Editing The Pen Addict 458/transcript (section)

== Van Demons Diamonds Ink ==


'''Brad:''' It matches the pen perfectly. I have it in a medium nib so I can get all the character of the ink and the sparkles. I put a link in the show notes so everyone can see what this ink looks like. Kelly at Mountain of Ink. Like, this is her fault that I had to have this ink, and luckily I had a sample of it that was sent to me. And you go look at that. What do you think about this ink, Michael? Would you use an ink like this in any of your pens? Like, is this any way, like, you know, useful to you?

'''Myke:''' I think, well, not useful. I mean, not useful. I don't like the color of this ink. I like the pink part, but the kind of silvery part makes the whole thing look a little, like, muddy or faded to me in a way that I don't like.

'''Brad:''' Yeah, on the page, it's really that pinkish-purple color, and then the sparkles kind of hit separately from that, like, when the ink dries.

'''Myke:''' So this is one of those ones where the swabbing doesn't do it just, like, doesn't actually really help the look.

'''Brad:''' Yes. And sometimes those swabs are good, and sometimes they're bad and, like, not representative of actual usage. So, yes. We talk about that all that time. Both of those two fountain pens, the bung box, Fujiyama Blue, and the Sailor Spoke Icon, I'm using those mostly in my Misubi Indigo Denim Journal. Still my favorite current notebook, right? I praise the Mormon Croquis notebook, the paper, because it's fun. It doesn't really come in, like, a great, great format, which is why I had to kind of roll my own with the Disbound Planner. The Misubi Journal is still my number one notebook with a bullet, with the bank paper. I'm a big fan of the bank paper over the Cosmo Aerolite for my usage. Now we have group three.

'''Brad:''' This one I call the test drivers.

'''Myke:''' Do you see what I did there, Myke? Yes, that's a good crossover. I'm into it.

'''Brad:''' Thank you. Thank you. So this is the test drivers kit, or group. I always have things that I need to test, or I'm just trying to sort out my thoughts. This could be pens that I have to review later. It could be something I'm testing out for spoke. It could be a product that someone sent me from Kickstarter.

'''Myke:''' You have to test a lot of things a lot of the time for various reasons, whether it's something you're developing or something that you're reviewing or whatever, right? Right. Testing is normal.

'''Brad:''' Yes. And I don't do my testing as, okay, today I pick up this pen, and for the next hour this is the pen that I'm going to test. It's, hey, let's ink up this pen and just use it as I would normally use other things. So that's, like, my, in general, that's how I test products. We just put them into, like, regular usage of being accessible to me when I'm doing things. One is a refill I'm using in the Spoke Rody Dart, which the Spoke Rody takes the Parker-style refills. We sell it with the Jetstream, the SXR Jetstream that I love, and we're not going to switch it from that, but I'm testing this refill because it's a Parker-style gel refill from a brand called Kaco. K-A-C-O. They make these fountain pens, and I still don't know how to pronounce the name. If it's Kaco or Kaco. K-A-C-O. But this is a 0.5-millimeter gel blue-black ink, which is not something you see a lot of. And I had to trim it to get it into the Rody, and I'm not necessarily saying, like, this is the future Rody refill. We're not going to change that. But I'm just, this is where I test these Parker-style refills because that's what that pen barrel fits. It's decent. Decent, I'm trying to sort out if it's actually better than decent because this is a category of refill that people really want because there's not many good Parker-style gel ink refills. I talk about the Odo Flash Dry. That's one of my favorites. But it's also a needle point, which I love, but it doesn't, it's not always the most aesthetically pleasing when you put it into pens that were designed to continue the shape of a conical tip refill. Like, that design can be a little bit jarring when they're not made for that style of refill, even though I think it's a great refill. And Monteverde makes some Parker-style gel refills. They're okay. I think this one's just going to be okay. I don't know that it's going to be great. I like it. I don't, I just don't love it. So I'm playing with that and using it a bunch. I've been using it a lot, actually, and I can't really get past it being just okay. Like, I want it to be great. I, I'm not sure it is. We'll see. We'll see. It's not bad, though. Second thing is one of the Kickstarter pens I'm testing out. This pen isn't even live yet on Kickstarter. It's coming soon. It's called, it's from a brand called, a company called Finks Products. The pen is called the Organ, I guess. Origin. I don't know if these names are a little bit interesting to pronounce, but the pen itself is good. I put a link in to my Pen Needs Inc. blog. They did a review. Had a prototype of this. I have one as well. It's, yeah, Origin, right? Origin? Origin. Origin. It's like Oregon. It's, it's Oregon without the O. So, Origin. So, yeah. Yeah. It's a, the model I have, I think, is a little bit different from the link that we'll put in the show notes, in that mine shipped with a Pilot G2 refill.

'''Brad:''' It's got a nice twist mechanism on the pen. It's PVD coated. Mine is gray, you know, like a dark kind of gun-metally gray. It's not as black as the one in the review. And I'm liking the feel of this pen. So, like, G2 fans, you know, you can keep an eye out for this maybe in the future on Kickstarter. It's machined very nicely. I think the price range is going to be, like, around $50, which is a great, like, price point for this type of pen. If you're liking the G2 type refills and the twist mechanism and the style of this pen. Like, I think the build quality is really good. So, this is, like, one of those things that I also carry and test around and, you know, see, like, formulate thoughts, decide if I'm going to review it or not. You know, maybe it's just an Instagram picture or maybe it's, you know, a full bore review, things like that. So, I just play around with a lot of things. And, you know, that's just, those are the things at the top of my list. Like, I carry around a lot more stuff with me. Like, I still have, you know, like, a whole Brasstown full of pens, a whole Lookout full of pens that move around with me. But these are the pens and papers that I'm reaching for the most probably over the last two weeks at least. And that's what I want to talk about later after we figure out what you're using. But, like, I want to talk about, like, some of these time frames and how I switch things out and how I can present this later. So, I want to hear what you have. But first, what are we going to talk about?

'''Myke:''' Yeah, if you listen to this conversation and you're like, oh, man, I need some new pens in my life, then you should go to Pen Chalet because they have everything that you're looking for. From fountain pens to ballpoints to mechanical pencils to rollerballs. Whether you want refills, carrying cases, ink, converters, no matter what you're looking for, Pen Chalet have got it. And they have products from all of your favorite brands of which they have an authorized dealer of all of them. Pen Chalet believe in the best customer service possible. They believe that they should be fast and reliable. And they want you to be happy. So, they give you a 100% satisfaction guarantee on anything you buy from Pen Chalet. They're always doing great sales and they have the best prices you can find. I really love Pen Chalet's selection. It just keeps getting more and more all the time. The folk over at Pen Chalet, they add new products to the site every couple of weeks. There's new stuff, new brands, always something fun and new to look for. And they do great sales as well. So, they do discounts on a bunch of things. So, they keep that inventory moving, which is exciting. They do free shipping on orders of over $50 in the U.S. And they also sell internationally with really great shipping rates. Pen Chalet has low prices on high quality pens. And they offer that 100% satisfaction guarantee. So, go to penchalet.com and click the podcast link at the top of the website. Enter the password penaddict for this week's special offer. And to get the code that you need to save 10% on anything at any time at Pen Chalet. What is catching you right, Brad?

'''Brad:''' I think Ron is trying to tell me something here. Okay. Because I keep threatening to buy one of these Cross pens. And he keeps putting them at the top of the list. And I still haven't done it yet.

'''Myke:''' He's got one of your name on it.

'''Brad:''' Yeah. Like, the ATX has been the one I've been eyeballing. He's got the Cross Century 2, which is kind of like the presidential style pen. And then the classic Cross Century, which is the skinnier one. But the thing about these is the price is crazy. And then, like, the classic Cross has, like, the seafoam green model. It's like a Tiffany color. Greenish blue, which is pretty neat. But then you scroll down. And then he hits me right in the sweet spot with this Kaweco AL Sport in gold. That's at a price you... It's bad, right? The price is bad because it's so good it makes you want to buy it, right? So, like, it's a bad price. It's a good, bad price. It's just for one of just my favorite pens on the market, period. That is a good, bad price. Yeah. Yeah. In the Kaweco AL Sport. So, yeah. And, like, the list is exceedingly long today. Like, sometimes there's different ranges of things that Ron puts up for all of our wonderful listeners at the Pen Addict. He also... I scrolled way down here. He's got the Conklin Word Gauge. And I know Sarah, who writes for the Pen Addict, she's a writer. She loves the word gauge. She just thinks it's fun.