Initial Thoughts on Noodler's Ahab

I recently learned about flex nib fountain pens and was instantly curious about them. I have all of these delusions that they'll make my writing exponentially more beautiful and that my holiday cards next year will be greeted with notes and calls complimenting my exceptional penmanship because I'll have had a year of practice. OK, I know that that's unrealistic, but a few fantasies can't hurt, right?

I ordered a Noodler's Ahab Demonstrator on Amazon and received it a few days ago. This pen is going to be a problem. It's one of those things that, because I can't stand it, I'm obsessed with it. I hate it so much that I love it.

A few things first: it's made of vegetal resin with a no-frills steel flex nib and metal accents. Being a demonstrator, it's clear, allowing you to see how much ink you have left; however, the Ahab comes in many different colors. It comes with a pull piston-fill converter and instructions as to using an eyedropper to fill the barrel. It's made to be customized, and everything is fully removable for modification or cleaning. It's price point is low, comparatively- I bought mine for $22.22, on sale from $24, and I've seen them in the $19-$27 range. I got Noodler's Black Swan Australian Rose ink to go with it, and have only used this ink with this pen thus far.

Straight out of the box, I was disappointed in the Ahab. As soon as I pulled it from the box I smelled baby butt. The vegetal resin, or celluloid derivative, of its construction is smelly. It reminds me of fresh diapers and baby powder, but others have said it smells like vanilla or soap. Other reviews suggest covering it in baking soda, washing it a million times, or just waiting it out for the smell to dissipate. I'm going to stick with the latter, unless I'm driven crazy enough to try other measures. It has a distinct aroma that stays on your hand for a long time, even after thorough washing. Also, the clip on my Ahab (meant to be reminiscent of a whale, hence "Ahab" from Moby Dick) is slightly askew, which really bothers me. I've bent it back a bit, so it's slightly more straight, but such a slight didn't help my first impression of this pen.

Once I inked it, the Ahab wrote steadily for a good three minutes before losing its line. I had to dot it, and eventually depress the plunger a bit, before it would write again. If I capped it and left it sit for a half hour or more, it would completely lose its flow and need more dotting and plunging before it would write again. Further, I experienced slight railroading after a half-page of writing. Frustrating!

I attributed its problems to its newness and gave it another shot the next day. I noticed that the flow was a little bit better (which makes sense, I guess, since it had been inked and was soaking), but after a while it began to swing to the other side of the pendulum. Rather than losing its flow, it randomly flowed more and gave me a much bolder line. Frustrating, again!

As far as the flex bit, straight out of the box I didn't notice much flexing or line variance with different pressures. Although the instructions mentioned taking a blade to the channel and fins to modify ink flow, and I've watched videos about grinding into the body of the nib behind the shoulder to improve flex, my only modification thus far has been to adjust the spacing of the nib and feed. By moving the feed a bit back and the nib a bit forward, I immediately saw improvement. I'll play with it a bit more and see what happens, and then post about what worked and what didn't. I figure I'll see what I can do with moving the nib and feed placements before taking a blade to the channel, and if that doesn't make me happy I'll widen the fin gaps, and if that still doesn't make me happy I'll grind into the nib, and..... Well, you can see how this is a pen that I love to hate.