The Pen Addict 707/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	707
Title:	Little Tippy-Taps
Release Date:	March 12th, 2026
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	No guests this episode
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 707
Audio File:	Audio Episode 707
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 707
Length:	5858 min <br />0.967 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

From Relay, this is The Pen Addict, episode 707. Today's show is brought to you by Squarespace and Pen Chalet. My name is Myke Hurley and I'm joined by Brad Dowdy. Hi, Brad.
What's up, Myke Hurley? How are you doing?
I'm good. You said that very pointedly. Have I upset you?
No, no. That was a very positive, positive, kind of a vibe check thing, you know, just trying to put my good vibes out there in the world, seeing if they can, you know,
across this wire, across the Atlantic, over to you, didn't? And I mean, not that you need extra positive vibes, but man, it's a pen.
Today I do, actually.
You do?
Yeah, I'll take it. I'll take it. This is just, you know, unnecessary life update, but found a dead mouse in the house today, so, you know, we're doing a good.
Oh, no. That's not something to laugh about, yeah.
No. No, not great. Not great. Not great.
Not great.
We have moth traps in the loft, because we have moths, and Adina found a mouse in the moth trap, so.
Yeah, so now you're on high alert and freak out.
You know, because it's the baby. It's just like a whole thing, you know.
Oh, we've had it. We've had the same thing.
Yeah, so got to take care of that situation, so.
Yep, yep.
You know, I'm happy for the vibes.
Yeah, well, good. Can I interest you in some pen and pencil talk this week?
You absolutely can, Brad. You're absolutely can.
This is a special shout-out. I'd like to shout-out myself.
Shout-out of the week.
I'd like to shout-out myself for this one.
In talking about the Lamy Safari Mechanical Pencil with the Kuretoga inside last week,
and I linked to my review about the Lamy Safari Pencil review that I did years ago,
and I had like a pull quote from it.
What I failed to mention was what other listeners sent me later,
was in that same article, I made this statement.
And I'm pretty sure we will never see a unique Kuretoga lead rotation mechanism on the inside,
which would make this design workable.
So, question.
Am I owed some compensation?
Royalties.
Now, yeah, like royalties now that they have actually done this.
Like, I solved their problem in, what, 2020.
Like, this is a bad design.
There is something that could fix it, but it's never going to happen, Mike.
In what world does Mitsubishi ever buy Lamy?
Like, that's not even a pipe dream.
Like, no one would have ever connected those dots.
But maybe it was me.
Maybe it was me.
I feel like if I could get into your brain, and I know you're going to say,
you weren't assuming this would happen, but what you were saying is like,
you would like them to have a lead rotation mechanism,
but also knowing it's essentially impossible because that is, I'm sure,
very, very tied up with Uni.
Like, you can't, you know, you think making the friction is hard.
I bet this is almost impossible.
There's a reason we've never seen competition for this mechanism.
And this is one of those things where, you know,
patents and all that kind of stuff can be nightmarish.
But in this scenario, like, I do kind of understand it because, like,
that is an ingenious mechanism.
And, like, you deserve that.
Like, if you came up with that and developed that, that's yours.
You own that, I feel like.
Yeah.
So, at the time, I think my wish would have been to remove the molded grip
section from a mechanical pencil.
That was the problem with the pen, but then the pencil.
But then it's, I guess, maybe it's not a Safari.
So, this was definitely a hire me Lamy moment.
And it turns out they just stole everything from me.
So, I'm on to you, Lamy.
I know you're readers of the blog.
Took a while, but you got there.
All right, we got some more feedback, Mike.
What does Laura have to say here?
So, Laura wrote in and said,
I'm in the middle of last week's episode where listener Justin commented about the glow-in-the-dark
Kaweco.
And, honestly, my whole excitement about the new Kaweco is that I lost my lavender one somewhere
in an old car that was traded in or somewhere in my office in the dark.
As someone who often misplaces things in dark rooms or inside of a black bag, I feel like
the pen slash fairy gods is giving me a solution to my specific pen ADHD.
Exactly.
How dare you, Justin?
Laura, here's the thing.
Here's the thing, Laura.
You have to find this pen within a very short window of losing it for that to be useful to you.
It won't continuously glow.
It's not got a light source inside of it.
Do you have one?
You know what, Brad?
I don't.
And maybe Kaweco came up with some kind of permanent glow-in-the-dark solution.
You are right.
Thank you for calling me out on that one.
Okay.
Sure, sure, sure.
But, I mean, I'm looking for it with a flashlight.
Light, you know, like, it's going to reflect off of there.
Like, probably better than, like, a black, you know, Kaweco Sport, right?
You're going to have a better chance with that.
So, yeah.
I appreciate the Justin slander here, Laura.
Like, you know, there is a reason for glow-in-the-dark products.
I honestly can't stop thinking about it every time I see it.
All the Kaweco DIYs are starting to happen this month.
So, all the shops are promoting, like, the glow-in-the-dark.
And I just smile every time I see this pen.
I think it's so good.
It's fantastic.
Yes.
To Justin's point, like, it is absolutely pointless other than to, like, feed into our FOMO.
And, like, this is one of those times I'm like, yes, please.
Just feed into all of the things.
So, I got my Flamingo Pink and Pine Green Lamy Ale Star.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I wanted to ask, how do you Frankenstein these pens to kind of, like, mix and match the colors?
Only grip sections.
Everything else is too difficult to remove.
This is what I thought.
Because, also, I tried changing over the caps.
That didn't look good.
Putting the pink cap on the green pen did not look good.
And, see, what I want to do is to take the clip out.
But I know how hard that is.
It's not to be taken lightly.
Yeah.
And not recommended.
I've never done it.
I've only heard from people who do it, including our friend Jonathan Brooks.
And he said he will literally.
I remember him telling us how hard it is.
He said, I will literally never do that again.
Yeah.
So, because that's the only other thing I would like to do.
I would like to change the pink and green over on the clip.
But the grip section change looks fantastic.
It does.
Here's something.
Being a Safari guy, I didn't know that on the AL Star, the little plastic ring is actually
embedded into the pen.
Because on the Safari, that pops out.
Yeah.
So, I don't have too many AL Stars.
Yeah.
So, I've never really realized that until I got this one in, the pink and flamingo and
pine.
And we were playing around with it.
And someone mentioned that.
Because I just don't use that pen.
Exactly.
I was very surprised by it.
Yeah.
I was like, oh, you're right.
That's just fixed right there.
Like, it's slightly different in design.
The difference is.
In that little barrel ring area.
It creates the threads for the grip section.
Yeah.
Where on the Safari, that's just built into the body of the pen.
Right.
Because it's easier to make the thread into plastic, I guess, than it is into metal.
Yeah.
Well, that's interesting you noticed that.
Because I kind of just learned that myself here in the past.
Well, I noticed it by trying to remove it.
So, I noticed it.
Right.
Why is this not coming off?
And then I worked it out.
Yeah.
Because they made that whole product where it's a Safari when you just swap the rings
on it.
Right.
It's like an entire product that they made.
They'll show you a white Safari barrel and then like six rings with it.
Which I would have gotten that one if I didn't already have a white Safari that I love and
don't really have any intention of switching it.
But, God, can we stay on Lamy here for another minute?
I would love to.
They did another thing, Mike.
And it actually took me a minute for this to click on what they were actually doing here.
So, this is called, I hate this name, the Lamy Safari Roll Inc.
Okay.
And if you think about it for any length of time, you go, oh, okay, I think I see what they did
here.
And you'll be right.
They converted a Lamy Vista, which we'll get into the naming of this here in a minute,
into a cartridge filling rollerball.
Which is a product we've talked about for years.
A lot of companies kind of will see this a lot in the makerspaces because Schmidt makes
a front end that is a rollerball and can take an ink cartridge, right?
So, Lamy's, you know, a decade late to this game in doing this.
I mean, as the resident Lamy super fan, I think this is just unnecessary.
But it's fine.
Like, I'll get one of these.
The problem with this type of pen is the, when I've always said this about this type of pen,
fountain pen ink formulations do not match with a rolling metal ball tip from a lubrication
perspective, right?
So, it's never going to be as enjoyable to write with as a gel pen, a rollerball pen, even
a ballpoint pen, right?
It's going to work, but it usually feels like dry and not really great.
I've had some that have been fine and I think it's very ink dependent, right?
The more flowing the ink is, the more lubricated, the more wet the fountain pen ink is, the better
experience you're going to have with the rollerball tip, which again, is just metal on metal.
It's not delivering ink like a fountain pen would, right?
It's, there's more friction there on the front end.
And so, therefore, like, it's just an average experience.
But can you get your favorite fountain pen ink in a rollerball style?
Yes.
You know, it's still going to have Lamy's proprietary cartridges and converters, but you can obviously
fill it with whatever ink you want.
I'll totally get this.
It's going to be fine.
Like, this is just one of the, like, I guess they can do it, so why not, right?
Yeah.
I think it'll actually kind of, like, scratch an itch for a lot of, you know, say, Lamy customers
who go into, like, the Lamy boutique and may not be, like, a crazy, crazy, like, pen
addict like us and see it as a pretty fun product.
And, like, there's no doubt that it is.
And I want one.
I want to try one.
I've just, historically, this style of product has never beaten either a standard gel ink
or rollerball pen or a standard fountain pen.
The combination of the two is actually not additive to be better than either of those individual
products.
What do you think the nib feels like?
It's, it's some of the bad ones that I've tried.
It's, like, a metal on metal, right?
It's, like, if you took a rollerball pen and just put water in it.
Yeah.
Right?
Because these fountain pen inks are more water-based.
And so you get more feel of the metal.
Like, it's literally, you know, rollerballs are a little metal ball in a metal cone tip
with a little, with an opening to where the ball rolls around in that metal.
So it's constant metal on metal.
And you have to have a certain ink formulation to not give you a bad sensation when you're
writing.
And it's not horrible.
You're not going to go, oh, like, this is, like, you know, nails on a chalkboard type
of thing.
But comparatively to any other normal pen you write with, you go, oh, this is clearly worse
in feel.
So it's just, it's basically like if you put, took a Pilot G2 and filled it with water.
And wrote with it.
You would just feel metal.
And, you know, not in the, like, rock and roll sense.
Like, it's not that cool.
It's not that cool.
I mean, I enjoy.
Heavy metal, you know.
Yes.
I enjoy feeling metal, but not in my writing instruments.
Rock and roll, man.
So, again, basically, it's limited, right?
It's limited by technology and what it can provide.
And if you're okay with that, you're going to be happy with this.
And you get to put your fun, colorful ink in there and have a rollerball ink pen.
But we've had this for years.
Yeah.
Jay Herban's done it for probably 20 years.
Kaweco had one for a while.
Like, and I have historically, I've reviewed so many of these pens and I've never gone,
oh, my gosh, this changes the game.
Um, it's just, like, a fun, like, diversion.
Okay.
So, I will totally get one, though.
And, you know, it'll be fine.
But it's limited.
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All right, Mike, we got our shout out of the week.
Shout out of the week.
I'm going to read a video title here from the JetPens account on YouTube.
Only three machines left in Japan.
See how the iconic Life Noble notebook is made.
Yeah.
So this came out early this week, this weekend, late last week, not long ago, within a week.
Over 100 million views in the first five days.
No, no, no.
1 million, not 100 million.
Oh, I think I said, I think I just ran my words on together.
I said over a million and I meant to say 1 million.
So yes, a million views in five days.
Anyways, this one crossed a, this one broke contain, if you will.
I got sent a lot.
Context, like the JetPens account is usually like 40 to 60,000 views on their videos.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So they got some, you know, seven-year-old videos that have like 3 million views.
Like that's fine.
But like their current release views are under 100,000, which is still insane.
What the kids call a viral sensation.
Yeah.
So I obviously got sent this one a lot, but I think a lot of this reached out into the
normies world.
This video is insane.
It's so, like I was just dying.
I'm just, I'm like, you know, just nodding my head like, yes, yes.
Like Jack, the Jack Nicholson gif.
I'm just like, give me more, give me all this.
This is super insane.
And I know you want to talk about this, right?
Because we've both been involved in like actual printing processes and how all this stuff works.
So what do you, what do you want to say?
So this video is showing the process of what it takes to make a live notebook.
And the title's good.
Like it's not actually that consequential.
The machine that they're referring to is a machine that folds the notebooks in half.
Like it does it in a very specific way that they like, but it made it, I was like, what?
Was that noise?
Like I was wondering, I don't think that machine is like super consequential to the products
as some, maybe some of the others that exist, but it is true.
And you know, whatever you got to, it's your packaging for the video.
The video is great because it shows the very manual process of producing a notebook, right?
What's so funny?
I literally, I know that's all I thought.
I literally thought the entire time I'm watching this, why doesn't this notebook cost $500?
Yeah.
Well, but like, here's the thing.
Because it looks like it should.
Yeah.
Yeah.
This to me is very reminiscent of how my products are made.
Like I have seen say like the sidekick notepad, the sidekick pocket.
I've watched them be made.
It looks just like this.
It is people putting things into machines.
So like what I've seen, the machine that they begin with, that's how my products are made.
So they take them in big blocks and they put them in and they're all cut up into pieces.
Then they're all put together.
The covers are put on.
Someone puts them into a separate machine, which they operate with a foot pedal.
And it cuts the rounded corners.
I've seen the machines make the paper.
Like it looks very much like this.
So I found it really interesting because it's like, oh, this is what it's like for me.
And my products are so expensive because this work is being done in London.
Right.
So like the more people you have to do this kind of work.
Yeah.
The cheaper you can make it.
I don't know why it's cheap in Japan specifically.
Right.
Well, this is dedicated.
This is their shop doing their thing and their thing only.
Like you're, you're essentially, you're essentially paying, paying for a time slot.
Yeah.
Right.
I'm, I'm, I'm contracting out, which is that.
Yes.
That is the exact difference.
If, if life were going to somewhere else in Japan to have this made, their products would
be more expensive.
But they're able to cut out all of the, all of the markup goes away at that point.
But you can tell it was a very small shop.
Very small.
Yeah.
It just had their machines in like basically like a roll up garage door type of area.
So like, I mean, the thing that I found the most interesting about this video is like,
oh, maybe I should do some stuff like this because to show the process, because you would
be very surprised to realize that this is how these products are made.
Like this is how these products are made.
It is very manual.
Yeah.
And, and I think people are surprised by that.
I think people naturally assume, and I don't begrudge that assumption that you press a button
and then a production line begins and then the notebook is spat out at the end.
Honestly, when I began this, I kind of thought it was like that.
No, it's not.
It is people moving stacks of paper from thing to thing.
Like they're operating it by hand.
Yeah.
With a lot of manual safety measures in between for measurements and counting and separation
and like manual tools to divide this thing.
One of my favorite things, so the packaging that we have on our products is called a book
wrap.
So it's, it's a piece of paper that is got a bunch of folds in it and it wraps around and
creates the packaging.
Right.
So like it wraps, let's say paper, it's thick paper.
It's like card essentially.
Yeah.
It's card stock.
All of my, when I have a product run, all of my products are wrapped at the same time.
So they do it over a couple of days.
It's like the product run can run for a couple of weeks and then they wrap them all because
it doesn't take so long.
But to do that, they contract in a bunch of like retired grandmas that are in the area
that are specifically to do this kind of work.
And I've been there when these lovely old ladies are just packaging up my paper and like,
hello darling.
And they're just packaging my paper up for me, like my products up.
Like it's amazing when you see this stuff because you just don't think it's like that,
but it is like that.
Yeah.
So the one, I think out of this whole video, like I've been in print shops just like you
have and seen like the, the cutting machine, you know, forget any printer that's firing
off thousands of pages a minute.
The cutting machine is the coolest thing in these shops.
It's unbelievable.
And getting like to see our notebooks or note cards cut and just like crazy, crazy cool.
The one surprise I had in this was the manual weights that they would leave.
Yeah.
They would stack the pages against the wall, stack the notebooks against the wall, put
the glue on the binding, like this is before they're bound.
And then to continue to weigh all that down, they'd like put like, you know, like a 20 pound
barbell on the top of it just as part of the deal.
I was like, yes, give me all of this.
There are definitely some parts of this production process where I'm like, there must be a better
way to do this.
Like that was one of them.
So like there are two different things going on.
One is they're folding them all using this machine and then they store them overnight
with weights on top.
I've seen that.
That makes sense.
But then to like get them ready to put the glue on, they're like have these pieces of
wood on the wall and they're stacking them up and hitting them with a little hammer to
get them all aligned.
And I'm like, yeah, there has to be a better way than that.
Like there has to be like, it's beautiful.
And I don't mean this in a bad way or what, but it feels very Japanese, right?
Yes.
Like hitting it with the little hammer feels very like bonsai.
Yeah.
It's like tippy taps with the hammer.
It's just like, and like, and it's only this guy that does it, right?
That's the other very Japanese thing.
That's his job.
That's his job.
He's the little tippy tap.
He can usually see where he needs to tippy tap the papers or the cover.
So they're all lined up properly.
And it's awesome.
But I'm just like, come on gang.
There has to be something more reproducible and reliable than this.
Yeah.
Out of the whole thing, that one, I was like, huh, that's really how you're going to do
this.
There isn't a machine that can line these up.
Like they have all these other machines that are like constantly shaking, right?
To get things to align.
So like there are, there are mechanical processes for this, but for some reason it has to be
a man with a tiny rubber mallet.
I'm just not sure about this.
I'm just not sure.
That's so good.
That was amazing.
Okay.
But yeah, y'all should go watch this video.
It's amazing.
Totally worth it.
The narration, whoever it was that did the narration, JetPens, beautiful.
Beautiful.
Beautifully done.
Great voice.
Like this video deserves to be a viral hit.
It was the, it was a going deep into the process video, but also like teaching you and not
going over your head.
And it was just kind of perfect all the way, all the way around.
So really, really, really like it.
Like really good.
I don't know.
I couldn't make something as good as that, but I feel like I could make some, some stuff
that could show it.
Like we actually, some shorter stuff, some pieces.
I got some photos and video of products a while ago, but not like, let's show the whole
process.
And I think the next time that I do a print, I think, I think I want to do that.
Yeah.
That'd be great.
Speaking of amazing videos, Mike.
Shout out of the week.
A second shout out.
This is more of a follow up.
No, no.
That's actually the third.
The episode began with you shouting yourself out.
Don't forget.
True.
True.
I'm at the big ups to me this week.
Yeah.
You know, we don't, you know, actually we don't do that enough.
You know, we do not often enough say big ups to Brad.
So let's everyone say, everyone pause the podcast and say big ups to Brad.
Oh, we are silly today.
I was on the DWR D-Net podcast video chat with Derek this week.
It just came out today as we're recording this.
So we'll have a link in the show notes.
Most of y'all probably haven't seen it yet because it just literally went live before
the show.
So it was a good talk.
We talked for, I don't know, a little more than an hour.
Just really, really fun.
Again, I could just talk forever about this kind of stuff and it's fun to get to do that.
And y'all should go watch Derek's videos if you aren't already.
He's got some, we had Rob Sanchez from Rob's Penworks who I've talked to Rob a lot over
the years.
Just super interesting guy and just really, really fun conversation.
So go check it out.
Even if you, you know, you know, you don't, you're tired of hearing from me, go watch all
the other videos.
They're pretty great.
Um, I feel like Mike, you're not going to like this.
Okay.
I got to shout myself out for this next topic as well.
Are we kidding?
Are we kidding?
Shout out of the week.
We're not.
We're not.
There we go.
Five times.
We're not.
And I will, I will prove it.
I will prove it.
Um, like shout out to me, the Secura, Secura, Secura, Secura, Pigma Micron Eco.
So the Secura Pigma Micron is one of my favorite pens of all time.
Um, and only a few weeks ago, Mike, in my Rytec ClickTech liner pen, I think they, Secura
probably read this and solved this in like two or three weeks.
Yeah.
They would do that.
Makes sense.
Yeah.
So this Rytec review, I wrote about it because it's a clickable, like retractable fine liner.
It just happens to not be good, you know, at its job of writing.
I don't like the color of the ink, but it's refillable.
And one of the problems with fine liners, which Secura very much knows is it's kind of
a wasteful product, right?
Because these are some of the most destroyable pens due to the fragility of the tip and the
way that they're used and they're not refillable.
So, so which I put down like as like, that's just like one of the biggest downsides to traditional
fine liners is that they're not refillable and it's just a plastic stick you're going
to waste and throw away.
So Secura listened to me and, uh, created the Pigma Micron Eco, which is a 75% recycled materials
barrel.
Like it's better than nothing, right?
It's not a refillable pen.
I think, I think refillable fine liners are just kind of a fool's errand, um, type of product.
But if they can make their barrel more sustainable and if this becomes the mainline barrel, so you'll
start to see, I think Secura even admitted on themselves in the Instagram posts that their
barrel design as it stands now is iconic, right?
People see, can tell a Micron from across the room, the brown ugly barrel, people still know
exactly what that pen is.
And they kind of told on themselves there is like, yeah, that's kind of an iconic look.
I hope they just cut over completely to this green barrel because it's so much more sustainable,
even if it's not perfect, right?
It's something.
And again, that's the challenge with these pens.
So no ink formulation change, no anything, but they've made a barrel that's more eco-friendly
from a product that is just, just straight up plastic and thrown away in the bin when
you're done with it.
Right.
So good to see.
Um, you know, I obviously want to, want to get, get my hands on them just to, to try,
see if there is any difference.
I assume there's not all the internals and ink is the same, which they have the best ink formulation,
I think.
I think it's a mistake to make such a big deal out of it being this big green thing.
How so?
I think it should just be the pen.
You, you've made it something different now.
Just make it, just make it brown, but with the new material.
I just don't, just don't even make it its own, like this shouldn't be its own thing as
you're saying, right?
This should just be the Pygma Micron.
Yes.
Because what could possibly be the reason that you don't just move over to this?
I will tell you.
And this is, I just thought of this.
Is it going to be more expensive?
Yeah.
There you go.
It gives them an opportunity to charge more without raising the price.
That's really annoying.
I don't know that that's happened because I haven't seen the prices yet.
Yeah.
I guarantee that was in the board meeting.
I'm sure you're right.
I'm sure you're right.
And that's, I mean, look, I'm sure it's more expensive to make.
So if we can charge 25% more.
But the thing is though, would it be more, this is, I don't know.
And there's no way I can know the answer to this, but would it be more expensive to make
if it was the only one?
Right.
Right.
Like, is it more expensive to make because you're making it in smaller quantities?
Yes.
Yeah.
I'm agreeing with you.
Like, it should be the only product.
And they should have maybe just made it.
I totally agree with what you're saying.
So, and just like transition the classic product that everyone knows and loves, transition it
into the recycled barrel over time.
Because it doesn't make any difference to the user.
Yeah.
Right.
But it, yes, but it gives the shareholders an opportunity to charge you more.
Yeah.
Why can't we have nice things, Mike?
Well, we can, but just limit it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Hey, can I give myself another shout out here real quick?
This is, this is egregious.
This is, this is becoming too much.
Look, this was unintended.
This is unintended.
I promise.
But I wanted to link my Pilot Explorer fountain pen review.
Okay.
But I fortunately don't have to talk about it too much because I've talked about it enough.
But I did finally put my review out.
And I think the conclusion I came as I was spending more and more and more time with this pen is,
I think this is a Lamy Safari competitor.
And not necessarily, it's a good entry level pen.
Like it's someone's first pen and it's good.
I think this is now, if you put this side by side with the Lamy Safari, I think you actually have a question to answer now.
Because it does things better than the Safari in the grip section.
Right?
The grip is such a negative for the Safari.
Despite my, you know, S tier rating of the Safari for myself,
I completely understand that a lot of people cannot use the Safari.
And the second thing on the Safari is a lot of people hate the clip, which they're wrong.
But I get, I at least understand it.
It's a, it's a fair stance.
The Explorer solves both those problems.
And it's a few dollars cheaper.
And it's got Pilot's nib that's better than the Safari.
Like I talk, I'm talking bad about the Safari.
I'm just realistic.
Like I happen to have like a, you know, just,
an insane love for the pen, but it's not perfect.
And Pilot kind of, each area of question with the Safari, Pilot has answered.
So, I want to see them keep leaning into this, is my long, long way of saying,
you know, instead of Lamy Safari versus All-Star every year,
maybe we get Pilot Explorer versus Lamy Safari battle every year.
So, we'll see.
I just think it's a very, very good quality pen.
So, really enjoying it.
Pilot steel nibs are hard to beat.
There was something you mentioned in your review about like,
what makes this different to the Kakuno?
Kind of like, who's this customer for?
And my feeling was that the Explorer looks more professional than the Kakuno does.
So, like, I could imagine someone not wanting to use a Kakuno in the office.
Yeah.
But they would use an Explorer.
The Kakuno only wins because it's $10 cheaper.
Even still.
It's kind of the same feel and quality, but it's not as serious of a pen.
Yeah.
And I mean, like, I'm using a turquoise matte barrel Explorer.
Like, it's fun.
And they have hot paint and, like, cool colors.
But the Kakuno is different.
The Kakuno is marketed differently.
It still looks professional in its design.
And the Kakuno doesn't.
And that's one of the great things about the Kakuno.
But it will make a difference to people.
Like, you know, you mentioned the Safari.
One of the reasons the Safari is so successful is it's just on shelves in office supply stores and people buy it.
Because they want, it looks good.
And it looks good in a way that people would accept in an office, I think.
Yes.
And then the next line item for the Safari, which is where the Explorer could fail long term,
the Safari is pretty indestructible.
Yep.
As a product.
You know, the clip, the barrel, it's just denser and thicker.
And it can really, really take a beating.
I think the Explorer can handle a lot, like, physically.
Like, the Safari, you see a lot of, say, like, urban sketchers, right?
Where they're throwing the pen in the bag and going out and writing.
And they're pretty consistently happy with the Lamy Safari and, like, its indestructibility.
And I think the Explorer could probably hang.
But it's a little bit more lightweight than the Safari.
But I think it's, you know, it could probably hold up to 90% of what you could throw at the Safari in a, you know, durability challenge.
All right.
Next one, Mike.
Not related to me this time.
Finally.
But related to a product I like.
And I'm, man, I'm confused.
So, can I interest you in a Uniball 1 Zento?
I don't know.
Can you?
You tell me.
I don't understand.
I don't know what's happening.
Right.
So, this is, you're going to have to click this link and you're going to have to go into Instagram stories.
Yeah.
And I saw this the other day and a friend sent me this.
And I saw this and I was like, am I hallucinating?
Is what I originally thought.
It's like, this isn't a thing.
And then someone else sent it to me and I was like, God, it actually is what I saw.
This is not a thing.
A 1 Zento is not a thing because those are ink formulations.
1 is an ink formulation.
It's a heavily pigmented gel ink formulation.
Zento is an ink formulation.
It's a smooth writing, dark rollerball ink formulation.
You cannot have a 1 Zento.
They want to position the 1 as a barrel shape because they made these really cool barrels,
which we're actually going to get into later in this show.
Like the 1P, it's this shorty barrel.
And they're now saying, buy a Uniball 1 with a Zento refill.
And it absolutely makes no sense.
It defies logic.
It is not a thing.
And I am so, I don't know what's happening.
This makes me irrationally upset, if you couldn't tell.
Because I guess what they're saying at this point is that the design language of the 1,
they believe, has broken out of the refill.
And they're now putting different refills inside of a pen that is in the 1 line.
Yes.
Which, it's like buying an Audi Mercedes.
Yeah.
It's like, I can understand it, but it also is mind-numbing.
Right?
Because the Zento has an entire product lineup.
Yeah.
Like, why are they shoving it in the 1's product lineup?
Just make a Zento that looks like this.
Yeah.
If you really want to.
Make the Zento P.
Is it that popular?
Like, I don't know.
But like, is the 1 line like, so popular that it can now start subsuming other brands?
Why isn't there a Zento P?
Yeah.
Zento.
Just call it the Zento P.
It's the refill.
I'm...
We should just move on, because I'm just going to get madder and madder.
I don't understand.
Maybe someone's going to email me and go, oh, look, this is the reason.
Like, I don't get it.
I am just adamant that this is just stupid.
And I say this as someone who has a Zento signature with a Uniball refill, Uniball 1 refill in it.
So, I'm part of the problem.
But like, I did it myself.
I'm not marketing this as the Zento signature 1.
It's just something I did myself, because I like the 1 refill better.
And I swapped it.
Have you tried marketing it, though?
Maybe that's where you're losing out.
They must have really gotten some good feedback on the Zento.
Because they're just hammering that one right now.
The Zento is the new one, but you can't just pineapple pin these things together like this.
It doesn't work that way.
It's not a pineapple and a pin.
Boom, pineapple pin.
The Zento is the new one.
That is very funny to me.
Yeah.
It's ridiculous.
This makes...
I'm irrationally upset about this.
Yeah.
It just defies any common sense.
And maybe I'm misreading something.
Maybe I just want to get mad to get mad.
But this just is stupid.
For a company I think of so highly, what are you doing?
I like Kate's...
Kate is trying to post-rationalize this for you.
And they said, what if they just mix the inks together?
Or it's a secret multi-pen and it's got both refills in it.
Maybe.
I just want to click this story again.
I just want to believe that it's a Zento in a 1P barrel.
And it's just...
I'm clicking it again.
All right.
I'm clicking it again.
Okay.
Uniball 1-3.
Uniball 1-3.
That's my new favorite.
Uniball Zento.
Uniball 1P Zento.
Uniball Zento 1P.
Zento refill.
It's...
I think you...
You know, it's worth being more mad about 1-3.
Whereas Uniball O-N-E number three.
Uh-huh.
That annoys me more.
That makes sense, though.
No, that annoys me more.
It's a three-cartridge multi-pen.
It annoys me more.
It's the one ink formulation in three sizes, except one of them is a pencil.
It's really only two.
I don't like when brands include numbers into the product name.
Like Xbox One.
I get that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I do.
Because that wasn't the Xbox One.
It was like the Xbox Four or Three.
What's your feeling on the spoke pin Model 2?
That I can get on board with, because next time it's going to be Model 3.
You're not going to do Model 2 too, are you?
No.
We're going to do Roadie 3 coming soon.
Have you considered Model 2 Zento?
Have you?
Actually, does the 2 fit the Zento refill?
I don't think it does.
I want it now.
I want a Model 2 Zento.
Okay.
We'll work on that.
Thank you so much.
The Zento refills only fit the Energel barrels.
So the spoke pin Model 2 only fits the DX refill, which actually, that's a long-standing issue
I've had with Uniball, is why we had to make the pin in the first place, because the DX
refill that I love so much is a standalone refill shape.
Right.
All their other refills are universal and fit in Energel barrels.
Feeling good?
Why do you do this to me, Uniball?
I am actually feeling great, because we're not done with it.
You think I'm mad about Uniball now?
Uh-oh.
Just wait.
Just wait.
Actually, it's not going to get worse than that, but we're not done talking about Uniball
yet.
We're not done yet.
Yeah, we'll see, I guess.
I want to thank our second sponsor of this week's episode.
That is the Fine Folk over at Pen Chalet, longtime sponsor of the show.
They have authentic, amazing roller balls, fountain pens, ballpoints, mechanical pencils, and so
much more.
We were mentioning those special edition Lamy Ale Stars earlier on in the episode.
Yeah.
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There's a link in the show notes if you do want to go and pick up those.
I would say the colors are great.
I didn't mention it at the time.
The Pine and the Flamingo, super good.
Really like them.
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and to see this week's exclusive offers because you listen to this show.
Those offers are related to those all-stars you mentioned, specifically the ballpoint and
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I have one of these cases.
It's the style of case that's got like a small pouch that has an elastic ring that can go
over like your A5 notebooks, right?
So that's like a popular way to carry like an A5 hardbound notebook.
Doing kind of an off-the-market kind of carrying case.
It just kind of goes over the top.
It just goes over the top and allows you to hold the pen in like a zip pouch on there.
And I have one of these.
It's like a canvas like a pink lamy thing.
So that's pretty good.
I might have to finally bite the bullet on the Diplomat Viper.
They have come out with a silver guilloche model.
So they've done several models over the years.
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They're always very pretty.
It's kind of like this upgraded Parker 51 hooded nib style pen that I have yet to break down
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This silver one might actually put me over the top, which is funny because they've had
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I don't know what it is about this silver one that's kind of speaking to me.
It's real fancy.
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Our thanks to Pen Chalet for the continued support of this show and relay.
All right, Mike, did you know it's uni ballin' season?
I don't remember if they have ever so specifically tied this to March Madness before, but I really
like that they are.
I don't remember uni ballin' before.
Now that's new.
Those are not my words, just for the record.
That is literally the title of their bracket they're doing.
They have done this before because what I believe, and I didn't go back through this,
I believe, and someone, I don't know if someone wants to audit me or I'll audit myself later
and go back in their feed and find it.
I think the UniPIN, P-I-N, won last year, which was a shock, shock surprise out of this,
which is their fineliners.
Speaking of fineliners, it at least made like the final round.
Okay, so they have a 16-pin and, well, 15-pin, one-pencil bracket, which we'll get to in
just a minute.
So I'm going to break this down, Mike, and give you my full entire bracket.
They don't have, like the voting started now, or I guess the voting already happened, and
they're doing the reveal starting today, actually.
The first round winners go today.
So I'm going to give you the matchups, and I'm going to tell you my winners.
But first, we're going to go through the whole matches, then we'll circle back, and it'll
actually go pretty quick.
So the first matchup is the UniBall Vision, also known as the Eye in various parts of the
world, versus the UniBall Vision Elite.
And I think this is a good matchup because those are two very different pins.
The Vision has a ton of fans, and so does the Elite.
But I, so I'm going to do this in how I would vote, not what I think people are going to
vote for.
I'm picking the Vision Elite because I think the Vision is one of the worst ink formulations
that they make.
Wow.
It is so, so, like, liquidy and feathery on paper, which is a positive for the people
who like it.
Like, a lot of artists use it because you can just color in, like, a big black spot splotch,
like, very easily, right?
It's super inky.
The Vision Elite is more of the writing pin.
The ink formulation is actually different for this pin.
And I think the barrel's better.
So, I'm taking, well, we'll go back and go through all this, but I'm going to take the
Vision Elite.
That's pretty clear.
Next up is the 1 versus the 1P.
So, that's an interesting matchup.
We'll talk about that when I make my picks.
The next one is the UniBall pin.
I think last year's winner, but we'll check.
Versus the Air, which is a pin not a lot of people have heard of.
Um, the next one, I'm glad I already went on a rant.
I don't have it in me this time.
Is the 207 versus the 207++.
Not even UniBall can tell you the difference between these two ink formulations.
I just want y'all to know.
So, that's a fun matchup.
This is the OG, no one cares about these products anymore matchup.
The Gel Impact, which is their 1.0 millimeter gels versus the Deluxe, the UniBall Deluxe,
which is a pin I used about 30 years ago very frequently.
Next up is a very unfair matchup between the Zento and the Power Tank.
These are two very different pins used for very different things.
So, we'll get into that when we make our picks.
The next one is the Jetstream Prime 3 color versus the Jetstream RT, which is, this whole side of the bracket is very questionable.
I don't understand this matchup.
And then the last one is the UniBall Roller Grip, which literally no one has ever heard of, versus probably the number one seed, the Kuro Togo.
So, that's actually probably a proper matchup because the Roller Grip is going to get like three votes in this whole thing.
All right.
So, let's make some picks real quick.
Any comments on the matchups or you want me to just like get into this?
I don't even know how they decide these matchups, if I'm being honest.
It seems like a very complicated thing.
I'm still trying to find the answer to your question.
It was called UniBallin.
Was it?
Okay.
It was called UniBallin in 2025.
And the winner was the Zento.
Okay.
Wow.
It was out by then.
Okay.
Interesting.
The Zento.
So, you wanted the, what were you looking for?
The pin, P-I-N.
It got to the semifinal.
Okay.
And it lost against the Jail Impact.
Really?
Okay.
Yeah.
Interesting.
So, yeah.
Like, what I like and what's going to get voted here for winners are going to be two very different things.
So, first matchup, Vision versus Vision Elite.
That's easy.
Easy Vision Elite win.
The 1 versus the 1P.
So, the 1, they're just saying is their standard barrel, UniBall 1.
And the 1P is the short one, but it still takes the full size refill.
I'm going with the 1P.
I don't know why they do stuff like that.
Yeah.
That one doesn't make sense.
That's like, why match up like the same pen against each other?
Yeah.
Like, for example, they don't have, there's some pens that they left off of here.
Like the Signo DX, my favorite.
The RT1, which is a classic.
I'm sure there's, if I could reel off a list of pens, that would have been a better fit here.
At least don't put these together.
And neither one of those is the best one barrel.
The 1F is the best barrel.
I believe it's what it's called.
It's the weighted front one.
So, I'm going with the 1P against that one.
So, then we have the pen versus the air.
The air is a horrible pen.
The air is like a marker and the pen is a fineliner.
It's the pen pretty easily here.
I don't think the air even publicly has enough lovers to get past the pen here.
The 207 versus the 207.
Yeah, the juice.
When I say juice, I don't mean juice.
I just mean juice.
The 207 versus the 207++.
This is stupid.
I'm just going to go with the 207 because no one knows what the++ is.
So, we'll see.
Maybe those that do, you know, they're like big about it.
Maybe it's a big underground++ crew that's going to come in and rig the voting.
But hopefully the 207 just cleans it up right in the first round so I don't have to say it again.
Gel Impact versus the Deluxe.
I mean, I'm going with the Gel Impact.
This was before you even told me it won last year.
People love this pen because it is the widest, smoothest gel ink pen.
And it has white, silver, and gold ink versions that are used in, like, a lot of makers and crafting type of situations.
Right?
So, they're kind of, this product is kind of like, you know, as I've used before, kind of broken contain a little bit.
Because it's the best white, silver, and gold gel ink pens.
So, that pulls a lot of weight in why you see the popularity of the Gel Impact.
And the Deluxe is just not a thing anymore.
Like, the Deluxe was once an office pen standard.
It's just not a thing anymore.
Like, the Gel Impact is going to trounce it.
Zento versus the Power Tank.
The Power Tank is uniquely good.
That's their pressurized refill ballpoint.
That's a great name.
Power Tank.
Yeah.
It's so good.
And it's continued to, like, live on and, like, do well.
And they'll make a new one every now and then.
And it's just, like, a fine, fine addition to the product line.
It's not going to beat the Zento, right?
Like, the Zento is going to take that one.
So, they've set up a Zento Gel Impact.
Like, last year's finalists in a second round matchup, which we'll get to in a minute.
A heavyweight ceiling.
Yeah.
Jetstream Prime 3-Color, which is a $40 pen versus the Jetstream RT.
They could have picked so many other Jetstream multi-pens that would have been equivalent,
closer to equivalent to the regular RT.
I'm still going to pick it, the Prime 3-Colors.
The Prime 3-Color also uses Jetstream Light Touch ink, which people putting in their votes
for this probably aren't aware of.
But it's a superior ink formulation, too, not just a superior pen.
The Jetstream RT is my personal least favorite Jetstream.
I don't like those barrels.
And they're not good.
Last one in the first round, the Roller Grip versus the Kuratoga.
That's not even a conversation.
It's Kuratoga.
Roller Grip will get hardly any votes.
All right.
Moving on.
So, our...
Would this be our quarterfinals?
Yes.
So, our round of eight.
So, it's the Vision Elite versus the 1P.
This is the first...
I don't think any of these, for me, are close on the first round.
The second round is pretty tough.
So, it's Vision Elite versus 1P, and it's the 1P.
Honestly, pretty easily.
The 1P 0.38 millimeter black gel ink refill is one of my favorite refills right now.
That's what's actually in my Zento signature barrel, because I like that.
That's actually...
I wrote out this bracket on paper.
That's what I used to write.
So, the 1P over the...
Oh, it fixes in.
It fixes in.
Yeah.
Honestly, it might be.
The Vision Elite, if these two match up publicly, the Vision Elite might win the public vote on this one.
That'll be interesting to see.
I'll be interested to see about that.
Just because it has a two-decade head start on people loving that pin.
The next quarterfinal is the pin, P-I-N, versus the 2-0-7.
I'm going to take the pin, just because they've kind of screwed up the 2-0-7 competition from the first round.
Even though the 2-0-7 might be the most well-known pin on this whole list with general population, I think if you're voting on this, you might vote for the pin.
I think the online voters will put the pin over the 2-0-7.
Either 2-0-7 model, for that matter.
Next up is Gel Impact versus the Zento.
I'm just going to put the Zento down for this one.
Like you said, Gel Impact and Zento were the finalists last year.
Zento won.
I think it's probably going to have an even bigger lead this year in that vote.
And then the Jetstream Prime 3-Color versus the Kura Toga.
I'm taking the Kura Toga.
Those are two good products.
I like both of those.
The Jetstream Prime 3-Color doesn't belong on this bracket.
They should have just done like the...
If they're doing Jetstream RT, just do Signo RT.
RT1 against it.
That would have been a better bracket.
But then they can't sell as many Jetstream Prime 3-Color $40 multi-pins with Jetstream light touch ink mic.
How's that for a commercial?
All right.
So now we have my final four.
So I have the 1P versus the pin.
And I'm taking the 1P.
The fix might be in, Mike.
Whoa, hang on a minute.
The fix might be in.
What?
This is my bracket, not what I think people are doing.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, shocker.
Right?
Shocker and Gloom Town.
Mm-hmm.
So the other semi-final matchup is the Zento versus the Kuruatoga.
That's a challenge.
Because these are two camps that do not like each other, Mike.
We have a mechanical...
In one corner!
We have mechanical pencil nerds who use the coolest mechanism to ever be invented versus, I don't know, whatever, the highly marketed Zento, which is honestly just an average pen.
Yeah.
Chad, I'm going there.
I'm going there.
I'm taking the Kuruatoga.
I think the Zento probably beats it, but I would be interested.
If those two go head-to-head, I'm curious.
I mean, you can tell me...
I don't know.
I'm not super familiar with the Zento, but, like, the Kuruatoga is so unique.
Yeah.
I would...
Honestly, I would hope the Kuruatoga beat the Zento.
I don't know how...
Yeah.
The Zento is just at the top.
I mean, there's going to be a Kuruatoga Zento pretty soon, Mike, and then I'm going to have to cry.
Like, I'll never talk about Uniball again if they make a Kuruatoga Zento.
Like, it's going to happen.
Yeah.
So, yeah, the Zento is going to beat it.
I'm picking the Kuruatoga, which, Mike, makes my final.
The Uniball 1P versus the Kuruatoga.
The winner of the 2026 Uniballin' Challenge.
Why can't the friction ball not be in this?
I wish pilot and Uniball would get together.
All the way down.
Yeah.
The winner, Mike, is the Uniball 1P.
Da-da-da-da-da.
The right side of the bracket got jammed.
All the three best pins, probably Kuruatoga, pencil, Prime 3-color, and Zento all had to fight each other.
And over on the other side, I think it's the 1P and the pen for me.
I think the Vision Elite is probably going to beat whichever one makes it through.
I think one of the Visions is probably going to beat it.
But it's the pen I use the most.
It's the ink I'm using the most right now.
Even more than my beloved Signo DX, which I've talked about.
You know, maybe I'm going to have to think about which is the number one most recommended one.
But I honestly think, for me, it's the 1P and then the Kuruatoga and then big gap to everything else.
I think those are just really, really good products right now.
So that's my Uniball bracket.
We'll see how this plays out.
What?
They're not going to finish this up for three weeks.
So we're not going to go through every round.
But when it wraps, I have my bracket written down.
We'll see how close I was.
But again, I'm not trying.
My bracket would be very different if I was trying to predict what people were going to vote for.
I think then you have probably Vision, Pen, Zento, and Kuruatoga in the final four.
And then whatever happens, happens.
So good stuff.
Good stuff.
Love hearing me talk this episode, Mike.
How long is it going to take for them to give the answer to that?
The 30th.
Okay.
So three weeks.
I look forward to it.
They're going to do all the finals.
So they're going to bring it down by round like once a week.
If you want to see the bracket, make your own bracket, go to our show notes.
We've got links in there for you.
They're in the podcast app that you use.
But also over at Relay.fm slash PenAddict slash 707.
I want to thank Squarespace and Pen Chalet for their support of this week's episode.
But of course, I want to thank you most for listening.
If you want to find Brad online, go to PenAddict.com, SpokeDesign.com, Twitch.tv slash PenAddict.
And many more places spread across the internet.
You'll find that Brad Dowdy.
You can find me at TheEnthusiast.net, CortexBrand.com, and here at Relay.fm.
We'll be back next week.
Until then, say goodbye, Brad.
Goodbye, Brad.
Bye.