Noodler's Amazing Customer Service

[Mr_Spiffy]

I wanted to share with everyone the amazing experience I have had with Noodler's and their customer service. I know that many of you have probably had excellent service with them, as well. But for anyone new to pens, this may be helpful.

First, let me provide some background to this story.

I have had an Ahab flex pen that I had received for Christmas last year. It's quite an interesting pen, and great for those who enjoy tinkering, as sometimes we want to tweak the nib for a wetter line or smoother writing. I also received a bottle of Noodler's Baystate Blue to go along with it. NBB has a fantastic color, which is just about spot on with what I wanted in a blue ink. Something bold. Something proud! And so began my journey with the Ahab.

However, I haven't used my Ahab for quite some time. And when I checked on it, I had let the ink dry up in the converter... Time to flush it clean and get it inked up again. I've had this happen with other pens, and usually I'll soak them in clean water and flush with a bulb syringe to get the ink out. But the NBB ink is stubborn stuff. So, I let the nib, feed, section, and converter parts soak in water. I also added a drop of dish soap to the mix to help loosen everything up. I changed the water a few times per day to keep the ink flowing out of the pen. It took a few days for the water to get pretty clean again.

When I looked at the parts of my pen, however, they looked horrible! The converter parts and section were all plastic, and they had stained blue with NBB, which I had expected. But they also had some odd blistering and the clear parts were now so foggy they may as well be opaque! What happened?!? (If anyone can explain what happened, I would truly be grateful. I could at least avoid this issue in the future.) It seems like the ink reacted with something and caused all sorts of problems. My pen was ruined...

Since I still had the barrel and cap unharmed, I figured I might be able to find some replacement parts. But it seems that there are none to be found. Even Goulet Pens did not have any parts to sell. I guess they just aren't out there, aside from buying a complete pen.

In a last-ditch effort, I contacted Noodler's customer service via their web site, explained what happened with my Ahab, and inquired to find out about replacement parts and costs. Amazingly, I received a reply from Dick Egolf, the CEO of Luxury Brands! He informed me of how to properly clean up after Baystate Blue ink, and then offered to send me a new pen, free of charge!

Well, today, my new pen arrived in the mail! It even came with a personally-signed letter from the executive VP of Luxury Brands, John Gillett. I'm very excited to try it out again. I may not put NBB in it again, but now I know how to properly flush my pen, if I do use it. And I'm extremely grateful for the generosity of the people at Noodler's. It was my own fault that the pen was ruined. They didn't have to send me anything, I would have paid for the parts, or just purchased a new pen. Shoot... they're only $20. But, these guys went above and beyond to help, and now have a customer for life.

Thanks, again, to all of the folks at Noodler's and Luxury Brands, as well as John Gillett and Dick Egolf for their excellent customer service!

 

[2Deuce2]

That's service!

 

[syngent]

That's great to hear. .. I'm curious about the flushing instructions though, any way you could share that

 

[Mr_Spiffy]

Basically, they recommend a solution of water with 30% bleach to flush the pens out.

 

[syngent]

Wow never would have guessed that... not sure I'd want to try it in my expensive pens though

 

[purerockfury]

Good customer service like this is hard to come by. I may look into getting some of their goods.

 

[Mr_Spiffy]

Wow never would have guessed that... not sure I'd want to try it in my expensive pens though

Yeah, I'd be concerned about bleach causing damage to sensitive materials. But, I've also read around the intarwebz that bleach seems to make Baystate Blue disappear pretty quickly. So, perhaps it's a mild enough solution that it won't harm things in such a short period of exposure.

 

[oc_in_fw]

Wow never would have guessed that... not sure I'd want to try it in my expensive pens though

That is why Noodler's ink will never go in my Pelikan or Cross.


Mr. Spiffy- glad they took care of you. One of these days I may break down and try an Ahab again. Hell, what's $20? They really are great looking pens, I just had too much trouble with mine.

 

[Mr_Spiffy]

That is why Noodler's ink will never go in my Pelikan or Cross.

To be fair, this is an exception to the rule. Most inks don't require bleach solutions to clean them. But, Baystate Blue is an alkaline ink, and has special requirements for cleaning and maintenance. To me, I'm thinking it's not worth bothering with it. I'll find another blue that's awesome. But, not all Noodler's inks are like that. Most are water-based and can be flushed just with plain water.

There are other companies that produce inks with similar issues/requirements. Pigmented inks require special attention to flushing so as to not clog up the pen with particles from the pigments.

So, I can't blame Noodler's for this issue. It falls squarely on my shoulders for letting the pen dry out and not flushing as recommended for this particular ink.

Have you run into issues with other Noodler's inks?

 

[oc_in_fw]

To be fair, this is an exception to the rule. Most inks don't require bleach solutions to clean them. But, Baystate Blue is an alkaline ink, and has special requirements for cleaning and maintenance. To me, I'm thinking it's not worth bothering with it. I'll find another blue that's awesome. But, not all Noodler's inks are like that. Most are water-based and can be flushed just with plain water.

There are other companies that produce inks with similar issues/requirements. Pigmented inks require special attention to flushing so as to not clog up the pen with particles from the pigments.

So, I can't blame Noodler's for this issue. It falls squarely on my shoulders for letting the pen dry out and not flushing as recommended for this particular ink.

Have you run into issues with other Noodler's inks?

Just some staining with BSB. One thing that gives me pause is all the major pen rebuilders advise against Noodler's inks and blame them for destroying sacs. I just cannot chance it with my good pens.

 

[Mr5x5]

BSB is best used in a pen dedicated to it. Platinum Preppies are inexpensive but great writers in my opinion so if you really want to use that ink this would be an option.

 

[redbike]

Here's a picture of my Ahab permanently stained with BSB. I tried ammonia and bleach. Neither touched it. More related to the point of the thread is the fact that I lost the original nib to this pen and Mr. Egolf sent me a new one free of charge.

 

[andrew98]

It's great to hear these good reviews about Luxury Brands. About 18 months ago, I sent Mr. Egolf an email about purchasing a new nib and feed for a Platinum 3776. I never heard anything. This thread reminded me to try again, so we'll see what Luxury Brands says.

-Andy

 

[Mr_Spiffy]

Maybe the inks react somehow with the rubber used for making ink sacs..? If they're fine in plastic converters, then I'll just try to keep them separated, I guess. I haven't used too many Noodler's inks, so I can't really comment on that aspect of them. But, I definitely think I'll consider the consequences before using the Baystate Blue again. I love the color. I just hate that it pretty much ruins the pen for use with any other ink. That red/yellow Ahab above is a good example of just what I don't want to happen in the future.

I had planned to keep my Ahab just for use with NBB. But now that I have a new Ahab, I doubt I'll fill it with NBB again, especially being a clear demonstrator. I'll just use another ink that'll easily flush out cleanly.

 

[jzuzphreek]

There are plenty of great blues out there that will pop off your page. It might be interesting to note that I've had my Ahab in my pocket all week... filled with Edelstein Ruby.

 

[Mr_Spiffy]

I ended up inking the clear Ahab with Noodler's Black, for now. It writes well. I gave it a thorough scrub with some soapy water, and it's had no issues.