Editing The Pen Addict 612/transcript (section)

== Aesthetic appeal of Japanese pen designs ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' And I love the Japan one just because of the aesthetic of the kimono. Like, the extra long, the over-exaggeratedness of the design is really cool. Like, I'm probably just going to stick with my Hawaii, stick with that color. Like, I don't need another one that I'm not going to use. But I really like these designs. I think they did a good job. The interesting thing to me that I thought when I was going through these is, like, I bought the Hawaii, I think it was $64 last year. The new ones are $74. So, I don't know if that's just, like, a regular price increase. Because there shouldn't be, there's no technical aspects that separate, like, that would cause a price increase that I'm aware of in these three models. Even the Clipper is less. And those usually go for a little bit more, the plain ones. So, yeah. Like, not a big deal. But, like, that's a pretty decent price increase.

'''Myke Hurley:''' It's also, it is strange to have pens in a lineup and the price changes.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And three, four pens, three different prices.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. I mean, the Pan Am Clipper one, I understand. Because that is constructed differently, right? Those ones usually have got, like, texture to them.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. They're textured like the little rivets on the panels and stuff.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. But it's weird to have the poster ones be at different prices when they look ostensibly exactly the same. Who knows? Yeah. So, maybe it's just a year-over-year increase. Maybe Retro 51 have done a price increase, but they're not doing it retroactively, which is also, I think, fine if you're going to do that, right?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, yeah. Like, Sailor did that when they did theirs, like, several years ago. And most companies do that, or they at least have a grace period. Yeah. For sure. Of a pretty sizable, you know, six months to a year type of thing. So, anyway, cool designs. What's cooler, Myke, is that the Pilot Custom 823 Clear is now available outside of Japan. Okay. So, this was... So, the Pilot 823 is a super beloved, well-respected fountain pen, one of the best fountain pens on the market. And any price point, even though it's expensive, it's a little over $300, it still feels like one of those pens that's underpriced for what you get for it, from it, and the options you have. But they've only, at least as long as I've been in fountain pens, they've only ever done three barrel colors, and they're all translucent. So, there's a smoke, which is kind of like your gray, grayish black, and these are, like, you can see through the barrel. And then there's the amber, which was... That one was mostly available worldwide, the only one. And then the clear, so... Which had a clear barrel. And they both have... They all have, like, a gold trim and, you know, solid color finials. So, the amber was available everywhere worldwide, and then smoke and clear were available in the Japanese market. And then last year, smoke got more of a worldwide release. And people are still waiting for the clear, because I think, I mean, that's my preference, right, is the clear. It's not everyone's preference, clearly. Clearly. I just caught that. It made me stop. I was like, whoops. But I think it's the best. It's been one of the most popular ones. And now, you can get it. This was supposed to happen at some point last year from talking to Pilot. I don't know. You know, things just get delayed and whatever. But now, if you ever wanted the 823 clear, you should be able to access it without having to go to the Japanese market, which is how I got mine eight years ago, maybe more. Something like that. It's been a long time, like, that it's been available. It's been available and just not easily accessible. And most of the retailers would not sell that product to an overseas address, right? You had to get, like, someone to carry it for you kind of thing. Or, you know, use a service to bring that over to you. So now it's available and it's cool. And so now my hope and dream is that we start getting that if they will expand the colors on this lineup, because it hasn't changed in as long as I've been following the 823. But they have, Pilot does the great translucent barrel colors in the 74s and the 92s where they have the blues and the oranges and the purples and things like that. So I wouldn't mind seeing, hey, throw me a purple translucent 823. I would really enjoy that Pilot. So I put in a...