Editing The Pen Addict 399/transcript (section)

== Ink Compatibility for Dip Pens ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' I guess anything that's good for, like, dip pens in general. Yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Which should be, like, all fountain pens, right? Yeah. There was even that dip pen, that glass nib pen that made it for wine, right? Like, you use wine to write with. Do you remember that? It's called the Wink.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I kind of do.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. It was a Kickstarter. But the thing is about the custom glass nib tips, it's a very different writing experience, as you could imagine, from a fountain pen. So you just have to go into it knowing that. I think it's a great tool to have in your arsenal, right? And it's fun. It's just not the same to me as a regular steel or gold fountain pen nib, obviously.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. I don't think I would get the experience that I wanted because there'd be no give, right? You're just pressing a hard surface onto the paper. And I don't know. And I think the dipping would frustrate me.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Mm-hmm. And as polished as that tip is, there's still a different feedback, right? You're getting a different feedback. And you're getting a different line shape than a nib. So, like, it would be cool for, like, a special letter that you want to write someone or some artwork that you want to do. Like, it's not something I want to write with every day, which I don't think anyone really uses these for. They use them for special occasions. Like, ink testing is a great use for a glass ink pen because it dips in and it cleans off real easy. And then you can move on to the next thing. If you want to use multiple inks, like a glass nib pen is a great idea.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That's going to be way better than a dip pen because you're still going to get in the nib or whatever. But that will just wash straight off. Yep. That's a good reason to own one. This one comes from Michael. This summer, my family and I are heading off on a big trip. I like to keep a travel journal with sketches as well as writing using colored ink pens for which I normally use fountain pens or uniball 157s. However, the big trip is to Peru, so altitude could be a problem, both for the long flight there and being in the mountains. What would be the best pens to use that would give me plenty of colors but not a rut like an Andean volcano?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I love this post so much. I think that any of your fiber tip pens, your plastic tip pens, your secure pigment microns, your paper mate flares are all going to work because they don't use an airtight refill generally. Right? So that's where your pressure comes from. They're generally some type of fibrous material that's not going to change as the pressure changes in your locations with the higher pressure causing problems for fountain pens and things like that. That would be my guess, which means you can get all of your colors that you want. So you're just going to have to go to more of a marker style type of pen. Right? Like I said, your microns, your paper mate flares would be a good choice for colors, microns for details, things like that. That's what I would be looking at for something like this.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Okay. But you would probably suggest, like me, maybe not fountain pens.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I would definitely suggest not fountain pens. Yeah. Um, you could bring one like that you feel very safe. That's not going to blow up. Like I would probably maybe even use cartridges, pick like a, a sturdy pen that uses cartridges and you've had very good luck with, um, bouncing around like a bag and a backpack and doing different things. Like if you, if there is such a thing, but there, there may not be. So I would skip.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Ella Labors or Lulabors asks, I'm going to my first pen show Chicago in May. Could you please walk me through how ink testing stations work? Do I bring my own paper? Do I bring my own pen? What's the deal?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Such a good question. This is totally fountain pen show 101, right? Yep. So ink, ink testing stations, the ones that are available at the shows I go to now come with pre inked pens, right? So it's basically a tray that might have like 30 pen slots in it and each pen slot, each pen in each slot is filled with a different ink. And then at that station of those 30 inks, though, those pens will be numbered and then they will have an index. Okay. Pen number one is, you know, Ackerman number 28 and pen number two is a Roshizuku Shinkai. So what people would do if they want to test out the inks, they would bring their own pad, do that, bring your own paper that you like, and they would sit down and look at the index, grab the color, grab the pen that they're interested in, make their own marks in their own notebook, you know, and obviously referencing the name for future reference when you're thinking about buying an ink. So that's how most of it goes, right? And some shows might have all of these testing stations in one physical location. Some of them might have four testing stations spread out throughout the show. So it like one station doesn't like one location doesn't get overwhelmed with people. So you might have to look for them. But yeah, most people will take their own pad, sit down at the table, look at the list and make notes in their own notebook for future reference of what they like about those inks.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, I think that these are, these are really nice to see how an ink will look. I mean, you're not going to get the idea completely of how they perform in your exact hardware, right? But it's, it is, there is no greater way to test how inks look. So it's primarily the look is what you're going for here rather than performance. But there is no greater way to see how, how, how inks will look than an ink testing station like this. Like there's just, isn't a way for you to do it otherwise. And that makes them, I think quite a valuable resource at pen shows. And also I think as a way to spend some time, if you want to, you know, if you've got some time to kill at a pen show, this is a great way to do it. Because you can spend a long time going through the ink testing stations at some of them. Like San Francisco is the one that I think of, but Atlanta even has this now in its, I think San Francisco is the most involved that I've seen. DC had like a whole room of its own, but.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, but that one wasn't really in pens. It was more like, it was definitely more contaminated than individual pens, if you will. So that's why the individual pen trays became more of a. That's the best way. That is the best way. Which San Francisco kind of, San Francisco pen show, San Francisco pen posse kind of started that up. And it's taken off because it's really good.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And we have a question from Barbarian Geek who says, I have the Studio Neat Mark 1 and I really like it. What other pens use the same refill? I want something with a clip that I can throw into my backpack.

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

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Don't.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Don't say Retro 51.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It just makes me sad now.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Oh, okay. So that's a personal problem. Yeah. So even if I'm going to say this, if you're not a Retro 51 person. I would still look at them like the Black Stealth Retro 51 with the same refill. Like if you're wanting that Mark 1 aesthetic, right? But not necessarily, you know, one of the louder, more obnoxious Retro 51s that I love. You could get, you could try that. Yeah. Otherwise, you can fit that refill in other Parker refill pens, I believe. So you could get like a metal barrel pen from like Tactile Turn or something like that to swap that refill in. There's actually a lot of pens you can use that refill in. But all the ones off the top of my head usually come clipless. You know, like the Ajoto, which I love, which is crazy expensive. They don't come with clips. Because the Retro 51 would be where I'd go. Then I'd look at Tactile Turn. So that's at least a start. And if you want to tweet me with like a more specific style of pen you're looking for, I can help you and see if that refill will fit.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Studio Neat do recommend a clip that works with the Mark 1. But I can't find it off the top of my head. I will find it and I'll put it in the show notes. But they have a clip that they recommend. Like if you want to put a clip onto the pen, there is like a third party clip that will fit.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Okay. It's not a Kaweco one, right?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I don't. So I couldn't tell you right now. I do not remember. But I will find it and I will put it into the show notes.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Last question today comes from the Inky Side who asks, I just bought my first sailor after three years in my pen hobby and both of you continually praising them. I'm sure lots of people are doing that. I bought it secondhand from Reddit. After trying to clean it, it looks like there's ink stuck in the grip section. They've included a photo, which I'll put in the show notes. Is it possible to remove the nib unit from a sailor pen?

'''Myke Hurley:''' It is. So this has actually come up twice just this week or in the past two weeks about the ink getting in between like the grip and then the metal piece where like the nib section and everything goes in and behind there. You can fully disassemble a sailor pen and clean that out. I mean, it's obviously, it's, you know, not the most simple thing to do, but it's not hard. The sailor nibs are friction fit. They just happen to be in there pretty tight. So you just go slow, be careful, running under warm water. You can wiggle it out. It'll eventually come out and then you can unscrew the section and then the little sleeve in there will come out and you can clean out behind there. So, but sailor pens are actually fully disassemblable. Disassemble? Disassemblable? Yeah. Who knows? Okay. It is now.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right. If you want to send in a question for a future episode, just send out a tweet with the hashtag AskTPA. That would actually be a really great way if you do have suggestions for our big episode 400 next week. Next week. Boy, that would be good. But send those in. You can tweet them at Brad. He's at Dowdyism, D-O-W-D-Y-I-S-M. And I'm Myke as well. I am Y-K-E. You can email them. What's the good email address? Hello at PenAddict.com?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Correct.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Awesome. So you can email those in there. You can also find Brad online. He's at ThePenAddict.com. Twitch.tv slash PenAddict. PenAddict. Tuesdays, Thursdays, 10 a.m.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Except this Thursday.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Except this Thursday.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Because you're going to be away.