Noodler's Ink Piston Fill Flex Nib Clear Demonstrator Medium Point Fountain Pen - ND-17000

This nib is so-ooo good at a bargain price. Buy it for the nib and the great ink flow. It's the best I've found in a contemporary pen. Pardon my less than stellar penmanship skills in the photo I posted, but that's written fast on ordinary xerox paper with Noodler's Army Green ink. I can't believe how good this nib is!The pen itself seems a bit flimsy. It does have a smell that dissipates over time, though I can still smell it if I put it up close to my nose. I'd put up with a lot more than that for this nib, but I wouldn't gift it because of the odor. ( I took points off for that reason.)

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.

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.

I've never written an amazon review and never planned to but this pen deserved a horrible review.This pen stinks. It absolutely stinks. The smell will haunt you in your dreams.So much that I am throwing it out.It also doesn't flex very much. You are much better off saving some money and buying a proper flex nib like one from Pilot. Please save yourself the money.

This is a very nice pen with great features -- piston filler, nice weight, elegant and classic design, flex nib -- and at a bargain price. But, unfortunately, the awful (almost nauseating) smell makes it unusable. Even when washed with warm water and a mild dish soap the pen's bad smell did not go away.Note to manufacturer: PLEASE use a different material -- this pen would be wonderful if it did not smell bad. As it is, it sadly cannot be recommended.

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.