Noodlers Triple Tail Demonstrator

[Rebbe]

Good Morning, Pen Folk,

 

As requested, a review. 

 

I have recently purchased a Noodler's Triple Tail Demonstrator from the ever so wonderful Dromgoole's in the Rice Village of Houston Texas. The pen itself is a clear demonstrator made from a vegetal resin, and includes their multi-flex nib which has two channels cut into it so that it flexes out like a trident. 

 

Looks: I like the looks of this pen. It has a classic cigar shape to it, and is relatively wide compared my Lamy's, which gives it a good hand feel when writing. Because of the size of the reservoir, and the fact that this is a clear resin from the feed down to the plunger, you get to enjoy your ink choice uninterrupted from stem to stern. I think it looks pretty good. 

 

The Nib: This was the entire reason I bought the pen, despite reservations about the (seemingly) infamous smell. It writers like a dream, smooth and wet, with a lot of spring and sensitivity. You can get a lot of swoosh out of this thing. I believe you would refer to that as line variation. Well, it is extremely swooshy, and probably the best writer I've encountered at my desired spend, which includes Kaweco, Lamy, Moonman, and TWISBI nibs so far. It's just fun to write with, the nib alone is worth the price of admission here.

 

Look at that thing go! Pictured above is Diamine's Golden Honey on a Leuchtturm notebook page.

 

Ease of Cleaning-  So, breaking this thing down isn't terribly difficult. If you've ever had to disassemble and clean a 1911 it's about as intensive. Just unscrew a bunch of sections, push the plunger through its own reservoir, and voila, all of your individual parts are available for cleaning. This is good because I've noticed ink likes to sneak its way up the plunger stem itself. Aesthetically not an issue since it adds some color and variation to the pen itself, and is easy to flush out. 

 

Shameless Vanity Shot

 

The Smell - So, I'd read about it regarding Charlie Pens and the Ahab, which was actually what got me interested in the pens to begin with. Infamous,  often claimed to have been mitigated, or worse, enjoyed. I had to find out, and I did.  I find it unpleasant. In another post I had likened it to vomit or spoiling meat, and I stand by it. There is something  organic and pungent about the smell of these pens that is off-putting. Right out of the box it was strong enough I had a co-worker visiting my desk ask what died when they got within four feet of my desk. To me it smells bad. And it is lingering. A week on it has been getting sun-baths on the windowsill every day in the hopes of further curing the resin, yet the scent persists. It has been diminishing, though, over time. I have yet to give this thing a full soapy bath, and I have not tried the coffee ground method, wherein you submerge the pen into coffee grounds/beans for an extended period of time to help remove any offgas from the pen. The smell is the only real negative I have encountered, and were it a non-issue, I would say that I love this pen without any reservations. 

 

Capacity - Despite being a wet writer, this pen holds a large amount of ink, and despite my best efforts I was unable to run it dry over the course of a week of what for me is heavy writing.

 

Overall Impressions - I both love it and don't. It's fun to write with, it looks and feels good in the hand, holds a ton of ink, has that swoosh factor, and is easy to disassemble and clean. But the smell!

 

5/12/2022 - If I find a solution or time fixes the problem I'll post it here as an update.

All told, I'd give this pen a solid 7/10. If I could use it in polite company it would easily be a 9/10. I'd definitely recommend adding one to the collection if demonstrators are your thing. 

Edited May 13, 2022 by Rebbe
Grammar

[A Smug Dill]

Thanks for the vividly and viscerally descriptive review!

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the review.  I got to try a Triple Tail at the Noodler's table a few years ago at the Commonwealth Pen Show (just outside Boston).  I really liked the nib a lot, but I'm not overly keen on "demonstrator" pens.  If Noodler's came out with one that wasn't clear or translucent?  I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

As for the "vegetal resin" smell?  I know a lot of people have complained about it over the years -- but I have several Konrads and several Flex Creaper pens (and five Charlies, which are the same size as the Creapers, I suspect that the caps are interchangeable).  And have NEVER noticed any strange smell (and I'm the person my mom would have sniff the leftover roast beef in the fridge to see if it had been around too long...).  

I did notice a bit of an odor from the ebonite Konrad -- which of course is different from what people were complaining about -- but it wasn't enough to put me off using the pen (and if Noodler's came out with more ebonite colors for the Konrads -- say, some of the neat colors that the Neposets come in -- I'd buy one of *those* in a heartbeat as well...).

But everyone is different in what they do (or do not) react to -- my husband has some weird food allergies, and a friend of ours apparently has a gene that make cilantro taste like SOAP to her....   Whereas my mom once told me that there must be something wrong with me because I was in the SCA and did NOT have any food allergies (after coming home from an event years ago and telling her about the conversation I had during the feast with the other people at my table...).  OTOH, urushi pens (beautiful as some of the maki-e designs are)?  They are "admire at a distance" for me -- I'm so allergic to urushiol oil (which is what the lacquer is made of, but which is the same stuff as in poison ivy and poison oak) that it goes systemic on me.  And the last time I had a case of poison ivy it took about a month and a half or so -- and three runs of steroid pills -- to knock it out of my system. 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[Mayo]

The smell on my Ahab went away after some moderate time using it, and it's not noticeable at all anymore. I think you could have faster results by washing the pen with soapy water thoroughly. Otherside I find this to be a very attractive pen for the price, definitely one of the pens on my wishlist.

[doriath19]

Thanks for the review! I've had my eye on one of these for a while but have yet to the buy it. I bought a Neponset when they first came out. I love that pen, but the nib was not good at all (I think I swapped it out for for a FPR nib). I think that was why I have been hesitant to buy a Triple Tail. Anyone able to comment on the comparison between the Neponset nib and the Triple Tail nib?

[inkstainedruth]

Afraid not.  Neponsets are too large and heavy for my hand, so I never bought one.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: The nibs on the Creapers and Konrads are really only semi-flex at best.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much more flex I got from the Triple Tail that was the tester pen that time.  Although, to be honest, flex nibs are mostly wasted on me -- I should try to learn some hand like copperplate  but have never gotten around to it.

 

[dipper]

3 hours ago, doriath19 said:

Anyone able to comment on the comparison between the Neponset nib and the Triple Tail nib?

In 2015 sbrebrown youtube channel reviewed the Neponset... and was not fully satisfied.

Five years later, in 2020, the same channel reviewed the Triple Tail... and was delighted.

 

During those five years a revised version of the Neponset was being developed, with stiffer nib.

The PurePens (UK retailer) website now (2022) says " N.B - the Neponset fountain pen no longer has a flexible nib as may have been seen on video reviews of when it was new. If you are looking for a flexible nib, please try the Noodler's Ahab or for more flex (and cost) Noodler's Triple Tail "

 

Links below...

 

 

https://www.purepens.co.uk/collections/noodlers-neponset-fountain-pen-with-music-nib/products/noodler-s-neponset-fountain-pen-with-music-nib-himalayan-ruby

 

PurePens still have Triple Tail stock from the 2021 Commonwealth Pen Show production run. Same price as the Neponset.

And " PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
- Does NOT have the distinctive Noodler's pen smell. "

https://www.purepens.co.uk/collections/other-noodlers-pens/products/noodlers-triple-tail-flex-fountain-pen-hudson-bay

 

 

[bigjuice]

ooooh nice! love the ink color too. 

[doriath19]

On 5/13/2022 at 6:31 PM, dipper said:

In 2015 sbrebrown youtube channel reviewed the Neponset... and was not fully satisfied.

Five years later, in 2020, the same channel reviewed the Triple Tail... and was delighted.

I like his reviews. Thanks for posting the YouTube links! That was helpful.

[Rebbe]

Update 1: 12 days in and two deep cleanings with warm, soapy water, and the smell has diminished significantly. It is only noticeable very close up now (pen to nose distance), and seems more like leather than rot. So far so good! It is now riding daily in my shirt pocket. 

Thanks for all the positive feedback.

[HOrdover]

On 5/13/2022 at 8:15 AM, Rebbe said:

I have not tried the coffee ground method,

You might try this next time you get a Noodler's pen - I used a Tupperware filled with Folgers coffee crystals instead of grounds (not my idea - I saw it in an old review). I fully submerged all the pieces and put the cover back on, then left it for a day or two. Pulled the pieces out, dusted them off with an old paintbrush, and found the smell was gone. 
The smell HAS started to creep back with a Charlie pen, but I submerged it again and it's back to normal now.

 

The coffee smell does not linger (I like it, but not on my hands every time I write).

Oh, I also didn't submerge the nib, but I did perch it on top of the coffee mountain.  

Edited July 5, 2022 by HOrdover

[amberleadavis]

On 7/5/2022 at 1:50 PM, HOrdover said:

You might try this next time you get a Noodler's pen - I used a Tupperware filled with Folgers coffee crystals instead of grounds (not my idea - I saw it in an old review). I fully submerged all the pieces and put the cover back on, then left it for a day or two. Pulled the pieces out, dusted them off with an old paintbrush, and found the smell was gone. 
The smell HAS started to creep back with a Charlie pen, but I submerged it again and it's back to normal now.

 

The coffee smell does not linger (I like it, but not on my hands every time I write).

Oh, I also didn't submerge the nib, but I did perch it on top of the coffee mountain.  

 

 

OOOO interesting advice!

[Rebbe]

On 7/5/2022 at 3:50 PM, HOrdover said:

You might try this next time you get a Noodler's pen - I used a Tupperware filled with Folgers coffee crystals instead of grounds (not my idea - I saw it in an old review). I fully submerged all the pieces and put the cover back on, then left it for a day or two. Pulled the pieces out, dusted them off with an old paintbrush, and found the smell was gone. 
The smell HAS started to creep back with a Charlie pen, but I submerged it again and it's back to normal now.

 

The coffee smell does not linger (I like it, but not on my hands every time I write).

Oh, I also didn't submerge the nib, but I did perch it on top of the coffee mountain.  

Fantastic, I hadn't heard about instant coffee crystals. I'll give it a try the next time I flush and clean it! Thanks for the tip.