Noodler's Ahab flex pen review

Noodler's Ahab is the latest fountain pen from Noodler's Ink but it is also their latest pen with a flexible nib. It is a departure from previous models both in price and in how the pen is built. Both are higher: the price slightly, from $14 to $20, but the quality the modularity of this pen is so much better than those of its ancestors. I won't leave you hanging until the end and I will say it now: the Ahab has superseded its predecessors in one swift blow and is now, in my humble opinion, the best Noodler's fountain pen yet.

The Ahab is only Noodler's second pen with a flexible nib, following the original Noodler's flex, but it has subtly moved upscale without a corresponding increase in price. Yes, the price is up slightly but you get so much more with this pen than with the first flex. It is worth every extra dollar, but read on, don't take my word for it.

Body and materials

The Ahab is made from Noodler's usual material: vegetal resin. As a result, you will be confronted by the peculiar smell that, those of us who have sampled Noodler's pens before, have gotten used to. The smell offends some people and leaves others indifferent. I'm somewhere in the middle but I've learned not to sweat it. The smell does go away after a while. To speed it along, I would recommend washing the pen with water and soap before you use it the first time.

My pen is yellow, or more precisely Mandarin Yellow. It is my second yellow fountain pen and it's a very bright color at that. My other yellow pen is the Pilot Prera and I just had to compare the two side by side to show you how similar the colors are.

To me, the Prera does have the more enjoyable color, as its yellow is warmer. The Pilot pen also has better materials and a better finish but Noodler's is not far behind.

Going back to materials, Ahabs come in various color schemes. I said "color schemes" deliberately because most of them are one main color with swirls of another color intermixed. There's the inevitable clear demonstrator and I know that some colored demonstrators are about to be launched shortly. This Mandarin Yellow pen is one of the few that are a single color. Another reason to like it, for me at least.

The Ahab has a twist-on cap which takes about 2 1/4 turns to come off. The cap features a wide silver trim band with the words "Noodler's Ink" inscribed on it.

The cap posts easily and securely on the end, but I never feel the need to do so, because the pen is large enough to make this unnecessary. In either case, balance remains very good, thanks to the low weight of the pen.

A large finial holds the interesting-looking clip. The story behind the clip is that Nathan Tardiff, Noodler's owner, wanted it to resemble a whale, and it does. In fact the pen itself is a sort of homage to the infamous Captain Ahab from Moby Dick, and it's meant to represent the Captain's wooden leg. The clip is, indeed, unique in the world of fountain pens. It, too, has the words "Noodler's Ink" engraved on it. The clip is not too stiff but it holds on to a shirt pocket well enough. Being smooth, it also slips on easily.

Dimensions and weight

The Ahab is Noodler's largest fountain pen, so far. That's just one of the many reasons why I purchased it. To me this feels like a proper "fat" pen. Not only is it much easier to hold than the piston-filler/original flex, but it is also much more comfortable when used for extended periods. Here are some quantifiable dimensions:

Length capped: 140mm / 5.5in
Length uncapped and un-posted: 128mm / 5in
Length of cap: 60mm / 2.36in
Length of nib: 21mm / 0.83in
Length with cap posted: 170mm / 6.7in

As I already mentioned, the Ahab is surprisingly light. While this is perfect for me, others may find that posting it gives it better balance. I find it very well balanced without needing to post the cap. I only post caps as a last resort, when the pen is too short or too light but this is not the case.

Because I don't have a scale, I will try to give you another point of reference: the Ahab is a bit lighter than the TWSBI Diamond 530 but not by a lot.

Filling mechanism

In my short career as fountain pen appreciator, this is best filling system I have come across. It even beats the TWSBI, although the latter is more precisely crafted. Where the Ahab excels is the modularity and ease of disassembly. The following image shows how the pen can be taken apart into its base components. I chose not to remove the rubber o-rings and the clip but those can also be removed if you so desire.

The Ahab's piston filling mechanism is amazing for several reasons.

First, the ink reservoir is not friction fit. Instead, it screws on to the section. This makes for an extremely secure connection. There's no guessing if you stuck it in correctly or worrying that it might leak. Besides, it also features a rubber seal where it meets the section, to ensure an air-tight fit.

Second, the piston can be removed easily by unscrewing the black nub and pushing the shaft out through the large opening (the one with the threads). The piston o-ring can also be easily replaced by slipping it off. Speaking of the o-ring, this particular version is already obsolete. There's a new, double wall o-ring that's supposed to be even better, and newer batches of Ahabs should have it pre-installed. In my case, I opted to buy a set of 2 replacement o-rings along with my pen, for only $1 extra. And that's just for peace of mind because I don't anticipate this o-ring to ever go bad.

Third, the piston rod itself is hollow. Yup, when filling with ink you should pull the piston once, then push it in to expel the ink and remaining air, then pull it once again. If you do this correctly, ink will go both inside the piston rod and the ink reservoir. This makes for even more capacity. Notice the ink-filled rod in the image below.

But wait, there's more! This is a flex pen after all. Flex pens have a tendency to gulp gallons of ink, potentially requiring you to refill often. If you are still not satisfied with the ink capacity of the Ahab's reservoir (which, by the way, is bigger than the original Noodler's flex), there's one more solution for you: remove the piston and use the entire barrel as a reservoir, converting the pen to an eyedropper with an incredible 6ml of capacity. If that is your intention, I would recommend a transparent demonstrator so you can always see the ink levels.

What can I say, I don't have enough words to praise this system. Despite all this you will still think I'm crazy when I am going to tell you that I used a syringe to fill this pen. Yes, I know, that's sacrilege, but I happen to think that using a syringe is way less messy than dipping the whole section in ink. Not only does it prevent a mess, but it is also more economical because no ink is wasted and the ink bottle won't be contaminated with who-knows-what when you dip the pen in it.

Nib and feed

In classic Noodler's tradition, the Ahab sports an ebonite feed but this time it is much larger than previous pens, and so is the nib. The nib, in fact, is humongous. It has the same general design as the original Noodler's flex: the nib is split along more than half of its length, and it doesn't have a breather hole. This design allows it to flex, despite being made from steel. Steel, unfortunately, doesn't flex as easily as gold but you can't have gold in a $20 pen, can you?

Whatever Nathan did with this nib, it worked, because it seems to flex more easily than the previous pen. Here's a comparison between the nibs and feeds for the two pens, first with the feed shown from above...

and then with the feed shown from below.

Notice how much larger both of them are. One interesting thing I've noticed about the feed is that the large central groove on the top side is not centered. I was afraid this might have a negative effect on ink flow but I shouldn't have worried.

At the end of the big feed is a hole which takes a thin breather tube. This tube will fit inside the piston rod when it is pushed all the way down. It helps draw ink into the rod when filling with ink. Removing the breather tube apparently has no effect on ink flow, as reported by other users of the Ahab.

There's one more thing that I would like to mention, and it's about how the nib and feed are inserted into the section. As before, they are friction fit. Previous models, however, did not offer any means of helping you align the two. The Ahab, though also friction fit, has a small groove cut in the section that helps you align the nib and feed by allowing them to be inserted only in a certain position. Notice the following image:

The nib goes above the two arrows (the smaller arc), while the feed goes below (the larger arc). This is a great feature because it was always hard to get the perfect alignment before. I discovered it entirely by chance while cleaning the pen for the first time.

As usual, you can adjust the depth of the nib and feed inside the section, which modulates the flow of the ink.

Once again, I applaud the simple, yet well thought design of the section, nib and feed.

Writing experience

But how does it write? I'm happy to report that the Noodler's Ahab flex pen writes very well.

You can use it entirely without flexing the nib one bit, and it will produce a smooth line between a fine and a medium. I would go as far as to compare it to a Japanese fine.

The ink flow is very good and there's no skipping whatsoever. More importantly, the nib is very smooth, without the slightest trace of scratch. Compared to the previous flex, the Ahab managed to surprise me with another feature: it doesn't seem to dry up after prolonged rest. I can pick it up after two days of inactivity and it will start right away. That's great news considering that the ink would actually dry up in the old piston-filler type pens, in just a few short days.

Yes but does it flex? Let's get one thing straight: the Ahab is not a wet noodle. That would be beyond the reach of a $20 pen with a steel nib. Having said that, it does flex fairly well, although you will need a bit of practice until you can get comfortable with it. Remember: apply pressure on the downstroke, release on the upstroke.

It's very subtle but it feels that the Ahab's nib is more willing to bend than the first Noodler's flex. It also feels that the tines spread just a hair more, producing a larger variation.

I mentioned that the flow is very good, and this is also true while flexing. Occasionally, however, you might end up starving the nib of ink. This usually happen if you write too quickly and the tines are spread too much. To correct, slow down a little. Writing with a flex nib is not a speed competition but rather a calculated, deliberate endeavor.

One other thing that requires mentioning is that it is highly advisable to clean your Ahab well before using it for the first time. Take it apart and wash all the components (particularly the piston/section/nib/feed) with soapy water (use a couple of drops of dishwashing detergent) and let it soak in that water for a while. Draw some soapy water inside the piston, expel, repeat several times. Finally, rinse everything well with clean water and let it dry. You can even use a little ammonia solution instead of (or in addition to) soapy water.

Why is this important? Because in many cases there are machining oils left on the internal components of a brand new pen. These oils will prevent the ink from flowing properly and you will get poor ink flow. It's all preventable though, just follow the steps I outlined above.

Wrap-up

I have nothing but praise for Noodler's Ahab flex pen. For the very low price of $20 this pen has managed to attain fountain pen Nirvana. There is nothing wrong that I can find with it, because everything was done right. The light but wholesome body, the good balance, the elegant silver trim on the cap along with the interesting clip, the excellent large capacity filling mechanism and the smooth nib... all these conspire to make for a wonderful writing instrument that simply cannot be defeated at this price point, especially if you consider that this is an actual flex pen! If I were to nitpick, I could complain that it isn't a wet noodle but that would be disingenuous because there are simply no cheap wet noodles on the market today.

While the extra $6 for the Ahab compared to the original flex pen might seem like a premium to someone on a budget, believe me when I tell you that this pen is light years ahead, in every way imaginable. In fact I would be surprised if Noodler's Ink continued to produce the older pens. I hope they go the way of the dodo because the Ahab is to that one what humans are to chimps.

Here's a sample written on Clairefontaine 90g paper in Noodler's Nikita ink. This ink doesn't shade, unfortunately, but it is very bright and shows off the line variation well.

Noodler's Flex Pen v2 review

The Noodler's Flex Pen I am reviewing today is the most inexpensive fountain pen with a flexible nib on the market today. At $14 no other flex pen comes close. Not only that, but the overwhelming majority of fountain pen makers do not want to produce pens with flex nibs, probably because those pens belong to a bygone era. Well, the truth is there simply isn't a big market for them nowadays.

I am calling my pen "v2" not because it's an official designation but because it is part of the second large batch of flex pens produced by Noodler's Ink. Between the two batches there was a long delay of many months in which people were driven to distraction because they couldn't get their flex pen fix.

As far as I know, the only thing that differentiates pens from batch 1 and 2 is the fact that batch 1 pens needed to have their feed heat-set by hand, while the second batch improved the manufacturing process such that manual setting wasn't needed. This also allowed these pens to be produced quicker, eliminating the shortage.

Body and materials

Noodler's Flex Pens are identical to their piston fillers. Same body, same materials, both use a piston filling mechanism. The only things that differ are the nib and feed. For that reason, I will direct you to my previous review of Noodler's piston filler where you can read all about the body, since the same observations apply here.

Something must be said about the materials used. My piston filler was a clear demonstrator while the flex pen is an opaque blue with white swirls which Noodler's calls Lapis Inferno. It's quite a nice color; the blue is vibrant and cheerful. Having said that, I believe that the plastic used in flex is different than the piston filler.

The piston filler is made from some sort of "vegetal resin", which also gives it a very pungent smell (or stench if you will). The smell goes away after a while. I didn't notice the Lapis Inferno pen having such a powerful smell. At any rate, I cleaned it with rubbing alcohol to kill the smell in the crib.

The material of the blue pen also seems a bit rubbery to me, in contrast with the demonstrator which gave me some trouble and ended up in the trash. Note to self: don't soak Noodler's pens in ammonia solution for extended periods of time.

Nib and feed

The nib and feed of the flex pen are different than those in the piston filler. Both feeds are made from ebonite  but the one on the flex pen is longer and has an additional ink channel on the front. Is the extra length meant to give improved flow as more of the feed sits inside the section? Perhaps.

The nib on the flex pen is split down the middle all the way into the section and apparently this is what helps it flex. It doesn't have a breather hole like the nib on the piston filler.

Ink flow is good - once you get the pen started. This seems to be the one problem that Noodler's piston fillers/flex pens suffer from: the ink tends to dry up in it if you don't use it for a longer period of time.

The trick with Noodler's pens is that you can easily adjust ink flow, something that much more expensive fountains pen don't allow. My understanding is that for more flow the feed must be deeper inside the section. For less, more of the feed needs to be outside.

This is a pen that requires experimentation to get the best out of it. Try moving the feed in or out of the section. Then try doing the same with the nib. Vary the distance between the tip of the feed and the tip of the nib. The beauty of it is that you can do all this on the fly, with the pen inked up. Grab a bit of paper towel or a rag, pull out nib and feed, adjust distances, stick them back in. Rinse and repeat until you get the perfect flow.

Writing experience

This being a flex pen, the line drawn by the nib varies in width between 1/4mm to almost 2mm. I don't believe you can push it beyond 2mm because at that point railroading starts to appear. Railroading is the term that describes the situation where the tines are so far spread apart that the feed can't supply ink to the nib anymore, creating 2 parallel lines instead of 1 continuous, thick line.

At the fine setting (un-flexed) the nib is reasonably smooth but to me it seems just a tad less so than the piston filler.

Using a fountain pen with a flex nib is quite an art and I will admit that I am less than a beginner. But one thing I've learned even before I got the pen is to only apply pressure on the down-stroke, while releasing pressure on the up-stroke. With this technique, even my poor handwriting seems to acquire such a special quality that it can almost be confused with calligraphy by someone who doesn't know any better.

A word needs to be said about the stiffness of the nib. In a flex pen, I've learned, this is very important. Though I have no prior experience with flex pens, I have heard a lot about the so-called "wet noodles" (and by the way, the Waterman 52 in that link is one of the pens I dream of) and this nib ain't it. A wet noodle is a nib which flexes very easily under the slightest pressure (or rather the tines spread very easily), also giving a lot of variation. A very nice wet noodle can produce a line which varies in width between a hair's thickness to 3mm or so. So Noodler's Flex pen requires a fair amount of pressure. I will have to admit that if I use it for more than a few minutes at a time my forearm starts to tire from the constant pressure. On the other hand I have a suspicion that my faulty technique is to blame.

The Noodler's Flex pen requires a bit of practice until it starts to feel natural. As I said, the nib requires some degree of pressure and it may not seem very satisfying at the beginning. When I first started using it I wondered what the big fuss was about. After practicing with it for a longer period, I started to get the hang of it.

Wrap-up

Noodler's Flex pen is, hands down, the most affordable fountain pen with a flexible nib on the market today. If you are curious to explore calligraphy using a flexible nib, there is no better option, unless you are willing to spend a few hundred dollars for a vintage pen. You could also go the cheaper route and use a nib holder and a special calligraphy nib but that route is not as easy as just loading a fountain pen with ink and not worrying about the ink running out every few strokes. Writing with a flex nib can be a lot of fun but I wouldn't use such a pen in an office or business setting. Personally I can't write quickly enough with this pen, perhaps also because the nib doesn't flex so easily.

As I write this, there is already a second inexpensive flex fountain pen on the market: Noodler's Ahab. In fact, the one I ordered has just arrived today in the mail and I will review it as soon as time permits. While the Ahab isn't much more expensive, at $20, the original $14 flex pen is a steal. One of these pens is a must in any fountain pen collector's stash.

Here are a couple of samples that I wrote using the Noodler's Flex. Both samples are from my reviews of J Herbin Gris Nuage and Noodler's Hunter Green.