The Pen Addict 464/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	464
Title:	A Paint Job and a Story
Release Date:	June 2nd, 2021
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	No guests this episode
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 464
Audio File:	Audio Episode 464
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 464
Length:	6363 min <br />1.05 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

Myke: From RelayFM, this is The Pen Addict, episode 464, and today's show is brought to you by Pen Chalet, Squarespace, and ExpressVPN. My name is Myke Hurley, and I'm joined by Brad Dowdy. Hi, Brad.

Brad: Myke Hurley, Myke Hurley, how are you today? It's happy to see you or hear you. We're gonna have fun today. Hey.

Myke: Is this the new theme song for The Pen Addict, or just for your introduction of The Pen Addict?

Brad: No one would want that, actually.

Introduction

Myke: Have you been planning this and writing it out, or was that completely improvised?

Brad: I haven't. It was moderately improvised. All right. I was like, I should sing a tune this morning.

Brad: As, you know, I'm happy to be here, Myke.

Myke: We're always happy to have you.

Brad: And I'm wondering, how are you today? And so I just figured we'd make a little song out of it.

Myke: Pretty good. I'm in a bit of a calm before the storm type time. Truth. Right now.

Brad: Should we have a scheduling update? Schedule update?

Myke: Mm-hmm.

Brad: What do you got going on?

Myke: So WWDC is next week. Apple's big conference. Don't really know exactly what to expect. Don't know how much stuff I'm gonna have to deal with. Last year was a bit of a disaster, but it was mostly of my own doing. I am expecting things are gonna be easier for me this year than last year. One of the ways that we're doing that is I'm not gonna be on the next episode. Brad's gonna be bringing on a guest. So there will be an episode next week, but it won't include me.

Brad: Mm. So best episode of the year coming next week is what you're saying?

Myke: Yep.

Brad: Mm.

Brad: I'm actually looking forward to it. I won't spoil the guest, even though I've already spoiled it. You know, you never know with technical delays and difficulties how it will play out. But let's just say I will be recording next week's episode tomorrow, so we should have plenty of time to get it in.

Myke: You'll probably hear me on the ads, though. So if people really, you know, really miss me, I'm gonna record the ads. That's true.

Brad: Since I, yeah, the guest isn't a secret, but you never know how it goes with the recording. But, yeah, since we are recording it so early, we don't have all the ads ready. So that's the behind the scenes that you need to know about next week's episode. So Myke will be here. You know, he'll be here for the money. I'll be here for the content.

Schedule Update

Myke: That's pretty much how it usually goes.

Brad: That's kind of how it looks. Speaking of money, Myke, I am using the literal most expensive pen I own today. Big money, Brad. We're gonna talk about what we're using today. And I find this funny, Myke. So I'm using my, we're gonna do a little catch up. A couple of commentaries I have about what I'm using. One, the things I'm using for my personal use is that circle keeps getting smaller and smaller and smaller. Like these, these things that I'm using for me, right? Like I have to separate me as a stationary user from me, pen addict and like reviews and, you know, product, you know, information and those type of things. There's, there's two kind of buckets there. So this Namiki Yukari Milky Way that is easily my most, the most expensive I own, probably by double, is just one of my favorite pens. I think it might be the true number one favorite. And I love this pen. I love using this pen. I don't care that it was expensive because that doesn't keep me from using it, right? That's the key I use, use these things. So it's, I always find it funny because when I use it, I don't think about how much it costs, right? If I, I'm sitting here writing with it, I don't ever think about it. But if I have to talk about it, I'm like, oh my God, I'm about to say I'm using this crazy dollar amount pen. And it makes me feel weird, but like I never feel weird using it because that's what it's made for. It's a pen. It's made to write and it's kind of perfect for me. I think it's my favorite pen. It is always inked up with Pilot Orochizuku Tsukiyo. Like that's the only ink that's ever been in this pen. It's the perfect match. It's called Moonlight Blue. And it's just, it's the ink for this pen. So that's, that's the ticket.

Myke: Is there any specific reason that you would ever decide to use this pen? Like, because it is so extra?

Brad: No, I use it for everything. Like, I don't, like, okay, I probably wouldn't take it to the baseball field.

Myke: Yeah, I mean, yeah.

Brad: But I mean, I take other, I take other expensive fountain pens to the baseball field when I'm going to, like, I spend a lot of time, you know, at outside in the dirt, in the windy dirt. And things get dirty. I don't really have a need to take this one there, right? Like, I could choose not to do that. But I'll take it anywhere, everywhere. But other people use it. Like, those things don't faze me. It's made to be used.

Myke: Sure, but this one is a little bit in an upper echelon.

Brad: Um, that's fair. But it is a fine line between, like, I never obsess about, like, how I carry or use a pen, except in, like, just very extreme situations. Like, being out at a ball field for 10 hours, you know, outside, hot, sweaty, dirty, I'm probably not going to carry that. But that's it. Like, otherwise, I wouldn't, I don't even consider it. Like, we just go. We go to town. We use the pens. That's why when I talk about all these limited editions and how, like, I feel like I'm getting priced out. Well, it's like I have all these nice things already. Like, I don't need more pens to not use, right? So, I'm using the things that I have and, um, yeah, and thoroughly enjoying them, right? Like, I really, really enjoy what I have right now. And I feel like that's a good place to be. Um, secondarily to that, I also have to talk about these things, right? And we talk about, like, the limited edition pens we talked about last week. Like, we still got to talk about these things. And, like, cross-pollinating that context is always a weird situation for me. So, anyway, um, that's the pen I'm using. So, I generally have kind of a pen of the week. And that's what I use for my planner. And I'm, of course, using the William Hannah Planner, um, this week. And what I do for podcast days. So, I did a little bit of my planning yesterday on Tuesday. Because it was a holiday here in the U.S. on Monday. So, I did some stream planning. And I've talked about this setup for ages. How I like the seven days a week on the left page and the blank page on the right. The good thing about the William Hannah Planner is that it's a disk-bound system. And the way my podcast audio and microphone is set up, it's on the left side of my laptop. So, I can write on the right side. But, having a planner with open pages, that the writing side of the page that's blank that I need to use is on the right side of the planner. So, the left sides would be, like, you know, kind of convoluted on my laptop. And leaning funny and looking weird and not real functional. But guess what, Myke? The William Hannah Planner is disk-bound. So, I just remove the write sheet. And it is literally sitting right next to my laptop.

Myke: So, you just pop the sheet out, you're writing it, and then put the sheet back where it's supposed to go in the planner, right?

Brad: Correct. So, the planner is over off to the left, like sitting on my amp for recording purposes. But on the right side of my laptop is a single sheet of paper that I have removed. But it will go back into the planner once we're done.

Myke: Very cool.

Brad: So, that's why I love this thing. It's just kind of functional. And then on top of that, I can have a separate section where I hole-punch paper like the Mormon Croquis sketch pad. But 60 GSM A5 pad that I love so much, which is back in stock. That's everyone's notification. If you were interested in that exquisite paper that I thoroughly enjoy, that's the specific one you need to buy. It's back in stock. So, yeah, those two papers. And then any other pens that I've used for like my personal use pens, you know, like my day-to-day, you know, want to write notes on my desk stuff. And then a couple of review pens just so I kind of keep all these things together. I am using the Brasstown currently, the NotCo Wax Canvas Brasstown, the black and aqua one. And that has been my go-to case. So, like all these things, like the William Hanna Planta, the Brasstown are in constant use. It's just maybe the contents and how those things are being used change up, like what pens are in the Brasstown. But this group of pens I have right now, it's just a few. A couple are like fall on the personal side of the ledger. A couple fall on the testing review side of the ledger. And it's just good to have all those things in a singular case that I can move from room to room as I need it. So, like that's what I'm using today. But that's kind of what I'm using every day. Like this is not a special occasion as nice it is to talk to you for 464 weeks in a row.

Brad: It's not a special occasion in how I use things. Like this is literally how I do it pretty much every day. Like that's the move. So, I am thrilled with the products I own right now. That didn't keep me from buying things though, which we'll talk about later in the show. A thing happened, Myke. A thing happened that I wanted to talk about.

Myke: Yeah, no, I was thoroughly intrigued looking at the show notes for today's episode.

Brad: Yeah, you were unaware of what's coming up later. I am unaware of what you're currently using. What do you have going on?

Myke: So, I just took a note down on my pano book, which I always have here below my keyboard where I make my notes for editing. I took that note today with my Urushi Lami Safari that Jonathan Brooks made for us, customized for us. That currently has Lami Petrol in it, which is actually an ink that I enjoy. It's my only blue black. Yeah. I do enjoy it. And I enjoy this ink enough that I might want to explore other blue blacks in the future. But I feel like it was a good pairing. Because, you know, we like Lami Petrol. The color of Petrol reminded me of the colors that we use for the Relay FM logo, which is why I bought it. It was also why I bought the Safari. And I put Petrol in this pen. It's the pairing that I've had for a while. That pen is sitting in and has been sitting in while we're recording my Penwell Craftsman edition.

Brad: Oh, yeah. Which I absolutely adore. It's great. I'm staring at mine as you speak.

Myke: This was sent to me as part of a sponsorship that Good May Better did with us. But this is something that I definitely would have bought myself. Because I liked the Penwells before. I thought they were really nice. But this one, the Craftsman edition, the kind of aesthetic of it really meets my own personal aesthetic. And what I like about this one, even more compared to the other one, is it doesn't need to be stuck to the desk because it's got a large brass weight on the bottom. So I can move it around. It's concrete and brass. So just the weight of itself now kind of keeps it to the desk. So I really like it for that.

Myke: Obviously, like every day, I use my subtle notebook and theme system journal. Of course, I make them. So I love them. Cortexmunch.com. I have my pens at the moment in my wax canvas Sinclair. Nice. And my other pen that I was using today was the Canalea Kona Snow. Oh. And I paired this with the Pannonia Devilish Red.

Pen Usage Discussion

Myke: Oh, that's a nice match.

Brad: Yeah, because I was thinking it's like... Red, red. Oh, yeah, that's red, red.

Myke: Yeah, it's like red, red. Because I was thinking the Kona Snow is about the Kona coffee plant, which is red, right? Yes. And so I thought that there was an interesting mixture between Kona Snow with red. So, yeah. I can't say the actual name of this ink. It's like Ordogi Burrus or something like that I'm going to go with. But that is translated in English to Devilish Red.

Brad: Love it. That is a bright red. It's bright. It's honestly, for all the... You think reds are like a simple basic color? Reds is a very challenging fountain color. This looks like a knockout.

Myke: So, I have three of the Pannonia inks now. And they all swatch so much brighter than use. Oh, interesting. So, I have the pink one that you have. Yep. Cotton candy. Was it Vata Cucur? Yes. And I also have a green one, but I don't remember the name of that one off the top of my head. And I found of all three of them that in use, the color is more faded or washed out a little bit. Interesting. Than the Swatchang. So. Very interesting. You know, like the cotton candy one, it is not as bright, say, as like Califolia and Drenopole.

Brad: Oh, yeah. Like, I don't even think those are comparable.

Myke: No. But like, I don't know. I just thought, I thought that they would end up looking brighter than they do. I like the colors, but it's really, it's just proving the same thing for me that there always is, which is swatching isn't really that helpful, I think. Yeah. I find, like, you get a difference in color a lot of the time. And especially if there's any effect to the ink, it's significantly magnified in swatching. I feel like this is actually similar to sound tests for keyboards. You've got to use it as like a comparison between other products as opposed to what is it actually going to be like. You know, like, you can, because every keyboard itself has a different sound and that changes depending on the switches you put in, the environment that you're in, the keycaps. Like, it's so variable. And I find similarly for swatching. Like, what are you putting it on? How much do you use? It's a variable. So, it's kind of useful as a baseline to compare ink to ink. But I don't think you're going to get, you can't say like, oh, if it looks like this on a swatch, it's going to look like this coming out of a pen. And I don't find that to be the case myself.

Brad: That's correct. And that's one thing that especially newer fountain pen users need to think about when they're purchasing inks, that the swab, there's so many variables in there or the swatch, how it's done. You know, is it done with cotton? Is it done with a brush? Is it done with a folded nib? Is it done with a glass dip nib? And all of those things change the properties of the ink. So, what you're using a swatch for is kind of get a general information of the ink and its properties. And especially like when you see how much, how wet, like how much ink you put on the sample, you know, you might get more sheen or more shading or things like that. But the real test is always going to be a nib test, a traditional fountain pen nib test. And that's always more difficult because it's a lot easier to clean all those other things than, you know, swapping out fountain pen inks all the time, even dipping them. You know, you got to have extra cleaning in the feed. So, that's always the true test is from a nib. But the samples like give you a good idea of what to expect, but the real test is from the nib.

Myke: Yep. Especially because as well then like different nibs produce different like, you know, results.

Brad: Yeah. Yeah. So, like a stub nib is really going to spread the ink thin, right? It's basically just, you know, like an edge, like dragging the ink, where if you have a medium nib with a rounded tip on there, that's liable to let the ink pool slightly more. So, you might get different features from one than you do the other, like more sheen from medium nib and more shading from a stub nib. So, yeah, a whole lot of things to think about when you're looking at inks and nibs and samples and accurate color. So, yeah, it's fun. That's why we do this.

Myke: This episode of the Pen Addict is brought to you by Pen Chalet. They sell all of the products that you're looking for from all of your favorite brands. They are an authorized dealer of brands such as Lamy, Pilot, Sailor Kaweco, Namiki, Monteverde, and many, many, many, many, many, many, many more. They're adding new stuff all the time, new products from new companies. Every couple of weeks, you're going to go and find new stuff on Pen Chalet. And they're going to give you the best prices that they can, as well as sales. Every couple of weeks, you're going to find different sales over at Pen Chalet. They sell rollerballs, ballpoints, mechanical pencils, fountain pens, and so much more. All of the inks that you're looking for, carrying cases, maybe you're looking for a fountain pen converter, little things that you need to up your pen game, your essentials, that kind of stuff. You can find it all over at Pen Chalet. And they do great shipping. So they'll ship internationally. They have great shipping rates. I've always found the speed to be really good, too. But if you're in the U.S., they'll do free shipping on orders of over $50, which is fantastic. Pen Chalet has low prices on high-quality pens, and they offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. So if you head on over to penchalet.com and click the podcast link at the top of the website, you'll want to enter the password penaddict, because not only will you get a code that you need to save 10% on anything at any time at Pen Chalet, you'll also be able to get access to some special offers for Pen Addict listeners.

Myke: What you got, Brad?

Brad: I have gone shopping at Pen Chalet, Myke. And actually, two of the things that I purchased are from this list, and they are currently active on this list. One being the Mayora Impronte Oversize. It's a pen that has been on my radar for a while that's kind of a unique shape that I was curious about to see how it would work, and I think it would make for a good review pen. So I bought one of those. It's at a really, really good price. I bought the bright blue kind of flecked one. So I'm anxious to try that. I purchased that. Then I also purchased the Cross ATX fountain pen. Pro tip. So this is the pen we've talked about a bunch of times, and it's one I'm very, very anxious to view, and it looks awesome. But pro tip with Cross, which I did not realize, it does not ship with the converter, Myke. You have to buy a converter. And Cross converters are proprietary. So Cross, bad job there.

Myke: Oh, come on. That's bad in two ways. Yeah.

Brad: So they send these little dinky cartridges with it. And I opened it up, and I was like, there is no converter here. And it's like super nice packaging, super nice pen. And like the original retail price of it's 100 bucks. That should come with a converter. I'm sorry.

Myke: At least it does come with the cartridges, though. And I know that's not ideal, but it would suck if it arrived and you couldn't use it at old, but you want to be able to use it with the ink that you choose.

Brad: But I'm very happy with the pen itself. Now I just need to get a converter because I'm not sticking one of those just basic black cartridges in there. Last thing, there's a secret in here, Myke. And this is something that Ron does from time to time. Platinum 3776, celluloid.

Myke: Look at that price, Brad.

Brad: In the list, like these are not pens for me, right? Like I don't need these pens, but people love these pens. I think Adina might have one of the like the cherry koi. What I forget? Sakura. I forget which one they call it. This is in that same type of series. Not that color. These are a couple of different colors. I don't know the color names.

Brad: Interesting. Interesting to see those pop up in the list. So there you go. Good stuff as always from Penchalet.

Myke: P-E-N-C-H-A-L-E-T dot com. Click the podcast link at the top of the website and use the password penaddict. Thanks to Penchalet for their continued support of this show. And RelayFM.

Brad: So Myke, you were missing something in the list of what you're currently using. And I'm a little bit shocked that you don't have edible notepads in the list of what you're using. What is wrong with you? Why don't you have like edible notepads for your daily use?

Edible Notepads

Myke: We've all had an interesting time over the pandemic. And I've been snacking a little too much. And, you know, you've got to cut some of that down. So I decided to get rid of the edible notepads.

Brad: Okay. Okay. Well, I'm all about some edible notepads. And these have made the rounds in the stationary Pinterest over the past couple of days. One of my favorite blogs, a lot of people's favorite blogs of Japanese culture is called Spoon and Tamago. There was a link that popped up there yesterday, I think. Japanese stationary company develops edible notepads to quiet hunger growls. Is that really the marketing we're going to go with here?

Myke: There are some things I just don't understand.

Brad: The idea, Myke, is you're in a meeting. Mm-hmm. Okay. And, you know, someone's scheduled one of those terrible like 12 noon meetings without considering everyone else's hunger. Right? And it's lunchtime and some people haven't eaten. So you might bring your notepad in there to be, you know, a good employee and take notes during the meeting. And then all of a sudden, Myke, it's 12.05 and your stomach's growling. You can just reach to the notepad, tear off a sheet, ball it up, and scarf it down. And that will...

Myke: What is this solving?

Brad: It's solving hunger pains. You don't want to be embarrassed.

Myke: No, if you're going to eat the notepad, bring a sandwich into the room. Because if people watch you eating the notepad, not only are you eating anyway, you look bananas. Sitting there eating paper. What are you, a goat?

Brad: See, that's the thing, Myke. It's not paper. It's made from starch powder, olive oil, and water. I mean, I think you should just go. Yeah, like, that is the move for lunch meetings.

Myke: Are you supposed to write on these things?

Brad: Because, like, isn't it toxic to eat the ink? That's my big question. So they actually have a note about that. Because I was like, okay, this is as dumb as this is. Like, what if you write on there? And they say you can write on them using an edible ink pen, water, citric, acid, and coloring. So there's actually a pen in this image called food pen, which just sounds terrible. Everything about this is terrible in the best way possible. And, like, I should probably get these things. And, like, I just feel if you do this, you have to sell it with the pen, though, right? Like, there's no point in just getting them. It doesn't come with a pen? It doesn't come with a pen. Oh, this is silly. But you can get four flavors, though. Vanilla, strawberry, orange, and curry. Like, what would be your choice? I think curry probably.

Myke: Whoa, that came out of nowhere. That's an interesting – curry is an interesting addition on that list. You know, and I know that, like, people like curry. And I know that curry is very popular in Japan.

Brad: Oh, it does come with a pen. It does come with a pen. So you're safe.

Myke: It does come with a pen. Okay, great. But I find it intriguing to have three kind of sweet flavors and then curry. But, you know.

Brad: I think you kind of blow your cover, though, if you have to use a pen that says food pen on it in your meeting. I think that's going to draw eyeballs as opposed to – Possibly.

Myke: I think your cover is mostly blown by eating the paper.

Brad: Okay. That's the worst part. Okay. So I think you should add these to your writing rotation. We should all have these. Like, I don't know what the problem is here. Yeah. Okay. We should all have. I don't know if everyone should have the next thing. But my good friend Jacob at FoodayFan at Tokyo Inklings Podcast.

Myke: Mm-hmm.

Brad: A couple of months ago, I think he posted an Instagram post. I'd have to go look and see the date.

Brad: And he's like, hey, got this pen. Yeah, February 26th. It's like, hey, got this pen. It's from this Taiwanese pen maker named Mr. Cypress. And look at it. It's G10. And y'all know I have this G10 orange pen that I've talked about for years. Can you remind listeners what G10 is? So it is a fiber stacked – fiber and glue stacked material. It's made for toughness and durability, right? It is popularly known as the knife handle material, right? It's kind of – I don't know, indestructible is probably too far of a sell, too big of a selling point. But it is that type of material, right? It doesn't have anything to do with the steel or the blade on a knife. But it's the handle of the knife for a lot of knife makers because of its durability. The challenge with it for pen making is that it's very tough on pen machinery, right? So it's a – you can imagine that type of hard material just tearing up these delicate machines that are, you know, turning, you know, acrylics or, you know, metal in some situations. Like, this is even tougher on them. So it's got a tactile feel. Like, you can see the fibers, the fiberglass in it. Usually in the pens that I have, you can see that fiberglass. It's something that I like, but it's not for everybody. So he sent this – he showed this picture, and I've never seen a G10 material that kind of had a swirl in it, right? This is colored, so it's black and blue. And I'm just like, you're telling me this is G10 and it's swirly like this. Like, this is like the ultimate Brad pens. Like, I'm going to need this. So it's always been on my radar. I've been following Mr. Cypress. That was a new manufacturer to me. And I found recently that they now have a website. I don't know if they had it before. I don't know how long if Mr. Cypress was just – it almost seems like they just had an Instagram feed for a while, then a website. But I'm not really sure on the origin of it. So anyway, I got a bug, Myke, and went and found their site. So we'll have the link in the show notes. And they have all kinds of wild and wonderful materials that they use in the manufacturing of these pens.

Brad: And it's a Taiwanese brand, and they have an English site. So I was like, oh, well, let me go look at the G10s. And I was actually going to look at the micardas as well. But, you know, the G10 was at the top of my list, the one like Jacob had. So I found it and, you know, translated it into English and was looking at the pen. And the model I wanted and the color I wanted and the style I wanted with the steel nib was about – it's a little over $200. And I was like, wow, that's a pretty good price.

Myke: It seems pretty good. Yeah, like I am – For the work person ship that surely has to go into that.

Brad: Yeah, just the material and the machining on that is a large expense. So I was like, that's completely fair. Let me try this. So I ordered one. While I was there, you know, they do a good job of teasing all the – like if you can imagine a pen, it might be on this site. And I don't know their full like manufacturing situation, like how, you know, who's making these or this is all in-house. Like it looks like a pretty large variety of pens and this would be a lot for like a small company to make. But anyway.

Myke: And I just wanted to say it's Mr. Cypress, C-Y-P-R-E-S-S, not Cypress like the country. Right. Just in case people are trying to find it or whatever. Obviously, we'll have links in the show notes, but you know.

Brad: Yeah. So I was just bouncing around. I was like, well, if that G10 is a good price, let me look at the Micarta. The Micarta was a good price too, but I didn't like any of the patterns. And then I found some Ebonite that was about half of the – it was like low hundreds. I was like, fine. Fine. Fine if you're going to make me. Right. I'm ordering this pen. And I'm paying, you know, overseas shipping, right? Like, you know, anything cross-country shipping these days is going to cost you $40, $50 no matter what. Well, that shipping is not going to change if I throw in another pen, right? So let's make that happen. So I have two pens coming. So we'll talk about these later. But what I wanted to talk about is just kind of give an idea of the way this site is set up for anyone who's interested in doing this. I've never had this experience before, and I don't know if this is because it's a newer site or a newer type of retailer. But the way they have things set up is like I just had to buy the G10 in the shape and color that I wanted, okay? So the shape I bought is like – it's called the cone shape. It's just a, you know, kind of tapered cylinder pointy ends, you know, just like, you know, the Nakia points or, you know, just the Ben Walsh, you know, pen that I'm using the entry. It's a very basic design. And then you have to email them and say, I want this nib and this size. And then with the Ebonite, I couldn't even pick out the color when I ordered it. So I said, okay, the ordering page for the Ebonite showed five different pens. Well, you can't go in and choose purple, green, blue, whatever. You order the pen. Then I emailed that same email. I said, I want the purple color all the way on the right of the picture. So it's not the most straightforward ordering. Maybe that's going to change in the future. But I do think these are maybe kind of smaller batch. And, you know, I noticed like the Ebonite one, when I went back to get the link for the show notes, it was listed as sold out. Right. Like, and I think they only have like one or two of these different things in inventory. So it was a strange process. And I'll talk about it more once they arrive. But I will say, like the extra steps I had to take, they were super responsive. They're like, okay, good. We got this. Can you confirm this is what you're saying? And it's like, yes, you know, I confirm these, this information. They're like, okay, we'll be shipping it soon. And so it was these weird little extra steps that I haven't had to take. But I think that's just kind of the cost of doing business kind of cross country and around the world. Right. Sometimes, you know, like we expect, like I expected to go in and say, this pin, this color, this nib type, this nib size, place order, pin shows up. Right. And this would take a few extra steps. Like we've done these things before.

Myke: Especially if there is a website. Yes. You know what I mean? Like I'm more used to giving this kind of information if I'm like buying something via Instagram messages, you know? Yes. And they're just going to send me a PayPal receipt or whatever.

Brad: Which I think is kind of the origination of how this site, it's what it feels like to me.

Myke: It seems like that's the case because what I don't know that that. Yeah. They have like the very basics of an online ordering system. And then you still have to communicate with them. It's intriguing to me that they've gone as far as creating the website that they've made, but yet you can't just select these. Especially when it's preset options. Like it's not like, you know, they're like, oh, tell us what two colors you like and how do you want it. You know, there's not really a conversation is what I'm getting. It's kind of just like, which options do you want? And so that's like a funny thing to not then just have a website that lets you pick them.

Brad: Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, I really have no point in this. I don't dislike that. But you should go into like if you're doing like these weird things like I am and shopping from these stores all over the world. Like you're expecting, like you set your expectations to like not get frustrated and just like go with the flow. And like I'm looking forward to getting these pens and I had a nice experience with them, but it's different. It was a different process and I wasn't used to it. So I thought it was worth at least talking about for a second.

Mr. Cypress Pens

Myke: Weird and wonderful things in this website.

Brad: Like I couldn't go through them all. That's how much stuff is on there. But I knew exactly what I was going for with the G10. And then I browsed around a little bit and picked up something else was how they got me. I'm going to treat to see what you think about these. I am too. I am too. So we'll see if the build quality is good, if it feels good. You know, I've got a Yovo nib coming in one. I got a Bach nib coming in another. So like, you know, good stuff you're used to getting and things like that. So I just kind of mixed it up and tried to figure it out. So we'll do a full recap when I get the pens in and see what I think.

Myke: Mr. Cypress. Mr. Cypress. All right. This episode is brought to you in part 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, Squarespace have got you covered. They combine 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 that you need to create a beautiful and modern website. You start with a professionally designed template and you use drag-and-drop tools to make it your own. You can customize the look and feel of your Squarespace site, the settings of it, the products that you have on sale, and so much more with just a few clicks. It really is that simple. All Squarespace websites are automatically optimized for all sizes of screens. So from desktop to tablet to mobile, your content is going to automatically adjust to look great on every device. With Squarespace, you will also get free unlimited hosting, top-of-the-line security, and dependable resources to help you succeed. There's nothing to patch or install or upgrade. They have 24-7 customer support, which is award-winning. They will let you quickly and easily grab a unique domain name if you need it, and also help you with SEO, email marketing, and so much more to help you get your ideas out there and realize your project. You can use the Squarespace website for so many different things. Whether you want to turn your next big idea into a business and you need a website, whether you want to showcase your work with portfolio designs, publish a blog post, promote your business, and it's an upcoming event, or anything else in between. Squarespace has the options and tools that you're going to need. And I have used Squarespace for pretty much every single one of these things at this point. I've been a happy, happy customer for over 10 years. Head to squarespace.com slash penaddict for a free trial today with no credit card required. And when you're ready to launch, use the offer code penaddict and you'll get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. That's squarespace.com slash penaddict. And when you decide to sign up, use that offer code. It's penaddict and you'll get 10% off your first purchase. Thanks to Squarespace for their support of this show and all of RelayFM.

Brad: All right, Myke, I wanted to dig into our popular paper topic a little bit more. It's not going away and nor do I want it to go away because I like talking about these things. Paper is one of those things where I think we even have more options popping up than we see pens, right? Because it's a little, you know, it's a little, you know, instead of buying a $200 pen, you can buy a $20 notebook and kind of get your stationary fix that way. So the topic came up and I think I kind of took and tweet, asked TPA question that I didn't really know the answer to and took it to the Twitch stream and try to figure out the answer to the question. And the question is generally, what are my notebook options for a large notebook, 365 plus pages, that's not Tomoe River, right? But it's actually good for fountain pens or all types of pens, right? Because Tomoe River paper really has cornered the market on the large paper count, large page count, I should say. Notebook, right? Those big 400 page notebooks that appear to be about the size of a standard 200 page notebook. So what other options are out there? The only one that I had come to mind and, you know, the chat also mentioned and is very good, as well as the Stiology, which we've talked about before and I've shared before. And they actually have a product called the 365 days notebook. And it's not designed to be a planner, but you can make it one. They have this subtle top header, right? Where you can pick the day and the date, right? And kind of circle the day and the date and use it as like a planner. But that's also hidden away. If you never want to use that, I think you wouldn't even notice that stuff hardly at the top. It's so small. So it's also a thin paper. So you get those 365 pages in a reasonably sized notebook, right? It's maybe like a little bit bigger than you'd think. Everyone thinks of like the traditional A5 Leuchtturm size, like 198 pages. That's like this classic size that somehow just kind of hits the sweet spot for everyone. And this notebook, even not quite twice the number of pages, it's nowhere near twice as thick as like what you'd consider just like a traditional A5 notebook. So that was the thing we were trying to figure out. It's like what other paper options are there for this? And there were two new ones that came up to me that I wanted to point out, which I both found is very interesting. I think this is a newish product from Midori. So they have a one-day, one-page journal, which is 365 pages. It's reasonably thick. You know, I think it's thicker than the Stiology one. But it's a Midori. So it's a Midori MD line. So you know it's good. They have a nice perf there in the corner, Myke. I know you would appreciate that. I don't know if you've seen the pictures of those, but that is the cleanest perf. No offense. I have ever seen in my life. It's kind of wild looking. But yeah, this is an option. It's a very cream color paper, though. So if you don't like the cream color paper of Midori, I happen to like it okay. It's not my favorite, but the paper itself is awesome for like all kinds of pens. And it's 368 pages. And it's got kind of an exposed stitch binding to help it lay flat, which is kind of always key when you have a notebook of that size. How big is your note? Is the subtle notebook? How many pages is the subtle notebook?

Myke: Oh, my God. A hundred and something. Don't put me on the spot like this.

Brad: It's more standard traditional A5 size, though, right? Like it's not some big 300 page behemoth.

Myke: We have 120. That was right. Okay.

Brad: So there you go. So not too thick at all. So this is like three times as big like page count wise. So if someone's looking for like a month, I prefer like the 120, like less than 200 pages is my jam. Like I have two that's I have commitment issues with a 365 page notebook, but a lot of people love these. So these Midori ones are new. And when we found those on stream, a lot of people were liking those.

Myke: Then. Corner perforation is interesting. They're using the same style that I am. Definitely.

Myke: Smart to just do the straight line. I do because I like rounded corners on the notebook. We have rounded corner edge on the perforation and that can be tricky to get just right. It's just one of those things. It's a straight doing a rounded corner things. A strange thing. I was. They tried to talk me out of it, but I wasn't having it.

Brad: But it aesthetically matches.

Myke: Exactly. And I wouldn't be surprised, Brad, if that is why another route like this is very simple. Like, are we going to do straight corners, you know, on this.

Brad: Yes, exactly right. For so we can have this straight line punch. So, yeah, it's pretty wild. So I hadn't I hadn't noticed that before. Last one. And this is somewhere where I don't shop for stationery, but I know a lot of people do. And there's a lot of cool Etsy shops out there. So if you have cool Etsy shops, I'm about to talk about one. If you have cool Etsy shops, you want to email me or tweet at me. I'd be happy to take a look at them. But this is from a shop called Danica 58. And we'll put a link in the in the show notes to make it easier for you to find. But this is someone who basically bulk binds Cosmo Air light paper. And they have 384 page notebooks in A5, A6, B6, B6, Slim, B5. So like all these wild sizes in a paper that a lot of people love. Like I wouldn't want that much Cosmo Air light paper because I don't enjoy it that much. Like it's strictly a fountain pen paper for me. And I need more variety than that. Same goes for Tomoe River. That's why I don't necessarily use those for my main journals. But if you're interested, like that's a huge bulk assembly of these notebooks. And a lot of people like this. The interesting thing was there is another notebook that this seller makes. The paper is called Torah Next. And that's one I need to check out. They say it's fountain pen friendly and has some interesting features. But I don't know much about it. But the two papers they bind are Cosmo Air light and Torah Next. And I thought that was interesting. So Etsy is another place when you're looking for these highly specific layouts. And I consider like 400 page, you know, 350 plus page notebooks. That's a highly specific thing. I mean, with Tomoe River paper, we were spoiled that. They all came that way or else they'd look like a thin notebook. Right? So now that we don't have that option as frequently, finding these other options out there is going to take a little bit of work, a little bit of research. So that's why I took to the wisdom of the crowds. And those are the things we came up with. And that might help some other people figure out some of their things. Yeah. They're looking for in a notebook.

Myke: And these are the things that just exist right now. Well, it's not taking into account the possibilities of things that may try and move into the space now that Tomoe River is on the way out.

Brad: I think we're going to see a lot more from Midori, more from Kukuyo, more from...

Myke: It's Hobonichi I have my eye on, man.

Brad: Yeah, Hobonichi. Like, there's going to be... We're not going to be lacking for options in paper. We never are. And it's going to continue to escalate. Like I say...

Myke: Hobonichi are big enough that they might... You know, I could imagine them either doing something themselves, but what I think might be more likely is that they partner with another manufacturer to create something that will be good for them that this other manufacturer could maybe also sell.

Brad: Yeah, totally. Like, it's a lot... I don't want to say it's a lot easier. Not for someone like Hobonichi. That's a large capital A-out. But you can try and fail with paper a lot more inexpensively than you can with pens necessarily, right? So that's why you see a lot of innovation sometimes. Paper is also more universal. In the paper world.

Myke: Yeah. And typically as well, you know, because you can make a good paper, but it might not work with all pens, but...

Brad: Plus it's also like it's more of a commodity that you're going to use and use up and then have to replace where a pen you can continue to use the same pen, but you're always going to use a notebook and fill it and replace it. Yes.

Myke: It is a... If you create a product good enough that people want to have around in their lives, you have repeat purchase and that's kind of the best kind of business you can be in. If you can make something good enough that people want to buy it over and over and over again. Yeah. That's a real... Something you know about. Well, yeah. I mean, well, that's the point, isn't it, really? Like you create something good enough that people want to keep buying and that's the best kind of business to have because you've put the work in once or, you know, you might revise it, but the majority of the work is done once and then you can continue to make money on that product long into the future. Yeah. Yeah.

Brad: Yeah. And that's why I enjoy talking about paper a lot because the variables are immense and we like those nitty gritty details. Whereas the next Blackwing volumes release is going to be a paint job and a story. Like that's cool too. Right? I like that aesthetic, but I have the internals. Right? I'm covered on how it works. Right? I may not be covered on what it looks like, but there's always this variance in paper and paper manufacturers that's different from a, say, like a pencil. You know, like a Blackwing volumes edition. Right? So, you know, I think it's, I find it to be fascinating and difficult to get right. It's a challenge. I'm not saying this to say that it's easy. None of that means this is easy. I'm just saying that there is an ability to experiment more in the paper world, in my opinion. And I like what I see in that world.

Myke: This episode of The Pen Addict is also brought to you by ExpressVPN. There are so many VPN providers out there. You may have heard of a few of them. Some of you may have even used a VPN before. But there's a reason that I use ExpressVPN and it's why we have them as a sponsor on the show. It's because they're really good. Here's why. ExpressVPN doesn't log your data. Other VPNs can make money by selling your data to ag companies. You don't want that. And ExpressVPN developed a technology called Trusted Server, which makes it impossible for their servers to log any of your information. Because that information is just stored in RAM. So it just gets erased. Nice and easy. Second, speed. Many VPNs can slow your connection down or make your device feel sluggish. Whenever I use ExpressVPN, I find my internet speeds remain blazing fast multiple times. A lot of the time, actually, one of the things that I use ExpressVPN for is watching video. And you can stream HD quality video with zero lag, even if you're connected to servers thousands of miles away. The last thing that really sets ExpressVPN apart from other VPNs is how easy it is to use. Unlike others, you don't have to input or program anything. You just fire up the app, click one button to connect. It's so easy. Your grandparents could use it. And it's not just me saying this. Wired, The Verge, CNET, and many others, many other tech experts, tech websites, they write ExpressVPN, the number one VPN service in the world. For all of these reasons, it's why I use it. I have it installed on all my devices. Whenever I need it, I can just turn it on. It's super simple. It's there when I need it. It doesn't take up space. It's nice and easy. I love to be having access to it whenever I want to either protect myself or whenever I want to say, hey, I'm somewhere else, you know, and trick the computer into thinking that I'm in another location so I can get around sometimes silly geo-restrictions. So protect yourself with the VPN that I use and trust. Go to expressvpn.com slash penaddict, and you'll get an extra three months free on a one-year package. That's expressvpn.com slash penaddict. Go there right now and check it out. One last time, expressvpn.com slash penaddict. Go there and learn more. Thanks to ExpressVPN for the support of the show and RelayFM.

Ask TPA Segment

Brad: Let's hit some ask TPA today, Myke. We got a lot of good questions. As always, we never get to them all.

Myke: Indeed. The first one will come from Gareth, and Gareth says, I have a cross Wanderlust with a fine nib and a converter. When I fill it up, it writes well for a bit, then it stops as if it's run out of ink. When I remove the body to add more ink, I find that it's still three quarters full. If I advance the piston on the converter to expel some of the air, it will start writing again. I have to do this a few times, maybe every quarter or so of the converter before it actually uses all of the ink up. It seems that not enough air is getting in to replace the ink, like vapor lock in an engine. But I could be wrong. What's going on here, and is there a way I can fix it?

Brad: I don't know for a fact, but I think there's two definite things I would try in this order. Number one, do a full cleaning and disassembly of the pen. You may have already done that, depending. I always have to say that because I don't know how people manage their fountain pens. Some people have a single pen and just do cartridge, run it through, pop it in another cartridge, run it through, and you might do that 10 times and never clean it in between. And at some point, you're going to start having performance issues. So I have to say these things up front. So if you have not disassembled it and clean it, do that first. Secondly, I would buy a new converter. That's not as cool and easy to do. Then you have to spend some more money. I'm not maybe like every company's converters are prone to failure. Like no one makes like the ultimate fountain pen converter. I almost consider them as disposable as refills. And if I have a situation where I know my pen should be flowing well, like it's clean and everything looks good and everything's fit correctly, and then I'm just getting some weird performance in there, I will swap the converter out and go to a new one. That's kind of the two things I would look at if it's not that. And then we probably have another issue we need to look at a little bit further. But I don't even know what that would be. But those are step one and step two in that order I would take.

Brad: Yeah. And then after that, I think it's just, you know, I don't know what it could be. Yeah.

Myke: Obviously, if you don't use the pen very often, it might need a bit of cajoling to get it to start up again. Some pens need that. But the way that Gareth's described it sounds like it's just as he's writing, it's like just given out on them.

Brad: You made me think of something else. I'd also wonder what ink is in there.

Myke: Yeah. I was going to suggest that the ink or the nib could be causing some issues. Like it might not. Like have you ever dropped the pen? Right. Sometimes that can be an issue, I suppose.

Brad: And if you're using a red, orange, or yellow dyed ink, those tend to dry up a little bit quicker or hard start a little bit more than more, you know, traditional blues and blacks colors just by the way the ink formulations are. You know, that could be an issue. So that would be option number three is try different ink combinations in there.

Myke: This is one of those trial and error things sometimes. If there isn't an obvious reason, like something hasn't happened that you can point to to say, you know, oh, I think I know why this might be occurring. It can be a bit of like, all right, you've got to change this one variable and see if you have any lasting change. Yep, exactly. Zach asks, lately I've been finding myself liking a certain type of pen and I'm wondering what could fit my criteria. I'm looking for a pocket-sized fountain pen of a clip and a screw-posting cap. I'm aware of the Twizbee Mini and the Sailor Pro Gear Slim Mini, but I'd love any other suggestions if you have them.

Brad: I love the Sailor Pro Gear Mini for this. I think that's a good option because you get a compact when it's closed, a full-length when it's open, and a clip. So the and a clip part is always the challenge. Sometimes the screw-posting cap is a challenge too.

Myke: I mean, you can get a Kaweco and add a clip to it, but it's never as reliable. But you will get a screw-posting cap, and it will be pocket-sized.

Brad: Those are not screw-posting caps. Oh, posting. I apologize. I'm thinking of a screw-posting cap. Yep. So that's just a friction-posting cap. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The shown designs are a screw-post, but there's not a clip option.

Brad: I don't know. I'm thinking this is going to be a pretty hard question to answer.

Myke: The combination of screw-posting and clip, that's tricky. That's a challenge. Getting both of those in a pen is hard.

Brad: Because the way screw-posting works, you end up with generally, there's ways to solve it, but generally you end up with a cap that's too far away, or the cap is not long enough to manage the clip, right? So with a screw-post, I'm getting myself twisted. I'm trying to explain this. With a friction-posting cap, the cap is long and deep because it sleeves over the barrel, right? So you generally don't have a clip in those situations because they get too low and can get in the way of your hand. So the opposite is a screw-posting cap where the cap is shorter because it has to post on the back of the pen and screw on, but the clip is generally visually or technically wants to be longer than the cap because of the design of the cap to fit on a shorter screw post. I don't know if I'm making verbal sense. I know what I mean in my head, but there are technical challenges why this isn't a common thing. So when you get something like the Pro Gear Slim Mini and see how awesome it is, you wonder why everyone doesn't do this. Well, because there's some give and take that has to be made when you're designing short caps versus long caps and then adding clips to those things and not affecting other things like writing performance, appearance, or usefulness of the clip. So it's a challenge. Like, I get that. That's why Zach is looking for the thing because it's not easy. So like I have like an expensive mini pen with a screw cap and a clip and it's a Mont Blanc Boheme. It's one of the coolest pens ever made, but it's going to be like $300, $400. I bought mine used. But it has a short cap and a short clip, right? There's like a sacrifice you make to have that screw on the back of the pen because it wouldn't functionally work otherwise. So it's a challenge. If anyone has any other suggestions, let me know. I'm sure we're forgetting some, but there's a reason why that's just not a default option.

Myke: David asks, my office, which I haven't been to in over a year, was recently moved without my assistance. I later retrieved the desk contents. I've had this happen to me and discovered that my Lamy All-Star had gone missing. Sorry, but I'm Team All-Star. Obviously, David, maybe they did you a favor, you know? I have plenty of other pens, so I'm not desperate to replace it, but I'm thinking about it. I'd like to stay in the Safari or All-Star price range. I still have a Lamy 2000, though, so I don't feel like I owe it to Lamy to buy another All-Star. Here are the alternatives I see. Replace it with another All-Star, or maybe even a Safari. Replace it with a pen in the same price range from a different manufacturer. I'll hold off until I see something that I really want, even if it costs more. In other words, I don't want to replace it just to replace it. What are your thoughts?

Brad: You want to take a crack first? I have an answer. Oh, well, I mean, I have my answer, and it's not definitive, but you want to go?

Myke: I don't know if it is particularly surprising or intriguing. Toosby Eco, I think, will be what I would recommend. It's a great pen. Very different to a Lamy Safari, but in the same kind of... I can't think of a better word, so I'm just going to say milieu. I apologize. Milieu. It was the best I could do. Yeah.

Brad: Price range, usability, functionality, feel, all those things. Material. Milieu.

Myke: Like, it's not precious. But with a Twisby Eco, you are getting a different type of pen. You're getting a piston filler. And so I recommend that because it's fun, and they're demonstrators, and you can get them in a bunch of really great colors now. So I would recommend a Twisby Eco.

Brad: So that would be my number two choice. Okay. My first choice would be to buy another All-Star. There is something... Even though that's the wrong decision, I mean, Safari, obviously, but if you're an All-Star fan, like, it's okay for David to be an All-Star fan. I call them both. Don't send me your emails.

Brad: Anna's the only one I will give real grief about choosing it because there's something about using those Lammys and those molded grips if they work for you, the way those work with those nibs that they have. And if you like those, like, steel, firm, but still kind of wet nibs, I thoroughly enjoy whenever I pick up a Safari. It puts a smile on my face. I'm going like, oh, yeah, this is why this is a good pen. And if you like the All-Star, like, I say replace it. That's my number one. My number two pick is the Twisby Eco.

Brad: You will have to... If you don't already use a converter, you know, you're going to have to get a bottle of ink for that. I don't know if that works for your office or the way you have things set up. So that is a consideration. Outside of that, if you wanted to get something that costs more, I'm still thinking about Lammys and thinking about, like, a Lammys Studio, even though it has a completely different feel. It has a cylindrical grip section as opposed to a molded grip section. So it's round. And it's a different feel. I'm going with the All-Star.

Myke: I'd say if you want to bump up in price range, like other brands, I would say.

Brad: Sure, sure. Then that... If we're bumping up from here, like, the All-Star is so good and the Eco is so good, I'm probably moving straight into, like, a triple-digit type of pen.

Brad: Because I just think you replace it because it's that good. And it is, to me, it is that enjoyable to write with. I really believe that about the Safaris, and that's why I love them so much and talk about them all the time, even though they are absolutely not for everyone because of how they're built.

Myke: Yeah, I still kind of don't understand that mid-range Lamy pen. Like, for me, like, I don't know what I'm personally supposed to get out of that experience that I can't get from an All-Star or Safari. That...

Brad: We could do a whole show on Lamy's mid-range pens.

Myke: Like, the Lamy 2000 is fantastic if you get a good one. That's an important part.

Brad: I'm not even... I'm considering below that. Yeah, I know. That's their upper end.

Myke: Like, at the top, at the very top, that's fantastic. And their entry pens, Safari and AOS are also fantastic. But, like, Studio and all those other ones that they have... Their mid-range is a nightmare. I don't get it.

Brad: I think they're just missing out.

Myke: Yeah, I don't really get it. Like, even the Vista, the Vista I don't understand. Like, I don't know why they need to brand a clear version of the Safari a different thing anyway. But, like...

Brad: Myke, you'd be shocked to know that I have thoughts on this.

Myke: Yeah, logo, CP1. I don't get them. Studio, Ion.

Myke: It's a problem. That don't make sense to me. I have thoughts. I know why Safari makes them. Because they can just fill out a shelf space in a store. Like, I get it, you know. But at the same time, I feel like there's a missed opportunity.

Myke: You know where I stand.

Myke: I'll say if I hire him.

Brad: They're leaving so much on the table. It frustrates me. Because I love them so, so much. I genuinely love Lamy.

Myke: We both do. Alright, that's about going to do it for this episode of The Pen Addict. I'll be back in two weeks. Brad will be back next week. In the meantime, you can follow us online. You can go to Dowdyism on Twitter. That's where you'll find Brad. And he is Pen Addict on Instagram. Tuesdays, Thursdays, 10 a.m. Eastern Time. Twitch.tv slash Pen Addict. You can find Brad streaming. That's at least Tuesdays and Thursdays. Brad's been on the streaming today.

Brad: Wednesdays and Thursdays. I went ahead and added the post-podcast show to the schedule. So Wednesdays, 11.30.

Myke: So Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

Myke: I apologize. I'm going to bump into you tomorrow. Oh, I don't care. I'm streaming tomorrow. I'm just letting you know in advance. Because I don't want you to... Yeah, no biggie. I'm saying it now. Because if I don't say it now, when I go live, you'll start cussing me out. Oh, I'm going to do it anyway. Yeah, but now podcast listeners know that I at least told you in advance. So I'm going to be streaming tomorrow, 10.30 Eastern.

Brad: So here's the play. So you have Twitch apps and you have Twitch in the browser and you have a lot of devices. You can at least get two Twitch screens up.

Myke: People do this anyway. Like I see people let me... I can't do it, but I do. People have multiple things going. Maybe people can see if we'll start to sync up, you know? I'm quiet a lot in my streams because I'm doing stuff. Yours are more talking than mine. So yeah, you can check us out both out. We both really enjoy streaming. So you can check us both out. Thank you so much to ExpressVPN, Squarespace, and Penchale for the support of this episode. And most of all, thank you for listening. And we'll be back next time. Until then, say goodbye, Brad.

Brad: Goodbye, Brad.