The Noodler’s Ahab pen is a good plastic fountain pen option for the price point. And to be honest, though it is light in the hand like a plastic pen, it doesn’t look cheap or plastic-y. The metallic sheen in the color makes it look like a pricier pen. The chrome trim looks good and the construction is clean and well-assembled. Compared with the Dilli pens, this is a much nicer looking pen.
Its has a large-capacity, piston-filled ink reservoir. This gives you lots of opportunities to play with bottled inks.
At just $20, its also a great way to try a flexible nib. There are lots of color choices with the Ahab line but I chose the Amazon Pearl. There were actually several green options available so it was hard to pick just one.
If you find that a flexible nib is fun but not something you are inclined to write with everyday, the Ahab is a great way to try out one of the Goulet Pens #6 nibs. I’ve already tested out the Goulet Pens EF nib on my Jinhao X750. I used the 1.1mm italic stub nib from Goulet Pens($15) with my Ahab. The Goulet Pens nibs are chrome nibs with the Goulet ink drop logo and some etched, decorative scrollwork. They are quite pleasing and matched the chrome trim on the Ahab.
The nib worked as soon as I swapped it out and the line quality is pretty crisp thanks to the 1.1mm stub nib. It was super smooth and even left-handed and upside down, I had no trouble getting the pen to lay down a steady flow of ink.
I really like the quality and pricing of the Goulet nibs. I might buy one of the Noodler’s Acrylic Konrad fountain pens in order to have a full-time pen body for Goulet Nibs and keep this Ahab as a dedicated flex pen. (PS: A review of the Noodler’s Flex nib in this pen is coming soon!)
I tested the nib on my Rhodia No. 18 Uni Blank pad with Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku teal-y blue ink.
DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Goulet Pens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
The Goulet nibs are all super-smooth – try the 6-pack (EF, F, M, B, 1.1 & 1.5mm stubs). They are fantastic in Noodler’s Konrads and Ahabs.
I had no idea you could swap out the nib on the Ahab. I bought the “fine” point (whatever that is), and had a terrible time with it (I’m a lefty). I’d thrown it in the drawer as a loss, but if you can swap the nib maybe it’s salvageable!
I’m sure this is a great combination but one thing that I dislike about Noodler’s pens in general, Ahab in particular, is the fact that the ink evaporates quickly and it also dries up if not used daily. Have you noticed this in your Ahab?
I’ll keep an eye on how quickly the Ahab dries out and will do a follow-up.
I’ve had a Konrad for just over three months, but yeah. Writes beautifully but it’s like the ink spontaneously evaporates from inside.
I bought a Goulet 1.1 for my Konrad. I love the nib and I like the pen, but the two don’t work well together for me. I found that the pen/nib combination put out too much ink. I guess this is because the feed is designed for the flex nib. I do love the Goulet nib though and I’m thinking I would like to try the fine nib instead of the 1.1. Maybe THAT combination will prevent the really wet writing I am getting from the current combination. Now I just need to find a pen to put my Goulet 1.1 into.
You saved me with this post. I picked up a Goulet nib for my Ahab after having a lot of issues with it. Ink would drip out of it and splatter. I was done with it, but now it is working well with the Goulet nib. Thank you!