Noodler’S Safety Pen - Problems

[inkstainedruth]

I would suggest two things.

 

1- Whenever deploying AND retracting the nib, only turn the rear knob in the the direction which wont make it unscrew. You can turn it in either direction ( there are no threads) you just want to break up the static friction so that it glides smoothly. Therefore its recommended to keep turning the knob while moving up or down. Dont just push straight up/down.

I found that after flushing and reassembling mine the first time (carefully watching Nathan's video in the process, I have the back knob set just tightly enough that it won't leak. So when I extend the nib on mine I'm holding the barrel and just turning and sliding the sleeve over the barrel (and yes, clockwise -- and then sliding and turning counterclockwise the sleeve when I'm retracting the nib). That was also a bit of a learning curve at first, because it's such a different mechanism from all my other pens -- but now I don't think twice about it.

I do sometimes, if I'm doing a lot of writing, have to retract the nib and feed to bathe it (as someone else mentioned, but that just takes a few seconds (shrug). The main issue I have is that of course as an eyedropper it has the downside of ALL eyedroppers -- if the pen isn't full, and the pressure changes, you get burping into the cap. And as a result, all over the barrel a couple of days ago when I removed the cap. And I'm having some trouble estimating how much to fill the pen without that happening OR having it burp and drool when I extend the nib (part of that is because of the mechanism, and part is just that it's WAY harder to eyeball how much you're filling it -- as opposed to something like the Noodler's Charlies. Oh, and it didn't really like Kung Te Cheng at ALL. But does seem to be doing okay with Luck of the Draw, the LE ink from the Baltimore Washington Pen Show. I hadn't used the pen in a couple of weeks, and didn't know how much ink was left in it, but it started right up and I got about half a page of writing. Of course, after I refilled it the pressure changed on Thursday when the front came through, and I had ink all over the barrel when I unscrewed the cap from it burping INTO the cap....

Well, no pen is perfect. But overall I'm glad I did buy it (I just wish that it was a different color, but I didn't care for the chestnut ebonite color either...). I paid a bunch of bills earlier today, using it for both the checks and the envelopes, and it behaved flawlessly (I did cap it between bills because of juggling the checks, register, invoices and envelopes). Whether I would buy another one though is a question. As opposed to buying more Konrads after my first one -- that was a no brainer. And if Nathan made more of the ebonite Konrads (say, in some of the colors used for the Neponsets, I'd be first in line saying "Take my money!"

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[chalkdust]

It happened again.

 

This may be a bit long, but I do not want to suggest that these problems or repairs are major. I am not experienced in fountain pen repair. I have watched Nathan Tardiff’s video about disassembling the pen more than once - but that does not create expertise. I have no special tools. All I used was my hands, some paper towels, some silicon grease from Goulet Pens, some plumber’s teflon tape, and my kitchen sink.

The problem was that the pen broke somewhere inside. The symptom was that the nib would not retract when the back part of the pen was twisted and pulled back. The nib was just stuck in the writing position. This happened while I was away from home, but it was no trouble to put the cap on the pen. Putting the cap on, pushed the nib unit into the body of the pen. There was no spilling or leaking or any trouble.

When I disassembled the pen, I found that nothing was physically broken, just two parts were unscrewed. I am not sure what to name all of the parts, so I will try to be descriptive. The thing that holds the nib and feed and moves in and out of the pen and seals again the interior of the body is a part that I will call the “carrier.” The carrier has a wide part that seals against the body to prevent ink from leaking when writing. I will call that wide part of the carrier the “collar.” Behind the collar, the carrier becomes narrower and ends with a threaded bit that screws into a thicker rod that I will call the “interior rod” because all of it always remains inside the body. The interior rod screws into the exterior rod which extends outside of the body.

The part of my pen that came unscrewed is where the carrier attaches to the interior rod. Those parts were manufactured incorrectly. The male threads were too narrow so the male part could be inserted most of the way into the female part without any turning at all. So I wrapped teflon tape around the male threads so that it had to be twisted to screw into the female part. To be clear, the teflon tape is just there to take up space so the joint is tighter. OK, that was not hard to to do and is easily undone in the future if I need to.

The first time I tried this, I did not put any silicon grease onto the part of the body that the carrier’s collar seals against. This made extending and retracting the nib to require more force than is good. It made the extending and retracting action jerky, not smooth. The jerkiness caused some unintended drops of ink to spit out, particularly when retracting the nib. It also required so much force that the teflon tape fix broke again.

So I disassembled again and used A LOT of teflon tape. I also used a Q-tip to put plenty of silicon grease into the front body of the pen. With a flashlight I looked carefully at the grease to make sure it was evenly applied and did not have excess that might come in contact with the nib or feed! Reassembly is easy.

Now my Noodler’s Boston Safety extends and retracts smoothly. I have gone through two fillings this way and have had no troubles.

By the way, my pen has never burped ink like eyedropper pens are prone to do. I have used it until it goes completely empty and it always flows properly and does not leak or burp or do anything bad. It has never burped or leaked ink in the cap. Also, the feed never requires me to retract the nib just to get more ink. The feed feeds just fine for pages of writing.

I probably could have returned the pen to the seller, because of the manufacturing flaw. But I am glad I kept it and figured out how to fix it. It feels more like it is mine now. I also know that if I need to fix it again it is simple to do. Let’s face it, slippery teflon tape is not likely to stay in place for years of use. I may think of a better fix later, but who knows. In the meantime, the pen is working great for me.

As I said at the the beginning, all of this was simple to do and required no special tools. It only took a few minutes to do. It probably took less time than reading this post!

[timarti]

Just got mine today. At first the nib would not extend and retract. Watched the assembly video and took it all apart multiple times, using silicone to try to lubricate - no luck without serious, excessive force. I gave up multiple times, lol, but I am a stubborn (bleep) and I finally figured out that it was the nib and feed that were too tight and were binding. I used fine sandpaper on the end of the part holding the nib and feed, going very slowly and checking repeatedly until the nib would extend and retract smoothly through the barrel without force, but still snug enough to prevent leaks. Now all is well and the pen works perfectly. Thought I would mention it, since the problem was not too snug or sticky O-rings. I also ended up swapping the feed from my Noodlers Charlie (same diameter, but had to shorten it a bit) because one side of the feed tip got broken when I was struggling with the retraction process. I also swapped the nib out for a FRP 1.0 stub which I had lying around. Im going to try and find a Waterman #2 nib eventually.

Edited May 29, 2018 by timarti

[timotheap]

I haven't seen many threads on the Boston Safety Pen.

 

I wondered if those of you who have one have used it with "special" inks - like calligraphy inks, or things a fountain pen wouldn't normally like.

 

Incidentally I've found this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5I1zgoQ3v4

 

Bryan Marsh actually uses a blue demonstrator Safety - which is great as you can really see where the ink is going. He also fully disassemble it and explains how each part works. Very interesting.

 

But apart from the fact that it is a special pen, and ebonite (well, not the ugly blue demo), I don't really see the use I could have that would require it.

[fiberdrunk]

I haven't seen many threads on the Boston Safety Pen.

 

I wondered if those of you who have one have used it with "special" inks - like calligraphy inks, or things a fountain pen wouldn't normally like.

 

 

I have 2 of these pens. The black one is a dedicated pen for my homemade iron gall ink, and the chestnut one is a dedicated pen for my homemade black walnut ink. In fact, the Noodler's Boston Safety Pen is the only fountain pen I've found that works with my black walnut ink, so I'm really loving these pens!

Edited July 11, 2020 by fiberdrunk

[MuddyWaters]

Just got mine today. At first the nib would not extend and retract. Watched the assembly video and took it all apart multiple times, using silicone to try to lubricate - no luck without serious, excessive force. I gave up multiple times, lol, but I am a stubborn (bleep) and I finally figured out that it was the nib and feed that were too tight and were binding. I used fine sandpaper on the end of the part holding the nib and feed, going very slowly and checking repeatedly until the nib would extend and retract smoothly through the barrel without force, but still snug enough to prevent leaks. Now all is well and the pen works perfectly. Thought I would mention it, since the problem was not too snug or sticky O-rings. I also ended up swapping the feed from my Noodlers Charlie (same diameter, but had to shorten it a bit) because one side of the feed tip got broken when I was struggling with the retraction process. I also swapped the nib out for a FRP 1.0 stub which I had lying around. Im going to try and find a Waterman #2 nib eventually.

Wow, that's a lot of work to get a pen going.

[peroride]

 

I have 2 of these pens. The black one is a dedicated pen for my homemade iron gall ink, and the chestnut one is a dedicated pen for my homemade black walnut ink. In fact, the Noodler's Boston Safety Pen is the only fountain pen I've found that works with my black walnut ink, so I'm really loving these pens!

 

@fiberdrunk your ink creations are so awesome!! Your link should be an Inky Recipes sticky; they look so ready for Etsy or a shop like those boutique inks. Do you have a favorite?

 

The Jane Austen Iron Gall reminds me of Pelikan Edelstein Moonstone but with permanence.

 

Does the steel nib of the Boston Safety hold up to the iron gall without pitting?

 

I've had Noodler's Manjiro Nakahama Whaleman's Sepia living in my black one for months with nary an issue but it's not an iron gall. I was thinking of feeding my Chestnut one KWZ IG but cautious as I consider my Noodler's Bostons permainked pens.

Edited July 12, 2020 by peroride

[inkstainedruth]

Whaleman's Sepia does well in a Noodler's Boston Safety? Good to know. The color is really interesting, but the sample I tried (forget which pen as to whether it was one of the Konrads or one of the FPCs) just would NOT flow. Just clung to the sides of the ink chamber as if for dear life....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[peroride]

Whaleman's Sepia does well in a Noodler's Boston Safety? Good to know. The color is really interesting, but the sample I tried (forget which pen as to whether it was one of the Konrads or one of the FPCs) just would NOT flow. Just clung to the sides of the ink chamber as if for dear life....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

I do have to shake the bottle like crazy to get the Whaleman's Sepia pinkish red sediment off the glass bottle bottom and I should caveat: that I swapped the original nib with another as I bent/broken the first with a concord grind AND sometimes it does hard start so I twist halfway to get better flow which actually I love about the pen: variable flow when you need it.

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. But I might be willing to get a full bottle of Whaleman's Sepia now -- I wasn't before, even though I liked the color.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[fiberdrunk]

 

@fiberdrunk your ink creations are so awesome!! Your link should be an Inky Recipes sticky; they look so ready for Etsy or a shop like those boutique inks. Do you have a favorite?

 

The Jane Austen Iron Gall reminds me of Pelikan Edelstein Moonstone but with permanence.

 

Does the steel nib of the Boston Safety hold up to the iron gall without pitting?

 

I've had Noodler's Manjiro Nakahama Whaleman's Sepia living in my black one for months with nary an issue but it's not an iron gall. I was thinking of feeding my Chestnut one KWZ IG but cautious as I consider my Noodler's Bostons permainked pens.

 

Thanks! I like the Dr. Stark and the U.S. Government Standard inks the best for iron gall inks, for their more permanent and stable qualities. And I like the cooked down black walnut ink for its color and permanence.

 

I haven't noticed any pitting of the Safety nib yet, but I've only had it a couple of months. I'll let you know if that changes, because I'm very interested in knowing if that will happen, too. It might be a good idea to keep some spare nibs on hand, just in case, but so far so good.

[eharriett]

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. But I might be willing to get a full bottle of Whaleman's Sepia now -- I wasn't before, even though I liked the color.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I got, I think, my 7th Boston Safety, just for the Whaleman's Sepia. That pen was made for that ink. Works great and the ink is finally in permanent use as a result.