The Noodlers Ahab Flex Fountain Pen Broken Down

This new Noodler’s Ahab Flex Fountain Pen is a recent purchase for me from our friends over at Goldspot, and it was kind of an impulse purchase that I had almost forgot about until after it arrived.  Having used it for a few weeks now though, I’m really glad I picked it up.  Also a quick thank you and full disclosure that my purchase of this pen included a small bloggers discount from Goldspot.

Noodlers Ahab in the Medieval Lapis Color Scheme

The version I picked up is the Medieval Lapis color scheme, which I had initially selected just because I liked how it looked before I knew much about the pen.  Once I found out more about the background of the pen I realized how good of a selection it was even if it was just dumb luck.  As you can tell from the name, it is inspired by the lead character in the classic book, Moby Dick…and the book is apparently about some large fish.

The Noodlers Ahab Cap and Clip - Fishy Shape, no?

So before I put 2 and 2 together I thought “hmm, the clip on this pen is a rather odd shape.” and then I watched the video about it on the Noodler’s site and realized I was pretty dumb.  The clip is actually in the shape of a whale from above.  The top of the clip is flat and wide like a tail fin, and then it quickly narrows and widens again to the large meaty body, then tapers down to the rounded nose/snout area.  What I really like now about my color choice is that looking at the clip head on with the Medieval Lapis color scheme gives it a nautical feel because of the mostly blue background with lighter blue and white streaks in it to make it look like my whale clip is cresting through the water.

Noodlers Ahab Flex Nib Close Up

A close up of the large nib shows something a bit different than I’m accustomed to lately, which is a very sparsely decorated nib.  It simply has the “NOODLERS INK CO” lettering stamped on it surrounded by nothing but some nice highly polished steel.  Sometimes simplicity is best, especially on a pen with so much other design element worked into it.

Noodlers Ahab Pump fill System

The pump fill system on the Noodler’s Ahab Fountain Pen works very nicely, although the first time you press the plunger down you feel like you might be pressing too hard and could break it.  After that though it loosens up and by simply dipping the nib into a bottle of ink, it takes two quick and easy pumps of the plunger and you have a reservoir FULL of ink.  When I say “full” I mean it in two ways though because not only does it fill to the very top, but it is also quite large so it holds a ton of ink.  If you are interested in having this pen hold even more ink, it easily converts to an eyedropper pen as well with a no extra equipment needed.  Instructions on how to do this are included below in the link to the Noodler’s page, and are also documented in the instructions that come with this fountain pen.

Noodlers Ahab Flex Fountain Pen Writing Sample

Writing with the pen proved to be a really fun experience once I practiced a bit and got back into the grove of actually writing in script.  I think the last time I wrote anything in script (besides signing my name) was close to 20 years ago…typing that make me feel VERY old now.  If you click on the scan above you can see the various widths of lines that can be achieved with the flex nib by using slightly different pressure when writing.  The ink I used for the writing sample was Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses, which has some really nice tones and shading to it when used with this pen.  Overall, the nib wrote pretty smooth and it definitely gives your writing some more flair, although you will want to practice a bit with it before you write anything important or that you want to look nice.  Earlier when I mentioned that the pen holds a lot of ink, you will want to keep in mind that as you take advantage of the nib flexing capabilities, you will be laying down more ink, so although it holds more you may actually get less writing done with one fill up.

Also, on the official Noodler’s site there is a great video that walks through all of the creative design concept behind the pen, and also gives you some nice lessons on history, economics, the environment, and literature.  Nathan from Noodler’s is a very smart and well rounded guy, although the video is a bit long, it is certainly well worth watching.  I know there have been some supply issues with these pens because of the high demand, but check out the Goldspot page with Noodler’s Ahab Flex Fountain Pen to see what is currently available.  If you have not used a flex nib fountain pen before, or are just looking for a high quality version at a great price, this one is well worth the money.

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