Noodler's Konrad Flex Fountain Pen - Cardinal Darkness
The Noodler's Konrad flex pen is smaller than the Ahab, but larger than the Nib Creaper. This red and black fountain pen features a steel flexible nib and a twist piston mechanism with a blind cap. The Konrad is made of a celluloid derivative and is technically biodegradable and formed from a "renewable resource". The vegetal resin body of this pen may show particles or striations within the material. This is most noticeable in demonstrators and bright colors.
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!
While these nibs are #6 size, these Konrad pens do not accept other brands of nibs due to the shape of the interior grip.
We do our best to photograph the pens to show how they will appear in person, but due to the nature of the material, expect some variation in the pattern from what you see here.
Click here to download the printable PDF instruction sheet for the Noodler's Konrad Flex.
- Condition
- New
- Brand
- Noodler's
- Type
- Fountain Pens
- Color
- Red
- Demonstrator
Whether or not the barrel of the pen is translucent, allowing you to see the ink and filling mechanism inside.
- No
- Body Material
- Resin
- Cap Rotations
For pens with a screw-cap closure, how many rotations it takes to uncap/recap the pen.
- 1.75
- 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
- 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
- 12mm (0.5in)
- Diameter - Cap (without clip)
- 14mm (0.6in)
- Diameter - Cap (with clip)
- 17mm (0.7in)
- Diameter - Grip (mm)
Measured from the place most people choose to rest their fingers, which varies with each pen.
- 10.3mm
- Length - Body
The measurement from the back end of the barrel to the tip of the nib.
- 126mm (5in)
- Length - Cap
- 58mm (2.3in)
- Length - Nib
The measured length of the visible portion of the nib when it is installed in the pen, from grip to tip.
- 22mm (0.9in)
- Length - Overall (Closed)
- 129mm (5.1in)
- 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.
- 145.5mm (5.7in)
- Weight - Body
If a converter is included with the pen, this weight is reflected in the total.
- 11g (0.4oz)
- Weight - Cap
- 4g (0.1oz)
- Weight - Overall (g)
- 15.0g
- 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.
- 1.47ml
Customer Reviews
The worst fountain pen I have bought! Filled it with Noodler's Purple and after 5 minutes of use my hand felt wet. Looked at it and my fingers were Imperial Purple! It was leaking from between the feed and section as well as from between the section and barrel! Needless to say, it went to the trash immediately! This pen was either defective or damaged in shipping, either way I won't buy another Noodler's pen.
First Konrad I've used. I'm surprised at how smooth the ink flows with this pen. I had some issues with another Konrad later on, but this one has been great from the beginning. Main complaint is the quality of the build. It has a plastic body, but feels closer to a disposable Bic than a fountain pen. I have $4 fountain pens that are also plastic that have a better body than the Konrad.
Once again, thank you for the unbelievably great service. I am always fearful of ordering from someone I have never dealt with before, but I must say, the service from your business was unbelievably courteous and prompt. I ordered my pen 10 min. Before closing time on a Friday and it arrived Wednesday afternoon. I was hesitant to order the pen because of all the unfounded rumors of the pen having an 'awful' odor. The first thing I did was hold it up to my nose and I have to say there was absolutely no noxious smell. The only thing I noted was a very slight (if you hold the pen to your nose - and who does that a lot) pleasant smell similar to vanilla.
Other then the nib being split down the center, i had never had a nib come this way. i love the konrad.and noodler makes the best low cost pens that dont sacrafice qaulity for a low price point now to get some nibs for the konrad a tripple tail music nib konrad is my dream team pen
At first I was of mixed feelings about this pen. After a couple years and after having acquired quite a few more fountain pens and flex pens, I actually think this is one of my top 10 pens. I usually keep it inked up along with six or seven others. The biggest issue was that at first the flex nib was just not very flexible. After using it and flexing it quite a bit, it's softer and I feel it is a pretty good medium flex nib. It takes about twice as much pressure as an fpr ultraflex and probably about three times as much pressure as a Zebra G nib. You have to train yourself to write with downward pressure. I still think it takes a bit too much pressure to write with flex comfortably on this nib, but for drawing it's quite decent. I recently bought a Twsbi Diamond 580 ALR. At $60 it is about three times the price of this Konrad, and it's build quality and mechanics I feel justify its price, but in some ways they are similar and the Konrad shows its value. They are both true piston fillers with roughly the same amount of ink capacity. The Konrad has some advantage in that it has a cap that fits tightly over its piston ****. The Konrad is also a smaller and more pocketable pen. The Twsbi needs a wrench. The Konrad disassembles more easily and has a true ebonite feed. You can take it out and widen the channel if you want to give it more ink flow while flexing. If you're really adventurous you can fit other number six nibs although you might need to do some flattening and even some cutting of the end. On my red example the cap and end cap or an opaque plastic of nice quality while the central section is a clear red that kind of feels cheap. However it's nicer than some of the other Noodler's pens especially the completely clear ones they really seem and feel cheap. I have an Ahab and a triple tail but I like this one the best. I love the size and you can write with it posted or unposted and it still balanced either way.For just over $20 you can get into a decent artists flex pen with a piston fill, decent flex nib and ebonite feed. Hard to argue with that.
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.