Editing The Pen Addict 135/transcript (section)

== Kaweco Liliput ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right, let's get some people fired up, Myke, and talk about the Kaweco Liliput Fire Blue fountain pen.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Really enjoyed this review. I was excited about this one because I was wondering what you were going to say. And I liked that you put a little video in. Great video from JetPers.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Oh my God, they just started doing this. This isn't their only one. There's two or three out there.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, I actually emailed them. I was like, what is going on? And they're like, we got a new video producer and we're doing all this, this and this. I'm like, well, whoever it is did an amazing job with the video. So I embedded that into the post, but that's JetPens video. And boy, did they do a good job on that. So let me hear your thoughts. What do you think about the Fire Blue, the Kaweco Liliput Fire Blue?

'''Myke Hurley:''' What a story. Like, that almost made me want to buy it. Just the story of like the fact that every single one of them passes over the founder and CEO's desk. And he takes a blowtorch to them by hand. Like, crazy. And also, I mean, they are expensive. But by golly, are they beautiful, Brad.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. It's one of the most stunning pens I've ever had the pleasure of owning. And let me give everyone a little bit behind the scenes here. I'm lucky enough to have a JetPens sponsor the blog. So I am privileged to be able to get some products early to check out.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And I don't get to necessarily, if I don't know what the product is already, I don't get to see a picture of it. I just get to see some names and I'll choose some things and, you know, we'll test them out. So it's like, Kaweco Liliput Fire Blue. That sounds really interesting. Send me one of those. No idea what it looked like. No idea what it is.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And you assume it's going to be blue and red.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. I assume it's going to be blue. Like, I have the Cult Pens blue aluminum Liliput. You know, it's just a great blue color, which is actually pictured later in this post. So I don't know what this Fire Blue is going to entail. So I get the package. I open it up. And it's literally one of those oh my god moments that I didn't know what to expect. And I was so stunned when I did open the box. I just stared at it for like a minute. I was like, what am I looking at here? Because, you know, there's no instructions that come with this pen either. It doesn't tell me anything about how it's finished, what it's finished, what the materials are. I had to hunt down that it was a steel barrel, you know, to, you know, do the write-up. And it's fascinating. So the other kicker is, at the time where I get it, I don't know the price. I don't know how much this is going to retail for when it goes live on JetPens. I had no idea. And I actually posted it on Instagram, I think. And Myke Dudek started pinging me. He's like, man, that's stunning. He says, how much do you think it's going to be? I said, I have no idea. It's steel. It's not aluminum. It's not brass. Like, they have the brass ones that I love so much, the brass wave.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' You know, and it's got this special finish. You know, at the time, I didn't even know how to finish it. We were going back and forth on pricing. How much do you think this is going to be? And as it turns out, it's $170, which was higher than anything we'd guessed.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And so that was actually kind of a downer. I was like, that kind of like took the air out of my sails a little bit. Because that's really expensive for kind of what you get. You know, it's a steel nib pen. Someone made the point, well, you could buy a Vanishing Point or a Lamy 2000 instead of this pen and have a nice gold nib pen, a classic pen, full size pen that's going to last you forever. And, you know, I can't really argue with that. That's a totally fair, legitimate argument. And if that's what you're looking for, then that's what you should do. I mean, if you're saving up for one of those great, you know, entry-level gold nib pens, you should totally get that. But that's not what this pen's about. This pen's like, like you said, this pen has a story behind it. It's made especially for jet pens. Michael Gubberle, the founder and CEO of Kaweco, he's the one that's torching all these pens. It's individually tempered with a 600-degree flame, Michael. He does all these, puts them all together. So they're not necessarily a limited edition, but there's always limited availability. And talking to jet pens, when they got them in, they got about 40 of them in. And I was ready to go with my review. And they sold out in like two or three hours. I could not believe what I just saw. So I said, well, I think I'll just hold this review to get some more back in stock. There's not really any point of me putting this up there and just taking a bunch of people off that they can't buy the pen.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So they came back online. I think they got another 30 or so. And I put up the review. And they're gone already again. I mean, this time they sold out in a couple of days. So obviously, the price is okay, right? Because they can't keep these in stock. It's that interesting of a pen. You know, the Lilliput's not for everybody. I obviously love it. I've got several of them, as you can see in the pictures. I use it all the time. Before the Fire Blue, I was using the Brass Wave constantly. It always stayed inked up. But, you know, there's definitely some division in mostly around the pricing on this pen. But I haven't heard anyone say yet, oh, my God, it's ugly or anything like that. It's just fascinating to look at. I wish I could walk around the world and show everyone this pen in person just to see how cool it is. You know, not to tell you to buy it, but just like, look at this. It's really neat. And they did something really unique here. And no one else is doing this. And it came out really, really well. And so I love it. But this is the one time where I feel like since I didn't have to pay for it, I'm a little bit holding back on my praise for it. Because it's stupid expensive. It just is. There's no two ways about it. I would never tell. I would never recommend this pen probably to anyone. But apparently I don't have to because they can't keep them in stock at $170 a pop. So, yeah. This is. I had. I had. I had a legitimate dilemma reviewing this pen. Just because.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' You know, of my sponsorship. And I tried to get that out on the page. You know, when I when I did this kind of my feelings about it. It's like I love every single thing about this. But I didn't. I didn't scratch the check for $170, you know.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yep.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So I have to.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Note that in the tone of my review. And. I don't know. It was just. It was a little bit of a challenge. I was kind of nervous about posting it. It went fine. But. Yeah. It's just on looks. And usability. And feel. And quality alone. It's a knockout. It's a straight knockout of the park. You just have to decide if. Number one. You're a Lilliput person. Because not everyone is. It's a very, very tiny pen. And then number two. If something.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' This unique. Is worth that amount of money. And that's what it boils down to. It's not a standard pen. It's a very unique pen. That fits a very niche market. And you know what. In this case. The market speaking for itself. And they're apparently perfectly priced. Right.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Well. I think it's not that expensive. Like $175. For a fountain pen. Is not that expensive. Really. And it's a good looking pen. I mean. It's way more expensive. Than this pen. But. I mean. I mean. When I see that. I'm not like. That's not worth $175. Like to look at it. Because. I think it's genuinely. One of the most beautiful pens. I've ever seen. And I've spent more money. Than that on beauty.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Sure. That's the way that I look at it. Yeah. I mean. I've seen you before.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I've seen pictures of you. I know right. That wasn't what I meant. But you get me. You know. I've spent more money. Than that. On a pen. That I thought looked good.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Purely for it looking good. Yeah. Yeah. And. And I would do that again. Like I was tempted by this. But. I'm just not. That big. A Kaweco guy. Like. If you like. Kawecos. Like if you are a fan. Of that brand. You should buy it. For the story alone. Right. Like. If you are a fan. Of that. Like for example. I don't know. If there was. I'm trying to think. Of like a pen brand. That I really love. Like. If there was like a. A retro 51. Right. That was. Uh. Hand. Milled. By the founder. And CEO. Of the company. And it was $150. Of course I'd buy it. Right. Because. There's this. I'm a massive fan. Of that brand. And there's a beauty. In it somewhere. You know.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I think that's a really good point. And I kind of missed out on that. And I think you have opened my eyes there. This is. Created for the fans. Of the brand. And. They're the ones who understand. Where this is coming from. And. What's behind it. And the price. And things like that. This is not an every man's pen. Right.

'''Myke Hurley:''' No.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Um. And that. That's a. That's a really good way to put it. I think Michael. Good job by you.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And not. Not meant in a bad way. But like. This is also an ego project. For. I mean like. What I'm about to say. Like. This is also an ego project. For the CEO as well.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Oh my god. Yeah. Totally. You know.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Like. So. There's enough. But again. I think that's another reason. He knows why he's doing it. And they're selling them for $175. Because they have to. Because. If you think about how much his time's worth. Right. It has to make. Sense to the company. That he's spending a couple of hours a week. Of a blowtorch in his hand. You know. Like. And I get it. I totally get it. I really. I do. I do get it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Mm-hmm. Yep. I think that's a good point.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I'm really interested in this next one. Yeah. I've been wanting to talk to you about this.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So. So. I'm not sure that this was. You know. As much drama. With this. Other than. The love fest. That the. G. Rabon. G. Stormy. Rabon. Stormy. Gray fountain pen ink. Caused. On our internet. Since it launched. About two months ago. Um.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Another great JetPens video. Yeah.