Editing The Pen Addict 415/transcript (section)

== Blackwing Sharpener Review Update ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' So what do you do when you have a product that performs like this and there's just all this huge range? Like, what's your first thought? Oh, well, you know, if my experience is different, there's maybe something up in manufacturing. Lo and behold, Michael, I got an email from Blackwing after this review.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Shocker of all shockers.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I was like, oh, here we go. There's a quality control problem with a batch of these. And apparently I have one of them. So they're going to send me another one.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' What I find interesting is... How do I not know this beforehand kind of thing? I don't know. Like, if they know, should it be corrected already? I don't know. Like, that's... I don't know Blackwing's business. You know, things happen. Like, I've had QC issues on plenty of products. Like, sometimes things get out that are bad. But this seems to be like a decent amount of bad ones are out. And this is a recent acquisition. This isn't one I've had since February. So they're going to send me another one and I will test it. And if it's... I'm expecting that it's going to behave differently. Because so many people had a great experience with this sharpener. I find it odd that I didn't. So that's kind of where we're at with this sharpener. I want it to be well. Like, I'm not trying to... Like, I don't take my review frustrations out on companies. I state what I believe is my honest opinion of my experience. Right? Yeah. So, you know, this one's going to be interesting because I'm getting another one after Blackwing reached out and they've admitted to a QC problem with a certain batch. And apparently, I got one. It's pretty telling when people don't have the experience... Are able to share their comparisons with me and say how different it is to what I got out of this sharpener. So, good stuff.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So there will be an update eventually to this review. I'm interested to see how...

'''Myke Hurley:''' You know, because it doesn't really seem like there's any redeeming feature of it at the moment. So, I'm keen to see if that completely changes.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. Like, the more I put it up against every other sharpener I own, the more I hated it. Like, it was... I will literally never use this sharpener again because there is not one sharpener I own that it is better than. Right?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Right.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And it's not cheap. This is a premium sharpener. Like, and I compared it to other premium sharpeners.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And people who want a premium sharpener, you need to get on Team Pollux. It is the king of pen of sharpeners because it is way more expensive than it looks like it should be. But it works exceptionally well. So, get on Team Pollux if you want a really, really great sharpener. So, until we see if this one's... My next version of this one is correct.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So, here's something that is incredibly timely. Incredibly.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Incredibly timely.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yep. The Franklin Kristoff online pen show is incredibly timely because as we are recording this, it literally is 11 a.m. Eastern Time, which is when the first sale opens.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yes. So, all of our live listeners are no longer listening because they've gone to play in Franklin Kristoff's online pen show. And the reason I'm bringing this up is not because I love Franklin Kristoff, which I do. And I love all of their custom models, which I do. And, you know, I'm a customer of theirs for the pen addict, which I am. Like, I love all the things. But the reason I'm bringing this up is because it's a cool and different way for these vendors that we all support at pen shows when we're not supporting them online to have their online version of pen show. And the idea I had yesterday when it was mentioned to me is I only knew about this because I was on their email list, which I didn't even realize I'd gotten the email at the time. I was streaming and people started talking about it. I was like, hey, did you get the thing about the show tomorrow? I was like, no, but I hadn't checked my email yet. So I wanted to talk a little bit about retailers and email. So this is this is a weird topic because email is kind of a battleground for your attention. Right. And there's sometimes you just don't want to, you know, be bothered with all of the retailers, you know, promotion emails and sales emails and new stock emails. I just want to say maybe consider signing up for some of them, not all of them. You'll get inundated. And I'm not trying to, like, over promote consumerism.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' But on this podcast, I just said I wasn't buying the purple sailor. Myke, give me a break. But yes, it's there is a fine line between too much, too much. Maybe it's not a fine line. It's probably like a big fat Sharpie marker line. And there's a challenge, you know, for all of us and buying too many things and trying to manage our expectations and manage our budgets. But it is very helpful in times where companies like Franklin Kristoff and Edison Pen and Carolina Pen Company and not the big retailers that can't get out to pen shows and, you know, make their month by going to a pen show. You can sign up to their newsletters and kind of see what they're doing. And that's helpful to them, you know, having those extra eyeballs on their newsletters. And, you know, maybe you'll see something down the line or maybe you see something today that you put on your wish list for a year from now when you can afford it or for a special occasion. And I just wanted to say, like, as someone who tries to manage their inbox very carefully, that I'm glad to sign up for several retailers' emails just to kind of support their endeavors, even if I'm not buying something from every day. So that's just one of those little topics that kind of we don't ever have a reason to talk about. But getting this online pen show email made me think, oh, cool, even though I'm not going to go buy anything, it was like, it's cool to see companies doing this. And you should sign up to some of your favorite pen retailers' email list if you want to see what they're doing and see what they're up to and help support them.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I think that is a very nice idea.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right. Let's figure out all the not nice ideas I have in this section of Ask TPA. Myke, I'm done being nice today. I'm going to take these Ask TPA questions like that Blackwing one-step sharpener review.

'''Myke Hurley:''' All right. Are you sure? It's go time. Okay. This is going to be Big Boss Browdy. Browdy. Browdy. That's what we'll call you now. Browdy. All right. This comes from Outside Rose. Any suggestions for an A5-ish sized bind or a notebook that would allow me to insert and rearrange pages? I'm making a survival guide for my next duty assignment and want to be able to create a small collection of important information I can keep in a bag and modify over time. I would just like to say at this point that Relay FM LLC and Pen Addict LLC is not responsible for any recommendation when it comes to creating a quote-unquote survival guide for a duty assignment. Because that sounds very scary. Yeah. So, if this doesn't work out or like a page falls out and you get yourself in trouble, don't come anduck in to Brad's door.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I love this question so much. Like, there's several very easy answers. But the answer I want to give, I don't think exists. So, let me give the easy answers and then I'll tell you what I want for this answer. So, the easy answers are any disk-based system, right? Insert and rearrange pages. Right. Levenger, Circa, Staples, Arc. I use the William Hanna. That one, you know, is, you know, the most expensive of the bunch. There's other systems where you can have any kind of disk-bound system. And then if you find out that that disk-bound system works for you, you can eventually invest in a punch that will allow you to use whatever your favorite paper is. You know, like an A5 size Claire Fontaine paper you can use and punch it into your own disk-bound system. So, those are the ones I would look at. I prefer the disk-bound over the binder ring systems. Like, Kikuyo has a binder ring system. You know, a bunch of the Japanese brands have binder ring systems. And then you have things like FileFax where you have binder ring systems. Those tend to break down, especially if we're putting survival guide, considering that in the answer. Binder rings don't really make my survival guide list, right? They're just going to break down and become an annoyance. So, what I would like for this answer is disk-bound right-in-the-rain paper. And I don't know if that's a possibility. Because if we're doing a survival guide and we have a duty assignment, I feel like this is going to be a very heavily used product. Maybe indoors, maybe outdoors as well. And I would like to have that paper that's going to handle this work a little bit better than what you would get from, you know, Levenger, Staples, or William Hanna. So, that's something I'd look into. I don't know if Right in the Rain sells loose sheets. But they have so many models and options of their product. I would be surprised if you could get something that you could modify into one of those brands. But disk-bound systems, you can get plenty of them in A5 size. And if you like it, you can eventually get into your own paper. And I would love to see a Right in the Rain version.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Could you not just... I mean, if you wanted to, you could take the time in buying the paper and cutting it out of a book and hole-punching it yourself, right? Like, even the Right in the Rain paper.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep, absolutely. Because I'm wondering if they make pads. They've lost me on how many different variants they make now, which is good. Like, they're out there, which makes me think there's an option for that. And if you really got serious, you could end up probably just ordering, like, Yupo paper, like, sheets, you know, and really... Oh, they do paper. That would take a lot of work.

'''Myke Hurley:''' They sell paper now. They do what they call all-weather printer paper. That will get you what you're looking for. They do it in all kinds of sizes, too.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep. So, they've really expanded over the last two or three years, their paper lineup. So, yeah, that's what I would do if you're concerned about it having to be weatherproof. You're limited to ballpoint pens and pencils at that point, but I would still be fine with that.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Next question comes from Nick. Nick wants to know, for me, I was wondering, Myke, what your pen situation will be at Mega Office. Will you have a pen block for home and some for work, or will you carry them every time? So, one, I mean, I pay rent on an office, not that I've been there in three months, but I have yet to work this one out. I feel like I would just have all of my favorite pens at the office, but Adina says that's a risk in case they get stolen. I have said, this is a conversation we've had many times, if somebody broke into our office, they would not take the pens, is my opinion. Like, they would take the computers and other technology things we have lying around. Equipment. Equipment. I can't imagine anybody would steal the pens. And it is a case where, like, if somebody broke into our studio, for me, the worst thing that they could take would be the pens. See, that's where it gets more tricky. Look, is everything else covered by insurance, right? And I don't have an emotional attachment to. Like, if somebody stole my laptop, I'd be upset, but I'd get a new one in insurance and I'd be fine. But even if I could insure the pens, I can't replace some of them. Right. So, this is the problem. Like, I don't know what I'm going to do. What I know I don't want to do is carry pens backwards and forwards every day. And then it's a case of working out which are allowed to be there. I really, like, this is something that is going to take me a long time to work out. I mean, honestly, like, I have a lot of stuff still to work out with the studio anyway. Like, in the alternate timeline, I would be there right now recording this show and I would have worked it all out because I would have been working from it for a couple of months. But I have never worked a day in the studio. So, it's still too soon for me, even though I signed a rental contract in February.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Crazy.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I'll chime in. I'm 100% bringing them back and forth every day. Like, I'm tailor-made to do that. I'm a backpack bag guy. I'm throwing my bag, throwing them in a case, bringing them back and forth.

'''Myke Hurley:''' This is the question of, like, I don't know if I'm going to do a bag backwards and forwards every day. Like, I'm actually considering not doing that and just having everything that I need where it needs to be. Right? So, like, all of the computer stuff will just stay in the office and I'll have some redundant machine at home in case I need to do anything. But the plan is to not do any work at home anymore. Right. So, I don't know. And then it's like, okay, but I like to have all of my pens with me. Like, I wouldn't even be able to choose which three to take. And so, yeah. Basically, it's going to be either... What it's going to end up being with the pen stuff is when it comes to the office is a lot of change. Like, that is going to be something where it really... Like, one of the big changes is do I keep all my pens in one place? Do I take them backwards and forwards? Do I then have to choose which ones I want in advance? Like, that's a pretty big difference in my use case. So, but it will be like many things now that I, you know, won't... I eventually won't be working from home. A lot of stuff I'll do will change. But honestly, who knows? Like, I have no idea. Like, I've got this studio, but I don't know if I'll ever use it the way that I intended to. Like, I don't know. Like, there's too many questions still, unfortunately.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' The reason why I love this show is because of how important that question that we just got is. So important. Like, how much we think about that. Yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' We will come back to it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It's great.

'''Myke Hurley:''' The Inky Side asks, I just received my 2-speed 580 Prussian Blue from Mark Bacchus, who ground me a blade-style nib, which was my first custom grind. Now I have an overwhelming urge to sell off most of my collection and get custom grinds on each pen that remains. Good, great, or perfect idea? Yeah.