Noodler's Konrad

[maverickmage]

I bought the Noodler's Konrad a few weeks ago and I have mixed feelings about it.

 

First, let's talk about the good points. I bought the California Tortoise model and in person, it looks great. The pen is also very light and fits well in hand. To be honest, the body material feels like it's a higher quality than the more expensive Lamy Safari. It is also the cheapest "flex" fountain pen option and does fairly well in this regard.

 

Next the neutral points. The pen has its quirks. It writes VERY wet. But if I try to adjust it to be a bit dry, it has flow problems. There doesn't seem to be a decent neutral point in between, or if there is, it's so small that I don't feel that I would be ably to reliably replicate it repeatedly. So... I set it to write wet since that's better than being too dry and railroading all over the place. It also has the tendency to randomly spit globs of ink on paper. It doesn't seem to be a air heating issue since it also occurs when the pen is full. These points did not affect the pen negatively in my mind since I knew that these problems existed when I purchased the pen.

 

Now, on to the bad. First and foremost... it was a good thing I flushed the pen before using. While flushing, I noticed that there were large black debris of some sort floating around inside the pen. I had to remove the nib and feed to drain those out. Not sure what they were, but my guess is, it's shavings from the ebonite feed. It shouldn't have been in there in the first place. Very disappointed with this part. Another problem that gets on my nerves is the piston. It goes up smoothly for the first half, then it abruptly gets hard and I have to really crank at it to raise the piston the second half of the way. Also, the feed mechanism has the tendency to come apart.

 

With that said, I'm not sure I would say that this pen is a good buy even if it's "just" $20. I would say that it's not a bad buy if you want it just for the flex option and you're not sure if you want to shell out the big money for a better one. Or if you're like me and you have a bunch of ink samples that you don't like and need a pen that will gobble it down like there's no tomorrow with super wet lines and giant ink blobs, this pen isn't a bad buy.

 

If you're thinking about buying it as a first beginner's pen or buying it as a gift for someone that doesn't know the downsides, look elsewhere. This is not the pen for you.

Edited March 3, 2013 by maverickmage

[TSherbs]

My Creaper flex has been very reliable, but I wish it were a tad bigger. The flow problems stated regarding both this and the Ahab have given me pause, since my Creaper writes really well. I have large hands, so my hand gets a bit tired holding it. But I don't want to purchase a lemon. Nothing worse than that.

[GardenWeasel]

Ahhh, but when you hit that sweet spot with the nib & feed adjustment...

[Interapid]

Excellent review. Glad you had a little bit of luck with it. I have to say, when it writes, the Konrad is fairly fun to use.

[steb]

I like to tinker so enjoy my Konrad and Ahab, but tinkering seems often needed. You can screw the whole piston system out may worth doing so and seeing if there is some obstruction, a wee dab of silicon may help too

Edited March 3, 2013 by steb

[pokermind]

I've had terrible luck with my Konrad. First, part of the piston mechanism snapped when I tried to remove it for cleaning. The piston still works, but I'm pretty sure it's not suppose to be in two separate pieces. After that, I managed to get a 7mm crack in the section, starting from the nib end. Any attempt to use the pen results in ink on my fingers. I'm now trying to fit the nib into some other pens that I have, but I haven't had much success.

[lovemy51]

i find the Konrad to have a very appealing look -very classic. also, it has a very good balance when the cap posted. OTT, the nib/feed system (the heart of the pen) is terrible. mine has been refitted with different size nibs, tweaked so many times, yet i'm simply not happy with its performance.

 

now i have it with a Knox B nib all the way in, so it won't spit so much ink. the pen can be very wet or very dry -depending on the nib and the way the feed is inserted.

 

in short: i don't like it!

[DeBuggz]

i find the Konrad to have a very appealing look -very classic. also, it has a very good balance when the cap posted. OTT, the nib/feed system (the heart of the pen) is terrible. mine has been refitted with different size nibs, tweaked so many times, yet i'm simply not happy with its performance.

 

now i have it with a Knox B nib all the way in, so it won't spit so much ink. the pen can be very wet or very dry -depending on the nib and the way the feed is inserted.

 

in short: i don't like it!

 

I couldn't agree more. I've hit that sweet spot with the nib/feed once or twice, but then it gets lost in the middle of using it. Even if it was "just" $20, that's $20 that's just sitting on a shelf unused and unsellable.

 

Maybe I'll take a shot at the Ahab and Creeper, but this experience makes me weary.

[pienaar]

I never have to adjust my Ahabs they just write. (now I have them setup)

[jkbd52]

i find the Konrad to have a very appealing look -very classic. also, it has a very good balance when the cap posted. OTT, the nib/feed system (the heart of the pen) is terrible. mine has been refitted with different size nibs, tweaked so many times, yet i'm simply not happy with its performance.

 

now i have it with a Knox B nib all the way in, so it won't spit so much ink. the pen can be very wet or very dry -depending on the nib and the way the feed is inserted.

 

in short: i don't like it!

 

I couldn't agree more. I've hit that sweet spot with the nib/feed once or twice, but then it gets lost in the middle of using it. Even if it was "just" $20, that's $20 that's just sitting on a shelf unused and unsellable.

 

Maybe I'll take a shot at the Ahab and Creeper, but this experience makes me weary.

 

I think that the creaper is the best pen Noodlers manufactures. I have own a couple of them and they are great and have never given me a problem. I think if anyone is wanting to go the Noodlers way I say give a creaper a go first. They are also the cheapest of Noodlers pens.

[Bogon07]

I have to agree both my Creapers are more reliable than the Konrad, in fact the 2nd Creaper didn't even need any adjusting.

 

My Konrad seesm so have a much finer nib point that the Creapers and does work fairly well as an EF writer. When flexing it often stops flowing or blobs at random. That said I do like the looks and will consider one of those Ebonite Ripple Konrads when they are restocked.

[TMac]

I recently acquired a Konrad Irish Brigade. I have to say it is the best Noodlers pen I have bought. It wrote perfectly out of the box, with no hesitation or problems.

 

I have had 1 creeper, 4 Ahabs, and 3 Konrads. Until this one, each one required a lot of work to "get it right".

[tapinger]

maverickmage, on 02 Mar 2013 - 21:51, said:

Next the neutral points. The pen has its quirks. It writes VERY wet. But if I try to adjust it to be a bit dry, it has flow problems. There doesn't seem to be a decent neutral point in between, or if there is, it's so small that I don't feel that I would be ably to reliably replicate it repeatedly. So... I set it to write wet since that's better than being too dry and railroading all over the place. It also has the tendency to randomly spit globs of ink on paper. It doesn't seem to be a air heating issue since it also occurs when the pen is full. These points did not affect the pen negatively in my mind since I knew that these problems existed when I purchased the pen.

 

Now, on to the bad. First and foremost... it was a good thing I flushed the pen before using. While flushing, I noticed that there were large black debris of some sort floating around inside the pen. I had to remove the nib and feed to drain those out. Not sure what they were, but my guess is, it's shavings from the ebonite feed. It shouldn't have been in there in the first place. Very disappointed with this part.

Have you tried (gently) scrubbing out the feed thoroughly with an old toothbrush and water+ammonia+soap? I experienced the same combination of problems (running dry and occasional giant ink drops) with my Ahab at first. I scrubbed it out over a small bowl of water until no more black flecks came out and haven't had those problems since. My theory is that debris was blocking a channel and causing ink to build up behind it: occasionally it would surge past and cause a blot, otherwise running dry inconsistently.

[cjjohnst]

I too bought the Irish Brigade Konrad pen.When I twisted the piston VERY GENTLY to fill it,the thing fell apart.I phoned the Goulets where I bought it and they immediately gave me a credit note.But more interestingly Brian told me that they themselves have had the same problems I did.The pen piston filler is plastic rubbish.You are far better off with an Ahab.I have 3 Ahabs and they are great.

Edited May 17, 2013 by cjjohnst