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Noodler's Nikita Pen (Slightly Modified)


mhosea

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This is not what I'd call a "serious" review, but I thought I'd share a success story with a "free" pen in an informal review-like form.

 

I recently bought a bottle of Noodler's Nikita for the ink, so the pen that came with it was, to me, a free thing. It wrote, but it was scratchy. I couldn't smooth it. As I progressed, step by step, from mild to more extreme measures, eventually grinding my first little stub, I realized that the tipping material must be rather brittle and breaking off in little bits. Suffice it to say, I did not like the nib that came with the pen. Eventually I gave up on it and threw it away. But I had, some time ago, bought a set of 5 Baoer 388's off of Ebay, and the threaded barrel insert came out of one of them. Because the pens also required prodigious force to uncap (one reason why I never liked them to begin with), this would have been challenging to repair permanently, and I just didn't bother. So I had this smallish Baoer nib to spare. Would it fit? Yes!

 

The result is an astonishingly good pen. Yes, it is cheap. The clear plastic barrel made of similar stuff of a hundred toys of my youth, but relies on no seal at its base--it is a plastic cup, so it cannot leak in your pocket from that end. The grip section threads in with an o-ring seal and some silicone grease on the threads. Never seen any ink leak from there, either. I've heard of these pens leaking from the feed on people. I can't comment on what happens with the original nib, but with the Baoer nib and the original Noodler's feed I don't get any misbehavior there, either. The ink flow is perfect and 100% reliable, more reliable than most of my expensive fountain pens. I cannot outrun the feed with this nib. I originally did put Noodler's Nikita in it, but in the whole nib smoothing to trashing to replacement series off events, it was used up, and I had about 1.5ml or more of Noodler's Widowmaker in a sample vial that I wasn't using, so I just dumped it in to the barrel--no eyedropper required, though I didn't have the guts to fill it by that method anywhere but at the sink. It had some room to spare, so probably it holds close to 2ml (sorry I didn't measure it precisely).

 

I like the pen a lot, and considering that it was free, the entertainment value of getting it working properly alone was an extra bonus. YMMV.

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8172/8042270929_43510100f6.jpg Nikita Pen 1 by mehosea

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8172/8042283322_75fea27d42.jpg Nikita Pen 3 by mehosea

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8173/8042283388_4e883138df.jpg Nikita Pen 2 by mehosea

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8309/8042283454_bceb41df08.jpg Nikita Pen 4 by mehosea

Edited by mhosea

I know my id is "mhosea", but you can call me Mike. It's an old Unix thing.

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Thanks for a neat story - with the sort of result I like to hear about. I may swap the nibs out on one or two of my Noodler pens after reading this!

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You're welcome. I have a couple of Konrads that sport Knox K35 nibs, one medium and one fine. I spent a long time reshaping the ebonite feeds (by heating them) to fit these nibs just right, but now both are excellent writers, as smooth and as impressive as any steel nibs in my collection, including the "Binderized" ones. In fact, I was thinking about taking the fine point Konrad to work with me tomorrow.

Edited by mhosea

I know my id is "mhosea", but you can call me Mike. It's an old Unix thing.

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mhosea,

 

Thumbs up to you for rejuvenating the Nikita pen with the Baoer nib; I did not know they could fit together at all. In the last photograph, the nib seems to be not fully set into the section, using the feed as a visual guide, but then my beady old eyes could be deceiving me.

 

Osmaroid,

 

In case you are replacing some Noodler's nibs with something better, let me know if you wish to dispose of them - as long as they are in good condition, I can do with some back-ups!

No, I am not going to list my pens here.

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I had one of these, the barrel developed cracks and began to leak, be careful, the plastic is brittle!

Increase your IQ, use Linux AND a Fountain pen!!http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk11/79spitfire/Neko_animated.gif
http://fedoraproject.org/w/uploads/5/50/Fedorabutton-iusefedora.png

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In the last photograph, the nib seems to be not fully set into the section, using the feed as a visual guide, but then my beady old eyes could be deceiving me.

 

It probably won't go in any farther. The original nib doesn't extend "all the way", either. It changes shape from cylindrical section to a more flat shape. That gives it a "hilt" to push it up against. The Baoer nib is set in there securely,farther in than on the Baoer pen it came from, and maybe farther in than the original nib. Note that the feed is a relatively small one. Off-hand I don't recall if the feed is just set all the way back into the section or if I adjusted their relative position to make a good fit against the contour of the nib.

I know my id is "mhosea", but you can call me Mike. It's an old Unix thing.

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I had one of these, the barrel developed cracks and began to leak, be careful, the plastic is brittle!

 

The barrel does appear to be quite cheap. What do you think precipitated the cracks?

I know my id is "mhosea", but you can call me Mike. It's an old Unix thing.

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mhosea,

 

I am glad that your pen works fine; when I reassemble pens I tend to be a bit particular regarding the relative positions of feed and nib; I am considering getting one but 79spitfire's report is a little worrying, so I am hoping that he can enlighten us.

 

The eyedropper I use most often is the most basic Serwex Special 101 with a clear plastics "test tube" barrel, I have not tried to determine what sort of plastics material was used. As I was a designer I'd say it's best to be PMMA (AKA Perspex, Lucite, Plexiglass, etc) or polycarbonate (with which crash helmets are made). I do not think pens of this calibre would use these materials due to cost, a likely candidate would be polystyrene which is much less costly but brittle... just thinking out loud.

No, I am not going to list my pens here.

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Well, "getting one" should mean one of two things. Either you really want a 4.5 ounce bottle of Noodler's Nikita, in which case the pen is a bonus, or you have a buddy who wanted Nikita but not the pen. Your buddy needs to live nearby or be sending you something else in the mail. For the pen alone it would be hard to justify the price of postage. The entertainment value is a little harder to put a price on.

I know my id is "mhosea", but you can call me Mike. It's an old Unix thing.

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Well, "getting one" should mean one of two things. Either you really want a 4.5 ounce bottle of Noodler's Nikita, in which case the pen is a bonus, or you have a buddy who wanted Nikita but not the pen. Your buddy needs to live nearby or be sending you something else in the mail. For the pen alone it would be hard to justify the price of postage. The entertainment value is a little harder to put a price on.

 

This same pen can be bought somewhere else but I have no idea how far Noodler's modified theirs beyond the branding, it's worth a try I guess. The local dealer closed their shop so it's frustrating, but then it's a bit like that in Australia quite often!

No, I am not going to list my pens here.

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The barrel does appear to be quite cheap. What do you think precipitated the cracks?

 

Looking at Fountain Pen Revolution's site, I would say the pen resembles the Oliver Ideal Fountain Pen Here.

 

The Noodler's pen I had was drilled off-center and developed cracks from simple use, correcting papers (I'm a part time teacher). I tried to seal the cracks with a couple of different adhesives I had. It didn't work. I scraped those off and tried to solvent weld the cracks (I'm a mechanic and a tinkerer as well, so I have lots of dangerous stuff handy!). The resulting hazed over mess of a barrel was tossed in the trash. I contacted Luxury brands about purchasing a replacement barrel, I received a "we'll see what we can do" email, and haven't heard anything since. I love the ink and have several of Noodler's other pens I can put the ink in. I just chalked this one up as a marketing experiment gone south. It's not like I bought it JUST for the pen, I love the bright true red color of the ink, and use it in other pens when needed.

 

It's also possible I just got a sour pen, stuff like that happens.

 

If you want a 'tougher' eyedropper pen, get one of the Walitys. Thick heavy and clear, if you can make an eyedropper pen work for you I'd say they are what you want!

 

FPR has those too, and at reasonable prices! (Yes it's a gratuitous plug for Kevin, but hey, "King of Inexpensive Indian Pens" isn't a bad title is it??)

Increase your IQ, use Linux AND a Fountain pen!!http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk11/79spitfire/Neko_animated.gif
http://fedoraproject.org/w/uploads/5/50/Fedorabutton-iusefedora.png

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  • 6 months later...

Small update here. I have not seen mine develop any cracks at all. It is still much as it ever was, but I can tell for sure that ink steadily evaporates from it at a greater than normal rate. The cap is not air tight and has no inner cap insert, so I presume that is the cause. I plan to seal the top end of the cap with silicone and see whether the rate of evaporation can be slowed to a more normal pace.

I know my id is "mhosea", but you can call me Mike. It's an old Unix thing.

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I plan to seal the top end of the cap with silicone and see whether the rate of evaporation can be slowed to a more normal pace.

 

I just discovered that the finial unscrews, so nix the silicone glue. Shellac it shall be. Actually, since I have the pen at work, I can start with silicone grease, as I have that on hand.

I know my id is "mhosea", but you can call me Mike. It's an old Unix thing.

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