Editing The Pen Addict 103/transcript (section)

== Pentel Energel ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. You know what's a good one is that I actually recommend a lot in email is the Pentel Energel. Because I'm not necessarily a huge fan of the G2, and the Energel always surprises people on how good of a pen it is. So, you know, that's one that every – a pen that everyone could own. But it's – I don't think that's – those pens are not exciting in the least. They're just high-quality workhorse-type pens. So, actually, I'm going to make a note here and think about this question a little bit more, see if I can come up with, like, a top five most exciting pens that are reasonable for everyone to have. What do you think about that?

'''Myke Hurley:''' That sounds like a great idea.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Like, I think, you know, I think probably, like, a Fisher Space pen would make that list. Sure. You know, something like that.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, but I agree with you that exciting and everyone should have are not the same thing even nearly.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep. So, I will work on that list. I'm making a note right now. So, except it's exciting, not exist – it's not the top five most existing pens. Well, that too, though. It's the top five most exciting.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Well, I guess the top five pens that exist, that's definitely a list that you're working on.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' See, this is where you're pro, too. You can talk, write, cut, paste, and show note all at the same time. I can barely walk and put one foot in front of the other one. I don't know. It's not talking to you.

'''Myke Hurley:''' You do a lot more of the talking than I do.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' For a reason. All right. Artist, artist, not artist, artist, Charbonneau, Flex Nibs, Brands, Descriptions, What's a Soft Flex versus a Music Nib? Sorry if I missed an episode that covered this. We have not covered, done a whole episode on – I call these specialty nibs for the most part. And I don't have a lot of experience with things like the Music Nibs or there's other nibs called the Zoom Nibs. So maybe we'll put together a segment just on specialty nibs. Flex nibs I'm a huge fan of. I don't have a lot of experience with them, though. I love how they feel. And I love my Pilot Falcon on how it writes because I can write very fine with the tip of it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And then I can add that flex when I'm writing if I need to, to broaden the line or add some character to the lines I'm writing. But I don't know that I have a huge amount to say about that because I'm not that experienced with it. I mean there's people who are seriously into the Flex Nibs and can talk about the range of Flex in those nibs. So that's something I'll research more and we'll do another segment on what are the specialty nibs out there, what do they have to offer you, and what you need to look for when buying them. Especially for things like the Music Nib and the Zoom Nibs and the PO Nibs that I have. So we will cover that some more.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And Elizabeth says, not necessarily a podcast topic, but recently tried Pilot Acroball and love it for work. Great recommendation. That's one of the most commented on pens that I get when I recommend it. They're like, most people find out the same thing, that this is a really great pen. It compares to the Jetstream. Some people probably like it better. I could argue that it's better. Jetstream just has a few more options than the Acroball does right now. But the Acroball is an amazing pen and I'm finally glad that Pilot brought them over into the U.S. Do you have an Acroball? Did I send you one a long time ago?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, you did.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' You probably don't use it. It's probably not a heavy rotation pen for you.

'''Myke Hurley:''' No, not even nearly. I liked it a lot more than the Jetstream. Yeah. Because I don't like those. Yep.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, if they would expand on that line a little bit like Jetstream has done, I think it could actually overtake the Jetstream. They're just playing catch up at this point. They're a good decade behind in that technology, in the hybrid ballpoint ink technology. So people are setting their ways with the Jetstream. But if they try an Acroball, they could make some inroads into Jetstream's market share. This was, I think, the best question out of all the questions we got. Jesse Sadler says, Excitement of expensive pens versus fun of being excited at $2 pens. Part of the draw of pens is that it can be an inexpensive hobby. I totally agree with that. That's how I started the blog. That's how I started Pen Addict with these inexpensive $2 and $3 pens that, honestly, at the time, just blew my mind. Like, I didn't know such a thing existed as a Pilot Hi-Tech C with these super fine .3 millimeter needle tips and all these huge range of ink colors. I almost, I get more excited at finding a great $2 pen than I do a great $200 pen. Because my expectations are that that $200 pen better be freaking good. And so, do I get excited about it? Yeah, I get excited about it, but in a different way that I may use it more and maybe have more satisfaction using it. But it's more fun to find a great $2 pen for me that can, you know, enter into, like, my pen rotation. Like, a Uni-Ball Sino DX. I think it's $2.50. It's always been around the same price. It's hard to beat that pen. And that is, I don't know, that's still one of the core things I try to do at Pen Addict. Even though I'm reviewing more fountain pens and more expensive pens, my favorite thing is still finding those great $2 and $3 pens.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Oh, my Pilot Explorer enabler, Jalti from, gosh, where's he from? Denmark. I'm going to butcher that. He's going to be mad at me because he talks to me all the time. He's the one who sent me the dozen Pilot Explorer. He says, talk about pocket pens. What will it replace the Pilot Explorer? And what the Pilot Explorer had going for it was size. It was a little bit smaller than a standard length pen. It was a little bit wider than a standard diameter pen. Had a good grip. Had a great clip.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I don't know that it's necessarily a pure pocket pen. And I'm actually having some struggles with pocket pens right now, trying to find that right thing. I've got a review of really more of a keychain pen coming out later this week. It was on Kickstarter. It's called The Move. But I've got the Lamy Pico, which is a good pocket pen. That might be a good choice, but you're stuck with the ballpoint refill. So I'm having some challenges, and I've got some ideas. So hold that thought, Jalti. And I've got some ideas on that that are hopefully coming out on the blog soon. I hate to talk around that question, but I don't think there's a clear replacement for the Pilot Explorer right now in the way that pen is designed.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Such a tease.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I know. I know. That's why I like these questions. They give me some good ideas for some topics, too. So they're helping us make the show that they want to listen to, Myke.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And the blog they want to read.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, absolutely. All right. This is a good question. You ready?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah.