Editing The Pen Addict 735/transcript (section)

== Kuretoga Mechanism ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, let's talk about why I dislike it. And if you're not familiar with the Kuretoga dive. So, the Kuretoga is a mechanism that Uniball makes that essentially rotates the lead as you write to keep a sharp point. That's a great, great mechanism. What they've done here, and they do this in other Uniball Kuretoga lineups and other Uniball Kuretoga pencils may be on their own. They have an advancing mechanism. So, as you write, not only does it rotate, it extends. And I hate that. I hate the Uniball advance mechanism. Because what I like in a pencil like this is rigidity and firmness. And with the standard Kuretoga, you get that because it's only rotating. But with the advance, it's actually going up and down. You technically shouldn't feel it. But when you use a pencil with an advance mechanism and then use like a stock, you know, engineering pencil or any mechanical pencil without an advance mechanism, you can feel the difference in firmness and softness of how it feels when you're writing. And I dislike that. So, this is like a writing pencil, if you will. Like, if you're going to write a bunch with mechanical pencil, I could see this. For me, it's not useful at all from an enjoyment perspective just because of the advance mechanism. No pencil should have an advance mechanism is my unpopular opinion. And I think most people do like the advance mechanism. And it just doesn't work for me. It's a feel thing, which we talk about a lot. I always have to talk about how I have to describe products. So, I want to feel with a mechanical pencil that I'm writing with a nail. And this is like writing with a sponge. And I don't like it. So, that's my... That's revisiting my Kuretoga dive review. But that's really any advance mechanism. Like that Uni does and other companies do similar things.

'''Myke Hurley:''' It's just got like a little bit more active feedback than you're necessarily looking for in that moment. Right? It's like something's happening always.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Like I picked up my dive today because we're going to talk about it. And I'm doing my show notes with it. And from the moment I said it on the page, I was like, I do not like how this feels. Like... And it's instant for me. Like just because I use so many mechanical pencils and I know what I like.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That ain't it. And I will still give you...

'''Myke Hurley:''' I don't like the color anyway. I'm not a big fan of like the gunmetal or whatever. Like it's not... Oh, yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I like it. I think it's good. I did like their purple and orange ones better. I will get one of these. I will... This is one of those products I will not chase down. And like I'm lucky that I got my first one from our friend Jacob in Japan. He happened to be at a shop that just got him in when the dive first came out. And he bought one and sent it to me. And that's the only reason I got this one. Because everything else is like a very premium price that's not worth it. But I will get one if I see one in Japan and, you know, maybe give it away or something like that. I'm glad to have this product on my desk. But I just don't use it. It's... It makes me talk though. It makes me think I'm... This is what I... This is what I want from companies. And it sounds like I'm talking about out of both sides of my mouth. But this is what I want Uniball to do. Doesn't mean it's for me. And that's something like we talk about a lot on this show. And we're actually going to talk about later in this show. Unbeknownst to you. So. Okay. That's the Kuretoga mat. Don't overpay for it. I guess is my final statement on this. It's going to be expensive to get outside of Japan. I just urge you not to... This one, there's no reason to chase this. Any Kuretoga dive. If you can get one for like 50, 60 bucks. Which is probably the outside of Japan normal price. That's fine. I wouldn't be paying $99 for this. That's ridiculous. Or $83. Or whatever those numbers are. That's crazy. It's not that good of a pencil. So it's just interesting. Speaking of interesting, my friends Amanda and Graham from Japan SideQuest launched a Kickstarter.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That's... Yeah, it's been up for a few days now. It's something I backed. I got to meet them, Myke. Unfortunately, you missed out. This was at the Twitch Play Live at St. Jude in April 2025. So not this year's Play Live, but last year's where we went to the Play Live event. I think was that last year? I think so. Things all blend together. So I got to meet them there. They're Twitch streamers. I kind of followed Amanda a little bit beforehand, but I'd never talked to her or met them. And I got to meet them in person. Okay. And the funny story I like to tell about this is we were all in Memphis as part of St. Jude Play Live. And we all got to learn about St. Jude. And we're all participating and raising money for St. Jude. And I got to talk to them. I was like, oh, it's so great to meet you. And we hit it off great. And it's like, yeah, as soon as we fly back to Washington State, we're moving to Japan next week. And I'm like, what? So they've been over there like a year and a half now and are doing all the things and including this stationary Kickstarter that I just wanted to mention. They're making a travel journal for Japan. So, you know, it's something very specific. Like, you know, do you want this? It's kind of like you need it for your trip to Japan. I'm not going to have it in time. Obviously, it'll be coming in. It's a Kickstarter next year. But that's okay. But that's okay. So what I'll do, there's so many cool add-ins and stuff. I'll actually probably gift the journal to someone who is going to take the trip. But then I get all the extra accessories. There's like a pencil pouch and postcards. And Amanda does great artwork. That's all her artwork and, you know, washi tape and stickers and all that stuff. So I just wanted to point this out. And I also supported their pen and paper guild. They do a gift box also on the Japan side quest page. So I just unboxed that this week on the blog. This is all, you know, something I paid for. They didn't ask me to do any of this. But I just think, you know, this is my aesthetic, my style. They're lovely people. And I just wanted to shine a light on that here for a minute. I love the 8-bit artwork. I really, I'm looking forward to getting some of this in hand. And then we'll check out the journal when it comes in. And I'll probably see if I can find someone that's going on a Japan trip. Or maybe I just save it for my second Japan trip.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Oh, he hasn't even been once. Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' He hasn't been once. He's already, what about the next time? What about the next time? Who knows, Myke? Who knows? But yeah. Very cool. So I thought listeners of this show might enjoy seeing that project. So I wanted to make sure to put it in here. All right.

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'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right, Myke, we got our shout-out of the week. Shout-out of the week. It's a combo meal, Myke. We're going Heinz Pen Co. and the Dallas Pen Show. So that's the shout-out of the week. Can we mix them together? The Heinz Pen Show? No. Can't do it. Probably. Well, I mean, Heinz is based in Texas. Dallas, as you may know, is based in Texas.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I've been stranded in Dallas more times than I can remember.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I have driven through Dallas. And that's about it. So, yeah. Oh, I take that back. I've actually been to the Dallas Pen Show. But when you go to- I would just like to make that clear. I like Dallas.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I've just ended up having to spend nights in Dallas because of like failed flight connections a few times. The first time I ever went there for Matt Alexander's wedding, I found like a hotel in an area that I liked. And then I've stayed in that hotel, I think, maybe three more times over the years.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Wow. That's not- I was going to say that's funny, but that's actually not-

'''Myke Hurley:''' It's always this trip, by the way.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Oh, nice. Nice. This is the one where I get sucked. So we'll see what happens this time. TBD. Yeah. Yeah. I have actually been to the Dallas Pen Show, but I forget. That doesn't count as being to Dallas because I go to the airport, to the hotel, and then back to the airport. That doesn't really count. So anyway, what I wanted to talk about was my Heinz Pen Co. review of their Sleepner model, which is a large eight-sided fountain pen that they gave me at the Atlanta, way back in the Atlanta Pen Show a few months ago. And I was just getting to the review. And I kind of, this was a happy accident. I had no intention of like doing this combo meal. But the whole goal of a lot of my reviews, and it kind of comes out in this Sleepner review, is that you really, when you get the chance, you take the opportunity to go places or see people that you can test out a lot of different fountain pens and shapes and sizes and feels. Because based on image or description alone, the Sleepner would not necessarily be for me due to its size. It's a larger pen. And I tend to have, I have a few larger pens, but I'm particular about that because that's not my normal feel of a fountain pen. And so this one actually ended up working really well for me because like the acrylic is not too heavy despite being a large pen. And the diameter of the barrel is not too wide because the section is managed right. And these are all things you learn as you go. And spoiler alert, we're going to have a topic on this here. And I'm here in a minute. But to my point, I don't know that I would have ever picked out this pen personally, especially if I'm just seeing it online. Despite how beautiful it looks, I would go, oh yeah, it's probably too big for me. But then you go to a pen show and I got to handle this pen in Atlanta. And I was like, huh, it's very comfortable. And it seems interesting. And I mean, the material is like second to none. That's the easy part. I was like, wow, it looks amazing.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And so like they gifted me this pen and said, hey, take it, review it, see what you think. So I always take a while to do reviews. I'm not very quick as they have just learned. But I put the Dallas pen show here because that's this weekend, this upcoming weekend. And they will be at the Dallas pen show. And if you're at the Dallas pen show, you should take the opportunity, not even necessarily to see Heinz, although I'm sure they would appreciate it if you do, but take the opportunity to take time to see anything, right? To see what you have questions about and what style of pens you might like. This is the best opportunity to go and handle a lot of different stationery, different styles, different shapes. Because, you know, there's nothing that can beat like an in-person experience when you're shopping for a pen. So I thought this pen and the timing of this show was kind of a good match to talk about. And then also relating to the topic that we're going to get to in a minute. So really enjoy this pen more than I expected to, to be quite honest. I just thought it was like, yeah, it's fine, but it's just going to be too big for me. It's not. It's actually quite an enjoyable writer. And I will say specifically to Heinz, and you've seen this before, if you're buying a Heinz pen, get a cool nib. Like they do all the different electroplating nib colors. Get yourself a cool nib to match your pen. Like that's the move.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I mean, obviously there are lots of reasons to get a Heinz pen, but like this has to be one of the reasons. Like I wouldn't understand why you would buy one of their pens and then not get a colored nib. Like it feels like a way to go. It adds so much. It adds so much. And it makes the pen really unique.