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Noodler’S Safety Pen - Problems


Pen_andy

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Hello all

 

Yesterday I got my Noodlers Safety Pen, filled it up, all worked. Coming home today and problems started. First the nib did not want to retract, it was stuck. I twisted the upper sleeve and somehow managed to unscrew the sleeve so I could take it off, the inner rod stayed in. I screwed it back on. Finally the nib moved after pulling a bit more.

 

But: it retracts only half way! I cannot get the sleeve to screw off again, nor will the top nob unscrew as in the video which the leaflet refers to (same for the top nob on the cap).

 

Does anyone have any ideas?

 

Thanks a lot

 

Andy

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Hello all

 

Yesterday I got my Noodlers Safety Pen, filled it up, all worked. Coming home today and problems started. First the nib did not want to retract, it was stuck. I twisted the upper sleeve and somehow managed to unscrew the sleeve so I could take it off, the inner rod stayed in. I screwed it back on. Finally the nib moved after pulling a bit more.

 

But: it retracts only half way! I cannot get the sleeve to screw off again, nor will the top nob unscrew as in the video which the leaflet refers to (same for the top nob on the cap).

 

Does anyone have any ideas?

 

Thanks a lot

 

Andy

 

I'm tempted to suggest never getting another Noodler's pen. And I suppose I just did give into that temptation.

 

But more practically, since it's brand new, before trying anything too radical, I'd be contacting the seller and/or Noodler's itself for recommendations or possible replacement. Have you written to the seller?

"So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do."

 

- Benjamin Franklin

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No, I have not contacted the seller or Noodler’s, thought there might be a quick fix that I am missing...

 

I am in the U.K. and sending it back is expensive....

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I would live and learn tbh. Nathan's inks are always on my desk but his re-branded Indian Kanwrite pens are pretty shoddy tbh. They need a lot of work to get working. I bought my Ahab from Pure Pens in the UK and had to send back two before I got one that was ok.The only decent Noodlers pen I have is the free Charlie eyedropper pen I got with my Heart of Darkness. That is wonderful but there again it is simple.

Edited by matteob
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@Donald2 Nathan says his pens are for experienced enthusiasts who like to muck about with them. The bloke has an answer to everything lol

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They are NOT (bleep) pens. However they are designed for people who are willing to tinker with their pens. As a end user and buyer, you also have to manage your expectations that when we buy pens from Nathan, there is a level of adjustments that need to happen because that's the design specification Nathan designs all his pens toward. This is NOT new. It's not like he was designing robust pens to German or Japanese tolerances and detail and then suddenly dropping the ball. He has always designed his pens this way and will not change.

 

Having said all of that, the one thing I find in this current pen is that the washer is REALLY, I mean really tight. Sometimes I end up inadvertently disassembling the pen, rather than advance the nib. If you removed the bottom of the pen, you have to make sure that the rod goes it such that the nib can fully extend and retract. It's requires a little doing and focus, but not impossible.

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"Having said that ..."

Perhaps it is best to think of this vendor as selling not fountain pens, but compact study guides with which to learn penmaking.

ron

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Having said the above once the Ahab is working you have a fantastic flex pen for under 20 bucks and I love ao e of the colours. You are right it is about expectations. If you want hassle free buy a Lamy Safari.

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"Having said that ..."

Perhaps it is best to think of this vendor as selling not fountain pens, but compact study guides with which to learn penmaking.

ron

I think that most people would like their fountain pen to write well out of the box. This thing about tinkering with the pen isn't very fun to do with a brand new $55 fountain pen. At least, for me it isn't. I suppose that I will try my 4 at some point in time to see whether or not they are any good. The problem that I have is that I do not know what to do or how to adjust my Boston safety pen if it doesn't write well. I don't want to accidentally break anything on the pen. Hopefully, it will not be hard to get the pen to write well.

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They are NOT (bleep) pens. However they are designed for people who are willing to tinker with their pens. As a end user and buyer, you also have to manage your expectations that when we buy pens from Nathan, there is a level of adjustments that need to happen because that's the design specification Nathan designs all his pens toward.

 

Thank you. He's super explicit about this in his videos. And I'm always careful when I recommend them to caution people about them being a tinkering pen.

 

I can't name another pen-maker that encourages you to modify the nib and feed or swap in a 3rd party nib, or makes a pen specifically for use with non-fountain-pen ink so artists can do their thing with interesting mediums. He sells replacement nibs/feeds on the cheap so if you screw it up you don't need to buy a new pen - or you can make a wet feed and a dry feed and swap them.

 

It's a different kind of pen for a different kind of use. His target market isn't "all pen users" or even "all fountain pen users". He's making pens for people who want to do something a little odd (eg: flex, india ink) but can't/won't pay a lot.

 

 

...

 

Alright, so back on topic then:

 

First the nib did not want to retract, it was stuck. I twisted the upper sleeve and somehow managed to unscrew the sleeve so I could take it off, the inner rod stayed in. I screwed it back on. Finally the nib moved after pulling a bit more.

 

But: it retracts only half way! I cannot get the sleeve to screw off again, nor will the top nob unscrew as in the video which the leaflet refers to (same for the top nob on the cap).

 

Here's my Noodler's safety pen fully disassembled.

C4LiQzC.jpg

 

As you can see, there is no helical cam like on some other safety pens -- so you do not need to twist the pen. I think Nathan suggests a twist to break the static-friction and get it moving; but after that you just want to pull up or down.

 

On mine, the action was much smoother/easier with only one O-ring. Someone here said the second was to provide extra resistance so that you could flex more without accidentally pushing the nib back in.

 

You might want to try using only one O-ring, or putting silicone grease on the inside of the barrel at the back.

 

 

 

If you're still stuck with the nib half-way:

 

Maybe empty the ink and pull the nib/feed so you can push from the front?

 

Were you using an ink that'd make the o-rings swell? He found a few of the solvents used in some artist inks caused swollen o-rings which would make the mechanism difficult to move... if those don't un-swell in water, you may have to cut them out with a knife or something.

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Interesting @ALCCIaardvaark

 

Good luck with the pen! My advice for anyone wanting to try a Noodler pen is go with a cheap Nib Creeper or Ahab to start and mess about with it or buy Nathan's excellent "Heart of Darkness" ink and get the free Charlie which is a lovely little thing. Nathan is a good guy I think and wants to do best by his market which is experienced enthusiasts for his pens.He is plain speaking and would probably go tell you to buy a Parker Vector lol. Having said that if you buy from UK dealer Pure Pens you will get a good customer service and no quibble replacement. They also have spare parts. I would assume Goulash Pens or whatever they are called in the US would offer the same. They seem decent though never used due to their swingeing international post rates. I am not an expert really so personally would not buy a pricey Neponset or Boston.

Edited by matteob
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I hope it works out for you!

''You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes''. A A Milne

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I would live and learn tbh. Nathan's inks are always on my desk but his re-branded Indian Kanwrite pens are pretty shoddy tbh. They need a lot of work to get working. I bought my Ahab from Pure Pens in the UK and had to send back two before I got one that was ok.The only decent Noodlers pen I have is the free Charlie eyedropper pen I got with my Heart of Darkness. That is wonderful but there again it is simple.

 

I don't know what your experience has been, but I have several of the resin Konrads and Flex Creepers, and an ebonite Konrad. All have worked well out of the box after just flushing out the manufacturing oils and residue. I also have I think 5 or 6 of the Charlie pens, and they are what they are -- inexpensive eyedroppers, with all the plusses and minuses of what that entails (four of those worked well, but one burped and drooled with whatever it was inked with). I don't know if I've been exceedingly lucky compared to some people but the only issue with any of the other pens was that one Konrad has some sort of obstruction in the cap so I can't post it. And that includes the the two Konrads I've lost along the way.

So, I got to try someone's Boston Safety pen last week, and I definitely want one. They do, according to the owner, need a little care in extending the nib, so you don't get ink everywhere. And that you want to, in longer writing sessions, occasionally retract the nib so the feed doesn't go dry; and to not over tighten the cap.

That person IIRC, retrofit the pen with a flexy dip pen nib, and it was a nice pen to write with -- long but not overly thick or heavy. And I want one more than ever, now.

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, too, have had good luck with my 2 Ahabs and my Konrad, and now have a Neponset ebonite on the way. I'd say, stick with the Safety Pen and learn its ways. I bet you'll "master" it. I'm looking forward to owning one, or two...

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My experience was a faulty plunger and hard starts with the Ahabs. The Charlie burped at first but this was solved by pushing in the feed more. Maybe I flushed the pen out using wrong method: luke warm water with a bit of washing up liquid. I guess the pens have character but definitely for the hobbyist who wants to play round rather than someone who wants a reliable every day carry.

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It's all very well to say that Noodler's pens are for tinkerers, and that Nathan himself is quite honest about this. The problem is that a third party seller may do nothing to bring this to your attention, and if you don't happen to come to a forum like this one and ask questions, you won't have any reason to suspect it. That, and the fact that Noodler's pens are priced in a range that will be tempting to new fountain pen users, is a recipe for trouble.

 

To be fair, I actually have two Noodler's pens which worked well enough out of the box, both of them small, slim, low capacity piston fillers. I don't think the exact models are still made, but something they sell now is probably similar. My Ahab interested me for a while, but even after I got it writing fairly well, it would dry out if unused for not all that long, maybe not even a day (I'm not totally sure at this point). I eventually realized that the cap must not be sealing properly.

 

I have found some enjoyment tinkering with pens getting them to work better (or at all), but I prefer to do this with vintage pens which most likely worked properly when they were sold, and can perhaps be brought back to that state. I've done some minor tweaking on a couple of modern Pilots to get them to write a little wetter, but they were writing adequately to begin with.

"So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do."

 

- Benjamin Franklin

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So, I got to try someone's Boston Safety pen last week, and I definitely want one. They do, according to the owner, need a little care in extending the nib, so you don't get ink everywhere.

 

The open nib-end will do that. I've retracted it too fast on a couple occasions and caused a splatter of ink drops to geyser. This is my first safety pen, and I expected a learning curve.

 

It's all very well to say that Noodler's pens are for tinkerers, and that Nathan himself is quite honest about this. The problem is that a third party seller may do nothing to bring this to your attention, and if you don't happen to come to a forum like this one and ask questions, you won't have any reason to suspect it. That, and the fact that Noodler's pens are priced in a range that will be tempting to new fountain pen users, is a recipe for trouble.

 

Ahab would dry out if unused for not all that long, maybe not even a day (I'm not totally sure at this point). I eventually realized that the cap must not be sealing properly.

True. One of the Konrads I bought was defective (warped barrel, so piston wouldn't seal) and while the seller accepted my return, they re-listed it for someone else to suffer that lovely experience.

 

 

The Ahab does dry out fairly fast. I recently posted on /r/fountainpens a report of the pens I'd not touched in months. The Ahabs had no ink left except the solids caked on the grip-section; other pens did better with at least some ink in the converter.

 

I don't think the vegetal resin seals very well - the threads have failed on one of my piston-mechanisms (tho the US distributor was happy to give me a replacement for free) so I don't think they're as tight as you could get with ebonite/acrylic (plus it doesn't have an inner cap).

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Why is Nathan selling these pens if they are $hit pens? I bought 4 of the Boston safety fountain pens, but I haven't tested them or used them yet. I'm hoping that all 4 of mine are going to work like they should without any problems. Hopefully, Nathan can replace or fix them if they do develop any problems.

If that's your attitude before even trying this stuff, I can't understand why you would buy 4(!!!) of the things. This is some new kind of lunacy I've never heard of before.

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If that's your attitude before even trying this stuff, I can't understand why you would buy 4(!!!) of the things. This is some new kind of lunacy I've never heard of before.

I don't have a bad attitude towards this pen. I will eventually use my pens at some point in time. I bought 4 because I was reading about how very popular that this particular fountain pen is that everyone in here was talking about the last few months since the fall. I figured to buy a few extra to have as back up pens if one were to break or get lost. I wasn't aware that Nathan made these pens for the experienced fountain pen owner who knows how to take them apart and adjust them to write better. I believe that when one buys a fountain pen that they shouldn't have to take it apart or have to make adjustments to it so it can write well. A fountain pen needs to write well out of the box. Even cheaper fountain pens out there that are under $55 do not need adjusting like the Boston Safety fountain pen and most of them write well out of the box. So what you're saying that these pens are made for people who like to buy them to fiddle with them and to take them apart and make adjustments to them does not stick with me very well. These pens at least should write well out of the box without needing any adjustments. There's no reason why they shouldn't write well out of the box.

Edited by Donald2
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If you want to find out who is steeling your pens at the office.

Leave one of these little guys on your desk unattended.

 

I inked myself quite spectacularly a couple of times even though I had a basic idea about how it worked.

 

These things are the British cars of the FP world :huh:

 

BTW...

I took one of the little O-rings out & lubricated the heck out of the other one because it was sticking horribly.

 

When the pen is uncapped, handle it like blasting oil :)

Edited by Nail-Bender
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