Noodler's Konrad

[Belles-lettres]

I, too, have a Konrad, several Ahabs and the small first model.

 

The little guys all worked out of the box although two of four performed better with a little adjusting.

 

The Ahabs really vexed me. I bought four; one was perfect, two eventually worked with flushing and nib adjustment and one never, ever worked right - same complaint as others, writes fine then goes dry. I did everything anyone suggested on this board.

 

So it was either a leap of faith or masochism that I ordered a Konrad.... and I have been quite content with it. Ran some JB flush through it immediately then inked it and off it went just as it should. I find it fits my hand very well, the balance is excellent and the ink volume is what a pen should be (I empty a small bladder of ink in 90 minutes of writing - very inconvenient esp if on the road). I worry about messing with success but the nib is not as smooth as the Ahab I kept - am thinking about swapping nibs but the degree of fear and trepidation has postponed the action.

 

Would buy a ebonite Konrad in the blink of an eye.

[jjyoung]

I just purchases the Konrad because I wanted a flexible nib pen that I could carry around with me (actually, it's my first flex nib pen). I watched a couple of YouTube videos on the Konrad and it mentioned cleaning the nib first with a comination of ammonia and grease cutting dish detergent. I did that before inking the pen, and it writes very nicely. When flexing the nib to achieve a wide line I tend to get hollows, but for mild line increases it works fine. I don't have anything currently to compare it with, but it takes more pressure than I expected to get a wider line. I also have a Waterman's 52 1/2V on the way that I purchased off of eBay. It'll be interesting to see how they compare. I'm currenly using Watermans Brilliant Black in it. I may try other inks to see how they compare.

[Scrawler]

I am playing with a Konrad right now. It is a very nice pen, suitable for everyday usage. The nib is far too stiff to be considered flexible. It takes a large, and unnatural amount of pressure to open the tines just a little bit. However, I like the nib because it draws a sharp edged line. Not as sharp as a Pendleton point, but sharp enough. The nib is strong and will take the pressure so you can have fun with it. My real problem with this pen is the filler. If you do not grasp the top of the pen where the filler meets the barrel, it unscrews from the body as you try to fill it.

[mazzas]

I just got shipment of my Konrad and inked it with Apache Sunset. As others, I have noticed the low flow in the nib and would be very grateful to anyone who could point me toward directions on "adjusting" the nib. Assuming I can get the flow problem corrected (maybe lubricating ink???), I feel the pen is worth every bit of its purchase price (odor aside). If I had any other complaint it would be that the nib is not at all smooth on the page... quite scratchy feeling.

[Scribblesoften]

There are a number of threads here on FPN on adjusting the Ahab pen. As the nibs and feeds are the same as the Konrad's, most of the flow adjustment techniques will work. Do a search for "Ahab" in the forums and you should get a few good hits. Good luck with your pen. I hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

[J.R.]

I bought the Red Mesa Konrad about a year ago, and it worked perfectly for me - for 11 months. Then I managed to booger up the nib, screwing the cap on. I've heard this is an infrequent problem others have had...watched a youtube video, complaining about that situation. I managed to "field-engineer" a solution, to get it writing again, but it sure is ugly, and ink gushes out of it now.

 

What irks me about the situation is: I can't seem to find a source for replacement Noodler's nibs ? I emailed Noodler's, but haven't heard anything from them. I'm aware that there are Knox nibs available, but I really didn't want to go that route. Does anyone know a source for replacement nibs, or parts of any kind, except O-rings ? That's like Chevrolet selling cars, but no parts ?

 

Overall, I'm a Noodler's fan, also. Got 11 of 'em, total. (10 if you exclude the dysfunctional Konrad).

 

Take Care,

J.R.

[J.R.]

Dbl Post

Edited February 5, 2013 by J.R.

[Scribblesoften]

I believe that Dick Egolf, the Noodler's distributer, is here on FPN. His alias here is Regolf. You might send him a pm describing your situation.

[RickH9]

Thinking about purchasing one for myself. Anybody have any problems with the piston coming off the barrel?

[Scribblesoften]

Thinking about purchasing one for myself. Anybody have any problems with the piston coming off the barrel?

 

There would be two ways for this to happen. If the internal threads where the piston mechanism attaches were to srip, which I have not heard of. The other way would be if one were to overtighten the blind cap. This would cause the blind cap to grip the piston mechanism tightly. In this scenario, when one unscrews the blind cap, one would also unscrew the piston mechanism. I have done this myself and have heard of others doing it.

[murfie]

Thinking about purchasing one for myself.

Anyone contemplating buying a Noodler's Konrad should make

by Nathan Tardif, compulsory viewing. I purchased a Konrad from The Goulet Pen Co. recently and on receipt I had awful ink flow problems. The nib and feed did not seat correctly in the section leaving gaps through which ink flowed copiously and into at least one blob every paragraph. After a lot of fiddling around I gave up in disgust. I then stumbled across Nathan's video and that resulted in following his instructions on heating and reforming the ebonite feed. This allowed me to eliminate the gaps in the section and achieve an excellent fit. At the same time I blocked the central flow channel in the feed on Nathan's suggestion because I don't put the nib flex to its limits. I now have a very well behaved pen that writes very well with a wet 8/10 ink flow.

[Interapid]

Thinking about purchasing one for myself.

Anyone contemplating buying a Noodler's Konrad should make

by Nathan Tardif, compulsory viewing. I purchased a Konrad from The Goulet Pen Co. recently and on receipt I had awful ink flow problems. The nib and feed did not seat correctly in the section leaving gaps through which ink flowed copiously and into at least one blob every paragraph. After a lot of fiddling around I gave up in disgust. I then stumbled across Nathan's video and that resulted in following his instructions on heating and reforming the ebonite feed. This allowed me to eliminate the gaps in the section and achieve an excellent fit. At the same time I blocked the central flow channel in the feed on Nathan's suggestion because I don't put the nib flex to its limits. I now have a very well behaved pen that writes very well with a wet 8/10 ink flow.

 

I didn't have the same luck.

Edited February 26, 2013 by Interapid