Noodler's Music Nib Neponset

I really thought I would keep this all to myself. I never want to rock the boat or start anything, but with the love/hate relationship the fountain pen community has with Noodler's Ink, I really wanted to share what I firmly believe is the most beautiful pen that has come out of Nathan Tardif's workshop.

It all started with a bottle of Noodler's Ink Baystate Blue.



I will be the first to admit that BSB is messy, it stains, and it has a mind of its own... but I love it. I think it is more vibrant than anything else you can put in a fountain pen. I know it is not for everyone, but I took the plunge and haven't looked back. I e-mailed Brian Goulet to see if he knew anything about the "tax-achusetts" label more than what the youtube video had talked about it. He told me to talk to Dick Egolf at Luxury Brands. Dick and I talked a few times. In the end, he told me to send it straight to Nathan... that was in October.

Fast forward to April and the close of the artist competition...



I was shocked... I have seen other people's neponsets and none of them seem to have the same material as this one... and I haven't heard of anyone with a music nib. I was even more shocked when I ran across my pen and my name in one of Nathan's post in the artist contest topic (Fountain Pen Network).

It is a true music nib with three tines.



My writing sample of it, does not give it justice...



Noodler's Neponset w/ Music Nib (Black Swan in English Roses), TWSBI 540 with a Fine (Green Marine), Schmidt EF nib in a kit pen (Noodler's Black), Noodler's Ahab W/ Flex nib (Baystate Blue)

For the sake of the name... I did copy down a piece of music I was learning for violin... happens to be the tune my wife walked down the aisle to.



It lays down so much ink, and the staff paper I have was really made for pencil... it is probably 20lb paper... I had feathering and bleed through. It was, none the less, an enjoyable experience.

It is definitely a smooth writer. It worked out of the box with out nary a problem. It has great flex, but I have no ability to write with flex. I had posted the following on the Artist Contest topic but I am putting it up again, because you can see more of the line variation.



I guess my point is, great things are churning at Noodler's... if you have been turned off in the past, I would challenge you to give them a second chance. I really truly believe that Nathan has more a mind to keep fountain pens and ink alive more than he wants to make money. For me, the willingness to send out all these pens... and to send me this beauty... dare I say a grail pen... is proof that Noodler's really just wants us all to be happy.

Again, I am not trying to pick a fight with the naysayers... I don't know any better way to say "Thank-you Nathan, I love the pen" than to get up on a soap box and wave it in the air.


UPDATE:

I forgot some comparison photos... I think these are the more common / identifiable pens I have



Platinum Preppy (this one has the highlighter insert... just gave away the FP) , Lamy Safari, Lamy 2000, Noodler's Ahab, Noodler's Neponset, Shaeffer 330, Noodler's Nib Creaper, Wearever Pennant, TWSBI 540



Uncapped... sorry the Lamy 2k is not the same size as the Ahab... things were not stable.

It is a big guy, it does stick out the shirt pocket a bit... but for such a beautiful pen... I am ok with it.

Comparing it to other pens on the Pen Data Page from VintagePens.com ... no affiliation... you can see it is a big pen. It is 14.7/15 cm long and about 14.9 mm wide. It is not far from the dimensions of the MontBlanc 149.. with some obvious differences... or course... The only other things that are close in size are the Conway Stewart Churchill LE (but it had flat ends), Namiki Custom Impressions (Also flat ends), Sheaffer Senior Balance (Very close appearance when you look at trim and clip.... and it is from the late 20s) Same thing with the Sheaffer Balance II.

I would love to see Noodler's turn this one into a vaccumatic... or a level fill... classic..


UPDATE:

Compared to the Noodler's Ahab


Neponset and Ahap ... classic Noodler's, you can see a ray of light through the tines of the neponset.



Music nib just would not fit well in an ahab... caps too small



Massive ebonite feed



Neopnset does have the double wall o-ring in the plunger. and it seems like it might be a smingen longer...



The thing barely fits in my case... not a huge collection in there right now.... a few are in a converted cigar case (its has never had cigars... but the fit is perfect) and a couple in the book bag.


UPDATE:


The images is a little rough... I have never done 3d pens before.... but I just had this thought in my head ...