Editing The Pen Addict 270/transcript (section)

== Made in USA ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' So our second holdover topic, the question was how important is Made in the USA to you? You know, like when you see brands, products, anything made in the USA, how important is that to you and what does it mean to you? And I apologize again, I forgot to write down the names of the listeners who asked these questions, but thank you for sending them in. So the Made in the USA thing to me is kind of a bonus feature, right? It's more about the people behind the products, it's more about is it a good design than necessarily where it's specifically manufactured. I've said all along that good products are made all over the world. It's, you know, but the Made in the USA thing, okay, it's a nice thing in the plus column, but I don't have to have that when I'm making a purchase. You know, it's not a mandatory thing. I'm more concerned about the people behind the company and the designs they make than where the product's made. Now, Nock presents itself as a Made in the USA brand, and that's something we set up purposefully because we wanted to try and do this. You know, it would be a lot easier and cheaper for us to go overseas to make our cases and to make our paper products, and there's nothing wrong with doing that, but we set it up in the beginning to try to do it here. So far, we've been able to succeed doing that. It's not without roadblocks and hassles and extra money, but we're able to do it. I'm very proud of that fact, you know, to keep, you know, our manufacturing local for Nock, and that's not going to change. You know, that's something we very much believe in. Jeff told me years ago that if we ever outsourced this brand overseas, he would quit, and that doesn't mean that Jeff's not for things not made in the USA. It means that for Nock, it's not the right solution for us. You know, we're fans of products made all over the world. We're consumers of all these things, but for Nock, that's what we try to do. It's specific to our brand. So, but on a consumer perspective, it doesn't really affect me or it affects me very minimally. I enjoy seeing it, but it's not going to necessarily drive my buying decision. So, it's kind of a two-sided answer for me because I have it as a consumer and I also have it as a business person. So, what do you think about this? I know we've talked about this in the past and we definitely kind of, we're on the same page, I think. So,

'''Myke Hurley:''' for me,

'''Myke Hurley:''' made in the USA, so bear with me here, right? Bear with me here. Made in the USA, I kind of translate in my mind to say made by people who really care about the end result. So, when I hear that, it is an indication to me that love and care went into it, like went into it and that the producer of the product is willing to spend more money to get a better result or is willing to make less profit to get a better result. Now, this is not the only indicator of this because I buy things that don't have that on there but are made by people that do care about their end result. I buy products from companies that are based in the USA who make their stuff overseas but I know I'm getting a good end result and there are many different things that can lead to that. It can be reputation, it can be just like a way that somebody tells a story, like I believe that design is important but made in the USA is one of these indicators. For small manufacturers, for me, if they say that they're made in the USA, it's a good sign but it's not the only sign. But I also don't have any patriotism so I don't care that it's made in the USA. If a German company says made in Germany, it's the exact same thing for me. If a UK company says made in the UK, it's the same thing. I understand what that means and what that means is we're trying to make the best thing we can. But as I say, that is not the only thing that I look for and it's not the only thing that I think telegraphs this but it is for me a good sign.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, I agree. I agree. So it's kind of a hard topic to discuss. It's one of those you know it when you see it kind of things. You know whether a company is using that in a good fashion or if they're just trying to do or be something they're not. And there's no one in this community that does that. They're all really great American makers that stand behind the made in the USA manufacturing. So it's nice to see that but is it necessarily going to determine? Is it like the primary factor in me making a person? It's never going to be. So I just want a good product.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, definitely.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep. So I added something before we get into our STPA that I wanted to discuss because I'm in a weird place with what I have currently inked Myke. And every now and then we do this. You know, people want to know what are we using? What's our favorite products right now? And since I came home from the DC Pen Show, I have cleaned every fountain pen I own except for two. I have two fountain pens inked up right now. I actually have no desire to ink up any fountain pens. And I'm kind of happy with where I'm at right now. I don't know how like the desk pictures I put on Instagram, you know, having a clean desk. I don't know how long that's going to last. I don't know how long having two pens inked up is going to last. But I'm kind of feeling healthy about the whole situation right now. I don't feel like I'm in some obscene inked up place where I have 15 pens going and none getting used. I have two that I'm using a lot. And one of them is the Pelican M205 with a steel extra fine nib. And I have it inked up with Pelican blue black ink. And I wanted to test this pen out as just like a workhorse daily carry pen. And right now it's doing great. I mentioned that the Aurora Duo cart back in that review a month or two ago. It clicked with me. That pen seems like it would be a good everyday carry pen. But there's a couple issues with it. And the Pelican M205 solved those issues. So why don't I use that as an everyday carry fountain pen? And I think it's great. I thoroughly enjoy using this pen. I'm using it for show notes today. And I like it. And I think I'm just going to keep it inked up all the time. It's just a good all-around workhorse pen that I can throw in a pocket and leave the house and do anything.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And this is the Duo cart, right?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' No, no, no. This is the Pelican M205. Ah, yeah, sorry,

'''Myke Hurley:''' I got lost there. The Duo

'''Brad Dowdy:''' card made me think, made me want something more, and then I realized, wait a minute, I have that something more in a cheaper pen. Yeah, because we

'''Myke Hurley:''' were going to follow up on this, right, when we spoke about these pens. So you feel that this is giving you what you really are looking for?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So far, yeah, and I've beat it around pretty good. I've taken it to my son's baseball games and written some notes and banged down my, I keep my leather fodder stack with this and some note cards in it, and if the umpire makes a bad call and I'll slam the thing down on my leg or on my chair, and then it'll hit me, it's like, oh, I had my fountain pen in there, man, ink's going to be everywhere, but not a drop. This pen is awesome. So, and it's in a weird place in the market, it's a weird price for what you get, but in the end, what you really get is a pen that can do anything, anywhere, anytime, super durable pen, love it. The only other pen I have, fountain pen I have inked, is my pen addict model, Franklin Kristoff, which I love, I love that pen shape and color, obviously, and this one especially because I put that Sig Flex nib in it, which I enjoy writing with, it's absolutely not a Flex, don't at me, it's not a Flex, but it's a wonderful nib to write with, it's very bouncy and springy and enjoyable writing experience, and I have that inked up with, of course, a very bright orange ink, and that's the Sailor Ken Mokuse, which is, you know, close to apricot and things like that, so I put away all my other fountain pens that I cleaned up, put them in there, you know, cigar box trays on my desk, they're nice displays, they're all full, I was like, ooh, look how pretty all these are, and I don't want to ink up a single one, just because I'm happy with what I have right now, and don't need more pens inked up, now I'm going to San Francisco pretty soon, it's probably going to change, and, you know, I have pens to review, so it's definitely going to change, but for my stuff, the things that I use, I've got two fountain pens inked up, and I'm pretty happy with that, so I don't know where, I'm in a weird headspace right now, Myke, is it normal? Am I okay?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I think you're okay. You may be like in pen show fatigue mode,

'''Brad Dowdy:''' so. I honestly think that's it, because I've been carrying like loads of pens inked up from show to show to show, you know, at least like once a month, so I don't trade them out very often, but those aren't the only pens I'm using, right? You know, I carry my pen type B with me all the time, which has the high-tech C refill, and then I'm carrying my shown design Lisa Frank pen, like I use those all the time.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' But fountain pen wise, I have two pens inked up, and I'm pretty good with that.

'''Myke Hurley:''' It's a weird place to be.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So I'm also in a different place just because I'm in a different place. I have less inked up than usual, like I'm carrying around with me pens that are empty, which is not a thing that I do, right? But I don't, like for example, my Canalea Maui Makai, that won't be inked until I get home again because I don't have the ink that I want to put in that,

'''Brad Dowdy:''' right? And that's a pen that requires the ink you want in it. You don't just accept whatever you have on hand.

'''Myke Hurley:''' It has to have Robo Osterfire and Ice, like that's what that pen has to have in it because I have to put a blue ink in the pen that's got all the blue accents, like there's no way I'm going to do it. Because plus as well, like I don't, I don't need that pen, right? Like it's got a 1.1 stub on it. Like this is not a pen that I use every day for regular notes. But plus what I'm using right now, like one of the pens that I have inked that is, that kind of is taking its place for the moment, is the Haleakal Silhouette, which has Robo Oster Yellow Sunset in it, which is a perfect pairing. And I have like a, I think I have a broad on this. Yeah, I have a broad rose gold nib. So like that's doing the job, right? Like it's doing the, like my little highlights and stuff like that that I take with it or my fun notes or my scribbles and stuff. I'm using that pen for that and it's doing a great job. And then for my daily, what I'm taking my notes with today, my daily user right here is my, my second Pilot M90 that I acquired from Brad Downey, which, Mr. Brad Downey, yeah, that, that, that guy, Mr. Brad Downey. And I, I found some, as I mentioned earlier, some blue Pilot Namiki cartridges. Let me tell you, this, you know, maybe it's because I haven't used it in a while, but this one feels even nicer to use. Like, God, I love this pen so much. It might have just been because I've taken a few days away from it using other stuff. I also have with me my Sailor Pro Gear with Roshisuku Fuyugaki that came over inked. It will go home inked, you know, it's, that's just, I gotta have that pen. And also my shown design, what I'm referring to as my Dexter pen, which is like the silver pen with the red splats all over it, which has a red Fisher space pen refill in it. So that's what I have inked. up right now and that's, I feel like that's a pretty good, pretty good collection for me. Yeah, you've got it

'''Brad Dowdy:''' covered right there. I like it. So yeah, I, I don't know like that I want to have more things inked up right now unless there's a very, very good use case. Like my, my two fountain pens work together, my other pens work together. I'm mostly using the, the traveler's notebook set up in, you know, my seed case that is coming soon to a store near you at knockco.com.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Knock.co, knock.co is a