The Noodlers Triple-tail: A fountain pen review for artists
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- čas přidán 9. 03. 2021
- In this video I discuss a very strange pen, the Noodlers Tripletail. This pen has a three-tined music flex nib that functions unlike any other pen I've drawn with. Not only is it sensitive to pressure, and flexes to "wet-noodle" like widths, the unusual geometry of its tipping material allows you to also control line width with slight changes of angle, similar to the way one would control a fude nib. This completely unique combination of attributes gives this pen the ability to go from XXF to BBB with ease, making it a fantastic, and relatively affordable choice for artists.
Also, it's the first pen I've owned by Noodlers that doesn't smell like rotting bananas.
Excellent review! I have a triple tail that I got from Goldspot for about $62 + shipping. I have Noodlers Black, Platinum Carbon, and De Atramentis Archive inks, and I believe I inked mine up with Noodlers Black. I really like this pen, and am studying drawing right now so I can learn to draw with pen and ink.
I at one time created a webcomic using a digital method. It worked well, but I never truly felt that I was "paying my dues" so to speak and actually drawing it.
Several comic artists told me not to be silly, the method I was using was every bit as valid, but I still felt I was "cheating". I'm feeling a lot better about my art now I'm actually drawing it, and it makes me happier to work on it.
I didn't really have a direction for my fountain pen lust except for journaling at first, but your videos in particular pushed me just that little bit further to take up my art studies again.
Thank you for these videos, they are truly inspirational as well as informative!
You’re welcome as always, Gwen. Working digitally certainly requires just as much skill as physical art making, but there are some benefits to making art the old fashioned way. The difficulty of making corrections forces you to be systematic in your working methods, to do careful sketches and to plan your approach. This skill isn’t quite as necessary when working digitally since the ability to make corrections is always there. The skills you develop working in real life is directly applicable to your digital work, so while I don’t consider one way of working superior to another, I always recommend some kind of physical art making class to digital artists.
What a great tutorial and review!
Thank you!
Fantastic video! Thank you for sharing I am inspired and excited to try this bad boy
You're welcome Kenneth! This pen is super weird, but once you get used to it, really fun to work with.
The defining characteristic of a music nib is actually not the amount of tines; although most of the music nibs made today do have three tines(Sailor is a good example of a manufacturer making two-tined music nibs).
A music nib is somewhat similar to a stub nib, but it is ground in such a way that it writes best with the nib square to the paper so you can write on your sheet music while the paper is standing upright on your sheet music stand or piano while you're composing music. It's this grind that classifies it as a music nib and what gives the music nib its name. The reason it's stub shaped is so you can write the dots and flags on your notes in one quick stroke instead of having to scribble back and forth to make them nice and thick.
I suspect they often have three tines to increase the ink flow and keep the tipping wet across the entire width, which would prevent hard starts and skipping when you're writing with light pressure, as you would when your floppy sheet of paper is standing up on a stand without any hard backing behind it. It might also make it possible to write with the corner of the nib to draw the stave part of the notes without having to turn the pen sideways. A stub or italic doesn't really write with the corner of the tipping because the ink supply is so far removed from it.
Thank you for this detailed clarification, Rick!
Thanks for your interesting and informative videos. I ‘ve enjoyed them very much and find them very helpful.
You're welcome, Edgar! I'm glad you're finding my videos helpful.
Very thoughtful review. Thank you for sharing!
You're welcome!
Thanks. I have been wondering about this pen. I tend to erase too much when using pencil and end up with no drawing. I have been forcing myself to draw with fountain pen or dip pen. I have a couple Ahab's, but have been frustrated with the ink flow. Do okay with the Fude nibs, but sometimes forget to rotate it when in artist mode and brain flip overs. Also I am left handed and tend to draw with the nib upside down. That adds an extra challenge. Love Pilot pens, Noodler's so far, and Fude. Still playing and figuring out what works for me. Just discovered your channel. Very helpful. Thanks again. :)
You're welcome! Ahabs can be very fussy, but if you look on CZcams, you can find tutorials on how to adjust them to get them to work right. It's usually a question of heat-setting the nibs. I find that drawing with a pen will improve your pencil drawing, because it forces you to be decisive and deliberate with your strokes.
Great video. I am spoiled in that I have a mottishaw modified pilot FA nib for drawing, but I like the idea of sketching with a slightly broader nib. I tried an FPR ultra flex nib in a TWSBI 580, but the feed cannot even come close to keeping up. This is all, on top of the fact that noodlers has a pretty cool philosophy as a company.
Thanks! My 912 FA and the 743 FA are already fantastic pens for drawing without modification, and I'm looking forward to the day I can afford the Mottishaw mod. But at 55 bucks, the triple tail is a great option for those that like to throw a pen in a bag and go sketching. Noodlers is a fantastic company. The company is tremendously innovative, and I always look forward to trying their newest offerings. It's odd that your 580 doesn't keep up. I've put several nibs into several 580's, and have tried them with a variety of inks, so I know it's not an anomaly.
Excellent review. I don't know if you've used Noodlers Lexington Gray but it's a highly versatile gray that shades black. Should make for interesting drawing in the triple tail.
Thanks, Bobby! Lexington Grey is one of my favorites and is definitely an ink all artists should know about. I actually did a video on it some time ago: czcams.com/video/UhgL6dv3pmM/video.html
Thanks for this review you’ve got me wanting to get one. Your drawing skill is excellent and a pleasure to watch. What kind of paper were drawing on?
Do you offer any drawing tutorials?
Thank you Maurizio! I'm working on relatively inexpensive sketchbook paper made by Canson. I do have quite a few drawing tutorials in my channel if you look through my videos.
Thanks for the tip on pen rotation for a thinner line. Useful to me as I have been disappointed/frustrated by the minimum line width of my Triple Tail. I also like the idea of using blotting paper, which I am sure is less dangerous than the hair dryer I occasionally use.
I’ll have to give blotting paper a try as well, though I worry about smearing the drawing. I find that you still get residue even with the hairdryer, however, so perhaps it’s a better option.
@@mkompan Won't using a rather dry pen result in minimal residue? Along with more marks for the same saturation.
@@ichirofakename Yes, drier pens leave less residue, but flexing usually creates very wet lines which is where the problem lies. Since bulletproof ink needs to form a bond with cellulose in order to set, any ink that doesn't get absorbed by the paper and remains on the surface will wash away. I find this to be a bigger problem with watercolor paper, which is usually sized to limit its absorbency. I imagine the hairdryer might make things worse, since it does not give ink the time it needs to seep into the paper and set. Experiments need to be done, and a video needs to be made...
How can I see your work? I have seen your comments on almost all fountain pen review channels and I know you are an artist, but never seen one of your works.
... un-comfortably on the threads! Your suffering is an inspiration to us all
I do what I can for the betterment of humanity. :) Jokes aside, if you spend many hours, day after day, working with a pen, such things do matter.
Excellent review, thank you! Do you have any idea how this pen may perform during pressure changes (e.g. when flying)?
My pleasure. Had you asked but a day before, I could have tested it on a flight. I suspect it wouldn’t do well, since it has such a generous feed. But the great thing is that this pen can be used with Noodler’s sealable cartridges, allowing to travel with perfect safety.
Great job on the video! I was looking for some information on drawing with fountain pens, and have first watch your Pilot flexible pens comparisons. Try the Sailor Kiwaguro (Black) ink, waterproof, and the deepest black I’ve experienced for drawing or writing with. I’m already on my third bottle and had just ordered a 4th. I have the Ahab, but it seems I’d like to try the Triple Tail. I too am making online content more than ever, but for Architecture students. Yeah, I noticed the scripted effort on this video. My advise is that you might want a to invest on some lighting and a bit more zoomed shots of the strokes. Anyway, I’ve subscribed to know more about other people drawing with fountain pens.
Thanks for the compliment and recommendations! I've been thinking of upgrading my equipment, but given that my channel will always have a very limited audience, I'm not sure it's worth the investment. Your channel looks great! I taught in a product design department for several years, and had to cover a lot of the material in your videos. The perspective of shadows gives me headaches.
@@mkompan Yeah, the shadow casting plotting is a tricky subject. I had been reading several books until Scott Robertson's How to Render has simplified and more understandable shortcut method. I could understand as I practice it in my own paintings, but explaining to students is another thing. Another good book about it is William Lockard's Design Drawing book. Plans of my school is 3 more years of online, or at least blended classes. So it is more incentive for me to get the better equipment for recording audio (Sony recorder, $150), visual (Logitech Brio, $250, great for 4K footage so I can zoom in for 1080p resolution), lights (Elgato Key Light and Key Light Air, $200 + $150; total space saver and remote control ease with an app), a good color accurate monitor (HP, $200), 2nd camera (Razer Kiyo, $100), a teleprompter ($40), and I run the entire setup with an Alienware M15R3 ($2500). Everything except the light, laptop and Brio webcam are reasonable, since I started seriously producing less than a year ago for better quality videos. I have been slowly getting each equipment per month - get what you can slowly with a better performance. The next step would be to use a DLSR for crispier video. I don't even have yet to reach 400 subscribers, but you have to see the bigger picture of spreading drawing skills. I made a survey, and 80% of incoming architecture students do not have drawing training at all - which is weird, but a reality in the Philippines. I have to set a standard of what content should be rightly be taught in architecture schools. That's why I even want to include the topic about fountain pens (as I have been using them in the last 7 years now) for drawing architectural scenes as opposed to disposable or technical pens. That's why I only responded to your video because you have explained the differences quite well, and have changed my mind about getting the Pilot Falcon for drawing, but I have recently ordered a Sailor Standard HF ($150) as my first ever gold nib pen for general writing and sometimes drawing. Will compare that with my Lamy pens and Noodler Ahab. I will stay tuned to you content, and would probably even link your videos as additional info to my modules for my online content to students.
@@drawingarchitecture Your commitment to teaching and creating high quality online educational content is very admirable. I used Scott Robertson's How To Draw and How to Render to develop the curriculum for my product design drawing classes. As far as I know, no other books have such a depth of technical information, but they're incredibly dense and difficult and it took a lot of work to deliver the information to my students in a way they could understand it. I really think there would be market for a book that delivers the information more effectively. Lack of basic drawing knowledge on the part of students seems to be an international crisis. My second year product design students went through a year of what was supposedly a rigorous foundation year of drawing, yet had only the most basic understanding of linear perspective. And thank you for the recording equipment recommendations--I will consider it.
Lovely drawing! I will try this pen if I can find it here in the U.K. :)
Thanks! I believe several US companies will ship oversees.
Ok an another one on the purchase list ^^
Good call! This one is so fun to draw with.
Hi sir. Very interesting video. Congratulations for your artistic talent. I don't draw but I like to write with fountain pens. In fact I write only with fp. I have a few in my collection, mostly medium nib pens. I have an Indian pen with fpr flex nib that I find interesting but a little bit scratchy for writing. Is it possible to use this pen for normal writing or signing documents?
Thank you! This pen is fun to draw with, but I don't recommend it for writing. It puts down a lot of ink, which takes a long time to dry, and the lines are a little scratchy looking.
@@mkompan Thanks very much for your answer sir.
Okay I've had a pen like this for 2 3 years and my initial feeling was I just could not get it to work right. So yesterday I inked it up again with Noodler's black and let it sit overnight. I'm starting to understand what you are saying about it for drawing purposes. Also if you flip it over and reverse write with it you get a very consistent fine line and then stand it up perpendicular to the page and you get kind of a medium. But on the primary side mine really doesn't do an extra fine line like yours seems to which is quite frustrating. Compared to a zebra G which gives you a hairline just effortlessly and then great flex broad as well.
.Have you tried shifting your drawing angle slightly? I found that when you hold the nib flush with the paper, it puts down a medium, and then as you rotate the nib slightly to the side, it makes and increasing thinner line. Noodlers quality control seems to be inconsistent, however, so perhaps your pen nib is somehow different from mine. The Zebra G is a fantastic nib, but I'm not a fan of how quickly they corrode in fountain pens. I left one in a rather expensive Jowo housing unit designed to work with it, and after a week or two couldn't pull it out. There's a company called Bluedew that uses a Zebra G type nib that is non-corrosive, but I have yet to try it.
Curious about an overfeed with this
Try it!
Marc: Id love to buy this pen, but from the UK I dont seem to be able to do so! Goulet Pens tell me they cant ship to UK unless its for a minimum amount that I dont want to spend. Amazon dont seem to be able to feature the Triple-tail, and I haven't found anywhere else in Europe via Google. Any ideas please?
Sorry to hear that! A number of US based retailers sell the Tripletail. I would check to see if they do international shipping. You can also find the pen on Ebay, where quite a few sellers will do international shipping.
Not surprised with Goulet shipping policy. My feeling is that this business requires more profit margin than some others to suit their fiscal goals, business plan, staffing, etc. They, like some art stores, have a higher minimum ($$$) order ceiling to qualify for free shipping. For this reason, I have thrown my business over to some other companies that accommodate my sense of economy without suffering customer service and reliability.
I just received mine! I have to be honest, I am surprised how awful it is. I bought from a online retail and has Commonwealth 2021 on the barrel. It still smells bad and dents and marks all over the body, the cap band has sharp edges. Ok, last time I bought a Noodlers pen was 3 years ago and they sent me a wrong pen and never bought after that until now. The nib is also a surprise, good and bad. It started great, then Triple Tails become Twin Tails, railroading is so annoying that I think I should return this. For $62 I can buy something much better than this. I love Noodlers inks but pen, not so much!
Sorry to hear that! As for the smell: the standard, clear Triple-tail has no odor, but special editions such as yours are made from their usual vomity smelling plastic. As for railroading, don't know what to tell you, other than to flush the pen with soapy water to clean out potentially clogging oils, try a few different inks, etc. It could also be that the tines are out of alignment (which can happen if you really put pressure on the pen).
@@mkompan Thank you for your tip, I indeed bought the blue one, that explains why. I flushed before inking up but may need more flushing.
I swore I was done buying pens ...
Sorry for feeding your addiction. :)
It's a defective pen man, that's why it doesn't write properly, it's a bug not a feature. I don't know why all these Noodler's pens are so bad out of the box. Concept and design is nice but very poor quality control.
I've been using pens long enough to know a defective pen when I see it, man. There's nothing wrong with this one and its performance is consistent with other videos that I've seen. It's a unique pen with some strange properties. Deal with it.
@@mkompan I don't know man, if you buy a pen to write, it's supposed to write consistently but it's not, maybe you can find some creative use for it as an artist but I don't think it's a good writer. I don't wanna deal with that.
I gave up on Noodler's Pens.
@@peterpuleo2904 Some fans like this guy here keep Nathan in business.