on saleNoodler's Ahab Flex Fountain Pen - Ahab's Pearl

After many YouTube videos / tutorials and noodling and tinkering I have yet to get the Ahab to write with an adequate amount of ink. Unless you LOVE spending your time working on your fountain pen instead of writing or doing art then I cannot recommend the pen.

I know people complain that the pen is scratchy and it smells. The smell is really not that horrible, and it goes away after it's been out of the box for a while. However, when I first used it, I failed to actually read Nathan's advice on how to prepare it and instead eyedroppered it and tried to write, but it was so scratchy I almost gave up. Then I actually followed directions and gave it a cleaning in warm soapy water and even scrubbed it. Now it writes smoothly, without any scratchiness and I love how ink pools when I write with it.

I purchased this pen in 1917 or 1918, so that was four or five years ago. It works wonderfully well if you attend to all the aspects of care specified in the instruction sheet -- basically, disassembling the pen and washing all the parts in soapy water, rinsing, and then re-inserting the nib and feed so that nine lines on the feed are visible -- and also heat set the nib. There's a wonderful video on YouTube in which a person describes with great specificity how he cares for his Ahab. I wouldn't say that the nib is a fully flexible nib, but it does have enough give to allow for some gorgeous line variation. If you don't press lightly and heavily to produce a variated line effect, the pen still lays down a fine-width line that I find pleasing. Some have stated that the pen has an unpleasant odor. I never noticed that, and my "sniffer" is usually pretty sensitive. And now, after probably five years of use, I don't notice any particular odor at all. The pen does leak sometimes if I store it with the point facing downward. And it can hard start if I leave it unused for a few days with the point facing upward. I have found this with just about every pen except for the TWSBI, which has an insulated cap that keeps air out. All and all, I find that I have enormous affection for this pen, which I use with Noodler's Black ink. I sometimes also use Noodler's Black American Eel ink in this pen and all my piston fillers, just to keep the pistons lubricated.

I had a lot of self control when my Ahab arrived and followed Nathan Tardis' (Mr. Noodler himself) instructions to the letter. I completely disassembled my new Ahab, vigorously (and lovingly) gave it a warm and soapy bath, dried, reassembled, and heat set the feed. I even greased the plunger gasket with silicone grease. I did not miss anything. Then I inked Ahab up with Noodler's Heart of Darkness which I had in my small stash. I was very impressed with the way the pen felt like it belonged in my hand, the ease with which it wrote, and the lack of pain in my hand and wrist from using it. I have a small hand (barely 3 across my palm at the ball of my hand, wear a size 6.5 wedding ring, and have osteoarthritis. The only way I can describe it is love at first write! I am not quite sure why there is all the grumbling I have heard about flex nibs. This one is a great performer. I am not interested in using it for calligraphy, but I do like the subtle line variation I can get if I really want to. I like that I can write fine enough to work on college ruled paper, Ahab doesn't balk at my Dollar Tree composition notebooks/journals, and the ink capacity of the plunger fill system is more than enough for me. I thought I wanted to dropper fill the barrel, but that is not even necessary. IF I ever get to travel again I will just pack some extra ink just like I would pack travel bottles of toiletries and all will be well. This is a workhorse of a pen, it is user friendly, and don't be put off by the aroma you hear about. It was very mild and not unpleasant - like a well aged cheddar cheese. After Ahab's bath you can hardly tell he had any odor at all - and I have a very efficient sniffer! I really like the fact that Nathan designed this pen so that anyone can maintain it, and items you may need to replace are commonly found in your local hardware store.

For the price, this pen is perfect for beginning calligraphy or refreshing old skills. There is a little bit of ink leak on the middle finger after use but you really can't beat how it writes!