If you have followed this blog for a while, you have probably noticed I am an avid Lamy Safari user. I draw with them, I write with them, I use them every day at work, and they are lovely. I never clean them, I just keep filling them up with Noodler´s bulletproof ink, treat them badly and keep on using them.
Last week, however, I ordered two Noodler´s flex nib pens from the Goulet pen company in USA. I have read a little about fountain pens with flex nibs online, but they all seemed to be vintage, and you have to be more or less a rich fanatic to even get hold of one. Then I found a review on the $14 Noodler´s pen, and I was curious to try a nib with more flex than the Lamy, so I ordered a couple. The pens arrived yesterday – surprisingly fast, in my opinion, for an order from the US.
I have only used them for a few hours yet, but I love them. As in LOVE them. So far. The flex in these nibs has to be spelled in capital letters, they are really FLEXY. They are super sensitive to the way I draw, just a slight change in pressure against the paper surface gives a lot of variety in line width.
So what could go wrong? Well, they could start leaking. I hate that. And they could become scratchy, or start dripping. They could skip, or dry out so I´d have to clean them. I hate that too. (I know you´re supposed to clean fountain pens, but the Lamy Safaris have set the standard for how often I do it. Which is never.)
I´ll keep drawing with these fellas for a few days and let you know how it goes.
18 x 14 cm, Noodler´s flex nib pen with Noodler´s Lexington grey and Noodler´s Fox Red ink on small Moleskine sketchbook spread.