Editing The Pen Addict 377/transcript (section)

== Topic Shift ==


'''Myke Hurley:''' Which pens spark joy? Okay.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That's right.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I'm asking you which.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Oh, so I actually did that a little bit this morning. Like, I'm going through. Well, I need to clean, like, the handful of pens I have inked up because they've been inked up for a while and it's just time for new pens. So I sat there this morning and I found a sailor pen that I haven't used in a while. And it's the Imperial Black, the one that's all black, rhodium trim and has the metal section on it. And I bet I haven't used that in six, eight months. And it's just a glorious pen. So we just we have that one inked up with Sailor Yamadori this morning. That's what I'm using for show notes. And it's glorious. It sparks joy. It would not be it would not be sold.

'''Myke Hurley:''' This question comes from Zach. I've been listening to the show for a bit, but I've just really started getting into pens and I'm looking for a fountain pen and plan a recommendation. I'm a student in college, so I want something that will not be too out of place, but isn't crazy formal either. For pens, I really like a smooth writing experience with no scratchy feeling and thick, dark and wide lines. I push my pens really hard on the page and hold my pens in three fingers where it rests on my finger, my ring finger, my middle and index fingers. And I hold it then with my thumb kind of loops over the top. That's difficult to conceptualize, but I think I understand what Zach's saying.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I'm mimicking it right now.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I think I got it. As a student, I write on a variety of papers, so I need something that will be able to hold up to that too. So far, my favorite pens have been the Signo Uniball 207.7 millimeters and the G2.7 millimeters. If you can give paper or planner an ink recommendation too, that would be insanely helpful. Thank you guys for the amazing work. I want to say Twisby here, Bold or Stubnib, because that's a similar route to me. I think Zach actually has pretty similar preferences to me because they're using 0.7 millimeter gelling pens. So I recommend going for a Bold to start with for a fountain pen or a good medium and maybe looking at Twisby as a pen brand that's going to give you, I think, good results and not be too expensive and also doesn't look too stuffy. I get that's what Zach's going for here.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That's actually a good answer. And I would actually just expand on that to go with the 580 if your grip's a little bit off. The Eco and the Eco-T little molded grip areas may not work as well. 580's got a round grip, so your grip should fit. It's also wider, not than other Twisbys, but than other pens. So if you have that many fingers on the pen while you're riding, that extra barrel diameter helps. It also has some of the sturdiest, firmest steel nibs on the market. So like Zach says, they press really hard on the page, which is always a scary thing, which is why when we get into the planter section, you know, as much as nice as something with, you know, a thin page like a, you know, with the Tomoe pages. That's just not going to look good when you press that hard. The pressure marks will go through to the page behind it, and that will be an annoyance. So you want to look at something like Leuchtturm and Rodeo. Rodeo would probably handle the thicker, wider nibs and more ink better than Leuchtturm. I use Leuchtturm, and I use broad inks in it, or excuse me, broad nibs in it with fountain pen inks, and it's pretty okay. I think Rodeo would be better in this situation. And then you'll just have to figure out what planter style layout you have, like Rodeo has a bunch. Second from that, I'd probably try Midori for a planter layout with a good paper that's going to be able to handle the wet inks and the pressure that you write with.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Do not recommend Hobonichi's. The Tomoe River paper is going to be too much of a jump, I think, for what you're looking for right now.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, and I think the Jibun Techo from Kukuyo would be good, but I don't know anyone that's tested their new paper out yet. So I want to hold off and test that for myself. I have some coming. They switched their paper this year, and I want to test it out to see. So we'll see. We'll see.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Kind of a slight continuation from 24 hours, 100 miles. My 2SP580 Extra Fine is my favorite nib. For as fine as it is, it's not scratchy and allows me to take great notes. What are your favorite Extra Fine nibs under the $150 price range? Or how is the stock Platinum Ultra Extra Fine as well while we're at it?