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Noodler's Flex Pen


sentraser165

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Received my clear demonstrator from Goulet Pens last night but no time then to try it. Tonight I inked it with Sherwood Green and off she went --- love this pen for $14. It is closest to the Esterbrook 9128 but more refined: maybe EF rather than just F, spreads a little wider and is definitely softer to flex. It isn't my c. 1918 Snapfil but it wasn't anywhere near that cost of acquisition either. I really like it and will probably use it to address Christmas cards in order to break it in - heck, I might like it even better then.Also interested in trying some other fave inks like 1670 and Aqua Blue, both of which are killers in my wet noodle nibs.

 

+1 to Goulet for speed and quality of packing. Ordered Friday afternoon, received Monday afternoon. Write On Brian and Rachel!

 

Thank you Nathan - proof of American ingenuity.

first fountain pen: student Sheaffer, 1956

next fountain pen: Montblanc 146 circa 1990

favourite ink: Noodler's Zhivago

favourite pen: Waterman No. 12

most beautiful pen: Conway Stewart 84 red with gold veins, oh goodness gracious

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Anyone have advice on setting the nib and feed to reduce flow when flexed?? My demonstrator has been great, predictable, wet without being too wet. My christmas pen however is a bit of a gusher, and also seems to be a bit dryer when not flexed. I kind of want to put black swan in it full time, and it's just a bit too wet for that when flexing on most of the paper's I've used (hp 32lb laserjet, some bagasse like paper from steno pads, copy paper is no-go)

 

I've tried setting the feed and nib identically to my demo pen, but it was kinda set like that to begin with so it didn't really help. It actually doesn't feed too much when flexing a line, it's when the tines come back together that it spooges a ton of ink back into the letter.

 

Right now I've got the feed pushed in further by about 1 feed... groove thing... dunno what those are called. It's a little better but I'm sure there's some other way I'm not aware of to get it to feed just right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nix that, User error mostly it seems, Was playing around just now with some different papers and an actual hard writing surface *instead of a notebook* and it's MUCH better. To put it in perspective, both pens flex to the same width, otherwise they're like the 52 1/2 waterman (my Demo. Flex pen) and the WET waterman 52 on the bottom (christmas pen). https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/176259-black-swan-in-australian-roses/ Which is good because that's the look I really wanted with black swan. It was just way more ink than I was used to seeing on a single letter that I freaked out I think. Didn't help that writing on the top of a legal pad was letting the nib cut into the paper and bleed everywhere.

 

Guess the next step is to get some of that fancy shmancy imported paper to see what the pen and ink are really capable of, instead of hp laserjet and an Ampad Recycled paper Legal pad. :embarrassed_smile:

 

Wheee... The closeup of the word Christmas shows off the shading even when writing normally, with an XF line. I think I'll readjust the nib to the default position and try it again when I'm feeling more adventurous.

 

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r54/Yoda4561/Pens%20and%20Ink/Christmas.jpg

Edited by Yoda4561
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Semi-flex, Slightly flexible and Full Flexible nibs do have a tendency to be wetter than the stiffer 'normal' regular flex nibs. It's the nature of the beast, in the tines spread, laying more ink.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Got mine yesterday and inked it with "Australian Roses" Like it so far, very smooth and flexy for a modern pen. I noticed that if the pen isn't full of ink it tends to "firehose" as my hand heat transfers into the pen. Keeping it full seems to have fixed it. I'm taking it to work and will see how it works on various papers there. It seems, so far, to not rail like my other demo flex nib. It may be a difference in the feed between the two pens, the original version has the plastic feed and this one has the ebonite feed.

Increase your IQ, use Linux AND a Fountain pen!!http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk11/79spitfire/Neko_animated.gif
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I am ridiculously pleased with my pen. I picked up Apache Sunset to go with this pen and WOW, the shading is amazing. I didn't expect such a great pen for $14.

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After playing with this pen for a couple of days I can actually write very well with a flexible pen, and my handwriting is looking great! It may be a sort of beginner's pen, but I am a beginner and very pleased. I will be ordering more when more colours and pens become available.

 

Thanks to both Nathan at Noodler's Inks (and pens!) and Brian and Rachel Goulet for fast shipping and a very smooth transaction during a hectic period!

Gobblecup ~

 

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My Noodler's Creaper arrived today from Goulet Pens. (Love how quickly Brian gets orders shipped, by the way.) I bought the demonstrator model because I thought it would be cool to see the innerds of a pen. I'm not disappointed. Also, the nib flexes more easily than my Esterbrook 2048 nib, and with none of the scratchiness, so I am thrilled with this pen! Yes, it does take quite a bit of practice to get "nice" handwriting, but that is a labor of love. It writes surprisingly smooth. My Creaper is a keeper!

 

Bob

 

I may have endorsed too quickly. A few hours later, and I'm getting frustrated by the amount of railroading I'm getting. Maybe it has something to do with the ink? I started off using Waterman Havana and had almost no problems. I then switched to Private Reserve Tropical Blue and now I'm having the railroading issue.

 

 

The ink really does seem to have a big effect. I've noticed the more heavily surfactant loaded inks (that make soap bubbles when you shake, or coat the sides of a bottle easily) seem to railroad the least, the inks that are more watery with little soaping up don't seem to maintain that sheet when flexing, I think it's kinda like how blowing bubbles works, you gotta have the right ink to maintain that film.

 

Switched back to Waterman Black and have had minimal railroading since.

I never finish anyth

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I'm pretty excited about it, but I dislike demonstrators and the red/green sets my teeth on edge. I'm waiting to get a nice blue or orange one, and re-learn how to write.

 

I feel the same about red/green and demos. I'm hoping for green or teal or white, or a shiny silvery or coppery, or perhaps pink or peach. Blue or orange, sorry, not so much.

 

I already have my Black Swan in Australian Roses. It really is lovely, even without flex.

 

 

—Jill

Let there be light. Then let there be a cat, a cocktail, and a good book.

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This pen is most like my 1930's pens, in size and the nib is very like one old pen that has a nib marked "imperial".

I am a bit careful with my old finless pens - I drag them with me only when I know I am going somewhere I can sit.

 

This Noodler's flex pen, well I have been dragging it everywhere for the past two days. It wrote and drew on the subway. It filled out and signed student forms.

I made some drawings of landscapes from life, and some figures from invention.

I have used it on cheap paper, on decent laid paper and in my moleskin date book.

 

Like my 1930's imperial, your hand has to be aware of the nib; but that's what drawing is, a partnership between hand, eye, brain and materials.

 

I am absolutely enthralled with the pen.

 

And, Mr Goulet was lovely to deal with. Treated me like an intelligent individual when I had a question.

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Got my order in at the Goulet's for the clear Noodler's flex pen and a bottle of Black Swan in Australian Roses! I agree that other colors would be great. I'm not a fan of clear pens and the red/green is not my style either. I am very much looking forward to trying the Flex + Australian Roses out!

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Got my order in at the Goulet's for the clear Noodler's flex pen and a bottle of Black Swan in Australian Roses! I agree that other colors would be great. I'm not a fan of clear pens and the red/green is not my style either. I am very much looking forward to trying the Flex + Australian Roses out!

 

Had my finger hovering over the "add to cart" button as soon as it went from "email when..." to "1". And the clear are gone already as expected. No Australian swans and roses for me but maybe sometime in the future.

 

Wonder how many Brian had and who quick they went? Still some reds and greens there.

KCat
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Venerable are letters, infinitely brave, forlorn, and lost. V. Woolf, Jacob's Room

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I nearly hit the confirm button and then realized I have a Montegrappa to pay for, and I am really not that into the Red and Green swirl. I will be buying more of these, but I am going to wait on more colours to be released, so I let this batch pass by. -_-

 

I hope some of you who missed the first round got the chance to try one of these great little pens out. :thumbup:

Gobblecup ~

 

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I was really surprised by the amount and ease of flex. It's very similar to some of my vintage nibs. This is a great little pen for the price, and it's something I can toss in my bag or use with Baystate Blue without worry.

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I was really surprised by the amount and ease of flex. It's very similar to some of my vintage nibs. This is a great little pen for the price, and it's something I can toss in my bag or use with Baystate Blue without worry.

 

I'm hoping it's at least comparable to my Estie 9128. I have two - one is flexy, one is semi-flex. Hoping for something closer to the former rather than the latter.

KCat
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Venerable are letters, infinitely brave, forlorn, and lost. V. Woolf, Jacob's Room

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I was really surprised by the amount and ease of flex. It's very similar to some of my vintage nibs. This is a great little pen for the price, and it's something I can toss in my bag or use with Baystate Blue without worry.

 

I'm hoping it's at least comparable to my Estie 9128. I have two - one is flexy, one is semi-flex. Hoping for something closer to the former rather than the latter.

 

The pressure required is a little more than I expected, but I don't have any vintage to compare to. They all seem to go out to 1.5mm comfortably at the max which takes a bit of pressure. Small changes in the nib setting can have a large effect on the maximum flex and "softness" of the nib. At the fine end there's a bit of variability, my demonstrator is an XF-F depending on the ink used, no matter how light I touch the paper it won't go any finer. My normal handwriting with it doesn't spread the tines much. My Christmas edition pen goes from an ultrafine, hairline with most of the inks I've used, and it seems like if I used a non-feathering ink on the right kind of paper it would make a line so thin I couldn't see it without a magnifying glass. The smallest amount of pressure on that nib (normal writing) will bring it to a Fine-Medium.

Edited by Yoda4561
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Well I got mine yesterday :thumbup: and after flushing, tried it with:

 

Tiananmen Red : tons of feathering oc cheaper paper;

Herbins's Café des Îles

Herbin's Terre de Feu

Waterman's South Seas Blue

Noodler's Air-Corps Blue-Black

 

The last two were the best, the South Seas Blue has nice shading and the A-C B-B behave really well.

 

post-41480-0-71973900-1293026572.jpg

 

Now to order some Apache Sunset. I won't get it before Christmas that's for sure. Maybe I'll cave in for some Herbin's 1670.

 

All in all I'm satisfied after a little tweaking. This is my first flex pen so I've nothing to compare it to, although my Admiral touchdown has enough spring to simulate a flex nib, without the thin hairline stroke, however. I do have to apply some pressure to flex the nib however, but not all that much. This may be a jumping board to a vintage Waterman's or Mabie & Todd, but only after all Christmas gifts are got, given and paid for (sometime in March :roflmho: ).

 

It was really easy removing the nib and feed. And I've no apparent flaws or scratches.

 

So there goes: I'm very satisfied.

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Well I got mine yesterday :thumbup: and after flushing, tried it with:

 

Tiananmen Red : tons of feathering oc cheaper paper;

Herbins's Café des Îles

Herbin's Terre de Feu

Waterman's South Seas Blue

Noodler's Air-Corps Blue-Black

 

The last two were the best, the South Seas Blue has nice shading and the A-C B-B behave really well.

 

post-41480-0-71973900-1293026572.jpg

 

Now to order some Apache Sunset. I won't get it before Christmas that's for sure. Maybe I'll cave in for some Herbin's 1670.

 

All in all I'm satisfied after a little tweaking. This is my first flex pen so I've nothing to compare it to, although my Admiral touchdown has enough spring to simulate a flex nib, without the thin hairline stroke, however. I do have to apply some pressure to flex the nib however, but not all that much. This may be a jumping board to a vintage Waterman's or Mabie & Todd, but only after all Christmas gifts are got, given and paid for (sometime in March :roflmho: ).

 

It was really easy removing the nib and feed. And I've no apparent flaws or scratches.

 

So there goes: I'm very satisfied.

 

Beautiful handwriting Dan. I can see why you're satisfied, that style of writing is what the flex was made for. Thank you for sharing.

Take care,

Tim Verpoorten (Surfbits)

http://www.surfbits.com : Blog

http://www.macreviewcast.com : Podcast

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Well I got mine yesterday :thumbup: and after flushing, tried it with:

 

Tiananmen Red : tons of feathering oc cheaper paper;

Herbins's Café des Îles

Herbin's Terre de Feu

Waterman's South Seas Blue

Noodler's Air-Corps Blue-Black

 

The last two were the best, the South Seas Blue has nice shading and the A-C B-B behave really well.

 

post-41480-0-71973900-1293026572.jpg

 

Now to order some Apache Sunset. I won't get it before Christmas that's for sure. Maybe I'll cave in for some Herbin's 1670.

 

All in all I'm satisfied after a little tweaking. This is my first flex pen so I've nothing to compare it to, although my Admiral touchdown has enough spring to simulate a flex nib, without the thin hairline stroke, however. I do have to apply some pressure to flex the nib however, but not all that much. This may be a jumping board to a vintage Waterman's or Mabie & Todd, but only after all Christmas gifts are got, given and paid for (sometime in March :roflmho: ).

 

It was really easy removing the nib and feed. And I've no apparent flaws or scratches.

 

So there goes: I'm very satisfied.

 

I love your handwriting, you should post some pictures of it in the penmanship forum if you haven't already!

Gobblecup ~

 

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Got mine today along with some Black Swan.

 

First impressions? It looks as cheap as it costs and is a little too thin for my tastes. One has to press quite hard for it to flex (my first ever flex, so maybe they are all like this) and then it is anything but smooth (in terms of what I would call smooth) and drags on the paper - an artifact of pressing hard.

 

I bought it to try out a flex nib as I have never seen one before, and it was an interesting experiment, but not a pen I will be using to write with. Some people seem to love flex nibs (Bo Bo Olson for instance), but I fail to see why if this experience is typical. Give me a nice italic any day :)

 

 

If anyone in the UK wants one (December 25th version), avoiding postage from US and import duty, then drop me a PM.

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Thanks for the generous compliments Surfbits and Gobblecups. And Merry Christmas.

 

ImolaS3, I noticed that after a full day or two of writing the flex is much easier to get. I don't have to press much to go from a hairline to a medium. Maybe my hand is getting used to it but still, much easier to write with. Maybe the nib "settles in" after a while.

 

Also, are the tines aligned? It's relatively easy to align them; if need be, there are ressources in the pen repairs section of FPN. Mine writes as smooth as my Duke Chaplin and it's the only pen inked right now. I just can't put in down. With Herbin's 1670 that I bought yesterday (last bottle at my local pen shop) it writes a beautifully smooth consistent line. It will definitely be a daily user when I go back to work, next year.

 

Of course, it doesn't write smoothly like my Sheaffer's, especially my Prelude and my Admiral touchdown.

 

After all, this pen set me back $14 new. The inks that I wanted to try set me back way more. I wouldn't give up on this pen yet. I'd try to align the tines and tweak the nib and feed as explained in this post

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/174848-noodlers-pens-complete-lineup/

 

to make it a good writer. (Scroll down the post to "3rd Category".)

 

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Merry Christmas.

Edited by UkeDan
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