Editing The Pen Addict 336/transcript (section)

== Podcast Introduction ==


'''Myke Hurley:''' From RelayFM, this is The Pen Addict, episode 336. Today's show is brought to you by Kane11, Harry's, and Storyworth. My name is Myke Hurley, I'm joined by Brad Dowdy. Hi Brad Dowdy. Hey Myke Hurley, how are you today? Very good, I'm looking forward to hearing from our listeners today.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, we've been slacking a little bit, but it's because we've been busy, so I don't know how those two things work together, but we've had so many topics. I know, we've had so many topics to cover during our last month and a half or so of episodes that we haven't gotten into any Ask TPA or an update on The Pen Addict Horror Story. So we're going to do all of that on this episode today. How does that sound?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I think that sounds great, and we should kick right off with our hashtag Ask TPA. And the first question comes from Paul, and Paul wants to know, or Paul says, Gentlemen, it has become abundantly clear to me that the aspects of fountain pens that I care about most is the nib. After using German and American fine nibs for years, and feeling that something was lacking, it was the humble Pilot Prera that blew my mind. Love at first right. I love Pilot EF nibs, but don't want to be limited to just one brand. The one pen store in my city doesn't carry sailor pens because of the price. I mean, Canada. Buying one online without trying it first is an expensive gamble. Is it worth it, or should I look at alternatives?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right, so let's discuss a couple of things here.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I figured out the same thing Paul did with the nibs early on in my fountain pen journey. You know, Lamy Safari was kind of the first one for me, and German extra fine nib at the time was the finest thing I thought I could buy. And I was relating it to my gel ink pens that were 0.38 and 0.5 millimeters and going, wow, this line is super wide. It's like, it's fine, you know, not in line with, but it's okay to use, but it's not really the line that I want. The Pilot Prera was one of those nibs and pens that changed it for me that made me say, oh, this is different. Why? And it's because Japanese use a different nib sizing scale. So, the Pilot nibs that are extra fine or fine in steel, which is what the Prera is, are fantastic. So, the question is, does Paul want to lock himself into, like, one brand, and can he be safe in ordering these things online without trying it first? I would actually say that Pilot would be the one online brand that I would trust implicitly to give me the most perfect nib out-of-the-box experience, no matter if you're going for a Metropolitan with a steel nib or, like, a 912 with a gold nib. I think universally, Pilot would be a brand that I would feel the most comfortable with going in blind, if you will. You know, if you like the barrel style and design, I think that nib is kind of the most trustworthy to buy blind. Do you have anything to say about that? Say about that?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I think I'll mostly agree. Like, I've, you know, I own many sailor pens at this point, and I haven't found any of them to be unreliable. Right. I've never had a problem with any of them. I have 12 of them, and they all write as exactly as I would expect them to. And I've never known of anyone that's had a problem with a sailor pen, to be honest.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Like, yeah, my, I was just gonna say, my only hang-up is sailor nibs can be a little particular feel-wise if you're not used to them. They're firmer, I think. So you can get a little bit of different feedback than Pilot. So maybe I'm being a little safe in my answer, but I think that's where it goes. But, I mean, I'm with you on sailor, but I also think that sailor doesn't have the low-end options that Pilot might offer.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, I just don't have enough experience with Pilot nibs. Right. But, I mean, I would say sailor, personally, I would say sailor, you'd be safe. But I would recommend maybe getting a fine, not an extra fine, just to be sure.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Oh, yeah, for sure, on sailor. Yeah. Pilot, the steel extra fine, man, that is such a good nib. And they do offer that in the gold nibs. But I like the steel extra fine better, I think. And the gold nib, Pilot's gold nibs, I like the fine. So that's just me. So I don't know if we helped at all the more we ramble, Paul. But I would feel very comfortable going with Pilot blind, if you will.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' My Pilot should not fly blind, though. I do approve of that.

'''Myke Hurley:''' No, you don't want to do that. Our next question comes from Jacob. Jacob says, I have a seven-year-old lefty daughter who is now trying her hand at fancy writing. So I let her play with my 1.1 stub, Twizby Eco. Any recommendations for a first fountain pen for her? I'm looking at maybe the Pelicano, the Lamy ABC, or the Pilot Kakuno. The Pelicano has a lefty specific, whatever that means.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' This is a really good list. Like, I'd feel comfortable shopping for this list.