The Pen Addict 609/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	609
Title:	Pin Pen Pen Pin
Release Date:	April 3rd, 2024
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	No guests this episode
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 609
Audio File:	Audio Episode 609
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 609
Length:	5858 min <br />0.967 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

Myke Hurley: From RelayFM, this is The Pen Addict, episode 609. My name is Myke Hurley and I am joined by island living Brad Dowdy. Hi Brad. Not quite, maybe beach living. Beach living, beach Brad. Beach Brad. Beach Brad. So you're on vacation right now, so thank you for joining us for The Pen Addict today, it's much appreciated.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, yeah, it's easy, you know, we do pretty chill family vacations where we go and just like go to the beach or something, so I always have the mornings free most of the time, and yeah, like there's literally kids still asleep in the house as I'm doing this, so it could not be at a more perfect time.

Pen-related topics for the episode

Myke Hurley: Perfect. We've got some pen stuff to talk about, of course.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, more than I thought this week. I thought we were just, we'll dial up an Ask TPA episode, you know, I'm on vacation, we'll take it easy, but there are a few prep items, a few follow-up items to get to. I want to start with the Atlanta Pen Show, since that is coming up really, really quickly. Quick spoiler, I got recognized at a restaurant at the beach by a previous attendee of the Atlanta Pen Show, so yes, so that was fun on this trip. I had a picture of me, you and him. That's awesome.

Myke Hurley: That's pretty great. I've got to say, like, this is your story, and I don't mean to hijack it, but I had something, so I was at a mall a couple of days ago, and me and Nadine were just walking along, and a listener said, just wanted to tell you that I love you, like, I love what you do, and I was like, thank you so much. Like, I've never had that before, like, someone just, like, kind of shouts at me, which was great. Like, they didn't even stop to, like, there was no time for an introduction. They just kind of, like, said that, like, waved, and carried on with their family, which was very cool, but it is a thing where it's happening to me more and more and more now, getting noticed. I don't know what that is, but I love that that happened to you. Was the family there?

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, we were at a restaurant, and the family was there, and they're like, oh, the kids were like, oh, like, what is happening? He was like, my dad's a dork, and I was like, no, this is great. Oh, they don't like it? They find it embarrassing? They think it's funny.

Myke Hurley: They're not like, oh, he's so cool? Oh, that's a shame.

Brad Dowdy: No, no, definitely not. I mean, they're teenagers. They definitely do not think I'm cool whatsoever. True, true. But it was one of those things where, like, I'm really good with faces, right? Like, I saw this guy, and I'm like, I absolutely recognize this person, but I can't exactly tell. And then he was kind of, like, doing the same thing, and he got up and said something. It was great. So, I love that. So, yeah, I'll be back at the Atlanta Pen Show on Friday. I'll be driving up to the show that morning. I'll get there around noon-ish and spend the rest of the day Friday, all day Saturday, leave Sunday at some point in time, depending on if I'm done with what I need to get done. And before the show, I'll leave in the morning. Otherwise, I might hang out for a little bit. But, yeah, I just wanted to talk about a little bit of a game plan I had for the show as far as shopping. I did a little bit of prep for Panatic members in this weekend's refill, so this is not anything new. But what's interesting about this show is I have a couple of things on my shopping list, but I'm not sure that they're going to be available yet. And that's the Pelican M200 Orange Delight, which is available. I just don't know who at the show is going to have it. I bet – if I'm betting anything, I bet I will come away with that pen. I think that's going to be the easiest thing.

Myke Hurley: If you can find it, then you'll get it.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, because there's some retailers there, like some traditional retailers, Dromgools, Trufe, Van S. Like, people who are going to be Pelican vendors will probably have it. It's been available for like a month or so, I'm guessing. So, I definitely want to get that. I don't think the Kaweco Sport Piston is going to be available. I was talking to one of the retailers to bring me that if it was available or hold one for me. And they don't think they're going to have them yet for the show, which is fine. I mean, they just said April release, I think, anyway. So, it could be at the end of the month. I mean, unless something magical happens. I'll, of course, check out the new Lamy's that we talked about last week. Lamy finally teased the, I don't know, the coming soon picture, right? Where they just put the colors on like the Lamy Global Instagram, right? So, it's probably going to, it might not be available to, for retailers to publicly sell yet by this weekend. So, I might miss out on that. I am going to get some Lamy Dark Lilac ink. But I haven't been, you know, I've been holding off on that because it's just going to be a regular stock item now. So, there was no rush to get that. And I might look at the Retro 51 Turtle Rescue. I'm not sure if you saw that one. I know you're a Retro 51 fan. I thought this one really, like, they've been doing a bunch of really cool retro releases recently. And I just did a review of the Dragon Stamps USPS Tornado Big Shot on the blog on Monday. But that's the only Retro 51 I've bought in a while. So, between like Fraggle Rock one, which is right up my alley, and the Turtle Rescue, which is beautiful. Yeah. Yeah. I might pick up one of those. We'll see. We'll see. TBD. Is that textured? Yeah. Right. So, it's got like the little shell texture, right? The ridges. And the colors are beautiful, right? The colors are super, super nice. Yeah. But what I'm really probably going to be interested in, in Atlanta, as always, is checking out Maker Pins, right? So, Atlanta is one of those shows where it's not too big, where you can actually get to spend time with some of these people. And, you know, I haven't seen White Bear Pins at a pin show yet. I met Michaela at the Atlanta pin show, I don't know, a couple years ago. And she started making pins over the past couple years. She's just done her first pin shows here, maybe in Baltimore. Maybe one other one, I can't recall. So, I want to, you know, see what she's bringing. You know, Zodiac Pins, who I met in Orlando last year. And Bart and I hit it off, and he makes some really great pins. You know, my friend, John Tello, always has some great pins. Jonathan Brooks, you know, Carolina Pin Company. Mythic Pins, Brad from Mythic Pins. I always end up with something from him. Iron Feather Creative, he got me last year with a pin I really, really love. So, it's nice to be able, at a pin show, to be able to have some time with these makers. And that's what I implore people to take advantage of, even in Atlanta. Even if it's your first pin show, and you're not even interested in maker pins. But just the regular, any vendor who you're spending time with at the show, they're going to have time to talk to you, right? And you can ask questions, and don't be shy to ask questions. This is literally what they do. And honestly, they probably love it. They want to help you. The people that are in this business love talking about this stuff, right? So, I know I love talking about it. You know, I'm always open and available to anyone who's going to the show. I will walk you around the show and help you out. Like, that is, like, what I do. I have more than enough time to spend with anyone who has questions, and wants to find a thing, and introduce them to, you know, a person, or anything like that. So, yeah, I am very much looking forward to it. My first pin show, I guess, since Orlando, last September. So, this has probably been as long a drought as I've had, you know, after the pandemic times when no one was doing anything, right? So, I'm ready to go.

Myke Hurley: The maker stuff that you mentioned, you know, we said this before, but this is one of the real benefits of going to a pen show, is that you get to look at and hold and, like, handle and, you know, really get, like, a feel for these pens, which is, I think, maker pens tend to be the hardest to assess like that without seeing them. And so, this is a great example. Because sometimes, like, there have been pens where I'm like, oh, I don't think that I like the shape of that. I'm not sure how that will feel. But then I hold them in my hand, and I'm like, oh, this is actually really, really good. So, this is one of the great things when going to a pen show. It's one of the reasons we recommend it if you can, whenever you can, if there's one close to you, or if you can make it to one, because you get an experience that you really can't get otherwise. And so, that's really great. And also, you know, like, over time, Atlanta really has, I think, had in the time that I've been there really cemented itself as, like, a wide variety of makers coming to the show. So, it's a good one for that.

Brad Dowdy: Yep, should be fun.

Uniball Bracket Final discussion

Brad Dowdy: All right, speaking of fun, Myke, the brackets are done. I called the Uniball Bracket Final. It was that way after the Uni pin knocked off the Uniball Kurotogo. So, I thought we should follow this up to see what the pin did, the P-I-N, the pin pin. The pin pin. Translation, pin pin. Pin pin. Pin pin. Pin pin. There you go. It took down the Uniball Vision Elite in the final. And like I said, once I saw that pin beat the Kurotogo, like, it was just, it was game on from there. It was gonna run the bracket and it did. So, I just wanted to put a bow on that one. Shout out to the pin for taking it down. I will say. Nothing.

Brad Dowdy: I take this stuff way too seriously. No, no, no.

Myke Hurley: I'm just laughing because it just, again, like, I don't mean to make fun, but you are just, to me, just saying shout out to the pin. Yeah. Like, that's what I hear. Yeah. You're meaning, like, for me, saying the pin, right?

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Yeah. Shout out all pins.

Myke Hurley: All enamel pins. Yeah. All pins. So, the Unipin Fineliner. So, this is the one we were talking about in previous episodes where we decided that, like, looking at the way things were going, clearly the artist community was coming out in full force for the pin. Yep. And taking it to the win. The pin for the win.

Brad Dowdy: Mm-hmm. Pin for the win. So, yeah. I'll go ahead and say it since I, you know, always heap praise on most things Uniball. The pin is, the P-I-N pin is, might not even be in my top five fineliners. I don't think it's that great of a pin. But, I don't know.

Myke Hurley: What is your favorite fineliner? Is that on the, do you have that ranking on the blog?

Brad Dowdy: I used to. I don't even know if it's still up at this time. So, between, there's like four that are kind of interchangeable, honestly. So, the Kuretaki Zig Mangaka is the one I talk about all the time. But, they have the fewest options, kind of like the Uni pen. There's not many different colors or tip sizes. The Secura Pigma Micron, I'll always stand for.

Myke Hurley: That's what I always go for is the Pigma Microns. Like, when I had to get, did I end up with those? I don't remember what pens it was now that I took to college. But, I know I was looking at those. I think I ended up not going with the Pigma Micron. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: So, universally, it's going to be the Micron or the Statler pigment liner. Those are probably one, two, or two, one, depending on how you rank them. Tons of artists use the Statler pigment liner. I like the Copics, Copic Multiliners. Those are really good. A lot of options. And then, you're getting into, like, the... So, those are, like, the top four. And then, that's, like, in the top tier. And then, you're getting into the pen and whatever, you know, Pilot's doing there. And then, you're getting into the top tier. And then, you're getting into the top tier. And then, you're getting into the top tier. And then, you're getting into the top tier.

Myke Hurley: I'm trying to find... When did I go to college? When was that? Was it... In the ancient times. I think it was at the beginning of the year, I want to say. Yeah, here we go. Because I'm trying to find what pens I had.

Brad Dowdy: No, it was, like, in the fall or winter.

Myke Hurley: I went with the Tombow... No, that was... That's the eraser. No, it was in December. I went with the Copic Multiliner SP Drawing Pens. And the reason was, they needed specific sizes. And I could get those from Colt Pens. Like, very specific sizes.

Brad Dowdy: Those are, like, the S tier for me. Except, they're, like, 10 bucks a pop. So, like, I almost don't even rank those. Like, I will buy those for myself as I want them. I almost never recommend them. Unless someone really needs a specific thing. So, yeah, they're elite. They're elite. But last little follow-up on the Uniball Jetstream Light Touch. We talked about that recently. The new Jetstream ink formulation. That is supposed to be, you know, the smoother, darker. I did get a little feedback on that. Those are going to be in the Asian market just for now. Eventually, they'll broaden their horizons. But, you know, not this year. Maybe next year kind of thing. And they're not going to replace any existing Jetstream. So, that's exactly like I thought, right? The Uniball Signo 207 is their gel ink pen. And the Uniball 1 is their specialty, right? Gel ink pen. And this Jetstream Light Touch is going to be the same way. So, the original traditional Jetstreams are not going anywhere. This will be the premium Jetstream refill, if you will.

Myke Hurley: But not outside of Asia for now?

Brad Dowdy: For now. But, I mean, given the worldwide market, we should still be able to access these pretty easily. Like, I'm not too worried about it. I'll start looking around, you know, probably after I get back from Atlanta, see if I can acquire some. Just to test them out. See what the ink formulation is like in comparison to the standard. And I'm glad the standard is not going away. I think it's a great refill. And just like the one, you know, how different it feels from the 207 and DX type of inks. Like, it's not my favorite ink formulation, but it's good, right? It's good on its own. And I can tell the difference between them. So, I'm interested to see what this Jetstream Light Touch feels like.

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Brad Dowdy: This is one of the few companies that I've enjoyed so much that they have actually gotten me on their add-ons. It's usually I just go. It's like, yeah, I like the meals. The meals are great. They're super convenient, right? Like, I love the factors because I can just have them for lunch, have them ready in two minutes, eat at the house. You know, I'm working at home, just eat on the go, and it's good to go. But then the add-ons tend to get me. Most usually the smoothies, which I've talked about before, they're so good. And, yeah, I just add those into the order and just kind of double up on the factor action for the week.

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Brad Dowdy: All right, Myke, we got a shout-out of the week.

Myke Hurley: Shout-out of the week.

Brad Dowdy: The Stationary Superstars giveaway. I have to give this shout-out to the giveaway going on at the Pen Addict this week. So this is not an evergreen topic. This is a giveaway that is currently active on the Pen Addict blog with some of the greatest stationery items ever created, Myke. And I want you all to be able to get the chance, if you listen to the podcast shortly after it drops in your queue, you still have time to get in on this giveaway. Not only am I giving away 20, 20, Myke, 2-0. 2-0. 20 Statler Wopex pencils. I'm including 12, a full 12 of the Paper Mate Eraser Mate erasable ballpoint pens. And to cap off this amazing giveaway, I'm giving you a stone paper notebook to use these wonderful pencils and pens. Oh, I see what's happening. Like, it's...

Myke Hurley: I get this. I'm, like, looking at this, and I'm like... I don't understand. And then I see the stone paper, and I'm like, I'm about to start making fun of you, right? And then I'm like, I see what he's doing.

Brad Dowdy: Why are you making fun of me?

Myke Hurley: What's the post date on this one? Oh, April 1st. Ah, interesting. Just a good way to celebrate the first day of April, you know? The three fantastic all-round products.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I mean, I give away so much stuff. I like the commitment to the bit here, Brad. This is good. And I've been really... Hey, I've been holding on to these items. For this giveaway. It's just unbelievable, unbelievably great stuff that everyone should check out.

Myke Hurley: Don't miss out. Go and get in on it right now, you know? Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So do it. Get your daily bliss on.

Fountain-pen-friendly pocket notebooks

Myke Hurley: We had, if you remember on last week's episode, Jason wrote in to ask about high-quality, fountain-pen-friendly pocket notebooks. And we had a couple of pen addicts write in with some suggestions. So Lisa says, as you know, traveler's notebooks and traveler's notebook refills come in a passport size. There are plenty of fountain-pen-friendly options in the passport size, and they work fine as a pocket carry, though they might be more durable with the notebook cover. B7 is close enough to pocket size, and Apica notebooks come in B7 as well. And Midori. So you can check those out. Thank you to Lisa. And Scott wrote in to share the link to the William Hanna pocket notebooks as another option.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, I haven't tried the William Hanna ones yet, but I need to because they look nice. Lisa's response is my favorite because those notebooks I love. So they're very similar to the Midori paper. They're actually, I don't know that they're identical to the paper. They share the same parent company, I think. Now, does Midori on there? I don't know. I may be misspeaking there. So erase that. But they're great. They feel like Midori paper to me, which is one of my personal favorites. So I think the Traveler's Passport size, even if you don't use the Traveler's system, you just get the notebook. It's like the size of a field notes, essentially, and has wonderful fountain-pen-friendly paper. That's my favorite suggestion out of all the ones we got.

Myke Hurley: So talking about STPA, we've been asking for some questions. We've got a bunch. Let's try and do some. So Carol writes in and says, Myke, have you ever found that Brad goes on and on and on about a pen that he adores, and you're like, wow, no way. I don't get it, and I don't like it. Do you ever tell him that? Same goes back at you, Brad. You're both so kind and respectful to one another that I enjoy, but sometimes wondering what the word balloon above your head really says about a particular item. I feel like if I really think something's super weird, I will just tell you. Yeah. It's not like I'm like, what the hell is wrong with you? You know what I mean? Well, maybe sometimes I'm like that, but it's always in fun. I don't think you have this for me so much. Maybe I'm wrong, but I know that there are some things that you like that I just don't like, right? Like I can't handle Visconti clips and stuff like that, but you like them. So we have areas that we disagree on, I think.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So the word balloon doesn't come out of my head. It'll just come straight out of my mouth. Yeah. Like I don't. So that should go to show you there's not like too many things. I mean, we disagree on tons of things, but not in a way where I think like Myke, oh, you're just being ridiculous. Like Myke's not out there like standing for the scribble pen and, you know, and I'm just having to put up with it. Right. Like we're generally on the same page, but like, I mean, I mean this in all seriousness, I really dislike a Roshizuka for Yukaki and that's Myke's Myke's, Myke's favorite orange is like, it really does not work at all for me. So like we have our differences on things that like, you know, theoretically I should like and, and, and don't or vice versa. Um, I don't think there's ever been any real like huge, like discrepancies. Right. It's like, you know, like if I fall in love with a Leonardo Memento zero pen and Myke's like, yeah, yeah, that's fine. Like there's, there's nothing negative to say about it other than, Hey, that's not for me. Right. Because it's a pretty standard type of pen. And a lot of the products we talk about really fall in that middle ground to where there's nothing, um, too extreme about them that someone can be like right or wrong about. So like you don't use the vanishing point because it doesn't work for your grip. Like that's completely normal. Right.

Myke Hurley: I'm going to regard you for it.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. A lot of people don't like the Lamy Safaris or the all-stars because of the molded grip. And it's like, you know, yeah, that's exactly right. That's how it should be. That's the beautiful thing about this world is there's something for everybody and, um, you know, everyone's, you know, choices are valid for their needs. So, um, it's rare that we'll, we'll get really adamantly on the opposite side of each other on the topic. So yeah, I think it's great. Great question.

Myke Hurley: Uh, but also because, you know, we have a good relationship, like there is fun to be found in disagreeing because we can do it in a, in a fun way. Right. So like there is, there is fun to be had there in a disagreeing with someone on something like that.

Brad Dowdy: Yes, exactly. Exactly. All in good fun.

Recommendations for pen shops in Paris and London

Myke Hurley: Uh, God also got a question from Jay who says, I'm going to Paris and London next month. And I wanted to know if you had recommendations for stores to visit and also for brands. So I could acquire a French or an English fountain pen to add to my collection. So I, I have recommendations. Let's take stores first. Yeah. So, uh, I've been to a couple of stores in Paris and one of them that I really liked is called Point Plume. Um, it's very beautiful French store. They have a lot of fun stuff in there. So I recommend that.

Myke Hurley: And you've got enough, it looks like you have a recommendation. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: Um, more in Paris. I obviously have not been, but, uh, more Astilos. Um, we'll have a link into the, um, into the show notes. You can find some, some very, so not only is it a general stationer, but more Astilos, they, they make their own pen. So that's a very Parisian thing. Now, listen, like this is, this is some no joke level stuff. Like this is like your flight home ticket price of some of these pens, like the old ones, the more, some of these, but you, you at least get a taste of like a French stationery shop. So that's a really good one, um, as well. And they've come to like the DC pen show and I've gotten to talk to them and things like that. So super, super nice. Um, and you're also right about Point Plume.

Myke Hurley: Uh, and then for shops in London, my favorite pen store is Choosing Keeping. They have a really, really great selection of products. So, uh, I really recommend them. It's just like a, cause there, we have stores that specialize in certain things, but this is the biggest like high quality pen store that I've found in London.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So you're looking at Choosing Keeping is definitely like on my list. When I go to London, I'm gonna go to Choosing Keeping. I'm gonna go to Present and Correct, which is, I'd say a non-traditional stationery store, right? Like they're, they're more boutique-y and more unique items where Choosing Keeping is a little bit mix of both more traditional side. Um, you know, have lots of the brands that you're familiar with. Um, as far as, um, British brands, you're looking at, um, Conway Stewart and, uh, Diamine for the inks. So those are a couple of, uh, British brands you can check out while you're there.

Myke Hurley: Very cool.

Brad Dowdy: Oh, and, um, another British brand, Onoto. They make beautiful pens. God, they make something. Yeah. Onoto is one of those that will get me in trouble because I love the style and, uh, shapes and colors that they, they make their pens out of. They're really, really beautiful. Love them.

Myke Hurley: Love it.

Brad Dowdy: Skip the Platygnums though.

Myke Hurley: Platygnum. God, that brand name, I'd forgotten about that.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. And the Yikes.

Myke Hurley: Platygnum. No, get Yikes pens. They're the best. Uh, Ellis says, I'm wanting to try out a Sailor Pro gear and I see them on Amazon from Japan for around $70. Can these be genuine? They're so much more expensive on pensites.

Brad Dowdy: Boy, this is a tough question. I would need to see the link. Yeah. Um, I would say there is a chance they could be good. If we're talking about your basic black with gold trim, the most, the singular most entry level Sailor Pro gear that used to be a price. Um, you could get pilot gold nibs and Sailor gold nibs in the, their entry level gold nib pens like the pro gear, um, the slims or the, the 1911 standards under a hundred dollars. You rarely see that now. So I like, I, it would, it would make me question it to be perfectly honest, but I'm willing to take a look at the link. And even then, I don't know that that's going to get us like a true answer that we want. I would rather go, I would rather spend $110 and go a different route. If I'm going to be honest, then taking a chance on $70, cause that's kind of like the difference between, Hey, I know I can get like an authentic, very entry level pin. Again, again, this would be from the, like the Asian market, right? Like if I go into a store in the U S it's going to be, you know, upper one hundreds. Right. Um, yeah. So, yeah, I would be willing to take a look at this. I'd say for the pro gear, I don't know that I'd be comfortable with that one. Now, if there was a pilot custom 91 around $70, that's probably more of a commonplace thing that I'd feel like I'd okay taking a chance on. But a lot of times on these entry level deals, I'm going to want to spend more to be assured I'm getting a legit product.

Myke Hurley: I wouldn't do that. Yeah. That, that seems too risky. That's way too cheap.

Brad Dowdy: Mm-hmm.

Myke Hurley: Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. 10 years ago, I might've answered the question differently.

Myke Hurley: I just, I don't see how that could work. Like I really don't. I don't think you could get a pro gear for $70 from anywhere. That would, that doesn't seem right to me. Uh, Ella also follows up by saying, uh, I plan to go to the Atlanta pen show this year. Any tips for newbies? If I can only go on one day, which is the best day?

Brad Dowdy: So my, I'll give you two windows for the best options. Um, I'd say Friday afternoon, say from like one to five. Right. I'd say that's probably like my number one time slot. And then probably first thing Saturday morning, like, like 10 to one time slot. Um, like, cause it starts to get like Atlanta will get very busy like Saturday midday and shortly after opening. Um, so Friday by the afternoon, most of the vendors are set up. Good to go. Everyone's in town. Everyone's, you know, milling around. They'll have a little bit of buzz Friday afternoon. Then it'll die off and you'll have lots of free time Friday afternoon. Um, the later it gets on Saturday, the better probably just as far as crowds goes. Um, but you never know what's, you know, I, if it's your first time you may, there may not be any like super things that you're particular to seeing. So Saturday afternoon might be good. I would, um, and if you go Sunday, I would go first thing Sunday because Atlanta Sunday afternoons, uh, vendors will start packing up around two or three o'clock. So I wouldn't wait until last thing Sunday. So historically, like, I guess I've been, gosh, I've probably been going to Atlanta for almost a decade and that's a very consistent pattern I see.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. I think there's one thing I can say is don't do Sunday. Don't do Sunday. Sunday morning is fine. Yeah. But you're running the risk of there being nothing left. Well, that's true. That's true. That, that, that's why, like for me, that's a general pen show comment. Yes. The early, yes, of course, for sure. But like I said, the earlier you can get on like to the show itself, I think the better like that, that would be my general rule. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: Friday afternoon is great. Like it's so true. Like I don't even get there till, I don't even plan on getting there till like noon and I have just like more than enough time to do everything I want to do on Friday.

Myke Hurley: Friday is the prime spot. If you can do it, Oh, I should say I have what Saturday morning. Cause like, I know some brands, they hold product, right? Yes. So like, you know, you might get as good a shot on Saturday as you get on Friday. If you can get to earlier on Saturday, cause you might be working or whatever on Friday. So.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. And Ella, this goes for you and everyone else. Track me down, say hi. And if I can help you, like I'm literally there for that. Like I'm not too busy. Like I'm just, I am happy to help, you know, especially first time visitors to the pen show, you know, feel comfortable about going around and seeing the tables and finding what they need. So yeah. Glad to help.

Myke Hurley: Tips again, like don't buy anything too fast. Like do a lap unless you've gone to find a very specific thing and you find it. Then you should get that as soon as you can get it. I feel like, right? Like if you have a pen in mind and like that is like, you know, if you walked away with nothing else, like, but you want that, like you're saying, but that Pelican earlier, right? Like, yeah. As soon as you see one of those, you should pick it up. As long as the price is good, then go for it because then, you know, you secured it and then you can go look around, but otherwise if you just find this stuff and browsing, take a full lap first, like understand what's going on because you should have a budget in mind. So you want to make sure you're like going to spend that on the thing that makes you the happiest. And so like going around and looking at the whole stuff, because I know we've all experienced this. I come across tables, people I have no idea who they are and now they're my favorite pen maker. You know what I mean? Like you just find this person and you're like, whoa, what are you doing? You know? So yeah, that's always fun.

Myke Hurley: Jamie writes in, Brad, this is a longer question, but I think it's pretty well related. So let me go through this with you. This is from Jamie. I have a question primarily about gold nibs and I want to preface the question by saying that I have a fairly basic collection of starter fountain pens. I think I found the right time for the right pen. Recently, my partner and I have been talking about marriage and she loves the idea of me getting a grail pen to honor the occasion and sign the documents. I've done some serious thinking on the topic and I can't get the Kona cherry from Canalea Pen Co. out of my head. I have loved the look of this pen since it launched and your talk about red pens a few weeks ago brought it to the front of my mind. This leads me to my question. I was pricing out the pen and noticed that adding a gold nib or adding the My Le Le band to the pen work out to roughly the same price. I really like the look of the My Le Le and I think that would add something extra special to my special pen on our special day. But on the other hand, I think this would be the time I would want to get a gold nib on a pen. Adding both would blow the budget and I would like to hear your thoughts on this topic. I know this isn't really a question that anybody can answer but myself, but I think you guys could offer me some wisdom on your experience with gold nibs versus special details added to a pen. Also, I just thought I should add that I really enjoyed the titanium nib on my Nemisu N1 and I've been told that I use more than an average amount of pressure when writing. From what I recall, titanium is on the hard end of the nib spectrum and gold is on the soft end. So maybe gold nibs just aren't right for me as I do want to use this pen for regular writing after the wedding. Also, I am Canadian and the closest show where I could physically get my hands on a canalea to test would be a seven hour drive to Chicago. Maybe I should do it? That's the full thing. Do you mind if I go first?

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, this is the easiest answer we'll give all day to be quite honest.

Myke Hurley: Interesting. I'm really, I believe the same, but I don't know if we're on the same boat here. So one, I would say you should, if you can make the drive to Chicago, you should do that because you'll have a good time, right? You should just do that anyway, especially if you want to drop this money on the pen, you should go see it. You should go hold it, especially if you're considering the Mailele because it does change the way the pen feels. I mean, of course, it's just like cash, but I recommend going to try it. And you'd also get the opportunity to try the nibs, right? So this is actually the best possible way for you to make this decision. But if you can't, or if you want to be pushed in one direction, I recommend that you get the band on the pen, not the nib. Without question. Okay, great. Now, the reason I recommend this is you don't know what you're missing with gold nibs right now, right? Because you don't have one. A gold nib can be added later. So if you want to do that down the line, you could do that. You can't add this band, right? It's built into the pen. It will make the pen, which is a special thing, more special. And with the way that you describe your writing style, I'm not sure gold nibs are going to be the best for you. That's my answer.

Brad Dowdy: So I'm going to agree with Myke pretty much across the board here. And I say this as someone who does not like the Mailele band. And this is the only kind of catch to like where you would be nice if you can try it in person because it changes the weight of the pen, right? So you just have to think about that. But it's on the cap band. So it's not necessarily when you're writing. Okay. Yeah, exactly.

Myke Hurley: It only changes the weight when you're holding the pen capped. Yeah. I love the Mailele. And one of the reasons I love it is I hold the caps of my pens a lot. And it makes it feel nicer in my hand when I hold it.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So the reason if the choice is between Mailele band or gold nib and why it's not even a consideration for the gold nib for me is because of the visual aspects of the Mailele band are so stunning. Like if that really speaks to you, that's what you get. And then the gold nib, exactly like Myke said, that's something you can add on later. You know, you can, these are hot swappable Yovo number six nibs. Like you may not know what that means, but this is like, you could literally just buy a nib and swap it into a gold nib later. And, you know, most people aren't going to know, you're going to know, you know, the difference between the steel and the gold when you're using them. A lot of times I prefer the steel nibs, like the way I write, like that's a personal preference thing. I, I'm one of those people who does not go crazy over like the, the pen has to have a gold nib or it's not for me. Right. Like I like steel sometimes more than gold. So Myke and I are on the same page on that because it can always be done later and you're really getting the stunning piece of the My Light Lay band. That's going to really kind of like set off like the specialness of what this pen stands for, right? Over the gold nib that's hidden on the internals that you only use, you know, when you're, when you're writing and question whether you're going to get the advantage of it or not, which I don't think there's really an advantage to writing. There's, there's exceptions, but then I can handle the titanium nib question too.

Myke Hurley: No, you can even buy the nib from Kenalea. Like you can get it from loads of places cause they use a standard part, but like, you know, you can, you can come back and do that, do that later on. And I do think the My Light Lay and the Kona Cherry are actually a really nice pairing. So I think it's pretty cool.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. So the titanium nib. So you're correct about titanium being a hard material, but when they're formed into the nibs and they have the nib slits and the way the tines work, they're very bouncy writer. So you're not never expect, which this is kind of goes against like just common sense of what we think about titanium. Titanium fountain pen nibs are soft. They're a bouncy nib. So, which, so don't expect to that being a very firm writing experience. I actually don't like them as much.

Myke Hurley: They squeak. I don't like squeaking.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So they're definitely more, they feel more like a gold nib. I think they're bouncier than a gold nib. Like if I had a, like a EF, like titanium nib and an EF, like Yovo steel nib or a Bach steel nib, cause Bach makes the titaniums. And I, I, I mean, maybe I'm delusional, but I think the Bach EF is, is firmer than the titanium. Like it's just, it's a very, it's a soft nib, softer than you'd expect.

Myke Hurley: But yeah, if you can make that trip to Chicago, you should make the trip to Chicago. You'll have a good time anyway, and you'll actually get to experience the product. Like maybe they won't have the exact model there that you want, but then you could at least see how it feels with one of the other pens that they might have and get an experience for it before ordering. But one of the things they also have with the Kona Cherry one is you can choose either clip or medallion. I don't know what the clips are like. Have you had a kind of layover clip on it?

Brad Dowdy: I tried once. It was more to try the shape of the pen. Yeah. And, and I was like, oh, I need, like I was stuck in the, like the classic flush shape and I'm going to try one of the different shapes. And I was like, yeah, I just prefer the classic flush. I don't know. And like I clips, I'm clips. I'm good with clip. I'm good without a clip. I don't have really strong preference either way.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. Cause I guess that's the other thing, right? You can try different shapes if they have them. So yeah, it's definitely worth making a trip. You can. This episode is brought to you by ExpressVPN. You may not know this, but when you search for something on Netflix, you're only getting a fraction of the overall catalog that Netflix has. There are 18,000 titles globally. Only 6,000 of those are available in the US, for example. That means there is other content available. Thousands of great shows and movies that you could access if you use ExpressVPN. It is an app that lets you change your online location, which means you can switch where streaming services think that you're located. ExpressVPN has over 100 different locations, so you can access, so you can gain access to thousands of new shows no matter where you live. This can be from all sorts of streaming services, Disney+, Hulu, Max, BBC iPlayer, you name it. So for example, if you wanted to, you could change your location to Canada and you could watch The Office on Canadian Netflix, which I mean, The Office is one of the best shows of all time, so you'd be having a good time there. Or you could watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on UK Netflix, which is a good time. I like that crew. So you can go there, you can catch some of your favorite shows. You can have a good time and watch them when you want to. And one of the things I love about ExpressVPN is also doing the opposite. So when I'm traveling, I can change my location back to the UK, and then I can watch along with the shows that I'm watching at home. Because it is so simple to do. You just fire up the ExpressVPN on the computer or TV, change the location, refresh the streaming service, and that's it. In general, VPNs can slow down your connection. But the reason I love ExpressVPN is it's so fast. There's never any buffering or lag. You can stream in HD quality. I've streamed live TV using ExpressVPN. It really is fantastic. So stop missing out on great TV and get thousands of new shows of ExpressVPN. We got them to give you three extra months for free when you go to expressvpn.com.penaddict. That's expressvpn.com.penaddict. And you can get those extra three months completely free. So it's three extra months completely free at expressvpn.com.penaddict. You can go try it out for yourself. A thanks to ExpressVPN for the support of this show and RelayFM. All right, back to AskTPA. Our next question comes from Jay, who says, A few years ago, I was gifted a pen. I didn't like the pen, but I loved the refill. A cross 8521. I'm used to finding a pen I like first and figuring out compatible refills, not the other way around. So what is the best way to search for pens other than cross pens that are compatible with this refill?

Brad Dowdy: So trying to find a pen that's compatible with this particular refill is pretty tough. Okay. So you almost have to like kind of backfill, like look for, like search for the refill or compatible refills, figure out what style that is. And then kind of like, I don't know, you almost have to backtrack into it. Like I'm looking at this refill now and it's kind of like the traditional cross shape, the very long shape. So what I would do, gosh, it's almost impossible to say quickly other than the big eye design that fits all the refills, which is actually a pretty good choice.

Brad Dowdy: Like, yeah, I'm looking at refillfinder.com and you can find compatible refills like Monteverde makes, like if you wanted to choose that refill, but it doesn't really go into what pens fit that. Let me try one other thing real quick while we're on here. So like JetPens always does a really good job with matching, hey, this refill fits other pens, but I don't think they stock this cross refill. So that's kind of like the kicker, right? The cross refill is not always seen on some of these websites that do a lot of good work in matching the pens. So you're really just going to have to go to like a more specialty maker, like a big eye design, a tactile turn, see what pens kind of cross match. Like those type of makers will have a list of compatible refills, like what pens fit them. So you'll just have to see if they fit that cross refill. And like, there's no like really great way to do it now. There's a great way to see what other refills that match, like refillfinder.com, but to like back into the pen, there's no like one place for you to search that, right? You just got to look at maker pens and see what type of offerings they have that fit these things. So it's not a common refill to be built around, but I don't know what its compatibility is with like, say like a Pilot G2 refill, like it's close to the Pilot G2 refill. So you might have a pretty good option with, you know, like I said, tactile turns, Keras customs, big eye design, things like that. But that's where I would start with those three brands and see if they actually offer that up as an option.

Switching to modular notebooks for work

Myke Hurley: Next question comes from Matt, who says, I've recently decided to switch from using a Rodia dot pad at work to something modular, like using inserts to keep my notes organized by project. My preferred size is an A5 dot grid, and I like dumping ink on the page using my Opus 88 Blizzard demonstrator with a 1.4 millimeter stub nib. Any suggestions for what I should be trying?

Brad Dowdy: So I put down some answers here, but I don't think that's really fulfilling the question. So the modularity means more of a disk bound or ring bound system.

Brad Dowdy: And when you're using the amount of ink that you're talking about using, I start to question the answer to this because like I wouldn't use a plotter for that much ink, right? So that's a, that's a ring bound system that paper's too thin and it doesn't handle a ton of ink in my experience very well, which is why it works well for me because I don't use a fire hose type of pens. The William Hannah does. And what I would think of in like a, I would take any disk bound system that you can get an A5 disk bound system. Staples Arc, William Hannah, Levenger. And you're, if you want something modular, you're going to have to go the hole punch route. You're going to have to add a hole punch, and then you're going to have to find some A5 paper that works well for you. Like, you know, Midori. Kikuyo makes, Kikuyo makes a really nice letter paper you can hole punch.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, but like the modular systems stock paper is only going to be okay for these big wet nibs, right? Even the William Hannah stock paper is really good. But I think when you're putting that much ink on the page, that's where you start to run out. So you could actually keep the Rodia, A5 size, hole punch it into a Staples Arc system, and build your own modularity. That's maybe not the answer you're looking for. I don't think there's like a plug and play answer for this. I think this is more of, you're going to have to play around with a disk bound system, a hole punch, and a roll your own system. And then you can get into like these loose sheets. You know, that Midori, Rodia, the Claire Fontaine, A5 is great. That would work really well. And like, they have an A5 pad that I just take the pages. This is something I do. Like, I'm speaking from experience here. I would take like the Claire Fontaine A5 pad, tear out the pages, hole punch them, and put them in my disk bound. And those are like awesome for, for a lot of ink. So, that's kind of where this is at, I believe. I don't think there's a stock answer for this, that you can just go pick up and say, hey, this is the thing. I think you're going to have to play around with it a little bit.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. I think the arc system is probably the, what you're looking for there, right? Cause you've got that, the, really the kind of, um, like the red herring of the amount of ink that you're going to have to, you're going to have to find some paper that you like, and then use the sheets and then build your own system. You're not going to, exactly. It's going to be really hard to find something, as you say, like off the shelf, that's designed to handle that. That can be really hard.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. And like, like I said, you could go with the roadie on that because they're A5 pads. I like, I just take the pages out, punch them, put them in the notebook. Good to go.

Myke Hurley: All right. We've got Jack here who wrote in to say, I'm trying to decide on my next pen purchase and I'm a little stuck. The main issue I'm having is while taking notes at work during meetings, the fountain pen I'm using will dry out and I'll go to take a note and have to do some scribbling to get it started again. I have a platinum 3776 of a fine nib and some platinum preppies. I also have a Lamy Safari with a fine nib that doesn't have the same problem, which I think is related to the fact that one, it's a larger nib and two, I can cap and uncap it quickly as opposed to the 3776, which I need to screw or unscrew. The issue with the Lamy is I find the line to be too thick. Two pens I'm interested in are the pilot Falcon metal body and the pilot vanishing point. I think I'm interested in the metal bodied pen to try out how a fountain pen feels of a little more weight. The pilot Falcon nib and its slight flex is appealing. I'm wondering if the flex will make it easier to get the ink flowing again. The pilot vanishing point is appealing because I think being able to retract it might mean it's out less and therefore won't dry out so quickly. I'm completely open to other recommendations on pen or ink that you think could help. I'd cap the budget at 275, but I would be happier in the 200 to 250 range.

Brad Dowdy: I want to give a shout out to Jack for a perfectly executed question. Yes, very well done. The amount of detail helps out so much here. Like this is perfect. So the first question I have is because reading that they have a 3776 and some platinum preppies and they're drying out, that should be the opposite experience of what you're experiencing. So I'm wondering what ink you're using with those because both of those, both the 3776 and the preppy have the slip and seal cap. So they should, if you're constantly capping it, which that's an issue, like you get to here in a minute, as long as you're not leaving the nib out and you're capping it between usage, which again, is a problem we're going to try to solve here in a second that I would not think either of those nibs should dry out at all. Like those should be some of the best performers. The Lamy, I think doesn't dry out that way because of the feed design of the Lamy. It's a little bit different. And I've always felt that the Lamy, like the Safari type nibs hold ink very well in those feeds. So they're always ready to roll. They're much wider, wetter nib, which, you know, Jack also alludes to here that they're not that great. So, um, for, for the nib. So Jack likes the fine lines and quick deployment and not drying out. And I think between the Falcon and the vanishing point, I think it's, it's like 80, 20 vanishing point. Like I get the, I get the Falcon idea. I like the Falcon. I think I've had more drying out issues with the Falcon because of the flex, right? Slight flex. And I don't, I shouldn't say flex. That's not a flex. That's a soft nib. Um, because the nib actually can lift from the feed. If you're not just writing with it, it does have a tendency to dry out and has to pick back up and start a little bit. The vanishing point usually doesn't have that problem because as Jack alludes to, you're retracting the pen into like it's little, it's little nib cave. And it, uh, it just, it just works when you're ready for it to work. So like, that's my choice out of those two pens. I'm still, you know, I, I do think the 3776 and the preppy should work for you. I'm in, so I'm a little curious about that, but I, I think the vanishing point is the answer to your specific needs. Um, more than the Falcon, even though the Falcon is a very different and extremely enjoyable pen to write with. I love the Falcon. I would take a vanishing point to work, right? So those are two different things. I can love them equally and have one that's a better tool for the situation that I'm in. And I think that's the vanishing point with the vanishing point. Just to further this point, do not buy the extra fine nib. Now that might be a little bit harsh, but that's a nib you want to test before you try. I think that's one of the most extreme stock nibs on the market. And as someone who loves extra fine, extra, extra fine, ultra, extra fine nibs, that's the one I have the least luck with. And especially in a workplace where I'm going to want to be for sure that, that this pen is going to write and I'm going to enjoy it. And I don't have to worry about the finiciness of the nib. I'm looking at finer medium in the vanishing point for this situation. Um, yeah. So I, I, you know, I think that's the answer. Um, I also don't know if the vanishing point clip placement works for you. Right. So that's another consideration. Just that's something to think about. You, you will like, you will enjoy the Falcon. I don't know that it's the answer to this question.

Myke Hurley: Um, I feel like the, the capping thing could be beneficial for you. Just like, cause I think it is strange too, especially the platinum is drying out because I find those to be the most reliable. So maybe you're leaving it uncapped for a really long time. Like I guess, I'm not really sure what's going on there, but like maybe like what you want to do is instead of like screwing it, just put the, just rest the cap back on the pen when you're not using it. Um, but if you're looking for a pen specifically to try and solve this particular issue, I agree with Brad that the vanishing point is the answer. Cause I mean, it's, it's kind of designed for this.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Like this is the reason exists. Yeah. Yeah.

Myke Hurley: So that, that's probably the way to do it. Oh, but Jackie's made a great suggestion. The pen well, which I use, I'm using it right now. So like, sure. I don't know if you could take that to a meeting with you. Maybe you'd take the, uh, the traveling portable, but they, they really was good made better. Right. Right. Right. The company that makes those. So I use, I use mine every day. Um, and so it's basically, it holds your cap and then you can, um, just drop your pen into it and it just like sits it there. It's like a, what were they called before? Like what, what are they actually called? They are called pen wells. Okay.

Brad Dowdy: I wasn't sure if that was like a, I mean, a pen well is more of like a dipping situation, right?

Myke Hurley: It's like an ink well. Yeah. Like an ink well. So there's a bunch of those. I like the craftsman one cause it's the heaviest, but, uh, that's good for a desk, but there's also like a traveling one, which you could check out too. Could be what you're looking for as an option to, could help. Yep. All right. Elliot asks, what are some ink colors that would look good inside of an Altum pen? So this is that kind of like yellowy, bronzy, semi-translucent, uh, material that we've been seeing more and more pens made out of recently.

Brad Dowdy: So the answer is all of them because none of them look good.

Myke Hurley: Ah, okay.

Brad Dowdy: There's no one good choice because they all look like crap.

Myke Hurley: Darker, right? So you can see there's something in there, but yeah, you're not going to like, if you put red in there, it's not going to look red anymore.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. And I say this as a Altum super fan, every pen looks, every ink looks muddy when you put it in there. I actually like orange probably looks the best. Like if you're just looking for, Hey, this looks good. And like, I'm obviously a huge orange ink fan. Orange stays reasonably orange when you're looking through the Altum barrels. But then like, if I use like a purple or a green, they just look like dark purple or dark green, or, you know, maybe a bright blue would be your second choice. You can get some of that color differentiation through the Altum barrel walls. But, uh, in general, they all look pretty bad. And I'm not trying to like, like not answer Elliot's question. I, I, if I'm picking, I'm, I would for just what looks good. And I think orange looks the best. And I, boy, I've tried a lot of inks in an Altum pen, like, and I love my pinks and purples. I mean, I'm just not going, Ooh, yeah, this looks good. It's just Altum's not designed to, Altum's not designed for that. So this is actually a pretty funny question. Um,

Myke Hurley: That's a good answer. I'm enjoying thinking about this. Well, at least you know this, like, it doesn't really matter what you do, right? Yeah. It's just like an even playing field. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: In my experience, I think oranges look the best than probably like a light green. And then after that, probably all bets are off. Everything's going to look rough.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. I get my feeling be like outside of that, something dark. So you can at least see the ink, like clearly that there's ink in there, but like, you know, Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: And some, you know, not all, not all Altum barrels are made the same, right? Some are thin walled, some are thick walled, and that's just going to change how it looks. It's just going to muddy the waters even more. Yeah.

Myke Hurley: Maybe you have to like, you have to do it backwards and you have to like, you end up with an ink that you don't want, but it looks good in the Altum, you know? There you go. Like maybe it is a color that's like, you would never choose that color, but maybe if you put it behind the kind of yellowy hue of the Altum, it's like, oh, this looks good now, but you actually don't want to write with it.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Yellow inks are like the answer to that, right? Like yellow inks would probably look okay in there.

Myke Hurley: There is one good yellow that I found. It's the Sailor one. It's one of the numbered ones, the Ink Studio ones. Oh man. Which one is it? Do you know? I don't know the number offhand. I can get the answer because I can check my number.

Brad Dowdy: I know you have it. But like, while you're doing that, I'll say my favorite yellows are one you can't really get anymore, the Daikoku 10 from the Pilot 101st Anniversary set. And then I like the Amarillo Stationery Pannonia collaboration. I'm not looking at it. Okay. So that's a really nice one too.

Discussion on yellow inks and preferences

Myke Hurley: For me, it's 770. Sailor Ink Studio 770 is, I tried a lot of yellow inks to match with my Haleakal silhouette from Canalea. This was the only one that I liked. Yeah. I tried a lot. You rave about that one. Yeah. And I love it. I adore this ink. It's, yeah. Because it shows, you can read it. Yeah. It's got good sheen to it. And so you can actually read it on the page, which is one of the hardest things of yellow ink, which is helpful to be able to read what you've written down.

Brad Dowdy: So I recommend it. I love yellow inks. They're just, they're hard to, hard to commit to. It's just hard to work out.

Myke Hurley: Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: But yeah, orange for the Ultima. I think that's, that's, that's the winner.

Myke Hurley: All right. So we answered a bunch of questions today, but we're always looking for more. So please go to penaddictfeedback.com. That's where you can send in your own ask TPA questions, as well as any feedback or follow up you have about the show. Like if you've heard us today and you're like, oh, I have a better suggestion for one of these answers, then let us know. We're going to penaddictfeedback.com. No, but it's helpful. We're like, we started out today, like in today's show, we have some more recommendations for the pocket notebook. So appreciate it. If you want to find Brad online, he's over at penaddict.com. He's at penaddict, P-E-N-A-D-D-I-C-T, spokedesign.com, twitch.tv, slash penaddict. I am at i-m-y-k-e. You can find my work at RelayFM and cortexbrand.com as well. Thank you so much to our wonderful sponsors this week, ExpressVPN and Factor. But most of all, thank you for listening. Until next time, hang loose, Brad Dowdy.

Brad Dowdy: Hang loose, Michael Hurley. Be novo, Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick Rick