The Pen Addict 331/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	331
Title:	A Podcaster’s Grind
Release Date:	October 24th, 2018
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	Ana Reinert
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 331
Audio File:	Audio Episode 331
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 331
Length:	7272 min <br />1.2 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

Myke Hurley: From RelayFM, this is The Pen Addict, episode 331. Today's show is brought to you by Harry's and Pen Chalet. My name is Myke Hurley. I am joined by Brad Dowdy and Anna Reinhart. Hello, everybody. Hello, everybody. I decided I would give the dual intro today, which is not really the way that we tend to do it. But then we have that moment where Anna has to sit in silence until Brad is done with his opening joke. So I figured that I would just introduce both of you today. And there is a great reason for this. At the time that you were hearing this, dear listener, where are we? Are we on our way to New York or Toronto? Where are we in the world at this point?

Brad Dowdy: So I'm in a plane on the way to New York. How about you, Anna?

Ana Reinert: I'm probably at the airport right now. I think I'm recording from a bathroom stall at MCI.

Myke Hurley: And I am in New York City. But of course, this is all a time-space continuum issue because we recorded this episode in advance because we are all on our way to New York so we can do all of the wonderful things that we're going to be doing. And we're going to talk about those a little bit later on in the show in case you want to know and or join in. But we have some important follow-up that must be addressed.

Lamy Pen Discussion

Brad Dowdy: It might be the single most important follow-up of the year, Myke, and the timing could not be better. So last week we talked about the new Lamy Special Editions for 2019. And that's always a fun time for Anna and I because she, like, this is 100% all credit to Anna. She's the one that delineated the teams for Team Lamy Safari or Team AL Star for the Special Editions. And she always gives me a hard time because I'm a Safari person. And she's a... Are we officially calling it All Star or AL Star? Kaweco and Lamy confuse me so much. I just mix them up. So what do you think, Anna?

Ana Reinert: I think you can call it whatever you want. I like Team All Star myself because it just sounds better.

Myke Hurley: The All Star team does sound better, right? Sounds way better. I do call the pen the AL Star because it's capital letters and there's only one L. Yeah. Or at least it'd be the Al. Well, the Al Star.

Brad Dowdy: Well, whatever we call it, we can call it Team Second Place because let me just say, Anna, I think Team Safari is going to have it for 2019 after a very sad showing in 2018. What are your thoughts on these new additions?

Ana Reinert: Well, all right. I might have to... I might have... For 2019, I might have to let you have it. But, you know, after two straight wins, you know, I might have to throw you a bone for 2019.

Myke Hurley: It's almost as if somebody at Lamy decided that they wanted to turn the tables.

Ana Reinert: But they had to give you three pens to do it.

Myke Hurley: In the exact colorways that would probably be the most enticing to you, right? Like these beautiful pastel colors. It's like they played right into your hands.

Ana Reinert: They really did. So, as soon as I saw the bronze color, Brad and I joked offline about it. I was like, it looks like your color because it's orange. And what did you say, Brad?

Brad Dowdy: I said, no, they already did that with copper orange. Like copper orange, I will take as orange. That was a good color. This is definitely not orange. I mean, I guess it's bronze. If, I mean, it's more bronzer than bronze. It's like a caramel color.

Myke Hurley: Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: Caramel, frappuccino, something. And the AL Star gets the ink too. So, this one gets the bronze ink, which actually might be better than the pen.

Ana Reinert: Yeah. I mean, if they do what they did with the vibrant pink and try to put some metallic in the ink, the ink might be really cool. So, that might make it more interesting. But, yeah, the bronze is kind of orange, kind of bronze. I don't know. It might end up looking more like the LX series.

Brad Dowdy: I don't know. Yeah. It looks like it would fit in that lineup pretty well. But, I mean, like I said last week, like these are all, this is what I want to see from Lamy, whether I personally like them or not. They actually came through with something different for a change, right? Which I think I just appreciate, you know, as a whole, right?

Ana Reinert: Yeah. Well, and I mean, they put people in a position where if you collect the limited editions, you're going to end up having, you know, to buy all three of the safaris. So, they're going to get you the dollars.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So, anyway, I thought this was interesting. It was perfect timing. We'll have to figure out what we're going to do about the pens because yours will look like doo-doo brown and mine will look like an Easter egg. And, like, last year we ordered half the black, right? We ordered half.

Ana Reinert: And, you know, amazingly enough, we still have quite a few of those. So, they'll be with us in New York and Toronto. Maybe we can finally distribute the rest of those.

Brad Dowdy: But if we do a single safari pin with, like, three stripes, I mean, I don't know that we should order any bronze, to be honest with you. It's game over.

Myke Hurley: It's game over. It's 2019.

Brad Dowdy: Hey, it's about time I can talk some smack because it's been a bad run for Team Safari here for a little bit.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. It has been. It hasn't been great for us. So, I'm very pleased to see these. I think they look great.

Myke Hurley: I'm interested as to why they have done three. I mean, the obvious answer is they just want to sell more of them. But three is an aggressive amount of limited editions.

Ana Reinert: Are they going to sell it as a box set, you know, where you get all three at once? Or are you going to have to buy them individually? Or, I don't know. Be curious to see.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. For sure. For sure. Well, Myke, we got a big trip to plan here. Yeah. And I want to lay out all the details. And I actually have a lot of questions for myself as I'm in the plane already, you know, at this time. So, we're going to see what I pack for this trip. So, why don't you tell us about our good friends Harry's, which you know I'm carrying with me on this trip, right?

Myke Hurley: Yeah. I'm already excited. I'm feeling the excitement of the odor of Brad Dowdy, which is provided by Harry's. Because Brad uses all of the Harry's products and they have incredible products across the board. And this is because the founders of Harry's decided that they needed to make stuff themselves to guarantee the quality. They were fed up of paying high prices for unnecessary features on their razors. And they know that a great shave quite simply comes down to great blades that are made with sharp, durable steel that will last. They cut out the unnecessary costs so they can deliver to you one perfect razor at an amazing price. And what's more, they even bought a factory so they could ensure they would get this high quality. And because they make their own blades, they can sell them for just $2 a blade, which is compared to $4 or more that you might see elsewhere. So they sell these direct to you over the internet and they have a 100% quality guarantee. So if you don't love your shave, you can let Harry's know within 30 days and they'll give you a refund. So Brad, what went into your dop kit for this trip?

Brad Dowdy: The shave cream went in very difficultly. Is that a word? So I keep the small tube of the shave cream to travel with and I was out, you know, like pretty much out. Like I needed some for this trip. So being the genius that I am, this wonderful idea I had in my head, well, I'm just going to buy the large ones, you know, because they're a better deal and I keep those at home and I use those more than my travel ones. And I'm going to mate up the two tubes and I'm going to squeeze the large tube into the smaller travel tube. And let's just say my bathroom smells great.

Myke Hurley: That is always good news, Brad. I'm always happy to hear that. If you want to go and check this stuff out for yourself, you really should. Harry's stand behind the quality of their blades and they know that making a switch isn't an easy decision. So they created a great offer for listeners of this show. You can get yourself a $13 value trial set that comes with everything you're going to need to get a close and comfortable shave. This includes a weighted ergonomic razor handle, five blade razor with a lubricating strip and trimmer blade, a rich lathering shave gel and travel blade cover. This is all for listeners of this show. Join the millions of people who've already switched by going to harrys.com slash penaddict right now. You can redeem your trial set there. That's harrys.com. H-A-R-R-Y-S dot com slash penaddict. Our thanks to Harry's for their continued support of this show and RelayFM.

Brad Dowdy: All right. So this trip is going to wrap up the 2018 Penaddict Kickstarter. Well, if I say that, if the Tallulahs don't come in before then, it's not going to wrap it up. But that's a story for another day. We're working on that still. This trip's shaped up nicely. What do y'all think about, you know, we've gone from no definitive plans kind of a few weeks ago to we are booked to the hilt now. So do y'all want me to go over the game plan for this trip? And, you know, if anyone's in town, they should be paying attention to this.

Myke Hurley: Yeah, I would like you to because I still am not 100% sure that I know everything that I'm doing. So this would be a good way for me to find that information out, Brad. So please let me know.

Brad Dowdy: So you have a handler, right, Myke? Because you're doing other things during this time. So like me and Anna, we're in charge of this trip. Anna, we're Myke's handlers for this trip.

Myke Hurley: It's kind of fun because, all right, so I just like to say this. So I keep saying this. I'm on tour, right? I'm going on tour. We have a tour. We're in Chicago, New York, and then we're going up to Toronto. And it's kind of funny because Stephen's taking care of me for the first part and you're taking care of me for the second part. Because it's a lot of travel. There's a lot of events going on. So I kind of just need to be told where I'm going to be and then I go there. I am the star now. I am the AL star of this whole experience.

Brad Dowdy: Right. I don't think we got a copy of the rider yet for the tour yet, Anna. We don't have a green M&M's only bowl.

Ana Reinert: No, I was about to say, yeah, do we have to pull all the brown M&M's out?

Brad Dowdy: My people are working on that right now. So they'll get in touch with your people. All right. So for the Myke World Tour with... So Myke's the headliner. Then underneath it says, it says, with Brad Dowdy. Yep. Anna Reinhardt.

Ana Reinert: And then in really tiny letters, also, Anna Reinhardt.

Myke Hurley: It's on the other side of the poster.

Ana Reinert: Post. Exactly. Yeah. If you flip the poster up on the back is my name.

Myke Hurley: Oh, no. That's not true.

Brad Dowdy: All right. So Wednesday, we show up in New York City at various times. Myke will be there. I'll be there midday. Anna will be there late afternoon. And then we all meet up at the Fountain Pen Hospital from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, October the 24th. This event's open. Fountain Pen Hospital's putting this on. They're handling everything. I think there's going to be, you know, like hors d'oeuvres type stuff. And, you know, the shop will be open. And we'll all just kind of do a meet and greet and mix and mingle there, you know, right after we're arriving in New York City, at least. But I've never been to Fountain Pen Hospital. Anna or Myke, have you, either of y'all been to Fountain Pen Hospital? No.

Ana Reinert: No.

Brad Dowdy: Okay. So this will be a great trip because that should, would have been on our stationary tour list for Thursday, regardless. So it's nice to go ahead and knock this out. So I appreciate the guys and gals at Kenro for hooking this up. It was like shockingly easy to put together. They're like, do you want to do this? I'm like, that's a good idea. And it came together in like the span of hours. And we're done. So that's our Wednesday travel party. And that's going to be kind of the theme for this entire event. Thursday, we're going to be doing the NYC stationary tour, at least as much as we can handle. Right. Or at least me and Anna, because Myke, you know, he might big time us at some point. He might need his rest. He might need to rest his voice for the show. He has Thursday night that Anna and I aren't invited to. I understand.

Myke Hurley: That is completely, that's false. That is 100% false. Like, so the thing was, the tickets went on sale. You didn't get one. And then I told you, and I have told you multiple times that I will get you tickets if you want to come. I've told you this. So if you want to, if you want to come to the show, I can, we can get you in. All right. All right. I will tell you this every time you keep mentioning to me, I will tell you the same thing.

Brad Dowdy: It doesn't make it less fun for me. So we're going to, we're going to talk about Thursday. Let's hold that thought while I finish up this schedule, because as busy as Thursday is going to be, we don't have an official schedule for that day. That's going to be our run around town, shooting video, seeing cool things and sharing them with you all day. So we're going to talk about that in a minute. Then we head out Friday, like noon-ish, head up to Toronto. We're going to go, you know, see our wonderful friends at Wonderpens on Saturday. We'll be at Wonderpens Toronto from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. That is going to be something I cannot wait for. We go straight from there into the Scriptus Toronto pen show pre-party, which is Saturday night at a brewery, I think, is where the event's going to be held. There's going to be a bunch of people there. I know Aziz is going to be there, which I always love seeing her. I don't get to see her enough. So that's always a highlight for me. And then, finally, we wrap it up, if we're still standing and upright, on Sunday, October 28th at the Scriptus Pen Show at the Toronto Library. So we'll have all the links to all these things if you're interested in coming by and saying hi, dropping by any of the pen stores that we're going to be at, any of the Toronto Pen Show. We'll have all these links, which will have directions and times and all of the stuff that you need to come hang out and have a big time with us as we whirlwind through New York City and Toronto.

New York Stationery Tour Planning

Brad Dowdy: All right, so Thursday is our stationary tour day in New York City. And, Ana, I want to know what are the highlights that you want to be sure we hit. Like, I'm sure we can't do everything. You know, getting around town is going to be a challenge in itself. But I bet we can do pretty good. So what do you want to be sure we see?

Ana Reinert: Well, number one on the list, of course, is to visit CW Pencils. Yes. Of course. And I know that there was a place mentioned from one of my readers called Goods for the Study, which I looked it up and it looks like a really cool little stationary shop. So I would like to try to hit that if possible. And I noticed it was like a couple blocks from a Muji, which I know both you and I live nowhere near a Muji. So it would be kind of fun.

Brad Dowdy: And I had honestly forgot about adding Muji to the list. And that's moved to probably like my number two thing. Like CW Pencils, number one with a bullet, right? Yeah. Goods with the Study looks and sounds awesome. Anyone, like you put in here that they carry the Marks Edit planners. Like if you've gone to the trouble of sourcing those planners, I want to shop at your store, right? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Ana Reinert: So and then I noticed you put Kino Kanuya, which absolutely, I've actually been to the Kino Kanuya in New York before. And it's definitely worth going up that way to go in there because that's amazing. And, you know, as close as we're going to get to a Japanese bookstore.

Brad Dowdy: Right.

Ana Reinert: Without actually going to Japan. So.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. And just to be clear, you and Myke have actually done a couple of the New York things. I've done zero of these. Right, Myke? You've done CW Pencil a couple of times.

Myke Hurley: I've done CW once and Kino Kanuya once as well. Gotcha.

Brad Dowdy: And Ana, you've been to Kino Kanuya, but really not much else?

Ana Reinert: I haven't been. I've been to Muji in Hong Kong. So I don't know if that really counts.

Myke Hurley: Oh, I've done Muji's all over the place. Because, like, in a lot of places that I go to, like, they seem to be there. Like, San Francisco, San Jose. And there's, like, a bunch in London. There's, like, four of them in London or something like that. So Muji is less of an experience for me because it's more, it is actually, has been a regular place that I have visited. So I'm excited for you guys. You seem so excited about Muji. And I kind of just, like, if you want, I'll just get you. I'll bring you something. Like, what do you need? I can just go get it.

Gel Pen Selection Discussion

Brad Dowdy: But I think I want to go. I just want to go see, like, the gel pen selection. Like, I want to see. It is wild.

Myke Hurley: Like, if you've never been in there and, like, to get to see this huge amount that they have.

Ana Reinert: Yeah. And when I was looking on the map, since it's literally, like, two blocks, I think, from the goods for the study, I was like, well, you know, if we manage to get to that, then, like, walking two blocks is no big deal. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Yeah. That's perfect. You know, we're open to other requests if there's some hole-in-the-wall places we need to hit or some big places we're forgetting. But between Fountain Pen Hospital, CW Pencil, goods for the study, Kino Kania, Muji. I mean, that's a day. And I don't even know if we'll get to all of that. And, Myke, you're going to be doing a little something special while we're attending all these shops for our Kickstarter backers, right? Yeah.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. So, you know, because this isn't really a thing that we can do with people because it's a lot and it stores and stuff like that, as we kind of had promised and will definitely deliver, I'm going to be recording video of our experiences in these places to put together a special vlog that will be going out for the backers of the Kickstarter campaign. So that's going to be a fun thing. That's going to include New York and then going up to Toronto and the Toronto Pen Show. So it's going to be the whole thing. So that will be a fun video project that I'm going to be putting together to thank our Kickstarter backers who made this possible for us. Because, again, while this isn't like a big live show because we haven't been able to put that together, we're going to be recording an episode when we're in Toronto to talk about our experiences of all of this, which will come out next week, next Wednesday. But we will also have this video, which will come out hopefully not too long after that. So you can actually see what we are up to instead of just hear us talk about it.

Brad Dowdy: We'll be making trouble, I'm sure. Yes. I mean, that goes without saying. Yeah.

Ana Reinert: Absolutely.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah.

Ana Reinert: And I also put that we want to eat all the things, right? We want to eat all the things in New York.

Brad Dowdy: That's true. Oh, 100%. So, like, I need, like, legit bagels. I need legit pizza. So shoot us your recommendations. I did get, like, Anna's got some recommendations. I did get another recommendation for in Toronto, which we're going to talk about in a second. But, you know, places that you know we're going, if there's somewhere, like, we should eat, like, I mean, y'all have seen me. I like my food. So, and I want to eat, like, the good stuff. So, like, bagels and pizza. See, to me, that's the good stuff. But that's what New York's known for. So we're going to do that. All right. So Friday, we get in Toronto. And depending on how exhausted we are, I'm sure that's the afternoon, evening, we're going to get around town a little bit because we'll be pretty packed the rest of the weekend. Where do we want to go in Toronto, Anna? Because I have, I'll admit, I haven't done all my research yet for Toronto.

Myke Hurley: I've never been to Canada before.

Brad Dowdy: Me neither.

Myke Hurley: Right? So, like, there are things that I, people keep telling me I need to eat poutine. So. Oh, yeah. I'm in.

Brad Dowdy: Count me in on that.

Ana Reinert: Me too. Well, there's another pen shop up in Toronto called Lay Wines, which was recommended that we needed to see. Absolutely. So I put that on the list. And it looks like it's not far from the venue for Scriptus. So, but I don't know if they'll be open on the same day as Scriptus. So I don't know if we can coordinate that where we go beforehand or something. I don't know. But anyway, definitely want to visit Lay Wines. It was highly recommended. There's a small stationery shop called Curiosa that is sort of on the opposite side of town, but looks really interesting. And somewhere along the way, as I was looking at a map, I saw a place called the Lockhart, which is a Harry Potter themed bar. And I was like, I'm just putting that on there. So if anybody has been there and can recommend an either thumbs up or thumbs down on that one. But when that popped up on the Google map, I was like, I'm going to have to write that down. That seems like a perfect way. That would be pretty great.

Myke Hurley: Very, very much. Enjoy that. Because as of literally last night, I finished a rewatch of all the movies. Nice. So. If that's a thing, that's good. A bar called the Lockhart.

Ana Reinert: Yeah, that just sounded like fun. And it was actually, it seemed like relatively close to either Wonder Pens or like within like probably an Uber, you know, an Uber trip or something. We could probably get there pretty quick. So I was like, that looks like fun.

Brad Dowdy: So, yeah, there's going to be, I mean, with none of us ever having been to Toronto, I fully anticipate on having my mind blown. So you better deliver Toronto. But I don't think you'll have to. I hear it's a pretty amazing town and I can't wait to get up there. So the problem I'm having or have had because I've packed already, right? You know, I've packed. My luggage is on the airplane right now. Yeah. I don't know that I've packed correctly because I don't know about y'all, but I'm already making a shopping list and I've put it in the show notes of the things I want to leave this trip with. And originally I was thinking I would just take like a single like large big bag backpack. Like I have this Tom Ben Aeronaut that could fit all my clothes for the whole trip. But I'm going to come back with more stuff than I left with. So I'm really struggling thinking about packing for this trip because I don't know how many things I have on the shopping list already, like four or five things. So do y'all have anything picked out that you know you're going to buy? Because I do because I am a problem child that way. It's like I am going to these places and I need to get the things. Have y'all have y'all done this same mental gymnastics thing that I'm doing?

Myke Hurley: I'm trying to lie to myself. So no.

Myke Hurley: Right. I'm lying to myself. But like you, Michael, you have spent so much on sailor pens recently to not buy anything. This is what I'm telling myself. And we'll see how that goes. Huh? I think it's going to go very well for me. I'm going to at least bring some other empty knock case with me for some possible small, hopefully small purchases that I'll make. But I'm really trying to keep this under control.

Ana Reinert: I'm just so excited to like visit a lot of these places. I know I'm going to end up buying things and spending money, but I don't actually have any sort of list prepared. Like I'm so excited to actually be at Wonder Pens and be at CW and some of these other places that I'm like and go to Scriptus. Like I know I'm going to buy things and I have no idea where I'm going to put anything.

Brad Dowdy: Exactly. So I don't know.

Ana Reinert: I'm going to come home with them jammed in the pockets of my coat.

Brad Dowdy: That's true. We're going to have to we're going to have to pack warm. I cannot wait to get to New York and Toronto. I hope it's freezing the entire time because. Shush your mouth. Yeah, it's been it's we're still just like stupid temperatures here in in Georgia. So at CW, Caroline has introduced a pen in collaboration with Caran d'Ache and it's 849. And, you know, I love everything about it. And it's Viking themed and it's expensive and I'm going to buy it. Like, OK, it's a I mean, it's a straight up lock. Like, I hope there's one there by the time I show up.

Ana Reinert: Carolyn, are you hearing this? Just put one aside for Brad.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, that's 100 percent bought. And that's before I even like who knows what else I'll end up with there. Right. I mean, that's going to be a real issue for me. CW pencil more than anywhere else. Right.

Ana Reinert: Well, think keep keeping in mind, they have the capacity to ship. So you could probably have her put everything aside for you and ship it back home. That's true. I bet she'd do that for you.

Brad Dowdy: That's going to get me even more trouble. Yeah. So I'm here to help. Yeah. Thanks. Like, I know I got to pick up some more of the baseball pencils and like there's a bunch of things that I need. Right. Capital in need. Absolutely. So and that doesn't even count me going into the sticker room like the sticker room there.

Ana Reinert: Like it's well and you're going to have to take some of those home for the kids.

Myke Hurley: The sticker room is what is I know is going to bankrupt me. Right.

Brad Dowdy: Those at least pack easy. Yeah.

Ana Reinert: Those will pack. Yeah. They pack flat.

Brad Dowdy: So I'm already shopping at Wonder Pins, too. I've always enjoyed their Franklin Kristoff special edition. The color of that pen. I don't I don't know if it even has. What do they call it? It's a it's like this translucent brown.

Brad Dowdy: It's they started out in the model 20. They make a pocket 45 now. But two of my favorite.

Brad Dowdy: Favorite models. So it's a translucent gray. It's really pretty. I've always liked it. So I'm going to hopefully pick up one of those if they have any of those in stock. I know just like any stores that carry limited Franklin Kristoffs. They're in and out just because number one, they're awesome. And number two, you can't get a million of them at a time. So that's great. And then I've always been fascinated with superior labor's leather goods. So I might end up with something from that. Probably one of the bigger items than this as opposed to the smaller items. I don't know if they still have like the A5 case, but I might buy like the the pen and wallet case is one that they they sell now. I've always enjoyed the look of the superior labor goods and I've always held off buying it until I've seen it. So I know Wonder Pins carries a good amount of stock. And of course, Liz takes every picture with her dang case in there and makes them look so good. It's it's going to be hard for me not to to end up with something from superior labor on that.

Brad Dowdy: And then I haven't even gotten to the pen show yet. Like I'm not shopping at the pen show except maybe the inks. How good do those inks look from KWZ?

Ana Reinert: I really like the maple. That one looks really good.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. Yeah. That long. That might be something that if there's any left because I know it's the limited edition that they're doing for the show. I would be interested in that because I think I'm still looking for it for a really good red.

Brad Dowdy: You know, I am not a red person. This looks like an amazing red for me. It looks really, really good. And paired with the blue, like having those inked up side by side and in complimentary pens and nibs and using those on the same page. They work really, really well together. I don't know what it is about these two colors that really gets me. I like my blues and reds together. So yeah, I'm all about it. So I am a little bit scared of this trip just from the amount of that. I'm going to go a little bit crazy. So y'all will be responsible for reining me in and then I'll tell you where to stick it and I will buy it anyway. Okay.

Ana Reinert: We'll be prepared for that. Yeah.

Myke Hurley: I like that you, you know, again, you know yourself, you know, that's the most important thing. Just know yourself, Brett. It's scary, Myke. Scary. All right. So is that everything? Should we move into some Ask TPA? Yeah. Oh, no, it's not everything.

Topic Shift - Ask TPA Segment

Brad Dowdy: Well, it's never everything, but we should move on to Ask TPA.

Myke Hurley: That's everything for the trip. We've outlined the trip. We're really excited if any of you are going to make it to the multiple locations, right? So that's really great. I am genuinely really pleased that we've been able to work out the meetups that we're doing because that means that, you know, if you are going to be in New York or you're going to be in Toronto, we're going to get to see a bunch of you and that's always great. So I'm really pleased that we're able to work those out.

Brad Dowdy: But we might have a couple of people that show up in both places. You never know. That would be amazing. They're the true heroes.

Myke Hurley: True heroes. We'll see.

Ana Reinert: I'm actually leaving a little bit later on Monday from Toronto. So if there are any knitters who might be able to point me in the direction of a couple of yarn shops in Toronto, that's the only thing. I know you guys won't care at all, but...

Brad Dowdy: That'd be great.

Ana Reinert: It looks like there's a lot of yarn shops there. That was the only thing. I saw there was a bunch, but I didn't know which ones were the good ones. So, all you Canadian knitters, point me in the right direction.

Myke Hurley: Love it. Yep. You got to send that in to Anna. She's going to know. How else is she going to know without your help? All right. Let's take a break. This episode is brought to you by our friends over at Pen Chalet. They sell all of the stuff that you're looking for. Roller balls, fountain pens, ball points, mechanical pencils. They have pen carrying cases, which I'm always in need of on a trip like this. I have a great big leather folio thing that I got from Pen Chalet a while ago that I love. They have refills and fountain pens. They sell ink. They sell converters. Pen Chalet have everything that you're looking for at great prices with great shipping options. They do free shipping on orders of over $50 in the US, and they sell internationally with great shipping rates and speed, too. I've always been really happy with the things that come to me from Pen Chalet. They get that stuff out of the door real quick. They have fast and reliable customer service, and they believe in this. They back it up with their 100% satisfaction guarantee. Pen Chalet do their best to offer their amazing goods to you at the best prices that they can do. They run special discounts twice a month. They have closeout specials every two weeks as well, and they're always adding new stuff. All of the new stuff that we talk about seems to get added to Pen Chalet these days. They're really on top of all of this. And because you're a listener of this show, you can always get discounts on any of it. If you go to penchalet.com, that's P-E-N-C-H-A-L-E-T.com, you can click the podcast link at the top of the website. You enter the password penaddict, and this is where you can get a code to save 10% on anything at Pen Chalet at any time. So no matter what you're buying, you can always use that code and also support this show. But it's where you also find special offers. And, you know, as always, there is a wide array. There is a vast array of wonderful offers over at Pen Chalet. Prices you couldn't believe on pens that you know you want. Isn't that right, Brad Dowdy?

Brad Dowdy: That is right, Myke Hurley. And I want to talk about not just how great those deals are that they always have for our listeners. Ron goes way out of his way to hook us all up. But I'm browsing through the site, Myke. He has so much new ink on here that my mind is blown. And I know Ana's tested a couple of these things. So Ana, he has the new Tasha inks available. He has the new Three Oysters ink available. He has a new Colorverse limited edition available. And he has new Robert Oster 1980s colors, which I didn't even know existed until I started browsing around the Pen Chalet site. So what have you tried out of these new inks that you like, Ana?

Ana Reinert: I have gotten to try the Three Oysters as well as... Well, I did try some of the Robert Oster 1980s, which I don't think are 1980s colors, but some of them are really pretty.

Brad Dowdy: Right?

Ana Reinert: I don't know what 80s he lived through, but...

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, we were there.

Ana Reinert: Those were not the colors I remember.

Brad Dowdy: We were there.

Ana Reinert: But the Three Oysters, some of those colors are amazing. And I don't want to pick favorites or anything, but there are a couple of them that have very unusual names that are very interesting. Sort of like blue grays, gray purple. There's a red wine, I think, that's like a burgundy color that's really pretty. And what was... Oh, the Tasha ones are actually really nice too. They are not...

Ana Reinert: Even though the bottles sort of look like they were like a sailor ink, they are not. They're made by... I think Tasha makes them themselves. So those are really beautiful colors as well. I tried... I've tried the... I did like a review of the pink, the like sort of a purpley color. And I think I had like a dark... I think like the blue-black. And those are really nice too. Awesome. When I got them, they were out of the sky blue already, which was super popular, I think.

Pen Chalet Sponsor Mention

Brad Dowdy: Well, check in at Penchelay. They've got them all, right, Myke?

Myke Hurley: They most certainly do. Don't forget, you can get that offer. Penchelay.com. Click the podcast link at the top of the website. Enter the password, PenAddict. And you can get that 10% code for anything at Penchelay. Thank you so much to Penchelay for the continued support of this show and RelayFM.

Brad Dowdy: All right. We have weeks worth of Ask TPA that I've been saving up to get Ana's help with because no one really values Myke's opinion as much as Ana's.

Myke Hurley: I mean, it makes perfect sense, really. I mean, if you think about it, I think it makes perfect sense.

Brad Dowdy: So this first one is Tim, and he's going to the Toronto Pen Show. So I had to be sure to put this one first. And it's going to be his first pen show. The first item on the agenda is pose for a photo with us and talk about orange ink. So Tim's already my favorite. So you're number one, Tim. Once that's done, I want to get two Lamy Fine Nibs Smooth Just a Smidge. They're just a little scratchy, and I just want that small bit of bite taken off. What do I look for in a pen tuner slash nibmeister? How do I know who to go to or who to avoid? Should I just queue up in front of the first tuner I see? Help. So with this question and it being your first pen show and you needing pretty simple work, I feel confident in saying you could probably go to any pen tuners there. I don't know who exactly is going to be there. I know they do have nibmeisters there because I've talked to some of the people at the show, but I don't know specifically who they are. But Ana, don't you think this is a pretty simple surgery that this is definitely outpatient surgery, right? For the show, you could get this done quick, get the edge knocked off, and you should be happy, right?

Ana Reinert: Yes, absolutely. I'm pretty sure anybody with experience should be able to handle that. It's not complicated. You're not asking for a new grind or anything like that. Any tuner or even a repair person can probably take care of that.

Brad Dowdy: And we'll probably be hanging out at the WonderPens table. I don't know if any of us would have access to the 12,000 grit sandpaper. One of us could probably even do that for you. If we had the opportunity and the tools to do it, we could make those nibs sing for you.

Myke Hurley: I will not be a part of this any person thing. I just want to know. I don't trust my own abilities enough to guarantee that you would walk away with your pen being in better condition than when you arrived at me. I just wanted to make that clear in case people start giving me sandpaper.

Brad Dowdy: Now, that would be video worthy. If we have any video worthy moment, it would be Myke doing pen nib smoothing.

Ana Reinert: That would be video worthy.

Myke Hurley: For all the wrong reasons.

RPG Campaign Discussion

Brad Dowdy: So, Tim did have a baseball comment for me. He said, thanks to MLB's artificially constructed rivalries to drive ratings, I guess we're frenemies thanks to the 1992 World Series. How does it feel going into enemy territory? I love the Blue Jays. One of my fondest memories, actually, baseball memories, was when Joe Carter hit a walk-off homer in the World Series. I know exactly where I was at a bar in Buckhead, Georgia, Pat Hurley's backyard, on the porch, watching a TV while all my friends were inside doing who knows what in the bar and dance floor area. I was bellied up to the bar watching Joe Carter win a World Series. So, there you go. So, go Blue Jays.

Myke Hurley: You're saying a lot of things I don't understand there, Brad. But I'm going to take your word for it that this is all good.

Brad Dowdy: All right. Evan has a question for Anna. What pen or stationary product has been discontinued that you expected to have a much longer shelf life? Can you think of anything? I have a go-to answer in this category.

Ana Reinert: Okay. Tell me what yours is and maybe it'll stir a memory for me. I see so many products come and go.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. That if anyone knows me, I kind of see why this product went away, but I don't think it should. And that's the Pilot Explorer rollerball pen. It's a retractable pen. It had a very interesting design barrel. I talk about it all the time because I have just reverence for the pen design and the quality of the pen. And the tip size, they made extra fine rollerballs at the time where that wasn't the most common thing. And I just remember being able to get them in black, blue, and I think they even had red and green and right with a really fine line like Pilot does, even though it was a rollerball ink. You know, you have the issues you have with liquid ink. And that was a pen that was discontinued well over a decade ago. It lasted probably a decade. I mean, it was around for a good bit of time and it probably just became a cost thing and the G2 and the V5 and all the other popular pen lines were just more popular than that. And it was a weird shape and I understand that everyone didn't like it, but that's the one I wish would come back. So maybe that's the one I wish would not have gone away in the first place because I think it would be a fun option to have, especially if they just release it in the Japanese market and it's just a molded plastic barrel. They could just change the colors on the barrel, make white barrels or blue barrels and do all these different things with this pen. It's just prime for that and I wish it would come back.

Ana Reinert: Okay. I thought of something.

Brad Dowdy: All right.

Ana Reinert: The Paper Mate Black Pearl Eraser.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. That's a good one. I didn't know that wasn't still made, but that was like the eraser.

Ana Reinert: Because it's not the world's greatest eraser, but people really liked it. And I've had people email me trying to get a hold of one because I did a review of it and they like the shape. It's comfortable. They still make the Pink Pearl, the classic Pink Pearl Eraser, and they still have the white pearl available. But the black pearl, which was sort of shaped like a pebble, people liked it because of the shape and because it was black. It was aesthetically appealing, I think. But I don't know why they stopped making it. And I actually contacted Paper Mate at one point and was like, what is going on? What's the deal? No, seriously, because I had so many people contacting me about my review of like, who's still selling it? Or how can we get a hold of more of them? Or why did you stop making it? And I couldn't get past their PR department to get genuine information about like, was there something in the manufacturing? Was it not selling as well? Why was the black pearl not as successful as the white and the pink? Like, just make it the other shapes, but not like something. Or make the pink pearl or the white pearl in that pebble shape because people just really like the shape. It's comfortable in your hand and it has like the edges are really nice for like kind of erasing in like a line of text or something. But got nothing. I basically got stopped at the door. I was like, okay, fine.

Brad Dowdy: All right. So Evan continues on. He's got a question for you, Myke. It's along the same line saying how great Brad and Anna are. Like we've created things to fill holes left behind in the market when other products disappeared, like the coloring and the Brasstown, which that's exactly right, Evan. Myke, is there any product that has been discontinued that you would want to bring back? And how would you change it?

Myke Hurley: Oh man.

Myke Hurley: I don't know. I can't think of a product that's been discontinued that I would want to change.

Brad Dowdy: Are there existing products that you'd want to change?

Myke Hurley: Yeah. But like, you know, I don't necessarily want to, you know, run anyone down here, you know? Sure, sure, sure. That's true. Fair enough. Right. So, I mean, for me, there's always stuff that can be changed. There's always things that I want. And I feel like this is stuff that I talk about a lot, like changes that I would like to be made for something. But I don't know if I specifically want to call someone out. Maybe I would say, you know what? I think I can do one of these, which is pretty obvious and isn't too bad. I obviously want the M90 to come back, right? Like, obviously, the Pilot M90, I would like to come back. I don't know if there's much I would want to change about this pen. I think the most that I would do, the blue jewel that's in the top, just get rid of that. Like, I would want a new finial. Like, just something that's just completely flat. That would be really nice. And maybe some other material options as well as just the steel that they do. That's probably what I would want to do. Maybe, like, just some slight revisions to the M90 with maybe in some colors. Because, you know, like, it might be nice to do some anodized aluminum ones as well.

Brad Dowdy: So, Anna, he also asked, were there any additional products we'd like to see brought back? I mean, I think we both want the products we talked about. We thought they didn't last long enough, and we want them back, right? It's kind of one and the same.

Ana Reinert: Yep. Yeah. I mean, I'm sure if I sat and thought about it long enough, I could probably come up with a whole list of things.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah.

Ana Reinert: But, yeah, it's definitely something else. Mine would be the same. I'll keep thinking about it.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. All right. I put this one in here just for Anna, even though it doesn't color out specifically. I know she has experience with this. So, this is from Brianna. Long-time listener, first-time emailer. Thank you, Brianna. I started listening to episode one more than a year ago, and I'm currently up to episode 270. Ooh, it might be a while before she hears this answer. My city has a great fountain pen meetup group, but I find their beautiful collections and their constant need to buy more to be intimidating. At the moment, I'm just enjoying my neon pink Caran d'Ache 849 inked with Robert Oster Fire and Ice, which is, man, that's a perfect setup. And I don't feel the need to spend lots of money on new pens right now. I want to be more active in the community, but how can I balance my more minimalist pen habits with others ever-expanding collections? And Anna, you have a small Kansas City group that sometimes meets up? Because I don't think me and Myke have this, that's something that you have in your local area, right?

Ana Reinert: We do. We have a pretty active group, and it's a pretty diverse group, from collectors who have large vintage collections to people who are just getting started and have much smaller collections, and in some cases are just getting inexpensive, in some cases eBay, Chinese pens, or Twisbees, that kind of thing. So we have really, like, it's a very diverse group of people. And so that creates, like, a very nice diversity in terms of people's interests in collecting pens. So we do have people who are genuine pen collectors in the way that you think of pen collectors. You know, the older, you know, fishing vest type pen collector. I hate to stereotype, but that's sort of what most people think of, like, the older pen collectors who are genuinely collecting vintage and, you know, a full line of Visconti or something like that. And then we also have people who are collecting pens or using fountain pens to use daily for their journals and that kind of thing, and may only have three or four pens, you know. So I think that you can genuinely have one fountain pen and consider yourself a fountain pen user and participate in your local community. And if one pen is all that you need and all that you want to have, that's awesome. And I think more power to you for not falling victim to the, you know, FOMO and, you know, I mean, the problems that people like Brad and I have, which is we continue to buy more pens, you know, and what your community gives you is the opportunity to try other pens without actually having to buy them. You know, the people in your pen at your, you know, your pen club, I'm sure will let you try their pens and you can experience them and feel what it feels like to write with different pens and different nibs without ever actually having to buy them, which is a great opportunity. It's the same thing of like going over to someone else's house and using their art supplies or, you know, I mean, something like that, where you don't actually have to go out and buy all that, you know, all that equipment, all of those things, and get that experience without spending all the money. You know, it's like the shared, you know, the shared lawnmowers and that kind of thing. Like, you know, it's like, I think that's great. And if your community is supportive of that and doesn't mind that you don't have a bunch of pens because you want to live a very minimal lifestyle and just participate and enjoy being around other people who love pens and ink and writing, I think that's awesome.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I mean, I couldn't say it better than that. I think it's fantastic that you're going. I think it's amazing that you're 270 episodes into the show and you've held fast. That's impressive. I don't understand how it's possible. So, yeah, that is awesome, Brianna. So, yeah, keep going. You know, enjoy the friendships. Enjoy the conversations. Enjoy the education. You know, there's just so much good to come out of hanging around other fountain pen people and learning about things and never having to worry about spending money on other goods. So, don't even sweat that at all. All right. Next up, Doc Krog from Twitter is going to be starting a new tabletop RPG campaign with a few friends. We're all required to bring three ring binders, paper, and pencils. With erasers would be best. I'm currently looking into Dome Paper, but I was wondering if y'all had any recommendations. So, this is a great question and one I do get from time to time. And I was actually able to spend some time with my friend Dan at the Atlanta Pen Show going over his RPG game analog setup. So, he talked about a bunch of papers that he used. He talked about different printouts that he used for gaming. He talked about the tools he used. And he sent a link over that I'll include in the show notes to Doc Krog as an answer to this question. And he put in the woodcase pencils. He put in the prospector, the cedar point number two or number one, golden bear, some of the mechanical pencils, which I think are great. And he also recommended bringing a fine liner, you know, like an art drawing pen as well. So, the paper is the hardest thing to know what to do with as far as loose leaf and binders. Did you have any, do you know anything about that, Anna?

Ana Reinert: I know that Rodia does have the Rodia pads with the three ring binder holes. It's the only other option I could think of. You can get the letter, either letter size or A4 size that is pre-punched with the holes. So, that's another option. But that paper is very, very smooth and sometimes isn't the best for a pencil.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, so the DONE stuff is great. Obviously, if the grids work for the game style that you're playing, you know, if it's not too overwhelming for the type of marking that you need to do. And I know usually at these gaming events, Anna, there are some beverages to be had. What would go well with the rest of this kit for your beverages?

Ana Reinert: My next suggestion would be to make sure that you have some proper coasters to go with.

Myke Hurley: And where can somebody buy those coasters?

Ana Reinert: You know, I know this guy. He runs this letterpress print shop and he makes these awesome letterpress coasters. In fact, I am using one right now for my coffee. They have D20 dice printed on them.

Myke Hurley: This is what we call vertical integration.

Brad Dowdy: And let me just say, as someone who has experience with these coasters and sell these coasters in their own shop, it's one of my favorite products I've ever done. I love those Panetta coasters. I still use them. I just love the coasters so much. They're on my desks. They're fantastic. So, thanks, Bob. Anna's real husband.

Ana Reinert: Yeah, no, when I saw this question, I was like, what do you really need for your RPG campaign? You need D20 coasters is what you really need. I know you need paper. I know you need pencils. But you really need these coasters. Let me tell you what you really need. Because they will make you the coolest.

Ana Reinert: Coolest host. So, I threw those in there. They're just fun. And it just adds a little something to your game.

Brad Dowdy: They're awesome. Awesome.

Brad Dowdy: So, I wanted to sneak this question in. One, because of the terminology. And two, I actually want to know. So, BewareNinja on Twitter wants to know if the Don has gone back to the Apple Watch Series 4 or is he still on his analog watch kick?

Myke Hurley: Oh, I'm still on the Nomos. I'm not moving. Yeah. I tried the Series 4 for a day. Like, I tried it out and kind of realized that whilst it is the best, by far and away, the best Apple Watch that's ever been made, I don't live the Apple Watch life anymore.

Brad Dowdy: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. All right. So, this next question from Fiatr on Twitter wants to know if Waterman is slowly pulling out of the U.S. market. I ask because their offerings at various retailers seem to be diminishing. I haven't seen an increase or decrease in Waterman's presence in the market for a decade now. Because it's been almost non-existent from my point of view in the first place, especially at major retail. Like, I've seen online retail trickle in a few new brands. But, Ana, have you seen anything just from a major retail perspective that's even remotely interesting from Waterman? I mean, it's kind of non-existent, right?

Ana Reinert: No. From what I can tell, like, usually I only see Waterman in, like, big box office supply stores. And it's, there isn't much. They seem to be the same pens, like, they haven't really changed their offering. So, I don't know if they're retooling or if, you know, money is tight and they're not redesigning or coming out with anything new. Like, I mean, maybe they've kind of, you know, if there's, like, some reorganization going on in the back.

Ana Reinert: Because I know, like, Cross and, you know, there's been a lot going on with Cross and Schaefer, right? They're doing a lot of trying to figure out how they're fitting in in the market right now. So, maybe Waterman is trying to figure out where, like, how to find their place. But, yeah. So, it's just, it seems really shaky for them, for all three of them right now.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. And that's the exact group I would place them in with Cross and Schaefer. And Cross and Schaefer are at least trying. I'm not up to speed on if Waterman is trying yet. So, I can't really say definitively. But I don't see it, right? I at least see new stuff from Cross and Schaefer, whether I like it or not. You know, that's a different conversation. But they're trying, right? They're getting out there. They're doing new things. They have different, you know, marketing deals with different things. And, you know, are constantly coming up with something. I don't know what Waterman's coming up with than a couple of very basic types of changes in their ideas over the past, I don't know, decade or more. So, we'll see.

Ana Reinert: It feels like the only thing that's keeping them going, really, in terms of, like, the fountain pen market is their ink. I mean, because we continue to recommend Waterman Ink.

Pocket Pen/Knife Combination

Brad Dowdy: I do, too. Yeah. It's really, really good. So, the Chris Ball wants to know, he carries a pocket pen and a pocket knife and wonder if there are any combination of the two that isn't horribly tacticalized and has a decent set of options for refill. Bonus points for a bottle opener. So, I think both Anna and I are proponents of the pocket pen and the pocket knife carry. But I've never combo-mealed the two. Have you ever done anything like that where you found kind of an all-in-one type of tool that could actually, you know, slim-fit pocket carry?

Ana Reinert: Not and been both useful and aesthetically appealing.

Brad Dowdy: Right. Right. So, yeah.

Ana Reinert: No, I thought about this question for a while and I was like, I don't think that there's a good combination. And maybe it's, again, I'm not really the right market for that.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I mean, the best I've ever done is separate tools as well. I mean, whatever small pen I want to carry. And then the best knife that I've had with a bottle opener is Swiss Army makes an ALOX pocket knife that's like 20 bucks that has a single blade and a bottle opener. I mean, I've bought multiple of those because I've lost them over the years. It's that good to keep buying again. So, the all-in-one stuff tends to not work. It tends to be a letdown across the board instead of having a good individual tool for each. That's what I've found.

Ana Reinert: Yeah. I feel like it's two different types of companies that make them. You know, there's not a pen manufacturer that makes a good knife or a knife manufacturer that makes a good pen. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: There you have it.

Ana Reinert: So, it's like until you find somebody who decides to work together.

Brad Dowdy: Do you know what I mean? We should get on that.

Ana Reinert: Swiss Army works with, yeah, you know, Swiss Army works with a pick-a-pen manufacturer that's...

Brad Dowdy: Mont Blanc.

Ana Reinert: No, no, no, no. Caran d'Ache.

Brad Dowdy: There you go.

Ana Reinert: There, two Swiss manufacturers get together.

Brad Dowdy: Both Swiss. You know, then it might actually work.

Brad Dowdy: All right. Quick question from Hedgehogs. And he's right. Others have asked, but when's the annual update to the top five pens coming? I need to do that. I'm behind this year. I didn't even... Honestly, I won't lie. I forgot about it. It's usually updated in September. I've been super busy. It didn't even cross my mind until about three people emailed me within the span of a week. Hey, where's my update? I'm like, oh, yeah, I should do that. So, I'll work on that before the end of the year. So, there you go. This question has been floating around for a while. And I promised him I would get him an answer because I think it's a really good question. This is from Mr.131774 on Twitter. After a five-year degree program, a three-year internship requirement, and six licensing exams, I have finally received my architecture license. Capital A, Architect. I'm buying my Grail pen as the capstone to 10 years of hard work. The Nakaya Nagoro Redcloth Ruthenium nib. The question is, should I get the architect grind for this pen? And, Michael, what would you say to 131774? Great name, by the way.

Myke Hurley: I mean, if, well, I would say that if you're going to be an architect, you should get an architect grind. Like, if there is a grind that is named after what you do. If there was a podcaster's grind to a pen nib, I would get it, right? I feel like, but I would say in the same vein, this is such an important pen that if you've never tried an architect grind before, try it on a cheaper pen first. Because architect grinds don't work for me. So, like, I think it depends on your writing style. But I know that people really love them, but I feel like I'm accidentally going to cut the paper into pieces when I use it. So, my recommendation would be that you should definitely consider it because it fits so perfectly. And especially if it's, like, your pen to congratulate yourself, right? As for being an architect, like, it seems like the perfect thing. But if you've never tried an architect grind before, try it out. I mean, even better if you, whoever you'd get to do the work for you, if you're going to get it done after the fact, get them to do another pen first. I don't know. But that would be my recommendation.

Brad Dowdy: What do you think, Anna? Because this is a very nuanced, difficult question. That's why I put it in here, I think. It's not a straightforward question at all.

Ana Reinert: I have to agree with Myke on this one. I mean, that is, an Akia is an expensive pen. And if you've never had an architect grind before, I don't know that I would do it on this pen. It is very specialized. Sight unseen. Yeah. You know, sight unseen. Like, if you knew for sure that this was a nib grind that you loved, then yes. But I, yeah, this is an expensive pen. I would be hesitant, you know, to Myke's point. Like, some people love this particular nib grind and other people don't. Even knowing as many architects as I do, you know, and knowing how they tend to write and that it is very, you know, I mean, that's what influenced the grind in the first place. But I would definitely try it out first. I know Navardo at Peyton Street Pens sells the nib ground on a standard number six for like $45. So you could like drop that into any number six pen that you have, like a Franklin Kristoff or something and try it first, which seems like a considerably lower point of entry before before putting it into an Akaya.

Ana Reinert: That seems like, you know, baby steps first.

Brad Dowdy: Right. Yeah. So I'm with both of y'all. And, you know, I think about it and I'm like, well, yeah, you should go ahead and do this. You know, it's the, like you say, the capstone to 10 years and, you know, you're going to get the pen that you wanted and get this architect grind. But then I wonder how much are you going to use the architect grind for its intended purpose? Right. Is this going to be your main writing pen? Then I'd consider strongly not getting it. Right. Or are you going to use this for sketches and mockups? Because you're probably not going to use this for your daily work. But is it going to be useful? Are you going to get the benefit of the grind as much as just having the style of the grind for the pen? So I'm kind of with y'all. Well, it's worth spending some money to try one before you spend the big money and are unhappy and then have to spend, you know, 200, $250 to get it fixed. You know, get a new nib put in there with something that you like. I think it's worth the smaller amount up front to see. And then consider how much are you going to benefit from that grind on a daily basis and if that works. So that's a really, I love that question because it's really hard to answer that type of question. But it's a question that comes up from time to time. It's like, you know, how do I do this thing? I don't want to make a mistake and I'm not sure what to do.

Brad Dowdy: All right. A few more here and we'll wrap it up for today because I'm on a plane. So we need to finish this up before I land.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. You've got to pay attention to your air stewards. I know, right? They want you to buckle up now, I guess.

Ana Reinert: Seedbacks in the upright and locked position.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. So Ryan is feeling Myke's pain here. He says, I too have been pulled in by the current of sailor pins this year. Like Myke, I went a little hard on the sailor purchases and brought the pro gear slate, the pro gear ocean and the sailor 1911 standard stormy seas. While putting them in a pin case together with the sailor pro gear sky, Ryan's doing it right. He says, I remember that it says sky on the cat band. I guess my question is why does the ocean not say ocean? Was there something even more special about the sky that I don't know as I just bought that about a year ago and missed the hype of it being released? I thought I would ask and see if you have any ideas. I'm actually not sure myself, but the sky was part of a four pin set that had earth, air, sky, and I don't know what the fourth one was. But now that he said that, I don't recall. Like I've reviewed the earth. I own the sky king of pins. I've never noticed that on any of those pins before. I understand why the standalone additions do not have it. But the sky was actually part of a four pin group a few years ago.

Brad Dowdy: Did they even finish that entire group? I don't know. Brian's got my mind blown now thinking about this question. But I think if there's any reason why it was that sky was part of a bigger series of pins while all the other ones are standalone special editions. So that's my thoughts on that. Y'all have anything else on that?

Myke Hurley: I don't know anything about that. But I congratulate your route into the sailor lifestyle.

Brad Dowdy: Speaking of which, Paul wants to know, Myke, do you think your current hype excitement for sailor pins will soon fade just like it did with Field Notes? Just re-listen to some of the first episodes or to a lesser extent, Retro 51. I'm interested in your and Brad's view of your personal hype cycle. Awesome question.

Myke Hurley: I disagree with, as is usual, questions about me. I disagree with some of this question. My interest has not faded with Field Notes or with Retro 51. But I have stopped the initial collecting. That's what I think is being misconstrued of like, it's what I'm doing with Sailor. It's what I did with Retro 51. It's what I did with Field Notes was, I like this thing. I want to collect a lot of them and then slowly add to them then over time. So like, that's what I'm doing with Sailor now. I have discovered that I think that Sailor pins are the best pens that you can possibly buy. So I have collected a lot of them. And now I will probably slowly add to it a little bit more slowly over time, which is what I did with Retro 51 and Field Notes. Mm-hmm.

Brad Dowdy: Ana, do you have anything that falls into those categories that we obsess over like unhealthily, like Retro 51 or Field Notes? I'm trying to think of something for you. I mean, just inks in general, but is there a specific brand?

Ana Reinert: I was going to say, have you seen my collection of color-verse inks? Good grief.

Brad Dowdy: So is that the one?

Ana Reinert: Oh, no, I have my own. I think I have my own hype cycle. And I think, to Myke's point, I think it's similar. Like, you discover something that you really, really like. And so you get a lot of it to start with. And then you figure out, like, that you like certain types of that particular thing. So whether it's a pen and you discover that you like, you know, maybe the Sailor 1911 or in the case of, like, the color-verse inks, you know, I discovered that after I bought all of them, I do like all of them. But, you know, now that I pretty, I do actually have, like, I have all, like, the first three or four series, I have every single color, full bottles. So it's like, now I hit a point where I'm running out of space and I just need to be choosier because I have a lot of color. And so now maybe, like, I don't need every red that comes out. I have to be a little pickier about them simply because I don't have space to put them all, you know?

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, and I think it's an evolution with any of the products that we fall in love with. And I think Retro 51 is a good example for me. Like, my love for the pen and the brand has never been stronger than it is right now, but I buy less of them than ever because I have enough and it has to be really special for me to buy it. You know, that doesn't mean it's not still at the top of the hype cycle. It just means that, like, I'm more conscious, like you say, do I need another red? You know, so.

Ana Reinert: Absolutely. Yeah, and you just get choosier about the ones that, you know, which ones really speak to you versus the sort of fear of missing out. So it's like, at our house, pretty much if it has a space theme or any kind of plane related, like, you know, that Retro 51 stops right here.

Pen Case Discussion

Brad Dowdy: Right, right. All right, last one for this week. And this was a little bit of a challenging one for me as well. And it's also from Paul, our previous questioner. Any recommendations for a pen case where I can store three fountain pens, medium size, maybe clipless, and two mechanical pencils with fixed sleeves? So this is the kicker. I mean, they all have to be non-touchy, which, you know, Paul is someone after my own heart. It should have a small footprint. He likes the holster type cases like the Knock Lookout, but they're bad for fixed sleeve mechanical pencils, which I agree with. Because those fixed sleeves can poke you if they get manipulated in the wrong fashion. So is there a case that's slim and can meet all of these requirements? I had a tough time trying to figure this out because anything that was small enough and segregated enough was kind of bulky. Like some of the leather cases from Frank and Krzysztof, like the penvelopes, like those tend to get bulky. They're not going to fit in a pocket. Not that this has to fit in a pocket, but they're larger format. I'm trying to think of something slimmed down that might work for Paul. Do you all have any ideas?

Ana Reinert: The only thing I could think of were some of the, like the gallon leather zip. I have their three pen zip and I fake it a little and I can fit two, like two pencils on either end. So they're not touching anything, but they aren't actually enclosed. But because it's a leather case, things like mechanical pencils and stuff don't fall out or don't poke out of the end. Mm-hmm. It's kind of a workaround, but because it's really designed to hold three fountain pens and not five, it ends up being fairly slim and about the size of a lookout.

Brad Dowdy: Okay.

Ana Reinert: But yeah, it is kind of, that was the only thing I could think of because it is kind of a workaround because their five pen case I think is too big. Mm-hmm. And does become a bit bulkier because they have like a five pen that also holds, I think it's five pen and then holds like a field notes on the other side. And then that gets into that whole thing. It's like becomes closer to the size of a Franklin Kristoff penvelope kind of thing. It gets a little bulkier. But yeah, it's really hard to come up with something because mechanical pencils are so much slimmer than fountain pens. And usually cases aren't designed to sort of accommodate, like there isn't any way to sort of adjust the like elastics or anything that hold them down. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. And if you're looking at doing this mixture of fountain pens and mechanical pencils, a wrap of some type is probably going to suit you better, even though it'll be a rolled closure, not a flat closure. You could get that separation that you need. You know, you're going to have to deal with some of the bulk, but if you could find a leather wrap that is slim enough to get down to the right size, that's probably going to meet all your needs. It's just finding one that's not too bulky. So challenging question.

Ana Reinert: Yeah. Like the one that Yenderings makes. The Yenion. Yeah. That might.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. The smaller one of the two. Yeah.

Ana Reinert: Because that almost lays flat rather than rolling.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. Which seems a little. Yeah. It's built in the middle to make it lay flatter.

Ana Reinert: Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. That's a good call. We'll put a link to that in the show notes. And where can we find the show notes this week, Michael? Well, with the lovely Anna Reinhardt as guest hosts on her way to New York City to see us right now.

Myke Hurley: For this very episode, Relay.fm slash Pen Addict slash 331. But they should also be in your podcast app of choice. You can find us over the next few days in New York and Toronto. But if you're not going to be in those places online, I reckon Instagram is going to be really good because I'm sure we'll all be posting stuff on the trip. I am iMike. I-M-Y-K-E. Brad is Pen Addict. P-E-N-A-D-D-I-C-T. And if I'm going to try my best here. So Anna is Well. W-E-E-L-L-A-P-P-T-D-E-S-K. Are you well appointed? That's the Instagram, right? Did I do it?

Ana Reinert: Yep.

Myke Hurley: Excellent. But you'll find links to all of those in the show notes as well. So you can go follow us. You can also find Anna at wellappointeddesk.com. Brad is at penaddict.com. Thanks so much to Harry's and Pen Chalet for their support of this show. And we'll be back next time with our report of our wonderful Pen Safari that we're going on. Until next time, say goodbye, everybody. Goodbye, everybody.