Noodler's Boston Safety Pen - Black
The Noodler’s Boston Safety Pen is made of ebonite, a traditional material used for vintage safety pens. Safety pens are designed to help prevent any ink from leaking while capped. Unlike traditional fountain pens that seal around the grip when closed, the safety pen helps to create a seal right at the ink reservoir. They are not as vulnerable to pressure changes when traveling. They also start right up after periods of non-use due to the fact that the nib and feed stay submerged in ink when retracted. Please note that all Boston Safety pens will now come with a metal core made of surgical stainless steel.
When you first open it, you will notice that the nib is completely retracted into the barrel. To expose the nib, simply push and twist on the back of the pen, keeping the pen in a vertical position with the nib facing up. This is important! Otherwise the entirety of the ink supply will pour out of the pen. Slowly twist and push all the way up.
To fill this pen, retract the nib fully back into the barrel of the pen, and fill using an eyedropper or an ink syringe with no more than 1ml (to avoid overfilling and spillage).
To close the pen, you will need to retract the nib back into the barrel, keeping it vertical with the nib facing up, before screwing the cap back on.
We strongly recommend that you watch Nathan’s video below on best practices for using and filling this pen, as it is unlike anything else we carry.
It uses a #2 flexible nib, the same as the Noodler’s Nib Creaper flex pen.
The Noodler's flex pens were designed for the hands-on tinkerer - they are made to be taken apart and adjusted. The nib and feed pull right out and can be adjusted and heat set for optimal performance. Don't be afraid to get a little ink on your fingers while you learn how to use this pen.
As a simple rule of thumb for writing with a flex pen, just apply slight pressure on your downstrokes, which will spread the tines and increase the line width, achieving that optimal line variation. Make sure to go slowly so that the ink can keep up with your writing. As with any flex pen, it just takes practice!
Due to the residual machining oils used when cutting the feeds for these pens, we highly encourage you to give the pen a good flush before use. We recommend any of the following options: distilled water, water with a touch of dish soap, a pre-packaged pen flush, or a solution of 10% clear ammonia to water. This should resolve most ink flow issues!
Click here to download the printable PDF instruction sheet for the Noodler's Boston Safety Pen.
- Condition
- New
- Brand
- Noodler's
- Type
- Fountain Pens
- Color
- Black
- Demonstrator
Whether or not the barrel of the pen is translucent, allowing you to see the ink and filling mechanism inside.
- No
- Body Material
- Ebonite
- Cap Rotations
For pens with a screw-cap closure, how many rotations it takes to uncap/recap the pen.
- 5
- Cap Type
How the cap is opened/closed from the barrel of the pen. Some common options include Snap-Cap, Screw-Cap, Magnetic Cap, or Capless (no cap).
- Screw-cap
- Compatible inks & refills
Which ink this pen will accept. Choices include bottled ink and various styles of pre-filled ink cartridges.
- Bottled ink
- Filling Mechanism
How the pen fills with ink. Click here to watch our video tutorial on common filling mechanisms.
- Eyedropper
- Grip Material
- Ebonite
- Nib Size
- Flex
- Nib Color
- Silver
- Nib Material
- Steel
- Postable
Whether or not the cap fits securely onto the back of the barrel when open.
- Yes
- Retractable
Whether or not the nib/tip can retract into the body of the pen (usually for click or twist-open style pens).
- Yes
- Diameter - Body
- 10.7mm (0.42in)
- Diameter - Cap (without clip)
- 12.6mm (0.50in)
- Diameter - Cap (with clip)
- 16.3mm (0.64in)
- Diameter - Grip (mm)
Measured from the place most people choose to rest their fingers, which varies with each pen.
- 9.3mm
- Length - Body
The measurement from the back end of the barrel to the tip of the nib.
- 134.9mm (5.31in)
- Length - Cap
- 49.8mm (1.96in)
- Length - Nib
The measured length of the visible portion of the nib when it is installed in the pen, from grip to tip.
- 16.4mm (0.65in)
- Length - Overall (Closed)
- 158.4mm (6.24in)
- Length - Overall (Posted)
When the cap of the pen is posted onto the back of the pen body, this is the measurement of the entire pen including the nib.
- 173.6mm (6.83in)
- Weight - Body
If a converter is included with the pen, this weight is reflected in the total.
- 28g (0.99oz)
- Weight - Cap
- 5g (0.18oz)
- Weight - Overall (g)
- 33.0g
- Max Ink Capacity - Eyedropper
The maximum volume of ink that can fit in the pen when filling the entire barrel of the pen via eyedropper.
- 1.09ml
FAQs about Fountain Pens
How do I fill a fountain pen with ink?
It depends on the pen's filling mechanism, which you can find in the Technical Specs section above.
Here's a quick definition of the most common filling mechanisms:
- Cartridge - A small, disposable, sealed plastic reservoir that holds fountain pen ink. These come pre-filled with ink, and typically you just push to insert them into place and you'll be ready to write! Check out our quick guide here.
- Converter - A detachable and refillable ink reservoir that allows you to use bottled ink in a cartridge-accepting pen. Typically you will install the converter into the grip section, dip the nib/feed into the ink, and twist or pull the converter knob to draw ink into the converter. Here's a video for how to fill a cartridge/converter pen using a LAMY pen as an example.
- Eyedropper - A pen that utilizes the entire barrel as a reservoir for ink. Ink is directly filled into the barrel, allowing for a high ink capacity. Here's a video on how to do it!
- Piston - A type of filling system that uses a retracting plunger inside a sealed tube to draw ink into a pen. They are typically either twist or push-operated. These pens cannot accept cartridges or a converter, and only fill from bottled ink.
- Vacuum - A push-style piston that uses pressure to fill the large pen body with ink. They seal the ink chamber when closed, making it ideal for flying without risk of leaking. Check out our video on how to use a vac filler here.
Check out more info on these filling mechanisms including a video on how to fill each one on our blog.
How do I clean a fountain pen?
It depends on the filling mechanism, but it mostly comes down to flushing it out with water, and sometimes a little bit of Pen Flush if the ink is really stuck.
It's a bit easier to show than to tell, so we've put together a few quick videos showing you the process:
How often do I need to clean my fountain pen?
We recommend a good cleaning every 2 weeks, and any time you change ink colors.
Water will usually do the trick, but we recommend you use our Goulet Pen Flush if the ink has been left in the pen for a while and could have dried up, or when you’re switching ink colors.
My pen won’t write! What do I do?
First things first... make sure you have ink in the pen! Be sure that the ink cartridge or converter is seated properly in the pen, and that you aren't out of ink.
We always recommend you give your pen a good cleaning first, using our Goulet Pen Flush, or a drop of dish soap in some water. New pens often have some machining oil residue left in the feed, so a good cleaning often does the trick first.
If that still doesn't work, try priming the feed. This consists of either dipping your pen nib and feed in ink, or forcing ink from the converter down into the feed.
If it’s still not working after that, please reach out to us so we can help!
What's your return policy?
You can submit a return request within 30 days of your order date. You can read all our Return Policies here.
To initiate a return, please submit a request at the Return Portal. Our Customer Care team might reach out to you for more information.
Please note we are unable to accept a return of any Namiki or Sailor Bespoke fountain pen for any reason once it has been used with ink. Please thoroughly inspect and dry test the pen before use.