Editing The Pen Addict 609/transcript (section)

== Switching to modular notebooks for work ==


'''Myke Hurley:''' Next question comes from Matt, who says, I've recently decided to switch from using a Rodia dot pad at work to something modular, like using inserts to keep my notes organized by project. My preferred size is an A5 dot grid, and I like dumping ink on the page using my Opus 88 Blizzard demonstrator with a 1.4 millimeter stub nib. Any suggestions for what I should be trying?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So I put down some answers here, but I don't think that's really fulfilling the question. So the modularity means more of a disk bound or ring bound system.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And when you're using the amount of ink that you're talking about using, I start to question the answer to this because like I wouldn't use a plotter for that much ink, right? So that's a, that's a ring bound system that paper's too thin and it doesn't handle a ton of ink in my experience very well, which is why it works well for me because I don't use a fire hose type of pens. The William Hannah does. And what I would think of in like a, I would take any disk bound system that you can get an A5 disk bound system. Staples Arc, William Hannah, Levenger. And you're, if you want something modular, you're going to have to go the hole punch route. You're going to have to add a hole punch, and then you're going to have to find some A5 paper that works well for you. Like, you know, Midori. Kikuyo makes, Kikuyo makes a really nice letter paper you can hole punch.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, but like the modular systems stock paper is only going to be okay for these big wet nibs, right? Even the William Hannah stock paper is really good. But I think when you're putting that much ink on the page, that's where you start to run out. So you could actually keep the Rodia, A5 size, hole punch it into a Staples Arc system, and build your own modularity. That's maybe not the answer you're looking for. I don't think there's like a plug and play answer for this. I think this is more of, you're going to have to play around with a disk bound system, a hole punch, and a roll your own system. And then you can get into like these loose sheets. You know, that Midori, Rodia, the Claire Fontaine, A5 is great. That would work really well. And like, they have an A5 pad that I just take the pages. This is something I do. Like, I'm speaking from experience here. I would take like the Claire Fontaine A5 pad, tear out the pages, hole punch them, and put them in my disk bound. And those are like awesome for, for a lot of ink. So, that's kind of where this is at, I believe. I don't think there's a stock answer for this, that you can just go pick up and say, hey, this is the thing. I think you're going to have to play around with it a little bit.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. I think the arc system is probably the, what you're looking for there, right? Cause you've got that, the, really the kind of, um, like the red herring of the amount of ink that you're going to have to, you're going to have to find some paper that you like, and then use the sheets and then build your own system. You're not going to, exactly. It's going to be really hard to find something, as you say, like off the shelf, that's designed to handle that. That can be really hard.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. And like, like I said, you could go with the roadie on that because they're A5 pads. I like, I just take the pages out, punch them, put them in the notebook. Good to go.

'''Myke Hurley:''' All right. We've got Jack here who wrote in to say, I'm trying to decide on my next pen purchase and I'm a little stuck. The main issue I'm having is while taking notes at work during meetings, the fountain pen I'm using will dry out and I'll go to take a note and have to do some scribbling to get it started again. I have a platinum 3776 of a fine nib and some platinum preppies. I also have a Lamy Safari with a fine nib that doesn't have the same problem, which I think is related to the fact that one, it's a larger nib and two, I can cap and uncap it quickly as opposed to the 3776, which I need to screw or unscrew. The issue with the Lamy is I find the line to be too thick. Two pens I'm interested in are the pilot Falcon metal body and the pilot vanishing point. I think I'm interested in the metal bodied pen to try out how a fountain pen feels of a little more weight. The pilot Falcon nib and its slight flex is appealing. I'm wondering if the flex will make it easier to get the ink flowing again. The pilot vanishing point is appealing because I think being able to retract it might mean it's out less and therefore won't dry out so quickly. I'm completely open to other recommendations on pen or ink that you think could help. I'd cap the budget at 275, but I would be happier in the 200 to 250 range.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I want to give a shout out to Jack for a perfectly executed question. Yes, very well done. The amount of detail helps out so much here. Like this is perfect. So the first question I have is because reading that they have a 3776 and some platinum preppies and they're drying out, that should be the opposite experience of what you're experiencing. So I'm wondering what ink you're using with those because both of those, both the 3776 and the preppy have the slip and seal cap. So they should, if you're constantly capping it, which that's an issue, like you get to here in a minute, as long as you're not leaving the nib out and you're capping it between usage, which again, is a problem we're going to try to solve here in a second that I would not think either of those nibs should dry out at all. Like those should be some of the best performers. The Lamy, I think doesn't dry out that way because of the feed design of the Lamy. It's a little bit different. And I've always felt that the Lamy, like the Safari type nibs hold ink very well in those feeds. So they're always ready to roll. They're much wider, wetter nib, which, you know, Jack also alludes to here that they're not that great. So, um, for, for the nib. So Jack likes the fine lines and quick deployment and not drying out. And I think between the Falcon and the vanishing point, I think it's, it's like 80, 20 vanishing point. Like I get the, I get the Falcon idea. I like the Falcon. I think I've had more drying out issues with the Falcon because of the flex, right? Slight flex. And I don't, I shouldn't say flex. That's not a flex. That's a soft nib. Um, because the nib actually can lift from the feed. If you're not just writing with it, it does have a tendency to dry out and has to pick back up and start a little bit. The vanishing point usually doesn't have that problem because as Jack alludes to, you're retracting the pen into like it's little, it's little nib cave. And it, uh, it just, it just works when you're ready for it to work. So like, that's my choice out of those two pens. I'm still, you know, I, I do think the 3776 and the preppy should work for you. I'm in, so I'm a little curious about that, but I, I think the vanishing point is the answer to your specific needs. Um, more than the Falcon, even though the Falcon is a very different and extremely enjoyable pen to write with. I love the Falcon. I would take a vanishing point to work, right? So those are two different things. I can love them equally and have one that's a better tool for the situation that I'm in. And I think that's the vanishing point with the vanishing point. Just to further this point, do not buy the extra fine nib. Now that might be a little bit harsh, but that's a nib you want to test before you try. I think that's one of the most extreme stock nibs on the market. And as someone who loves extra fine, extra, extra fine, ultra, extra fine nibs, that's the one I have the least luck with. And especially in a workplace where I'm going to want to be for sure that, that this pen is going to write and I'm going to enjoy it. And I don't have to worry about the finiciness of the nib. I'm looking at finer medium in the vanishing point for this situation. Um, yeah. So I, I, you know, I think that's the answer. Um, I also don't know if the vanishing point clip placement works for you. Right. So that's another consideration. Just that's something to think about. You, you will like, you will enjoy the Falcon. I don't know that it's the answer to this question.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Um, I feel like the, the capping thing could be beneficial for you. Just like, cause I think it is strange too, especially the platinum is drying out because I find those to be the most reliable. So maybe you're leaving it uncapped for a really long time. Like I guess, I'm not really sure what's going on there, but like maybe like what you want to do is instead of like screwing it, just put the, just rest the cap back on the pen when you're not using it. Um, but if you're looking for a pen specifically to try and solve this particular issue, I agree with Brad that the vanishing point is the answer. Cause I mean, it's, it's kind of designed for this.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Like this is the reason exists. Yeah. Yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So that, that's probably the way to do it. Oh, but Jackie's made a great suggestion. The pen well, which I use, I'm using it right now. So like, sure. I don't know if you could take that to a meeting with you. Maybe you'd take the, uh, the traveling portable, but they, they really was good made better. Right. Right. Right. The company that makes those. So I use, I use mine every day. Um, and so it's basically, it holds your cap and then you can, um, just drop your pen into it and it just like sits it there. It's like a, what were they called before? Like what, what are they actually called? They are called pen wells. Okay.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I wasn't sure if that was like a, I mean, a pen well is more of like a dipping situation, right?

'''Myke Hurley:''' It's like an ink well. Yeah. Like an ink well. So there's a bunch of those. I like the craftsman one cause it's the heaviest, but, uh, that's good for a desk, but there's also like a traveling one, which you could check out too. Could be what you're looking for as an option to, could help. Yep. All right. Elliot asks, what are some ink colors that would look good inside of an Altum pen? So this is that kind of like yellowy, bronzy, semi-translucent, uh, material that we've been seeing more and more pens made out of recently.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So the answer is all of them because none of them look good.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Ah, okay.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' There's no one good choice because they all look like crap.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Darker, right? So you can see there's something in there, but yeah, you're not going to like, if you put red in there, it's not going to look red anymore.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. And I say this as a Altum super fan, every pen looks, every ink looks muddy when you put it in there. I actually like orange probably looks the best. Like if you're just looking for, Hey, this looks good. And like, I'm obviously a huge orange ink fan. Orange stays reasonably orange when you're looking through the Altum barrels. But then like, if I use like a purple or a green, they just look like dark purple or dark green, or, you know, maybe a bright blue would be your second choice. You can get some of that color differentiation through the Altum barrel walls. But, uh, in general, they all look pretty bad. And I'm not trying to like, like not answer Elliot's question. I, I, if I'm picking, I'm, I would for just what looks good. And I think orange looks the best. And I, boy, I've tried a lot of inks in an Altum pen, like, and I love my pinks and purples. I mean, I'm just not going, Ooh, yeah, this looks good. It's just Altum's not designed to, Altum's not designed for that. So this is actually a pretty funny question. Um,

'''Myke Hurley:''' That's a good answer. I'm enjoying thinking about this. Well, at least you know this, like, it doesn't really matter what you do, right? Yeah. It's just like an even playing field. Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' In my experience, I think oranges look the best than probably like a light green. And then after that, probably all bets are off. Everything's going to look rough.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. I get my feeling be like outside of that, something dark. So you can at least see the ink, like clearly that there's ink in there, but like, you know, Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And some, you know, not all, not all Altum barrels are made the same, right? Some are thin walled, some are thick walled, and that's just going to change how it looks. It's just going to muddy the waters even more. Yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Maybe you have to like, you have to do it backwards and you have to like, you end up with an ink that you don't want, but it looks good in the Altum, you know? There you go. Like maybe it is a color that's like, you would never choose that color, but maybe if you put it behind the kind of yellowy hue of the Altum, it's like, oh, this looks good now, but you actually don't want to write with it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Yellow inks are like the answer to that, right? Like yellow inks would probably look okay in there.

'''Myke Hurley:''' There is one good yellow that I found. It's the Sailor one. It's one of the numbered ones, the Ink Studio ones. Oh man. Which one is it? Do you know? I don't know the number offhand. I can get the answer because I can check my number.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I know you have it. But like, while you're doing that, I'll say my favorite yellows are one you can't really get anymore, the Daikoku 10 from the Pilot 101st Anniversary set. And then I like the Amarillo Stationery Pannonia collaboration. I'm not looking at it. Okay. So that's a really nice one too.