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I hate this pen: Noodlers Konrad
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- Опубликовано: 14 авг 2024
- Hello pen friends!
We are continuing our series on pens I hate. Today, we are going to talk about the Noodler’s Konrad. Yuck.
Let me know your favorite pen to hate on in the comments! Or if you like this pen and you want to tell me why I should give it another chance, I guess you can leave that comment too. I’m only half-committed to this whole pen loathing thing.
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Contents:
00:00 Introduction
01:26 Parts and features
07:02 Ink fill
09:39 Test lines
15:12 Test drawing
16:26 Final thoughts
Silicon oil on the piston and blind cap. Clean the cap and body with a ten-to-one bleach mixture. They clean up and perform fine when you do this. Also cleaning it with a bleach mixture, the order will go away. It is outfitted with a flex nib which takes time to master.
I still think this pen isn’t for me, but I’m going to pin this comment because it’s one of the most helpful rebuttals to this video I could possibly think of.
@@stepheninks It might be better if you tried heat-setting the nib
I like the feel and the smell of the resin that noodler's uses. I only have their Charlie but it's my favorite and getting their Nib Creeper next. I do like tinkering and Noodler's is definitely for people who like to tinker.
I know that with tinkering these pens can go a lot of different places. I could never get them to do what I wanted, so I found things that better matched my needs. If you know that’s what you like, the. You’ll probably be happy with getting the next model.
@@stepheninks when I say tinkering I mean constantly. Almost every refill they need a slight adjustment to the nib or feed. It is both slightly annoying but meditative, forces me to pause and think. But yeah they arent consistent which would be frustrating for drawing.
I think the biggest appeal for people drawing with these pens, is the idea of it being like an "on the go" dip pen. I don't currently have a flex nib fountain pen (from what i've seen they all have "quirks"), but i have managed to get a hunt no 99 drawing nib to work in a noodlers charlie pen ( the free one you get with the 4.5 oz bottles). My biggest grips is that fountain pen ink when layed on very wet takes a lot longer to dry than india or sumi ink does when applied with a dip pen or brush. Also when laid on heavy you tend to get shading with the fountain pen inks vs the Opacity you get with the carbon based India and Sumi inks (i almost always draw with black ink I use colors for accents). My usual on the go pen is an ex-fine lamy safari with noodlers heart of darkness ink, and if i need to lay down thiker lines, i carry a Pentel pocket brush pen. I've just settled into drawing with a different style when using a fountain pen vs when using dip pens, because at the end of the day there really doesn't seem to be a good "on the go" dip pen.
I’ve gone deep down that rabbit hole myself. I actually started out using dip pens before fountain pens, and I wanted a pen that would cover everything a dip pen did. I even did that Jinhao Zebra G-nib thing, which is also pretty disappointing. I think it’s probably best to play with lots of different tools, and use the best version of something that you can get. For flexible nibs, I think that is dip pens.
I bought a Noodler’s Konrad back when they first came out and everyone wanted one. You are entirely correct in everything you say about them, from that smell to the stupid fake end cap thing. It stuck to the actual end piece all the time. So frustrating. And yes, the ink got all over the place, onto my fingers, the pen, the table - everywhere. It was such a pain to do anything with. I’ve never seen a fountain pen stain so bad either. Ugh. So, yeah, I agree with you. Totally. So glad I’m not the only one that felt this way. So many expressed love for this pen and I never understood why
Yeah, I feel more like I should say something since so many people love this pen for some reason. I found myself soooo disappointed by it when I first got it.
What I am really interested in is materials you do like. Do you have a video for your favorite materials and why they are your favorite. I am just a beginner so I like to spend my time on what works best. Thanks for all your videos. At my stage these videos are so helpful.
That would actually be a great idea for a new video, as I don’t have any new pens to review at this time. What I would get if I had to start over… or maybe what I would recommend as a minimalist setup. I’m sure most people don’t necessarily want to have 50+ pens and want to know what’s good/reliable. I do have a top 10 pen video from about 2 years ago. Although some of my newer pens might make it into the ranking if I redid that video (and maybe I should), everything on that list is still a solid recommend.
I don't have a problem with heatsetting the nib as it quite literally takes 30 seconds and it's one of those things that just goes into normal off the shelf cleaning for me. Clean the entire pen thoroughly and then reassemble and heatset because even a pen that's off the shelf perfect might be slightly misaligned when I reassemble it. I'm also a fan of how the resin feels, the nibs in the ones I have received haven't required any work whatsoever, just clean , heatset, fill and off to the races.
I’m genuinely glad that it works for you. It was just too much upkeep for me, and I constantly found the nib out of alignment with the feed, needing adjustment, etc. maybe I got a bad one, but I think it just represents a lane of the one world that isn’t for me. From the looks of this comment section, it seems like this pen has split the community. I still feel like this is a good place to have this conversation, as long as we can be cool to each other when we don’t agree.
@@stepheninks They definitely aren't for everyone. You can get a pen well above what you paid for them in terms of performance but it does require some work. I've seen expensive pens that require nib tuning and such but a lot of people would be pissed at a 300+ dollar high end pen needing work (myself included) and yeah with Noodlers I just kind of expect it. I haven't had the negative experiences with them that others have had because I knew what I was getting into when I bought them, not finding out after and I didn't even try to write with them prior to cleaning and heat setting. I will say the Charlie (The free one with 4.5oz bottles) is one of my every day pens. I just love the simple little thing and mine happens to write great. Because it was literally free I don't baby it at all. I put whatever inks in it I want, I will just toss it in a bag etc. The stinky veg plastic is quite shock resistant and doesn't tend to crack. I might be one of the people that has a problem with them if my first experience had been going in blind expecting a perfect pen out of the box. One thing if the feed misaligns it might be that it isn't pressed in far enough or the nib isn't pressed in far enough, it's kinda finicky and takes a couple tries to get everything lined up and such. Yours could also just be defective if it isn't staying put. There are ways to fix that but it's probably not worth it since you're already not a fan of the pen and I doubt fixing that on issue would really change your feelings towards them. They definitely aren't perfect by a long shot, and aren't my most favoritist pens in the whole wide world but I do enjoy them for multiple reasons. One of which being the huge color variety for the Ahab, another being the multiple filling options and the nice posting caps on basically all of them. They also tend to not have dryout issues like other inexpensive pens often do if left to sit for a while. One other point I will make is because they are so cheap, and parts are easy to replace, one might not care as much about messing something up learning to work on them. Want to cut the feed to experiment with different flow characteristics? No problem. Want to make your own ink and test it in a pen that you won't mind if it destroys? Want to try grinding your own nib tips? Stuff like that. But if all you want is a pen that you can just fill with ink and take to paper, it's definitely not the pen for you.
I think the pens are excellent for writing and if you're gonna primarily use it for writing letters it's extra excellent... But I don't think I would want to use a harder use like drawing with these pens.
So there's pros in cons and this was a good video.
Anybody have any recommendations for easy to use fountain pins with a flex snip? That don't break the bank?
It's really hard to find objective reviews like this, people are either sponsored or they blindly love a brand
But I use a can cleaner or a diluted bleach mixture about every other or every third time I change the ink, I do This because of a habit From other devices that you still need to stay clean in the current pence
Ironically, I really love Noodler’s inks, so I wanted to be biased against this pen, but I just couldn’t like it, at the end of the day. I have heard some good things about Fountain Pen Revolution flex nibs, but I have not had the best experience with their pens in general, they seem to be more of the same issues to me. Conklin makes an “omniflex” nib that’s okay (review of it on my All American can be found on this channel) but it’s a bit mushy, and doesn’t have the snap that I think Noodler’s does better. Actually, my most positive experience with steel flex nibs is with the Noodler’s nib Creaper. I still don’t like it (maybe flex just isn’t for me), but I feel like it has better control than the Konrad, and is a little bit less wet. It also cleans better, despite being made from the same material. I don’t know why.
With regards to your questioning the point of fine lines in a flex nib, some of the writing methods around the Copperplate script benefit quite a lot from having an extremely fine line that then flexes very wide. Spencerian hand in particular comes to mind for this, and while it’s not my own personal favourite script to read, I know that this style of line variation is conducive to its form.
I love writing calligraphy with flexible nibs, and have spent a little bit of money trying to find an affordable, sensible fountain pen solution to a really good flexible nib, but my experiences so far haven’t been ideal. I avoided Noodler’s for various reasons, and I think all of the points you mention here would also be things I’d hold against a pen. Ultimately, dip pen nibs are so cheap and good for this that I have accepted that I’m happy enough just using my dip pens for that purpose, and I stick to stub nibs or mono line nibs in my fountain pens. Perhaps one of these days I’ll find one of those mythological vintage ‘wet noodle’ fountain pens that people love to idolise and be willing to part with the money for it.
Yeah, I get the reasoning behind wanting variable line weights. It’s just that this pen really doesn’t do enough to satisfy that for me. I would love for there to be a pen that has great flow AND line width variation, but I’ve never seen anything that can’t do one without sacrificing the other.
I totally agree, dip pens are definitely the way to go if that’s what you’re looking for.
@@stepheninks Yes, absolutely. As much as I love the handsome and convenient aspects of my fountain pens, I don't think they're reliable enough in this particular category when I can buy the best nib imaginable for a dip pen for just a few dollars.
The Konrad was one of three first fountain pens I purchased for school. I still use it, but I switched out the Noodler’s “flex nib” for a FPR Ultra flex and it’s a match made in heaven for me. That Noodler’s flex nib is anything but, however I think it was a good starter for me as someone that needed to learn to chill out on my “monkey grip” from using ballpoint pens.
This is intriguing to me as I owned them both at the same time and could detect no particular difference in performance between them. Neither worked out for me, glad the combo works for you.
I appreciate this perspective here, and I’m glad you found something you like. I’m kind of with @ichirofakename in that I don’t really see much of a difference with any steel flex nib I have tried, including the one I got on my Conklin All American, which I ended up swapping out for something I liked better.
Had my Konrad since 2017. Still smells to this day. My wife complains about it whenever I open my pen box. lol I'm really just waiting for her to ask me to get rid of it. I want to, but I'm kind of attached to it because it just works.
You know it smells when you’re using it and someone else complains. Haha. I think the thing about this pen is, if you really like it, there’s nothing like it and you’ve just got to have it. It’s not for me but I’m glad it has a dedicated fan base.
haahahah...Only a couple of hours ago, my friend was raving about this 36$ cad, fountain pen.
I ordered one from amazon. = Noodlers ink konrad flex medium nib / clear demo piston fill.
I like the fact that I won't have to buy cartridges all the time, when i run out.
I should be recieving it in a couple of weeks...
Thanks for sharing your experiences with this *"I hate this pen"* ...I will be comparing it to my collection of :
Lamy Vista Fine / Lamy safari medium / Parker Vector medium / Pilot Kakuno Medium & Manuscript medium ..
To be fair, I’m a bit in the minority hating this pen. It’s really popular. It’s just not for me. If you’re looking for another piston filling pen after this one, you might be interested in the Twsbi Go or Eco.
Love my Konrad. Needed some nib tuning, otherwise a great little pen. The smell doesn’t bother me either.
I’m genuinely glad it’s works for some. I certainly like it better than the somewhat similar offerings from Fountain Pen Revolution (FPR). For me, it would be a different review entirely if it wasn’t so wet of a line maker. I also kind of got used to the smell, but felt it should be mentioned. I’m really behind the idea of using a bioplastic.
I just ordered my second Konrad. I have three Ahab pens and a Nib Creeper (Standard). I really like Noodler’s pens. I’m a guy that loves to tinker with all kinds of things. So the Noodler’s pens are perfect pen for me. I also like to draw and these pens work great for my drawing style. I’ll not get into the feeds and such, because there really is no point. If you want a pen that requires no tinkering. Just spend money. There are lots of those pens around and lots of companies would love to have your cash. The great thing about Noodler’s pens is if you take your time to learn about the pen and you’re willing to tinker. You’ll be rewarded with a pen that will work the way you want. Not how someone else wants your pen to work. I understand your issue. You don’t like the Konrad because you can’t be bothered to learn how to get what you want from it. Noodler’s pens aren’t for everyone and that’s okay.
That's a good point, that Noodler's pens are for tinkerers. However, we non-tinkerers need not necessarily spend more; there are quite a few good choices for even less. For instance, I just bought a Jinhao 82 for $10 that suits me to a T.
@@ichirofakename If it works for you and meets all your needs thats great. I’ve got some Jinhao X159’s, some 750s and 450s. I think I even tried the 80s. They didn’t work for me.
I agree definitely that there are certain pens for certain people. For me, even though I do like to tinker with things (much to the distress of my poor wife when I leave things out), it just needs to start from somewhere close to what I want, and I just want more control. I have spent hours with this pen and others like it (FPR, and I also used to have a Creaper), and they have always been (in my opinion) excessively wet, prone to blobbing, and impossible to se in relation to the nib and feed. I bought these pens before I really knew what I wanted, so I guess I can be grateful that now I know that this isn’t it. I’m glad they work for you.
@@stepheninks You can get regular Noodler’s writing nibs for the Ahab and Konrad. You can also slow down the amount of ink by pulling the breather tube in the Ahab/Konrad feed and putting a dab of rubber cement over the breather tube hole or by covering or filling some of the gaps in the feed fins with rubber cement. You can also slow down the ink flow on the Konrad by moving the feed further into the section. Just pull out the nib and feed, move the feed further back on the nib, then reinstall them together. I noticed your feed was pretty far forward and that makes it run super wet.
I used micro mesh to polish the nibs on mine so I could use them to reverse write and make super thin lines. Then I can flip it around and use the pen in the normal position for bolder, heavier lines. Modding the nib for more flex was super easy with a Dremel tool and a grinding stone. I’ve spent maybe an hour of my time at most on any of my Ahabs, Konrads or Nib Creeper. The ones that are stock unmodified pens I’ve spent maybe 15 minutes on including heat setting the feed. I watched enough RUclips videos and tinkered with mine enough that I’ve pretty much got it down to a science. I hate to see people give up on these pens because I know how good they can be. As far as the smell goes. Complete disassembly of the pen and packing it in coffee grounds for a week or so seems to work for lots of people. The smell doesn’t bother me that much for some reason.
@@FriedPi-mc5yt I appreciate these suggestions. Even after spending hours with this pen trying to make it work for me I haven’t had any response as detailed. I’ll probably try a few of them. If it converts me over, I’ll definitely make a new video. Thank you for taking the time to write all that out.
I've got a love/hate relationship with Noodler's. The ink is great and I love the concept of the pens. I'm a tinkerer and like tweaking my tools to my liking and these pens are good for that, for me. The vegetal resin has it's issues though. It's too soft and moisture evaporates out way too quickly.
Having said that, I'm seriously thinking about getting myself the acrylic Konrad for Christmas.
I’d say that I’m more in that way than full on hate as well. For me the conflict is more the feed/nib… but the other things you mentioned come up for me too.
Get a UV A lamp with a wavelenght of 360-405nm, that should cure the resin and get rid of the smell
Thanks for the tip! I wonder why they didn’t just do that themselves before shipping the pen out? Surely no one would miss that stench!
Agreed, other better options for the price. I have a Nib Creaper, not a bad little pen, behaves. I have also had experience with
ebonite feeds that get way too wet. Wonder if there are varying qualities of ebonite, I would think yes.
My only experience with ebonite feeds is from cheaper pens, so you could be right about that.
I don't think this pen is for me at all, but im curious about how you say its gummy feeling. Is that just when two peices of the pens plastic contact eachother or does it also feel a bit gummy under your fingers?
Love the drawing at the end!
It’s a little bit of both. I mentioned the blind cap sticking to the end in the video, but I also feel that the threads on the cap catch sometimes. But if I’ve been using this pen for a long time, it also does start to feel… not quite sticky, but like I said, gummy. Like unpleasantly tactile. Maybe that’s just me though, I do have very warm hands.
Thanks!
Thank You!
The moment he said he knew what that pen tasted like...brave man. I'll give you a thumbs-up just for that. 😂
I’ve been to some dark places.
So noodlers konrad is identical to the FPR Indus?
I’m not familiar with that pen, but I can tell you that another FPR pen that I had at one time had an ink window made of the same material. I don’t think these pens are made by the same manufacturer, but there are both from India, and I would guess they function in a similar manner.
That sherwood green has a red sheen when you lay the ink down heavy on the right paper - ink resistant for slow drying. Its a great effect that stands out when you use the flex nib for shading in calligraphy and different handwriting styles. The flex nib is great for line variation in drawing too, same as a dip pen. Just takes alot of practice to use it correctly.
I agree that the pen stinks like diapers.
I think that steel flex does work for some people, but for me, I like non-flex nibs better. I can run over my lines again to get the line variation I want. Different (pen) strokes for different folks, I guess.
@Stephen_Inks I'm curious, did you try this Konrad with any other inks besides the Sherwood Green? As someone has commented, the Sherwood has red sheen. I immediately figured it wouldn't be a good ink for you being left handed, due to the dry time. As to the problems you're having with the pen body itself, I have to wonder if the vegetal resin isn't breaking down. It shouldn't be sticky or gummy. The fact that you say it's yellowed also makes me wonder - unless you flushed it with warm water. That will discolor it. If that's not the case, then perhaps either an ink you used, or something you flushed it with - or something on your skin could be causing the breakdown. Do you use any products on your skin, or routinely using some art supply that could contain a chemical or component that would cause the resin to break down. Oils, especially petroleum products would be suspect. But even plant based oils can cause it. You also mentioned having warm hands - it could be one or more of these things contributing. It could be that the pen you got specifically is the problem. The problems that are due to the vegetal resin would be alleviated by getting an acrylic Konrad instead, but then it wouldn't be a demonstrator. And the ahab/konrad feeds are juicy, by necessity and as you said your fingers were getting too close - slipping, maybe even? You wrote that the creaper worked at least somewhat better. And you like the Preppy - sounds like thinner pens work better for you. I get that - I love the Noodler's Charlie and Creaper better for that reason, I suspect, though I just ordered my first Konrad. Perhaps you may want to avoid any pens in future with #6 nibs. You mentioned not liking Konrad because you need to feel closer to your work. I immediately thought of how you like your preppy - a thinner pen. I totality get that feeling you were describing because though I'm not an artist like you I feel that way with writing. I also love the Twsbi Eco - same narrow nib. I have a Twsbi 580 and I don't mind it, but I don't get the same feeling as with the Eco. I think it's more about nib size but even some people selling fountain pens don't get that about nib size - they seem to think only the writing tip size (ef, f, m, etc) is all that really matters. I disagree. And nib size (#4, #5, #6 etc) effects the barrel width, which affects your grip and comfort etc. When it comes to nibs, size very much does matter. Hope at least some of this helps.. someone. Thanks for sharing your experience with Konrad. I hope I won't be disappointed with mine when it arrives. If so I'll be buying a whack of nib creapers in various colors for different inks.
I got a Charlie and thought it would be great to use it daily and try different inks just because its so cheap i wouldn’t have to worry about. But it leaks to much for my confort when i write with it, and the smell is just… i tried to spray some perfume and somewhat manages to hide the smell… And as you said, it didn’t write at first and i have to seek a video on how to make it write- instead of writing in the first place after i fill it with the ink.
The big thing is the nib and feed needs adjusting constantly. I have a folded napkin or ink cloth to adjust it to avoid a mess. Also try some silicone grease on the threads that stops leaking pretty well on mine.
I feel like I wouldn’t mind tinkering if it gave me something decent to start with, but I feel like I had to do all the tinkering for “average” working (for me anyway) so it’s been a bit frustrating to use.
@@stepheninks you don't have to tinker, you just have to heat set the nib. Takes approximately 1 minute 15 seconds.
@@ZulgurubI’m aware of heatsetting. I’ve seen countless videos on it, including the one from Nathan, whose pen this is. It just never worked for me, no matter how many times I tried it. I counldnt tell you what I’m doing wrong, I followed the instructions exactly. I even tried slightly different ways of doing it. Same result each time. I’m glad it works for some, and I’m genuinely not trying to ruin anyone’s good time, but this has overall been a frustrating experience.
@@stepheninks then you got a defective unit and should have returned it. Simple as. You are dealing with a sample size of one.
You're not wrong. My experiences with my Konrad were similar, and yet, it is a well-loved part of my collection. Go figure.
I have the clear Konrad. It is stained especially between the cap liner and the cap. It's *easily* my ugliest, smelliest pen. I installed one of the Noodler's untipped artist's calligraphy nibs, which I smoothed. It writes like a fine stub with a little bounce and a hint of flex. love the way it feels on the page and what it does for my handwriting. It's my favorite ugly duckling and I often have it clipped to the Molle straps on the outside of my backpack. What's the worst that can happen? It'll get scratched? Would I even notice? I'm not precious about it.
Fair enough. Some people must like it, because it IS a beloved pen series (though I think that the Ahab and Creaper tend to get more attention than this one)
Almost 10 years owning our Noodler’s Creaper, leaving it out to sun whatnot, and it still stinks! Ours also doesn’t seal well, the ink evaporates super quick.
Yeah, that happens to me too.
Just to be the Deil`s advocate for a second, it`s probably a better writer than a drawing pen, but a stinky pen isn`t good for anything imo, I have a very strong sense of smell lol
I could see that. Actually, there are some urban sketcher/journaler type people I follow on Instagram that use Noodlers pens, and I LOVE what they make with them. It’s just not a fun pen for me to use.
I don't have any Konrads, but I have a couple of Noodlers I barely use. I probably don't need to buy any more. Too leaky, and there are so many other good pens for the price. But with those, and whenever I get a free Charlie, I take it apart to the smallest bits and soak it in baking soda water (add baking soda until it will no longer dissolve) for at least 24 hours. Cuts almost all of the vomit smell and tackiness. Smell is very faint after, barely noticeable. Never tried the sun method. Socialism or barbarism!
Oh I really like the broken clock robot. Very clever!
The killer for this pen is definitely the competition. So many good pens out there in this price range. Of course, sometimes I recommend something that everyone hates, so who knows what’s right anyway?
I also hated my Noodlers pen. I have hyperosmia and I couldn't even have it in the same room as me! I thought it smelled like barf. I have given up on flex. I am a side writer and have just accepted it is not for me.
Try bluedrew nib unit. I too side write. Just the angle change of thick line. Beautiful effect. It's best $35 I spent on nib.
@@gyatak200hmmm. $35 isn't that bad! I'll put it on the list.
I don’t get flex. There are so many other great things pens can do, I don’t understand the obsession.
1. Being left-handed is really only problematic when writing, right? Just draw in the opposite direction.
2. I would hate my various Noodler's pens if I still had any of them. And it's NOT because of the smell, which I find chemical rather than organic, and which just doesn't bother me, sorry. The pens are ungreat and I find I can DRAW a varying line better with repeated marks from a normal nib.
3. Ever the contrarian, I would recommend this pen anyway. Those curious about flex should start out with a low-tier selection, before investing big bucks in the cool-sounding but perhaps counterproductive flex feature. If you like it, THEN move on up.
4. Flex is bogus just like gold is bogus. But don't listen to me - spend your own money to find out.
1. First of all, I can be problematic whenever I want. But in seriousness, when I draw, my hand goes up and down, all around the paper. If my pen smudges, I’m gonna get got. That’s actually one of the things I really like about (most) fountain pens.
2. I’m with you. I even kind of like a pen that’s a big ol’ swing and a miss, but this is also kind of underwhelming to use.
3. Fair point. But I feel a responsibility to let those people know that you might have a bad time with it. I know I did.
@@stepheninks your fair point is a fair point.