The Noodler’s Boston Safety Pen is made of ebonite, a traditional material used for vintage safety pens. Safety pens are designed to help prevent any ink from leaking while capped. Unlike traditional fountain pens that seal around the grip when closed, the safety pen helps to create a seal right at the ink reservoir. They are not as vulnerable to pressure changes when traveling. They also start right up after periods of non-use due to the fact that the nib and feed stay submerged in ink when retracted. Please note that all Boston Safety pens will now come with a metal core made of surgical stainless steel.
When you first open it, you will notice that the nib is completely retracted into the barrel. To expose the nib, simply push and twist on the back of the pen, keeping the pen in a vertical position with the nib facing up. This is important! Otherwise the entirety of the ink supply will pour out of the pen. Slowly twist and push all the way up.
To fill this pen, retract the nib fully back into the barrel of the pen, and fill using an eyedropper or an ink syringe with no more than 1ml (to avoid overfilling and spillage).
To close the pen, you will need to retract the nib back into the barrel, keeping it vertical with the nib facing up, before screwing the cap back on.
We strongly recommend that you watch Nathan’s video below on best practices for using and filling this pen, as it is unlike anything else we carry.
It uses a #2 flexible nib, the same as the Noodler’s Nib Creaper flex pen.
The Noodler's flex pens were designed for the hands-on tinkerer - they are made to be taken apart and adjusted. The nib and feed pull right out and can be adjusted and heat set for optimal performance. Don't be afraid to get a little ink on your fingers while you learn how to use this pen.
As a simple rule of thumb for writing with a flex pen, just apply slight pressure on your downstrokes, which will spread the tines and increase the line width, achieving that optimal line variation. Make sure to go slowly so that the ink can keep up with your writing. As with any flex pen, it just takes practice!
Due to the residual machining oils used when cutting the feeds for these pens, we highly encourage you to give the pen a good flush before use. We recommend any of the following options: distilled water, water with a touch of dish soap, a pre-packaged pen flush, or a solution of 10% clear ammonia to water. This should resolve most ink flow issues!
Click here to download the printable PDF instruction sheet for the Noodler's Boston Safety Pen.
