Noodlers Boston Safety Pen

[Honeybadgers]

Ruth, I love my pen, it was a gift. One thing about it though, I had to have help to take it apart. I wanted to take the clip out, and put silicone on those cap threads too. I was afraid I'd break it, so we didn't do that one. As far as the pen, I think it is outstanding. I wouldn't mind having at least one more in the future. I love the way Nathan designed this pen. I think it is better than the vintage designs. Pay close attention to his videos, before you use it. I hope that some of that special ink comes out with the eyedropper on top of the bottle, before long. I am using regular fountain pen ink so far with mine, and it works beautifully.

 

 

initially he demo'd the big and small bottles together. I'm personally waiting on that too. I'd like to get the full set of inks, but I hate any ink that comes in less than 50ml.

[KKay]

As long as the bottle has the eyedropper, I don't mind the 1 ounce bottles. (I'd rather have a bigger bottle, but I could deal with a 1 ounce to start out with.)

[Donald2]

What if I don't clean the nib and feed? Can I still write without having to clean the nib and feed? I own many different fountain pens and I never had to clean the nib and the feed to get them to write.

Edited January 5, 2018 by Donald2

[pepsiplease69]

What if I don't clean the nib and feed? Can I still write without having to clean the nib and feed?

You most certainly can.

 

If it works fine for you straight out of the box, then theres no reason at all to tinker with it.

 

I just had flow issues with mine so I was sharing how I fixed them. It was in no way intended as an advice for other users.

[eharriett]

IMG_0682.JPG

Omg I should have known that!!! I have a glass safety that does it, but for some reason I never thought to try that with this pen. Duh. Ok, next ink fill will have that stubborn dip pen ink in it. Take two coming up!!!

[fountainpen51]

I correct what I said, I thought that with the nib saved the ink would not come out when putting it upside down

Edited January 5, 2018 by fountainpen51

[Honeybadgers]

What if I don't clean the nib and feed? Can I still write without having to clean the nib and feed? I own many different fountain pens and I never had to clean the nib and the feed to get them to write.

 

Why wouldn't you? It's less than two minutes of work. And I'd also wager that about half of your pens would write better if you cleaned them. Most pens under about $50 still have machining residue and oil films from the factory.

 

If you're too lazy to care enough about cleaning the nib and feed, you're too lazy to own this pen. Cleaning the pen out between inks is a lot more involved than any pen you've ever used, so maybe this isn't right for you.

[pepsiplease69]

@honeybadgers. I think theres such a thing as excessive cleaning when it comes to pens.

 

If it writes fine out of the box, why should we spend the time cleaning it still.

 

It doesnt make anyone lazy if they want to spend time elsewhere. I personally dont have as much free time as I used to. And I would take issue with anyone calling me lazy for things Id rather not spend time on.

 

Cleaning your pen is purely your own exercise. If you choose to do it with or without justification, the choice is totally yours.

 

Some people enjoy the practice of babying their pens. I used to as well, until I realized most of it is really not necessary.

 

The nice thing about this forum is that you can learn about good pen hygiene (a questionable phrase) and then you can clean your pens as you see fit. No one is obligated here.

[TSherbs]

too messy for me

 

and I have enough Noodler's pens with Noodler's nibs....

[Donald2]

 

Why wouldn't you? It's less than two minutes of work. And I'd also wager that about half of your pens would write better if you cleaned them. Most pens under about $50 still have machining residue and oil films from the factory.

 

If you're too lazy to care enough about cleaning the nib and feed, you're too lazy to own this pen. Cleaning the pen out between inks is a lot more involved than any pen you've ever used, so maybe this isn't right for you.

 

 

If I did clean this particular pen, do I need to take it all apart or do I just need to pull out the nib and the feed from the body without taking the entire pen apart? How do I take the nib and feed off the pen to clean the nib and feed? Also, how do I clean the nib and feed? And how do I dry the feed with all those fins on it? I've never cleaned a fountain pen nib and feed and I don't want to damage anything.

[ReadyFireAim]

 

...If you're too lazy to care enough about cleaning the nib and feed, you're too lazy to own this pen...

Yep...That is me.

I have my best 3 inked all the time and the others stay in the box.

(it isn't the best way to go)

You should clean them for best results.

[Donald2]

Yep...That is me.

I have my best 3 inked all the time and the others stay in the box.

(it isn't the best way to go)

You should clean them for best results.

 

How many Boston safety pens do you own? Did you clean the nib and feed on yours before you started using them?

Edited January 6, 2018 by Donald2

[Honeybadgers]

@honeybadgers. I think theres such a thing as excessive cleaning when it comes to pens.

 

If it writes fine out of the box, why should we spend the time cleaning it still.

 

It doesnt make anyone lazy if they want to spend time elsewhere. I personally dont have as much free time as I used to. And I would take issue with anyone calling me lazy for things Id rather not spend time on.

 

Cleaning your pen is purely your own exercise. If you choose to do it with or without justification, the choice is totally yours.

 

Some people enjoy the practice of babying their pens. I used to as well, until I realized most of it is really not necessary.

 

The nice thing about this forum is that you can learn about good pen hygiene (a questionable phrase) and then you can clean your pens as you see fit. No one is obligated here.

 

It's well known that most all pens have machine residue on them (unless the pen was tuned by hand) and a quick dip in soapy water run through the converter will help them write better. Since this pen doesn't have a filling mechanism, you have to just pop the feed out for a minute. It all goes back together easily, there's no orientation slot, just a standard friction fit.

 

Donald, I have two Boston Safties now. Just don't bother with it if pulling out a nib and feed is a genuine concern for you, because when it comes time to actually change inks (if you ever want to use more than one color of ink) then the process of flushing the eyedropper would have you pulling your hair. (not that it's hard, but it definitely takes longer than pulling the nib and feed to clean it the first time you get the pen...)

Edited January 6, 2018 by Honeybadgers

[fountainpen51]

The only thing I have noticed is that the lid can leave a circular mark on the barrel, when open or close turns (typical in some pens). This pen is very good, the nib that brings writes well, sometimes it is a little hard to take out the nib, when the mechanism is closed for a while, mine is a little hard to take out., all the more, perfect. The number that has reached me is 1 on a piece of paper.

Edited January 6, 2018 by fountainpen51

[Tweel]

I don't own any Noodler's pens, but I haven't noticed a lot of praise for their nibs (although it may exist). What size of replacement would fit?

[pepsiplease69]

I don't own any Noodler's pens, but I haven't noticed a lot of praise for their nibs (although it may exist). What size of replacement would fit?

Ive tried the kaweco sport nibs and they fit just fine.

 

I also tried the stock #5 bock branded nibs and the shoulders were too wide and the nib would no longer retract back into the pen body.

 

In theory a jowo #5 nib would work but I havent tried it out for myself. If anyone else has tried it, please let us know.

[eharriett]

IMG_0682.JPG

And that solved 100% of my flow and hard starting issues.

 

So general tip on the Safety pen: if you still have flow issues after you’ve cleaned it out, retract the nib a little bit (not too much) and the flow will increase enough to cancel your hard starts.

 

Anticipating your next question: no, slightly retracting the nib will not cause it to push back into the barrel at all when you start writing.

[ReadyFireAim]

Or one drop of this per fill-up.

 

https://www.cheapjoes.com/liquitex-flow-aid.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0dSA55vF2AIVxksNCh3r4A3zEAQYAyABEgLJePD_BwE

 

Buy now & thank me later.

This product is worth (4x smiley faces)

[Honeybadgers]

I don't own any Noodler's pens, but I haven't noticed a lot of praise for their nibs (although it may exist). What size of replacement would fit?

 

That's the magic of the noodlers pen. Basically every nib ever made will fit some noodlers pen (excluding #8, 10, and 1)

 

A pilot custom #5 gold nib fits. Any #5 nib fits. Any vintage #2 nib will fit.

 

If you want to stick with steel flex and don't like the noodler's nib, get an FPR #5.5 flex nib.

 

Any of the standard "smaller" nibs currently made will fit the boston safety. I don't know about bock #5's, but a Knox #5 is very wide and it fits just fine. I think only the very widest #5 nibs won't fit.

Edited January 8, 2018 by Honeybadgers

[pepsiplease69]

 

I don't know about bock #5's, but a Knox #5 is very wide and it fits just fine. I think only the very widest #5 nibs won't fit.

I tried Bock #5 the other day with this pen and it was too wide. It sits alright on the feed but the nib can no longer retract into the body because the shoulders are too wide.