them quite reliable now. I'm not sure why that is.

Edited February 12, 2018 by mannschott

[jobodine]

I do not use my charlie a lots . But each time I use it, I have a hard time to get the ink flowing! Is it a common experience with this pen or just me ?

 

I usually have to dip it quickly in ink and it starts writing O.K. Please comment . Thanks .

Edited February 13, 2018 by jobodine

[IndigoBOB]

If my pen has been sitting upside down for a while it can take a second to get started. Even if I use mine lightly once a day it usually starts up with some taps and line strokes.

 

Of course I have to ask: have you cleaned it out well before hand with soapy water? Maybe the feed requires heat setting. Maybe the nib is very tight. Maybe the ink is drying for some reason... Maybe some combination of these. IDK

[Honeybadgers]

Neither of mine have ever had hard starting problems once cleaned and heat set.

[IndigoBOB]

Correction: I use Kung Te-Cheng in my Charlie, and that's known to cause hard starts.

[drgt]

Neither of mine have ever had hard starting problems once cleaned and heat set.

Even if you store it nib up for a couple of days?

[drgt]

...But the burping thing is a non issue if you have five minutes and some boiling water.

So you are saying that heat setting will cure the burping issue?

[IndigoBOB]

Heat setting often does the trick. Sometimes you may have to do it a couple times.

 

Also, keeping the volume of ink in the pen more than1/3 or 1/2 full will help the burping as well a lot.

 

And making sure the nib and feed are tightly fit to in the section, which heat setting makes more snug.

 

EDIT: but I will say that, with regards to hard starts: if you keep the pen sitting cap up for a while, the longer you leave it sitting the longer it may take to get it starting again, just because the ink needs to re-prime the feed again.

Edited February 16, 2018 by IndigoBOB

[SteveID]

Worth every penny!

 

What I want to know is whether Noodler's has an exclusive on what it's calling the Charlie, this apparently-Indian-made eyedropper pen with the ebonite feed, that it gives away free, or if it exists in other markets out there, somewhere. Any insights?

Edited March 18, 2018 by SteveID

[WarrenB]

My first fountain pen when I started was the Charlie that came in my Heart of Darkness. I had ordered a Metropolitan as well, but the shipping took an extra day. Filled the Charlie and loved writing with it; outside of burping a few times every 15 minutes or so. When the metro came, I filled it up and forgot the Charlie on the counter when I left for work. Didn't think about it for a few days, after 3 days the Charlie was gunked up and wouldn't write. The Metro was fine after a few days of sitting, so figured the pen was a dud and tossed it. I really regret that still about 8 months later.

 

I'd like to get another one and get it to work flawlessly. Just don't want to order another 4.5oz bottle too badly. Maybe Lexington Grey soon?

Ditto, for the most part. I knew about the burping issue but it was still a bit aggravating. Then one day I found the cap filled with ink and had enough.

 

I'm kicking myself for that, now. (especially after Honeybadger's comments) It was a fancy-looking thing too, as fancy as a free pen might be to a novice; but as for getting another, I still have most of a bottle of HoD waiting in a drawer. Although...

 

When the Charlie comes with my bottle it's going straight in the garbage like any other junk sent in a package.

... I might check the classifieds here.

 

The simple, old-school type of eyedropper pen like the Charlie, you have to keep it in your pocket, close to your body with the tip up. Clip it inside a shirt collar, or inside a pen case in your pants pocket. That way your hand will not heat it up, it will already be the temperature of your body.

I wondered if that might help. Good to know.

[ScarletWoodland]

I seem to have lucked out and got mine set up right straight away.

 

Received mine today and flushed it through well with a bulb squeeze thing-umy.

 

The feed and nib looked right in relation to one another so I heat set them there and then.

 

Filled it up and ink started dripping, so I pushed the feed and nib in a little further (held together as they were when heat set). Then a little further again.

 

It's perfect! Have been using it on and off all day and there's been nary a splodge. I wouldn't store it nib down obviously but i'm very happy with it.

 

I'll be using it primarily as a desk pen and for a bit of bad drawing.

 

My new Nib Creaper seems to have set up just right as well today. I was due some pen luck though

[drgt]

When the Charlie comes with my bottle it's going straight in the garbage like any other junk sent in a package.

Unfortunately, seems one way street.

Heat set them, filled with beads, nothing helps the burping.

If it had a nipple, I could put in a cartridge.

[drgt]

Double post

Edited March 4, 2019 by drgt

[SlowRain]

A couple of people have mentioned putting a little ball in the chamber. Does that really help? What size would I need and, if I can't find a pen shop that carries them, is there some other industry or craft that uses them? Thanks.

[drgt]

No.

Don't waste your time.

It 'll still going to burp...

 

Wasted my time and ...pennies in acrylic beads!

 

If the maker saw this thread and cared, could release a feeder with nipple, so a cartridge would be attached.

[inkstainedruth]

Unfortunately, the burping issue is just the downside of eyedroppers in general.... You have to keep the pen full or the change in air pressure between the inside and the outside of the barrel when the ink has been used a lot will cause burping. And I'd rather it burp in a freebie pen than some vintage one I'd paid a ton of money for.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Every type of fill system has plusses and minuses. The burping when the pen is not completely full is the minus for eyedropper pens (for lever fillers, it's that the ink bottle has to be fairly full or you can't get the pen down into the ink and still get the lever to fully work; for Snorkels, is that if you find one in the wild, you want to get it serviced before testing it in case there's a problem with the sac -- if it's leaking, you're going to end up with a rusted out spring; for aero metric and vac fillers, it's that they're a major PITA to flush out; for piston pens, it's that servicing the guts may be a major PITA -- especially if you have to replace the seals; and for c/c pens, it's that the empty cartridges end up in landfills, but the converters don't hold as much ink as cartridges do).

Edited September 25, 2019 by inkstainedruth

[drgt]

Yep!

 

Pity though,because it writes well for a freebie!

 

Use it as dip pen?

 

Nah... How many to have? Too many and the ink dries in them before getting to use them...