Noodlers Neponset Fountain Pens Reviews

The Neponset isn't anything like the Ahab. I love my Ahab, and thought the music-style nib of the Neponset would be like the Ahab on steroids. It wasn't. Even after heat-setting and fidgeting and adjusting, the feed never could keep up enough ink flow to supply those flexy steel times. Even if I tried my darndest to not over-flex them, the ink would sputter and stop every other letter-- I cleaned it out and tossed it in the thrift-store pile and returned to my trusty Ahab.

I was pleased at the look, and size of my Neponset black & white swirl fountain pen. but hate the nib.
It writes much too wet, then goes to a dry scratchy mode. I own several Noodler's Ink fountain pens. This is my first and last Neponset pen. Sorry I bought it.

a very colorful pen indeed ! the music nib gets a bit of getting used to while writing . I smoothened the edges on a 200 grain sand paper lightly ! now it writes perfectly to my style . the 3 trine nib is a first for me and is quite an experience . well much like a gold 750 smooth nib indeed . Good as in 7.5 on 10 scale !! K patel .

I am a HUGE fan of Noodler’s fountain and my absolute favorite are the Neponset. The various finishes are what draws me in. I wanted this specific one but saw that they were getting harder to find or they were more than the original price. So when I saw that Pen Chalet had this one AND that they had a discount coupon I snapped it up!! I am a hard working consumer and I buy things with care. If I see a vendor give a ‘real’ discount on their products I take notice. I have seen vendors that advertise that the items are now discounted but it’s the same price as it’s always been I don’t ever buy anything from them. Pen Chalet was the real deal. Thank you!

Purchased on sale. Nib is unreliable, as the tines lose adjustment easily. Not a flex, but stiff and with variable inking. Cap/barrel threading is iffy and one need guard against cross-threading. I made the pen work with a different #6 nib I had on hand.

Note that this model has no replacement ink reservoir for sale, no "Vishnu" nibs (why would one want another) and no ebonite feed for sale that matches the original. Replacement #6 nibs may or may not work since the section retention gizmo has been changed. The Ahab/Konrad ebonite feed floods the nib if you try that as a replacement.

I would venture a guess that this model is soon retired, given the diminished stock-on hand of the various retailers and the lack of replacement parts.


The Neponset is over-priced to begin with. Indian ebonite pens are widely available - and with sections in various threading - not press-fits, I find some Noodler's inks useful, especially the Black, HoD and ELL Black so I am not anti-Noodler's.

Pen Chalet service is fast and reliable. I note that many reviews are favorable for the Neponset. I have it writing quite nicely now - but it is now an Indian ebonite body with a good Conklin nib which was manufactured by a German nib producer.

Such a cool Pen, so fun to write with, and really shows an inks full potential. I haven’t had to fiddle with mine at all, worked like a champ out of the box, where my Ahab always needs tweaking. Perfect for shading inks.

Very nice pens. I have two: one in red Ebonite and one in resin. They are both well made pens and a nice oversize writer. I've switched to modified Zebra G nibs in both of them because the music nibs are just too broad and wet for my own use. They do write well and have great flex, but sometimes require tuning / adjusting if after flexing the nibs can get out of alignment. They work terrific with G-nibs, and other #6 size replacement nibs - the feeds are very wet so no starvation when flexing.

I got the Neponset in Ebonite. I 100% recommend the ebonite over the acrylic. The feel and weight in your hand is a level of quality above what acrylic provides. The inside of the pen has a weird odor of some kind that I hope dissipates over time: I think this is true of all Noodler's pens, because of the materials used in the ink filling system. The music nib is very flexible. The line variation is subtle however. It writes broadly. The feed is also very deep, if you hold the pen at a low angle to the page, the feed will touch the paper and leave an ink stain. The nib has feedback but not a scratchy feeling. Hard to determine if the tines are fully aligned since there are three rather than two.

Pen was everything I expected. Great transaction.

I got the Lemon Drop colored pen and it's a beaut. It's a pretty color and impresses girls. "Can I try your pen?"
"Sure, let me show you how to do italic lettering. Just let me guide your hand..."

This is a big pen; it does post pretty securely, but why bother?
It's large and well balanced w/o posting. The nib is a revolution. I've been variously irritated by the "flex" in Noodler's various nibs. They can be real nails that flex out if you really bear down, but it's no fun to write like that. Not with this nib. It's a juicy monster that gives all kinds of line variation with a light touch. It takes a little finesse, but the quality of this nib is the best steel flexibility I've ever seen. It's really fun. The pen itself is a whole different level of quality than other Noodler's pens, which are bargains and mostly quite well made, don't get me wrong. But dang, this pen, in it's traditional design, is about half or a quarter the retail cost of a Japanese or Italian made comparable pen. I'm giving this an Excellent in the Style category because of the way Noodler's has worked a two slit, rubber feed, to support the two slit flexy nib so it's a really sexy writer. Stock up on your sheening inks; it's a fire hose.
Just btw, if it's a little scratchy at first, don't start messing with abrasives. Write with it for several pages and see if the pressure on paper doesn't make it buttery and responsive. This is a quality nib; don't go adjusting it because it won't be available w/o the pen in the foreseeable future (I'll bet a million dollars that N's wants to limit sales to nibs with pens for optimal profitability: the nib and feed are a weird size, not 6 but 6 1/2-7? I know of no other pen with the same size parts. Or for the price, anything like this quality.