Noodler's Piston Fill Resin Pen

Today I got a nice little package from UPS.  My last article was about the "dangers" of ordering ink from Amazon (basically about how my ink bottle was damaged, leaking, and the ink seems somehow flawed).  Well, despite my deepest desires, I had to order a pen though Amazon (Usually I buy from The Goulet Pen Co.) because I needed it within two days, but couldn't put down the extra cash for more shipping (on Amazon I have the student version of Prime, so free 2-Day shipping on SOME products).

The pen came in perfect shape, though I don't really get into the UPS vs USPS vs FedEx thing (I've gotten good and bad service from the first two, and I hardly ever use FedEx).  I'm a bit spoiled from Brian Goulet's packing methods, which ensures that the products inside are bombproof (exaggeration, but they certainly are unlikely to be damaged by any sort of impact), but it wasn't damaged in the loose Amazon packing.

Inside was my new Noodler's Piston Fill Resin Pen (with a normal nib, not the flex).

It has a odor, as many have said to expect (especially Nathan, the man behind Noodler's), which some people like and some people don't.  It has an old plastic smell that reminds me of the garage in my childhood home or maybe an old tackle box, which I enjoy.  I was looking for a "vintage" looking pen without the vintage price, and the smell of this pen just completes the feel for me.

It's a small pen too, which I do prefer quite a bit.  To be truly honest, I like big pens and small pens as long as the grip feels good (I seem to be the only one that really has an issue with the Platinum Preppy grip for long writing sessions; it makes my hand sore), and this pen's slim profile feels fine to me.  The only issue I ever have with pens (going back to memories of ballpoint pens, I haven't been in the fountain pen crowd very long) is weight; I prefer a lighter pen.  This one is perfect, and is also a great "beater pen" or a pen I can use without worrying about breaking it.  Not only is it inexpensive (the Goulets have it for $14) but it's actually designed to be serviceable by the owner.  It even (supposedly, I haven't tried) fits vintage nibs, so I can find a nice old nib on ebay and make this pen super.

Right now though, the nib isn't bad.  My first pen (a Pilot Prera that I still need to get a converter for so I can use it again) was a Japanese fine, so the Noodler's fine/medium nib still feels broad to me, but I like it.  Even though it's not a flex nib, it does have a bit of flex to it (maybe semi-flex, or at least it's softer than my Lamy and Preppies).

I have it loaded up with my Heart of Darkness (the ink may be strangely unlike how it's supposed to be, but it doesn't seem to hurt pens and it dries super fast), though I may switch to Navajo Turquoise (I was initially going to put that in it, but the pen is a wet writer and the ink takes a long time to dry).

Once again, no sketches or anything to show for it (I promise I'll get some up one day, but I'm getting ready to move to another city of school so I've been busy) but I can say that I love the pen so far (I've done sketches, but nothing big or completed enough to post).  This was one of my "milestone pens", or pens that I want to try out or own at some point.  It was also a good choice (I think) for one of the early milestones because it has a few features that I wanted to try, but are normally on more expensive pens.  They are:
1.  Screw on cap.
2.  Piston Fill
3.  Vintage Style
There are other things I want to try as well (of course) but those three are the main features I've always wanted to try.  I really dig vintage stuff, and if I get to try all that for $14 then I'm totally on board.  My opinions on the first two (the last one is a personal thing that I don't have to try out) are very positive.  Screw caps may be slower than snap caps (by a few seconds at most), but they make the pen much different from most ballpoints and are definitely a vintage-feeling thing for me.  And the piston fill is something I now love.  I like converter pens too, but some of the converters (namely the Platinum, as I haven't tried many) are difficult for me to turn when wet (though Lamy converters, at least mine, are very smooth), but the piston knob is so easy to grasp and doesn't need many turns to flush.

All in all, I love the pen for it's own features (style, mechanics, price), but I also love it because it helped round out some of my collection as far as different types of pen go.  I'm hoping to get a Noodler's flex nib soon, and probably also grabbing a few more of this type of pen.  Very much wishing I hadn't put down the money on so many Preppies now, I should have gotten one of these much sooner.

(Note: I am not affiliated with The Goulet Pen Co. in any way other than being a satisfied customer.)

Dangers of Amazon?

Don't let the title confuse you, I've gotten lots of great things from Amazon before!  (Sorry to all the small online businesses that compete with Amazon, but with the free two day shipping I get for being a student, what can I say?)  However, there are a few things I don't think I'll order from Amazon again, namely ink or fountain pens.

Where did this decision come from?  Well, I haven't bought any pens from Amazon but I did buy a bottle of ink.  My first bottle of fountain pen ink ever (and it came with my first fountain pen too, I think you can guess what brand it was now XD).  It was one of the 4.5oz Noodler's eyedropper bottles of Heart of Darkness, and it came with a free eyedropper Platinum Preppy.  I love the pen and the ink, but let me tell you about the Amazon service.

So, I ordered it through Amazon using my student Amazon Prime edition (basically if you're a student and register your college email, you get free Two Day shipping [from certain sellers] and about $4 dollars for One Day shipping).  The ink came quickly, but the box that the ink was in was a total wreck (sorry, I don't have pics).  Basically, the eyedropper bulb at the top of the bottle had torn/cracked open, and about two to three mils of ink had dripped out into the box and onto the included pen and all the paperwork that comes with everything.  Could it have been caused during shipping?  Perhaps, but I don't think so.  To my eyes, it appears that the ink had likely been stored in a hot warehouse somewhere, perhaps upside down (the bulb seems as if it had been, it's oddly misshapen and has taken a memory to that shape) where the heat and stress caused the rubber to break down.  Either way, there was no sort of quality control when it left Amazon's warehouse (I don't think it was like this when it left Luxury Goods, the one who apparently packages Noodler's stuff, because I've gotten other things from Noodler's from small online businesses and they were in perfect condition.)

Did I send it back or complain?  No, I didn't really care.  I was happy to have my first ink and pen, and didn't want to deal with returns.  However, now that I look at it, I wonder if the heat or something messed up the ink itself.  Heart of Darkness is supposed to be a Bulletproof (waterproof, bleach-proof, and so on) and extremely black (based on what other people have said about their inks).  Mine, unfortunately, seems to only be water resistant (it runs and smears when a wet brush it applied to add watercolor washes, even when let dry for days) and is "dark grey" at best (I've compared it to another person's HoD and mine is lighter).  I still love the ink for it's quick drying time (less than ten seconds on Rhodia Dot Webbies), but I guess it wasn't like how I had expected.

This experience won't change my view on Noodler's inks (I love them), but it does change my view on where I get them.  Even if places like The Goulet Pen Company charge me shipping (which makes the end cost a bit more), I'd rather order from these smaller places where I know they really care about me getting my product, and storing it well until it is sold.  I'm not getting any sort of kickback at all (and I know I have no one signed up to watch my blog yet, but I'm posting this just for posterity sake), I'm just a loyal customer BECAUSE THEY DO THINGS RIGHT!

(Note:  I am not affiliated with The Goulet Pen Company other than being a loyal customer.)

Noodler's Navajo Turquoise

Yesterday I received an ink order from The Goulet Pen Company.  There were a lot of inks I wanted, but I only had about $20 to spend (which still leaves a lot of great options.  In the end though, I decided to get a 3oz bottle of Noodler's Navajo Turquoise.

I inked up my Aquamarine Lamy Safari and wrote a few things on an Ecosystem Sketchbook, an Exacompta Sketchbook, and a Rhodia Dot Webbie. 

(Sketchbook)

(Both books)
 I love the ink!  It's a little darker than the Diamine Aqua Blue I had in one of my Preppies, and it seems to shade very nicely, even in an extra fine nib.  Hopefully I can have some better photos and sketches up soon!

(Note: I am not affiliated with neither the Goulet Pen Company nor Ecosystem besides being a loyal customer.)

First Post and Welcome!

Welcome!  Expect more to come soon!

This was just a post for anyone who happens by before I post any real stuff.