Since my last writing post, I got more stuff. And the retailer I chose to buy stuff from was Goulet Pens. That was a great decision. They pride themselves on their customer service, and they certainly delivered. I got two notes, a free sticker (went on my truck), and a sucker! Check out this pic:
Buying my first bottle of ink, I wanted the best deal. I did some researching and it appeared to me that Noodler's inks were the best priced on the market, so I went with that brand. Looking at the different volume options, I saw that the 4.5oz bottles of ink came with a free pen, the Charlie. 4.5oz for me it was. My first pen being a red Metropolitan, I kinda wanted a red ink to match. Goulet Pens was out of Noodler's Hawthorne's Scarlet in that size at the time, though. But then I saw Noodler's Lexington Gray. Gray goes with everything, so I went with that. Along with the ink, I bought a Pilot Con-B converter.
I like the label on the bottle. It gives off a sorta handmade artistic vibe. It should, because I am pretty sure every Noodler's bottle is handcrafted. The cap of the 4.5oz bottle also functions as a syringe to get some ink with. I'm glad that it's here, because the bottle is tall. I'm sorta scared of dipping a pen in the bottle because I think I might drop it in. I have bottle filled a couple times, however. The ink color itself is nice. It's gray and not black. I like that about it. It's either a dark grey or a light grey but never black. It is supposed to be an ink that has a lot of shading, but I only see a little bit of variation. I do only use cheap paper though. On nice paper, you might get lots of shading. It works great in my Metropolitan fine nib.
And of course there is the free Charlie pen. The internet has mixed opinions, but I don't think it's bad at all. The Noodler's pens are known for needing a little tinkering to get it working how you want. I think it has taught me a bit how fountain pens operate, and I like learning as you go. I learned how to adjust the nib and feed, about silicone grease, and ink burping. BTW, this pen is an eyedropper. That means the whole barrel is full of ink, which means you get a large capacity of ink, but which also means you have to worry about little puddles of ink suddenly appearing on your paper and/or desk. The tinkering and the burping makes some people not like the pen, but you have to remember it's free. And I like having another pen for free. It's role in my writing instrument arsenal right now is my backup/emergency pen. Just incase I... broke my $30 Pilot Metropolitan. Oops.
Overall, it's pretty good deal for the price. I recommend this ink. Give the Charlie a try.