A full ink bottle in trade for demonstration purposes

Some ebonite safety pens are finally back in stock along with a few of the acrylic konrad piston fillers shown in the video of this thumbnail. Ebonite safety pens will be back in stock in the UK ASAP. Brush Ahabs back in stock soon....

[@Rubedo777]

Great to see you again Nathan 😊

[@Julian-bq9qv]

This man is a treasure and a great blessing to the pen and ink communities.

[@randy-9842]

Nathan, I definitely enjoy your videos ... and, of course, your products! Thanks!

[@Julian-bq9qv]

Would it be GREAT if, someday, twenty years from now, a young author of a best selling book, said in the preface, "I had never considered really pursuing my interest in writing as a career but one day while wandering through the woods and enjoying nature, I found an old fountain pen in the grass and picked it up and took it home. I admired its design and simplicity and decided to try writing with it and the rest is history."

[@Johan-vk5yd]

It may already have happened!

[@InkNeedLastForever]

I think I'm up to more than 40 lost pens in the woods...some of them pricey vintage models still out there since the 90s. Fingers crossed it has happened or will happen - or that the stainless steel murex survived the elements (back when they were about $30). Getting in and out of pine and holly trees is the main culprit (some of those trees belong in Monty Python or Harry Potter due to their rank rudeness).

[@mayomancer527]

I just got my first bottle of noodler's black on the mail a few days ago, it has earned a permanent spot in my eyedropper kaweco sport. Cheers from Brazil!

[@ReCharredSigh]

Fairly new fountain pen user here (think 1.5+ years more or less), but just wanted to say thanks Nathan for making such wonderful fp inks at a cheap price here in the us. I have no experience using your other products, but your inks that i've bought and used perform wonderfully.

[@doc_sav]

It is incredible that everything Nathan does, down to how he loses his pens, is done to "the advantage of the fountain pen", as he says on the Noodler's website. It is so unheard of for a company to be founded and driven primarily on principles.

[@Johan-vk5yd]

@@doc_sav I agree! Maybe it would be more of a challenge to keep those principles, if a company had several employees?

[@doc_sav]

@@Johan-vk5yd Probably!

[@InkNeedLastForever]

@@Johan-vk5yd Massachusetts...so long as I remain here...will likely always be hostile to factories and industrial expansion of any kind! lol

[@idimiditavicorpzone5954]

Cozy & practical video. I kept thinking about my beloved Ahab which had an accident where the filler unit cracked along its threads spontaneously, and wishing one could buy a handful of those as easily as the rollerball replacements. I also have the 308 catridges but they always burp ink a lot for me in the Ahab, which the original filler unit almost never does.

[@InkNeedLastForever]

I'm making a copy of what I posted above here: "Copy your post and my reply and email it with your address to Luxury Brands. That part is available....no need to cannibalize any pen for it. The breather tube allows the air to balance out with atmospheric expansion - just as it does with such vintage pens as the Parker 51. It enables a far more productive two stroke filling by removing the air to be replaced with ink, as well as to balance pressures to stabilize the air/ink interchange. The breather tube matters....if missing, ask for that as well."

[@idimiditavicorpzone5954]

@@InkNeedLastForever Will do, many thanks Nathan! Looking forward to bring that Ahab back in fulltime action.

[@bold2013]

Finding a pen in the woods sounds like a providence…

[@StillNobodyYT]

Nathan, I love your videos like this because it feels like I'm talking to a friend who's demonstrating something about pens or ink to me. Keep it up, I love your work!

[@MisterDeets]

I like the cut of your gib. Any man that fires his products from a shotgun has my respect and attention.

[@james0x2a]

I was very excited to find 1984 and Censor Red today at my local pen shop. Bought both! Love your work, sir!

[@InkNeedLastForever]

Sometimes a silenced or shadow banned person only has a label on a bottle to speak for him. That label still has me staring at it and re-reading it, even though I wrote it myself. If it were not still at least a little bit of a free country, I would be in jail for it.

[@ERH1453]

...and just like that (snap) they are gone.

[@kogai311]

Glad to see another video! Looking forward to getting my hands on one of those inkball pens

[@Taib89]

I finally got rid of all of my inks and replaced them with Noodler's inks. I have a 3 oz bottle and a 4.5 oz bottle of Noodler's Black; a bottle of Noodler's #41 Brown; Noodler's Navy; and Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses. I found out that if you mix a little bit of Noodlers Black with Noodler's #41 Brown, it becomes a really nice-looking, well-behaving and bulletproof ink. All my inks are from Noodler's. They are the best inks for me.

[@christophergallagher531]

I have found nothing better than Noodler's Black on Tyvek. For winter Polar Blue did the trick. Thanks Chris

[@MatthewHilbertsBaritone]

Thanks so much for all you do to keep this affordable. Even here in Australia Noodler's is still a smidgin cheaper than Quink. Also, loving the colours in the Nib Creapers, just got my 2nd and 3rd (about 10 years after my first), and got my sister her first, and we both love all the colours.

[@InkNeedLastForever]

I kept every vintage pen that stated "Made in Australia" once I left the University. Australian made Onoto pens were my favorite for their close resemblance in many instances to Carter's Pearltex colors made in Massachusetts (a very early and marvelous plastic, though not as color fast and durable as I would have liked...yet the WW II Aussie versions almost never discolored!). I did the vintage repairs for J. Walch & Sons in Launceston and Hobart Tasmania for many years. Fascinating pens you have there...just amazing variety often not known here in the states and in Canada. Wish shipping were not so awful now, or more effort could be made to get Noodler's back in Aust.

[@jerryw255]

Awesome ink, videos on your products. I love to tinker with your pens. I REALLY appreciate your affordable pricing.

[@mikaelblomqvist7212]

I only use noodler’s ink for my drawings. Starten with fountain pens one year ago. Your pens and ink are just inspiration. Wish it was easier to get hold of your products in sweden.

[@Johan-vk5yd]

Stiloestile in Italy is an EU retailer for Noodler’s. Hope it helps!

[@mikaelblomqvist7212]

I know about them. Thanks. I have used goulet pens, but it is so expensive with FedEx and paying taxes. But still, it has been worth it!

[@InkNeedLastForever]

@@mikaelblomqvist7212 We shipped direct to Sweden for a few years (2005-9 ?) and there were some custom Swedish Noodler's inks...including with the Swedish flag. If that retailer in Stockholm is reading this and is still in business, give me a call...same number. Nobody else is in conflict for distribution there and we have a far better means of shipping to that location to greatly reduce costs to the consumer.

[@ERH1453]

​@@InkNeedLastForever If I use an Ahab w/the .308, is the air tube needed?!

[@TheGovernor-qt9uu]

Don't know if you found a supplier or not yet, but in case you haven't - 24Papershop in Amsterdam has a good selection of Noodler's products, both inks and pens. Got my 4.5 oz bottle of Borealis Black about a year ago and I love both the ink and the Charlie pen that came with it :)

[@mrfoodarama]

Thanks for all you do Nathan!

[@MsTamp-qn4xw]

Thank you so much for showing these pens. I thought the rollerballs were no longer made. I got mine I think fairly early. It has a red cap with a wavy Noodler's Ink print. I'm surprised to hear that people find the roller part a luxury piece! I had the luck to come across several boxes of pens from an office supply store that were dried out and in a clearance bin for $.25 and I purchased them all. I pulled the roller and felt part and after a rinse was delighted to find they fit my pen perfectly! I have used up maybe 2 or 3 since them, but have several in F and M as well as a few reserved for certain inks.

[@Johan-vk5yd]

Very useful video! I like to use a Konrad resin pen for carpentry, with Noodler’s X-feather, for the durability of the pen, and the crisp line of the nib. Also my jumbo 308 cartridges suffer from a tendency to burp when I use them in my Neponset ebonite. It got a bit better when I wiped the threading of the pen body as dry from silicone as I could, but the tendency remains. My original piston cartridge (which never burped) broke from my mistreatment, so I would like to be able to purchase replacement piston cartridges too. I even thought of buying a Noodler’s Ahab just to cannibalize it, but that would somehow feel unethical.

[@InkNeedLastForever]

Copy your post and my reply and email it with your address to Luxury Brands. That part is available....no need to cannibalize any pen for it. The breather tube allows the air to balance out with atmospheric expansion - just as it does with such vintage pens as the Parker 51. It enables a far more productive two stroke filling by removing the air to be replaced with ink, as well as to balance pressures to stabilize the air/ink interchange. The breather tube matters....if missing, ask for that as well.

[@Johan-vk5yd]

@@InkNeedLastForever Thanks a lot! I’ll refit the breather tube to begin with. I once removed the breather tube to be able to reduce excessive flow by blocking the central hole the feed (on your video advice. I used red silicone sealant in order to make reversal easy) I’ll try and balance the flow some other way, and hopefully report the result in another comment. Thanks again!

[@TheGovernor-qt9uu]

Mr. Tardif, I just purchased my first bottles of Noodler's inks, after years of being in the fountain pen hobby. Unfortunately, where I'm from, choice of ink is very limited and Noodler's is not a brand I was able to get until now. I got the 4.5 oz Borealis Black and a 3 oz Navy, with another 3 oz Black Eel on the way. So far, I've tried the Noodler's Borealis Black and I love it. The color's nice, it flows well and does not smear. The Charlie pen that came with it is inked up and I really like it; the one I got has a nice red cap with swirly marble(ish?) accents. It's simple, but it gets the job done. I'll be adding it to my daily carry. Thank you for what you do! Take care.

[@ginopagnani7286]

Thanks Nathan, informative as always.

[@doc_sav]

I bought a Konrad brush pen today, and am very excited because I hadn't really realized that was a thing. I have also been experimenting with Black, Heart of Darkness, and Borealis black over the last week, which has been very enjoyable.

[@InkNeedLastForever]

My greatest challenge with a brush pen is to hold it firmly enough to maintain a fine line for more than a few inches while using only the very few strands at the very tip. I envy those who posses surgeon's steady hands!

[@gabemadorma2933]

Would Noodlers consider putting out a parts pack with extra o-rings, breather tubes, converters, feeds, etc? I habitually loose my breather tubes and I think it’d do well for those of us who want to maintain our pens after years of use.

[@InkNeedLastForever]

That's a good idea. I fear what shipping does to everything now in terms of the final costs to the consumer, but will see about making something like that available.

[@gabemadorma2933]

@@InkNeedLastForever Thanks! It would be a great one time fix all, I’d likely pair the shipping with my next ink purchase. One pen with multiple feeds could work for different use cases (although most companies would prefer you buy multiple pens). I always appreciate Noodler’s respect for the consumer’s dollar.

[@TheFortKnight]

Great idea!! Definitely matches up with Nathan’s appreciation for “tinkerers”.

[@JoshBabin]

This would be great. The threading on my Ahab's piston "converter" is shot, and don't adequately hang onto the grip section (plus the breather tube disappeared....)

[@cmdreltonpoole6303]

Noodler's Heart of Darkness and 54th Massachusetts are my all time favourite inks.

[@tsherbs1309]

HOD for me!

[@RONSPOTZ]

I know that you fixed the Boston Safety Pen, but I've broken three Konrads, The Dixie # 10,. Hoping you could bring them back with a beefer plunger screw. The Dixie 10 is my favorite pen and I've written 3 1/2 books with it.

[@InkNeedLastForever]

What do you need? Is it the piston assembly? There is a guy here in New England with parts.... ;-)

[@RONSPOTZ]

@@InkNeedLastForever It is hard to explain, but this is the third one that the problem happened to. The screw that moves the plunger popped out of the holder, and I was told to just push it back in, and it finally gave way and will not hold anymore. I did that, and it weakened the stationary part of the plastic. I own several different types of piston fill pens and never had a problem with them. I just wish it was built a little stronger. The Dixie #10 is by far my favorite pen. I've tried Pelican and others, but the Noodler's fits my hand and feels warm. Hard to explain, but I love it.

[@InkNeedLastForever]

@@RONSPOTZ I'm sending a supply of those units for the couple of people who need them here to Luxury Brands - so you can have extras. The design evolved and is stronger - the metal pin in the end, for example (at the time I was ecstatic that a piston filler could be offered to the public for that cost - so many of them with similar build and materials were so much more pricier in the prior two decades - it was so bad that I would have paid 600%+ more for my own pens had a time machine made them available back in 1990! "Noodler's who? Nice pen though - and love this filler and material!" Time travel would be the curse of us all due to practical jokers. A tripletail in 1990? My wallet would have been emptied.)

[@inerlogic]

I call it the "Stranded Times" Or the "Sub-Standard Times" I wasn't notified about your new videos.... KZbin playing games no doubt...

[@squarebackjedi]

My experience too.

[@jacobslemmer6168]

Is pure pens the only place to get one of your safety pens? Thanks for all you do Nathan. Would love to speak with you about involvement in youth-centered creativity events. The basic idea is to gather families, but especially children, and share various creative mediums with them. I believe writing is at the top of the list of skills one could acquire, and that the fun of it should not be outweighed by it’s practicality or benefits, though no stone ought be left unturned, and no child left behind. Take care Nathan 💚

[@Gregwisconsin]

What’s the secret to keeping the clarity of the material as it is in this vid? Is that new style rollerball sold in the USA? Thanks for the video and the fair pricing.

[@InkNeedLastForever]

Clarity of the filled pens or the empty pens? The new roller will be in the states soon, probably the next run.

[@Gregwisconsin]

@@InkNeedLastForever empty

[@InkNeedLastForever]

@@Gregwisconsin They are new production, but I can get pretty old pens clear on the exterior (remove the fog of wear) with a gentle polish using a soft cloth that has some tripoli or rouge rubbed into the cloth. Remove the clip when polishing, otherwise it will look very uneven. A damp paper towel with household ammonia will clear away any rouge or tripoli that is left on the surface. Hope that helps.

[@timmarshall4881]

Always interesting.

[@tylermarcum1307]

This reminds me of an OxiClean commercial!

[@bakybabyx]

I'll be honest, after this video, I looked up and became infatuated with the black rollerball that you showed off in this vid to the point where I had to buy one( on ebay for around £40). May I ask if you ever sold them in the UK? It's such a beautiful pen, and I've been looking for one like that for such a long time.

[@thorold]

I think Pure Pens have some Konrad roller ball pens for sale. Hard to find the Noodlers Roller Eel ink over here though!

[@doc_sav]

I also tracked down and bought that Konrad right after watching this video. I thought I wasn't going to buy another pen for a while, but seeing that one, and the possibility of a brush tip, changed my mind very quickly. Now I also want one of the new version brush pens and a Tripletail, but those will have to wait unfortunately.

[@bakybabyx]

@@thorold I know I've seen the transparent ones on their website, but after watching reviews, I couldn't help but not purchase the black one shown in this vid.

[@bakybabyx]

@@doc_sav Yeah lol, it had actually been a while since I've purchased a new pen. I wish I had encountered it earlier.

[@InkNeedLastForever]

www.purepens.co.uk/collections/all/products/noodlers-konrad-rollerball-pen-clear-demonstrator I believe they have the new one in stock (no longer is made with the ebonite feed). I thought the ebonite feed was an interesting throw back for an ink ball pen (19th century, may I introduce you to the 20th?), but it turns out the new model accepts replacement tips with greater ease and the material forms itself to the steel of the roller housing more snugly. I was also captivated by the rings within the inner feed unit...especially when filled with black or blue ghost.

[@clementesantosv157]

Hello Nathan. Is it possible to purchase a Konrad piston unit? My Konrad Rollerball's piston rod pushed out of its bushing and just tore the base of the filling knob

[@InkNeedLastForever]

I am sending a supply of them to Luxury Brands - they should arrive sometime next week. They are the older model (black). Copy this post in an email to them.

[@alegen8920]

Great video. Does anybody know what companies Nathan is referring to when talking about italian and japanese fountain pen rollerballs?

[@InkNeedLastForever]

They were in retail more prevalently in prior years. Just did a search myself. I recall the replacement to the Italian model was a section unit that cost about $30....Visconti, I think? There was a "Ken Pen" model made in Japan (60s-70s) with cart./convertor and used a ruby bearing, similar to the German versions made from approx. 1938 to the early 1960s which also used ruby bearings. The Noodler's version escapes that expense and can often use a cleaned (soak in ammonia) similar size and diameter steel unit from various disposable rollerball pens! Thus, a replacement could in theory....be free by design.

[@calem7566]

Nathan, Thanks so much for another video and more work on brush pens! I am going to miss the ebony feed on the new Konrad but I completely understand the economical reasons. I have been using the brush pens for several years and I tried the ball bearing in the Ahab as you mentioned in one of your awesome videos and I have been making my own brushes for them If you want to check out pictures of having fun with your pens there is a page on my web site (link in my youtube profile). I would love to teach a drawing class with your pens some day. The emphasis on affordability and improvisation or 'tinkering' is so great! Also I have some ideas about air ink exchange I would really like to share with you at some point partly because I am curious if there are historical precedents. Do you happen to have a good source for longer material the same nylon as the brush replacement you offer for the Ahab? I really like the capillary action/ and pliability (Drilling the hole or gluing around a dummy cylinder/ferule was harder than I thought!) Also the sources I have found for the air tubes are just not quite right.. the tube walls are too thick and seem to restrict air flow... Anyhow really I just want to say thank you thank you and thank you. The pens and videos are awesome!

[@InkNeedLastForever]

Raiding the brushes from the art supplies sold at thrift stores was the source for many restorations of fine vintage Japanese brush pens! Natural brushes can be used with water based/pH neutral inks for quite some time. Medical supply companies offer breather tubes provided you have the exact parameters - that is where I used to get different sizes for use with the endless variety of vintage pens. Also - pure silver tubing could be used in the Parker 51 aerometric...which I believe was original and has held up for 30 years, but stainless steel always enabled me to sleep better after re-assembly. I'm sending extra breather tubes as well to Luxury Brands (Ahab, Neponset, Tripletail).

[@calem7566]

@@InkNeedLastForever Great info! Yes I was doing exactly that - disassembling old art brushes. Thanks again!

[@1RamTough]

Nathan, I am using some Noodler’s Tolstoy. I really like the color, but it doesn’t seem to be flowing through my pen very well. I have a Pilot metropolitan medium nib w/ the COV-40 converter. Do you have any suggestions to get this ink to work, or another ink that is the same color and bulletproof? Thanks

[@InkNeedLastForever]

I made it for use with an ebonite feed with a deep feed channel (Noodler's Pens sort of being designed with Noodler's Ink in mind?? ;-). I also have it working in one of the ink ball piston fillers shown in the above video...which has not been rinsed or cleaned for a long time yet still starts right away. I don't own the Pilot pen in question...but I did a lot of work on Pilot feeds a couple decades ago. If several inks were used and they were hesitating...and disassembly was usually made a little difficult by the manufacturer...I used a pulsating water pick with a soapy ammonia solution to pulse out all obstructions from the previous inks that had dried out/accumulated in many a murex and 1960s Pilot feed. I would keep at it until tap water flowed easily through the feed/section and light could be seen between the nib tines. Not sure if they still sell water picks for dental use...but it worked marvels if one had more than 100 murex pens to get up and running. In addition, refilling the pen regularly/whenever there is hesitation can sometimes keep such a stingy feed more pleasant.

[@KNFX787]

Nathan, I know this doesn't apply to this video, but my grandson dropped my Boston safety on it's nib, and bent it pretty bad. Would you have any replacement nibs for the safety, or at least another nib that would fit that I can steal from another pen to get it up and running again. I thought that maybe the nib reaper nib may fit, but I hat the steal that nib if you have one available as parts.

[@InkNeedLastForever]

It will fit any charlie nib, nib creaper....and most vintage #2 nibs (such as waterman, conklin, moore, many warranted, wahl, parker, etc....a common switch - in fact, it was expected that many safety pen owners would eventually switch to a vintage nib....as many 120 year old nibs far outlasted the pens they were once in and some people are brahmin by nature and prefer gold to that steel the yankee prefers - and a Noodler's ebonite safety is a LOT less costly than the vintage equivalent pens in ebonite). I think there is a nib kit some retailers offer of various Noodler's nibs as well. I'll also make sure there are extras at Luxury Brands, just in case you need to go that route.

[@KNFX787]

@@InkNeedLastForever Thanks for the info Nathan, I thought that the nib creaper would fit. I think Goulet pens may have the nib packs your referring to. I'll check with them. And I think noodler's pens are still the best value for your money of any pen manufacturer out there today, and I appreciate the fact that you keep all your pens affordable for us common folks who can't afford to pay the premium prices of other manufacturers for the economy and durability of fountain pens for daily use. Thanks for all you do to keep things affordable for us who are frugal by nature.

[@ORLY21]

Will the old style rollerball Konrad take the new style feed?

[@InkNeedLastForever]

The threads are different - and remember, the old style ink ball had a hand made ebonite feed, so - quite different. You can jerry rig it - teflon tape wrapped at the threads to fit the old unit...just be sure not to wrap the breather hole/vent.

[@bold2013]

Anyone know where I can get a new clear Konrad rollerball? I see old ones but not new ones.

[@InkNeedLastForever]

Right now they are here: www.purepens.co.uk/collections/all/products/noodlers-konrad-rollerball-pen-clear-demonstrator As they ran out of the ebonite feed model, I assume all of them are now 100% clear....but it would not hurt to ask them just to make certain. These will be available in the states likely before the year is out.

[@adamhudson9853]

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