Noodler's Triple Tail Flex Fountain Pen - Clear
Introducing the newest flex pen from Noodler's! The Triple Tail features a new body resin which is a cotton butyrate mix. It has a more clear body than other clear Noodler's models. The Triple Tail also features a new three-tined #6 flex steel nib which is smooth as butter and lays down a generous amount of ink with nice line variation. The nib and feed feature a threaded housing.
To fill the pen, submerge the nib and feed into your ink bottle, then move the filler rod two full strokes. Wipe excess ink off, and you're good to write! The entire pen can be disassembled and reassembled by hand.
It also accepts the Noodler's 308 refillable cartridges.
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 twist 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 Triple Tail Flex Pen.
- Condition
- New
- Brand
- Noodler's
- Type
- Fountain Pens
- Color
- Clear
- Demonstrator
Whether or not the barrel of the pen is translucent, allowing you to see the ink and filling mechanism inside.
- Yes
- Body Material
- Resin
- Cap Rotations
For pens with a screw-cap closure, how many rotations it takes to uncap/recap the pen.
- 1.5
- Cap Type
How the cap is opened/closed from the barrel of the pen. Some common options include Snap-Cap, Screw-Cap, Magnetic Cap, or Capless (no cap).
- Screw-cap
- Compatible inks & refills
Which ink this pen will accept. Choices include bottled ink and various styles of pre-filled ink cartridges.
- Bottled ink
- Filling Mechanism
How the pen fills with ink. Click here to watch our video tutorial on common filling mechanisms.
- Piston
- Grip Material
- Resin
- Nib Size
- Flex, Music
- Nib Color
- Silver
- Nib Material
- Steel
- Postable
Whether or not the cap fits securely onto the back of the barrel when open.
- Yes
- Retractable
Whether or not the nib/tip can retract into the body of the pen (usually for click or twist-open style pens).
- No
- Diameter - Body
- 14mm (0.55in)
- Diameter - Cap (without clip)
- 16mm (0.63in)
- Diameter - Cap (with clip)
- 19.2mm (0.76in)
- Diameter - Grip (mm)
Measured from the place most people choose to rest their fingers, which varies with each pen.
- 10.5mm
- Length - Body
The measurement from the back end of the barrel to the tip of the nib.
- 131.8mm (5.19in)
- Length - Cap
- 70.2mm (2.76in)
- Length - Nib
The measured length of the visible portion of the nib when it is installed in the pen, from grip to tip.
- 21mm (0.83in)
- Length - Overall (Closed)
- 151.6mm (5.97in)
- Length - Overall (Posted)
When the cap of the pen is posted onto the back of the pen body, this is the measurement of the entire pen including the nib.
- 176.8mm (6.96in)
- Weight - Body
If a converter is included with the pen, this weight is reflected in the total.
- 13g (0.46oz)
- Weight - Cap
- 7g (0.25oz)
- Weight - Overall (g)
- 21.0g
- Max Ink Capacity - Eyedropper
The maximum volume of ink that can fit in the pen when filling the entire barrel of the pen via eyedropper.
- 6.84ml
- Max Ink Capacity - Piston Vac
The maximum volume of ink that can fit in the pen when using the built-in piston or vacuum filling mechanism.
- 1.90ml
Customer Reviews
This is not a bad pen it worked really well (after fixing some initial leakage in the nib unit just needed a thorough cleaning).
The nib is so flexy that it makes it a bit hard to handle at least for my level of writing.
(A small sidenote the plastic of the pen stank but it went away after 2 days)
First off, Goulet customer service is fantastic. Pen arrived with issues and after one email they sent a new pen next day. Thank you Goulet team!
For the actual pen, it has plenty of line variation, but the lines don't get very fine unless you are really trying. It's typically twice the thickness of a Lamy M nib.
Regarding ink, this pen writes very wet. It will take awhile to dry. On the same note, because it piles ink, the color appears a lot darker. In good news if you like shading or glitter, you will get plenty of that!
Cleaning this pen is also fairly easy. The hardest part is some small sections that need thin strips of paper to clean, but nothing a little elbow grease can't handle.
Overall, I recommend this pen if you enjoy thick, wet lines. It's not a daily driver but it really shows the beauty of certain inks.
Received the pen today and was looking so forward to writing with it. Right out of the box one of the tines was bent. The ink does not flow at all. Tried several times to heat set and refill reservoir. Will be returning for sure. Awful writing experience and crappy design. Where is the quality control for a pen this expensive??? Pens costing 20 cents at least write lines. This pen is a complete joke.
I love my Ahab and hearing the Triple Tail was like a step up in quality with a thicker line, I was excited to try it. I had some troubles with my Ahab initially and thought I'd be able to work through ink flow issues with the Triple Tail as well by heat setting the feed, adjusting the nib position, using silicone grease on the threads, swapping the converter for a cartridge. I tried three different inks, all of which I have no trouble with in other pens. I still have to use the Triple Tail on scratch paper with a tissue handy every time before I try writing for real because every time I pick it up, even after only a few moments set down, the ink flow issues happen again. It seems to be a well made pen, I don't mind the Noodler stink (this one stronger than the Ahab), and the thick lines are enjoyable when it writes well. It's just the worst fountain pen experience i've had so far and I can only conclude it is too difficult a pen for me. With my first two ink choices I had to press so hard to get anything out of it my hand would grow tired quickly and the lines would still be wet on one side and very little or no ink on the other end of the stroke. My second ink with the same heat setting, huge drops of ink are a constant threat. The large ball at the end of the nib is also a much different tactile experience than all other nibs I've tried and takes some getting used to. I've stuck with it, really trying to make it a pen I "click" with but I finally gave up today. I've never had to return anything to Goulet before because I love all my other pens, so I didn't check the return policy in time. For the price, I wish I had gotten another Ahab or two.Drawing done with Noodler Triple Tail (black and gray inks). Pilot metropolitan (yellow ink).
It stinks. I mean, the pen has an actual smell. Yes...Noodler's pens have a reputation of exactly that. And the Triple Tail is supposed to smell less than other's in the brand lineup. And when I heard it had a smell, my natural human reaction was to decide it couldn't be that bad. When I unboxed it, I caught a whiff, immedieately reboxed it. And washed my hands.
FAQs about Fountain Pens
How do I fill a fountain pen with ink?
It depends on the pen's filling mechanism, which you can find in the Technical Specs section above.
Here's a quick definition of the most common filling mechanisms:
- Cartridge - A small, disposable, sealed plastic reservoir that holds fountain pen ink. These come pre-filled with ink, and typically you just push to insert them into place and you'll be ready to write! Check out our quick guide here.
- Converter - A detachable and refillable ink reservoir that allows you to use bottled ink in a cartridge-accepting pen. Typically you will install the converter into the grip section, dip the nib/feed into the ink, and twist or pull the converter knob to draw ink into the converter. Here's a video for how to fill a cartridge/converter pen using a LAMY pen as an example.
- Eyedropper - A pen that utilizes the entire barrel as a reservoir for ink. Ink is directly filled into the barrel, allowing for a high ink capacity. Here's a video on how to do it!
- Piston - A type of filling system that uses a retracting plunger inside a sealed tube to draw ink into a pen. They are typically either twist or push-operated. These pens cannot accept cartridges or a converter, and only fill from bottled ink.
- Vacuum - A push-style piston that uses pressure to fill the large pen body with ink. They seal the ink chamber when closed, making it ideal for flying without risk of leaking. Check out our video on how to use a vac filler here.
Check out more info on these filling mechanisms including a video on how to fill each one on our blog.
How do I clean a fountain pen?
It depends on the filling mechanism, but it mostly comes down to flushing it out with water, and sometimes a little bit of Pen Flush if the ink is really stuck.
It's a bit easier to show than to tell, so we've put together a few quick videos showing you the process:
How often do I need to clean my fountain pen?
We recommend a good cleaning every 2 weeks, and any time you change ink colors.
Water will usually do the trick, but we recommend you use our Goulet Pen Flush if the ink has been left in the pen for a while and could have dried up, or when you’re switching ink colors.
My pen won’t write! What do I do?
First things first... make sure you have ink in the pen! Be sure that the ink cartridge or converter is seated properly in the pen, and that you aren't out of ink.
We always recommend you give your pen a good cleaning first, using our Goulet Pen Flush, or a drop of dish soap in some water. New pens often have some machining oil residue left in the feed, so a good cleaning often does the trick first.
If that still doesn't work, try priming the feed. This consists of either dipping your pen nib and feed in ink, or forcing ink from the converter down into the feed.
If it’s still not working after that, please reach out to us so we can help!
What's your return policy?
You can submit a return request within 30 days of your order date. You can read all our Return Policies here.
To initiate a return, please submit a request at the Return Portal. Our Customer Care team might reach out to you for more information.
Please note we are unable to accept a return of any Namiki or Sailor Bespoke fountain pen for any reason once it has been used with ink. Please thoroughly inspect and dry test the pen before use.