Editing The Pen Addict 520/transcript (section)

== Narwhal Controversy Resolution ==


'''Brad:''' That's why I was very particular about what I said, right? Yeah. This isn't the best thing to have happened. This is the best way this situation could have gotten resolved because now it's just like, look, they done messed up, right? I don't know what was going on at TWSBI. I still say like they believed it, you know, right? Like I'm not saying obviously it wasn't right to believe it because now they've agreed that, but they believed it. Like to them, it meant something. And like they were on one about it, you know, like big time. Right. But it was clearly. Yeah, they were on one is a great way to put it. It was stupid, right? And now they've eroded goodwill that they have for kind of for no reason now. And so.

'''Myke:''' Yeah, I think that's a good way. That's the terminology I was looking for. They've eroded whatever goodwill they had. And some people didn't like them anyway just because of, you know, you know, existing, you know, manufacturing issues or whatever that I think have been resolved. Like I'm a super huge TWSBI fan. And like now I think of them differently. Like I'm a little bit agitated like that this whole thing happened that didn't need to happen. And like, you know, I'm going to still use TWSBI's and, you know, still review TWSBI pins and things like that. But it's like, man, I wish we didn't have to do this. Like, you know, no one likes this stuff. Especially when it was essentially like completely unfounded. Like what happened didn't have to happen. So to wrap it up, let's talk about two new products from one from Narwhal, one from TWSBI. That's coming up soon. One out now from Narwhal, the School Kill. I think that's how you say that. This is a model that Narwhal's had. And I didn't realize they did an annual edition, you know, like a big run. But like for the year, like the 2022 limited edition. And it's like 2,000 units that like all the retailers get. This is a really good looking pen and a good quality pen for $60. This is the Dragonet Sapphire mic. Is this year's edition.

'''Myke:''' My hang up with Narwhal, and this is going to be my consistent hang up until it changes, is I don't love their nibs. I like their nibs. I will use the pens. I don't love them. I think they could be better for me, for the way I write. They have very large tipping, which makes the finest nib that they sell a fine. And then even the fine kind of writes like a medium, right? And on upwards, you know, the medium writes like a broad. And it's great. Like if you like that type of ink on the page, knock yourself out. You're going to like these Narwhal nibs. For someone who likes extra fine nibs, this is a tough sell for me to even go with the fine. And, you know, I could always get it modified. I understand that. But in general, I like Narwhal's pens. I think the real interesting thing that Narwhal does is the ebonite barrel pens, like the more expensive pens. They have done some interesting designs. The Nautilus, for example, has an interesting ink window. It's like a round porthole ink window. I think they look kind of cool, rounded ends. And they use some different materials, different acrylics, different ebonites. They're much more expensive. Like they've been willing to just dabble up front with more expensive materials than like TWSBI ever has. Outside of a few like rare limited ones. I think those might be more compelling for me to buy and get a nib grind done and say, hey, this is my Narwhal that I use that I like. So like the Nautilus Grand Rhapsody that I'm looking at at our site sponsor, Pen Chalet. Anyway, it's this beautiful, it's this beautiful material. And like, I don't know. I would probably really enjoy this pen. Except I'm hesitant on the nib and that I can't even just start with an extra fine. So I do like them. The School Kill, the Dragonette Sapphire is really, really pretty. I'll probably end up with one of those at least to review and check out. TWSBI did a really smart thing, Myke.

'''Myke:''' They, after they announced the, had their, released their statement on, okay, we're finished with this Narwhal stuff and we're retracting everything we've ever said. And they promoted maybe the single most popular pen they could ever promote. And that's the TWSBI Diamond 580 Iris.

'''Brad:''' We got a way to make you forget.

'''Myke:''' Yep. I mean, if this doesn't make people forget, like the past few months, like, I don't know what else they could do. Maybe bring back Micarta or something like that that everyone loved.

'''Brad:''' Or the, they'll do like, you know, they did the Republic of China, which they then made the U.S. edition. They do it in like France or something, you know.

'''Myke:''' But yeah, I mean, like this is the way to, this is the Monday release after the Friday afternoon press release. You know, bad news on Friday, Monday, let me show you all the new fancy stuff we got. So that's pretty much what this was. So that, I mean, the TWSBI Diamond 580 is probably going to be the most popular TWSBI that TWSBI has ever made, right? Like it's, I don't know that the 580 is the most popular model. I, I'll never be able to know. I mean, I would argue it's probably the Eco just from a price point perspective. But for what this pen is and how much people have enjoyed the Iris VAC, I mean, this, this is how TWSBI gets right back into the good graces, right?

'''Brad:''' What is, is there like a, like a general consensus of love of this pen? Like why, why is this, why are you so?

'''Myke:''' It's the, it's the, the finish, the Iris finish. So the, the coating, the rainbow prismatic coating, like that's gonna, that's what sells these pens. Just like we saw the, like the Leonardo Memento Zero that Stilo and Stilae did. You know, these little prismatic touches throughout a translucent barrel really pop off the page. And, and people really, really enjoy this stuff. Like this type of anodizing, the rainbow anodizing and, you know, the nib and all the different parts poking through. It, it just makes for a big seller, makes for a big seller in pen. So that's, that's why I'm saying that. This one will be extremely popular.

'''Brad:''' Yeah. Okay.

'''Myke:''' So, yeah. So that one comes out, I don't know, a couple of days from now. No, next week sometime, next week sometime, like the 15th, I think. Okay. There you go. So now we can go back to talking about TWSBI pens and Narwhal pens, maybe. Who knows? But that's a couple of their latest releases and their beef is over with.

'''Brad:''' Hooray for everybody involved.

'''Myke:''' Especially us.

'''Brad:''' So we don't talk about it anymore. I don't want to talk about this anymore. So I'm really happy. Yes. Yeah. We can officially confirm that it was Brad and I who brought the parties to the table. Oh, yeah. And dealt with this. So we didn't have to talk about it on the podcast anymore.

'''Myke:''' Yeah. Yeah. We got them all in a room, said, y'all hash it out because we don't want to talk about this anymore. Sick of this conversation. We were the mediators, the arbitrators.

'''Brad:''' Brad rifled through TWSBI's product library and was like, you're bringing this one back.

'''Myke:''' Yeah. Then I put on my PR hat. So we went from legal mediation into PR and said, all right, this is how you get out of this hole. Negotiate PR. Rainbow anodization.

'''Brad:''' So it works around here. All right. Let's do some hashtag RCTPA episodes, questions. We'll do a couple and we'll finish up today. This comes from Andrew. Do you expect the bot compatible steel number eight nibs made by Magna Carta to take off or fizzle out?

'''Myke:''' So I've held this question for a while. Yeah. Because I wanted to talk about it. And the answer is neither. Right? This is a specialty product. Right? So this is what I wanted to kind of address with the question. It's the posing of the question. Are they going to take off or fizzle? Like the number eight nib, let's just say the number eight nib, not necessarily from Magna Carta because Magna Carta is making these pens. Other makers make number eight size nib options. Are they going to take off or fizzle? And the answer is neither. Right? Because they're a specialty product. So they just by law, they neither take off or fizzle. Right? The people who want them will get them and enjoy them. Is it like they're big? Right?

'''Brad:''' I guess is the thing. They're like big. Okay.

'''Myke:''' Yeah. So like they're limited in their options. So, you know, you can use it with like Bach fittings or you can buy it with like these Magna Carta pens. Like the pens look great. Right? I think like the pen looks great. The nib looks great. Like everything about it looks great. And, you know, they have like the nice, nice ebonite feeds and everything about them is really, really cool. But that doesn't make them like a crossover success. Right? Because they're just too big for a lot of people. Right? So that prevents them from taking off. But they'll also never fizzle because they're technically great. Right? Like what they've created is awesome. It's kind of like Ultim. Right? The Ultim is more of a takeoff than a fizzle. But it's capped. Right? You're capped in how many of these you can sell. So that keeps it from like rocket to the moon type status. But it sure as heck not going to fizzle because the people that are into this stuff, it's like are fascinated by this. Right? Like it doesn't speak to me because I generally the smaller the better for me in pens, nibs, everything. So if I'm buying a big – if I'm going to use a number eight nib, generally that means I have to have a pen that's going to fit that. And that just makes everything bigger. And that's not what I enjoy writing. Yeah. And I think that's common. And I think that's common.

'''Brad:''' It's saying that they checked – they actually were there. They had them at the Baltimore show and none of them would fit inside of their shown Ultim number eight section. Okay. So I have one of those as well.

'''Myke:''' Yeah. Yeah. So maybe you're just having to buy Magna Carta pen barrels or having something made around these nibs, which I can see happening. Like I've seen like Edison, I think, make some number eight nib, some barrels to fit these nibs. But I could be wrong on that. I think it's just something I saw in passing. But, yeah, like they will neither take off or fizzle their specialty, right? And so the specialty connoisseurs will love these. And it's good to see. Like you want to have specialty goods in like a really like particular hobby like ours, right? You – if everyone – that's why we have so many makers, right, that are making so many unique products is to fill all these little niches and needs that we want to test out and enjoy and see if we can make the perfect thing for us. And this is going to be the perfect thing for a lot of people. But it's not going to go gangbusters nor is it going to drop off the map. It's just going to be good for the people who want it.

'''Brad:''' And Andrew asks, what is the closest thing to the Nocco Tallulah? I've been really enjoying just tossing this in my backpack. But I've been wanting to have two ready in case I want to have different setups on my day. I don't want it to be leather. I want it to be canvas or nylon or whatever material that was made for the Nocco Tallulah with zippers. Is anything close that you would recommend to this?

'''Myke:''' He says, pretty much I want another Tallulah. Yeah. Which I think is just a great way to end it. Yeah, good luck because the only thing I could even remotely suggest was leather, which isn't even fair to answer this question. But this is a product I own and a product that kind of reminds me of the Tallulah, but it's not really that way. It's a superior labor leather pen and wallet case. They really call it their wallet case. It's zippered. It holds like three pins on the inside. And it's a little bit bigger and wider than the Tallulah. It's also extraordinarily more expensive than the Tallulah.

'''Myke:''' Yeah, I don't know. So there's been some poor designs. Oh, gosh. I can't think of the company that made a really terrible Tallulah-looking case, just like a two-pin zip fold case. And a bunch of people bought them, and they were kind of falling apart, and they didn't go really well. Yeah, outside of that, Andrew, I apologize. I don't have a great idea for this. And so if anyone has ever come across anything like that with the zipper, the Tallulah is a very specific design that we made at Nock, and it was great. Like it was one of those, again, it's one of those designs I genuinely wasn't sure it was going to work until I made it and started carrying it. And then I was like, oh, this is, I think people are going to like it. And so, you know, it was always been one of my favorite cases, and I appreciate that you like it so much, Andrew. And I wish I had a better recommendation for you. Like I've seen some slim cases. They just kind of never add up to, like, the exact kind of thing that the Tallulah brings. So I don't know, maybe one day I can work my magic with someone, and we'll bring that back. But until then, man, who knows?

'''Brad:''' Thank you for listening to this week's episode of The Pan Addict. If you have a question of your own that you'd like to send in for us to answer, just send out a tweet with the hashtag RSTPA. You can use question mark RSTPA in the RelayFM members Discord, or you can email it to hello at panaddict.com. Go to panaddict.com, and you'll find the wonderful writings of Brad and his many wonderful writers that we have over at The Pan Addict. So you can read some wonderful articles. You can go to spokedesign.com, where I believe by today...

'''Myke:''' Allegedly. Allegedly.

'''Brad:''' You can get yourself a wonderful mechanical pencil to celebrate yesterday's National Mechanical Pencil Day. Brad streams on Twitch three times a week, twitch.tv slash panaddict. Brad is at dowdyism on Twitter, panaddict on Instagram. I am imike, I-M-Y-K-E. Thanks to Squarespace for the support of this show. And we'll be back next time. Until then, say goodbye, Brad. Goodbye, Brad.

[[Category:Podcast Transcripts]]
[[Category:The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript]]