Editing The Pen Addict 453/transcript (section)

== Number Six Nib Discussion ==


'''Myke:''' So people in the Discord are asking about what a number six nib is. Basically, a number six nib is, like, a four-sized fountain pen nib. So, you know, and a four-sized fountain pen nib will just, in my experience, feels nicer for the characteristics that I'm looking for because I like mediums and broads, and I feel like I get a softer, like, more consistent experience with larger nibs. And the reason that this is even coming up is a pen of the physical attributes and size and thickness and overall dimensions, as the spoke, as the axle is, would not have a number six nib. It would have a smaller nib on it, right? Is that fair to say?

'''Brad:''' You have to make a certain diameter of pen to fit the hardware of a number six nib. So there's one called a number five, which is a little bit narrower, narrower, which you see in a lot of pocket pens.

'''Brad:''' And it's, like, I have no problems with number five nibs, but number six, if you can make it work, is just going to be the choice every time.

'''Myke:''' So I got the titanium one. What, remind me, like, what am I seeing different to the aluminum version of the axle over the titanium?

'''Brad:''' Finish and feel. So the titanium is shiny. It's a polished titanium. It has some weight to it that the aluminum cap would not have, right? So yours is a little bit heavier, right? Even though you don't necessarily say, oh, this is a heavy pen. If you had the two of them side by side, you say, oh, the titanium is heavier than aluminum. So you just get that bright finish as opposed to, like, the dark style of the black aluminum. But that's pretty much it. So a little bit of feel, a little bit of weight, a little bit of look.

'''Myke:''' I feel like there's a warmth to the titanium as well when you hold it more than aluminum. But that might just be me.

'''Brad:''' Yeah, maybe so. Maybe so. Aluminum does take a little bit longer to warm up to me, but they still do.

'''Myke:''' So I really like the axle. I would like the axle even more if the icon didn't exist because I'm all about the icon. So, like, I just freaking love it. It's fantastic. So, like, all of my focus is on that pen.

'''Myke:''' I can't tell you, you maybe know exactly why the grip section feels so good. But there's something about the shape of the grip section that makes this pen just fantastic to hold. Why do I feel this way? Am I alone in this? Like, what have you done here about the curve on this? It just feels so comfortable.

'''Brad:''' Yeah, there's not a golden ratio, like, for the curve. There's not, like, a perfect, you know, radius to machine those in, right? Whether it's flatter or deeper. But I like a section that has, that kind of holds your finger in place accidentally, right? You don't think about it going into it, you know, where you grip the pen.

'''Myke:''' Yeah, I feel like when I pick it up, my fingers just take a second and they slip into place and then it's good to go.

'''Brad:''' Then they just lock in, right? So, I don't, there's no, there's no magic behind that. It's just a feel thing, right? Like, that's how I wanted it to feel when you grab it as opposed to the axle pins, which are straight in the section, which I actually enjoy that too. There's a difference in having a concave section to where you want to make it comfortable for, like, different types of grips and have enough space for people's grips to work in there. And then when you're gripping it, you just feel like you don't even have to think about your grip. Like, some pins you have to think about your grip. And I write about that sometimes. I wrote about that in the Tabaldi review I did on Monday. We'll save that discussion for another, maybe next week's podcast, because I want to talk about that pen. Like, you had to, when you pick up the pen, you have to think about where to grip it. And with concave grips, I don't think you really do. And a lot of companies do that. And I just think that's the correct shape for the type of pen that we wanted to build.

'''Myke:''' The overall shape and size of the pen, when capped. Now, like, I'm not trying to blow smoke on you here, but it has an, in physical dimensions, reminds me of, like, the Nakaya Piccolo-type size. Mm-hmm. Right?

'''Brad:''' Yeah, I don't think it's much bigger.

'''Brad:''' You know, maybe a quarter inch bigger? Not too much bigger.

'''Myke:''' And the overall shape of it is reminiscent to me, too, where it's, you know, like, it has the curves at the top and the end, but it's flattened off. Mm-hmm. And so I think that you've chosen overall very pleasant shape. I think that it's incredibly light for its size.

'''Myke:''' I don't know exactly why that would be. Maybe I just haven't used a lot of aluminium pens in a while, but...

'''Brad:''' No, it's definitely light.

'''Myke:''' Yeah, and I like that. I think that that's really great.

'''Brad:''' Like, comparatively, like, if you compare it to, like, one of your Pro Gears, it's lighter than, like, one of your standard plastic barrel Pro Gears. Yeah. Like, we did some measurement. I don't have the weights in front of me, so I don't want to speak on it, but, you know, it's a few grams less. You know, it's a little bit less.

'''Myke:''' Yeah, I can feel it. I mean, that must be what's so surprising to me, is I'm used to a pen that I think is fine weighting, and it's plastic. So just naturally, the aluminium pen in my mind, like, oh, sure, aluminium's heavier than plastic, right? So that's just what my brain is telling me. So you've explained to me now, like, why this feels so interesting. It feels so impossibly light, really. Mm-hmm. So you've done a good job there. I went with the black with the orange insert, and I feel like I won the lottery on that color. I think I chose completely correct. Because I got the lime one as well. You sent that to me. Thank you for sending it to me. And I put it in, and I was like, nah, the orange is the best one.