Noodler's Ink Piston Fill Flex Nib Clear Demonstrator Medium Point Fountain Pen - ND-17000

I do think the Konrad and the Ahab are better pens, but if you like thin and small and still want a piston filling demonstrator pen with a flexible nib, this is where the money's at. I have two, one that I ground the feed out to gush ink, and this one, which I kept stock. Noodlers pens DO REQUIRE SOME FIDDLING. DO NOT BUY THIS AS A FIRST PEN. You will have to likely adjust how deep the nib and feed are in the body (further out = more flex, closer the feed is to the tip of the nib, more inkflow) and maybe use a razor blade to cut the ebonite feed a bit, but this will take any standard #5 nib as well, and is a proper piston filler. The biodegradable vegetal resin isn't as crystal clear as a TWSBI's plastic, but it's still quite clear, and it's tougher than any other plastic you can think of. Nathan Tardiff of Noodlers has a video of himself driving over a konrad (Same material) with his car twice and it wrote fine, and then firing one out of a shotgun (it survived) It does have a VERY strong odor out of the box, some people HATE the smell, so if you don't like the pen's odor, stick it in a drawer for a week and it will dissipate quickly. It's a very thin, light pen with a good posting cap. The nib is nice, will flex very broad (western EF to about a 1.1-1.5 stub) though it does require way more pressure than a "vintage" flex pen, if you want to write bold and broad, this will do the job, no problem. It will get tiring to do after 10-15 minutes, unlike a vintage flex pen, but that isn't this pen's intent. It does write like a slightly springy gold nib when writing normally, which I really like (not like a soft nib, but softer than regular steel nibs) Piston mechanism is smooth, simple, and reliable, and it holds a good amount of ink (2.5ish ml) The only issue I have with these nib creapers is that the cap has no inner seal, so it can't be sat in a drawer, inked, like a platinum with a slip and seal cap or even a jinhao. The konrad has an inner cap and the ahab seems to not have much issue (my neponset is ebonite without an inner cap but seems to not have trouble either) it will dry out if left for a week inked and unused. So only ink this pen up when you want to use it, and the rest of the time, keep it empty, and you won't have any issues. Overall, if you have a few dollars more and don't desperately want the thinnest pen you can find, I suggest the ahab, or if you need something a little smaller, the konrad, which are a bit more versatile and have a more easily swapped #6 nib. But for what it is, this is a solid little flex pen.

If I could give it 0 stars, I would. First of all, the pen literally stinks. The resin that it is made out of smells like old vomit. Second, it doesn't write. At all. I wish I never spent my money on this. Save your money and get something better. This isn't it.

Back in November 2017 I was a rank amateur with respect to fountain pens and "accidentally" lucked into buying this Noodler's Ink Nib Creaper, although that's not what the description said, that's exactly what this is. I now have 7 fountain pens and I use several every day for writing in my journal, doing genealogy research, or drawing pen and ink. I have 5 or 6 bottles of ink and my favorite combination is definitely this Nib Creaper with either Noodler's Eel black or Noodler's Navy. The eel lubricates so I don't get the scratchiness of some of the fine nibs, but the Navy is such a beautiful ink. As a novice I struggled a little but quickly figured out how to work the piston fill to fill it with ink. I have cleaned it once since Nov, but normally it just works with using a soft paper towel to wipe the nib. Great being able to write a finer line and a bit broader just by bearing down. I'm ordering another one to use with Ghost Blue Invisible Ink. Overall this is an amazing writing instrument. Just never, ever fall asleep writing in a journal in bed with a fountain pen! And if you do . . . Dawn and lots of cool water and a rag can usually get that ink out.

Love this pen, here’s my breakdown: This is my first fountain pen (out of my small collection) that leaks if not kept upright. Maybe that’s a dumb thing? Maybe most fountain pens do this and I just seem to own the few that don’t? I have a moonman, a kakuno, and a preppy and I can toss all of them into my pencil punch without a care or worry. (This is the reason for 4/5 stars) THE SMELL ISN’T THAT BAD. If you hold it up to your nose and take a long whiff, does it smell odd? Yes. But you cannot smell it when just holding it or writing with it, even for long periods of time. And the scent doesn’t stick to your hands. You literally have to be holding it at least an inch away from your nose to even begin to smell it. Overall I quite enjoy this pen. The smell is nothing to bother me about and the smoothness of the barrel is so amazing that I would NEVER UV cure it to try and remove the smell (as some suggest) because I would never want to risk ruining the feel. Great pen, definitely buy if you’re interested in trying out soft flex nibs

This is a very nice pen with great features -- piston filler, nice weight, elegant and classic design, flex nib -- and at a bargain price. But, unfortunately, the awful (almost nauseating) smell makes it unusable. Even when washed with warm water and a mild dish soap the pen's bad smell did not go away. Note to manufacturer: PLEASE use a different material -- this pen would be wonderful if it did not smell bad. As it is, it sadly cannot be recommended.

I love this! Mine had a horrible smell at first, but after I washed it and let it air out, the smell went away. But the flex nib at affordable prices? Sign me up! I want to get an Ahab with a flex nib next!

This pen is suitable for pitman's Shorthand writing.

This has the typical Noodlers smell. It's a bit like gone off cheese. This pen is all about the flex nib. That's why I bought it. Does if flex? Not really. As with any steel nib if you press hard you will get a bit of line variation but that's all. Is it a smooth writer? No. I needed to give it a lot of work with Micromesh to remove basic scratchyness. As it was a USA Amazon import it wasn't worth the hassle to return it.

Buena fluidez, mucha flexibilidad en la punta, acabados aceptables, la pluma no es bonita para lucirla, pero si lo que se puede lograr con ella. La escritura es mejor que con muchas plumas costosas de marca premium, vale la pena para por pocos pesos para quien disfruta el arte de la escritura.

Pen smells really bad, has a low quality and the nib is not that flexy (it needs a lot of pressure to get to line variation). Don't recommend at all.

High quality fountain pen. The bock EF nib is fantastic.