Editing The Pen Addict 456/transcript (section)

== Vacation Conversation ==


'''Brad:''' So, we had this weird conversation with my wife on vacation. I can't remember if it was, we were, I don't think we were driving home. I think we were, like, driving back from the beach one day. And, you know, I always, like, I'm one of those, like, I kind of, she knows when I'm in a good mood and a bad mood. I kind of wear it on my sleeve a little bit. And I was a little bit, you know, there's things going on, whatever. And, you know, I was just kind of quiet. And she's just out of the blue. She goes, depends, still make you happy. Oh.

'''Brad:''' And I'm, like, well, yeah. Because we weren't doing, I wasn't grumpy about anything work related. You know, just family stuff, whatever. Yeah. She's, like, depends, still make you happy. I'm, like, yeah, absolutely. Like, she's, like, well, maybe you should buy a pen. Because this is not, I didn't, I thought this was going to be, like, a work-life balance talk kind of thing. But she was actually, like, trying to pep me up. But it kind of caught me off guard. Yeah. She was, like, she's, like, have you bought many pens recently? I was, like, you know, I've bought some, but nothing really or anything. She's, like, well, maybe you should buy one, right? You know, give you, make you, make you in a good mood or do something. I was, like, that was, that was very sweet. That's a nice thing, yeah. Yeah, it was, this was not, I did not see that coming from the initial statement.

'''Myke:''' There were two avenues where it seemed like this conversation was going. And it didn't go through either of them, right?

'''Brad:''' Like, nope, not at all, not at all. Which I should have known because, like, I wasn't grumpy about work or anything. I love my job and, like, everything is going wonderful. But she's, like, well, maybe you should buy a pen. Maybe that'll, does that make you happy? Will that, you know, will that give you a little boost? And I'm, like, yeah, maybe I'll do that. But, so, there's this pen that I've been following on Instagram, Myke. And I just want to, before I share the name and share the link, I want y'all to know, one, this is a very expensive pen. And two, I am not even close to thinking about buying one yet. But I'm watching them. This is what I do. Like, we're going to spend some time. And the brand is called Toma. T-O-H-M-A.

'''Myke:''' So, basically, this was, like, when you were thinking, I should buy a pen. Like, your mind went to what are the things that I have been, like, eyeing up anyway and kind of just, like, checking them out. Yeah.

'''Brad:''' So, I haven't done all my research. This is one of those pens that if I do buy it, it'll be, like, two years from today. Right? Like, this is, I'm going to take my time, figure out what the brand is about, figure out how they make them.

'''Brad:''' Save money. Because I think the cheapest one I've seen is about $1,500. Yeah. Like, which is.

'''Myke:''' Yeah. I'm looking at these online now and they seem about that kind of.

'''Brad:''' They're, like, between $1,500 and $3,000. Yeah. But what they represent is 100% my aesthetic. Right? Like, this is a Brad style of pen. Not necessarily the Rodden one. Right? That one's not super my style. But the basic ones and the ebonite ones and the translucent ones. And these are a fully handmade pen, like, from the mechanisms that you scroll through there.

'''Myke:''' I don't like the carbon fiber one. I don't like that.

'''Brad:''' Yeah. Yeah. That wouldn't be, that wouldn't be my move. Yeah. And I think those are, those might be the, the, the lower, the air quote lower end. They are the cheaper ones. Yeah. Yeah. Like, that one's not my style. The other ones are. But then you, like, go through their Instagram and they have, like, these ebonite feeds. And, you know, maybe they, like, the comments and, or the, the text from the, the ebonite feed post is like, hey, maybe this can be an avant-garde ink feed. So this is like a highly custom one-off. Like, if I ordered one, it would probably take a year or more to make. And it's very expensive. But I'm looking. Like, I'm watching. So my wife, if my wife wanted to know what's got me excited these days and what pin would do the trick, it would be one of these. But now we start the process. Right.

'''Myke:''' I feel like I have a real, like, love-hate relationship already with this logo.

'''Brad:''' It's the, it's 100% the logo. Is it Toma? Because the logo, I'm going to go with Toma. Yeah. But I don't know for sure.

'''Myke:''' Because I really like the logo itself.

'''Brad:''' Mm-hmm.

'''Myke:''' But I don't know if I like it on the, on all of the pens. It's, it's kind of weird.

'''Brad:''' It's very much a statement. Yeah. And I am with this. I love, I've, I love the logo. And here's why. This is such a small batch kind of piece of art that I'm good with the artist wanting you to know, hey, Toma, right here. As opposed if Pilot did this, or Sailor did this, or Kaweco does this sometimes, I'm more like, oof. Like, we could choose not to do that on this one. That would be okay if you chose not to do this. I would be fine with that. Yeah. I feel a little bit differently in this situation.

'''Myke:''' I think it's as a genuine benefit around the fact that the logo is actually cool. Right. If they didn't have a nice looking, or like an interesting looking logo, then we'd be in a different, we'd be having a different conversation. It's just, because it is so prominent on the pens, it just fits some of them better than others. Like, Chris in the Discord is saying it's very early 2000s retro car kind of vibe. Yeah. Which I think might make sense for them aesthetically, considering they have a bunch of carbon fiber pens. Like, that might be an aesthetic of theirs that they're actually going for. Right. Now, I have literally never heard of this company, ever. Yeah. Ever. Yeah. Is that expected?

'''Brad:''' Yeah, totally. Like, they just came on my radar probably in the last six months. I think people sharing their pictures and just seeing some of the uniqueness. I think the first ones I saw were some of the carbon fiber ones, like, because they have a more of a racing stripe feel to them. Like, they look like they kind of go together. They photograph very well. But then I got into it and saw some of the ebonite ones and saw some of the, like, it's, you know, a lot of it's ebonite narushi. Like, these can get up in the price. But I am kind of fascinated by them right now. So, this is a situation I'm monitoring. Like, when I did that with Nakaya, it took me almost two years to, like, pull the trigger. Right? You got to do your research, save your money, figure out what, you know, what model, you know, do you like and things like that. So, something I'm watching.

'''Myke:''' And I'm guessing the likelihood of you trying to see one of these in person is very slim. Maybe Tokyo 2022. Oh, fuck. Oh, don't even. And it just, I'm too excited about the prospect of that trip to even think about it.

'''Brad:''' That would be my time frame, right? To give me the time for the research and the setup and all that. So, saving of money.

'''Myke:''' I mean, I'd assumed that they were based in Japan.

'''Brad:''' Yeah, it's a good question. I don't 100% know.

'''Myke:''' Okay.

'''Brad:''' So, anyway. I just, this whole, this topic came from a weird place. But it was kind of fun. And it's something I've been thinking about is, you know, have I bought a pen for me recently? And I probably have, but, like, nothing that's, like, totally sticking out. So.

'''Myke:''' Well, let me see if I can help you with that, Brad. Maybe you can buy something a little bit more immediate.

'''Brad:''' Mm-hmm.

'''Myke:''' By going to our friends over at Pen Chalet because they have what you're looking for, Brad Dowdy. Nice. They have fountain pens, roller balls, ballpoints, mechanical pencils. They have inks. They have carrying cases, refills, fountain pen converters. They have all the products you're going to want and all the accessories to go with them from so many brands. Too many to name. And it's adding new stuff all the time. It's one of the things that I love about Pen Chalet. Every time I go there, I'm finding new products that I haven't seen before, new releases from my favorite brands, and new products from brands that are new to me. So there's always something to check out. And they're always doing great discounts as well. Every couple of weeks, you're going to find some kind of special deal or some set of sales over at Pen Chalet, let alone the special offers that we have just for Panatic listeners. Pen Chalet sell internationally. Now, they're great. They have great shipping rates. But if you're in the U.S., they do free shipping on orders of over $50. I mean, that's easy to get over $50, surely. Pen Chalet has low prices on high-quality pens, and they offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. So go right now to PenChalet.com. That's P-E-N-C-H-A-L-E-T.com. And there's a link at the top of the website. It says podcast. If you click that, use the password PenAddict, and you will get a code that you need to save 10% on anything at any time at Pen Chalet, as well as getting to see a selection of offers just for Pen Addict listeners. What's catching your eye?

'''Brad:''' I can't get over how good these Cross ATX fountain pens look. We mentioned them a couple weeks ago when Pen Chalet sponsored. I'm kind of shocked in a good way at just how nice this pen looks. The reviews have been good on them, and the price is kind of like if you're into like Twisby's, you would be into this pen, and it's going to give you a different like really sharp and clean writing experience. I don't know. I'm just generally impressed with what Cross has done recently. I haven't pulled the trigger myself, but every time I see them now, I just kind of stop and go, huh, really? Cross? You're like, okay, like I'm in. You know, like welcome. Welcome to the fold, Cross. So I think that looks pretty sharp. I'm also interested in the Pilot Knight ballpoint pen from this perspective. What refill does this take? So that will take a little bit of research, but if you can fit even like a G2 in here, they're saying this is a ballpoint pen depending on the refill. Like Pilot's ballpoint refills are fine, but as pen addicts, we always like a nice barrel where we can manipulate the refills in them. Yeah. For the price that this pen is, to be able to manipulate your refill in it and use this as a platform, it's just, it's dirt cheap. Like for an upgrade barrel.

'''Myke:''' The page says it is a proprietary refill and it's a twist pen. So you might struggle to find a replacement depending on if they build this twist mechanism into the refill.

'''Brad:''' So what's funny is Pilot has a few proprietary refills and then a few kind of universal refills, which is so strange to me. So yeah, so maybe it's only the Pilot one, but I would like to look at that further and see what the shape of that is.

'''Myke:''' Also, when I read it and when you said it, Pilot Knight, I was thinking to myself, holy night. It's just very, all is calm, all is bright. There's a great deal here on a three-pack.

'''Brad:''' Can we edit some of this podcast? Do you know?

'''Myke:''' I mean, surely somebody could, but we only edit out the bad stuff and that was classic. So I don't know what you're talking about.

'''Brad:''' Well, it's funny. What you're about to say was the next thing I was going to say. So you do it.

'''Myke:''' Pilot Orochizuku three-pack for a just astounding price. I love Pilot Orochizuku inks. Yeah. And I think that just a three-pack as a trial, they're like the 50 milliliter bottles for this price. If you've never tried them before, I really recommend just like throwing that into a cart. It's just an absurd price for 45 milliliters of great ink.

'''Brad:''' It's like gift with purchase pricing is what it is. So it's fantastic. So yeah, man, gosh, these cross Star Wars rollerballs too. Okay. Get me out of here.

'''Myke:''' That Darth Vader one is better than anything that they've done so far, I think. Like that's pretty legit looking, I think, that one.

'''Brad:''' Yeah. There's a name for this pen. It's like the snap barrel mechanism that they use. You kind of pull it apart, don't you? Yeah. It's like a short, long pen. It's great.

'''Myke:''' It is a funny pen, that one. All right. Go to penshelly.com, podcast link at the top of the website, and use the password penaddict to see these special offers and get the 10% code to save a penchelay. All right. Thanks to Pen Schellay for the continued support of this show and RelayFM.