Editing The Pen Addict 437/transcript (section)

== Pen of the Year Review ==


'''Myke Hurley:''' I know.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And you know what it is. Yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So we can re-bring up the 2020s pen.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I am never going to skip an opportunity to talk about a fountain pen with abs on it, Myke. And that is the 2020 pen of the year Sparta featuring abs. Abs, Myke, in the grip section. Abs.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I had forgotten about this.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' There are abs in the grip section.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I was, we even, we were concerned with the orientation of the abs, if I remember correctly, last year. But, you know.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Kate is letting us know that the up and down thing on the top of a turret is called castellations.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Castellations. It's, so, talk about the knights for a second. This is stunning. It looks amazing, right? This is what your superstar highly, like literally your pen of the year. You're putting all of your effort as a brand into making your couture collection for the year. Your show pen, right? Last year was abs on a grip section. This year is like a legit amazingly cool pen, right?

'''Myke Hurley:''' It's like the difference between these two pens is ridiculous. Because like last year's tacky and also a joke, right? But this one, it's like, holy moly, you made a cool looking pen, right? Like, it's not too much. It's like just the right amount. And the details are more understated and therefore, I think, more effective.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Absolutely. Like, this is, you know, this is like perfect execution for what you're trying to do. Like, for the story you're trying to tell. Like, they did a wonderful job. I love looking at this pen. Like, I have no desire. Like, I don't like the big flash pens. It's like, now, you know, give me a chaos pen. We might have to have a different story. I might tell a different story, Myke. But like, this is never a pen that I'm going, oh, this is now on my shopping list. Like, for a grail pen type of thing. It's just not. I'm not interested in that. But for what it is and for what they executed, it's amazing. And it's such a different pen. I actually went back and looked through some of the previous years before the abs pen. And they're kind of like this knight's pen. It's like this abs pen is kind of an outlier in, like, what they were trying to do. It was a little bit try-hardy with the abs. It's like right idea, wrong execution. Where, like, they did the samurai was the year before. And it's really beautiful. Oh, I'm looking at that now. It looks like the knights. And, yeah. So, they've done some really cool special things. And the knights is one of those things. It was just, I'm never going to skip.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, all of the previous years are really good and really beautiful. Why did they put abs on that pen?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That was so stupid. You know, it's the great unanswered question, Myke. We will never know.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Like, the last ten years of these things have looked fantastic.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And then they made this, like, joke pen. Why did they do that?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' They were just, I don't know. It's just one of those. I think that's when you get a little bit high on your own supply, right? Yeah. I think that's what the thing is. It's like, oh, man, we're crushing this. Look at the feedback we get. You know, look at this. You know, the Vikings pen that they did is really subtle compared to a lot of these other ones. I don't know what year that was. 2017. Yeah. Like, it is subtle and classic, classically styled. And they're probably, every year they're getting, like, great articles written about these. Because you'll never, you'll very rarely see one of these in person, right? That's not what this pen is. This isn't, like, an every person's pen, right? This is, like, the show, the show car. And then to just come out with that, I think it was just a little bit, we can do no wrong type of situation. And it was like, whoops. We put abs on the grip section. And that was a thing, wasn't it?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, anyway, good job with the Knights.

'''Myke Hurley:''' All right. This episode is also brought to you by our friends over at Pen Chalet. They sell the best products from the companies that you love with fast and reliable customer service with the best prices you can find and fantastic shipping options. These are all wonderful reasons to support this company. Pen Chalet really are a great pillar of our community as well. They have authentic, amazing rollables, fountain pens, ballpoints, mechanical pencils, and so much more. And are always adding discounts and new products to their site multiple times a month. They're getting stuff on there as much as they can. And they're doing the best prices that they can offer you. As well as having the pens that you're looking for, they also have the accessories. Whether you're looking for a carrying case or a refill. Maybe you want a converter. Doesn't matter what you're looking for. Bottles of ink. Pen Chalet have got it. They sell internationally with great shipping rates. And if you're in the U.S. and your order is over $50, your shipping is free. Pen Chalet has low prices on high quality pens. And they offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. So 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. And you'll get a code to save 10% on anything at any time at Pen Chalet. And access to a selection of special offers available just to Pen Addict listeners. What has caught your eye this time?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So two primary pens. Very interesting additions this week. Monteverde Invincia Deluxe. Which is very pretty black nib Monteverde. With importantly the rose gold one at 50% off. It's a lot off. I'm probably not supposed to say that out loud. So I said it quietly. So maybe you didn't hear it and you'll just go over and check it. What did you say? I didn't hear it. I didn't say anything. So the next one I'm even going to say even less. The Estabrook Maraschino Estee Oversize. The bright red Estabrook. If you've been looking for an Estabrook and you haven't found one that caught your eye. And the Maraschino is a more recent release. And you were looking for that one. This is at a price you don't normally see. So it's definitely discounted a little bit more than normal. And I don't know that these normally get many discounts. So it was interesting to see. Because you don't see that. So very cool. Two very good choices this week. At very good prices. Very good discounts you don't normally see. And then of course there's a whole slew of other offers as you go scroll down the page. So definitely go and check them out.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Alright you can go there right now. Penchalet.com Click the podcast link at the top of the website. And enter the password Pen Addict. To get your hands on these deals. Our thanks to Penchalet for their support of this show. And RelayFM.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Myke. Mmhmm. I try not to be like the high horse person. Uh oh. Like I get unfairly. You know Brad's riding the high horse kind of thing again. And there was an article out a week ago. So. We're fans of the Wirecutter here. I'm fans of the Wirecutter. I've worked with them on some pen. Pen articles. And notebook articles. Which we'll get to. And they. You know. They. What. How would you describe their business model Myke? Their reviews site.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Mostly. Like they're trying to find the best of everything. Right. So yeah. And then they were bought out by the.

'''Myke Hurley:''' They're going to pick a category. They will buy a bunch of the leading products in that category. Do a bunch of research. Try them all out. And then give you their results at the end of it. It's more. You know. Like a modern consumer reports. Or a. Like a witch we have here in the UK. And then they make their money through affiliate fees.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. Right.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And then the New York Times bought them.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. So. The Wirecutter. I value them because I feel like they. You know. They're an affiliate based. Review site. But. I feel like they do a good job at. The. They do the correct vetting. And the correct analysis. And. You know. The. The kind of thorough testing that you want to see. To get to. The actual answer. And just set of. You know. Spewing out a bunch of leaks. Here's our top 10. X. Right. So. They are legit. Like. Take it seriously. To find the best thing. So. They did an article. November 6th. The best pencils for writing and school work. Cool. Like. Let me see what's in here. And I don't have. A real problem with. You know. Any of the choices. Or any of the. Testing that they did. I have. An issue with. The premise. Of the article. In the first place. That. They're focused on the U.S. market. For one. You know. What's readily available. For most people to buy. Right. This is not a stationary blog. Saying. Hey. Here's our stationary nerd stuff. To go. Shop around. And dig. You know. Dig in corners of the internet. You know. And find all this cool stuff. Right. This is mainstream. Right. You got to think of it that way. So. They're grabbing. What they find. At local stores. Amazon.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Things like that. So let me. Just get the grouping. Of pencils here. So. They have like the. The Dixon Ticonderoga. The General Semihex. The Palomino's. Forest Choice. The Amazon Basics. You know. The Statler Norica. So. All things that you can just grab. At. The major. Big box retailers.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' To test. Fine. Test out all those things. Tell me what's the best pencil. Their. Choice. Was. The. The Palomino. So. Which is the. Forest Choice. Which is a great pencil. Like. Nothing wrong with this pencil. Nothing wrong with any of these pencils. But then they go and mix in the Blackwing 602. And I have a real.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Issue with this. Because now they've inserted. A specialty pencil. In. With these mainstream pencils. And it kind of like. Screws up. The.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Question that they're trying to find an answer to.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Why?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Because. This is not. A. Go grab it off the shelf. At Office Max. Or find it at Target. Pencil. But they do. So now.

'''Myke Hurley:''' The upgrade pick. Though. The 602.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So. If you're going to. And. So the problem is. If you include that. Now you've opened up the can. To find a different answer. For the best pencils. For writing and school work. And it would be literally. None of these. That they chose.

'''Myke Hurley:''' What do you. Can you. Can you clarify that part?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Yeah. So. Once you say. Hey. This is the great upgrade. If you want something fancy. Do this. Yeah. Now they've. They've opened up the category. To. Including. Mitsubishi pencils. Tombow pencils. You know. Any other kind. Of. Of. Not even like. The super niche stuff. But like. Something like. The Tombows. And the Mitsubishis. And the Unis. Are. As easy. If not easier. To access. Than the Blackwing. Right. And. Are better than. Even their best pick. The Palomino Forest Choice. For your basics. It was. It was kind of unfair. To. The rest of the article. I think. Right. The best pencils. For writing. It.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I don't know. Like. I'm. I'm probably the only one. That sees it this way. That has a problem. With this article. And there's really no problem. Like. I'm just. Finding things. To. To pick on. But it really. Like. Sits in my head. If I'm writing this article. I'm doing exactly. What they did. And not including. The Blackwing 602. Like. It shouldn't even be. Considered the upgrade. It should not even be. Mentioned in this article. Because. Now. You have to include.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' All the other. Generally. Mainstream pencils. That are. Like. The one notch. Below. In accessibility. As everything. That they. That they picked. Everything at. Target. Office Max. Walmart. That's one set of reviews. And then. To lump the Blackwing 602. In there. It. It just feels like. You didn't do a good enough job. At telling me. At answering. What you're trying to. To solve on this. By throwing that in there. Because now. There's. 50 other pencils. That are better than everything. That they picked. Instead of. If they didn't include that. I wouldn't even thought twice. At this article. Right. So like. I'm just trying to figure out. Like. How I would do this differently. And this one really stood out to me. Because. In just a second. We're going to talk about. So. An article that came out a week later. So they're updating. All their stationary articles. They've had these articles for years. They did the best notebooks and notepads. Article. Okay. I guess let's go ahead and talk about that now. Because it'll. Maybe it'll make more sense. In. What I'm trying to explain with this pencil article. This one is called. The best notebooks and notepads. Okay. In comparison. The pencil one is called. The best pencils for writing and school work. I'd say this notebooks and notepads. Is even. A more generic. You know. Question that they're asking. What are the best notebooks and notepads. Myke. They went. Off the charts. Completely. From the jump. And did an amazing job. Everything on here is. Apica. Midori. Loitchterm. Morimon. Fieldnotes. Muji. Levenger. Like. They crushed. This article. Like. They just did. From top to bottom.

'''Myke Hurley:''' They got people like you. To help. Right.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. So like. I had.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Because I went through this. It was kind of funny to me. I was scrolling through it. And I was like. Hang on a minute. That's Brad's handwriting. Like. I was just like. Skimming it at first.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. And like. I. It's not even my handwriting. But I did. Even I did a double take. So that's not my handwriting. By the way. It's someone who's. Very similar. Yeah. I. Even I did a double take. I was like. Oh. Where's that picture of mine from? And I was like. Oh. That is actually not mine. Because that really looks like your handwriting. So the one. The picture. You're talking about the picture. With like. The different. Like. There's six lines. I'm not looking at it right now. Apica.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Pencil. Ballpoint. Yeah. That's not my handwriting. My word. That looks like your handwriting.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I did a double take. To be perfectly honest.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Huh.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I don't write my A's like that. Right. Or. I don't have as low of an A crossbar as they do.