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This Seems Like A Yes Or No Question (But Here, You Never Know!)


iRabb

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So here it is: unlike the Ahab, on which I have given up for good, does the Konrad write? Even if left capped for 15 minutes, or, Heaven forbid, overnight?

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Hi iRabb, The Ahab was my fist pen about 6 weeks ago. It skipped to the point of frustration. I tried everything that I was capable of trying even having a generous nib meister work on it a little. (He made it better but not good enough.) I then bought a Goulet nib for it and now enjoy the pen very much. The new nib was not a flex. I didn't know what a flex nib was when I bought it. The people at Noodlers were no help. I like their ink and I enjoy Nathan but they were very apathetic about my problem. I wrote an email to them, twice, with no response. I then called them and the guy sounded irritated saying, we don't sell things from here see a dealer. I thought that since it's a Noodler problem, they might take care of it. He said that he'd send me a new nib. It never came. I would like to correspond with Nathan since it is his company but that isn't easy.

 

Anyway, the nib was $15 and raised the price I paid from $20 to $35.

 

Looking for a black SJ Transitional Esterbrook Pen. (It's smaller than an sj)

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So here it is: unlike the Ahab, on which I have given up for good, does the Konrad write? Even if left capped for 15 minutes, or, Heaven forbid, overnight?

 

This is simply an issue of quality control. My Ahab works perfectly well whereas others have had terrible experiences with the pen. I would assume the Conrad is a similar deal. If you get one of the good ones in the batch you'll enjoy it, if not you'll want to pull your hair out.

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You know, guys, I don't even know why I poset this. I guess it was because I still yearn for an inexpensive flex nib. But I am through with Noodlers. I came to them through their inks, and now I am never buying another bottle of their inks, I like Brian Goulet and will continue to buy pens and accessories from him, but for hard information I have decided to relay on one source, and that is Richard Binder. Other's may argue against this, but it is my decision unless I decided myself that I have made a mistake, and at this point I don't think I have. Regarding Noodler's inks, if you want to keep using them, that's OK, especially in cheap pens like the Ahab, but before you put their stuff in a costly pen I would suggest reading the following:

 

http://www.richardspens.com/?care=inks

 

Richard says very plainly he does not claim to be an expert, but thus far, his opinion outweighs all others for me (no offense to anyone on the forum or anywhere else!) That's just my two shekels. YMMV. Richard and I could be the two biggest schmucks on the planet, but neither of us will have Noodlers inks in our pens. I am going with Watermans or Diamines.

 

Thanks for chiming in, guys.

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A few thoughts at the above problems. I have no personal knowledge of thes pens, and only know the ink through the FPN inks.

 

It is always sad when you buy something that does not perform like it should, and the more expensive the item, the sadder this is.

 

However, everything has it's price. You cannot expect a 20 dollar pen to perform like a 200 dollar one.

The lower price must come from somewhere: quality control, inferior materials, inferior precision margins etc.

 

I bought a Platinum preppy everybody is talking about favourably: It would not write. Only after a lot of coaching and pressing of cartridges I got some insufficient result. Oh well, in the bin it went.

 

 

 

Nathan appears to be notoriously hard to reach, even shops that need new ink seem to have trouble reaching him.

 

Most factories do not deal with the customer themselves, but have the shops take that for them. Her in my country you buy something from a shop and the shop has to make sure it functions. It is up to the shop to see if they can get support from the factory.

I think you would not be able to drive your, say, Dodge car to the Dodge factory and have them check the battery or the tyres. They would point you to a car dealer. Same with pens. I know there are some manufacturers who make small numbers of pens and deal directly, but the big boys, and many of the smaller ones don't work that way.

 

 

D.ick

~

KEEP SAFE, WEAR A MASK, KEEP A DISTANCE.

Freedom exists by virtue of self limitation.

~

 

 

 

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You know, guys, I don't even know why I poset this. I guess it was because I still yearn for an inexpensive flex nib. But I am through with Noodlers. I came to them through their inks, and now I am never buying another bottle of their inks, I like Brian Goulet and will continue to buy pens and accessories from him, but for hard information I have decided to relay on one source, and that is Richard Binder. Other's may argue against this, but it is my decision unless I decided myself that I have made a mistake, and at this point I don't think I have. Regarding Noodler's inks, if you want to keep using them, that's OK, especially in cheap pens like the Ahab, but before you put their stuff in a costly pen I would suggest reading the following:

 

http://www.richardspens.com/?care=inks

 

Richard says very plainly he does not claim to be an expert, but thus far, his opinion outweighs all others for me (no offense to anyone on the forum or anywhere else!) That's just my two shekels. YMMV. Richard and I could be the two biggest schmucks on the planet, but neither of us will have Noodlers inks in our pens. I am going with Watermans or Diamines.

 

Thanks for chiming in, guys.

 

First, you should have contacted the dealer, basically no manufacturer does customer support unless they are also the dealer, dealing with customers is the reason dealers exist. Why didn't you report your problem to the right people, who should have either refunded you or replaced the pen?

 

Second, that post has major factual and rhetorical problems which make me very sceptical.

 

Richard Binder is ignoring the fact that Waterman inks have about the same pH as battery acid (going by FPN pH tests, since they don't bother to publish their ink information), and also that Diamine inks are notorious for disappearing at the slightest hint of water (also, Diamine inks are not all problem free). There's other problems with his rant (Nathan warns everyone about Baystate inks, and the worst staining inks I've seen were red Diamine inks), but those are the big ones. Not every ink is right for every person or every pen, and his insistence that he can state a categorical truth for every FP user everywhere is frankly pretty foolish.

 

He's using his business as a platform to boost his complaints about a competitor. He obviously is relying on his authority as a pen expert, so trying to disclaim authority while he's turning his reputation and store into a bully pulpit is, at best, disingenuous. If he was actually concerned there are ways to handle this that don't involve unprofessional THE SKY IS FALLING/YOUR PEN WILL MELT statements on his own blog (could have posted actual tests, could have surveyed other repairers, helped FPN members do materials tests, etc). Since he didn't actually do anything except insult another business, I'm not inclined to believe him. There are many tests on Noodler's inks on this board, and so far nothing has been shown to be harmful outside of inks that are stated to have special properties and need special handling.

 

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience, but I think that having problems with a pen is a bit of a silly reason to stop using the inks you like, and you really need to contact whoever you bought the pen from to get this taken care of.

Edited by WirsPlm
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The Noodlers pens are probably not the best choice for a first fountain pen, or maybe even as a second, third...tenth pen. They are marketed to provide a flex writing at a fraction of what little else is out there. With the excellent price comes the likelihood that adjustments will be needed on some of pens; be it for manufacturing variances or for tuning to different writing style/pressure/form. I think that one should feel comfortable buying a Noodlers pen if you've tinkered with several pens beforehand.

 

That being said, even the most reliable and low maintenance pens require some degree of care and knowledge to keep them writing.

 

A friend recently bought his first pen, a Pilot Metropolitan. His pen behaved just fine until his cartridges ran out. He waited two weeks to get replacements and when he finally bought ink the pen simply wouldn't write without skipping and hard starts. This occurred despite his following my advice to flush it well before storing it. I tried to help him over the phone and have him soak the pen, flush it with pressure etc but no success. When he finally brought the pen over, it took me two minutes to pull the nib out and clean some ink off the underneath that had dried and was impeding flow.

 

The takeaway from my friends first-pen experience? Fountain pens are instruments that require varying degrees of troubleshooting and repair ability on the part of the user, Noodlers pens happen to fall a bit further away from 'novice' than other pens in its price range - that's all.

@arts_nibs

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I usually don't join in on these more argumentative threads but a couple of things seem strange to me so I have to question it. To the OP, you ask if the Konrad with write if left uncapped for 15 minutes or overnight. 15 minutes seems a bit long to leave a fountain pen uncapped. I a couple of 51s and a Montblanc 149 that could probably do this, but most of my pens won't. Seems a bit excessive to ask a fountain pen to do this. Also, you go from discussing your issues with Noodlers pens to stating you will never use the ink again. Is it because of the customer service and Binder's dislike of Noodlers?

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My 2000 is a very wet pen, with a semi-hooded nib to boot, and I think 15 minutes is really pushing it. I've also got a Gama pen that writes really really wet, but I don't think it will write in the morning if I leave it uncapped overnight.

- - -

 

Currently trying to sell a Pelikan M400 White Tortoise. PM if you're interested. :)

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You know, guys, I don't even know why I poset this. I guess it was because I still yearn for an inexpensive flex nib. But I am through with Noodlers. I came to them through their inks, and now I am never buying another bottle of their inks, I like Brian Goulet and will continue to buy pens and accessories from him, but for hard information I have decided to relay on one source, and that is Richard Binder. Other's may argue against this, but it is my decision unless I decided myself that I have made a mistake, and at this point I don't think I have. Regarding Noodler's inks, if you want to keep using them, that's OK, especially in cheap pens like the Ahab, but before you put their stuff in a costly pen I would suggest reading the following:

 

http://www.richardspens.com/?care=inks

 

Richard says very plainly he does not claim to be an expert, but thus far, his opinion outweighs all others for me (no offense to anyone on the forum or anywhere else!) That's just my two shekels. YMMV. Richard and I could be the two biggest schmucks on the planet, but neither of us will have Noodlers inks in our pens. I am going with Watermans or Diamines.

 

Thanks for chiming in, guys.

 

As far as the pens go I'm not sure what you expect. The point of the Noodler's Flex pens is to offer a flex nib at a fraction of the price. Again, the real reason most people buy these pens is to experiment with a flex nib not to purchase an everyday pen. At $20 your not going to bust your bank to try out flex and I think that's a great option for us consumers to have. If you want an everyday writer there are much better options on the market in terms of quality assurance and build. The Metropolitan is a great example of this. Still, the Noodler's Flex pen has it's place in my opinion and I would be sad to see it go.

 

In terms of the ink, I'm not sure why you felt the need to re hatch the same argument that has been put fourth many times here as it has little/nothing to do with the pen line.

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A few thoughts at the above problems. I have no personal knowledge of thes pens, and only know the ink through the FPN inks.

 

It is always sad when you buy something that does not perform like it should, and the more expensive the item, the sadder this is.

 

However, everything has it's price. You cannot expect a 20 dollar pen to perform like a 200 dollar one.

The lower price must come from somewhere: quality control, inferior materials, inferior precision margins etc.

 

I bought a Platinum preppy everybody is talking about favourably: It would not write. Only after a lot of coaching and pressing of cartridges I got some insufficient result. Oh well, in the bin it went.

 

 

 

Nathan appears to be notoriously hard to reach, even shops that need new ink seem to have trouble reaching him.

 

Most factories do not deal with the customer themselves, but have the shops take that for them. Her in my country you buy something from a shop and the shop has to make sure it functions. It is up to the shop to see if they can get support from the factory.

I think you would not be able to drive your, say, Dodge car to the Dodge factory and have them check the battery or the tyres. They would point you to a car dealer. Same with pens. I know there are some manufacturers who make small numbers of pens and deal directly, but the big boys, and many of the smaller ones don't work that way.

 

 

D.ick

 

I have some Preppies that came free with bottles of ink, and they have performed flawlessly for years. My Metropolitans have no problems. Even the Pilot Varsities I throw in my briefcase have no problems, so I expected the $20 Ahab to perform as well as these pens, each of which is cheaper than the Ahab.

 

 

First, you should have contacted the dealer, basically no manufacturer does customer support unless they are also the dealer, dealing with customers is the reason dealers exist. Why didn't you report your problem to the right people, who should have either refunded you or replaced the pen?

 

Second, that post has major factual and rhetorical problems which make me very sceptical.

 

Richard Binder is ignoring the fact that Waterman inks have about the same pH as battery acid (going by FPN pH tests, since they don't bother to publish their ink information), and also that Diamine inks are notorious for disappearing at the slightest hint of water (also, Diamine inks are not all problem free). There's other problems with his rant (Nathan warns everyone about Baystate inks, and the worst staining inks I've seen were red Diamine inks), but those are the big ones. Not every ink is right for every person or every pen, and his insistence that he can state a categorical truth for every FP user everywhere is frankly pretty foolish.

 

He's using his business as a platform to boost his complaints about a competitor. He obviously is relying on his authority as a pen expert, so trying to disclaim authority while he's turning his reputation and store into a bully pulpit is, at best, disingenuous. If he was actually concerned there are ways to handle this that don't involve unprofessional THE SKY IS FALLING/YOUR PEN WILL MELT statements on his own blog (could have posted actual tests, could have surveyed other repairers, helped FPN members do materials tests, etc). Since he didn't actually do anything except insult another business, I'm not inclined to believe him. There are many tests on Noodler's inks on this board, and so far nothing has been shown to be harmful outside of inks that are stated to have special properties and need special handling.

 

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience, but I think that having problems with a pen is a bit of a silly reason to stop using the inks you like, and you really need to contact whoever you bought the pen from to get this taken care of.

 

First, sir, I did contact the dealer who referred me to a representative from Luxury Products. Second, if my post has factual problems, point them out. My post has NO rhetorical problems, and I challenge you to prove otherwise.

 

Next, it is YOU who makes factual and rhetorical errors; I clearly stated that Mr. Binder is careful to say that he is not an expert, yet you have the temerity to accuse him of saying he is stating categorical truths for every fountain pen user. You obviously have a chip on your shoulder when it comes to him. That's your own business.

 

If you think I'm silly for switching brands, that's your business as well. Knowing what I know now about how Noodlers produces its colors, and now using more expensive pens than I have used for thirty years, I've decided to make a change. You OK with that?

 

The Noodlers pens are probably not the best choice for a first fountain pen, or maybe even as a second, third...tenth pen. They are marketed to provide a flex writing at a fraction of what little else is out there. With the excellent price comes the likelihood that adjustments will be needed on some of pens; be it for manufacturing variances or for tuning to different writing style/pressure/form. I think that one should feel comfortable buying a Noodlers pen if you've tinkered with several pens beforehand.

 

That being said, even the most reliable and low maintenance pens require some degree of care and knowledge to keep them writing.

 

A friend recently bought his first pen, a Pilot Metropolitan. His pen behaved just fine until his cartridges ran out. He waited two weeks to get replacements and when he finally bought ink the pen simply wouldn't write without skipping and hard starts. This occurred despite his following my advice to flush it well before storing it. I tried to help him over the phone and have him soak the pen, flush it with pressure etc but no success. When he finally brought the pen over, it took me two minutes to pull the nib out and clean some ink off the underneath that had dried and was impeding flow.

 

The takeaway from my friends first-pen experience? Fountain pens are instruments that require varying degrees of troubleshooting and repair ability on the part of the user, Noodlers pens happen to fall a bit further away from 'novice' than other pens in its price range - that's all.

 

I've been using fountain pens for 30 years, but only recently got interested in the pens as more than a writing tool. The Ahab was not even close to my first pen, which was a Parker that also performed poorly. I got one of the first Cross Townsends, made in America, and it writes beautifully every time.

 

I usually don't join in on these more argumentative threads but a couple of things seem strange to me so I have to question it. To the OP, you ask if the Konrad with write if left uncapped for 15 minutes or overnight. 15 minutes seems a bit long to leave a fountain pen uncapped. I a couple of 51s and a Montblanc 149 that could probably do this, but most of my pens won't. Seems a bit excessive to ask a fountain pen to do this. Also, you go from discussing your issues with Noodlers pens to stating you will never use the ink again. Is it because of the customer service and Binder's dislike of Noodlers?

 

First, please reread my post. I said the Ahab won't write after being CAPPED, not uncapped for 15 minutes. My discontinuing using their inks is indeed a combination of what passes as their customer service and what I learned about how they color their inks.

 

 

As far as the pens go I'm not sure what you expect. The point of the Noodler's Flex pens is to offer a flex nib at a fraction of the price. Again, the real reason most people buy these pens is to experiment with a flex nib not to purchase an everyday pen. At $20 your not going to bust your bank to try out flex and I think that's a great option for us consumers to have. If you want an everyday writer there are much better options on the market in terms of quality assurance and build. The Metropolitan is a great example of this. Still, the Noodler's Flex pen has it's place in my opinion and I would be sad to see it go.

 

In terms of the ink, I'm not sure why you felt the need to re hatch the same argument that has been put fourth many times here as it has little/nothing to do with the pen line.

 

First, being relatively new to the Forum, I have not seen the topic rehashed. However, the connection between the ink and the pens is the company that makes both of them. The pens don't write. I can get a free Preppie or buy one for $4, or get three Varsities for $6, or a Metropolitan for $15, and they will all work perfectly. Or I can spend $20 and get a pretty pen body that won't write, from a company that colors their inks in a way that makes me not want to use them in the more expensive pens I've acquired. Simple as that. As I was careful to say, YMMV, and this is my two shekels only.

 

With all due respect, gentlemen, should their be any more posts on this thread, I shan't respond. Perhaps a moderator would do well to remove it. My apologies—I did not intend to start a verbal battle here. I wasn't even asking about the Ahab, and it was silly to ask about the Konrad because in retrospect, I would not have bought one even if the reviews were good. So that's it for me on this topic, and I apologize if I offended anyone, with the exception of my statement that there were no rhetorical flaws in my OP. Until proven otherwise, I stand by that.

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Let me say that I'm not saying anything negative about Noodler's inks or pens. I don't know enough to say anything about inks or pens. I bought an Ahab because I saw a guy on video writing with one and saying it was a good pen. I understand now it wasn't the best choice for a 1st pen. It was only about the service in this one incident which I found disappointing.

I'm not in any battle either. It sounds like there is some Binder vs Tardif feelings out there. I don't know anything about that. I just got here and have no dog in that fight, I'll transact with anyone who can teach me something and give me a fair deal.

My first six weeks in the pen world have been fun with new things to learn and a bunch of nice folks willing to help out.

 

Looking for a black SJ Transitional Esterbrook Pen. (It's smaller than an sj)

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iRabb just to point out some stuff (at least from my experience and not a generalisation):

 

No offence in advance. =)

 

Cost is subjective, I have a $10 Pilot 78G/$5 Pilot Varsity nib in a Preppy hack performing better than a $23 Lamy Safari until I got the nib tweaked. Different countries have different manufacturing costs. It also made me realise handmade isn't always better than machined molds.

 

I kinda do agree on Noodler's ink to some extent. There are some inks that precipitate out after allowing to dry for sometime. Bulletproof black does form particles if you didn't use them for a reasonable amount of time. Bad Belted Kingfisher precipitates out often enough for me to worry about using it. These may clog the feed up. However, if you're a heavy writer, in instance of bulletproof black, the turnover of ink shouldn't allow precipitation (I work in a biology lab with many corrosive reagents so the bulletproof effect is a must for me). If you allow the bottle to stand for a year or so, you might observe some particles which will disappear after a shake (by inverting), else a drop of water or two helps. =)

 

I can't say much for the other inks as I haven't used them yet. I do know Baystates from a colleague using them stains the hell out of stuff, and thus I have never used it as well. My point is just that not all inks are bad, just that you have to watch them a little and exercise certain precautions I guess.

 

EDIT: I would like to point out that my Diamine Dark Green does precipitate out as well. And it costs more than noodler's.

Edited by Tenkai

My version of the guide for the Pilot Varsity Nib transplantation to the Platinum Preppy

DIY Retractable Fountain Pen (Couldn't get it to work, now refilling Schmidt 888 M refills with FP inks in a Pilot G2 Limited, the ceramic roller tip is as smooth as a Firm FP steel nib, Poor Man's VP I guess)

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I have some Preppies that came free with bottles of ink, and they have performed flawlessly for years. My Metropolitans have no problems. Even the Pilot Varsities I throw in my briefcase have no problems, so I expected the $20 Ahab to perform as well as these pens, each of which is cheaper than the Ahab.

 

 

First, sir, I did contact the dealer who referred me to a representative from Luxury Products. Second, if my post has factual problems, point them out. My post has NO rhetorical problems, and I challenge you to prove otherwise.

 

Next, it is YOU who makes factual and rhetorical errors; I clearly stated that Mr. Binder is careful to say that he is not an expert, yet you have the temerity to accuse him of saying he is stating categorical truths for every fountain pen user. You obviously have a chip on your shoulder when it comes to him. That's your own business.

 

If you think I'm silly for switching brands, that's your business as well. Knowing what I know now about how Noodlers produces its colors, and now using more expensive pens than I have used for thirty years, I've decided to make a change. You OK with that?

 

 

I've been using fountain pens for 30 years, but only recently got interested in the pens as more than a writing tool. The Ahab was not even close to my first pen, which was a Parker that also performed poorly. I got one of the first Cross Townsends, made in America, and it writes beautifully every time.

 

 

First, please reread my post. I said the Ahab won't write after being CAPPED, not uncapped for 15 minutes. My discontinuing using their inks is indeed a combination of what passes as their customer service and what I learned about how they color their inks.

 

 

First, being relatively new to the Forum, I have not seen the topic rehashed. However, the connection between the ink and the pens is the company that makes both of them. The pens don't write. I can get a free Preppie or buy one for $4, or get three Varsities for $6, or a Metropolitan for $15, and they will all work perfectly. Or I can spend $20 and get a pretty pen body that won't write, from a company that colors their inks in a way that makes me not want to use them in the more expensive pens I've acquired. Simple as that. As I was careful to say, YMMV, and this is my two shekels only.

 

With all due respect, gentlemen, should their be any more posts on this thread, I shan't respond. Perhaps a moderator would do well to remove it. My apologies—I did not intend to start a verbal battle here. I wasn't even asking about the Ahab, and it was silly to ask about the Konrad because in retrospect, I would not have bought one even if the reviews were good. So that's it for me on this topic, and I apologize if I offended anyone, with the exception of my statement that there were no rhetorical flaws in my OP. Until proven otherwise, I stand by that.

 

It's very sad that your dealer didn't take care of this, I'll make sure to not purchase pens from them if you mention the name. Thanks for the warning.

 

I didn't say anything about your post. I stated that Richard Binder's post had rhetorical problems and factual errors. One of the rhetorical problems I outlined was his attempt to pretend that he is not relying on his experitise and reputation as a great pen repairer. Put more simply, just because someone says something doesn't make it so, and when one businessman tries to say "You should listen to me, but I'm not an expert", I get very skeptical. That he is well aware of his reputation, and is using his business blog, simply makes it clearer that he is being disingenuous. I think he reacted to a perceived problem in an unprofessional way, which has probably spiraled out beyond what he intended (or maybe not, given the inflammatory language he used).

 

I'm sure this has been very frustrating for you, it's horrible to get something and have it not work. Have you thought about putting the pen up for parts in the PIF thread, or participating in the thread to get a replacement pen? People routinely give away fairly nice pens there, if you keep an eye on it there's a good chance you'll get something you want.

 

P.S. Not everyone on FPN is male. Check your assumptions please.

Edited by WirsPlm
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First and foremost, my Ahabs and Konrads write really nicely, and all work well after being capped for any reasonable length of time.

 

SSecond, I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'll gladly give a good home to any unwanted Noodler's pens (or Preppys) that will be thrown away or are collecting dust in a bin.

"While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart."

- St. Francis of Assisi

"Don't play what's there. Play what's not there."

-Miles Davis

I will gladly take your unwanted Noodler's pens. Don't throw them away.

 

Assume no affiliation.

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I have some Preppies that came free with bottles of ink, and they have performed flawlessly for years. My Metropolitans have no problems. Even the Pilot Varsities I throw in my briefcase have no problems, so I expected the $20 Ahab to perform as well as these pens, each of which is cheaper than the Ahab.

 

 

First, sir, I did contact the dealer who referred me to a representative from Luxury Products. Second, if my post has factual problems, point them out. My post has NO rhetorical problems, and I challenge you to prove otherwise.

 

Next, it is YOU who makes factual and rhetorical errors; I clearly stated that Mr. Binder is careful to say that he is not an expert, yet you have the temerity to accuse him of saying he is stating categorical truths for every fountain pen user. You obviously have a chip on your shoulder when it comes to him. That's your own business.

 

If you think I'm silly for switching brands, that's your business as well. Knowing what I know now about how Noodlers produces its colors, and now using more expensive pens than I have used for thirty years, I've decided to make a change. You OK with that?

 

 

I've been using fountain pens for 30 years, but only recently got interested in the pens as more than a writing tool. The Ahab was not even close to my first pen, which was a Parker that also performed poorly. I got one of the first Cross Townsends, made in America, and it writes beautifully every time.

 

 

First, please reread my post. I said the Ahab won't write after being CAPPED, not uncapped for 15 minutes. My discontinuing using their inks is indeed a combination of what passes as their customer service and what I learned about how they color their inks.

 

 

First, being relatively new to the Forum, I have not seen the topic rehashed. However, the connection between the ink and the pens is the company that makes both of them. The pens don't write. I can get a free Preppie or buy one for $4, or get three Varsities for $6, or a Metropolitan for $15, and they will all work perfectly. Or I can spend $20 and get a pretty pen body that won't write, from a company that colors their inks in a way that makes me not want to use them in the more expensive pens I've acquired. Simple as that. As I was careful to say, YMMV, and this is my two shekels only.

 

With all due respect, gentlemen, should their be any more posts on this thread, I shan't respond. Perhaps a moderator would do well to remove it. My apologies—I did not intend to start a verbal battle here. I wasn't even asking about the Ahab, and it was silly to ask about the Konrad because in retrospect, I would not have bought one even if the reviews were good. So that's it for me on this topic, and I apologize if I offended anyone, with the exception of my statement that there were no rhetorical flaws in my OP. Until proven otherwise, I stand by that.

Oops, poor reading on my part. I do agree that a pen should write after being capped.

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I don't have an Ahab, because I read too many reviews of them. OTOH, I have 4 Konrads (which take the same nib) and would have a fifth if I hadn't lost one at the Ligonier Highland Games a couple of years ago. I liked my first one (the one I lost) I got another one. And then another, and then dropped the extra $20 on one of the ebonite ones.

And I have a lot bottles of Noodler's inks. And some from Diamine, and Private Reserve, and Herbin and De Atramentis, and R&K, and even Iroshihzuku (although that's danged expensive ink in the US).... And even Quink Black (which, along with Waterman Mysterious Blue, gets used as a tester ink for vintage pens). Some I've liked and some I haven't liked of *all* those brands, for the most part -- from poor behavior to colors that I thought were yucky.

Not all inks do well in all pens. I put Scribal Workshops Zhulong into a Platinum Plaisir and fought tooth and nail for every drop of ink (dry ink + dry writer = unhappy Ruth). I put De Atramentis Roses in the same pen and got all melty inside from the joy (think I'm going to try that ink in my Vac Debutante next, because it's got an F or EF nib on it). The first Konrad was extremely fussy (and drippy) about inks until it got a fill of Noodler's Kung Te Cheng. You know, the ink that Nathan says to only put in the pens enclosed in the box (a Preppy and a cheap Japanese brush pen).... And yeah, it's sometimes cloggy. So it goes into a pen that I can take apart for thorough cleaning, which means one of the Konrads. But it's a check I would feel perfectly safe signing ANYTHING with (including if I ever had to remortgage my house). OTOH, I wouldn't put that ink in the Poseidon Pearl Konrad because *that* pen writes fairly dry (not as dry as the Plaisir, mind, but still a lot drier than any of the other Konrads, or the 3 Flex Piston Creapers).

And you can talk about QC with pretty much any brand. I *love* me my vintage Parkers. And I'm a complete sucker for Parker Vectors -- but my first one (the blue one) is a firehose of an F and writes wetter than the M nibbed one, while the red one (also an F) writes dry and scratchy. And they're *all* UK made Vectors, just as it happens (go figure). But the Parker Urban, which probably is about the same price point as the ebonite Konrad? Total junk. As in P.U. -- it's *stinks* (metaphorically, that is; and no, I *haven't* particularly noticed the supposed awful smell of Noodler's vegetal resin pens, in case you ask...). The Urban is, IMO, completely awful, and the nib unit probably still leaks ink (damned if I know where it's coming from -- I've flushed and washed and soaked the thing at least six times and finally gave up) -- and this is the *replacement* one that Parker sent me under warranty.... I don't even think I could justify selling it or giving it away, though, because I'd feel too guilty about sticking someone with that lemon.

Dunno what sort of political New England turf war that Richard and Nathan have gotten themselves into, (and don't much care...). I'm an equal opportunity shopper. You have what I want, at a price I can afford (or think is reasonable enough a value) and I'll buy stuff from you too....

YMMV

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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I didn't say anything about your post. I stated that Richard Binder's post had rhetorical problems and factual errors.

 

P.S. Not everyone on FPN is male. Check your assumptions please.

 

I stand corrected on both points!

 

Oops, poor reading on my part. I do agree that a pen should write after being capped.

 

Not a problem; we all have made similar mistakes. I also apologize for a bit of snarky tone. That's not usually my style (at least, I hope not!).

Edited by iRabb
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I think everyone here is being a tad rough on the OP. I agree wholeheartedly that I should expect nothing less than for my pens to write when I buy them. I have similar frustrations with my Ahab and perhaps others don't see $20 as a huge loss but it is to those of us on a budget and who are used to writing with cheap ballpoints that work every time. Besides, I switched over to FPs for the joy of writing and dealing with a pen that I have to tinker with a lot seems ridiculous to me. Even a 5 cent Bic will write off the shelf pretty much every time.

"The pen is mightier than the sword if the sword is very short, and the pen is very sharp." - Terry Pratchet

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/1338/hxl1.jpg

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You know, guys, I don't even know why I poset this. I guess it was because I still yearn for an inexpensive flex nib. But I am through with Noodlers. I came to them through their inks, and now I am never buying another bottle of their inks, I like Brian Goulet and will continue to buy pens and accessories from him, but for hard information I have decided to relay on one source, and that is Richard Binder. Other's may argue against this, but it is my decision unless I decided myself that I have made a mistake, and at this point I don't think I have. Regarding Noodler's inks, if you want to keep using them, that's OK, especially in cheap pens like the Ahab, but before you put their stuff in a costly pen I would suggest reading the following:

 

http://www.richardspens.com/?care=inks

 

Richard says very plainly he does not claim to be an expert, but thus far, his opinion outweighs all others for me (no offense to anyone on the forum or anywhere else!) That's just my two shekels. YMMV. Richard and I could be the two biggest schmucks on the planet, but neither of us will have Noodlers inks in our pens. I am going with Watermans or Diamines.

 

Thanks for chiming in, guys.

 

I'm with the two of you.

Moshe ben David

 

"Behold, He who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps!"

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