The Pen Addict 680/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	680
Title:	Very Specific May or May Nots
Release Date:	August 27th, 2025
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	No guests this episode
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 680
Audio File:	Audio Episode 680
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 680
Length:	5454 min <br />0.9 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

Introduction and Welcome

• From Relay, this is The Pen Addict, episode 680. Today's show is brought to you by Squarespace and Pen Chalet. My name is Myke Hurley. I'm joined by Brad Dowdy. Hi, Brad. Hello, Myke. How are you doing today? I'm good. I know, like, we've obviously had so many opportunities to have this kind of conversation over the show's history, but being at 680, you're like staring down the barrel of 700. You know? Yeah. For sure. Yeah, I was just talking, just a little quick sidebar. When I did the Atlas event, and I didn't mention this in the recap, so we did a Q&A session. And one of the questions was, what's the bit of content you're most proud of in, like, anything you've ever done, right?
• And the first thing that came to mind was our episode 400, and that's what I said. Mm. Because we have such a long-running podcast, and it's intimidating for new users to come in. And we did that as, like, a jumping-in point, and it ended up being two episodes. It was so long, 400 and 401. We always say, well, that's a good place to start. You don't have to start at the beginning. It's cool if you do. It's pretty amazing that you started at the beginning. We still have people starting at the beginning. I still get messages and emails, like, here's where I just heard about X.
• And I'm like, yeah, that's so cool. And I was, this is a long way of saying, like, yeah, maybe we need to do that again, like, in the not-too-distant future. Maybe 800, I don't know. That's still, like, two years away, two and a half years away. But I was thinking about that recently. And yeah, like, 400 seems like yesterday, and now we're on 680. It's like, I almost feel like we need a new jumping-in point. But yeah, it's good. It's good stuff.
• Maybe 700 is, like, a good opportunity to do that. Maybe every 100 episodes is probably, I mean, it's like two years. Yeah, like 700. Yeah, like 700's still, you know, half a year away. Not even. So that's, like, early next year. So we'll think about it. So maybe for 700, we kind of do a shorter entry point. Because actually today, one of the topics I have is, that I just wanted to cover, is a very, like, first 10 episodes type of topic, which y'all will see when we get to it.
• And, like, I like doing that stuff. Some of that stuff needs to be talked about, even if some people have heard that, or some people, you know, very experienced users, like, I'm always reminded. And I said this in that Q&A also, that, you know, I always do try to think about how we might have someone listening for the first time today, and what are they interested in, and what do they want to hear us talk about.
• So, yeah. It's not this conversation, so I apologize to any new listeners. Yeah. Sorry. Especially as we're about to get into more administrivia, which isn't super helpful, or interesting to most people, but I guess it's something you need to know about. Starting from next week, we will be recording and publishing this show on Thursdays instead of Wednesdays. Dun-dun-dun. This is a change that I needed to make, because another one of my podcasts is moving from Wednesdays to Thursdays. Spoilers.
• We're also, for people that listen live, we're going to be recording the episode an hour early. So, we'll be recording live at 9am on Thursdays, and then the episodes will be releasing on Thursdays. There is a... Depending... It's kind of a weird thing, like, there might be a little bit of, like, unexpectedness for a while about what time on a Thursday the episode will publish. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So, yeah, let's put that out there. Like, normally, on Wednesdays, you're pretty, like, efficient and quick, because you have that time to do that.
• Thursday, it might just be late afternoon US time. Exactly. When it gets to it. So, like... It's either going to be, like, similar-ish time, or a few hours later than normal. But, like, it will always come out on Thursdays. Yes. It actually depends on how long is the episode will actually depend on when the episode is released in the day. Because if the episode is shorter, I have enough time to publish. If we go a little bit longer, then I will need to wait until I'm done with my other show that day.
• Yeah. So, yeah. Or if I say bad words. Or if Brad says bad words, which does happen on occasion. Yeah, pretty rare. Like, twice ever. Mm-hmm. That's two times is an occasion. They have both occasions.
• 680 episodes. Yeah. I like my ratio. Every 340 episodes, on average, we'll get to us. I'll write down when I'm due again. So, nothing else is changing. It's all about sustainability for me, if I'm being honest. So, I very appreciate Brad moving the show. So, that's amazing. And, yeah. So, nothing else is going to change, except the fact that we're just slightly changing our release schedule. Find yourself a new Wednesday podcast. And delete one of your Thursday podcasts.
• Just get rid of them. We're taking over. I'll create a new podcast called Your New Wednesday Podcast. There you go. And then we'll just go from there. Yep. And it can be a recap on the previous episodes of The VanEdit. There you go. You know? There you go. There you go. That's what we'll do. All right. You ready to get in some pen things? Yeah, baby. So, I try not to do what are we using too often, right?
• Because I think you need time. And it's not something I want to do every week, right? I don't want to say, hey, what did you use this week? But this one is kind of coming pretty quick on the heels of the last one we did, which was still like a month or more ago. Because my whole pen show adventures over August have changed the things that I'm using. And what's funny, and it's something I'm going to write about soon, is the things I'm using.
• I mean, it's obvious, but the things I'm using the most are things I've acquired the most recently. But what happened was I also acquired things at the DC Pen Show two weeks before the Atlas Stationers show. But I'm only using the stuff I got brought home from the Atlas Stationers show, even though the stuff from DC is like elite and amazing. So, anyway, that's a me problem. Yeah. But this starts with the Estabrook SD Funky Town in orange.
• I am falling more in love with this pen the more I use it. Not just because it's orange. I actually, so when they came out with these four colors, the neon colors, pink, yellow, green, and orange, I wasn't sure orange was going to be my favorite, despite being the orange person. And I actually, I think it probably is now the more that I've gotten to use it. It has these subtle sparkles that hit when I'm writing.
• They're kind of golden, match the trim of the pen. And this Yovo nib, you know, standard Yovo nibs are some of my favorites. This extra fine is so fine. Like, I love this nib. So, my writing is really, really tiny and clean with it. So, it's just been a good fit so far. I like the traditional basic Estabrook shape of a pen. You know, just like the classic cigar type shape, torpedo type shape, whatever you want to call this one.
• And it's great. I have it inked up with Sailor Ink Studio 260.
• I don't use many of the ink studios. You're more of an ink studio person than me. You probably have more ink studio bottles than I do. You have at least like three or four. We have like eight. Okay. Yeah. Because I knew you and Idina had bought several different colors.
• And they're, I mean, Sailor makes the best inks. They're incredible. I'll say that. They're incredible. All of them. They're so consistent. No matter if you're going with a store brand. Like, I use a lot of the Kobe Nagasawa inks. And Kingdom Note inks. And they're all Sailor inks. And they're the best. They make the best inks. So it's a light green. And I didn't need to buy this one. But I wanted to buy this one. That's what happens when I'm in person and trying to match a pen with an ink.
• And it's great. Nailed it. I'm also using the Leonardo Memento Magico, which we spoke about recently. We spoke about all these pens recently. Except the next one.
• I'm loving the feel of this pen. I didn't realize this pen was really, really for me. Given the size. It's a piston filler, but in a very comfortable, nice weight, good feeling pen. And I'm enjoying the Van Demons Nightfall ink in there. That's the new kind of dual chroma shaders that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to write with. But they're pretty fantastic. Next up actually is a DC Pen Show pen. And this is one I'm testing for review.
• It was given to me by Little Hollow Customs. This model is called the Mistress. And I'm fascinated with it. I am a huge fan of metal section fountain pens. Or metal front end pens or pencils to begin with. It doesn't have to be a fountain pen. Metal towards the writing end. And then, you know, acrylics or wood or other materials towards the back. That's the kind of weighting that I like when I'm writing. And this one has, I think it's nickel silver is the material.

Comfortable Design Discussed

• I'll have to look into that exactly. But it's got a nice concave section. It's just super comfortable. The material is primary manipulation five. I don't know if I have a link directly to this material. It's stunning. But more importantly, it's made really well. And I'm enjoying writing with it. That's a pen I'll be reviewing sooner rather than later. Probably like in the next couple weeks. Is this a newer? Like I'm not familiar. I don't easily recall this brand.
• So yeah, I just met. So it's Logan and M. And they, I think I met them for the first time in Atlanta this year. It's a relatively new maker. Yeah. So, and I saw them in DC and they said that we want to give you a pen for review. They are doing a lot. There's a lot of options. A lot of options. A lot of metals along with acrylics. Yeah. And then some custom piston filling mechanisms, right?
• Like or building around some piston filling mechanisms with some of the metal parts. Like you can get, I, so this is a good, do we have time for a digression? I mean, it's my show. I can digress. You can do whatever you want. So I'm going to tell y'all a little bit. And I'll mention this when I write up the review, because this is part of the story. They're like, we want to give you a pen for review.
• I was like, awesome. Like we can do this. And they're like, literally pick anything. And they have a wide variety of pens that I could choose from. A wide variety of materials, as we've already spoken about. A wide variety of price points. A wide variety of filling systems. They have a piston filler. I could have gone with like the most extreme pen to review. But I, as I explained to them, I was like, on my first review, I want to keep it more standard lineup.
• I'm either going to go with just the standard acrylic or the acrylic plus the metal barrel or plus the metal grip section. Because I think that will interest people the most. And it gives me the best feel on the overall, like, how are you making pens? Like, what is your design philosophy? How do you do certain things? Then going straight into like a blinged out piston filler, which they absolutely would have given to me. But I don't think that would have made for as good of an initial review.
• That's the second review. Like, if I'm lucky enough to review another one of their pens. That we do in round two. So that's how I personally think about doing product reviews. I have to get, especially for a company that's new to me, I want to get kind of a feel for who they are, what they do. And then have like a more standard slash common lineup product first. And then we'll think about expanding it. It's like, hey, what is this, you know, metal piston filler feel like?
• So we can do that later. So that's just a philosophical thing for me that I think about. So which model did you go with? So it's called the Mistress. And the Mistress comes with standard acrylic sections or mine has a metal section. So you click on the link. Yeah, they don't have, I don't think they have the primary manipulation one. Yeah, I don't think they have that on the site. But mine has a metal section called nickel silver.
• So you'll see some models with nickel silver on this link. So it's got that and it's got the belly band there. I think that's the matching material. I think that is the coolest little design flair. So you've got, say, the metal grip section, then the acrylic threads, then the metal again, which I guess is like a band that wraps around and then it continues with the acrylic. And depending on, like there are different, I mean, they have some where it's like different
• acrylics as well, not just metals. Yeah, I think these are really good looking. Yeah. I think this is a very, I'm looking over their other products too. Yeah, this is just one of them. They have some simple ideas executed really well in a way that I don't recall, like I don't recall ever seeing that, like the metal to the acrylic to the metal to the acrylic. I think that's a very, I don't know, it feels like a pretty unique way of doing it.
• Yeah, I like it. And so there's different models and one of the ones that they do that I probably won't review because it's not my style and like, which is a little bit unfair, but like they will do like full metal pins of that same style. Like they have a full copper model, you know, in a full, and they do this, this finish on some of the, like a, kind of like a, not a splatter. I don't know what they're calling it.
• They're, they're calling it like the gem, the gem style where it looks like a pattern on the metal. So that's like a different type of finish that they use. So yeah, really, really, really cool stuff. So I'm, I'm looking forward to spending some more time with this pen, but so that review is coming up soon. Needless to say, like, I'm pretty happy with it so far. Um, that pen is inked up with Bungu Box Sanctuary Blue, which is an, it's been a standard ink
• at Bungu Box for a while. It's one I didn't have and one I happened to pick up at the DC pen show that I really enjoy. I'm continuing to use my Life A5 Hachimanjia Ayame notebook, which is the pink and purple notebook that I've talked about all year. I'm actively trying to get done with it, which I still have a ways to go. Um, so I can integrate the new Bible size plotter into more of the daily rotation and
• take the place of this notebook. But, um, it's such an enjoyable, great notebook. And the last one, which I didn't have on the list before we started the show. And then I realized, oh, this is the pen I'm using for today's show notes. It's the Uniball 1P Bath Bomb. Bath Bomb edition, Myke. You could never use this pen, could you? Why? I mean, it's a little short micro gel ink pen. Like, it just seems like the antithesis of what you like in a pen.
• If you look at the link. I see the image in the hand. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know if this would be, um, the one for me. Yeah. What do you think about this Bath Bomb material? I love the look of the pen in general. I think the design of it's fantastic. I actually wished that it was more full size. I might be able to get away with it. But yeah, I like the chunky look to it.
• Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a, that's what I call it. It's just a little chunky pen. That's a good boy. Yeah. Um, question though. This is one of those, um, product names that I love so much. You know, I, I went and tested it out. Um, this is a 100 character, 102 character, uh, product name. Uniball 1P gel pen, 0.38 millimeters, bath bomb, savant body, black ink. Um, it's, it's, it's, it's what we do with some of these products.
• And this is short compared to some that we've tested in the past, but I have a question and you have a question. Is there a difference between bath bomb? And then what I have found out savant body is means soap in French, savant, S-A-V-O-N means soap. Bath bomb and soap are two different things. What is this pen trying to tell us, Myke? Don't, I feel like you wouldn't want to mix a bath bomb and soap, right?
• Yeah. I feel like, well, you need the soap after the bath bomb probably. Yeah. But I feel like you don't want to get them confused, right? You don't want to take a bath bomb into the bar thinking it's a bar of soap. That's going to get real bad real fast, you know? Yeah. Yeah. So this one, I don't know, the material feels more. I don't know why this is called bath bomb at all. Like savant. I was going to say.
• Right. It looks like soap. Like the material. It looks like soap. Like marble. It looks like marbled soap. Yeah. Or like soap stone or something like that. Like it's got that look. I'm not really sure why or where bath bomb comes into this. Yeah. But I've only ever called this pen bath bomb until I went and looked up the full name and then I saw the savant mentioned and now it's problematic. Come on, uni. The things I complain about.
• Well, you know. I actually have a complaint about your list. Yeah. Oh, yeah. What? It's not really about you. It's about like, I don't understand the rollout plan of the Estabrook SD Funky Town.
• You're not alone. Why can't I link to it? You know what I mean? Like I'm having to link to some like Instagram video that they made when they announced the thing. Yes. It's weird to me to have a product and like they keep seeming to hype it. Right. Like they were hyping it up at the atlas station. DC and atlas. Yeah. I would understand it if they never intended to sell this. Like if this was a product that was only going to be at pen shows, which is a thing that's
• happened in the past, then fine. Right. It's like a show exclusive. You can't get it. But it seems like they have every intention to sell this product. I don't know why there isn't just like a landing page. I can't find anything on it. And I find that to be actually quite peculiar. So I can only speak from like connecting the dots. I haven't asked that specific question. But my connecting the dots is their intention was this was only the pen show pen, which I

Store Visit Experience

• could get down with. Right. Like you said, like, sure, knock yourself out. I'm fine with having you have to come see us to buy this pen. Yeah. But I think it was such a kind of an on the fly decision. I don't want to say they like capitulated, but it's like they're in the business of business. And I think people like it and want it. And so they are planning on rolling it out for this August version of shows, which are
• the big shows like DC, Atlas, San Francisco, and then popping it online after that. So but there was no clarity. The problem is the clarity. Right. It's like, what are we doing? How can I share this? Is what's the definitive answer? And there's been lack of clarity around that, which is fair. Yeah, I think that they would. I think they would freely admit that. I think from in from talking to them in DC and then talking to them two weeks later,
• like things change that fast, I think. Which I understand. But let's get a let's get a let's get a place where I can throw my email in, you know? Yeah. And I keep saying I'm going to take pictures of mine so I can at least put a link into the show notes for you. And I keep not doing it. So because there's no other place to link it. Yeah. So we just want to see what it looks like.
• You're going to watch that Instagram video again. Yeah. That's what you're going to have to do. Yep. Yep. So I think it's just one of those like on the fly. They were it was definitely like a trial run in DC to see what we thought. And then I understand that. Right. Like I understand that the response maybe overwhelmed them a little bit and they were like, oh, hang on a minute. We're on to a winner. And I it's like I agree with all of that.
• And like, I look, I get it. I understand how difficult business things can be sometimes. But like gang, let's just get a photo on a website where I can put my email address in. It's all I want. You know, just you just just got you on your own website. Just put up a page and then I can put my email address in and then I'll get an email when you have more information about this. If you had a website with an email address, like what what kind of platform would you use for that, Myke?
• You're a photo pro. It's got a Squarespace, the all in one website platform that's designed to help you stand out, succeed online. And they are supporting this episode, whether you're just starting or scaling a business. Squarespace will give you everything you need to claim your domain, showcase your offerings, all of them. Have a professional website, grow your brand and get paid all in one place. Squarespace has email marketing tools, right? So if you want, they have all of that.
• So like if you do want to do that, you want to get people to give you their email address and you want to send them email campaigns. It's really easy to do that. And it's all plugged into that analytic system, too. So you can see how people are engaging with that content. This is just one of the many services that Squarespace provides and many of the services that I love and have used so many times over the last 15 years.
• Like analytics, you know, I mentioned it's for emails, but you can keep track of all of the stats that matter with their intuitive built in analytics tools. Squarespace makes it super easy for you to review website traffic, learn where to focus engagement and track revenue from bookings, invoices and product sales. Bookings and invoices and sales. Yes, you can get paid with Squarespace from consultations to events and experiences. You can showcase your offerings of a customizable website that is designed to attract clients and grow your business.
• Think built in appointment scheduling, email marketing tools and more. Plus, you keep everything cohesive with on brand invoices and get paid easily with online payments. If you're using any other platform and you find any frustration with it, just go and try out Squarespace. You can build your entire website and see just how well it works and how well it's going to work for you by going to squarespace.com slash penaddict. You can sign up for a free trial there.
• And when you're ready to launch, use the offer code penaddict to save 10% of your first purchase of a website or domain. That is squarespace.com slash penaddict with the code penaddict and you'll get 10% off your first purchase and show your support for the show. Thanks to Squarespace for the support of this show and all of Relay. All right, Myke, we got our shout out of the week. Shout out of the week. Newton pens. Sean Newton is going to be at the San Francisco pen show.
• And let me show you what he's bringing, Myke. So one of my favorite pen designs, not that just Sean does, period, that anyone does, is called the Prospector. So I have one of Sean's Prospectors. I have like a full acrylic, beautiful blue and black kind of swirl. I love the pen. I love it. I'm glad I'm not going to San Francisco because I would be buying one of these new models that he's done. He's kind of like ramped up the materials and the details on the Prospector.
• So I've always, I've always loved looking at, there's a, there's a, a friend I follow online called Benjamin's Collections. And there's one particular Prospector he always shows because that he, and I always comment on it when he shows it that I was like, all right, when are you selling me this pen? Because he never, Sean never makes, you know, these really wild color Prospectors that I love. And that's what it looks like here. Like these are just like awesome.
• And then you, I don't even know what to say. This is one of my favorite pens. They're stunning. Definitely go see what Sean's bringing to the San Francisco pen show. I don't know that he always goes to the show. I'm trying to think back. Maybe he does. And I'm just misremembering, but this is a great opportunity to check out the Prospector, check out all of Sean's pens. Because I'm in a Shinobi model, I'm in a Prospector model, and they're some of my favorites.
• So go check all of those out. This week, Myke, this week is the San Francisco pen show. So we'll be hearing a lot about San Francisco. And I hope in, you know, coming weeks we'll have a recap with a friend from the San Francisco pen show. Knock on wood, I can make that happen. So we'll see. Stay tuned for that. These Prospectors are stunning. They are. And also, they also have some, like, acrylic belly bands. This is the year of the belly band.
• All of it. Yeah. All of the little details are new to me. That pink one with the, I don't know what's going on in the middle. Woo, baby. That's the one I want. Wow, I would struggle. Yeah, there's a pink one, and then the blue and pink one is also. So if you go to the page with the blue and pink one, mine is all blue, like in that blue material. Right. Something like that. So, yeah, it's great.
• It's such a good pen. Is it? And it does not. So one thing Sean does, just to blow him up a little bit more, he has some custom feeds made for these, for his pens. And when you buy a pen, he'll, like, put in, like, a feed that has, like, really good ink flow. And, you know, you get the nude engraved nib. So it's a full experience there. Sean does a great job. So great work. He's a pro.
• He's a pro. All right. You're a pro, too, Myke. What are you currently using? Oh, yeah. Yeah. We've ran along. So we've made my section of part one of the episode past shout out of the week. That's where I am. That's where I've been, like, relegated to today. You can blame me. Yeah. I mean, I'm not, I guess I'm, I try and be a little bit interesting here, but I'm not so much. I mean, I'm using this.
• I have questions. All right. So this morning, I took a meeting at home. And for that, I used a Mark 1 and Sidekick notepad. I will actually make a diversion. You see they're putting a clip on the Mark 1? I did. I haven't, we haven't been able to record an episode of the podcast recently. Thoroughly considered that I do a studio neat. Yeah, I'll have to get, I'll have to get one. I've been asked about it, but I haven't, I don't have one.
• But I'm going to need to talk to them about this. I find this to be a very curious decision. And I, I don't know how I feel about it, if I'm being honest. Fair. Same. Like, it looks good. It looks, I think they've done a great job, but it's like, one of the things I always loved about this pen is that it didn't have a clip. You know what I mean? I have questions. Yeah. This is, okay.
• So this is not related to studio neat, but this is like, if you look back, listen back to the history of this show, it's try, it's like the Kickstarter comment of trying to like design for everyone. And I think we actually have a show title called when clip, where clip, why clip. Yeah. Because if you make a Kickstarter project for a pen without a clip, people are only going to yell at you. Yeah. And even though the product should not be made with a clip.
• Yeah. And it's like, it's like a whole thing. Like when you're a maker trying to like solve problems and make designs that you believe in, but then solve problems for your customers and, you know, meet their needs and go somewhere. So like, yeah. It seems like they. We literally have a whole episode talking about this. I feel like that they have, they waited a long time, right? People have been asking them to do this since the beginning of it, which is years ago.

New Pen Design Evaluation

• But I, I think they were right in waiting because I do think it looks good. It looks like they designed it. You know what I mean? And not just like, oh, here's the clip. See, you're going to, this is why we go long, Myke. You're going to get me sidetracked. Clip design is so flipping hard. I can't even explain to people how hard it is to put a clip on it. Because it's not just visual design, right?
• Yeah. It is so difficult. There's a structural need to it. Because what they could have done, and, you know, I thought if they ever did anything, what they would do is just add a roll stop. I didn't think they would add a clip. But I guess, look, I guess the thing is, again, like the EDC crowd are strong, man. You know? Yeah. Yeah. Like the pocket, the Mark II, put a clip on it. Like that pin needs a clip.
• Perfect sense when they did that. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. It'll be a good conversation for you to have. Yeah. And hear all their reasoning. I'm sure they struggled with it. It is, number one, it's not easy to decide to do. And number two, it's not easy to execute. Yep. Yeah. So, I look forward to getting it. I will get one one day. I want to see if they do like a special edition one. I'll probably like, you know, go for one of those and see if they do one with a clip.
• Like if their next limited model is a clip one, we'll see. You know, I might grab one of those. So, we'll see. Yeah. They did. Yeah. The most recent one they did, I don't think had, they didn't have a clip. It was pre. Yeah. It was, it was few. It was maybe a month before the clip. They did do. They include the knife now. Keen. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I did see that. I don't have one of those.
• Like I've never found the need. Oh, Brad, you gotta get one. I like, I get it. I know. Everyone's yelled at me. That's so good, man. I like, I don't need a hundred dollar box cutter, but it's kind of sick. I know you say that. I don't need any of this stuff. I know. The thing is like, I know you say that, but like then when you get it, it's like, oh, I don't need any more.
• A hundred percent. Like I'm set for life now. I know, I know well enough exactly how this goes. I don't know if you've heard them describe this, but they, they're saying it's like the Keen and like a lot of the stuff they're building. They want to build heirloom product products, which is just like, oh, that's a great way to put it. Anyway, so. As someone who uses box cutters, not daily, but like multiple times a week, like in the
• shipping department, I should just get one of these and just throw it in my pocket and be done, right? Yes. It's like a little stone. It's this beautiful product. Anyway. So here, we're going to keep going long. The next time I order a Mark one with a clip, I will order a Keen. How about that? I think that's a great idea. I think you'll be a happy man because that is just. I know I will. It's really good, man.
• Yeah. All right. Keep going because I have thoughts on the next product too. All right. So the Sidekick notepad. Oh, no. The one you haven't mentioned yet. Oh, so I use a Sidekick notepad and a Mark one to take my notes this morning. And then I used my Sidekick. Well, I'm using my Sidekick pocket, the lined one right now, along with my Leuchterm Drigafel. Yeah. That's what I want to talk about. The pencil. And then I also used my Donald Duck Kuru Togarelli too.
• Which is sick. I'm so happy. When I saw that in the list, I just started dying. I'm like, hell yes. This is exactly what we do. I love this stuff. I'm just going to throw that one out there. I love my Donald Duck. It's great. So the Drigafel, are you using the pencil or the pen? You link to the pencil. Yeah. And that's what I want to talk about. Pencil, pencil, pencil. Yeah. I don't even know if I have the pen.
• Yeah. The pencil is so interesting to me.
• It's just like a tale of two products. Like, technically, it's not a great design with the mechanism. But I'll be danged if I can't stop using it. Exactly. I just get over it because it is so flipping good as a product. Like, I get over the twist mechanism. Okay, I have to use two hands to push the lead back in when I'm done with it. But dang, if I don't want to carry this pencil everywhere. I don't get that.
• It's like, I think it's like, it's almost a flawed product, but it is flipping good. They crush the intangibles. Yeah. Right? Like, it just feels good to hold and it feels good to use. It's like, I don't, like, objectively, I don't like the grip section. Like, it's just, I shouldn't like this. It's not designed the way I would want it to be done. Like, it's kind of both too small and too big, depending on what part you're holding on to.
• But I don't care because I just love the way it feels and I love how it looks. Like, I'm using my lined Sidekick notepad today, which is yellow, and I have the yellow Drigafel. And they just look fantastic together. Yeah. So, this is kind of like taking over the travel pencil slot, which has previously been the Caran d'Ache fix pencil. Yeah. No clip. This seems like a good, durable travel companion. I don't need a clip on this one.
• Exactly. I'm good. No clip. I'm good. So, anyway, I wanted to shout that pencil out. It's one of those that, again, probably like the Keen is like, I don't get it. Like, it's overpriced. It's overengineered. But I love it. I mean, I guess that's why we do this, right? Because we end up falling in love with these products that people care about making these products. And the end result shows the care, regardless of, like, necessarily how we got there.
• Yep. And that's what makes a product special. And that's why I like something like this Dragafro pencil, even though, like, I will complain about the mechanism and how I think it's not proper. But, dang, it's so good. I'll just shut up about it. Yep.
• Can I interest you in a new Retro 51, Myke? But! That's the only reason. We can just move on now. That's the only reason I wanted to put this in here.
• Bat! Bat!
• Let's go bat on there. This is a great design. They've gone, they've done something a little different. So, they do the rescue cats, rescue dogs. They've done, you know, pandas in the past. They do a lot of different charity, like, rescue organization for animals ones. The design, I think they crushed the design on this one. And what, there's a word probably for this that I'm going to get yelled at for, where there's, like, designs within the design.
• Like, the pattern creates, like, negative space and positive space, and you start to see other things in it. It's kind of like that. I feel like there's a word for it, but I'm not going to find it on this. And my brain's not going to get there. But it's kind of that pattern. And it's super cool. I don't own any of the rescue ones, I don't think. Maybe one of the old panda bamboo ones I might have.
• Oh, this looks so good. But, you know, I'm holding off. I may or may not have a new retro coming out this year, Myke. And it may or may not be ready in about three weeks' time while we may or may not be at St. Jude. So, just throwing that out there. Very specific may or may nots. Mm-hmm. Yeah. You never know. You never know. You never know. Next product, may or may not. The Bungu Box SD Kingfisher.
• Thoughts, Myke? Go.

Shared Agreement on Product Quality

• Yeah, agree. Like, totally agree. I feel like I've seen it before. Yeah. It's independently awesome. Right? It's fantastic.
• You're following up one of the great pen designs of all time, I think. And the one that you have, Cherry Blossom. Yeah. With a standard acrylic swirl pen. Nothing wrong with that. I love my standard acrylic swirl pens. I have two new ones that I just bought myself. This will crush. This will absolutely kill it on the market. But I'm wondering, how did we get there from here kind of thing? I don't know. It's stunning. It's absolutely stunning.
• But all I do is put it up against the Cherry Blossom. Which just rules. And just think about that. Like, you have that pen, right? Yeah, I do. That's one of my big regrets is not having that pen. That pen rules. Yeah. This pen equally rules. But now I can only compare it to what you did before. And I'm like, yeah, looks great. It looks like every other pen out there. My feeling on this one is I'm not getting Bunga Bucks from it.
• Right. I agree with that. It feels like something Estabrook would produce on their own. Which is, to say, a great looking pen with a wonderful acrylic, right? Exactly. Yeah, 10 out of 10 pen. Yes. But I think it's the X factor. Which Bunga Bucks usually bring in their collaborations. And I feel like is missing here. There's no story to this pen. It's a forced, it's like a forced story. Yeah. Kind of. Where it's like, look, the colors are here in this image.
• Like, it doesn't, it doesn't, it's not, it's not giving what I am looking for from what I expect from them. Yeah. Yeah. Some, which is something very different. Even if, like, the shape is going to be the same. But this is the field notes problem, right? There can't all be hits. Like, that's not, it's just not how it works. Like, you can't do that forever. I guarantee this is going to be a super hit. This will 100% sell out.
• Yeah. Well, I mean, yes. But there are different levels, right? Yes. From a moving the business, moving the industry forward situation. Which, like, that's a lot to put on anybody. I'm just saying, like, you're saying, like, this is, hey, this is the next Estee. Not the next special Bungu Box collaboration. Mm-hmm. And it's not, it's really difficult to, like, talk about this. Because it's, there's zero, this is like a 10 out of 10 pen. But I, with Bungu Box, I expect 11.
• Yes. And we got that last time. Yeah. Out of 12. Yeah. Like, that pen, unbelievable. So, yeah. This pen will crush. This pen is gorgeous. I would love to have this pen, like, all of the things. But I can't help feel a little bit like you. I feel, I don't know. I was like, yeah, maybe a little bit more. Like, it's like the Lamy problem from last week. Independently good Lamy Safari with the rings on it.
• But, like, my expectations are different from the product, what they're producing. Mm-hmm. So, but, yeah. It's great. They will sell the heck out. And I think they're going to be, they're beautiful. I would love to have one. I don't need that pen. So, it's good. It's good. If you do need a pen, Myke, where should you go? To our friends over at Pen Chalet. They sell authentic, amazing roller balls and fountain pens and ballpoints and mechanical
• pencils and bottles of ink and carrying cases and fountain pen converters and refills and holders and everything you could possibly want for the pen addict in your life. Maybe that's you. Maybe that's somebody else. Maybe you're looking to try and make somebody a pen addict. You know, you want to buy them something special? You can go over to Pen Chalet and find it because they've always got new products being added to the site every month, along with great discounts, including closeout specials every couple of weeks.
• Pen Chalet believe in very fast and reliable customer service. They have low prices and high quality pens and offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Pen Chalet ship internationally with the best shipping rates they can give you. And if you're in the US, you'll get free shipping on orders of over $75. Take yourself to penchalet.com slash pen addict and you'll get 10% of anything at Pen Chalet. And to see the exclusive offers because you are listening to this show, what do we have, Brad?
• Well, real quick before I get into those offers, they do have this Bunga Box Estee up for pre-sale. If you do want this pen, I guarantee this pen will sell out, so you should consider getting in on it. A lot of the stores are doing pre-orders. Pen Chalet has theirs up and available. And they also have the new Twisby 580 ALR Affogato with Onyx, which I kind of like. Affogato is like my favorite dessert ever. And this is a really kind of cool Twisby 580 ALR with the aluminum anodized parts are kind of like a coffee brown.
• And it's really neat looking. And they've added in the Onyx hardware, which they've been using on some of the Ecos and some of the 580s. So on our specials page, if you get a pen, you need a sleeve to protect it. These D. Charles single sleeve pastel pen cases are fantastic. They're great colors. It's practically a gift with purchase. If you're buying this, it's so cool and so inexpensive. Like if you're buying a pen, you need to add in a pen sleeve.
• And then you go all the way up to the Magna Carta mag land of the free fountain pens. Myke, you know we need that. But the Magna Carta nibs have been a real kind of a revelation to people. People are really enjoying some of the nib options that they have. So they have like flexible nibs and some different size nibs, larger size nibs. So take a look at that. And then scroll down to the ink collection.
• Myke, if you don't know about shimmer inks, you can buy a sample. Diamine Shimmer 4ml samples. You can get those. And then if you do like inks and want to experience something new, Tasha's ink samples, you should be using Tasha inks. All these different colors that they have available. You should grab some of these in your cart and add these in. Use them with your new pen. So take yourself to penchalet.com slash penaddict. That's P-E-N-C-H-A-L-E-T dot com slash penaddict.
• Where you can see these offers and get the code to save on anything at Penchalet. Our thanks to Penchalet for the support of this show and Relay. So Myke, what if I want to listen to the Pen Addict podcast, but I don't like fountain pens? Can I still listen to this show? No, leave.
• Bye. See ya. See ya. What are you doing here? Sucker. If you didn't know, and if you've gotten this far, you've probably already deleted it going, oh, fountain pens. No, if you didn't know, this podcast started on standard pens and pencils and all those things. I would just like to point out that my what have you been using today included zero fountain pens. My what have you been using included one non-fountain pen, which I'm actively using today.
• I don't think that's as impressive. One non-fountain pen. Yeah, it's not. You went full non-fountain pen. Which you will tend to kind of do all or nothing. Like sometimes you have like three fountain pens and then no standard pens. And then when you do the standard pens, you're usually rocking like the full kit. Yeah. So what I wanted to do today is just this is part of me talking out loud preparing for top five updates, which I said earlier.
• Like this is coming later in the year and I'm looking for feedback here. And my goal today is I'm going to take a few of the main standard pen topics or like, you know, types of pens or types of paper that you should use for standard pens. And I'm going to give you one pen. I'm limited. I've talked enough this episode, Myke. I'm only going to give one choice. I'm not going to give an honorable mention.
• I'm not going to get or maybe or anything like that. I'm giving one pen out there in this category. And if you have feedback for me on any of these categories, email me. Hello at penatic.com or go to penaticfeedback.com. But you're only limited to one pen as well. You know, it's funny. There are two things funny about this. One, when I initially opened the notes for this topic, you had some that had two. And I was going to give you a goff on that one.
• But you ended up doing it for yourself. Also, when you said if you have opinions on this, I thought you were going to say give them to yourself. I don't want to know. No, I'm open to your opinions. I'm open to be challenged. I'm very, very open. I'm open to hearing how you're wrong. Yeah. That kind of thing. Yeah, that's cool. That's the thing about stationery, Myke. There's something out there for everyone and we don't have to like it.
• Wow. It just might be perfect for them. Incredible. No, that's good stuff. So, yes, if you come at me on this topic. Come at the king. You best not miss. If you mention more. You can have a product for each category, but you're limited to one. If you have two, I'm straight up deleting your email. Play the game. It has rules. We have no rules here. Play or don't play. Do whatever you want. So, for gel, ballpoint, and rollerball, I did put a little caption in here for why people

Expanding User Base Interest

• who may use these types of pens who aren't found pen users but are interested in having something nicer than the random pen that they find. Right? So, there is a level. Like, if you're listening to a podcast about pens, you probably like the Pilot G2 at least. Right? You're not just picking up, like, a random promotional pen and finding the pen addict podcast. You actually care about your writing and what you're writing with and what you're writing
• on. So, for gel, I categorize this as the most often used pen type by people who like good pens. And that's probably people, a lot of people that don't listen to this show, right? But the Pilot G2 crowd, they have found this pen that they've realized, oh, this is different. And maybe some of them just stop right there. Like, they're good. And then some of them end up with 680 episodes of a podcast about pens. There's, you know, there's even in between.
• There's in between realms. You don't have to go. You don't have to be me. But so, I said, which pen should you buy? So, one recommendation of a gel pen for someone that they should try if they're interested in just having a good quality writing experience is the Pentel Energel RTX. So, this is the classic Pentel Energel you'll find on the store shelves. The silver and colorful barrels. They do a lot of different colors. Generally, just 0.7 millimeter tip size.
• Smooth gel. Great colors. Fantastic barrel. Great grip section. Everything about these is great. So, that's my choice for gel ink pen.
• Ballpoint pen. And I titled this, the most often used pen type by normies, but there are good pen nerd options too. So, this is the pen you accidentally acquire from somewhere, right? That's how most people are introduced to ballpoints. And generally, they're not good. But although, these days, like most, a lot of standard ballpoints, like a hotel room ballpoint or a bank ballpoint, oh, they're pretty good. Like, there's base level technology has improved for standard ballpoints.
• But if you are a pen nerd and you want to step up your ballpoint game, this is the easiest decision of all the decisions in this. It's the Uniball Jetstream and there's nothing else. I did capitulate and say light touch if you can, but I don't think that's a difference. It's just that that's not widespread yet. The light touch ink formulation. If you have a choice, get a light touch ink formulation. But don't get the 1.0 millimeter standard Jetstream.
• 0.7 is where it's at. The 1.0s don't tend to be as consistent. But Jetstream 0.7, go for it. Rollerball. Rollerball. I said, these are easy to fall in love with and then out of love with once you discover gel ink pens. So rollerball is kind of like the third choice because it's the most similar to another pen ink category, which is gel pens, right? They're very different from ballpoint, but they're kind of similar to gel. Gel does what rollerballs do, but a little bit better in my opinion.
• But there's a great need for rollerball pens in some situations because that water-based ink tends to be really dark and it really gets into the page. And some people need that with their writing. And I think the best rollerball going, and I went with like standard type of products that most people can find. The Pilot Precise V5, I think, is still the king of the rollerball, even though it's a needle tip.
• It's been around for decades. It does come in two sizes, V5, which is the 0.5 and V7. Either one is fine. And it comes in a bunch of colors. Which is not all that common for rollerball, just because they don't sell as many, right? So there's not as many options as a gel ink.
• So those are the three main classifications of standard pens. If you're not a fountain pen user, these are. If you had a Pentel Energel, a Uniball Jetstream, and a Pilot Precise, like you'd be thrilled. Then you can go on to some of the ancillary products, like a fineliner. I think that's a good category. Some people just use fineliners to write with in day-to-day life. And I still think the Secura Pigma Micron is the choice there. It has the most tip sizes and most colors available while remaining like of the highest quality.
• Like I think they have really good tip retention. These are tough pens to use for someone with a heavy hand or, you know, that's really forceful with their writing. Because they will break down more than the previous mentioned pens. But for the type of pen they are, I think the Micron is the best. This is a category where there's a lot of good choices. I'm not going to name them. I'm going to stick to the rules.
• But this is where more of a category where there's one, one A, one B, one C, where a lot of other categories are clear drop-offs between the next products. Like mechanical pencils, Myke. Shout out Donald Duck. It's the Uniball Curitoga. The base level Curitoga is still only like $5 or $6. The entry level Curitoga. I don't know why anyone would start with a different mechanical pencil than this unless you're an artist and they're looking for something different.
• But it's a great quality. It's great technology that works. And it's a great price. Like it's a very durable plastic barrel pen. Like it has some density to it and some sturdiness. And it's just great. There's not a lot of reasons to upgrade to the higher end Curitogas unless you get into the depths like me and you have a few different, you know, barrel types, you know, wood grips and things like that. But the base Curitoga is, I think, the king right now.
• Wooden pencil. I think you got to go with the Mitsubishi 9850. And this one's a tough one because most of the previous products are pretty widely available. And the Mitsubishi 9850 is widely available in like online retailers. You don't get a lot of loose pencils at stores unless you're going to specific stationery stores. And if you do that, they should probably have the 9850. It's pretty common. But it's not like you're going into like the grocery store.
• Like you're only going to see like Ticonderogas and things like that. I would try to find the Mitsubishi 9850s if you want a good quality wooden pencil. That's kind of kind of the go to. Paper. I wanted to pick something out that's useful for all of these products and wouldn't necessarily break the bank. It's not the cheapest out there, but I think they provide a really good value for what they are. And that's the Morimond Spiral Note.
• This is their Morimond's entry level notebook. And while it's more than like your standard, you know, mead grocery store notebook, the paper quality is good for anything and everything that you would use. Um, you know, it handles gel, ink, well, rollerball, ballpoint, pencils, everything. Um, it's a fantastic product. It's something I use for fountain pens and it's, it's just wonderful and it's, it's wonderfully priced. So it's good. And the last little topic I put in here, a little line item.
• I did storage because if you had one of each of these products, you want kind of like a little kit to put them in. And this was kind of hard because I wanted a pouch and there weren't a lot of simple pouches, but then I remembered this one that we've reviewed on the blog before. It's called the donut pen case, which is a funny name. I was so disappointed when I clicked this one. I was so disappointed.
• There's never, they've yet, I've, I've followed them for years and we've done some bag and backpack reviews. They do basically storage bag and backpacks. I've never had no, they've never had a donut pattern, but these are like legit good nylon cases that as someone who's made products in the past. And when I got these in hand and tested these out, I was like, wow, this is kind of legit for like just general storage, which, you know, most normal pens, you can just pile into a case and be done with it.
• And this one provides enough space and enough durability and enough style to like fit all this in and grab your notebook and you're, you're good to go. So that's my recommendations from each category. Again, I'm starting to think about how to arrange my top five lists and kind of rework them a little bit. So this was basically, you know, a little bit of a work experiment for me. So if you have feedback on this, let me know you're one in each of these categories or one in one category, but don't send me two.
• And you can go to panaddictfeedback.com. I have so many URLs. I know. Or hello at panaddict.com. They're specifically formatted the same, but sometimes I nearly say go to upgrade feedback. And you can go there, but for feedback for that show, don't go there for feedback for this show. For this show, go to panaddictfeedback.com. That would be fun because it would super annoy you. Uh, I mean, it's all, it's all goes to me, right? Like it's not that annoying.
• Um, it's all on the same website. Uh, I will observe the dowdy rule. If people suggest more than one, I will just delete it. Oof.
• Yeah. Yeah. That'd be great. That'd be great. You can give us a cat, a suggestion from either gel ballpoint, rollable, fine liners, pencils, even mechanical or wooden paper or storage. You can give a, what you think is a better option than Brad's and we may include it in a future episode, but if you give more than one for each category, sorry, you're out of luck. You're out of luck. Deleted. You can also send in other questions and feedback there if you want to.
• We're always happy to get it. Uh, you, if you want to find Brad online, go to penaddict.com, spoke design.com, twitch.tv slash penaddict. You can find me here on relay, which is where this podcast lives at relay.fm. Uh, you can find me at theenthusiast.net and at cortexbrown.com's where my products are. Um, thank you to Pen Chalet and Squarespace for the support of this week's episode. Uh, if you've noticed that I maybe sounded a little bit distracted for the last two minutes,
• it's because St. Jude.org slash relay. We're not talking about it right now, but that is happening right now. Um, so we'll talk about that next week and, uh, every episode throughout September, uh, as we get ready to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. And it's going to be a big one this year because Brad's going to come to podcast.com! Which I'm so excited about. I'm so excited. Uh, we're having a great time. It's going to be a great September and we'll be kicking it off next week.
• So until then, say goodbye, Brad. Goodbye, Brad.