This week we’re going to delve into the realm of Safety Pens and specifically the Noodler’s Boston Safety Pen. Noodlers Ink Company recently released a new Safety Pen and we thought it would be a good idea to write an instructional guide for the pen. We’re going to cover many things, from it’s design, use, and how to fill the pen. To top it all off, you can enter down below for a chance to win the Noodler’s Boston Safety Pen that we used to make this guide!
What is a Safety Pen and Why Would I Use One?
Safety Pens have been around for many years. Designed to be able to use any kind of ink, Safety Pens have a unique advantage over other fountain pens. Simply put, a Safety Pen is a pen in which the nib rests inside the barrel, or ink chamber, of the pen. This way, the nib and the feed are in constant contact with the ink. For example, the Noodler’s Boston Safety Pen has a nib unit that retracts into the barrel or ink chamber. Because of this, while capped it creates a tighter seal and the nib flooded with ink to keep the pen from drying out as fast. As well, you can use non-fountain pen friendly ink such as India Inks and heavier Iron Gall inks. Another great feature to note, is that it is safe to fly with a Noodler’s Boston Safety pen. It can even withstand shaking without having leakage.
How do I Fill a Noodler’s Boston Safety Pen?
The Noodler’s Boston Safety Pen has an eyedropper fill system. The entire barrel is the ink chamber. In the video below, we show you simply how to fill your Boston Safety Pen. Here is a step-by-step description:
- Uncap your Boston Safety Pen, and keep the opening of the barrel facing upwards.
- Take a bottle of your favorite ink and carefully fill an eyedropper with 1ml-1.5ml. Note: Overfilling the pen past the point of the bottom where the nib meets the housing will cause the excess ink to spill when extending the nib. The Noodler’s Boston Safety Pen should only be filled with approximately 1ml-1.5ml of ink.
- Using the eyedropper, gently squeeze or pour the ink into the barrel. Again, please note to keep the opening of the barrel facing up during this entire process.
- Either cap the pen for storage or extend the nib to use the pen using the instruction below.
How do I Use a Noodler’s Boston Safety Pen?
Because the nib and feed can be retracted, there are certain features of the pen that can cause some confusion. Here is a step-by-step process of how to extend and retract the nib and feed:
- First, uncap the pen, making sure that the opening in the barrel is facing up.
- Second, gently push on the back end of the pen. This will extend the nib as far as it will go out of the barrel of the pen.
- Then to lock the nib in place, you will need to twist the back end of the barrel clockwise until it tightens. This will lock the nib unit in place and create a tight seal.
To retract the nib:
- Make sure the pen is pointing nib up.
- Then, twist the back end of the pen counter-clockwise. This unlocks the nib unit, and breaks the tight seal you made earlier.
- Gently pull the back end of the barrel, allowing the nib to fully retract.
- Make sure you remember to cap the pen while the barrel opening is still facing upwards. If not, you may have an inky surprise awaiting.
Note: The nib must be retracted into the pen BEFORE capping the pen. Failure to do so may damage the nib as the tip of the nib will contact the inside of the cap.
If you have any other questions about the Noodler’s Boston Safety Pen, take a look at the video below, and the video on the product page! Comment below with your thoughts, and share this with your friends!
Noodlers Boston Safety Pen Instructional Video
Enter to Win a Noodler’s Boston Safety Pen
Enter to Win the Noodler’s Boston Safety Pen that we used to make this guide!
This review was helpful. I had not heard of a “safety pen” before.
Wonderful giveaway! I hope to win as this would be a very different pen for this newbie.
I learned something!
I’ve never seen this colorway on the safety pen before… looks cool. Could be an inky mess, but I want to try it.
Right now, my favorite ink is KWZ Azure #5. Of all the blues, it is the one I just can’t stop using.
This is intriguing. I think I may need one of these!
I’m not sure what my “favorite ink is” But right now I’m enjoying OS Walden Pond and OS Twilight blue!
My current favorite ink is Noodler’s Air Corp Blue/Black – which is actually a beautiful teal.
I’d love it!
Thank you for the pic. on how to fill. 🙂
I’m excited about this pen! Looks fantastic…
A very interesting pen with nice coloring. I think I could get used to this pen.
Wow! I am pretty sure I’d start with something nice and washable until I got used to it (and learned to trust the seal). Ha! Great review and giveaway…thanks!
Strange pen, I like it !
I’d be interested in learning more about Platinum Carbon inks.
What a great giveaway!
Always wanted to try this pen… I thought these were no longer available. Thank you 🙂
This looks like a great pen to match with Noodler’s Oxblood.
Very cool. I’ve never heard of a safety pen before.
And my current favorite ink is Blackstone Barrier Reef Blue.
Really cool pen! Thanks for doing the give-away!
What an interesting pen! I’d love to win one as it sounds perfect for my sketching which uses a number of different inks and sometimes some of the ones like India Ink that are tough on regular fountain pens.
That’s a pretty cool pen – alas, the video isn’t available that is embedded in the post.
Currently I’m in to archival inks and I would love to see a blog post featuring different types of archival inks. Especially black (really dark ones) and blue that I could use for sketching. Thanks!
Very interesting pen! Would love to give it a try.
Nemosine inks are interesting, would like to see comparison of similar colors to other brands.
Great, informative article – thanks!!
Thank you!
Yama-dori
What a cool concept! I can’t wait to find out more about this pen. I’d ink it with Monteverde Brown Sugar
What should you review next? ALL THE THINGS! Ok, that’s less than helpful, so my favorite ink is Lamy Dark Lilac.
A very interesting pen! I look forward to adding it to my collection. Thanks for the info!
Noodler’s always has a different type of pen, I don’t think anyone else makes pens like theirs.
this pen is interesting. would love to give it a try someday.
Favorite ink is Noodler’s 54th Massachusetts. It wrights on almost any paper from poor quality to the Rite-In-The-Rain waterproof paper, it is pretty darned permanent, its color is acceptable in any situation (although it’s not my favorite color). It just works.
I like this new color
At present, my favorite ink remains Kon Peki.
I would love to try this pen using Chinese Sumo (India) ink. It would be fantastic with watercolor washes. Is it really true that you can use “any” ink? Even Acrylic inks?
Thanks for the post. This is the first I’ve heard of the “safety pen”. I gotta get one.
I like the idea of being able to fly with this.
Favorite Noodler’s Ink is Liberty’s Elysium.
Thanks for the GAW. This is a very interesting pen.
Awesome giveaway! As for inks, I would like to see reviews of the Krishna inks. Also, Colorverse.
I actually like to use a lot of inks for painting. But I’d have to say my favorite that I use in my pens is still Noodler’s Bulletproof Black because I can use watercolors with it. Thanks for this review of the safety pen, I had never heard of one and would like to try it with some of my glittery inks and India inks that I am afraid to use in my other fountain pens.
Instructional video is great. I should be able to use it without wearing too much ink.
I think it’s great that retailers are finally getting this pen in stock. Now I’m hoping that someone gets a shipment of Committee of Safety inks!
That is certainly an interesting pen to have in the collection but probably not an everyday writer. Thanks for the introduction to the “Safety Pen”.
Could be perfect as my airplane pen
What an interesting design!
Cool pen and post about it! I would love to learn more about the Colorverse inks you’ve started carrying, especially Dark Energy.
Kind of a cool pen. Love the colors.
Thanks for the info! I figured a safety pen didn’t leak, but I didn’t know how it works. I have to admit, as much as I love my fountain pens, all my favorites do leak and they always seem to when I have bright blue ink in them!