Noodler's Ahab Flex Fountain Pen

[katiescarlett]

Opinions on this pen? I saw it on Goulet's website when I was looking for a cheaper fountain pen to carry in my backpack for school.

[Titanic9990]

I would suggest the Konrad. Same nib as on the Ahab, but the feed has an extra opening meaning less railroading, and better flex. I use mine as my everyday pen at school and put it in my pencil case in a cloth pouch. I have never had any problems with it, a much better filling mechanism, essentially, although under a different name, it is a refined ahab. The videos on the Goulet (no affil.) site are a good resource to use before buying, they explain all of the facets of each pen.

[redbike]

It's a great pen if you like ink on your fingers from endless fiddling with the nib and feed.

[msolok]

I really think the Ahab, and the other Noodlers pens, are great, but you HAVE to approach them right. Don't buy them and expect them to be off the shelf writers, as that's not what they. Nathan at Noodlers designed them to be a customisable pen, for people to tinker and fiddle with them to get them set-up how they like them. Sometimes this can just include repositioning the feed and nib, other times it involves a lot more.

 

You really have to approach them with the frame of mind 'I will need to set-up the pen I like, and it will take some tinkering'. Once you do, though, they are fantastic pens. Really worth the price and effort.

[RobW]

I gave up on my Ahabs when I tired of constant fiddling and the resultant inky fingers. From what people say, I might have a look at a Konrad.

[fourseamer]

Ahabs are great pens that can be finicky. Try one, and if you don't like it or can't get it dialed in to your satisfaction, you'll surely find a buyer here for close to what you paid for it.

 

I think the problem many have is with the flexible capabilities of the nib. It has a propensity to railroad. But with a regular steel nib, it can be an absolute steal. Consider a replacement steel Bock or Knox nib. They can be had for a few dollars, and they're generally quite good. The Bock nibs I've used have been very smooth writers.

 

That said, you may well like the stock nib on the Ahab. It can be pretty good as-is for regular, everyday writing.

[Maurizio]

I have to agree with Titanic 9990 and the other posters re you've got to fiddle with the Ahab. I have an Ahab; it's working nicely now, but I have had to tinker with it a bit - and I'm not a native tinkerer. I've had to search the forums here for advice; go back to the Ahab, empty the ink, pull out the feed & nib; clean out the feed multiple times; put everything back together; if it didn't work just right I've had to empty the ink, pull out the feed & nib again & try to get the nib lined up on the feed correctly, try to get the feed back in to where there was an ink flow I prefer.

 

I have succeeded, but it took a lot of time. I love the Ahab's chunky body; and am very pleased with my Ahab now. I should also note that many people have Ahabs which write nicely straight out of the package.

 

I also have a Konrad & this has been nice right out of the box. They're both nice pens. Now that I've got my Ahab working the way I like it, I like it better than the Konrad. But for trouble-free writing without any tinkering, Konrad may be the better choice for you.

 

Favorite Pens: Pilot VP broad, Pilot Custom 74 medium, Pilot Ecrino, Platinum Music Nib

Inks: Noodlers Eel Blue, Private Reserve Cosmic Cobalt

Paper: Rhodia, Clairefontaine

Edited February 8, 2013 by Maurizio

[Maurizio]

I would suggest the Konrad. Same nib as on the Ahab, but the feed has an extra opening meaning less railroading, and better flex. I use mine as my everyday pen at school and put it in my pencil case in a cloth pouch. I have never had any problems with it, a much better filling mechanism, essentially, although under a different name, it is a refined ahab. The videos on the Goulet (no affil.) site are a good resource to use before buying, they explain all of the facets of each pen.

 

 

Titanic9990 I love your Avatar. How'd you get the Noodler's bottle into to that classic Roman image? It's obvious you're a classicist. How about translating that Seneca quote, though it looks like it's x-rated; my Latin's gotten too rusty & my Latin dictionary's packed in a box.

[heymatthew]

I have an Ahab and the Nib Creaper Flex. I also have a Konrad on order that will be here Saturday. Of the two I have in my possession, I prefer the Creaper. I've found it to be more consistent and easier to use. I don't normally like really small pens and find the Ahab more comfortable, but it hasn't been a good writer. It's almost there now, but not without a lot of tinkering. I haven't had to do as much to my Creaper to get it to perform where it is now.

 

Just go into them with an open mind. I'll have to do a comparison of the three when I get the Konrad in on Saturday and spend some time with it.

 

I will say that my Ahab may very well be the ugliest pen I've ever seen. I went for a really weird color and it's definitely that...

[akustyk]

I have an Ahab and the Nib Creaper Flex. I also have a Konrad on order that will be here Saturday. Of the two I have in my possession, I prefer the Creaper. I've found it to be more consistent and easier to use. I don't normally like really small pens and find the Ahab more comfortable, but it hasn't been a good writer. It's almost there now, but not without a lot of tinkering. I haven't had to do as much to my Creaper to get it to perform where it is now.

 

Just go into them with an open mind. I'll have to do a comparison of the three when I get the Konrad in on Saturday and spend some time with it.

 

I will say that my Ahab may very well be the ugliest pen I've ever seen. I went for a really weird color and it's definitely that...

I agree completely. I think the Ahab is ugly . I also think the nib creeper, in my experience, was the best writer out-of-the-box. I've tried 3 Ahabs and could not get any of them to work well. I've had much better luck with the Konrad, esp. the ebonite, and have learned to love them.

[restlesscourage]

I've heard they can be finicky, but I've been happy with mine. I flushed it well before use, and had to fiddle with the feed a bit to get it flowing the way I wanted, but it's nice now. It is a very wet writer, though, so you end up going through more ink than you might otherwise.

[Sandy Fry]

I have the Nib Creeper December 25th and it writes great right out of the box. I tried the Ahab but wasn't as impressed by it as I was by the creeper. I use the creeper most days but use my ugly little Rotring Skynn the most. Either way, they are the price of a couple trips to Starbucks so no big deal if you have to fiddle with them a little bit.

 

David

[ScienceZach]

I adore my Ahabs, but they were somewhat temperamental at first. It took me approximately 3 days to get both of mine to be consistent and lovely writers. If you are someone who has a compulsive need or interest to right things in the world, so that you may write things in the world, they are awesome pens. I think I learned more about pen maintenance in my first three days than I otherwise would have in months of owning a Safari. I don't think this is necessarily a knock on the pen; once you have it to your liking (and I know some people haven't been able to get it to this point), it is an awesome pen for the price. I used silicon grease on the Ahab's pistons and they glide for refills, taking in a tremendous capacity given my needs as a student, even without an eye dropper conversion. One thing to note is that some of the earlier Ahabs had difficulties with their o-rings, and I know several online pen companies sell replacement's for a buck; mine had no trouble, but if you buy a used one that is an older model (one of the earlier pens produced), it may be worth looking into.

 

All in all, I think it's a great pen if you're not in a hurry, and as someone already stated they seem to hold their value for resale, given their already low price.

[WaskiSquirrel]

I own one Ahab. I haven't liked it as well as the Creeper or the Konrad. The Konrad in particular is my favorite. The Ahab is just clumsy feeling, odd-looking, and extremely finicky. The other two work with only limited tweaking. It's not a bad pen, but it has been left empty since my original fill.

[Crosby]

I have two Ahabs, bought because I liked the look of them and wanted to try out a flex nib. Oh if only I was able to actually try out a flex nib!! Hours of so called tinkering and basically nothing... I consider them a waste of money but if I could find a couple of nib units to exchange then I might change my mind.

[wallylynn]

I would suggest the Konrad. Same nib as on the Ahab, but the feed has an extra opening meaning less railroading, and better flex.

I thought the feeds were the same.

 

I use my Ahab as my EDC and I have set at maximum wetness. But that wetness means the ink runs out quickly, vs my safari which was a dry writer that lasted a long time. Still, I miss my safari, the clip and cap were more convenient.

 

Don't get it for the flex nib. It's not. Better to think of it as a soft nib. To get a wide line, you need to press hard and it's not pleasant to write like that.