What a fun pen this is. I had often read about the Noodler’s Ahab and its eyedropper filling capability but did not get my hands on one until visiting the London pen show in October. There was a good display of Noodler’s pens and inks, including the Ahab in various brightly coloured demonstrator options. Also there was a helpful display of writing samples of the inks in the range.
I was able to try an Ahab and was shown how to convert to eyedropper by removing the pump filler and rolling down the O ring so that it sealed the join between the barrel and the section instead of between the pump filler and section.
I was impressed by the unusual pump filler mechanism with its large capacity in which even the hollow tubular pump handle holds ink.
I decided upon a clear demonstrator Ahab and a bottle of Noodler’s Sequoia ink, an unusual olive green-black.
The pen came in a small, simple cardboard box with a helpful A4 sheet of information and pictures.
At home I was excited to fill the pen for the first time with the Sequoia. The writing experience was very pleasurable from the smooth, fine, flex nib, giving nice light and heavy shading. The only issue was that it tended to blob occasionally but I later learnt that this was easily avoided by releasing three to five drops after filling.
I am now on my sixth different ink within a month. After the Sequoia, I tried Mont Blanc Burgundy red, Diamine Pumpkin, Waterman Harmonious Green, Parker Quink Black and finally Omas Blue which I like the best, for the moment anyway. I do not remember ever before trying so many different inks in a pen, in such a short time.

The pen is such a joy to use that I pick it frequently and write just for the pleasure of it.

We do not see Noodler’s pens in the shops in the UK which is a pity as they would make a good alternative to the Lamy Safari or entry-level Parker pens and may even encourage more people to experience the joy of fountain pen writing.