The Pen Addict 164/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	164
Title:	Special Place in my Heart
Release Date:	July 20th, 2015
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	No guests this episode
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 164
Audio File:	Audio Episode 164
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 164
Length:	6565 min <br />1.083 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

Myke Hurley: From RelayFM, this is The Pen Addict episode 164. This week's episode is brought to you by lynda.com, where you can instantly stream thousands of courses created by industry experts and pen chalet. Great deals on high quality pens with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. My name is Myke Hurley, and I am joined by the wonderful Mr. Brad Dowdy.

Brad Dowdy: I am happy to be wonderful today, and I am joined by the wonderful Myke Hurley. How are you today, Michael?

Myke Hurley: I am very well, my man. How's it going over there?

Brad Dowdy: Good, good. Can't complain. You know, it's Monday. Mondays are kind of a tough day for me, but it's kind of the best day of the week at the same time. So, you know, I kind of plan and cram everything for Monday. You know, got a new post on the blog. Got to make sure the, you know, show notes are ready. Make sure I'm ready for the podcast. And oh, by the way, you know, I've slept all day. So Monday's a weird day for me. I got to get ahead of the game pretty well, but I've been doing a good job. Cram it all in Monday, and then I kick back and have a drink on Tuesday.

Myke Hurley: Good man.

Brad Dowdy: Yes, sir. So what are you kicking back and writing in these days? You got something new on the way?

Baron Fig Pens

Myke Hurley: Okay. So I'm not kidding. Advertising works. I went to your site today to read your tier one pens post that we're going to talk about a little later on.

Brad Dowdy: Yes, that'll be kind of our main topic today.

Myke Hurley: And I saw the Baron Fig sponsor. Oh, right. Okay. Right up front and center. So I went to their site and I bought one of these WorkPlay limited editions. Nice. You know, I looked at it and I was like, I can see where you got that idea.

Myke Hurley: And that's what I thought. A lot of people talk about these things. I mean, the Baron Fig seems to get a really good rap everywhere. I actually, outside of the initial problems that they seem to have that we spoke about a long time ago with their review units that they were sending out, like the glue wasn't working and stuff like that, right? If I remember rightly, there was problems with the glue and stuff that they sent.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, they had a couple of minor issues in the early going. Nothing that, no deal breaker type stuff. And all stuff that they like jumped on and fixed, which is good to see.

Myke Hurley: But outside of that, like I see and hear really great things about them. And like a lot of the people that I know that are not pen people use these and swear by them. So I thought this looks nice. Like I like a lot of the features about it, like the open flat stuff. And, you know, I like the blank on one side and like a grid or whatever on the other side. Because I really love my arts and sciences. So I figured enough people are using these that it's probably about time that I give one a go. So I ordered one of the black limited edition work play confidants. Great.

Brad Dowdy: I'm interested to see what you think. I think this will be something I would like to pick your brain on once you've had time to spend with it. Because it's a little bit different than some of the products that I've used before. And I don't mean that in a good way or a bad way. But mostly a good way. You know, I like the design, the feel, the aesthetic.

Brad Dowdy: You know, it's well put together. The paper's really good. It's a little bit off on like really wet fountain pens. Like if you're like really laying on the ink, it doesn't work so well. But like most of my fountain pens, when I tested out this edition, it worked really well. And actually when I tested out the three-legged juggler, which was the yellow color, their first limited edition of the confidant, I didn't think my fountain pens performed very well at all. And it was like consistently poor. And when I tested out this one, it was consistently good. So I actually emailed them. I was like, hey, what did, you know, I'm writing this review. I want to know if the paper changed because I'm getting better performance out of this book with fountain pens than the last one. And they said no, the paper hadn't changed at all one iota. So, you know, that just leads me to believe, you know, it's a fountain pen thing, you know, where we've talked about millions of times. It depends on the ink, depends on the nib. And, you know, what type of results you're going to get. And it depends on the paper. So I had, I must have had something that was bleeding and not working real good when I tested out before. And this time I had a batch of pens that were kind of set up better to work well in this notebook. And I've quite enjoyed it. I've actually been journaling in it some, which is something I don't do. But, you know, I like the layout and I like putting my thoughts down in it and I've been carrying it with me.

Myke Hurley: See, I bought this one because of the paper layout. But I actually prefer the look of the standard one to this work play one. I want to see them go a bit further with the design for these limited editions. Just black is not very exciting. Like, they should have put that work play, like iconography that's in the box, on the book. Yeah. Like, I want to see them go a little bit further with this. So I figured I would get one now and then you never know. Like, I might become like a champion of them. And, you know, and then we can bug them. Yeah. But, you know, I know that obviously you have a good relationship with them. And I know many people do. And it's a great company because they're small and I like that. And they kind of seem to be making a bit of a splash. And that's really cool. So I figured that it's about time that I gave them a go.

Brad Dowdy: And they're very adept at the public facing stuff, you know, like the social media stuff. If there's a problem, they jump right on it. You know, if there's praise, they're thanking you very much. You know, they stay on top of everything. They're a very positive energy type of company, which you can kind of tell that just in my dealings with them. So, yeah, I'm certainly a fan. All right. So I was talking about how, you know, I just woke up not too long ago, as I always do on Mondays. It's not like it's a surprise. So I always stroll out to the mailbox to see, you know, what's new in there. And I don't think I have anything that I'm waiting for. I don't have anything on order. No pressing items. And I get this envelope on there from Myke Dudek. And Myke sent me some stuff in the past that just shows up. Like, hey, I've made this. I want you to look at it. He doesn't email me beforehand. Stuff just shows up. So actually, I didn't think twice about it. And I was like, oh, cool. Myke sent me something else. I can tell it's one of his goods in there. Then I open it up and out pops this block.

Myke Hurley: I'm like, what's going on?

Brad Dowdy: I don't realize. I know what's happening here. With the Relay FM logo on it. And I was like, what did Myke do? And this is Myke Dudek, not Myke Hurley. And I'm like, what did Dudek do? This is really sweet. And I'm like checking it out. And then there's an envelope with a letter in it. So I open the letter. And out comes this letter. I haven't taken a picture of this. I'll take a picture of what we'll have in time for the show notes.

Myke Hurley: Yeah, please do that.

Brad Dowdy: So people can see what we're talking about. So I pull out this letter. And I know what this letter is. It's from our friend Sarah Holbrook, a.k.a. Candy Spotting, who does the laser cut cards. She made you some thank you note cards. It's a laser cut Relay FM with the logo on it, which is just really slick. So I'm like, how did Dudek get these cards? I still don't. I still haven't figured this out yet. And then I finally opened up the letter. And it's a note from Steven on the top of the letter. And a note from you on the bottom of the letter. And it was really just a thank you for being a part of Relay. For believing in you guys. For coming aboard. I actually, I hadn't had my coffee when I started reading this letter. I actually got a little bit teary. I'm not going to lie. It was a very meaningful letter. And, you know, I did get a little watery in the eye. And I really appreciate you guys doing this. I'm so proud of you guys. And I'm excited to be a part of this. And I'm excited for what the future holds. I mean, I feel like you guys are just scratching the surface. So this is great. Thank you very much for doing that.

Myke Hurley: So you're the second person to get it.

Brad Dowdy: Ah.

Myke Hurley: Because basically what it is, we commissioned the dude to create blocks, these wooden blocks of our logo that we're sending to all of our hosts and some people that have been instrumental in helping us get this started. Because we are under four weeks away from our one year anniversary. Wow. So. That's awesome. We wanted to just do something to commemorate it for a couple of reasons. I wanted something for myself. And to commemorate it. And I thought, and me and Stephen were talking about it like a little gift. And then the two things kind of locked in my brain. I was like, ah, I have the cards. Because I've never used the cards. Because we had a bunch of those made. Sarah sent us a bunch. And then I asked her to make me some more, which she did. She's very lovely like that. Nice. And then, yeah. And so we used those. And then I was like, but I want a little thing. And I was like, ah, I know. Dudek. And he has been fantastic to work with. And he got it sorted. And we got everything sorted out and done. And, yeah, I'm thrilled of how it turned out. And I can't wait to get mine. I'll probably be like the last person.

Myke Hurley: But, yeah.

Brad Dowdy: That's funny. I mean, I'm literally, I'm just like working myself through this envelope. I'm like, ah, Dudek's done something cool. And I was like, oh, what is this Dudek thing? I was like, why is he sending me the Relay logo? And what's this letter? Why would Dudek send me a letter? Oh. I got it now. It's pretty cool. It's pretty cool. So, I have posted to my Instagram feed whilst you were talking. So, everyone can jump on there and see it. And we'll grab it for the show notes and make sure it's in there so people can grab it. But it's super, super cool. All right. So, I lied a little bit last week, Myke. I said I was going to finally get caught up on some of the Ask TPA questions. And we had such a, we had a rousing episode last week. That's been one of my favorite episodes we've recorded in a while. It just kind of worked on all kinds of levels for me.

Architect Nib

Myke Hurley: Mm-hmm.

Brad Dowdy: So, it went so long. And here I was before last week's episode thinking it was going to go short. I don't know if you remember me saying that before the episode started. But it, we didn't get to it. So, I had to cut it out last episode. So, we're taking it right up front this time, Myke. And so, let me get into a few of these questions that I've been owing answers for for weeks. Everyone, please keep sending these in via Twitter. Hashtag is AskTPA. And just send those in. We get the questions. I pick out a few of them to answer. I can't get to all of them. Some of them I'll answer straight on Twitter. Some of them I'll pull off and ask to the show. But always keep them coming. And if I don't get to answer your question, hit me again. I'm glad to answer questions all the time, anytime. So, let's hit it. Would a stub nib be appropriate for an architect who only uses block lettering in the office? What about an architect nibgrind? This is from SacMagpie on Twitter. So, I think the stub nib would be really good. I think it might even be preferable.

Brad Dowdy: The architect nib, from the times that I've used it, has been hit or miss a little bit. And the angle that you hold the pen, it's a little bit more finicky than a stub. It's not as straightforward because it's exactly 90 degrees angle changed in how you write. The output might be better. It's getting used to writing with it. That would be the challenge. The output might be more directly, you know, drafting, engineering, architect related. And it's funny that we held this off till this week. Our friend Myke Dudek, who we already talked about, just got his vanishing point with an architect nib. And he made it look spectacular. So, now I'm going to have to get one of these. And I'm already talking to Dan Smith, who did Myke's nib grind on his vanishing point. The results look spectacular. So, I'm picking out a pen now. And I'm going to get this done. Just because I've seen it so many times. I have the same handwriting style as Myke Dudek. So, I think it would work well for me. I've just, you know, it's just one of those. It's just one more thing do I need. And I think I'm finally ready to make the jump and get me an architect nib grind.

Myke Hurley: People were going crazy over these in Atlanta.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Jeff has one that he uses a lot.

Myke Hurley: I babysat it for him while Masayama was doing it. Because he had to go deal with some baby related things.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, exactly. And then two or three other people got them done while we were sitting there at the show from Myke Masayama. Because we were like catty corner from Myke. So, we could see him going and people were telling us what they were getting done. And Masayama even said a thing. He said something to the result of, look what you guys did. He did kind of thing. And so, it was kind of funny. But would it be appropriate for an architect? I mean, by the sounds of it, you think it would be ideal. But I think it's a really... I want to say it's almost unnatural in the way you write with it. But you have to get used to it. So, I almost think a stub nib would be a little bit better, to be perfectly honest with you. You can get... Or a cursive italic nib. You can get the same style of writing. The lines, width, and thicknesses will just be opposite from each other. So, all right. Justin R. Bannon says, I'd love some show content about buying things online without testing or sampling products compared with a shop front.

Brad Dowdy: That's actually a really good question.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. I don't know why we've never spoken about this before.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. And so, you know, I don't necessarily have, you know, a black and white answer. But it's kind of the reason why I started my blog, right? And, you know, coming up in November, I'll be doing this blog for eight years. And the reason I started putting this stuff online was I couldn't find those answers.

Myke Hurley: Yep.

Brad Dowdy: You know, I was going through what Justin is, assuming, going through now. He's like, well, I see all this stuff. I don't know what's going to work well for me. I mean, I hate to say it, but you kind of got to go through. You got to kind of read a lot online. You know, look at all the pen blogs that have proliferated over the years. You know, look at a site like Pentaquad, who is Ian Hedley's kind of search aggregator for the pen community. If you're thinking about a type of pen, throw a search in there. See all the pen blogs that have reviewed it. Kind of get a feel, and then, like, you'll hear from me, who talks about, okay, I write in a print block style lettering. These pens work well for me. You know, Anna at Well Appointed Desk is a lefty with a little bit of a hook. These pens work good for her. And you can kind of see who fits your style the best. And then you can have a little bit more trust in what they're saying might be a better fit for you. And then you can try a couple things and find out for yourself. There's so much content out there these days. And using a site like Pentaquad.net to narrow it down, you know, pick one or two pens, throw in a search, read some of the results, and go from there. There's no easy answer. But the content's there, and, you know, you just got to go out there and read that. Our friend Tony Scullambrini from Everyday Commentary, he asks, Can you compare the durability and fit and finish of an Edison to a Twisby? This is a super interesting question. Because you cannot compare them one iota. Nope. They are not even remotely similar pens. And I say it's interesting because I actually think this is probably a common question that no one has asked. Why, you know, why is an Edison pen, you know, $140? And why is a Twisby pen, you know, $60? And, you know, it's not necessarily by price. But what makes Twisby this and what makes Edison what it is?

TWSBI Pens

Brad Dowdy: The Edisons are all handmade, hand-turned, or machine-turned, you know, with Brian Gray's skills. The acrylics are really nice that he uses. Twisby is more of a machined plastic barrel pen. They're really so different. The only thing that's even close would be the nibs. Because they might both use Jowo nibs, I'm thinking. Which works because that's probably one of my favorite steel nibs. But when you're talking about comparing across pen brands, it sometimes gets tough. It gets tough. Like, you can compare, like, Sailor, Pilot, and Platinum. They were all built around the same time. They all have the same legacy. They all have kind of the same lineup of pens with starting at entry level and graduating up. The same steps kind of have the same features. But then when you get to something more custom, like Edison, it doesn't compare to anything like a Twisby at all. And I don't know that that answers your question, Tony. And we can elaborate on this more. And, you know, maybe I can do some pros and cons of Edison and pros and cons of a Twisby one day. But they are so different. There's not one thing that compares. And they're both good in their own right. He asked about durability. I mean, Twisby's have more durability problems. They also cost half as much. Yep. It's really impossible to make that kind of comparison at all.

Myke Hurley: If you know a pen company to be reputable, right? So if we talk about them on this show in favorable terms, then you can really only compare pens that are in the same price bracket. Like, you could compare Twisby and Lamy, for example.

Myke Hurley: Because they're relatively close in price in some instances. You could make the comparison between the two of them about what you prefer. But when you look at something like an Edison, you can't compare Twisby and Edison together. Because Edison pens are way better, like, material-wise, durability-wise feel and fit and finish and everything about them, really. You know, they've got more heart, more soul to that. And you can feel it, especially if you know the story.

Myke Hurley: But the reason for that is because it costs, like, two, three, four times as much. Right. Yep. So you're getting what you pay for. Exactly.

Brad Dowdy: Exactly. So here's a question I have that comes up a lot. And I actually had it in my inbox from a different listener on the same type of problem.

Brad Dowdy: BDUCav on Twitter says, Why is it hard to find 5x8 paper? I have a portfolio I love using, but it's too narrow for a 5.875-inch wide pad. Ask TPA. Okay. So my answer that I wrote in the show notes, I said, because the U.S. is self-important.

Brad Dowdy: And my meaning is the U.S. does not conform to international paper standards, which I think the entire rest of the world does, except for the United States, and I think it's one other country. So when you hear us talking about paper sizes like A4, A5, A6, those are going to be more common to find in your portfolio sizings as well, because most of these products are getting made outside of the U.S. So you have a hard time finding it because there's very few U.S. paper manufacturers that are making good stuff in 5x8. So, you know, look at the stenos from like field notes or dome paper or write notepads. They might do 5x8. When Jeff and I decided to make the steno pad for Nock, we decided to go with the international standard. So ours are A5. So it's got that little bit different dimension. So the question I had in my email was basically the same thing, but substitute 5x7. And that's even more difficult to find than 5x8. 5x8, you can get a lot closer than 5x7. So anyway, it's because the U.S. thinks they're right in measurements when they're actually wrong across the board on their measurement standards. And I'll get a lot of hate mail for that one. So why don't you save me, Myke?

Myke Hurley: Yeah, this is probably a good idea to take a break. How about that? Okay. This week's episode of The Pen Addict is brought to you by lynda.com, the online learning platform that houses over 3,000 on-demand video courses that can help you strengthen your business, technology, and creative skills. You can get yourself a free 10-day trial by visiting lynda.com slash penaddict. That's lynda.com slash penaddict. lynda.com is for people that want to solve problems. It's for people that want to make things happen for themselves, for curious people, people that want to learn new things. Maybe you're looking to work out how to do income taxes, right? They have courses like that. Trust me. Yep. As well as courses on stuff like Excel or on like Photoshop and stuff like that. They have Illustrator courses. They have marketing courses, business courses, getting things done courses. No matter what it is that you want to learn, maybe software, hardware, or just like fundamentals of thinking in different ways. Like, for example, maybe you want to learn a bit about typography and color. lynda.com have all of these courses. They can help feed the curious mind that you have. You can watch and learn from people that are absolute experts in their field. They're super passionate about teaching. They love doing what they do, and they just want to help you learn. And you can stream the courses that they create on demand. You can learn at your own schedule, at your own pace. You can learn wherever you want with their Android and iOS devices. And their courses are broken down and structured, so you can watch them from start to finish or consume them in bite-sized pieces and jump in and about as you like. You can create and save playlists of the courses that you want to watch in the order that you want to watch them. And you can very easily browse each course's transcript to follow along with what's being said. Or later on, if you want to come back and search for an answer and skip to that point in the video, it's really easy to do that with their awesome transcript feature. Your lynda.com membership will give you unlimited access to training on hundreds of topics, all for just one flat rate. Whether you're looking to become an industry expert, you're passionate about a hobby, or you just want to learn something new, I would really love it if you'd visit lynda.com slash penaddict. That's L-Y-N-D-A dot com slash penaddict. You'll be able to get yourself a free 10-day trial by visiting that link, and you'll also be helping to support this show. Thank you so much, lynda.com, for their continued support of The Pen Addict and Relay FM.

Brad Dowdy: All right, Myke, so this next little bit is why we had to cut out the Ask TPA from last episode, because I figured it might result in a fight, and it very well might. So our good friend John Bemis at JTower42, he says, this is actually directed at you. It says, as a guy who uses fountain pens and field notes, do any additions hold up particularly well that aren't America the Beautiful, Traveling Salesman, Workshop Companion, or Shelterwood? What say you?

Myke Hurley: This is a really difficult question, because different people are sensitive in different ways to the way this stuff works. So I know that there are people that don't like the way that fountain pens perform in field notes notebooks. They are way better in the ones that have the thicker paper. That's just a fact. The thicker the paper, the better a fountain pen will perform on bleed through. But the thing is, like, I find the thinner papers to be softer than fountain pens, so it feels better in a different way. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I think that a field notes notebook, any of them with fountain pens, except for, like, the specialty papers, like the Expedition Edition or whatever, they are perfectly adequate. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And I like to use them and love to use them so much because I love everything about the company. So I find their paper quality to be good enough with fountain pens, in some instances great. Mm-hmm. But I think that it's better than some of the other stuff that I've used. But there's so many other reasons for me in which I love them. Like I've said before, like, I love their portability. I love their design. I love that they always open flat when I want them to, right? Like, there's just these little things about it that I really love about field notes. And your mileage may vary on how you feel that a fountain pen will work in them. But whatever I've found in using medium nib fountain pens with reasonably good drying ink with any field notes is even with bleed through, you can use them on both sides. Because I have and have done for years. Like, I just have done that. Like, it is not impossible. They are perfectly good. And I think that if you enjoy them, if you like them, then you should get them like I do. And I am very happy and continue to use fountain pens with my field notes notebooks.

Brad Dowdy: You answered that wonderfully. I can't even fight with you on that. That was an excellent answer. And to your point, this is what we discussed up top with the Baron Fig. You're going to have to find the right fit for the non-70-pound paper field notes.

Brad Dowdy: Which I have found in some of mine. Like, I remember using the Pilot Prairie fine nibs, like Japanese fine nibs, and a good drying ink. I generally have really good success with those in the non-thicker paper. Workshop Companion, I think, out of even the thicker paper ones, because that one's been far and away the best one for fountain pen inks. I really enjoyed writing in fountain pens in that one.

Brad Dowdy: But yeah, I, you know, there's no particular edition. Most of the paper's the same in all the other editions. So it's more the pen and ink choice. And it can be found. And I also go back to our friend of the show, Dwayne Lively, made a post one time. And I'll have to go find it for the show notes. But I refer to it frequently. It was basically about owning the, like, the show through on the paper. Like, that's part of the experience, right? You're putting your ideas down. Worry about your ideas that you're putting down on the paper. Not what's going on on the paper itself. You know, embrace the bleed. Embrace the feathering. And, you know, just when you're done with it, look at it, you know, as a big picture thing. And, you know, love what you've created. And it's irrelevant how all this stuff performed on there. And that was a really good post that he wrote. So we'll try to find that for the show notes.

Myke Hurley: What website was that?

Brad Dowdy: Gosh, I forget the name of his website. But it's, I can find it. I've got it saved off somewhere. But it's, whatever. Mirblather is the website. So we'll find it afterwards. And Dwayne might, he might tweet it to me. I don't know if he listens. He might be asleep. He's a Hong Konger. So, or, no, I'm sorry. He's a Japaner. He's over in Japan. So he might be asleep right now. All right. Last, Ask TPA. And this rolls into a topic I wanted to discuss anyway. It's concerning the DC pin show. So Eagle Geek says, Do you recommend weekend trader passes or just Saturday, Sunday for the DC pin show? And then also, more generally, can the general public get in on Thursday and Friday? DC pin show's website is less than helpful. So let's talk about this. Schedule-wise, the DC pin show runs Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Friday is trader only. That doesn't mean the public can't get in. It means you have to purchase the more expensive trader pass. So for the Friday, Saturday, Sunday pass, it's $45 for the three days. And you get in Friday ahead of the public crowds. And talking with Lisa Van Ness, who has been schooling me on all things DC pin show, she says it's really good to go on Friday because it's, that's where most of the, the pins, a lot of pins are changing hands those days. Just because traders are getting around, it's a little bit quieter on the show floor. You know, lots of good stuff is happening. Lots of good stuff is available on Friday. Saturday and Sunday, tickets are $7 each day. That's just general public admission. Those days are, Lisa says, packed to the walls, like line to get into the event. Like, you know, just hundreds of people waiting to get in. And it's super crowded. So is it worth it to buy the trader pass? That's totally up to you.

Brad Dowdy: You know, it is much more expensive. You would pay those 14. So it's 31. Basically, if you're going Saturday and Sunday, you're basically paying $31 for Friday. If you're going Saturday and Sunday as well.

Brad Dowdy: On Friday evening, we're going to have a pen addict meetup at the show. And I'm working with the promoter right now to get one of the ballrooms at the hotel. So we don't have to do anything off site, which is good. We're looking at beverage selections that hopefully we're working to see if we can get someone to provide them. But this is going to be, it's not yet finalized, but it's going to be kind of on the show events calendar. So I hope everyone who's planning to come to the DC pen show can make it Friday evening. I don't have the time and the full details yet. I hopefully have that solved this week. It's going to be kind of a big deal. We're trying to get a lot of people to come. I know a lot of people are traveling to this show. A lot of our friends from the Atlanta pen show, Myke, are going to be making this show. And I hope everyone can make it Friday night. It's going to be a blast. It's going to be a big event.

Brad Dowdy: And I don't know, I don't have any like extras planned right now. You know, there's no podcast or video or thing going on.

Myke Hurley: I'm not going to be there.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, Myke's not going to be there. Unfortunately. But it's going to be, I think, pretty large and pretty fun. So yeah, I think it's going to be good. So put that on your pen show calendar. If you're coming to DC Friday night at the hotel, there will be a pen addict meetup. And we'll have more details as I get them. So working on finalizing that.

Myke Hurley: If you missed Atlanta and you can make this, make this.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. You really, really should. It was a real special experience.

Brad Dowdy: And I'm glad that we can kind of repeat it so soon. It's going to be great. It's going to be really good. And I wish you could be there. And I know everyone does. But there's always next year. Yep. All right. Our pen blog of the week this week is not the first, not the second, not the third, but the fourth launch of our good friend, David Brennan of a pen and ink website. So just Davey B. You all know him. You've heard me talk about him a million times. He's done a three questions on the pen addict because I think his ink and nib database tracking is always something I point to. And so he's restarted up a blog again for the fourth time. And I want to put in, I want to talk about his guidelines he listed out this time. So he made a post called The Guidelines. And this is just his personal feeling. He says, I have five guidelines when it comes to my pen, nib, and ink collecting. Number one, a pen or nib once in my collection never leaves. We're going to talk about that more in this episode. Number two, an ink once in my collection will only leave when it's empty. Number three, every ink is suitable for the office. Some will just portray you as being more extravagant than others, which I love that. That's great. Number four, you have not truly lived until you have used a good custom ground nib. I can get behind that. And number five, the words too many, too much, or too expensive never apply to your pen, nib, and ink collection. Except of course, on the occasion, your partner starts to look for a good divorce lawyer. So, words to live by, Michael. And so, we'll see if Mr. Brennan continues on with this vlog. I always like reading his stuff. He's got a massive collection of pelicans, and I think he's up to like 250, 280 inks, something like that. And he has a system where he goes through, okay, it's 279 bottles of inks right now, 116 nibs, and 90 pens, 38 of witcher pelicans. So, he runs these through a database to see which pen and ink combination has been the longest used, and inks that up. It's really cool. So, check that out if you have not seen it.

Tier One Pens

Brad Dowdy: All right, we ready to get into the main topic?

Myke Hurley: Sure am.

Brad Dowdy: All right, so, we've talked about in a couple of episodes now, kind of, sort of in passing, about a tier one level of pens, where we've talked about how many pens is too much, how do you decide what pens to sell, do you sell any pens? Just like I just read David Brennan, he doesn't, you know, that's, he has a defined way to collect pens and use pens, and that's his way to do it. A lot of people will maybe purchase a wide range of pens over the span of a few years, and then, as they use them over those years, they realize that some become favorites and are always inked up, and then some don't get inked up as much, and how do you determine that, and what do you do with those pens you're not using, do you sell them, do you give them away, whatever. So, you know, I came up with kind of, how would I determine this for myself? Like, what would make me sell a pen, how should I determine whether a pen should be sold, or whether I'm using the pen enough, and I decided to tier them. Like, I made a tier one of pens, which I posted on my blog today, which is a list of pens that are like, the most perfect for me. The way I use them, the way they feel, the way they're built, the way they're designed, they fit me, the nibs on them, it's really, it's, you know, this is about myself. This is not telling other people what pens they should buy.

Myke Hurley: Yep, because we've been talking about this for weeks, and we kind of came up with this term a few weeks ago when we were talking about Jelly, right, and we started talking about tiering system.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, yeah, and I think it was with Joe Crais, actually.

Myke Hurley: Was it with Joe?

Brad Dowdy: Yeah.

Myke Hurley: Okay, it was with Joe. Yeah,

Brad Dowdy: I'm pretty sure it was with Joe. And then I think we did carry it on in the conversation with Ed, so it's like the same kind of conversation has kind of been, you know, permeating through these episodes, so I wanted to get it down in writing. Yep. Like, here's my thoughts on building this type of list, and if I had to put it together of my collection, what would be my tier one pen? So I wanted to put that down. And so I kind of think about it in a way where it's basically what pens would I miss the most if they were gone? You know, like, either just irreplaceable or meaningful that, you know, the one particular, even if I could replace it easily, it wouldn't have as much meaning. The new, the replacement pen wouldn't have as much meaning. These are the pens I would just not consider getting rid of at all. So do you want me to go through my list or did you have something to say kind of about that?

Myke Hurley: I want you to go through the list, but I read the blog post today and I want to pull out a couple of things that I found interesting because you mentioned it there and this wasn't something we really spoke about before, but there seems to be a lot of sentimentality displayed in this list that I wasn't expecting. That it seems that there are a few instances like the 3D Edison and your Murex, which you said, Thomas gifted this pen to me towards the end of my fountain pen education and it may be my single favorite pen I own. Didn't know that. I definitely didn't know that. I don't know if I've ever heard you said it before that the Murex is your favorite.

Myke Hurley: And I like the sentimentality, but it's interesting to me because what it shows is that for you, there's more to tier one than performance. Exactly. Because you say, for example, about the Lamy 2000, it's not on your list because it's always available. and you said that like it kind of felt to me like you were saying if I lost any of the tier ones, I'd be gutted. Yes. So clearly the tier one list is very different to the best list.

Brad Dowdy: Yes. Very. Yeah. Very, very different. And that's why my tier one list is reasonably small. I think I would have seven pens. Whereas like if I was coming up with a tier two list, that list would be gigantic, you know, that's a huge list. And then whatever didn't make that tier two list is probably in, I guess you'd call it tier three. And those are the pens I'd probably consider that I'm not using very much and maybe I should sell them, give them away, do something else with them. Right. So like tier two would end up being like the Lamy 2000s, like all the other pilot pens that I love and the sailor pens and the platinum pens that I love and all the Twisbees and Kawekos and things like that. So let's go through this tier one list.

Brad Dowdy: You know, I'll make a couple comments on the pens and that I chose why I chose them and we'll go from there. So there's no ranking within tier one. They're just all essentially the same. They all have the same meaning to me and they're all equally, you know, as meaningful and as useful to me. And the first one I wrote down is my Nakaya portable, the Ayo Tamanuri one, the black with the green that shows through. This is easily my favorite of my Nakayas. I have four Nakayas. This is my favorite because I worked really hard for this pen. not just in, you know, saving money to purchase it, but working hard in, you know, learning about the brand and deciding what would be best for me. So I felt like I put a lot into this pen and I was nervous actually buying it because I put so much into it, but it delivered, you know, so I was like, whoo, that was $800 and well spent or whatever it was. Thank God, you know, I was, you know, it's, you're nervous about it till you get it. Is it going to live up to everything that I built it up to? And, um, it did. And, um, you know, I'm, I'm glad it did. And, uh, I love that pen. The Pilot Murex, like you said, um, you didn't know it was my favorite pen. It is. I think it's probably the one pen. If, if I had to put a number one on this tier one list, it would be that pen.

Myke Hurley: Didn't know that. Like that is surprising to me.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. And I don't ink it up that much and I don't know why. Um, I should, it's certainly a durable pen. I mean, it's a stainless steel pen. It's gonna, it can handle it. It just writes well. It just means so much to me. It's a pen that long ago when I started liking fountain pens, I saw this, just like the Nakaya. I saw this Murex and went, wow.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. I want one of these. I've always wanted one of these since the first time we ever spoke about it. I looked at, I've looked at both pen shows that I've been to and I haven't been able to find one.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. They're, they're hard to find. You can find them. People ask me where to get them. I mean, you can look on eBay and fountain pen network classifieds. They pop up from time to time. Um, they, they run like in the two to $300 range depending on the condition. Um, but yeah, I, I really, really like this pen. Um, you know, if I just had one pen, uh, to, for the rest of my life, I'd probably pick that one. This one surprised me, even myself. It's the Pelican M405 with a 0.2 millimeter Japanese extra fine nib. There's something about this pen that I'm gravity. I gravitate towards this pen constantly. It's got the tiniest, finest gold soft nib. Like this is a pen. I don't know that I would let other people use because the nib is so fine and so soft, but I really love writing with it. And you know, the M405, the Pelican is, can be replaced anytime. But this nib that I had Myke Masuyama grind and it was my first Pelican. It kind of, uh, it's kind of an important pen to me and I really, really like it. And it fits someone who writes tiny like me. Um, you know, I really enjoy that pen and that's, you'll find that like the Murex is a tiny writing pen. Um, one I'll talk about in a minute is a, it's another teeny tiny writing pen. The Edison Menlo 3D, which I've talked about before. Um, it's my red and blue Menlo that, uh, Jeff, um, had made for me when we started Knock as a thank you for starting the company. So not only is it a great pen that I enjoy using, it's, uh, it's super meaningful in the thoughts and you, you kind of see, like you said, there's kind of a theme here, right? You know, there's a lot of meaning behind a lot of these pens for me. The Newton Shinobi, I wrote, uh, when I wrote it down, um, I said, is this recency bias? And it could be, but I'm having a hard time putting this pen down so far. It's been several weeks. Um, I start writing with other pens and knowing that I had my Shinobi inked, I stopped writing with them and grabbed the Shinobi. So that's kind of telling me a lot about how I feel about the pen and how it fits me personally. You know, when the nib is a fine cursive italic, I can write a really small line with it and it, it just, it kind of fits me. You know, I had to help and I'm obviously designed it. You know, I picked out the colors and the nib and how I wanted it set up and things like that. So, you know, I've got some personal, uh, touches into that pen. So, um, we'll see as we go if that remains in the tier one. It's still new, but I feel already like it's going to be that important to me, um, going forward. The Pilot Vanishing Point black faceted pen is besides the Murex, maybe the coolest pen I own. Um, it gets more comments. I get more comments on that pen than just about any other pen, probably even more than the Nakaya, more than the Murex, just because you don't see them a lot. Um, and it's when people actually get to use it and they've used another Vanishing Point, it's so different in feel than the other Vanishing Points. It's actually a plastic barrel, which is kind of a trip compared to the, uh, the brass barrels these days. But it's such a unique looking pen and I really love using it and I would hate to see that one go and I wrote down that this might be the toughest to replace if I actually did lose it. I think I could get another Murex before I could get another black faceted Vanishing Point. And the last one on the list is a very common pen to be quite honest and has just made it over to the US and it's the Pilot Custom Heritage 912. but this one has the PO nib which is the posting nib which is that really hard fine nib that kind of hooks down and writes it basically writes like my Pelican extra extra extra extra fine nib but, um, in a stock nib. And this one is one of those pens that I went holy cow this is made for me. Like this is, this is a Brad pen if there ever was one. Um, you know, I rarely recommend it to anyone because the nib is so extreme. Um, I've actually, I actually bought mine from a reader who bought it didn't like it and I hadn't ordered mine yet so he's like would you just want to buy it off of me? And I'm like sure, yeah, I'll take it off your hands. So, that's actually how I got this one. So, you know, is there a common thread between these? Kind of like you mentioned there is some, you know, stories behind these pens. You know, it's definitely been a journey in some of these pens and, uh, you know, I'm pretty happy with how the list turned out. It's not overly large. I don't know that I can think of anything right offhand that didn't make the list that should. I think probably like the next thing that would make the list is like my Pilot Vacumatics just because they're so cool looking. I really enjoy them but I don't use them as much. Um, I wrote that in the, um, in the end section on vintage pens like the golden web that you bought for me and the Vacumatic I'd bought previous years the gray and silver one. I love those pens and actually use them a lot at home. I don't take them out a lot. I don't take them to work a lot. Um, those are probably like the next two out from the list. I also didn't include things like gel ink pens, um, mechanical pencils, things like that only because, not because they're not awesome. Like I thought about including a TI2 tech liner because that's what I use. I use that pen almost daily, one of the ones that I have and I just feel like, you know, I can get another one. If something happened to the one I have in my hand right now, well, I can just get another one. You know, if I lost, um, you know, my vanishing point, I'm going to be like, oh my god, where's my vanishing point? I really want that pen back. It's kind of a different thing. It doesn't mean pens that aren't on the list aren't awesome pens. You know, pens not on the list are ones I would recommend more than what's on the list. What's on the list fits me personally the best. So, that's kind of the whole thing about that.

Brad Dowdy: Cool. Cool. Yeah, I like that. Yeah, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Myke Hurley: Yeah, I have my own list and I want to, before I give my list, I want to do a little preface about the sentimentality thing and how that applies to what I've done. But before we do, let's take a break. Yes. This week's episode is brought to you by the Pen Chalet. You know the Pen Chalet. They sell authentic, amazing rollerballs, fountain pens, ballpoints, mechanical pencils, and so much more. They have all of your favorite brands like Monteverde, Pelican, Lamy, Pilot, Namiki, Sailor, and Kaweco. They're an authorized dealer of all of them and they believe in customer satisfaction at their very core. Pen Chalet offers their great stuff at a 100% satisfaction guarantee. This is backed up by their very fast and reliable customer service as well. At Pen Chalet, they're always adding new styles of pens. Every single month they have new stuff going on and they also run discounts twice a month and they have closeout specials every two weeks as well. So they're adding stuff and they're getting rid of the stuff. It's great. They're a great place to find new things. They're a great place to get older things at a great discount. As well as all the brands and types of pens that I mentioned that Pen Chalet have, they also have all the accessories you're going to want like carrying cases, pen holders, refills, fountain pen converters, and so much more. They sell internationally. They have very reasonable shipping rates on that as well. But if you are shipping within the United States, you will get free shipping on orders of over $50. So go to penchalet.com and this week you want to use the code penaddict anywhere on the site and you will save a special 15% on any order. So that is our special deal this week with the Pen Chalet. You will get 15% off anything that you buy, which is really great as you're listening to me and Brad list off these great pens that we love. Hear any of them, if Pen Chalet carry any of them, you'll be able to go there and get 15% off. But don't forget, as always, click that podcast link at the top of the website. Enter the password of penaddict. You'll see some other savings on some of their stuff there, only available for penaddict listeners, but you can also continue to get your 15% off for this week on any of those as well. Thank you so much to Pen Chalet for their continued support of Relay FM and the Pen Addict podcast.

Pen Chalet

Brad Dowdy: Can I make one comment on Pen Chalet? You please can. So our last time they sponsored it, what, two, three weeks ago? I was kind of tripping over my words on the price of the new Rhodium Platinum Platinum 3776s. And I bought one the day after the show. I bought one. I bought a broad nib in the 3776. I am, it's a really good pen. It's the one I've tested before, one of Thomas' older Platinum 3776. It's a, I felt it was a really, really lightweight pen, which is fine. You know, a lot of the, um, the initial gold nib level of Japanese pens, Pilot, Sailor, and Platinum tend to be a lightweight pen and most of the price is in the gold nib. This, I felt, and this is just anecdotal, I didn't weigh them because I don't have the other one. I felt this had a little more weight behind it and it was actually more enjoyable, um, riding with it because it wasn't too feather light. This is, uh, really, really good. So, I, I'm happy with this 3776 I got, um, with that and just, uh, a clarification, the coupon code is podcast when I pull up the page. I don't know if you said pen addict or podcast. There was a confirmation in the, uh, chat room, but the coupon code for this week for 15% off is podcast.

Myke Hurley: Cool. So maybe the best thing to do, uh, is to just go to penslayer.com. You want to hit the podcast link at the top, type in pen addict, and you're going to get your 15% off that way.

Brad Dowdy: Exactly. So when you type in pen addict in the radio podcast link, it tells you what code to put in to get the best deals from pen shop. Excellent stuff. All right. So I tasked Myke with homework, um, as I try to do sometimes, um, you know, when I'm talking about a specific topic, I want to get your take, Myke on the same topic in, you know, how you're thinking about, um, something like a tier one of pens. So, so what do you got?

Myke Hurley: So sentimentality. Now I have some that I didn't really factor that in too heavily. It wasn't something that I thought about when I was putting my list together. Um, there is in some elements, there is a little bit of that to the stuff that I've chosen, but it's nowhere near as prevalent as the way that it has been through your list. Uh, look, because there are pens that mean stuff mean a thing to me that are not on this list and that gifts from you and gifts from other people are things that are extremely important to me and they tend to be like, you know, looked after and taken care of in ways that are different than my other pens. But it, that isn't what I necessarily consider as my tier one. So for my tier one, uh, I have, I have picked some of the stuff that I consider to be the best that I own. These are the things that, um, have either been extremely hard for me to acquire over time. Uh, they were either, they maybe were very expensive. Uh, there were maybe things that I was after for a long time. Uh, it's maybe stuff that has surprised me or stuff that, that ends up meaning a deal because of how great I think they are basically. So my tier one is kind of made up a little bit differently to yours, but is also a bit harder to nail down as to the overall reason for why something's been picked.

Brad Dowdy: Right. Right. Well, I'm, I'm looking at your list and I see a lot of these pens and I'm like, maybe I should have put that on mine because it's some really, really awesome choices. So go, go through a few of these choices and, uh, and, and tell me about them.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. So I don't, I don't think that a lot that there'll be any surprises here, but I'm going to go for them anyway.

Brad Dowdy: So I think there, I think there's a couple that I, I have, there's one in particular that I forgot about and remembered how much you actually love that pen. So I'll tell you when you get to it.

Myke Hurley: Okay. So one of them for me is the, this is actually probably number one is the Sailor Pro gear. Um, so this is, this is actually holds some sentimentality. I bought it in Atlanta. It was my big purchase when I was there for the pen show, but I love this pen. It's in pen addict, orange, uh, and black and it just delights me. It is, I love this pen. I never would have thought I would love it as much as I did. It's just so perfect in every single way. Um, if you don't own a pro gear, you should buy one. Uh, I've actually put, so my links in the show notes are basically going to various places on the internet that I've found. You can actually get one from Pen Chalet and you can get that 15% off.

Brad Dowdy: So you should, uh, that's yeah, that's not easy to, to get on a sailor.

Myke Hurley: Uh, so I would suggest that you do that. Um, because the, the pro gears are just, fantastic. I'm a huge fan of the pro gear and I love mine so much. Uh, the next is the Franklin Kristoff model two. Now, uh, I bought this again in Atlanta. Uh, but for me, this isn't even so much about the way that it writes or the way that it feels to write. Whilst it's, it's good. I mean, I have pens that are better than it. I just love how this thing looks. So I have like the smoke and ice with my blood red ink sloshing around inside. And it's like, that thing is awesome.

Brad Dowdy: It is awesome.

Myke Hurley: It makes the list because it is super cool and I love it for that. So it's like, you know, for me, it's just like, it sits on my desk and it looks great. And I'm a big fan of it and I enjoy using it whenever I pick it up to use it. It's fun to use in a way that my other pens aren't like, because there's so much going on here. It just looks so badass that I really, really like it.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I could have a whole list of just the Franklin Kristoff stuff that I like. I always have something inked up just because I like them so much.

Myke Hurley: And then my Edison Menlo.

Myke Hurley: It's a beautiful pen and it writes fantastically. But again, this one probably more than anything else on my list holds a sentimental value. There is a bit of sentimentality to mine, but it wasn't the reason that I picked them, you know. But this is just an excellent pen. Like, we were talking about Edison pens earlier and they are absolutely fantastic. And I love mine because it was so bloody expensive and I'm very happy with it because this more than anything is my pen. I designed this, what design, you know, I requested a design for this pen. I procured the materials for this pen.

Brad Dowdy: You procured the funds. You pimp job this pen.

Myke Hurley: Yep. And then I took it with me to another country and had the nib then ground to the specific way that I wanted it, trying it out. So this is like the mic pen. It's like it is completely 100% mine. I chose everything about it. So that's why. And but I do think that Edison pens are fantastic. The Menlo, I think if you love pens, you should have one because it's so weird and different, you know, as a system for filling a pen. So I think that that's a great, a great choice for anyone. Then the Lamy 2000 is on my list because I think it's, I think that the Lamy 2000 is the best pen made by a regular manufacturer.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, I could agree with that. I think that's probably a lot of people's number one pen, regardless of anything.

Myke Hurley: because so the unlike many other pens that are on my list and your list, the Lamy doesn't really share any characteristics with anything else. It is very unique, very unique. Like the material it's made out of. I've never used it on anything else. And it doesn't feel like anything else. It's got that awesome little clip with that lovely little spring mechanism in it. It looks really different. Like the way that the the nib is kind of mostly hidden in the grip area. It has the little window. And possibly, not possibly, without a shadow of a doubt, some of the best features in build quality of any pen that I've ever used. And for me, this is exemplified in the with the filling system. And it has that at the end that you unscrew. Yeah. When it is screwed up, you cannot see a seam.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, it's seamless. Both the seams on it are seamless. You really have to hold it in the right light to see. That's how well it's made.

Myke Hurley: The Lamy 2000 is a pen that should exist in the high tower of every single pen addict.

Brad Dowdy: Yep, it is. It's that good of a pen.

Myke Hurley: Again, pen shall I have them.

Pelican M205

Myke Hurley: Then the next one for me is the Pelican M205, which for a long time was my number one pen.

Brad Dowdy: This was the one. This was the one I had forgotten about. And what all you did to this pen and what all you went through in making this your own pen. I forgot totally about this story.

Myke Hurley: So what did I do to this?

Brad Dowdy: You added a nip to it.

Myke Hurley: Oh, yeah, I did, didn't I? Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Brad Dowdy: It's not a stock M205. You bought a gold nip. See, I remember these things.

Myke Hurley: Well, this one as well is awesome because they don't make it anymore. This was a gift from Mr. Hall, who comes up so much, right? Right. He's the best. I love Thomas.

Brad Dowdy: I made a shout out in my post today for him. Yep.

Myke Hurley: Yep. And he gifted this to me. I think it was like it was.

Brad Dowdy: This is the blue stripe model.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. This is the biggest gift I've ever received.

Brad Dowdy: It's a beauty.

Myke Hurley: From from like a pen addict listener or whatever. And now Thomas is a friend now. But at the time, like I didn't really know him very well.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. You were a little uncomfortable. Like, wow, this is

Myke Hurley: like, yeah, it felt like too much to receive. Right. Because, you know, this is an expensive pen because I ended up like I looked it up and I found one and saw how much I were going for on like nibs.com. And it was an amazing gift. But I was like, oh, man. But, you know, now I yeah. And then I wasn't completely happy with the nib. So I went and bought a gold nib for it, which was really expensive. And yeah, this pen has been a has been like a longtime favorite. And now it has Pelican Green Highlighter ink in it.

Brad Dowdy: Oh, cool.

Myke Hurley: Just for fun. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: That's a good ink.

Myke Hurley: Because I don't use this as much as I used to. So now I put the highlighter ink in it. So it gives me more of a reason to use it. And whenever I do pick it up to use it, sometimes I forget and I start writing and it's like luminous green.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. Yeah, that's cool.

Myke Hurley: Then one I had to I had to put this in for a couple of reasons is the Karas Customs ink. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: I thought this would be on your list. This is good. Good call.

Fountain Pens

Myke Hurley: Because what I love about the ink is kind of two fold. I've picked the fountain pen version. OK. Because I really love the fountain pen. Really. Like I'm surprised how much I love the fountain pen. Yeah. Because obviously, you know, the one that takes the Retro 51 refill is equally excellent. And it's kind of, you know, it's like perfect for me because it has that refill in it. But the fountain pen version I am just so thrilled with whenever I use it. And it is difficult for me to choose between the two of them. So I might maybe double up on this pick. But what I love about my Karas Customs inks is like you buy them and I mix and match the colors up. Their stuff is made so well. I mean, we talk about them all the time. But my favorite of their products is the ink. And I'm very, very fond of mine, especially because I lost it for so long. Yeah, exactly. And then it came back into my life.

Myke Hurley: So that will always have a special place in my heart. Now, the next two, this is the recency bias for me because I can't choose between them yet. Which is the Colt Pens Mechanical Pencil and the Rotten 600. One of these two.

Brad Dowdy: I love that you put these on here. I honestly do. I think this is great.

Myke Hurley: One of these two is super important to me. Now, I think the Rotaring is winning. But I haven't made my final decision yet because I still missed the double knock mechanism. But I love these. I love how it's changing my opinion a little bit on just stuff. Right. So I'm very, very happy with my mechanical pencils. And yeah, I'm a big, big, big fan of them. And they're definitely one of them now sits in that tier one. But I just haven't completely decided which one yet. And then the obvious missing thing is the Retro 51. one. But I can't pick one of them.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Hmm. So like gun to your head. You can't just there's not just one.

Myke Hurley: Well, I mean, if there's a gun to my head, then I'll pick the first one, my orange one. OK. For the sentimentality of it. But it's not my favorite one. I don't know if I have a favorite. Maybe the bamboo. I did. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: You talk about that one a lot.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. It's very special. And it like it's different. It's a bit, bit fatter. And the material is nicer. It's got a better weight to it in some instances. I like it a lot. But my space shuttle one has arrived.

Brad Dowdy: What's that?

Myke Hurley: The space shuttle Retro 51.

Brad Dowdy: Oh, sweet. Yeah. That, you know, I need to get that thing out and use it. I haven't started. It's sitting on my desk. I haven't gotten that out to use it yet. I've been kind of inundated recently. That's such a cool looking pen.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. It looks fantastic. Yeah. Really, really great.

Brad Dowdy: But yeah.

Myke Hurley: It's difficult for me to pick it. And it doesn't. These days, it's not a tier one for me anymore. The Retro 51. Like, you know, I will always have a special place in my heart for that pen. But I'm never, I never like am excited to use it before I use it anymore.

Pen Quantity

Brad Dowdy: Right. Right. And I found as I was putting together my list, the more I had of a certain pen, the less likely it was going to make that list. Right. It's just not as special when you have several of them, which us pen addicts tend to have several of many pens.

Myke Hurley: So, yeah.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Well, that's great. I really like your list. I think you, I think it's actually, it's a good mix of, you know, quality, usability, fits your style and sentimentality. It's kind of a great cross-section of all that. So, and actually, while we were, while you were going through your list, Mr. Dudek texted me. He said, nice post today. One question. Can I have your faceted cap list when you were dead?

Brad Dowdy: What's so special about that one? It's just hard. You just don't see them everywhere. So, I just laughed at him. And no, he can't have it. It will not be willed to him.

Brad Dowdy: All right. So, good. I like this exercise. And whether it's going to lead to action for me as far as, okay, what's tier two and what's tier three? And do I need to sell off a few pins? Things like that. Maybe so. I don't know. I haven't committed past this, but I wanted to solidify this because I've been, you know, this kind of thing comes over time, right? Like, I couldn't have done this two or three years ago. It would kind of have been a pointless exercise. But now I've kind of learned what I like the best, what fits me the best personally, what fits my writing style. You know, those are the kind of things that, you know, we talk about a lot. You know, you got to find the things that fit you the best. And, you know, this was kind of a way to kind of put mine down in writing. And I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. And I think yours looks great as well.

Myke Hurley: Thank you, sir. If you want, we've got a long list of show notes, including all of those pens, and you can find those over at relay.fm slash pen addict slash 164. Thanks again to our sponsors this week, lynda.com. And pen chalet. If you want to find us online, there's a couple of ways you can do that. I am iMike. I am YKE on Twitter and Instagram. Brad is at dowdyism, D-O-W-D-Y-I-S-M on Twitter. He is penaddict on Instagram. And of course, writes over at penaddict.com. Thank you so much for listening. And we'll be back next week. Until then, say goodbye, Brad.

Brad Dowdy: Goodbye, Brad. Good morning, Good morning, Good morning,