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.)
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