Ahab thoughts

Took it apart and washed it with with dish soap and then clean water. Flushed it out a couple of times. Inked it up with BBB. I think I really like this pen other than the smell. This is a much better size for me than the Parker 21. Not as "polished" as the Parker (a few scratches and blemishes) for a new pen. Did I mention the stench yet? I really like that you can take it apart to fix it if needed (or try to in my case). My big "complaint" other than the aroma is the annoying little breather tube thing. I've dropped that thing 3x so far and have had to chase it around the office and being small and clear it is a pain in the posterior to find. That should be made of fluorescent orange for people like me. Seems like a really wet writer though I'm sure I can play with it a bit. I'll be taking with me to a meeting for the next two days so I will see how it behaves. All in all I like it. I would still probably like to get a Parker 51 someday just to see what they are like but this Ahab and my Pelikano Jr. will meet my needs and most of my wants for the year.

I use witch hazel to get rid of the smell of colognes in atomizers, you may want to try giving the pen a wash in some.

Not sure if witch hazel would work - its not a residue that causes the Noodler's pens to smell, but the materials themselves - a bit of time is all it takes for the worst of the smell to fade away.

I agree. My Ahab Demonstrator had an awful smell at first, but within a week or so it had completely dissipated.

Suzuki said:

Not sure if witch hazel would work - its not a residue that causes the Noodler's pens to smell, but the materials themselves - a bit of time is all it takes for the worst of the smell to fade away.

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Indeed, but I'm not so sure the scent will ever go away completely. I have a Noodler's pen that I ordered almost a year ago now. It still smells just the same way it did when it got here, just less intense than it first did.

I keep my pens in a (converted) cigar box, so the smell was replaced with that aroma pretty quickly (to my pleasure). I like the pen, but I think I'd be fine without the flex nib. I was more intrigued by the filling system and size of the pen. For practical use, the flex is just there - neither a benefit nor a drawback. However, a nice firm stub would be super.

It's been a good pen for me the two weeks I've had it. Time will tell.