The Pen Addict 472/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	472
Title:	Pretty Very Also Good
Release Date:	July 28th, 2021
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	No guests this episode
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 472
Audio File:	Audio Episode 472
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 472
Length:	5555 min <br />0.917 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

Myke: From RelayFM, this is The Pen Addict, episode 472, and today's show is brought to you by ExpressVPN and Pen Chalet. My name is Myke Hurley, and I am joined by the one and only Brad Dowdy. Hi, Brad.

Brad: Hello, Myke Hurley. How are you?

Myke: I am very, very good, my friend. How are you?

Greetings and Well-being

Brad: I am pretty, very, also good, I think? Question mark? I don't know. I think I'm good. I'm here, so that's good. After that, I don't know.

Myke: We're having a busy week, aren't we, both of us?

Brad: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just a week, and, you know, as we talk about, you know, we have a schedule, and I'm one of those people who is not very good when the schedule gets thrown. Into the blender a little bit, even if it's, like, all good stuff, right? It doesn't matter, right? Like, it's all good stuff. Like, nothing bad is happening. But it's all these things that are kind of between and betwixt my normal workflow, and I'm just a little bit, you know, pulling the few hairs I have left out.

Myke: How Shakespearean are you? Between and betwixt.

Brad: Yes. Yeah, yeah. You know me, and Shakespeare were like this.

Myke: Is that? Yeah, I don't know. No, see, the thing is, I didn't know that. I didn't know that you and Shakespeare were like this, whatever this means, because this audio is so good.

Brad: I had my arms really far apart. Okay. It's basically weird. That seems fair. I can get a little bit of that. We are not tight. I'm not bros with Shakespeare. I am bros with a bunch of pens, Myke. That's why we do a show called The Pen Addict Podcast. 472 times, at least.

Myke: Mm-hmm.

Leonardo Pens Review

Brad: At least. And I would like to talk about pens today, especially, Myke, one of the best pens on the market. And if you've listened to this show for, I don't know, any time in the last 100 episodes, you know that I love the Leonardo Memento Zero. And this is my opportunity yet again to fawn over it. Would you like me to do that? I would. I would like you to own one, is what I would like.

Myke: I was thinking this exact thing this morning when I read your review. So why don't we talk about that, too?

Brad: All right. So I just reviewed one of the latest releases from Leonardo. They have several different models, several different price points, several different styles. But kind of their two... Entry level is the wrong term, but their two kind of starting points are called the Memento Zero, which is the model in this review. And the Fiore, which is really hard for me to say, essentially the same pen, slightly different barrel shape. So I prefer the Memento Zero, but this commentary and this love of this pen could also relate to the Fiore model. So just everyone keep that in mind. Save me some emails. This is one of those pens, I guess I kind of discovered at pen shows, three-ish years ago, something like that, two years ago, two and a half, three years ago. And I kept waiting. They came out and people were buying them and loving them and saying, Brad, you need to get a Leonardo. And I'm like, yes, look at these pens. They're amazing. I need to get a Leonardo. And then at the time, it was when Leonardo was just kind of ramping up.

Myke: Yeah, it felt like there was a moment where they kind of took a turn.

Brad: Well, they didn't have... They weren't ready to be this good, is what happened, right? I could not get the model that I wanted, so I kept waiting, right? So they launched a product line and it was really... At the time, it was just the Furores and just the Memento Zeros, just the... At the time, around $150 to $180 pens. That was it. They didn't have any of this high-end stuff that they have now. And people were buying them. People were loving them. People were recommending them. And I was like, yes, I need this pen. I want one. And I want this specific one. It was called a Blue Hawaii was the material. We've talked about it before because you didn't like how the material was laid out. We'll talk about that later. I got a Blue Hawaii with Rhodium Trim and I just couldn't buy one, right? No one had the exact setup I wanted and I wasn't going to sacrifice. I was like, I know there will be more. I will just wait. It turns out I waited almost a year from when they came out to when I picked up my first one. And then I got it and I was like, oh, yes, yeah, I see what the deal is here. I see why this is so popular. And that's all well and good on the front end. I figured out a pen that I like. Everyone else likes it. I see why it's recommended so well. And then they kept getting better, right? Leonardo just kept tweaking the recipe that made them successful on launch and refining that. You know, adding in a few different materials, having the materials be slightly more complex, refining the nib choices. You know, they had a mixture of Bach and Yovo in the beginning. Now they just use Yovo. You know, they added some upgrade models, which, you know, that's a whole separate podcast, right? Like when they have like piston fillers and gold nibs. We're not talking about any of that. And they just continue to refine and they release new colors, like I said. And they just every time they released, say they release four colors of the Memento Zero. Every one of them would just be bangers, right? They're just like, man, look at these pens. And like, this is something you don't need one of these pens a year, right? It's the same pen, you know, with different clothes on. And like, that's cool. We all have our things. You know, we all, some people have 50 Lamy Sepharis and that's cool. It's like, I don't need 50 Memento Zeros, you know, to match all these colors. So I had this blue Hawaii and then, you know, there was this kind of purpley one with rose gold and pink. And I was like, ah, I should get that one. So I got that one and, you know, it just kind of continued on. The reason why I like these, Myke, I guess we should probably get to this part, is it's this classically styled fountain pen. You look at this and you go, oh, that is a fountain pen or oh, that is a pen. I mean, I know they have some rollerballs and rollerballs, but it looks very traditional. But it's got very modern types of shapes and hardware and the finish of the pen. It all seems very, very current. And the, but with the overall design kind of holding this like, you know, representative of the past type of aesthetic. You know, it's the right size and the right weight and the right width and the right shape and all these things. But, you know, it's made for, you know, the 2020s and it's fantastic. So it fits my hand so well. And I'm such a steel EF Yovo nib fan that it's perfect for me out the box. And that's one of the other things that I like about Leonardo is not everyone has the same experience out of the box as I've had. But I think more times than not, it is kind of the perfect pen right out of the box. And it's still under $200 right now. Like this model that I reviewed is $199. So we're teetering on the edge. But there are other models without like the black trim or like the previous year's model that are like $169 or something like that. It's just a rock solid fountain pen that I can't tell you, I can't nitpick this pen from my perspective. There it's flawless. And I was scared to say that word. It's probably not, you know, but it comes with no caveats. And I think that's pretty rare for a product these days, especially when you're spending like a good amount of money. Like $200 is no joke amount of money. And like even then we make decisions about the products that we buy. This price point, what can we live with? What can we live without? You know, is it a good value? And like I just, I can just recommend this pen wholeheartedly. Not because, well, because it's great. Also because like I personally love it. And sometimes those two things don't align, right? Like I can personally love a product that's the best for me and never want to recommend it to someone, right? Or I can personally love a product that I think would be universally loved by anyone I would recommend it to. And that's where the Leonardo Memento Zero falls. This specific orange model, Myke, it's actually forcing me to sell two other Leonardo Memento Zeros. Why? Like I've pulled them, well, I, cause I, I would, if now that I have this orange one that made me have four and I don't need four of the same pen, right? So I'm going to keep the, the, the pinkish purple one with rose gold trim. Cause it's different. Then I'm going to keep this one. And then I have two others that I've bought over the years that I'm just going to sell because I'm, I will never use four of these pens, right? This, I do not need a collection of these pens. Like I like the two that I have. They're very different. They have different nibs. They look completely different. And the other two like just wouldn't get used as much. And like, that's, you know, whenever I finally get this pen sale up, we can go through the whole process of, of, um, choosing pens to sell. I know people have been asking about that and wanting me to discuss that, how I'm doing that a little more. So once I get this finished up here in the coming weeks, we'll, we'll, we'll do a show on that. But yeah, I don't need four of them. Right. I have a lot more sailors that I don't, you know, necessarily want to sell because there are enough differences and enough different models and things like that. But I've ended up with four Memento Zeros because they're kind of easy to buy because they're so cool. But I know I'm not going to use a couple of them. So do you, would you like to buy one?

Myke: Maybe.

Brad: I'm just kidding. I didn't even think about that before we started telling you, you need to get one. And oh, by the way, I am selling a couple. I was thinking about that. I didn't even think about that.

Myke: Well, I saw that you put it in the show notes, but then I realized you're not going to have any nibs that I want.

Brad: Yeah. They're both of the ones I'm selling are extra fine nibs.

Myke: Yeah.

Brad: The one I'm, the other one I'm keeping besides this one is a medium ground into a stub by, uh, Gina at Custom Nib Studio. And that's the rose gold and pink one. So that one stays and then this one stays and the other two are equally as awesome. They're just, but they're identical to this orange one that I have. Right. So I don't, I don't need them.

Myke: You mean like in, in the model, right?

Brad: The build, like the shape and the nib are exactly the same. They're identical. So I would, it would, I would just be keeping them for the color of the pen. And you know what? Like that's for me right now, that's not something that's working for my pen library. My pen library is all of a sudden in this expansion phase and it's like, I'm cool with it, but like, I got to clear some space. Steel or gold? I mean, I'm pausing because what I, what I want to say is steel and it's not even close. And I was trying to decide if that's the right thing. And I feel like it is.

Myke: Why?

Brad: It's so good.

Myke: The steel nib?

Nib Customization Discussion

Brad: Mm-hmm. It's just a Jovo nib. It's just a Jovo nib.

Myke: You know, you say that though, right? What you just said there was the next part that I was going to get to. I think one of the things that has stopped me from buying a Memento Zero is what you just said. It's just a Jovo nib.

Brad: Mm-hmm.

Myke: I have a hang up with it because outside of the primary manipulation, all of the designs, I like, I like them. Mm-hmm. Right? I don't like love them. Right? Right. How I might say a Canalea, right? Canalea use Jovo nibs. Yeah. But the designs of the materials, for whatever reason, just really gets me. You know, I like swirls and stuff. And I think Leonardo, their resins have these block colors. They remind me of like boiled sweets, like hard candy. Mm-hmm. A lot of their pens. Because the color is mostly in these like chunks, right? Yes. And like stripes that run down the style of the pen, which I appreciate. But I think my style is a little bit more like, I like wild resins, right?

Brad: Someone will have to go find it because I'm not going to do it and you're not going to do it. But when I talked about the blue Hawaii, you definitively did not like the material because it is not contiguous from the top of the pen to the bottom. Yeah, I really don't like that one. It's sectioned out. And this one's the mangoes the same way. Yeah. Like all of their pens are the same way. Yeah. When they have this kind of stripey design.

Myke: And it doesn't match up. Like I'm looking at it now. Right. But there are some colors like the orange one. I like it. Like I think it works on that. It just, I was actually, as we were talking, I was looking through some color options, right? I'm just like poking around. And I saw the blue Hawaii one. And for whatever reason, I really just, I just don't like that color way. I think it, I think it shows maybe most the stuff I don't like in the design. Yeah. I think it was, it's very clear.

Brad: So the other models you're talking about with like gold nibs and the primary manipulation, you're getting into a completely different category of pen, which are equally as great, but like they're built in piston fillers. This is a cartridge converter filler, right?

Myke: But still, so like, I think the thing that I'm circling around is in this category. So say around the $200 mark, and I know things have changed, but just, you know, if we think about how it's been in recent years, I have this hang up about them not having their own nib. Sure. Yeah. Right. And maybe this is like pretentious of me, but that's where it gets me. Where if, because, because I'm not completely blown away by their standard design aesthetic, the fact that the writing experience is not defined by their work, it gives me, it has given me pause up until now on buying one.

Brad: You see, I think that's completely fair and I don't want to get what I'm saying, like misconstrued. I'm not saying everyone should own this pen, right? I'm obviously not saying that. I'm saying if you meet like X criteria, like, okay, do you like the aesthetic? Like, are you cool with a steel nib? Like, you're not going to find anything better. You're just not. But you may not like the style or the shape or the fact that they use, you know, a Yovo steel nib and don't make their own kind of stuff. And then that eliminates. And that's like totally cool. It's like a perfectly legitimate stance to have. I'm just saying like for this check, so many boxes for people who are asking questions that I can't help to bring it to the top. Most of the time when I'm discussing pens with other people. And I agree with all of that stuff, right?

Myke: Like, I completely believe you, right? When you say that at this price point, there just isn't anything else.

Brad: Mm-hmm. But that doesn't mean you should just go out and buy it because I say that, right? It's you're still an individual that has individual tastes and aesthetics and fits and feels and things like that, how things work for you, right? So, yeah. It's cool. Could I tempt you? Could I tempt you, though, with a special edition? Another special Leonardo Memento Zero special edition. They're just like, so what I've seen from them from the past, I want to say three or four years. I should have looked this up. They have escalated appropriately. Like, they've grown. They've gotten bigger. They've gotten more efficient. And I don't think they're like overdoing it yet. You know, I guess some companies can, you know, drink their own Kool-Aid, but they still seem metered, but they still seem ready to work. With cool people in the community, just like when the Vesuvius and the Stromboli primary manipulation pins came out, right? And you notice that it's weird. I don't use that. I have that pin. I have the Stromboli one. I don't use that near as much as my Memento Zeros. And I can't explain to you why. I wish I could explain that to you. It's a little bit bigger pin. And we'll save that for another day. But our friend David, Mr. Fig Boot, has his own collaboration with Carolina Pin Company Material and Leonardo to make a Memento Zero. Kind of the perfect... If I was making a pin, Myke, we're not too far off from this. Yeah. It is one of the coolest Memento Zeros. And it's made by like cool people in collaboration with Leonardo. What do you think about this? Even if it's not for you, just in general. Oh, it's beautiful. I'm not talking about this for you.

Myke: It's really... It's a great... It's a stunner. Like it's a stunner. And I'm happy that they're doing it. You know, people seem to really like these pens. I think that they should be doing a bit of this. Like why not, right? Make the different models. Make the different materials. Work with people in the community. And create these limited edition stuff. Like I think it's a great thing to have.

Brad: Yeah. Yeah. It came out really great. It's kind of this... I don't know the name of this. There's probably a name of this material. But it looks kind of like ocean floor-y type material. I don't know. It's like a very topographical ocean floor map type of thing. Which I love. I love that blue color. And the dark swirls. The brown swirls. Things like that. So if y'all are interested in that. David's got some links. There's going for sale in a few days. What's that? July 31st. July 31st. Yeah. So if y'all are interested in that. You should go check it out. We'll have the links in the show notes. Go check out the video that David did on YouTube. And if you're interested in Leonardo. And want something that's not necessarily off the shelf. Like my Mango is, you know, a stock pen, right? Like it comes... It goes out to all the retailers. It's one of the mainline pens. But you can get like this special edition. It's only like $35 more. You know? And it's just... It's kind of got that unique feel and flair. And like I'm purposefully not buying it, right? Because if I was interested in that, I would just keep the blue Hawaii. I don't need other things. And plus, I've been buying. I've been on a buying spree recently, Myke. I thought I was going to stop with this in Nakaya. But it didn't. So we should talk about our friends at Pen Chalet. So I can go buy some more pens. Which I did the last time they advertised on the show. So it's just one big racket to get in my wallet. Myke, let's talk about PenChalet.com. I love them.

Pen Chalet Promotion

Myke: They sell the very best products from all of your favorite brands. Authentic, amazing rollerballs and fountain pens. Mechanical pencils and ballpoints. And everything in between. They have fast and reliable customer service. They're adding new styles of pens every single month. And they have discounts twice a month. So you can go in and see some great deals and stuff. And of course, we have some special deals for Pen Addict listeners. Pen Chalet also sells limited edition products and accessories as well. So carrying cases and pen holders and refills and fountain pen converters. Their catalog of companies and products continues to grow all of the time. So it's always worth keeping an eye on what's new over at Pen Chalet. They have low prices and they have high quality products. And offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. They sell internationally with great shipping rates. And if you're in the US, you get free shipping on orders of over $50. So go to PenChalet.com. That's P-E-N-C-H-A-L-E-T.com. And click the podcast link at the top of the website. And use the password Pen Addict to get this week's special offer. And the code that you need to save 10% on anything at any time. Over at Pen Chalet. What have they got, Brad?

Brad: A list of awesomeness. And I'm glad I bought the pen that I bought from Pen Chalet. Two weeks ago when they advertised. They still have it available. It's the Visconti Homo Sapiens Lava. In the blizzard color. Which I love. We'll talk about that more. I'm going to do a whole segment on this pen. Because it's such an interesting one. They also have the Demo Stones model. Both of those are on sale. And you can use the discount. And that's why I bought the one that I did. Because it was on sale. They still have the Estabrook SD Sparkle fountain pens. The blue and the red one. What are they called? Garnet. And Tanzanite. They have an interesting pen that I do not own. And I'm not going to go buy it. But I'm curious. There are two Stipula pens in here. One, the Supremo Limited Edition. And one, the Etruia Gorilla. Which is an interesting name. But I find these designs interesting. And I haven't used a Stipula pen in years. And wasn't like a super fan of them when I did before. But I know they've had some changes. And made some modifications. And I'm seeing some interesting designs from Stipula. So that's something to take a look at. At least for me to learn a little more about the product. Also, the Penider Avatar ballpoint pens are super bright and fun. And like $75. So that's pretty cool. So yeah, another great batch of products from our Pen Chalet. Use the code like I did two weeks ago. And buy more pens.

Myke: That's penchalet.com. Go there and click the podcast link at the top of the website. And use the password of Pen Addict. You'll see this week's special offers. And get a 10% code to save anything at any time at Pen Chalet. Our thanks to Pen Chalet for the continued support of this show and Relay FM.

Brad: All right, Myke. I'm a little concerned about two things. One, that you haven't brought this up. But I'm also, too, thinking, did we bring this up? And what this is, is the Pilot Pokemon collaboration of Pilot's Sterling Silver series. Which they've done for a while. They make this great series of pens that's extremely reasonably priced for what they are. And they're usually, like, they've had, like, animals in the past. Or, like, you know, Secura flowers. Or different patterns. It's etched into these silver fountain pens. And I saw one of my friends. Goes by the name of Havoc Rose. on the Twitter and on the Twitch. So Miranda is big into fountain pens, really likes the Japanese-style fountain pens that I love. So we get along very well.

Myke: I enjoy Miranda very much on Twitter because they work in the video game world. There's actually a couple of people now in the video game world that have recently... Miranda's one, Nicole Carpenter's another. People that have kind of come into our sphere. But what I like about Miranda is she is the executive editor of guides, so video game guides. And very frequently you'll see her create physical guides that she works from of the games, which are then turned into the digital versions for IGN. I think I saw her doing bullet journals for Animal Crossing and stuff like that. I just think it's amazing the way that they... bring this stuff together.

Brad: So Miranda's a legit superstar, right? Yeah. She is awesome, with a capital A. Yep. So we talk about pens, and I follow her, and she shared this pen. She's like, I'm just going to read her. Tweety says, I'm now the incredibly proud owner of this Pikachu fountain pen, number 68 of 100. It's going with me to the grave, which I think is fantastic. And I couldn't help but think about you, Myke, and what you thought of this pen. And if we had discussed this before, for some reason it's kind of ringing a bell, but the more I look at it, maybe not, huh?

Myke: No, we've never spoken about this. I didn't know about this pen. I don't like it.

Brad: Yeah? Why? The silt, just the... It's like, it's out there.

Myke: No, I mean, out there, I'm into.

Brad: Yeah.

Myke: There's just... I don't think they've done enough. So this is actually part of a range of three products that Pilot and Pokemon have worked on together. They have a partnership. I don't know if the partnership is limited to these three products, or if there's going to be more. So they have a Pikachu version, a Charizard version, and a Rayquaza version. For Pokemon people, I don't know why Rayquaza is in this list of three. It seems a bit much to me, like, you know, but nevertheless, that's just kind of where they are. Maybe I've missed a thing in the Pokemon discourse. These things are $600, and they are sterling silver, right? And they have an integrated nib into a resin grip section, which I enjoy the look of. I just think that this product deserves color. And that's what I don't like about it. If this was like, if this had some color in it, I would get one. I mean, I am a very proud owner of the Lamy Pikachu. Right.

Brad: I have two of those. Right. Which is bright, and the box talks to you in squeaks.

Myke: And that's the kind of thing that I dig, right? Because to me, that's what these products, like, should be. Like, it's Pokemon, it should be color. It's a very nice looking pen. I bet it is a fantastic writer as well. But this one, this one for me, would be purely acquiring it for collections sake. And for that kind of money, I wouldn't do it. Especially considering it is a limited edition product. And there might be people that want it more than me. And feel a bit guilty about just picking one up for the sake of having it.

Brad: Yeah. And see, I, it's funny that as someone who didn't grow up with Pokemon, I actually love this pen. I think the execution is perfect because it is throwing that traditional pilot slash Japanese artwork that has the subtle detailing in there without screaming at you. Right?

Myke: Let me tell you what I want. I want an Arushi Makai Pokemon version of a pilot pen.

Brad: Do you know how well that would sell? Even if it's like $2,500, $3,500. Yeah. It would, it would sell out.

Myke: Fly out of the door over a pilot. I'll tell you that right now. Yeah. Yeah. I can understand that. I can understand what you mean. There's just a, it has too much of a like official office pen for me.

Brad: You know?

Pilot x Pokémon Collaboration

Myke: I can't believe how. Just being all silver.

Brad: Yeah. I can't believe how diametrically opposite. I thought we would be backwards on our opinions of this. And I know, I know you're not like saying like you hate it or anything. You're saying it's, it's not for me. I like, I wouldn't buy it. And here's why. And I'm saying like, well, I wouldn't buy it because I'm not into pound and into Pokemon, but I'm like, dang, this is like really well executed.

Myke: It's fancy,

Brad: right?

Myke: Like it is like, it is a fancy pen. I just don't, again, it's like, I just don't really feel like it's, it's what I'm looking for. You know? Yeah. If it was half the price, maybe it would be easy. I will say the Pikachu one, like I'm looking at the, the engraving is my favorite of them. I think they've got, the engraving itself is really good. Like they've chosen like really good action poses and stuff, but like just the body of the pen that it's based on just doesn't really excite me that much either. But if they had put some enamel in there and like put some color on it, yeah, that would be like choice.

Brad: Yeah. That's a, that's a classic pilot design. I think even like as their standard, as a standard pen with their, their traditional designs at that price point, I think it's still actually a quote good deal, right? I think there's value in this pen. I've used one of the, I own a, like a black stripe model. That's way cheaper than these, not sterling silver with that integrated nib. And it's just,

Myke: what is it based on? Like what is the pilot pen that it's based on?

Brad: It's, it's, it's its own pen. It's a bigger elite model. Right. And I can't think of the name of my black stripe model.

Myke: It says stylo plume. Is that anything? No. Okay.

Brad: No, no. So yeah. Um, but yeah, I, I love these and, like, I'm not going to get one. I don't even know who Raekwon is or whatever this. Raekwon. I only know Raekwon. I don't think he's a Pokemon, but yeah, I don't know. I think they're killer and I hope to see one, uh, one day and, and, and not buy it. Like, I just, I just want to see it. Like, I really think it,

Myke: I think maybe I would regret it. Right. Like maybe you put it in my hands and I'm like, Oh no,

Brad: I should have got this.

Myke: Actually.

Brad: I think that would probably be an issue. Yeah. If it went, if it was able to get into your hands, that would probably be more of an issue than it is right now.

Myke: Here's the thing. If I had someone that could tell me that the writing experience was like my M90, I would drop that money right now. You know,

Brad: it's a little softer. It's a little, it'll be a little softer cause it's a gold nib. So, but you'd have to get like a medium.

Myke: It's a gold nib. I thought it said it was silver.

Brad: I'm assuming it's gold. Now you got me curious. I mean, they don't make, they don't make silver nibs.

Myke: this was the thing that I felt like I couldn't find out like the material.

Brad: Oh, it says silver rhodium nib. So I guess it's a plate. Right. See,

Myke: I couldn't work out what material the nib was. Cause there's something else that I was looking at. I was like, Oh, you know, $600, which is a lot, but if it's like a really good gold nib, I might understand it a bit more. Um, but it would just said like silver rhodium. Like, what does that, what does that mean?

Brad: It says seven, I'm trying to embiggen cause they don't have really good pictures here. The nib says seven 20 on that. Isn't that silver? I could be wrong. It looks like it has a silver. It's gotta be a gold nib. All the traditional, all the, all of these pilots that they've made are, have been, Oh, I think it's got 18 carat. 18 K. I can 18 carat.

Myke: So what is it? Silver rhodium plate.

Brad: It's just rhodium plated silver color rhodium plated. It's, it's bad wording. It's an 18 K nib, just like any sailor, you know, nib you would get with rhodium plating, which again goes to my point that $599 is a good price for these pins.

Myke: For a limited edition product with such a popular character design on it, with a gold nib, like the pricing checks out for sure. Like I'm not, the reason that I'm not getting it is because it's expensive. Yeah. Just for that money. I don't want it enough.

Brad: Right. Well, if they, if they ever sell Raekwon for half off, Oh my God. That way I can just keep calling it Raekwon. Raekwon.

Brad: I got another pin, Myke. It could be a Pokemon, um, pin with a name. Got to catch them all,

Myke: haven't you?

Brad: Well, it's called the blizzard. Like, I feel like there could be some like blizzard, blizzes. Pokemon moves for blizzard. Is there? Okay. I figured, I figured as much, but I got that just like we were talking about in the pinch LA ad two weeks ago when they advertised, they had this pin that's been on my radar for the entire existence of the Visconti Homo Sapiens lineup. And that's kind of what I, where I wanted to start with. If you're not familiar with the Visconti Homo Sapiens and you're just getting into fountain pens, it's this really unique material that Visconti makes. And it's basically lava rock mixed in with resin to make these fountain pens. And it gives it a unique feel and a unique finish into the barrels. And I've always loved that idea, that design, and that feel of the pen. But I've never pulled the trigger on one despite wanting one since the moment they launched. And why is that? Why didn't I buy one the moment they launched all these years ago? Well, a couple reasons, Myke. One, the, this was at the time where, when they, when the Homo Sapiens first launched, this was at the time where Visconti had cut over to using palladium nibs for these pens. And while there's nothing inherently wrong, they switched from gold to palladium and nothing wrong with that. Except that switch came along with years of QC problems with these nibs. And all you would hear was, I love this pen. I had to get the nib fixed. I love this pen. The nib didn't work out of the box. I love this pen. I had to send it to Myke Masayama to make it right. And on and on and on and on and on. So it was overwhelmingly negative, I guess. I was going to say that's too strong of a word, but it just was. It kept me from buying a palladium nib Homo Sapiens. Second thing that kept me from buying it is they really mostly came with gold nibs and like bronze furniture. And they were black pens, gold nibs, bronze furniture, gold colored nibs, I should say. And then they'd mix in like a silver ring pen. And if you look at the design of the pen, it's got a couple of barrel rings on it. They do some with silver hardware and, you know, a rhodium plated palladium nib. And of course, that just rose the price, that increased the price, you know, because of the actual silver being used, you know, made it from a $600 pen into an $800 or $900 pen. And I was like, oh, that's just too much to have to fight with a nib. Like I wasn't going to spend that kind of money. Like you weren't on a Pokemon pen. I wasn't going to spend that kind of money to know that I'm walking into a fight with the nib. So I just waited and waited. And then they keep coming out. Like this is one of Visconti's primary lines of pens. They have a few primary lineups of pens. This is one of them where every year it gets a refresh or a redesign. And they've added ink windows and just done some different things like that. And then finally, about a year ago, Visconti as a company decided to go back to the golden nibs. I was like, oh, now we're talking. Now I can see if I can find one that fits my style. And still, most of the Homo sapiens came with the bronze trim.

Myke: Why did they make the decision to go back to gold? Was it as simple as it seems? Like just the palladium wasn't good enough?

Brad: I just think that it was too negative. Like they just couldn't beat down, whether rightfully or wrongfully at that time, the story was out. Right? Right? And not obviously with these types of products, like not everyone has issues. Right? But the issues became prevalent enough and loud enough to where it became a thing, whether it was or not. Does that make sense?

Myke: Mm-hmm.

Brad: So they went back to gold about a year ago, maybe a little more. And I was like, all right, they're back, back on my radar. And let me find, I'll eventually find one that fits my style. Out of the blue, they came out with these earth tone, homo sapiens. The white one, which I have, the blizzard. The other name, the red and tan one, I think it was the tan one called sand. I'm blanking on the other names, because I don't really care.

Myke: Because I just had the page up, so I'll be able to tell you what they are.

Brad: I got them. So it's... Blizzard,

Myke: Inferno, and sandstorm.

Visconti Homo Sapiens Review

Brad: Yeah, so I was shocked. I think a lot of people were shocked when those dropped, because it's, the homo sapiens has never been anything but the black barrel. And then they changed the trim up, depending on the story they were trying to tell with the pen, right?

Myke: Well, and also in general, these are not as gaudy, and I don't mean that in a bad way, as Visconti design tends to be. Right. It tends to be quite flashy if they're not going to do just completely plain.

Brad: That's a good point. You know, this is, this is a core pen for them, but it is very disparate in style to the majority of their other pens. So it's, it's popular. Like, it's, it might be their most singular popular. I don't, I'm not a super Visconti owner. I, I think this is my only one. I have an older one that I'm about to sell, but, like, this is really my only Visconti pen I own. Um, because mostly price point and style and the, the combination of two, nothing ever added up. These came out and I was like, oh boy, now we're actually talking. Like, I can get into this, you know, especially the Blizzard. Um, you know, number one with a bullet for me. I think a lot of people really like the Sandstorm and the Inferno, but I, I know what people really, really like. these style of pens, same type of concept, same material, same feel. And, I just waited, right? Because these are expensive. Like, there's no doubt these are expensive. And, the feedback on the nibs had been really good since the changeover back to gold. And, I just bided my time. It wasn't something I had to have, um, but it was always something I had in my back pocket. And then, lo and behold, our friends at Penchallet put it on sale for a price. If you're looking at the, the page with the colors, you see, you know, how much it normally goes for. And then, with our discount, what we paid for. Like, I, I paid the same amount anyone else would go pay, right? I didn't get a deal from Penchallet. I just used, hey, they marked it down. And then, hey, our 10% code from the podcast, I didn't get anything special. And, I jumped all over it. Because, it was finally the one that I wanted for me. It was the setup that I wanted. So, how do I like it? I haven't put it down yet. I reached for it over the newest, like, the most wicked Nakaya I've ever bought. Because, it's new. Like, I have other Nakayas, and I know what the feel in that experience is like, even though it's a different style and a different color and a different nib set up on that Nakaya.

Brad: But, I've never, I'm trying to figure out the Homo Sapiens. Right now, it's absolutely lovely. And, what's interesting about it is the nib. I got an extra fine.

Brad: It's, it's perfect out of the box. But, I'll have to look at it closer with my magnifying glass. It has more of a squared off, slightly tipping than like a rounded tipping, if that makes sense. I don't mean that in like an extreme way. But, the line almost has an edge to it, which works for me. And, I actually might even get this tweaked a little bit more to make it even sharper, to make it even more of a squared off line. And, it would still write really, really well. I'm enjoying using it. It feels comfortable. The only thing I wish this pen had, which is probably why, you know, I don't, I don't know if that's why it's going on sale. I wish it had the screw cap. I try to unscrew it every time. It's got a metallic cap, which is fine. But, I've used other Viscontis with that lock cap. And, it's really, really cool. I just don't think they could, they, I don't know if the other Homo sapiens have that and they have this magnet. I don't know. I'm not that experienced with Visconti to, to know that whole backstory there. But, in general, this pen is awesome. I think, I don't think like you would enjoy necessarily owning this pen, Myke, but if I brought this to you at a pen show, I think you would think it's pretty cool, despite your aversion to the, to the clip design.

Myke: I bet it feels real nice to hold. Like, I could see that just by looking at it. It looks comfortable to hold.

Brad: Yeah, and it, it kind of feels like stone, but not in a bad way. It's not heavy, right? It's not a heavy pen at all. It's not light. It's, it's medium. It's balanced, but it doesn't feel glossy, right? It feels different. It's nice to hold. It's nice to write with. It's got, it's, it's built wonderfully. It's got, you know, the, the power vacuum filling system in there. So, it's a piston filler and I don't know. I just thought for the price, it was finally time for me to jump and I'm glad I did.

Brad: So, yeah, that's, that's my quick and dirty review. I'm gonna, I've only had it inked up for like four or five days now, just getting it in. And, I'll eventually review it on the blog. I wanna spend some more time with it, but right now, I'm, I'm super happy with it. My biggest concern, Myke, I unboxed this and I didn't even think about this before I bought it. I was like, hey, I got this white pen and it's rock based, you know, you quote, rock based, but it's really resin mixed and things like that. And it's a piston filler. That means I gotta dip this white pen into, this time, a blue ink bottle. It's like, oh no, am I gonna stain the thing? And every, like literally everyone was like, no, no, no, like it's designed to, like that just wipes off. It doesn't stain. It's, it's, it's made purposefully to do that and doesn't stain that. So you don't have to worry about that, which is funny because I didn't even think about it before I bought, like, is that an issue? Could that be an issue? And it turns out it's not an issue, which is I guess why I never thought about it.

Myke: It looks cool. I, I'm, I'm intrigued about the way it feels and the texture. I, I enjoy the understatedness of it and it's, it looks super different. Like, you know, they look like they're made out of stone, you know? Right. Right. So it's, it's a super interesting design. I, I'm intrigued. I'm in, maybe surprised, I don't know about how much you do like it, which is a good thing, but.

Brad: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I, I don't disagree with that, right? Because I won't say like, I shouldn't like it, but I've used them enough over the years to know I would like it if I could ever get the one that I wanted and they've just never made one that was for me when they finally did and met all the criteria that I had, you know, with the, the nib style and, and things like that. And yeah, I, I'm very happy with the purchase. It was not, it was not cheap. Even at a discount, it was still over $500, but I feel very, very content with the money I spent on this pen and what it is. So yeah, I'm loving it. Like I said, I, I can almost tell like this pen, like, I don't think you would like totally love it. I think if I gave it to you in person and you use it, you go, man, this is cool. And you would have never have any interest in buying it. That's how I feel about this pen for you, but I don't know. Could be wrong. Right for me. Yeah. It's still, you would totally love it, but not to own, not enough to own it.

Myke: Yeah. There's still elements of the design, which are so Visconti and so not me. I will say the clip on this is one of the more understated clips.

Brad: So they've gone to almost a laser etching style instead of a, what would you call like a, I don't know, like a.

Myke: More typical engraving, I guess. Yeah.

Brad: Like an engraving, like a full engraving, like a, you know, different layers of engraving. This is more of a laser etching than an engraving, I guess is the best way to say it. And it looks pretty clean. I like it. It's not as loud, if you will.

Myke: All right. This episode is brought to you by ExpressVPN. How do you choose the internet service provider that you want to go with? The sad thing is many people have very little choice because ISPs, they have a lot of control in some regions that they serve in. Then they can use this control to take advantage of customers by putting in data caps and streaming throttles, stuff like that. The list goes on. But one of the worst things that can happen is that many ISPs are able to log your internet activity and they can use that data to sell for advertising. I protect all of my devices, ExpressVPN. It means ISPs wouldn't be able to see my internet activity whenever I have it enabled. ExpressVPN is a simple app for your computer or smartphone. It encrypts your network data and tunnels it through a secure VPN server so that your activity stays your activity. Just think about how much of your life is on the internet. Every website you visit, every video you watch, every message that you send, this is all information you're putting out there. You don't want it to be tracked and used without your permission. So I recommend using ExpressVPN as the best way to keep your information private. You can just download the app, tap one button on your device and you're protected. And ExpressVPN does all of this without slowing your connection. This is a big thing for me that I really enjoy. So many times when I've been traveling or where I'm somewhere and maybe we're in a hotel and we're going to watch something on Netflix or whatever and it's a Wi-Fi network that I don't control, I can turn on ExpressVPN and I get to be able to watch video full HD quality. It doesn't slow down, there's no buffering, that kind of stuff, but I love it. So you can like forget that it's turned on. You just leave it on and if you do leave it on, you'll be great. This is one of the reasons why it's rated the number one VPN service by outlets like CNET and Wired. So stop handing over your personal data to ISPs and other companies who want to profit from your information. Protect yourself with a VPN that I trust to keep me private online as well. Go to expressvpn.com slash penaddict, that's E-X-P-R-E-S-S-V-P-N.com slash penaddict to get three extra months for free. One last time, notice expressvpn.com slash penaddict right now to learn more. Our thanks to ExpressVPN for their support of this show and Relay FM.

Brad: Did you know Tom and Dan did a thing?

Myke: I did. I wanted to just touch on this quickly. The Pano Pad. Listeners of the show know I've been a long time user and fan of Studio Needs Pano Book, which is their landscape style ring, spiral bound notebook. They now have a product in this family. They also have the Tote Book Mini, which is like a smaller version of their previously A5 notebook. You know, like a more standard notebook. They have a smaller version of that now too. But the Pano Pad is the thing that I'm most interested in. I have some on the way because it is Pano Book layout, Pano Book size, but it's in a pad and the back of each page is basically a sticky note. Actually, it's super interesting. I don't know what I'm going to use it for yet, but I really like it. So I like the idea of it. So I wanted to mention it too. And this is something probably on the newer side. I actually want to talk to the boys about this on our podcast Thoroughly Considered. I will plan to talk to them about it soon.

Myke: This is just an in-stock product, which I think they're doing more and more of now, which is cool. Especially stuff where it's like an adaptation. It's just like we've made this thing, we're putting it in stock. They're very much Kickstarter boys. And so I think it's super cool to see them expanding out their product lines with stuff that they're able to just make available immediately on their store.

Brad: So I want to test these out because if the stickiness actually works, like if they've figured that out, I want them to lean into that, into some different sizes. Yeah, smaller. Right. because that is an underserved stationary market in my mind. You know, some of the Japanese companies do it. With good paper, sticky notes. Yeah, I agree with you. So like Midori does it, but they're limited. Like they keep them pretty small, like your standard, whatever you would think is a post-it note size. I don't know what that dimension is, like two and a half by two and a half, something like that. I would like, you know, more of a A5-ish, A6-sized sticky note, like a double-sized or triple-sized traditional sticky note in like pano pad type paper. I just love desk pads in general. I also think, I also think that the Totebook Mini is, I think they need to lean into the fact that it's actually three and a half by five and a half, a little bit more. I mean, they spell it out there, but like that is traditional American pocket notebook size, you know, as decided by field notes, right? It's not, you know, an international standard, but it is, this is one of those dimensions that I do like that's not a standard because it is just right. Like, it's just the right dimension.

Myke: This is one of the reasons they weren't with three and a half by five and a half, right?

Brad: Right. It fits other things, right? And that's important for pocket notebooks because they don't always do. As much as I love right notepads, they're a little bit wider. Like, I love them for that, for specific uses. They don't always fit in the things that fit pocket notebooks. So, yeah, I think that's cool and I'm actually more interested, I would be more interested now knowing that they are actually three and a half by five and a half because that is a normal shape and design and format. So, there you go. I like them. I hope these do well because I want to see more. Yeah,

Myke: I'm excited. I might be able to talk about them in a week or two. Cool. Should we do a couple of Ask TPA questions to finish out today?

Brad: Yes, please. Let's do that.

Myke: First one comes from Tim and Tim asks, does anybody make a pen reminiscent of the body style of the iconic Bic click that takes a good refill, like a Schmidt or a Parker style, something like that?

Brad: This is actually a really good question because any of the Bic clicks or even like the Bic crystals that get made, they get made to take those Bic refills, right? If Tiffany's making like a fancy silver barrel to like mimic the Bic crystal where they're just going to make it around the Bic crystal, they're not going to say, well, here's the shape and we're going to use our own refill. So, what actually, what pins come in that traditional like Bic click style that actually has a better refill than what's in the Bic click? Like, that was a hard question. I think I did pretty good with the answer. It kind of like struck me like all of a sudden I was like, I don't know, I don't know. Oh, I know. And it's the Bolography Paca, which we have talked about on this show before. I've reviewed them on the blog before. I enjoy them very much. It's not a pure Bic click design. It's a little bit larger in length and diameter, but in the general sense of things, it is essentially kind of like what the Bic pick, Bic pin, the Bic click pin, it's too many Bics and clicks. It's essentially, this is like what the Bic click is to banks in America, the Bolograph is to banks in Sweden, right? It's the bank ballpoint pin. But this, the Bolograph's a little bit fancier and a little better refill and it actually takes a swappable refill. I think it has, I think it's a Parker style refill. Yeah, it's a Parker style refill. So you can actually swap other things into that if you, if you would like. So cool shape, classic design, great colors. It's made well, it's like six bucks. It's not that expensive, definitely more expensive than the Bic click, but worth it in my book.

Myke: And we also have a question from Linz O'Connor who says, I have a Lachette fountain pen by Tours to Live By. It says it takes an international standard cartridge. Monteverde and Cafeco apparently also have international standard cartridges and I have both of them, but neither fit and they seem to be different. What is the deal with international standard cartridges? What cartridge do I actually need?

Brad: It's, you know, it's, you want to take the word standard in there as actually being standard. they should fit. Well, so here's my question. I don't know why they're not fitting.

Myke: Isn't the standard part of the international standard the fitting to the feed?

Brad: Yeah,

Myke: so like the coupling

Brad: piece.

Myke: You could make whatever shape you want then, couldn't you, as long as, for the size of the pen.

Brad: I've seen some wider cartridges that have a hard time with the diameters of the barrel that are internationally sized. I've never had an international size that wouldn't like snap into the, to the connection part on the back of the feed. Like that would always connect. What I would have trouble sometimes with would be the diameter of then getting, you know, a non-conforming, you know, a cartridge that didn't ship with the pen or a converter specifically that didn't ship with the pen, even though it's standard international sized to fit in the diameter opening of the barrel. So actually it's probably worth a little bit more of a conversation to see what is not fitting because I would be shocked if the attachment point didn't fit, but I wouldn't be shocked if the barrel diameter didn't fit because I've seen that plenty of times. I've never seen to where the connection of the cartridge snapping into the feed didn't work as long as, you know, you weren't trying to put like a platinum cartridge into, you know, a different type of fitting, you know, but that's not what's happening here. So I find that interesting, Lenzo,

Myke: and I kind of want to know more. Yeah,

Brad: yeah, yeah. And I've had this question a while, so I probably should figure out how to get in touch and follow up because I think I think we need more information.

Myke: If you would like to send in a question for us to answer on the show or at least attempt to, just send out a tweet with the hashtag AskTPA. You can use question mark AskTPA in the RelayFM members Discord or you can email longer questions to hello at penaddict.com. If you want to find Brad online, you can go to penaddict.com, knock.co, and spokedesign.com. Brad streams multiple times a week over at twitch.tv slash penaddict and you can find Brad on social media. He is Dowdyism on Twitter, penaddict on Instagram, and Brad on micro.blog. I am iMike, I-M-Y-K-E. Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of The Pen Addict. If you want to find links and notes about this episode, they should be in your podcast app of choice, but if not, you can go to relay.fm slash penaddict slash 472, and thanks to Penn Chalet and Express BPM for their support of this week's episode. We'll be back next time. Until then, say goodbye, Brad.

Brad: Goodbye, Brad.