Ink Ahab Flex Nib Ivory Darkness Fountain Pen - ND-15028

Everyone said that this pen was really finnicky, not for beginners, would need a lot of tuning, etc. None of that was true for me. I'm a total pen noob. Bought two Pilot Metropolitans since everyone told me to, wasn't a fan, and took a chance on the super unreliable, hard to get writing, only good for true masters of the pen, flexy Noodler's boy. I mean, it's only twenty dollars. I just spent forty dollars on two entry level Pilots which scratch, don't start, and slip around in my hand - all the things people SAID the Ahab would do! What do I have to lose? Twenty more dollars and my budding interest in fountain pens? Screw it, I'm hopping between extremes all the way! And this pen is a dream. The ink just glides out of there, looks beautiful when it flexes, and is just about as satisfying and relaxing as anything. It railroads from time to time, but it's no big deal. I don't know if this has anything to do with my Pen's stellar performance, but I cleaned the nib and feed with soap and water before inking up, so maybe try that. Anyway, one warning: this thing GUSHES ink. I personally like the super wet writing and don't mind waiting for it to dry, but it is REALLY wet. This pen bleeds and feathers a little even on my rhodia pad. Didn't know that was possible. I guess that counts as a con? But I view it as a pro with a price. So to all those who warn beginners away from this pen, I say that I regret buying it as my third pen and wish it was my first! But clean the nib and feed and use REALLY nice paper.

TL;DR: Flex nib is useless for line weight (just get a fude nib or brush pen), but it's a very solid fountain pen otherwise!!! EDIT: changed rating from 3/5 to 4/5; honestly it's a fine pen. I was just letting my disappointment in the flex not working well influence my opinion too much. ------------------------------------------- Got this pen for the "flex" feature so I could maybe draw with it and control my line weight. But it takes WAY too much pressure to get any meaningful line weight change, and it only really lets you comfortably do that one direction - towards you. Don't plan on making any thick lines that require you curving the pen away from you. I know I'm not using the highest quality paper, but I thought a Bullet Journal would be enough. (120GSM thickness, which is "medium"). It is not. Paper doesn't tear but gets caught. If you want varying line weight go for a brush pen OR a fude nib which I grabbed off of etsy. Those things are nifty!! That said, it still feels like a fine fountain pen. I'm no expert, but I've bought 3 fountain pens now and tried out a couple of nibs. While this pen is thicker than some pens I've tried, it lets you store more ink in the pen. Less refills. Love that this came with a refillable cartridge. Writing is smooth and works well, GIVEN that you use the right ink. Only tried two inks but one was just not that great of a fit. :( and the ink that worked well with this pen also worked great with the other pen. (bad ink?) It's funny though b/c the "bad ink" was NOODLER'S OWN INK. wtf idk. Light weight and feels good in the hand. I'm not a fan of the screw off cap yet but makes it feel "distinguished". Some people complained about the smell. Mine had no smell. I hope they fixed that production defect. I hope my experience and perspective helped.

I am a big fan of Noodler's inks and thought I'd try their fountain pens also. The "Charlie" pen that comes "free" with certain bottles of Noodler's ink belched ink out the front of the pen. It ended up in the trash. Then I purchased a Noodler's Konrad Acrylic and it also leaked ink out the front and had several other issues rendering it unusable. Returned for a refund. As a last chance, I bought the Ahab and BINGO it's one of my favorite pens. Third time ended up being a charm for me. The pull piston (as opposed to a twist piston) ink filler is some awesome engineering. It can be challenging if you're filling from a sample vial, but it's much more pleasant and rather fun to see it all work when filling from the wider mouth found on an ink bottle. This pen has a large ink capacity, which you'll need if you're into flexing the nib a lot. Another option is to configure the Ahab as an eye dropper with the ridiculous ink capacity of 6 ml. The utility of the Ahab is amazing. It's up to you. I found that I don't care for the fact that the nib is flexible. If I want line variation I use an italic stub nib. But flexing isn't what makes or breaks this pen for me. I love the 1950s era design of the pen. Despite it's size, it's quite light in weight. I haven't quite decided whether I like that or not. I could use a little more heft. However, for lengthy writing sessions, it's very comfortable. The fit and finish could be better. The clip spins around the barrel if you nudge it. I cleaned the pen out entirely prior to use with a water/10 % ammonia/Dawn solution. I also took a small brush and scrubbed the ebonite feed. Next, I took a guess at how to position the nib and feed by copying what I usually see in my fountain pens. It wrote great, but a bit more wet than I would like. I tried a new feed and nib position, keeping the nib out a bit more than I usually see. That helped some. The ebonite feed swells with ink, which is desirable for flexing, but I didn't need such a wet writer. The flex nib that comes with the pen also has a long groove on top, and no breather hole, which was also making the nib a fire hose. So I turned to some nib alternatives. The Ahab uses a standard #6 nib. I first tried a $15 Goulet #6 fine steel tipped nib. It fit great, and the wetness of the ink flow was slowed somewhat. This setup worked quite nicely with no further fidgeting necessary. Being curious, and this is the pen to have if you're curious, I next tried a $3 Noodler's non-flex untipped nib (way less expensive than the Goulet), using about the same feed and nib positioning as I did with the Goulet. BINGO. This made the ink flow less wet yet, and having no tip gives a tiny bit of line variation. The non-flex nib still has a wee bit of flex to it. Applying very little pressure, the nib writes as an extra fine. It is reasonably smooth, giving some feedback without heavy scratching sounds or digging into the paper. I don't usually like extra fine nibs, but this setup I am not going to experiment with further. I'm afraid I could never go back to this point of perfection! I can write fine, controlled lines without lots of scratch. I do however, have a bag full of Noodler's nibs (standard flex tipped, non flex untipped, non flex tipped) to mess with, and I'd like to get a stub nib working on an Ahab. So off I go to buy another one. Love the color choices! I have tried moving the feed in and out to help slow down the ink flow, but no positioning has kept the Ahab from being a rather wet writer. That's not necessarily a bad thing. And finally, the smell. Never has such a fuss been made of so small an issue. Yes, it has a unique aroma. Yes, it does diminish. No, not entirely. A complete non-issue for me. I do not recommend the Ahab be your first fountain pen experience. There is a little fussing to do, not much, but the concepts behind what you're tweaking would bewilder a beginner, who most likely wants to take the pen out of the box, add ink, and write.

Flex Writing tip - Excellent, needs a shake to get flow going if unused for a day but then flows fine after that. Other gripe is the number of turns needed to get cap off pen, would like it to just pop off similar to what Lamy Safari does. The Reason for two stars removed? THAT STINK! I read the other reviews and I assumed people were too picky over a chemical odor from fresh acrylic or similar on items. This is NOT a chemical smell, more organic, at best severe toe jam but "crotch rot" is more accurate. Odor faded on the outside case after 2 weeks and UVC, but nib inside the cap is nearly as nasty as new. It's a bacterial sort of stink, way worse than morning breath or toes, it's literally a crappy smell. I put it in a foil box with UV-C lamp soaking it in Ozone to kill the odors and that only got on the outside of it as I didn't want to damage the nib with UVC or ozone which both degrade plastics. Diameter is comfortable in hand and the odor/smell does NOT stick to your hands, it is purely coming from the pen and not something that transfers to your skin. I don't understand why the factory doesn't run their parts through an Ozone + UVC degassing/odor removing cycle with all the complaints. Alcohol doesn't wipe it off, UV-C/Ozone does with 10 minutes of exposure to outside case but I don't want to void warranty by exposing nib and inside of cap to those conditions. I wish Lamy sold a vacuum fill pen as they don't stink and always start once uncapped (pop off, not screw off cap). The Lamy also has a nice triangle grip to it which makes it more comfortable to hold, but the large diameter is ok. So, I'd prefer a Lamy to this pen by 2 stars.

Received this Ahab Flex FP about two hours ago, so far it impresses the hell out of me - terrible! I filled it repeatedly with soapy water, fushed it with clean water several times and it would still not fill (at all) with ink. I played with it, washed it again, flushed it again and again and again. Finally, after some dozen repetitions it started to accept ink. I would like to have a conversation with whomever wrote the instructions for NOODLERS regarding the use of this pen; just myself, that person and a baseball bat. I'm sure that I could convince him or her of the advantage of providing clear, straight forward instructions instead of cute (repeated references to Moby Dick), artless and unclear instructions. Next, I tried to write with it. Big mistake. It does not like writing. Play, play, play; frustration, frustration, frustration. I can now draw long squiggly lines with only a few skips here and there. Words - not so good. The nib does not like to come off the paper. Going to a second word after the first word - that's asking too much. I will continue to play with the pen a bit more, but unless it starts functioning much, much better - it's going back to Amazon. I put this pen down and went back to using my much less expensive Pen & Ink ($10) sketching fountain pen for a comparison and there was no comparison. The cheap looking Pen & Ink FP works well - all the time from day one. I wanted something better; I got something worse, much worse at over twice the price. I tried the Ahab again - nothing. More nothing, a little light scratching on paper but no words - no ink flow. Perhaps it died? From over work maybe? Decided to not waste any more time, back it went for refund. One star rating.

#1 - the lubricant/machining residue on the pen when it came out of the box was absolutely nauseating. I can't stress this enough. The pen physically stinks on a level I can hardly describe. #2 - It is very cheaply made. #3 - the flex nib is super stiff, takes some time to pick up ink, and then scratches it into the paper. It's completely pointless. Maybe it's ink sensitive, but I used it with Wearingeul Call of the Cthulhu, which is formulated for flex nibs and works wonderfully in that capacity with my other flex nib pens. This pen happens to write like an ultra-fine and essentially rips up the paper when I go to flex it. That includes standard notebook paper, copy paper, Tomoe River, and Clairefontaine. It works alright on Rhodia. But on copy paper, it rips so deep into the paper that any ink I use through this nib feathers, despite not feathering when I use those inks through other pens. So all-in-all I'm not happy with this pen at all.

The Ahab is one of the first fountain pens I ever got, and certainly the first flex nib pen I have ever used. Although my collection has grown exponentially since purchasing this pen 8 months ago, it is probably still the best pen I own - it pains me to say it, but honestly, it's better than my $250 Pilot Metal Falcon, better than my Custom 912, and better than my Himalaya v2. It's incredibly forgiving as far as writing angle and has some serious flex to it, although you do have to press quite hard compared to something like a Pilot FA nib or the FPR ultraflex nibs. It fits VERY comfortably in the hand, since it's so large, and it holds a ton of ink. The filling mechanism is a breeze to use and very intuitive - unlike something like the CON-70 from Pilot. The pen can be disassembled and adjusted incredibly easily too. Although mine came absolutely perfect out of the box, so I haven't had to. I have another Ahab in a different color that writes fairly differently, just due to the nib/feed positioning. So if you're unhappy with how it writes, you can definitely try adjusting the nib. You're not going to break anything, don't be afraid to take it apart. It's actually incredibly simple, there are literally 2 pieces you just reposition slightly with respect to each other lol.

This is a delightful pen and a great bargain. It compares well with the much more expensive Waterman and Pelikan pens I've used. If you seek a good fountain pen for writing, this is your baby—though it's too big for small hands. My other pens are like jewelry, objects of great beauty and a joy to hold. But when you pay 10 or fifteen times more, nearly all the money goes for beauty. I love the frivolous design theme. My pen is nice to look at and wonderful in my hand. The mechanism is clever, well-thought-out, and highly functional. It does not leak, and the fact that so many parts screw together makes it less likely to leak than most pens that use use friction connectors. Ink didn't flow well when I first filled it and a few minutes of of writing didn't help. This has happened to me with other pens. I just put it in upright with the nib end down and left it overnight and—voilá!—it writes like a dream. Don't be put off by the petulant reviewers who bash the pen because they couldn't get it to write after the first filling. Before I filled it I did wash it out by filling it with warm water with a touch of dish soap, as I do all my pens. Maybe this helped. If this is your first fountain pen, buy it right now. If you appreciate elegant design and craftsmanship, hit that one-click button and prepare for a treat!

This pen is really good!!! - The delivery was quick. - The parcel arrived in great condition. - There is a manual inside the package which will be useful in the future. - The pen is ready to use upon delivery! I gave the pen a try without washing or filling it with ink, just a dip in the ink. Surprisingly a dip lasted a quite long while! - The nib is flexible and it responds well to the pressure you put on it. - The overall writing so far is smooth and pleasant. No scratchy feel at all. - For the money, this pen is definitely value for money. I am considering buying another one, so that I can have on at home and one in the office. - Considering buying a Namiki Falcon? I suggest that you try Noodler Ahab first!

J'ai acheté ce plume sur conseil de plusieurs testeurs sur youtube et je suis très satisfait de mon achat. Il est beau, compact, livré avec une pompe de rechargement. Le plus c'est la possibilité d'avancer ou de reculer la plume pour choisir une plume plus ou moins souple. Je recommande sans probleme !

Fin text med pennan

Der Füller macht einen angenehm stabilen Eindruck und ist umweltfreundlich. Ich habe von dieser Marke durch Zufall im Internet erfahren und mir aus Neugier einen Ahab Füllhalter bestellt. Für mich interessant war die feine flexible Feder (flex nib). Sowas kannte ich bisher nur als Calligraphiefeder und da hat mich immer das stockende Schreiben gestört, weil man die Feder ja ständig in das Tintenfass tauchen muss, und die Tintenabgabe war bei der Tauchfeder auch nie richtig gleichmäßig. Ich hatte mir immer einen gleichmäßigen Tintenfluss gewünscht. Jetzt habe ich ihn! Das Schreibgefühl ist besser als bei der Kalligraphiefeder, das Schriftbild jedoch etwas weniger ausdruckstark, aber das stört mich nicht. Der Ahab schreibt richtig gut und wenn man den Tintenfluss verändern will, dann ist das möglich, die englische Bedienungsanleitung erklärt wie (mit Bildern!). Die Feder ist aus Edelstahl, elastisch und fein. Man kann sehr klein und dünn damit schreiben. Wenn man aufdrückt schreibt sie dicker, das kann man effektvoll einsetzen, um die eigene Handschrift aufzupeppen, aber die Feder kann aus einer ...klaue keine schöne Handschrift machen. Die Feder kann auch problemlos gegen andere Federn der Größe #6 ausgetauscht werden. Der Ahab hat eine schöne Form, könnte Menschen mit kleinen Händen vielleicht etwas zu groß/dick sein. Es gibt ihn in vielen Farben. Der sehr schön geschwungene Halteklipp hat die Form eines Wals in der Draufsicht. Als Material für den Füller wurde ein biologisch abbaubarer Kunststoff ("vegetal resin") gewählt, der aus nachwachsenden Rohstoffen produziert wird. Es passen keine herkömmlichen Tintenpatronen hinein und der Hersteller will dies auch ausdrücklich nicht, da diese Kunststoffmüll hinterlassen, der dann unter anderem die Ozeane verdreckt (Suchmaschine: Plastikmüll in den Ozeanen). Der Ahab hat einen perfekt passenden Kolbenkonverter, der problemlos vollständig zerlegbar ist und einfach gereinigt werden kann (das gilt für den gesamten Füller). Wenn irgendwann mal eine Dichtung aufgeben sollte gibt es im Baumarkt billigen Ersatz, hin und wieder etwas Silikonfett an den gleitenden Teilen hilft Wunder. Die Betankung erfolgt aus dem Tintenfass. Der Produzent liefert auch die passende Tinte, die leider in Deutschland schlecht zu kriegen und vor allem viel zu teuer ist. Wie man Internetrezensionen entnehmen kann ist die firmeneigene Tinte sehr gut, es gibt sie in sehr vielen Farben und sie ist unschlagbar günstig - in den USA! Vielleicht kommt sie ja irgendwann nach Deutschland. Amazon? Der Ahab hat einen Nachteil: er riecht irgendwie seltsam, aber nicht sehr stark. Wirklich nicht! Ich vermute das hat was mit dem besonderen Kunststoff zu tun. Der Geruch soll sich mit der Zeit verflüchtigen (sagt das Internet). Fazit: Das Ding ist prima! Wenn sich die Versorgungslage mit den Produkten von Noodler's verbessert werde ich mir sicherlich noch einen kaufen oder zwei, Farbauswahl gibt es wirklich reichlich.

Prefer this option to using cartridges or buying a converter in addition. Using it for ink and watercolour painting. Very easy to handle.