Editing The Pen Addict 168/transcript (section)

== Pen Show ==


'''Myke Hurley:''' So we're going to talk a lot about the pen show today, naturally, right? But I do have some follow-up items that I want to talk about. Because believe it or not, just because everybody's in DC, the pen world doesn't end. You know? There is stuff happening for those of us that couldn't make it.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And I wanted to talk about some of that stuff with you.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Okay. Yeah, I'd like that. Because there's actually the topics you've put in here are big time on my radar. So it'll be nice to talk about these and do a little more research on them for next week.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So the first thing, this came across my radar yesterday. Oh, no, it was a couple of days ago.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, I think it was the day I left.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, actually, it might have been the day you left. I don't know why I thought it was yesterday. It was a few days ago. Mark Newsom. Mark Newsom is a designer. And at the moment, one of the reasons this is very interesting and pertinent to me and Brad, is he's actually working at Apple right now. And he's been working, it would seem, on the Apple Watch. And he's been doing some stuff with Johnny Ive. But he is very much a contractor. So he continues to do work outside. And he has designed a new pen for Mont Blanc called the M, the Mont Blanc M. And it was unveiled on the 13th. And it's currently on sale in Harrods until September when it goes on wide sale. So Harrods is a department store in London. And I believe it goes on wide sale in September worldwide from then. But it's in Harrods now. And in September this year, it goes on wide sale. Oh, my.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So. You've seen this thing, right?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yes. I saw the link. I went in. I was doing something. I think I was on the road. We might have been in the shuttle getting to the hotel or something when this tweet came across. And I was struggling to kind of get a good look at the image. I absolutely 100% guarantee you this will be my first Mont Blanc pen. This thing is beautiful.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It's an absolute no-brainer. It's stunning. It's really stunning. I mean, once we figured out the price. I mean, if it was going to be $2,000 or something, I mean, hell no. But what did we figure out the price was in the $300 US? What was the final amount that we came up with?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Well, our good friend and now pen addict guest, the pen economist, tweeted at us to let us know that it was a price at £375 in Harrods. Now, this, again, I don't fully know because this is a line of pens. So, I don't know if the fountain pen is $375. That's true.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' They could start, yeah, if they have a, whatever the entry level of that group is.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. So, Jonathan wasn't completely clear with that when he said that. But the debut price is $375. But did say he believes it may, well, no, he said it may fall once released more widely. It may be at a higher price right now. Believe it or not, Mont Blanc on their website have nothing about this pen.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' But color me not shocked at all.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So, I can't find, I can't even find any more pictures of it other than what's been released press-wise. I can't find, I can't find any independent source for how much it actually is costing in Harrods. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And I can't find any information about how much it's going to cost outside. But with how I feel about the way this pen looks, it's going to have to be really expensive for me not to buy one.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, the conversion here, it's actually at the bottom of the article. And the price it gives is $585 Australian dollars. And that's for the gold nib, two-tone finish, rhodium ruthenium, topped off by the inscription of MN. So, this sounds like the fountain pen model. So, that converts to $432 US dollars.

'''Myke Hurley:''' If that's the case, I will be buying one of these. Yeah, same. Pretty much as soon as I can. So, I don't know how much you've read. I don't know how much anybody's read. But it's beautiful. I can't, they tried to explain it, but I can't fully understand what the utility purpose of the dip at the end is for. Yeah. I'm saying something about the way you hold it, but like, whatever, I don't care, it looks fantastic.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It really does.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I don't know if you've seen this, but there is a magnet in the cap, which not only keeps it shut, but perfectly aligns the clip to the Montblanc logo in the dip.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, that kind of stuff really, I really appreciate that kind of stuff. Because I'm crazy about getting that kind of stuff lined up anyway, you know? So, to have the manufacturer build that into the design is important. I mean, it's what they should be doing, unfortunately. Not all manufacturers do it, right? But when, you know, Mark Newsom and Montblanc get together, it's going to be tight. And I'm glad it's not $1,500 to $2,500 or more. It's a pin that, you know, only slightly crazy people can get into. It's not cheap by any stretch.

'''Myke Hurley:''' What do you think about the nib, the nib materials and stuff like that?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Oh, it's beautiful. I mean, it's gold. It's going to be great. So, yeah. I have no issue with the design or pricing of this pin. I would like to find some more information before it becomes widely available. Who knows if it will be available on Montblanc's website. But that's a challenge we all have right now, getting information, especially from a generally tight-lipped Montblanc, to be honest. I mean, you know, they won't even do – they're very tight on their retail channels, their supply and distribution channels. So, getting any information out is tough.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yep. I think they only even spoke about this because it was available in Harrods on that day. Right.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And the – like the press release or the information and articles didn't come – they don't – this one didn't even come from a Montblanc source, right? Did it even – oh, yeah, there is one interview from – so, I guess Design Boom, which is where we'll have the link in the show notes to, they did have a sit-down with Montblanc about this pin. So, there's some video and things like that you can get some information on.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, Newsom was also talking to some outlets on that day, and this was part of it. So, he was doing some wider interviews, and this was part of that. So, I want you to explain something to me quickly, because they're saying it's a gold nib, right? Sure. With – where does it say this? And then it has a two-term finish of rhodium and ruthenium. Yes. Can you explain to me the gold? I always get a bit confused by this.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Sure, sure. It's basically a plated gold nib, the plating being the rhodium and ruthenium on top of the gold underlying softness of the nib. That's how you're getting that silver look or that two-tone look. You know, that's what you see in something like my Nakaya nib on my Nakaya portable, which I am looking around for it somewhere on this mess of a bed. But it's a rhodium-plated gold nib, and you can actually tell, because I got the nib ground and the underlying – like, right on the very tip of the grinding, you can actually see the gold of the gold. So it's basically like a metal plating on top of the gold nib. Makes sense.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Is that so you get a lot of the benefits of gold without it just bending?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. Well, you get the softness of the gold. I don't know if ruthenium or rhodium can actually be made into a nib themselves. Someone smarter than me will have to answer that. But it's a gold-based nib, right? So you get all the properties of having a gold nib, and then you get a finish on top of that nib, which is your ruthenium and rhodium. So same thing goes for something like the Sailor Blackluster pen that I have, which this actually – this section in the nib remind me a lot of, right? So it's got that black – it's a gold nib, but it's black. You know, it's got that coating on it.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Sure.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It's plated, I should say. I shouldn't say coating, but plated.

'''Myke Hurley:''' But I assume that plating does something for, like, strength or something. Like, it must be doing something, right? Because why else would you cover it up?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Style.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Oh, really, you think? Okay. Fair enough. Fair enough.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Absolutely style, because all the other parts of this pen are silver or ruthenium, probably. Good point. Or rhodium. So, yeah, they'll do it for style. Just like my Sailor, my Blackluster, I have it in my hands right now because I brought it to DC, but I never got it into Lori's hands from Franklin Kristoff, who wanted to borrow it. So I sent it to her. Or everything, like, the nib is gold, but it's this complete, you know, gray, like, gunmetal-looking plating that they use. But, like, if you took a saw and cut this nib in half, the underlying aspect of it is gold. It would show the yellow of the gold under there.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Okay.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' The naming of this pen as well makes it incredibly difficult to Google for.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Not surprising. So, I guess there'll be more when it comes out into the normal population. I'm very excited about it. If it does, I'm wondering how much, I mean, they don't talk about it being limited. Like, I wonder how much of a production run they'll have. I don't know if this is going to be something they have forever, like a stock line pen or just something they're going to run for, like, six months, probably through the Christmas season.