Editing The Pen Addict 534/transcript (section)

== Ink Issues ==


'''Myke:''' And it quickly becomes just like a weird brown, which is like no one after. And so like, you know, I was looking at this pen and I kind of couldn't, I could not come to a decision. And so I asked Idina and she recommended Hiroshizuku Murasaki Shikibu, which is a purple ink, which I have not used before. Like she owns it and I'd never used it. And so I was like, yeah, go on then. This kind of, the way that I treated it with this pen was I couldn't find something to match. So I just went with something very contrasty. Like there is not really any purple in this pen. Like there's a lot of red and blue in mine that intersects. So it has a kind of purple look to it, but it's not purple. And so I just figured I'm just going to go with something wild and kind of out there for it. It's a good choice.

'''Brad:''' It's a really bright purple. So yeah, I can see it definitely favoring the pen for sure.

'''Myke:''' And yeah, frankly, like I'm in love with it.

'''Brad:''' Yeah. That's great.

'''Myke:''' Super good. Super, super good pen.

'''Brad:''' Really, really, I think they did a great job with that one. And like I said last week, I think they're on a, they're on quite the run here recently. So, all right. I want to talk about a couple of new pens from Diplomat. One just came into my view yesterday when I was on stream. The question was, hey, Brad, have you seen Diplomat's new eyedropper? And I'm like, no. Um, and let me see that because Diplomat and eyedropper pens, that's not something that kind of works in my brain. Like when I think about Diplomat, I think about metal pens and I generally don't think about eyedropper systems in metal pens. So I was like, let's, let's see this. So, so we went and looked at it on Instagram. So we'll have a link in the show notes, uh, here to go check this out. Well, first we saw like the flat images, um, like in the, the retail images. And I was like, it just looks kind of average, right? Like I like the Diplomat arrow. Diplomat's interesting design wise. They, there's no middle ground. I don't, I don't think in their designs, they're either kind of like standard traditional or they're like in the arrow and Zeppelin mold where they're kind of like very, very modern, like ultra modern designs. And I, I prefer Diplomat's kind of ultra modern designs. Like I talk about the arrow all the time as one of my favorite pens and it's just fantastic. So this is a metal barrel.

'''Brad:''' Eyedropper pen. So I went and looked at this little video and tried to figure out what they were doing and what they've done. I think is pretty unique. I mean, maybe someone's done it before they say no one's done it before. And I haven't seen this before, but if you take a classic Japanese eyedropper, like in the Opus pens that a lot of people, um, are very fond of, you just basically unscrew the grip section and get literally an eyedropper and fill it up with ink and drop it into the barrel and it has a seal off mechanism, right? So the ink's just not like dumping out when you're not using them. Well, this mechanism is engaged when you put the cap on and then disengaged when you take the cap off to write. So the ink actually flows down there and it's kind of smart, right? Okay.

'''Myke:''' So here's the thing.

'''Brad:''' Yep.

'''Myke:''' You're explaining this and I am watching a YouTube video, which I'll put in the show note. I'm watching the video and I'm hearing you explain it. And I still don't know what's going on. I cannot work out what is happening. Like they're just pouring the ink randomly into the thing and then pushing down the grip section. What is that? I don't understand. I don't get it. I can't get my head.

'''Brad:''' So we'll have to put in a link to like an Opus, like an Opus 88, an Opus 88 or an Opus 88 halo, right? If you go look up that picture, you'll see there's essentially a piston rod in the barrel. Um, in the Opus, you can see it because they're translucent. In this barrel, you cannot see it. So there's a rod inside the barrel. And the only purpose of that rod is to shut off the ink flow to the feed. Okay. So it's not like a piston filler. It's not anything like that. You don't, it's not a filling system per se, but it's a more of a shutoff mechanism. Um, so you're able to think of it like a vac filler without the ability to fill it, right? It just seals it off. When you screw down that vac filler, it seals off the, the ink vessel from the feed. And therefore the ink will not flow further that direction. So with the Opus, you know, it's basically a post in the back that you unscrew from the back of the pen and then screw it back in. What this one's doing is it has almost like an inner sleeve that's pushed by the cap going onto the barrel that tightens the seal. And then when you take the cap off to write the seal opens, so you're not having to do the extra manual step, like on an Opus opening the back of the pen to get the ink to flow, to flow. So like you, I watched this like a dozen times and I'm kind of fascinated by the whole thing. I really just straight up. I do not care for the design of this pen. I really have a real problem with the, I will come back to the design in a second.

'''Myke:''' So when you eye drop the ink in, where is it going? In the barrel. Because it looks like it just, where, I don't understand.

'''Brad:''' So it's going around that piston rod. Okay. Just think of a cylinder with a rod in the center, right? The rod in the center is designed as the seal off. So the ink is going all around that.

'''Myke:''' All right. So when you screw it in, it like kind of stops the ink from? Going down the feed. Yes. So how does it fill the mechanism when you're writing then?

'''Brad:''' So it's, it's basically the, opens the gap from the seal off, right? So it's no longer sealed. So the ink can flow past the stopper.

'''Myke:''' But when you put the cap on, it pushes the grip section down, which then closes the. Yeah. Exactly. The kind of the thing.

'''Brad:''' Like everyone should go watch this little video. It's interesting.

'''Myke:''' I feel like I understand it more now. It's still really weird. And I agree with you. This is a super ugly pen. Like it does not look. I didn't say that. Well, I think it's. I don't like it. I don't. I don't like diplomat design. We spoke about it so much. I've never found a diplomat pen that I think looks good. Like they are just so not my taste. Yeah. And this one is really so much a function over form. Like. Right. It is built purely so they can do this thing. And I think that the design is hurt from that. Like even the ink window is like really uninspired. That's my biggest problem.

'''Brad:''' That's my biggest visual design problem. It's in the wrong spot. It's in the wrong spot.

'''Myke:''' It's in the wrong spot. But like it's just a cut out. Like it doesn't really appear to be any.

'''Myke:''' Design element to it. Right. Like so I think of like the spoke pen. Right. And you. I know. I think the aluminium is much thicker in your pen. But like it's sloped. Right. The ink window or whatever you call that. The cut outs. Yeah. All the spoke pens. It's kind of got that slope in it. Which makes it look like it's more intentional. Right. This kind of just looks like they made the pen. And we're like oh we should cut a hole in the side.

'''Brad:''' Mm-hmm.

'''Myke:''' You know.

'''Brad:''' Yeah. Like the. I might get in trouble for this. But it's it's very visionary-esque in design. Right. It's it's pretty basic.

'''Myke:''' I 100% agree with you. Oh my god. You've nailed what it was reminding me of. But I couldn't work it out.