The Pen Addict 458/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	458
Title:	The Fourth Best Colour
Release Date:	April 21st, 2021
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	No guests this episode
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 458
Audio File:	Audio Episode 458
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 458
Length:	6161 min <br />1.017 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

Myke: From RelayFM, this is The Pen Addict, episode 458, and today's show is brought to you by Pen Chalet and Squarespace. My name is Myke Hurley, I'm joined by Brad Dowdy. Hi, Brad.

Brad: Hey, Myke Hurley, how are you today?

Myke: I'm tired. There was a big Apple event last night, and it was a lot of work, and I've been working hard because I've got to, like, basically, basically, like, they announced an event, and then it was like, alright, the next 10 to 11 days just, like, explode for me now, which is awesome. Right, like, one of the reasons that this happens is, like, over the last year, I've had a lot more access to Apple, which is awesome. It's something I've always wanted, right? I've been working to get that for, like, 10 years. But what that means is, like, at a moment's notice now, I'll get, like, four calendar events just dropped in to my diary, which means move this, like, move that show around, move this show around, prepare for this, prepare for that. So, it explodes my calendar, but, you know, I'm living with it.

Brad: Right, it's like, you work for this point, and you're like, I guess this is what I asked for.

Myke: Yeah, I choose to be grateful.

Brad: Yes, exactly. Alright, so, every now and then, when we have these Apple events and the conflicting things, you know, I'll ask you, like, any relative things, like, pen addict-y-wise, you know, like, if there's some Apple pencil thing or something like that. I'm not going to ask you that. I am going to ask you one question. As a non-event viewer, and excluding any podcast discussion, we'll leave that for all your other shows, what's the one thing I should take away from yesterday's event as a technology fan? What should I go look at?

Apple Event Impact

Myke: I think the new iMac, because I think it's telling a story about what Apple thinks computers should be now, visually. And I think it's a pretty cool thing.

Brad: Yeah, and as luck would have it, we actually have a question about that that we should get to and ask TPA later. So, yes, good call. I will check into that. I will probably look at some of that stuff today. So, I may be hitting you up later, but not today, because you're tired. So, all right. This week, Myke, I wanted to touch base as we normally do with a discussion around some of the things that we've been using recently. More me than you, even though I personally find you interesting, I think you probably think these are boring because you think you say the same thing all the time. But I still always like to kind of pick your brain about, like, why you choose things, even if sometimes they're the same repeatedly. And I actually have an ulterior motive for this today, which we'll get to at the end. So, do you want me to just go ahead and kick this off and tell you what's really been doing it for me recently as far as stationery goes? Definitely. Definitely. So, I think it was last year when I bought the Sailor Pro Gear Fujiyama Blue. Was it last year or two years ago? I think it was last year. I would have to go look it up. And this is a Bung Box collaboration with Sailor. And it confuses me when I buy it because there is now, as of a couple of weeks ago, there was actually three versions of this pen.

Myke: It was last April, I think.

Brad: Okay. So, that would be version two, which I have. There is now a version three. And I don't recall, and chat and listeners will tell me if I'm wrong, I can think of the Love Pink, which has three versions. And then this one, the Fujiyama Blue, which has three versions from Bung Box. I don't recall them doing this for many other pens. Like, Visions of Alice doesn't have a round two yet. No. And some of their popular ones from before don't have a round two yet. But Love Pink and Fujiyama are both on three, which is interesting. Like, this is one of my favorite pens, period. I don't really have a statement on, like, the versions one, two, and three. Like, they're just, on all these pens, they're changing the top disc finial, right? They're changing the artwork.

Myke: Well, the Pink Love has actually changed in more significant ways. Like, they've changed the shade, and they've, you know, they have actually changed that pen in some other ways in the past over the versions. Gotcha.

Brad: Yeah, I don't think the Fujiyama Blue has changed, like, the physical design, other than the Mount Fuji rodden on the top finial. On the first version, I don't, I think the second version has, like, this little river stripe in it. And then the third version has a red background. It's still the same Mount Fuji shape. But, yeah, the Pink Love did change a little bit of the color, didn't it?

Myke: Mm-hmm.

Brad: So, anyway, that's neither here nor there. Yeah, it's really not important.

Myke: We'll just fixate on it for a bit.

Brad: Well, like, I'm mathing in my head. I was like, well, they've done three of these, and they've done three of that one. Are they going to do multiples of these other ones, right? This is that. This is why I don't ascribe to, like, the FOMO thing anymore, right? If you miss something, like, don't sweat. Not that it's going to come back around necessarily, but you're going to have plenty of opportunities to get something you like later. Don't just, you know, go to the ends of the earth to get the one thing.

Myke: Do you remember the lengths that I went to to get that fifth anniversary, and it ended up getting lost in Las Vegas? Yes. Do you remember that? I do.

Brad: That was a wild story. I do. I do. And, hey, I'm super guilty of the FOMO thing. But as, you know, you get older and more experienced and a little bit more perspective on what types of products work for you, like, those feelings disappear pretty quickly. So that's the pin I'm using. I think this is my go-to sailor design. Like, it's my favorite Pro Gear because not only is it the perfect kind of colors exterior for me with the dark blue translucent barrel, the lighter blue solid acrylic finials, and the rhodium plating, but this one has a metal grip section. And that kind of makes all the difference in the world.

Myke: The metal grip section on a Pro Gear. I mean, I have a couple that have that, and it really elevates the pen. I would say this one, the Fujiyama Blue, I like it. It's just interesting to me that this is the one that you really, really love. Like, I like this one.

Metal Grip Sections

Brad: This is number one for me. Like, it's kind of turned me off from buying more.

Myke: Again, it makes me think that you really should have the Japan Steel one. Like, that's, you know.

Brad: I know. I've had a chance to buy that pen. I like it. I think that's probably what I would feel about this. It's like, I really like it. I love this pen. Like, this is my pen. This is the one I would hang my hat on as far as all the Sailor Pro Gears in 1911. Right. Limited editions that I have. This one's mine. And it has caused me not to want any other ones because they cannot beat this one, at least not that I've seen. Right? So, maybe one day. I have inked this up, Myke, with a certain ink called Sailor Bung Box Fujiyama Blue. So, I think they started doing this later, Bung Box that is, to where they were making inks with the pens, right? Like, the Pink Love. Like, didn't have an ink at first when they first launched it, but it's got an ink now, right? I think. Ibisu has an ink. I think so. The Golden Black one has an ink. So, this one, I don't know if the ink came out at the same time, but I had an opportunity to buy this ink as part of a group buy. And this is normally not an ink I would buy because I don't like those lighter, pastel-y type shades. This is almost like a, I don't know, it's like an ice, translucent type of shade. It's really hard for me to describe because I don't have other inks this color. I love it. And maybe it's just because it's new and it's complete matchy-matchy to my pen. But I like this ink better than I thought I would, right? This is one of those risky purchases. I was like, oh, let me try this. It's different. It matches the pen. It's got the exact same name, obviously. And I didn't know if I would like it once I started writing with it because I like finer nibs. And these lighter shaded inks tend not to show up well on the page. Like, I wouldn't want to put this ink in my ultra extra fine nib, right? It's just going to cause my eyes to go bad at a worse rate than they're going bad right now. In this medium fine nib, it really works. Like, it legitimately works. I want this to be the ink for this pen going forward, as in, like, I'm done. Like, I have a couple of pens where only one ink goes in them because it's kind of the perfect match. And I think this might be it. I really like it. I will do a full review of this one day. I did a review in refill for the Penatic members, which is something I rarely do because I like my reviews to be public. So I'll do something separate for this to show people this ink and how interesting it is compared to any other inks I normally use. So it's been really fun. I'm surprised. That one surprised me. Like, the pen does not surprise me. It's perfect for me. The ink, complete surprise.

Brad: The paper mic.

Brad: I've been using more Mormon croquis. What did you have? Paper. I feel like the biggest shill that I'm totally overblowing this paper. And I might be, but I like it. I really legitimately love this paper. And what I did since we last spoke, and we're going to have some more follow-up on Mormon. Croquis, obviously, because that's all I talk about now later in this episode. But what I did with the A5 glue-bound pad is I went and I have one of those huge desk-type hole punchers. This one is from Atoma. And I've currently liberated. We're going to say liberated this hole punch from our friend Dan Don. This is his punch that I've now had for probably, like, two years. I tried to send it back to him. Right when the pandemic started, like, before we really knew what was going on, I was like, hey, I should get this back to you. Right? Because it's like this 10-pound, you know, crazy-sized hole puncher. It's like, this is yours. This is an expensive hole puncher. I should get it back to you. And he's like, well, like, this is, like, right when, like, the pandemic hit. And he's like, I don't know where I'm going to be. So just hang on to it. And a year later, I still have it. And I use it pretty frequently because I have a William Hanna planner, which we'll talk about in a minute. That's also Dan Don's fault, by the way. He was the first one that showed me the ways of William Hanna. I don't know if you knew that, but that was also his fault. So both of these things are his fault. So thank you, Dan Don, for that. But this paper hole punched right into the back section of my planner. And I'm still using it. I'm still enjoying it. It's just kind of my jam. It fits all my needs. Have you, did you click through the link to this puncher? Yeah. Have you seen these before? No. So there's probably other brands. And I think some of the makers of disc-bound systems, say Levenger or Auric or Circa or any of those that, you know, have these disc-bound systems also sell punches. These are not, you know, your typical hole punch. This one, I'm looking at it on Cult Pens. It's $140, right? These are like no-joke level punches. Like not everyone really gets one of these. But if you're committed to that disc-bound life and you want your own paper in there, it's not a bad purchase. It's just crazy expensive. And maybe there's some other options out there that chat will let us know about. So this, Myke, I tagged this as group one. And this is how I use stationary. And this is what we're going to get to at the end of this. I'm going to ask you a question or propose a question. But this is how I think about my stationary usage, right? I have this fountain pen that I love with an ink that I love and a paper that I love. And those all kind of go together, right? They all one big happy writing family, right?

Brad: And that's kind of a set. That's a group. Those are together. So then I have this group two. Like that's not the only things I use during the week. So I have this second group of pens and paper that serve different purposes.

Brad: For example, the Spoke Icon Fountain Pen. Obviously, I make it. And I love it. And I'm using a purple one with silver hardware.

Brad: But the reason I made it is because I wanted to use this certain ink on it, which is called Van Demons Diamonds or Girls BFF. How is that for an ink name, Myke? That's cool.

Myke: Who makes that?

Brad: Van Demons. They're out of Australia. I think specifically Tasmania. I could be wrong there. So Australian ink brand with a huge ink lineup. I don't know the quantity, but I'm going to say like 60, 80, 100 inks like out the gate. You know, not like 12, right? But, you know, some people that we get introduced to inks have, okay, here's our first 12 inks. Van Demons has a ton.

Brad: This is kind of a purpley with silver sparkly ink. I mean, it kind of fits the name, I guess, a little bit. It's a really bright and gaudy and ostentatious ink, and I love it. I'm a huge fan of this ink. It actually goes really well with the Fujiyama Blue. It's a good contrast to that ink.

Van Demons Diamonds Ink

Brad: It matches the pen perfectly. I have it in a medium nib so I can get all the character of the ink and the sparkles. I put a link in the show notes so everyone can see what this ink looks like. Kelly at Mountain of Ink. Like, this is her fault that I had to have this ink, and luckily I had a sample of it that was sent to me. And you go look at that. What do you think about this ink, Michael? Would you use an ink like this in any of your pens? Like, is this any way, like, you know, useful to you?

Myke: I think, well, not useful. I mean, not useful. I don't like the color of this ink. I like the pink part, but the kind of silvery part makes the whole thing look a little, like, muddy or faded to me in a way that I don't like.

Brad: Yeah, on the page, it's really that pinkish-purple color, and then the sparkles kind of hit separately from that, like, when the ink dries.

Myke: So this is one of those ones where the swabbing doesn't do it just, like, doesn't actually really help the look.

Brad: Yes. And sometimes those swabs are good, and sometimes they're bad and, like, not representative of actual usage. So, yes. We talk about that all that time. Both of those two fountain pens, the bung box, Fujiyama Blue, and the Sailor Spoke Icon, I'm using those mostly in my Misubi Indigo Denim Journal. Still my favorite current notebook, right? I praise the Mormon Croquis notebook, the paper, because it's fun. It doesn't really come in, like, a great, great format, which is why I had to kind of roll my own with the Disbound Planner. The Misubi Journal is still my number one notebook with a bullet, with the bank paper. I'm a big fan of the bank paper over the Cosmo Aerolite for my usage. Now we have group three.

Brad: This one I call the test drivers.

Myke: Do you see what I did there, Myke? Yes, that's a good crossover. I'm into it.

Brad: Thank you. Thank you. So this is the test drivers kit, or group. I always have things that I need to test, or I'm just trying to sort out my thoughts. This could be pens that I have to review later. It could be something I'm testing out for spoke. It could be a product that someone sent me from Kickstarter.

Myke: You have to test a lot of things a lot of the time for various reasons, whether it's something you're developing or something that you're reviewing or whatever, right? Right. Testing is normal.

Brad: Yes. And I don't do my testing as, okay, today I pick up this pen, and for the next hour this is the pen that I'm going to test. It's, hey, let's ink up this pen and just use it as I would normally use other things. So that's, like, my, in general, that's how I test products. We just put them into, like, regular usage of being accessible to me when I'm doing things. One is a refill I'm using in the Spoke Rody Dart, which the Spoke Rody takes the Parker-style refills. We sell it with the Jetstream, the SXR Jetstream that I love, and we're not going to switch it from that, but I'm testing this refill because it's a Parker-style gel refill from a brand called Kaco. K-A-C-O. They make these fountain pens, and I still don't know how to pronounce the name. If it's Kaco or Kaco. K-A-C-O. But this is a 0.5-millimeter gel blue-black ink, which is not something you see a lot of. And I had to trim it to get it into the Rody, and I'm not necessarily saying, like, this is the future Rody refill. We're not going to change that. But I'm just, this is where I test these Parker-style refills because that's what that pen barrel fits. It's decent. Decent, I'm trying to sort out if it's actually better than decent because this is a category of refill that people really want because there's not many good Parker-style gel ink refills. I talk about the Odo Flash Dry. That's one of my favorites. But it's also a needle point, which I love, but it doesn't, it's not always the most aesthetically pleasing when you put it into pens that were designed to continue the shape of a conical tip refill. Like, that design can be a little bit jarring when they're not made for that style of refill, even though I think it's a great refill. And Monteverde makes some Parker-style gel refills. They're okay. I think this one's just going to be okay. I don't know that it's going to be great. I like it. I don't, I just don't love it. So I'm playing with that and using it a bunch. I've been using it a lot, actually, and I can't really get past it being just okay. Like, I want it to be great. I, I'm not sure it is. We'll see. We'll see. It's not bad, though. Second thing is one of the Kickstarter pens I'm testing out. This pen isn't even live yet on Kickstarter. It's coming soon. It's called, it's from a brand called, a company called Finks Products. The pen is called the Organ, I guess. Origin. I don't know if these names are a little bit interesting to pronounce, but the pen itself is good. I put a link in to my Pen Needs Inc. blog. They did a review. Had a prototype of this. I have one as well. It's, yeah, Origin, right? Origin? Origin. Origin. It's like Oregon. It's, it's Oregon without the O. So, Origin. So, yeah. Yeah. It's a, the model I have, I think, is a little bit different from the link that we'll put in the show notes, in that mine shipped with a Pilot G2 refill.

Brad: It's got a nice twist mechanism on the pen. It's PVD coated. Mine is gray, you know, like a dark kind of gun-metally gray. It's not as black as the one in the review. And I'm liking the feel of this pen. So, like, G2 fans, you know, you can keep an eye out for this maybe in the future on Kickstarter. It's machined very nicely. I think the price range is going to be, like, around $50, which is a great, like, price point for this type of pen. If you're liking the G2 type refills and the twist mechanism and the style of this pen. Like, I think the build quality is really good. So, this is, like, one of those things that I also carry and test around and, you know, see, like, formulate thoughts, decide if I'm going to review it or not. You know, maybe it's just an Instagram picture or maybe it's, you know, a full bore review, things like that. So, I just play around with a lot of things. And, you know, that's just, those are the things at the top of my list. Like, I carry around a lot more stuff with me. Like, I still have, you know, like, a whole Brasstown full of pens, a whole Lookout full of pens that move around with me. But these are the pens and papers that I'm reaching for the most probably over the last two weeks at least. And that's what I want to talk about later after we figure out what you're using. But, like, I want to talk about, like, some of these time frames and how I switch things out and how I can present this later. So, I want to hear what you have. But first, what are we going to talk about?

Myke: Yeah, if you listen to this conversation and you're like, oh, man, I need some new pens in my life, then you should go to Pen Chalet because they have everything that you're looking for. From fountain pens to ballpoints to mechanical pencils to rollerballs. Whether you want refills, carrying cases, ink, converters, no matter what you're looking for, Pen Chalet have got it. And they have products from all of your favorite brands of which they have an authorized dealer of all of them. Pen Chalet believe in the best customer service possible. They believe that they should be fast and reliable. And they want you to be happy. So, they give you a 100% satisfaction guarantee on anything you buy from Pen Chalet. They're always doing great sales and they have the best prices you can find. I really love Pen Chalet's selection. It just keeps getting more and more all the time. The folk over at Pen Chalet, they add new products to the site every couple of weeks. There's new stuff, new brands, always something fun and new to look for. And they do great sales as well. So, they do discounts on a bunch of things. So, they keep that inventory moving, which is exciting. They do free shipping on orders of over $50 in the U.S. And they also sell internationally with really great shipping rates. Pen Chalet has low prices on high quality pens. And they offer that 100% satisfaction guarantee. So, go to penchalet.com and click the podcast link at the top of the website. Enter the password penaddict for this week's special offer. And to get the code that you need to save 10% on anything at any time at Pen Chalet. What is catching you right, Brad?

Brad: I think Ron is trying to tell me something here. Okay. Because I keep threatening to buy one of these Cross pens. And he keeps putting them at the top of the list. And I still haven't done it yet.

Myke: He's got one of your name on it.

Brad: Yeah. Like, the ATX has been the one I've been eyeballing. He's got the Cross Century 2, which is kind of like the presidential style pen. And then the classic Cross Century, which is the skinnier one. But the thing about these is the price is crazy. And then, like, the classic Cross has, like, the seafoam green model. It's like a Tiffany color. Greenish blue, which is pretty neat. But then you scroll down. And then he hits me right in the sweet spot with this Kaweco AL Sport in gold. That's at a price you... It's bad, right? The price is bad because it's so good it makes you want to buy it, right? So, like, it's a bad price. It's a good, bad price. It's just for one of just my favorite pens on the market, period. That is a good, bad price. Yeah. Yeah. In the Kaweco AL Sport. So, yeah. And, like, the list is exceedingly long today. Like, sometimes there's different ranges of things that Ron puts up for all of our wonderful listeners at the Pen Addict. He also... I scrolled way down here. He's got the Conklin Word Gauge. And I know Sarah, who writes for the Pen Addict, she's a writer. She loves the word gauge. She just thinks it's fun.

New Quotex Product

Myke: It's a good gift pen.

Brad: Yeah. For someone. Exactly. And then the same... And kind of in the same boat, but it's also for kind of a, you know, experienced writer pen. The very last thing before you get down to a few more specials is the Pelican Moonstone, which was this year's special edition, or this past year's special edition M205, which is a great sparkly gray. So, awesome stuff this week. Big, big list. So, scroll through there. Check them out. And check out all these awesome deals from our awesome sponsor at Pen Chalet.

Myke: All right. Yeah. So, go to penchalet.com, P-E-N-C-H-A-L-E-T.com. Click the podcast link at the top of the website and use the password penaddict to get a code for 10% on anything at Pen Chalet and also to see these special offers. Our thanks to Pen Chalet for the continued support of this show and Relay FM.

Brad: All right. So, I see your list in here, and I want you to talk about it because I actually have a very specific question I want to ask you, but I want you to discuss what we have here first.

Myke: So, there is one new item that has been in my rotation this week especially, which is a new product from Quotex brand called the Subtle Notebook, which, giving the inside track to penaddict listeners, my understanding is that our shipment has passed customs. So, I hope that we'll be able to have this on sale within the next week or so. Cool. Awesome. So, this is a notebook which is heavily inspired by the theme system. It's constructed the same way, but it is just a dot grid notebook. Page numbers, corner perforations, and a blue cover with a different logo design on the front. So, I've been using this notebook quite a bit over the last week, kind of just like forcing myself to take more pen and paper notes than I would normally, because I just want to make sure that I'm getting the real use out of the book, and I really, really like it. So, I'm very happy with it. It's a lovely little notebook, and I'm excited to put it out there. Obviously, this goes in conjunction with my theme system. I am fast approaching finishing my first theme system of the new version. So, I'm nearly there. So, this one, I've been rocking it since December. So, it takes me... I've actually... Oh, I've only got like two days left, actually, looking at it now. And then I've got to swap over to a new one. Because I journal only on work days. So, it's like five days a week, not seven. So, it's always taken me about four to five months to finish a journal, if I do every day.

Myke: So, you know, like I'm kind of in the place now where you have been for a while, I think. But at a certain point now, I'm just... I'm making the things that I want to exist in the world, and then I'm using them. Right. And I'm applying that thinking now to some other things. So, I already know the next product that I want to make in this environment. But all I have right now is some sketches that I've made. But I will show you those at some point, Brad. But, yeah, I know what I want to make next. So, yeah, I've been very happy with those. Obviously, I'm still using the panel book. I have the panel book right in front of me right now. It's when I'm taking my notes for the podcast on. That's what I always do. I've been also carrying around some pens from... Because I'm at the studio today. I've been coming back to the studio a bit now. So, I'm carrying some pens backwards and forwards every day in my Notco wax canvas Sinclair case.

Myke: Very nice. And the pens that I've been carrying are the Spoke Axle Titanium, the Sailor 1911 Tangerine King of Pen, and the Sailor Pro Gear Sparkling Royal Purple, which I got from Pensaci. Yeah, classics. So, they're the pens I've been carrying around every day. So, this is like a nice mixture of colors. I have... I don't remember exactly which now, but I have one of the Sailor Ink Studio inks, the really light blue one in the Spoke Axle. I have Fire on Fire in the Tangerine, and I have one of those Suite Life inks, the purple one. I think it's Birthday Cake. Oh, yeah. In the Royal Purple Pro Gear.

Brad: Those are really good inks. We've talked about them when they came out, the Monteverdi Suite Life series. Yeah. Shockingly underrated.

Myke: I love them. Every color is fantastic.

Brad: Yeah. Yeah. Like, people who get them really, really enjoy them, and they don't get, like, the super hype because they're, like, really inexpensive. They're, like, $8 for... It's so worth it. ...30 or 50 milliliters. Man, they're such a good ink.

Myke: $8 mil for $10.

Brad: Yeah. Penchalet.com. They have them all there. Yep. It's, yeah. Great choices in those ink colors. Very fun. Very good quality. So you kind of led into what my question was going to be. It's about how the subtle notebook, and it's going to work in your workflow because the theme system's locked in. Yeah. The pano book is locked in. Yeah. Like, they have jobs, right? You have a task, and this is what you're going to do. And, you know, the theme system and pano book both have those jobs. So do you think the subtle notebook will end up having a job, or do you think it's going to be, like, the catch-all? Like you were saying, you were taking more notes and things with it. What is... I'm talking about not for other people's use. I'm talking about your specific use case.

Myke: So I can... I mean, I can open it and tell you what I've been putting in it. So I obviously did a bunch of ink testing.

Myke: I did... We do some of our member specials, right? So we do, like, the Cortex upgrade one. I was taking all of my notes for that for the game that we were playing. And then also I was... You know, me and Steven have a meeting every Monday where we talk about company stuff. And on Mondays, I always think about these things, and then I just open an Apple note and start typing them in. It's like, well, really, I could just write them down. I actually prefer to write them down. So I've started doing that too. So, you know, really, it's like having a notebook just around more and just grabbing it to take notes in more purposefully rather than putting them in a digital form. Like stuff that basically, like, that Monday note, I just delete it afterwards. So that kind of feels like the perfect thing for a pen and paper notebook for me. I've just gotten into a habit. Right.

Brad: That was kind of my follow-up is like, would you ever... Were you ever one of the people who would take notes with like Apple Pencil, iPad and GoodNotes? Is that what that app's called? GoodNotes, I think.

Myke: Yeah. I mean, yeah, I have done that. I kind of fell off that train anyway. Because really with me with the Apple Pencil, I use it for annotating documents a lot.

Brad: Yeah.

Myke: Right. It's something that I do.

Brad: Yeah, I've never wanted to write with it like other than like a few words.

Myke: I mean, I would write something if it then needed to be stored. Like for example, talking about like making product sketches. Well, I do those digitally. I do those in Craft is the app that I'm using right now. But Craft uses the Apple Pencil, pencil kit thing that Apple's made. So it's like the best version of it. Because like for me, I want the process of drawing it out because it makes the most sense for me that way. But I then want to be able to make sure it's kept. And searchable and all that kind of stuff. So I'll always do that kind of stuff digitally.

Brad: Okay, cool. See, I find this stuff interesting because like we don't, we never sit together and work, right? And you know, like we know each other like extremely well. But like I always love like the little nitty gritty like work related stuff. And I like talking about that stuff. And I like talking about the stuff that we use today. Like I had, you know, I like catching up on this. I don't want to do this every week, right? But we do it, you know, once a month, once every two months. We kind of talk about just like some specific things. But I did have a little bit of a motive to bring up this topic today because I've been asked, I don't know how many times over the years, but the general question is, how do you use all the stuff that you have? I mean, the short version is-

Myke: People keep asking me this about keyboards.

Brad: Yeah.

Myke: What do you do? Every couple of days I get this question. What do you do with these keyboards? And my answer is, I use them. Yeah. It's the same. Right. Like I think pen addicts understand it. Right? Yeah. Like all I really need is one pen. Right. Right. That's all I actually need. But what I do is I have lots of them and I use them all by rotating through them. And it's the same thing for me with the keyboards. Like- Right. I mean, one, just because of my weird life right now, I actually have use for four keyboards in my life because I have four desks that I use like split between home and my studio. It's kind of ridiculous. So really I'm pleased I have so many keyboards because I'm actually able to put a lot of them to use. But I still rotate between them depending on what it is that I want to use, what experience I want on that day, what aesthetics I want on that day. It's the same. Like the pen and keyboard stuff, it's very similar in that.

Brad: Yeah. So I've actually tasked myself, I have like a placeholder note in Ulysses to write an article basically how I use it. Not like, not the overarching, okay, how do you use all that stuff? But specifically, like Brad, how do you use the things that you use? Like what are they used for? Do, like I was saying about your notebooks, do pens have jobs? Do notebooks have jobs? And things like that. And I can't wrap my head around actually typing this article. Like I could have written this several times over all the years for all the times I've been asking it. But now I've actually, you know, put it in my little file to say, hey, maybe work on this idea. And I, it's a lot easier to talk about because I feel on the podcast because I feel time restricted, right? But with writing, it could be like endless on how I use things because like I said, I like to get into that minutia. That's why I have like maybe some highly specific random questions for you, like in how you're using things. So I'm trying to talk these things out in podcast form. And the short version is, okay, today and in the last two weeks, if I'm writing it down, these are the kind of things that I've used and they've matriculated to the top and they all have reasons for being there. But the next two weeks could be completely different. So how do you explain that? And then going into these things. So it's a fun challenge for me to think about because this should be one of the most simplest, simpler things that I could ever write. But it's actually the way I think about things. And I think if people have listened to this podcast long enough, understand a little bit about how obsessive I am about some of this stuff, that it's actually a really big challenge to do a simple post like that for me. Yeah. So anyway, that was my little diversion. is this first couple of segments is helping me figure out how I'm going to write an article for later. And I still don't know, but I'm gaining on it. All right. So that's all the stuff we're using. I wanted to follow up quickly with the Mormon croquis notebook. Since I talked about it so much, I got an email after the podcast that they really enjoyed it. They enjoyed it. Gave me a bunch of information about what we discussed. Like one of the items we discussed was accessibility of this Glyphi model, right? That they have, that's more standard bound journal style, but contains like the heavier sketch type paper that it's only available in Europe and Japan. They're working, the U.S. distributor, I'm just speaking from the U.S. market, the U.S. distributor is working on getting some of those into the marketplace over here as we speak. So they followed up on that. They also followed up in that they would like to make kind of like what I would think would be my dream type of croquis notebook is either just like the 96 page stitch bound A5 cream or like the Midori, like tape bound style notebook, you know, just a more traditional, what we would think of as a journal or diary or notebook format.

Brad: And with traditional rulings, mind, dot grid, graph, right? Like if you're going to do that style, blank is fine. Like it's a good choice, but that one needs to have more, right? If you're going to say, hey, this is a great writing paper as well, you got to do lined, right? And then maybe dot grid or something like that or graph, you know, those types of things.

Myke: So did you say they are or they want to work on this?

Keyboard Usage Preferences

Brad: Somewhere in between, I think is kind of where, right? Like it's more than they want to do it. It's my understanding, the way the conversation and the email went is like it's an actively being worked on. That doesn't mean it's going to exist. Does that make sense?

Myke: No, no, no.

Brad: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I think it's funny. So I'm going to put in the show notes, which I haven't done this yet because I need to upload some images. They sent me the Gliffy catalog from the Mormon catalog. And it's really interesting. Like this was, this will not be a stretch for them whatsoever. Once you see these images, once I upload them, I don't want to do it during the show to, I don't want to kill my internet, but they already have writing style, Gliffy notebooks, but it's just with a different croquis sheet. There's apparently like infinite types of paperweights in these croquis models, you know, but they already have lined and graph and other things like that. And I'll put them on the show notes for everyone to see. So they sent me these over. They're just not available anywhere. So we'll try and we'll test them out. Last thing, they let me know that this brand has been around since 1970. I had no idea. I figured, you know, clearly I figured it was probably like, you know, like a last decade type of thing, you know, just one of those things that exists around, around the world that we never see, which is, you know, there's a million, million products like that. So it will be cool to see if something actually comes of this because I would definitely like to see that.

Brad: Sort of kind of related. I wanted to give a shout out to the Stationary Orbit podcast, specifically episode number 27, which I finally got around to listen to. Episode number 28 is already out. I'm slow on my back catalog, but they interviewed Daryl of Misubi. Nice. Who I find to be not just endlessly interesting and smart, but as someone who I get a lot of guidance from, even if not directly, just in his actions and his words, I think he's really has a, like, I like the way he approaches business and commerce and social awareness and the way he feels about products and development and sustainability and giving back. And this entire podcast, it's been about an hour long, I think, it's just a full interview with Daryl and he goes into all of these things. It's well worth everyone's time to go listen to this. I just respect him so much and what he says, much less what he makes, right? Like, obviously, I love his products, but I almost respect him more for how he goes about making those products. And you can glean a lot of insight from this show, why I think that about Daryl and why I think that about Misubi and why I talk about them so much and why I support Daryl's work and why I miss seeing him at pen shows because we're not traveling and getting to spend time with him because he's one of those people that, like, legit makes a difference, right? Like, he is doing good things in the right way and I just respect and appreciate that so much. So, y'all definitely go give this a listen. It's an awesome, awesome interview and it's really cool stuff. So, yeah, love it.

Myke: All right, this episode is brought to you by Squarespace, the all-in-one platform to build your online presence and run your business. From websites and online stores to marketing tools and analytics, they've got you covered. Squarespace combines cutting-edge design and world-class engineering, making it easier than ever to establish your home online and make your ideas a reality. Squarespace has everything you need to create a beautiful and modern website. You start with a professionally designed template and use drag-and-drop tools to make it your own. You can customize the look and feel, the settings, products you have on sale, and more with just a few clicks and all Squarespace websites are optimized for mobile. Your content automatically adjusts so it will look great on any device. You'll also get free, unlimited hosting, top-of-the-line security, and dependable resources to help you succeed. There's nothing to patch or upgrade. They have award-winning 24-7 customer support that will even let you quickly and easily grab a unique domain name and take advantage of SEO and email marketing to get your ideas out there. You can use Squarespace to turn your big idea into your new website, showcase your work of your portfolio, publish your next blog post, promote your business, announce an upcoming event, and so much more. Go to squarespace.com slash penaddict for a free trial with no credit card required. Then when you're ready to launch, use the offer code penaddict to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. That's squarespace.com slash penaddict, and when you decide to sign up, use the offer code penaddict for 10% off your first purchase and to show your support for the show. Our thanks to Squarespace for their support of this show and RelayFM.

Myke: All right, let's do some hashtag ask TPA questions to round out today's episode. Blake wants to know, Brad, how do you feel about the orange iMac?

Brad: So I had to go look this morning. I heard they were announced. That's how dialed in I am, Myke, to this. I hear like, I see the headlines, but I don't really go read the articles. So I knew these were announced, but I had no idea on the color. So before the show, when I saw this color, I went and looked. I love the orange. I think it is the fourth best color.

Myke: The fourth best color?

Color Rankings for Keyboards

Brad: Fourth best color. Should we do a color power ranking? Am I stealing from one of your other shows or anything? No, rank them. Okay, rank them. Number one, purple. Okay. Number two, I think this is the shock of them all, green. Huh. All right. Number three is blue.

Brad: Number four is orange. And then that's it. Like the other three are just, you know, the yellow, the red, and the, or pink. yellow, pink, and silver. Those are, it's the top four. And then everything else. The other three. Yeah.

Myke: Okay.

Brad: Like they're, they're all fine. The other three are all fine. Well, silver is actually, silver is actually last. Orange is your favorite. Yeah. They did it correct. They did orange right with the primary shade. I think I would like with orange, maybe only with orange, to that be the entire shade. Right. Instead of they having the two-tone, the dark, the standard, and then the light. I would like full orange, where I think the two-tone works great, works better with green, purple, and blue. That's my commentary.

Myke: I love it. You may not know this. Well, you probably don't know this. You get a color-matched cable. You get color-matched keyboard, and even mouse-up trackpad.

Brad: No, I did not know this.

Myke: It's all real good.

Brad: They, as someone who does not follow this stuff, really, they killed the colors on this. They crushed it. Yeah. This is the correct color tone, I think. I think that they've been

Myke: real rocky in the last year with their colors. Mm-hmm. Everything's been way too muted, and I think that they just nailed it with these iMacs.

Brad: Yeah. Yep. So, love the orange. Would not be my number one choice.

Myke: Interesting. Interesting. I'll take it then. So, you won't be sending a cease and desist to Apple then?

Brad: No, no, no. Just a Joey Feldman, who, by the way, has, like, some ink coming out, and, like, the main header image on Instagram is orange, and we're gonna have to have a talk. Joey doesn't know this yet. I'm gonna, I'm gonna send him a text. We're gonna get, uh, uh, citrus orange and tangerine Esquire after him. We're gonna sick him.

Myke: Real World Kara asks, I have a Pilot Metropolitan Fine that I enjoy the line width of, but it's a bit scratchy. If I got a 3776 in fine, would I get the same line width?

Brad: Yes?

Brad: It's a, it's a, this is a harder question to answer than you think, because steel and gold handle your hand pressure differently. So, the Metropolitan being steel and the Platinum 3776 being gold is a little bit softer. But I don't think it's soft enough to where those lines would be a, noticeably different. Because I don't think the Pilot Metropolitan Fine is too fine. And I think the 3776 fine is pretty fine. So, I think they would kind of come out even in the wash. I know this is like a hem and hawing question. There's no, like, I don't have them side by side to compare, and it depends on the ink, and it depends on the paper. I think they will be almost identical. Mm-hmm. even though I think they're different. If that makes sense. I know I'm not making any sense, but that's what I feel about answering this question.

Myke: And also, like, you might not find the scratchiness there. The scratchiness is probably not a symptom of the width, but just that nib itself. Mm-hmm. So, because I've used some fines that I can't use and some fines that I can, and that can be the difference between the manufacturer or the material or even just that one individual nib.

Brad: Right, because the 3776 is going to have a different feedback than the Metropolitan. It's going to feel different, right? It feels more pencil-y, if you will, if you have not used one. It is, it's not going to be a glassy smooth, but it's not going to be scratchy,

Myke: right? Plus, Platinum's nibs are better than Pilot's anyway, in my opinion.

Brad: I mean, I don't disagree, but I don't think it's, they just feel different. I don't know that there's a, it's like a 1-1A type of thing. I actually think that Sailor is third in that ranking.

Brad: I think it's 1-1A and three.

Myke: No, for me, it's Platinum's first, Sailor's second, Pilot's third. Okay, we'll disagree on that one, but it's, to each their own. Yeah, yeah, yeah, they're all great. Todd asks, this is, all right, stay with me on this one, okay? All right. You can keep only one of the following two groups. Group A, your favorite three fountain pens, or group B, your favorite five non-fountain pens. If you pick group A, is there a number for the non-fountain pens that would get you to pick group B?

Brad: Do you want to go first or me?

Myke: It's easy for me. It's group A all day and there's no number of group B.

Brad: It's easy for me as well. It's group B and there's no number of group A.

Brad: It's not even in consideration for me. And I couldn't even, and I'm not even going to go so far as saying, here are the five non-fountain pens I choose. I just know I would be more satisfied with the five non-fountain pens because I would constantly be wanting more for my fountain pens and wanting something different. That's what I like about fountain pens so much is there's always something different out there. but if I get let's say a really good Uniball Signo DX .38 I'm not wanting for more from that style of pen. But if I get a really good platinum fine nib 3776 with a blue black ink I was like, well maybe there's a stub nib that I want or an orange ink or or or where I don't get that in group B standard pens I think I could pick five pens I would just be happy with and I would just never consider the opposite side.

Myke: Sometimes I never understand the consist that you're going to give.

Myke: I never would expect them that you'd just be like, no, I would there's no amount of fountain pens that would make me give up the non-fountain pens.

Brad: It was probably okay. So I guess I need to answer. I need to answer the second part. I think it would probably be like 20.

Myke: Okay. Because you said and there's no amount of group. Yeah. There is an amount. Okay.

Brad: I think it but it's not like five or six. It would be like 20.

Myke: Okay. Fair enough. frames asks, what are the differences between the pilot PO nib and the platinum ultra extra fine?

Brad: Oh boy, this is hard to describe in this fashion.

Myke: let's see if

Brad: I can do this justice. The pilot PO nib is firmer. Okay. So this I'm under I'm assuming frames understands the shape differences between these two nibs. Right. So the PO nib is a posting nib. It kind of has a hook down on the front front of the the nib. It kind of points down. It's designed to be fine and firm. The UEF is sharper than that. I'm not going to say it's finer than that. It might be. It probably is, but it's sharper. The way it writes is sharper by the nib tip design versus the PO nib. The PO nib is fine and firm, but it's still at the end of the day a rounded tip. It just happens to be microscopically tiny. The UEF is not really a rounded tip. It allows for just a finer hairline, whereas the PO nib does not really write that way. So, for example, I could write in cursive with the PO nib. I would not like writing in cursive with the UEF nib if that kind of helps describe how these nibs feel on the paper. But the line widths are not far off.

Myke: Okay, fair enough.

Brad: Does that make sense? Yeah, I think so. It's hard to describe. That's something you have to feel to really get the grasp of. Like, if I just wanted a great, if I am myself and I love writing small and tiny and I just want an awesome writing pen for my small writing style, I would take the PO nib.

Brad: But that doesn't mean I just don't absolutely love the UEF nib. It's just different.

Myke: Emmanuel Seaman asks, I was looking for a list of important or major pilot fountain pen models, but can't find one. Does such a list exist?

Brad: That's a good question. I actually meant to research this before to see, like, like, Platinum has a history of, like, product launches. Like, does Pilot have a page like that? That's something I'll need to follow up on. I will hit that directly with Emmanuel because I just ran out of time to go check. Like, I think Sailor even has that too. Just basically like a long scrolling history page of the major releases. Like, it may not have, yeah, I mean, yeah, he's asking for, like, major, not everything. So, yeah, I would have to go look. I would bet that they do have that somewhere. I just need to go pick that up and put in a second to figure it out.

Myke: And Todd asks, same Todd,

Brad: by the way, same Todd. I forgot that last question, the first Todd question. Todd too. Todd gets two questions this week.

Myke: I want a fountain pen specifically for everyday black ink. I'm looking for a workhorse, but with a bit of character, style, and fun. Flexible budget, not feeling particularly inspired, so reaching out for inspiration.

Brad: Brutal question.

Myke: Yeah, I didn't, I just surprised you wanted to answer this today. This is a big one.

Brad: Yeah, I shuffled these around to make sure to get this one because I thought about this a lot. This is the kind of question I love. This is a brutally hard question. And it's funny because ever since Todd asked me that, I thought about it for two seconds and picked out the pen that I would, that I personally would want for me, and I've never been able to move that into maybe something Todd would like. And I don't know all of Todd's taste, but I'm going to go through this process as I went through it to answer this question for myself. And I don't know if that will help Todd because I don't know, like there's going to be a few more things you need to take into account when you're talking about someone else's likes and tastes. So I was thinking about this workhorse pen for myself and if I was going to use it for black ink, but it had to, the pen had to kind of mean something to me, right? I love the Pilot Custom Heritage 912. That's what the PO nib comes in, right? I would not want that pen, even though it's specifically built to be a workhorse pen. I would not want that pen to answer this question, right? Because it needs a little bit more fun, a little bit more character, but without say being as wild as like my Fujiyama blue, right? We're going to cut out those two types of pens, your basic black and gold or silver trim, and then we're going to cut out like these limited edition types of sailors, platinums, pilots. We're also going to eliminate things like the acrylic type makers like your Brooks pens or your Edison pens or your Franklin Kristaps. I can't really explain why. And this is probably why Myke wanted to cut this question for today because I'm going to ramble on it. Yeah, I was right, wasn't I? Because there's no clear answer, but I came up with an answer for myself. And it's a specific pen that has been on my list for a while and I'll probably never own it, but I think it's actually the answer to this question for me that it hits on, it's a pen that not only is going to work great at my desk for black ink, but my workhorse pen has to go with me too, right? It's got to fit in my pocket and I've got to be able to find clipping it to my shirt and just going around with it. The Sailor 1911 ringless Epenard is the pen that I would pick for this. So I don't know if you remember this pen, Myke, it came out probably two years ago, maybe three and was Sailor's Design where they left off the cap band. And I was a little bit, huh, I don't know what I think about this, it's fine, but I don't know that I want it.

Brad: And then the more I've seen this pen in person, the more I've seen it over the years, the more I've come to appreciate this design of pen, pen, but I'll never buy it because it's not going to keep up with my Fujiyama blue. But if I was answering this question, this very, very specific question in the way that I would answer for myself, that pen is perfect because I get the character of the Sailor design, I get a unique design, a unique color, I get the quality of Sailor's nibs. I don't even know if Todd's a Sailor fan, I think he is, but that's the only pen since yesterday that I can come up with for myself to buy to be my workhorse pen to fit the specifics of this question. So I'm having trouble. Like, I tried to fit in Leonardo, like, would a Leonardo Memento Zero fit this question? And it just doesn't for me. Like, as much as I love those pens, like, if I want this one workhorse pen, that Sailor feels like the answer to me. I don't know why.

Myke: That's such a deep cut.

Brad: Like, I love so many other pens. Like, it could be, like, the Lamy 2000 or a Pilot Vanishing Point. And, like, I, like, it could be, like, a Pelican. Like, maybe first thing people will think of when they think of workhorse is, well, they want a piston filler for big ink capacity. Like, I know, like, the Pelican nibs don't work for the way I write, despite being some of the best nibs in the world, right? So those get cut from my list. So I can only think about it from my perspective, and I don't know if that helps Todd from his perspective, but that is literally the only answer I've come up with in about the last 12 or 14 hours since he asked this question. I've thought about it endlessly, and that's the only pen that would fit this answer for me.

Myke: If you would like to send a question for us to answer on a future episode, just send out a tweet with the hashtag AskTPA, or if you're a RelayFM member, you can use question mark AskTPA in the RelayFM members discord. I would like to thank Squarespace and Pen Chalet for their support of this show. If you'd like to find Brad online, you can go to penaddict.com, knock.co, and spokedesign.com. That's for Brad's various offerings, whether it's in written word or in product form. 10 a.m. Eastern Time, Tuesdays and Thursdays, Brad streams over at twitch.tv slash penaddict. You can find Brad, he is penaddict on Instagram, and dowdyism on Twitter, D-O-W-D-Y-I-S-M. I am iMike, I-M-Y-K-E. Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of The Pen Addict, and we'll be back next time. Until then, say goodbye, Brad. Goodbye, Brad.