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.

Really good flex nib pen for the price. I think I got really lucky on this particular production unit or I’m not experienced enough in the “fountain pen world” to know any better but I’ve rarely had any hiccups (as pictured on the “g” in “writing sample”) and the line variation is super good (with some needed pressure of course. I’m only docking this a few stars because the smell makes this impossible to take with you to work without someone asking if you farted. Edit: as of 3 years from the original review I can say the smell has gone away… not sure when but I can say with confidence it went away after the first year or so from use, just don’t put it in a bag before then haha

I’m so grossed out. In all my years of fountain-penning, I have never had an experience like this. I received a new pen order. I opened the box and the smell was so overwhelming my whole body immediately recoiled. My husband was in the kitchen when I opened the box. He was standing ACROSS THE ROOM and within seconds shouted out, “Uh!! What’s that SMELL?!!” The pen fell out of the plastic wrapper. I picked it up to put it back in. The smell stuck to my fingers!! I immediately washed my hands and the smell is still faint under the soap’s perfume. 😱🤢 My stomach is turning (no joke). I went to Amazon to check the reviews. and Eighty eight out of over six hundred people have complained about smell. 😱 One person even noted that it smelled like cheese. They are wrong. It smells like *rotten* cheese. That’s been fermenting inside a dirty sock that’s been worn for weeks, then stored under someone’s yeasty fat roll, who hasn’t taken a shower for a couple more months. Too much for a description? No. No It’s not. It’s not too much. Because that’s how bad this pen smells. 😩 One review said it smelled up their whole pen case and all of the other pens in it. Ew!! I would never put this thing in my pen case. My stomach is still turning. My question is… why would a brand new pen smell like that?! 🤢 I don’t know if I will even return the pen. I want it out of my house asap so I may just throw it away. Also, my Fountain Pen Revolution Ultra flex works way better than this one. There should be a warning in the description about the smell!! 🤢🤮🥴

When I received the pen and opened the box, I thought someone had gotten sick on it, that's what it smelled like. It was so strong! I sent it back, thinking it was an abused item, couldn't take the smell. I had ordered the same pen in a different color direct from a pen company and that one smelled too! Not as bad though. What the heck is that smell?? If it is the plastic material or whatever they coat the nib in it is horrible..it makes the pen no fun to use. I'm hoping that with time and a little airing the smell will go away. I tried soaking it in dish soap too, that didn't take the smell away. Other than that, the pen is really nice and can be adjusted for how much flex you want in the nib, love that! Writes beautifully.

This pen is a good writer, once set up. Setting it up isn't the easiest thing in the world, but I knew that going in, as this is the case on all Noodler's pens. I'm willing to put the extra time into set up, because this allows for a much less expensive pen to have the same final quality as a pricier option. Noodler's pens are all top quality, but the use is expected to have to work to get them to perform well. It keeps the prices downs so I'm happy. I'm still learning the flex aspect of this pen, so I'm not writing beautiful spencerian script yet. There is definitely a learning curve, and it doesn't help that I'm left-handed.

I bought this pen because for some time I wanted a fountain pen with a flexible nib to practice calligraphy and handwriting. The flexible nib pens of other brands are more expensive, which makes this pen an excellent option with good cost-quality ratio. The pen does not look pretty, it looks rustic but it works well, it is easy to carry and I really like its transparency. To be honest, I thought the pen nib would be much more flexible, which disappointed me at first but I got used to it. Something I did not like is its smell ... I think that because of some type of lubricant used in the piston, the pen has an unpleasant smell and in fact the ink takes that strong smell once on the paper. I hope that with time that is not already a problem. I recommend this pen for stylized handwriting, take notes and practice a little, but definitely it isn't a pen for calligraphy works that require delicate and beautiful lines.

The supposedly flexible nib has no flex. The pen skips and railroads—when it writes, which is rarely. I bought this five years ago, tried multiple inks, cleaning techniques, etc, but nothing worked. So I put it away, forgot about it, and just found it again recently. Tried it again with Noodler’s La Reine Mauve ink. Skips. Railroads. Then tried it with Wordsworth & Black Mysterious Black ink (which I believe is actually Monteverde’s black ink), a very wet, lubricated ink. The pen still skips, railroads and misses many downstrokes. Don’t buy this pen. It’s horrible, one of the worst I’ve ever owned. It’s shameful Noodler’s still allows it to be sold.

I seldom write reviews. But.. I have a lot of pens, not just a lot, an obscene number of pens. I fell in love with fountain pens in my teens owned and wrote with Shaeffer's all through high school many decades age. Never mind. This pen. This is such a carefree pen to own and write with. I love the piston barrel for ink loading and the clear profile allows you to see your ink supply. I've had no sticking, no skipping, no blotting and no bleeding. I pick it up, open the top and the ink goes where I want it. I can ask no more of a pen that is less than $20! I'm buying it again, and yes the plastic smells but I don't write with my nose so I love my stinky Noodler pen!

Took an age to arrive. Gently screwed the lid together. Popped it in my coat pocket and the screw thread snapped immediately. If the seller can send me a replacement lid, I'll give more stars for the pen section, but currently not really fit for purpose. Also it smells like someone has used it as a thermometer. (Not mouth or armpit)

This pen is suitable for pitman's Shorthand writing.

hace lo que promete. Punto flexible que da trazos gruesos y delgados.

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

Der Füller funktioniert. Aber er riecht fürchterlich! Misthaufen? Das hatte auch schon ein anderer Käufer bemängelt.