Editing The Pen Addict 582/transcript (section)

== Refills for the Retro 51 Pen ==


'''Myke Hurley:''' All right. Next up, we have a question from Steven who asks, Are there any good refills for the Retro 51? I've had nothing but hassle with Schmidt refills. They always stop writing in one direction for me, so my writing always looks patchy.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Oh, that stinks, honestly. But those Schmidt refills do, I know, cause problems for people like more leaking than like the writing. I've never had like a writing problem with them, but I've had some like messiness problem with them. So I know people, I ordered some refills, like Parker style refills can fit into the Retro 51. So if you're looking for like a good Parker style refill, you can get the Jetstream SXR007, I believe is it. That's a fantastic refill, but it's a ballpoint, like a hybrid ballpoint ink. So it's not the rich rollerball ink like in the Schmidt's. But anything that's a Parker style should fit in the Retro 51s. In the past, I've used the Oto Flash Dry, which is a needle tip gel ink pen, and it fits in there perfectly. And it's a 0.5 millimeter black gel ink needle tip. That's probably one of my favorites to just kind of hot swap in there. And then I've just recently ordered some colorful refills, I think from Monteverde. So like the Parker styles, but I bought like a pink and a purple and a green that I haven't not tested out yet. But, you know, anything in that Parker style that you like, it should be hot swappable into the Retro 51. If you want to swap out of the Schmidt, my first recommendation would probably be the Oto Flash Dry. Just because I've used that one a bunch in there. If you want a needle tip gel ink pen. So it may not be your style, that's not for everybody, but that's a great refill.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I find it so strange sometimes that like people, I've come into it, right? People like, oh, this refill isn't working for me. Or like, you know, like I bought one of the Mark 1s and it's not working. And I've tried it multiple times with multiple refills and it's like skipping a bunch. I don't know what goes on because like people have consistent issues with the refills in a way that I don't. And I find it very peculiar.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I think it's because they're constantly exposed, right? There's never a seal on any of this stuff. And like a lot of mine stay in the house and are pretty tame. Like if you're traveling with one and it's just constantly open and changing, like, barometric pressures.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So I wonder if maybe like there are certain conditions in which some people would use these pens, like the Red 51s and the Mark 1s. And those conditions would result in the refills drying out or skipping or something.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, it's probably just less consistency, right? Because it's more unstable. But I mean, that's just, I mean, who knows, right? Like, but that is a choice. That is a thing. I know if you bang around these Schmidt refills, you know, a lot, like if you're carrying your pocket, you're liable to end up with a leak on your pants, right? They're just, you can't be rough with them because they're not sealed off.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, that's interesting. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. All right, next question comes from Chris who says, It's been a while since we heard anything from Myke regarding his pen or ink usage and or purchases. Has he lost his pen mojo or fallen out of love? With the awesome hobby. Yes, this is my final episode of The Pen Addict. Goodbye, Brad. It's the end for me.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That was one of our goals for St. Jude. Just getting rid of me. Getting rid of you. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' No, I mean, look, here's, I have a couple of things that's going on with like why I buy less. I found a new hobby, which was keyboards, and I put kind of my hobby money into keyboards, but I have also stopped that now. Like I had a couple of friends come to the studio a couple of days ago, and they were remarking about how it feels like the keyboard, like stuff that I have has grown. And I'm not actually buying anything more. It's stuff that I bought in 2020 and 2021 that is all arriving, and it's arriving at an amount which is kind of like unbelievable. Like I need to start getting rid of some of this stuff because also like over the last three years, my tastes have changed and all that kind of stuff. So it's actually a thing that I'm thinking about, like, oh, how can I do this in a way that is easy to deal with?

'''Myke Hurley:''' But so that was kind of where my hobby money had gone. But now I'm like, I've cooled that down significantly. I think the bigger issue for me is that even before then, I wasn't buying a lot of stuff online. I was buying more stuff at pen shows. That's exactly what I was going to say. And I've not been to a pen show since 2019. So that has been a significant factor in the fewer purchases that I've made where now, like, I'll buy some Canalea pens because I know the quality. I'll buy the occasional platinum. I stopped buying Sailors. I buy, like, you know, I bought a couple of Tactical Turns. I've bought some Mark 1s. It's like, basically, I've bought more new models of pens that I know rather than things that I want to try out new. Because the things that I like to add to my collection, especially in fountain pens, are now just like the more expensive stuff, things that are doing something new or different. Because I have got such a great collection that I'm content with it. So when I add to it, I feel like it needs to be a substantial thing for some reason or another. And I'm less comfortable with making a lot of those purchases online. Because I want to be able to try them myself now if I'm going to be stretching my wings and trying something new. So, yeah. I don't know. This is just something that, like, I have not felt the pull so much recently because I just don't feel like I have the same exposure that I used to. Yeah, it's a refinement phase. Right?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Yeah, it's a refinement phase. So, like, I'm in it, too. Like, I came home from the Orlando Pen Show with, like, one new pen for me. Like, I bought two pens. But one is for me, like, to go into my collection and something I'm going to use for a while. Where normally, or a lot of times, that might be, like, five pens, right? Like, but I was just at the DC Pen Show, right? And I'll always have, like, access to a lot of things. So I'm trying to work on, like, my personal refinement of, hey, what are the pens that are most important to me? And, like, we spoke on that last episode, like, I just inked my Kasama, which I've owned for a couple years. I've just inked up my Aboya, which I've owned for five years, right? As opposed to, like, always inking up, like, the brand new pen all the time, right? Something that I'm acquiring. It's cool to, like, look at your own personal collection and realize why you bought some of this stuff in the first place and get them back in use. So, yeah, I definitely think there's some refinement going on. Just a different scale with me than you, for sure. But I do, I'm glad you mentioned the comment about the pen shows. Because I was going to bring that up, for sure, about you.

'''Myke Hurley:''' It's obviously the difference between me and you is, like, you're just getting some stuff all the time, you know?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep. Which I don't have that. I have, I have tons, I have infinite access, honestly. Like, I can get, like, whatever I want when I want it. I will say, I don't want that. But I try to.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Like, I know I said, but I also don't want it. Because it's not, this, that's not my job. Like, for this show, my job is here to facilitate our conversation. Like, to be here for you. And we can talk and you can talk to me. And we can bounce things off each other. And I feel like I have, like, a base knowledge now, which gets me through everything. But just, like, I am not in the acquisition phase of the hobby at the moment. Yep. Yep. Exactly. Good question. Jacob writes in and says, for Japanese gel pens, is there any difference between the capped gel pen and retractable gel pen? For example, the Signo DX and the Signo 207. They use different refills, shape, and dimension. But is the ink any different? Is the writing experience any different? Why not just use the exact same refill for the capped and retractable gel pen?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Such a good question. I love this so much. And, like, Jacob, I'm not going to be able to give you, like, I just want to lead with this. Like, I'm not going to be able to give you an absolute definitive answer. But I can tell you what I believe. And I can tell you some factually correct statements that some of these gel ink pens refills are different. Even, like, let's take the Signo 207. There's Signo 207. Signo 207 Plus. There was Signo 307. And there might even be one more I'm forgetting about. Just in the 207 lineup. Guess what? Every one of those is a different ink formulation. So, you have to figure out and look at some of the marketing of some of these pens. Because, like, just in that one lineup alone, there's three different ink formulations at least. Right? So, the Signo DX, rewinding back to that one, which is the pen that I praise so much, it doesn't have some of the more modern Signo 207 ink properties. But it does have the same standard base level 207 ink properties. The one question I've always had, and this is related to your overall question, is there a difference between the Signo DX and the Signo RT and RT1? And I don't think there's any ink difference, but I think the tip manufacturing is different, right? I think the way it applies the line to the page in the same .38mm tip, it feels different to me. Now, that just might be a me thing. And if I go to Uniball and ask them, I would bank on them telling me it's the same manufactured tip between the two pens. But I personally think they're different. That was always one of my big hangups on why I like the DX so much, even though the RT and RT1 should theoretically be the exact same refill in a retractable pen. I always found the line to be different, which is why I always preferred the DX. So, I don't know if I'm totally answering your question. I don't think I can answer your question perfectly. But with Uniball, they have many different ink formulas, many that they use in the same lineup. So, you do have to pay attention. I do think, and this is just my opinion, I did not ask them or get clarification on this, their base gel ink pens, and by that I mean the DX, the RT1s, and the base 207 is the same ink. But there's variances outside of those three definitive models. And I think there might even be some tip manufacturing variance between like the DX and the RT1 like I was speaking about. But since the 207 is the popular shelf brand, that's the one they experiment with the most with nanoparticles and pigmented inks and saturated inks. And then they've morphed that into the Uniball 1 line, which just adds in more confusion. So, out of all these lines, I think the Signo 207 product lineup is the most confusing for consumers with at least three different ink formulations that you may not notice when you're buying them. So, I think this is a good question. I'm sorry I can't give you like a complete like exact chart of clear black and white facts on this. But that's my take on those specific inks.

'''Myke Hurley:''' This episode is brought to you by Pen Chalet. Pen Chalet have the greatest product selection around. You can buy products from your favorite brands, whether you want something from Pilot, Sailor, Caverco, Platinum, Monteverde, many more. The list goes on and on and on. Like if you go to the Pen Chalet website and you hit the brand link, there's always stuff that's being added new there. And the list is just huge. They have rollables and fountain pens, ballpoints, mechanical pencils, inks. They have carrying cases, pen holders, refills, so much more. So, you can get the pens that you want and the accessories that keep them running. They're always adding new styles of pens every month and they have discounts every couple of weeks. Pen Chalet believe in fast and reliable customer service and they want to give Pen Addict listeners great deals. Pen Chalet have low prices and high quality pens. They offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee, free shipping on orders of over $75 in the U.S. and reasonable shipping rates for international customers. Go to penchalet.com. That's P-E-N-C-H-A-L-E-T.com and click the podcast link at the top of the website. Enter the password Pen Addict where you will get your eyes on this week's special offer and to get the code that you need to save 10% on anything over at Pen Chalet. What have you found, Brad? There's some new stuff in there I spoke to run and he added some new deets.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, I'm going to do a big tease, Myke. I'm not going to tell you what's on there, but I'm going to tell you an anecdote from the Orlando Pen Show that I had someone come up to me and say, Brad, thank you for telling me what was on that Pen Chalet sale page because I was able to go get one of those Pelican nibs that you mentioned was such a huge outlier on there at a great price on Pen Chalet. And I wouldn't have known it was there unless you scrolled all the way to the bottom of this page. So, you got to go to this page yourself and find out all the magic that's on it because, you know, I can tell you all the secrets that are on here and I usually do. And in that case, I got some feedback. It's like, hey, thanks for sharing those secrets with us. So, y'all got to dig through this page. There's some cool stuff here. So, yeah. So, go check it out. That's the best selling point I can give you is that that's the feedback I got just last week at the Orlando Pen Show. It's thanking me for sussing out some of the great deals on this page. And thanks to Ron for putting it together.

'''Myke Hurley:''' That's P-E-N-C-H-A-L-E-T dot com. Hit the podcast link at the top of their website. Use the password of Pen Addict 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. Our thanks to Pen Chalet for their continued support of this show and RelayFM. All right. Our next question comes from Joe. And Joe says, my favorite gel pens are the Zebra Sarasa Clip 1mm and the Pilot G2 1mm, mostly used for writing addresses on postcards. I've been trying and failing to find a multi-pen that accommodates these refills. I feel like I must be missing something obvious. So I thought I'd drop you guys a note in the hopes that I have just been oblivious. If there's something that fits those refills specifically, any recommendation for a similar broad, preferably gel, multi-pen would be appreciated. If there's nothing that fits them specifically.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So Joe is completely missing something obvious. Whoa. And it is... Sorry, Joe.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Get ready to have your mind blown, Joe.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' No, no, no. No, no, no, Joe. It's a technical problem. You can't fit wide tips in a multi-pen.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, I thought you were going to say that.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It is a technical problem. So there are no multi-pens over like 0.7mm. And a lot of the 0.7mm aren't even gel, they're ballpoint because they can narrow those tips even further. The gel ink pens, like when you get into the 1.0s and even the 0.7s, you need a wide tip to get a good flow for the ink. And then the problem is you're laying so much ink on the page, even if you could fit like two or three 1.0mm gel ink refills in there, you're going to run out of those inks in like a day because the capacity is going to have to be so small to fit in the barrel. So, Joe, you can't have it. Thank you, Joe. You don't get nice things, Joe. But no, it's a technical problem, right? Like the key for multi-pen refills is they have to be narrow enough to fit throughout the opening in the barrel. And when you get those wide tips, even for like a two-pen or two-refill multi-pen, which theoretically should be possible, you're going to have such a poor refill size that you're going to end up having a bad experience because you're going to use the ink so quick. So, yeah, it's a technical problem. And that's just – I'm sorry, that's not the answer that you wanted, but that's all you're going to get.