I have bought "the devil's pen" - the Ahab!

[Teppanyaki]

I wanted to add that for the past few days, I've done a mini-experiment - seeing if my Ahab would start up right away with once daily use. Goulet nib. Feed is unadjusted (I haven't opened any new channels with a razor blade).

So far, it's started up right away with good flow and no issues. It does feel less twitchy since taking the flex nib back out.

I must add that I really do want to like this pen. Currently using Private Reserve Chocolat.

Where are my silver bullets ????

Technically, if the pen is possessed, you need an exorcist.



Those stairs are much less impressive in real life (they used to end up next to an Exxon gas station), and a royal pain to climb up.

 

[Mr5x5]

I got an Ahab a couple of weeks ago. It worked fine right out of the box as a simple pen; a good deal for $20. Where folks might have a problem is if they expect that it is a flex pen. It is in fact a very stiff pen, and cannot work as a flex pen without some work on the nib with either a dremel tool or a metal file. But if you don't get your expectations up based on its advertisement as a flex pen, you might well like it. Certainly better than a Platinum Preppy.

A Preppy was my first pen and I liked it. Consistent writer, inexpensive, same nib as the Plasir. I've had several Ahabs, none of which wrote well without significant tinkering. I prefer the ergonomics and filling system on the Ahab, but if you can't get the ink from the pen to the paper, what is the point?

 

[dgerson]

I think it's scary how many people get pulled into buying Noodlers pens. I think Nathan makes some great inks, but should be forced to promise to never make another pen. Save your time, save your money and buy a better pen. I wish I had an enemy into fountain pens, I'd happily give them my ahab. It's the Caswell Massey of fountain pens.

 

[SmoovD]

I think it's scary how many people get pulled into buying Noodlers pens. I think Nathan makes some great inks, but should be forced to promise to never make another pen. Save your time, save your money and buy a better pen. I wish I had an enemy into fountain pens, I'd happily give them my ahab. It's the Caswell Massey of fountain pens.

Easy there, dollar. I own more than a few Noodlers pens and I am fairly certain that I could get a better lather out of them than with CM soaps/creams.

Your hyperbole aside, I can agree that Nathan's pens would be better marketed as kit pens so that the buyer would have no preconceived notions. They are for tinkerers. I use them regularly and will continue to do so. IME they perform about as well as their price points would indicate.

 

[Cynomys]

Your hyperbole aside, I can agree that Nathan's pens would be better marketed as kit pens so that the buyer would have no preconceived notions. They are for tinkerers. I use them regularly and will continue to do so. IME they perform about as well as their price points would indicate.

Agreed. The problem is that they (the Ahab, anyway) is marketed as a flex nib pen when it is not good for that purpose. Haven't tried whipping up a lather with it yet, though.

 

[OneBadBadger]

I don't see why everybody rags on these so much. It's a nice writing and functional pen to me.

 

[Doc4]

I have an ebonite Konrad ... presumably with the same "flex" nib. It does not flex much at all. Really, I can use it as a perfectly normal "regular" nib.

Kinda on topic question? Does anyone make a Moby Dick ink to put in the Ahab pen?

Noodler's does, of course.

 

[Teppanyaki]

4 more days of the Goulet nib working perfectly in my Ahab. Starts up immediately, no skipping, good flow. It makes me wonder how much of the Ahab trouble is the feed and how much is the included flex nib.

 

[oc_in_fw]

Easy there, dollar. I own more than a few Noodlers pens and I am fairly certain that I could get a better lather out of them than with CM soaps/creams.

Your hyperbole aside, I can agree that Nathan's pens would be better marketed as kit pens so that the buyer would have no preconceived notions. They are for tinkerers. I use them regularly and will continue to do so. IME they perform about as well as their price points would indicate.

Occasional tinkering is one thing, but tinkering with it every time you pick it up to write is a bit much.

 

[The Knize]

4 more days of the Goulet nib working perfectly in my Ahab. Starts up immediately, no skipping, good flow. It makes me wonder how much of the Ahab trouble is the feed and how much is the included flex nib.

Any trouble with leakage around the Goulet nib? There seems to be some ink that leaks from the nib for me. Not sure this is a big problem or any problem or not. It writes pretty wet with the Goulet nib for me, which seems fine.

Seems to me that if I try to carry this pen around, at least with the nib it came with, I end up with a bunch of ink on my fingers. Not as bad as some of my Chinese pens which will dump out all of their ink into one's pocket!

 

[SmoovD]

Occasional tinkering is one thing, but tinkering with it every time you pick it up to write is a bit much.

The tinkering comes in the initial setup. Once set the various Noodles pens have worked well. I use 3 different Ahabs and 5 different Konrads and only one took more than minor adjustments. Even that Konrad finally lined up with a heat set feed.

Want to get your pinkies inky, play around with different feed adjustments and nibs, they are good pens. If this does not sound good, you might not enjoy the pens.

 

[vibhi204]

Hay even i am facing the same trouble related to nib please suggest some solution as facing a lot of trouble in fitting it properly.

 

[Teppanyaki]

Goulet has a video on heat-setting the Konrad pens. I just run mine under the hottest tap water I can get for 30 seconds and press the nib against the feed briefly. You can boil water as well, but my Ahab works well enough now that I didn't bother with that.

 

[oc_in_fw]

The tinkering comes in the initial setup. Once set the various Noodles pens have worked well. I use 3 different Ahabs and 5 different Konrads and only one took more than minor adjustments. Even that Konrad finally lined up with a heat set feed.

Want to get your pinkies inky, play around with different feed adjustments and nibs, they are good pens. If this does not sound good, you might not enjoy the pens.

I had two Ahabs. They required tinkering every day. $40 down the toilet.

 

[SmoovD]

I had two Ahabs. They required tinkering every day. $40 down the toilet.

Bring them to our next gathering. I will be happy to give them a look see.

 

[oc_in_fw]

Bring them to our next gathering. I will be happy to give them a look see.

Well, I traded them for two No Nonsenses, a Lamy Vista, a bottle of BSB, and something else. The NN's don't get much play here, but they start writing right off, even though I only pick them up every couple of weeks or so.

 

[Teppanyaki]

I switched back to the original flex nib today - with a bit of tinkering, the nib is reasonably smooth. Not Pilot Metro smooth, but then the flex nib lays down a very fine yet dark line of ink that I really like. I have yet to replicate the "really thin yet dark" ink line with any pen not using a Noodler's flex nib.

I'll see how reliability plays out with the flex nib back in. I'm expecting it to continue to gulp ink, which I'm attributing to the darker line. The ink has to go somewhere besides the aether, right?!

 

[Mr5x5]

... The ink has to go somewhere besides the aether, right?!

I've heard a certain member likes to ink his cat.

 

[Teppanyaki]

I've heard a certain member likes to ink his cat.

Seeing that I have 2 cats, I live in fear of becoming member #2 of the "Inky Cat Club!"

 

[Vespasian]

Never in a thousand years: I like pens that work, not DIY projects. I like consistent inks, with no politics on the labels. So no Noodler's for me, ever.

I'm lucky enough to have a beautiful Montegrappa Reminiscence in sterling silver, my grail pen. My EDC is a Kaweco Classic Sport, black, with the smoothest nib I have ever used. J. Herbin Violette Pensee is my ink.