Editing The Pen Addict 112/transcript (section)

== Nakaya Pens ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' So these last two are kind of one in the same because I got a question about these. So I got a new Nakaya that I was talking about for Father's Day and it's called the Nakaya Piccolo. It's a shorter body than the Nakaya Portable that I bought a few months back. It's a shorter body and it's a very different Arushi finish style where it's just a solid color finish. Unlike my other one, it's like a layered color. I had like a blue-green underneath and a black over the top on my Nakaya Portable.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' The Nakaya Piccolo, the one I bought, was in Kikyo. I don't know if I'm saying that right, but it looks like Kikyo Blue. It's this really great blue and I've linked to the nibs.com page. That does not do it justice at all. Number one, their picture has it with the gold trim and I got mine in the rhodium trim, which looks great. And I put a link to my Instagram picture of it. I'm guessing I'm going to review, I don't know if I'm going to review both my Nakayas together or separately.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I'm super happy with this pen. I was more concerned about this pen than the first one just because the size is a little bit smaller.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' But it's worked out really good for me. And I got this with an extra fine nib, which is super smooth. It's very nice. I use this pen all the time. And one thing I did, I did lots of things different with this pen. One, I took a standard nib, extra fine, whereas in the previous one, I got it modified into a cursive metallic nib. Two, I'm using just straight up platinum blue black ink cartridges, which I said I wouldn't do on my other one, on my first one, on the Nakaya Portable, because I wanted to experience, you know, using different inks and using the converter and all this different stuff. So that's no big deal, really. But it's just something I didn't think I was going to do. I really, really like the piccolo size.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And I got this one with the clips, so it's a little, I don't have to worry about it rolling off the table like I do the portable.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I always have to set it down on the kimono so it doesn't roll off the table when I'm using it. But there's three pens that are in my most heavy rotation right now. It's the two Nakayas and the Edison Menlo.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So now I got a question from our friend Jim Cant on Twitter. He says, I reckon you already planned to talk about Nakaya. I'd love to hear more about your Menlo. Also, use case for the fancies, and in parentheses he says home only.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So you understand what he's asking, Myke?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Not completely.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, so what he's saying is, I've spent all this money on these two Nakayas, and this Menlo is a very expensive pen. So these are your, quote, fancy pens. Are you only using them at home? What's your use case? How are you using these pens that you spent all this money on? By the way, I have to take out the trash when we're done with this. In case you heard that. I did. I did. I did hear that. I wonder what it was. That was a little Fantastical reminder for everyone out there. Take out the trash.

'''Myke Hurley:''' That's an interesting little sound. I don't know what that sound is.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. I like it, though. It's the Fantastical. I have reminders via Fantastical. Anyway, so the reason why I pointed out this question about what is the use case for my fancies, which I like how he says that, is because that's how I knew I was ready to own a Nakaya when I didn't care how I used the pen, and I didn't care where I used the pen, and I didn't care how I carried the pen, and I didn't care what ink I put in the pen. It's hard to justify spending that much money on a product like a Nakaya and not using the pen.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' There's no way I was going to spend $700 on a pen and not use it or leave it on the desk or leave it at the house or use it once a week to write a letter or something like that. The turning point came for me.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I had to be mentally ready to say, I'm going to buy a Nakaya, I'm going to throw it in my pocket, and I'm going to go down to Starbucks, and I'm going to write in my field notes and not have a care in the world about what's going to happen to the pen. That's when I knew I was ready to push the purchase button on the Nakaya. So, to answer Jeremiah's question, that's my use case. My use case is anywhere, anytime, anyhow. I carry, the Nakaya Piccolo has a clip, I've carried it in my jeans pocket, clip to my pocket. I don't care what happens to the pen, I just want to use it because it's so great. And it's the same for the Nakaya Portable, although I don't carry that one in my pocket as much because it moves around because it doesn't have a clip. But I'll take it anywhere, use it anywhere. I carry them with me in my pen case all the time. They leave the house constantly. I use them more than any other pens I'm using right now. So, and that's how I knew I was ready to own an Nakaya, that I wouldn't be scared of it. And that was a hang-up for a year or more. Like, I'm going to damage this pen, I'm going to drop it, I'm going to ruin it. And that weighed on me before buying the pen. And I wouldn't buy it because of that. I was scared of it. And I got to the point where, okay, I think I'm going to use, if I'm buying this, I'm going to use this constantly. It's going to be like my everyday writer pen. So, that's where the Nakayas fit into my rotation. And I'm super happy with that choice. And if they get nicked up, dinged up, you know what? Even better because they're my Nakayas. And, you know, that's how I'm going to use them. And they're a part of me. And, you know, getting used and abused. And they'll have character, you know, if something happens to them. Oh, well, now, hopefully I don't drop one on the ground and they shatter. Because that could happen. But I'm not worried about it. I'll carry them anywhere. Carry them clipped to my shirt pocket. I don't protect them all the time. You know, they just kind of float around. And I've made a point not to worry about it. And, therefore, I'm getting more enjoyment out of it. So, I hope that makes sense, Jeremiah. And I hope that makes sense to you, Myke.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' No, 100%. I agree pretty much with everything that you're saying. Like, when you're thinking about buying these pens and they're so expensive.

'''Myke Hurley:''' In a way, like, the fact that they're more expensive means you should use them more. Right. Even though that kind of seems counterintuitive. Like, they should be protected. Right. Like, my precious type of scenario. But the fact that you've spent $700 on it, it would be an absolute waste of money if you didn't use it every day.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Absolutely. Absolutely.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Like, it really would be a waste of money. Yep. Because it's not like it's... I mean, they are kind of works of art, but you don't present them in such a way. Mm-hmm. So, you have to do with them what they're intended to do. You know, that they're built to be... They're not built to be fragile. They're built to be these, like, incredibly precise and machined things that are excellent at writing.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Mm-hmm. Yep. Yep. I don't know. So, that's how I... It was like a light switch flipped on and said, okay, I'm ready to use this every day and not worry about what's going to happen to the pen. And then that's when I knew I was ready to purchase one.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I think what you need to understand and feel at the end of the day is if you use that for six months and something terrible happens, like, you drop it and it just smashes. Mm-hmm. You know, you drop it down a staircase. Mm-hmm. Is the six months of work... Is the six months of use every day worth replacing it? Like, worth the cost of it breaking? Mm-hmm. I guess that's what you need to work out.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep. I'm with you. And, yeah, it totally is. I've been extremely happy with my purchases so far, and I see no reason that you're not going to continue to hear about them constantly. Especially since I still need to review them. So I'm going to work on that because I've had a bunch of people pinging me, when are you going to review them? When are you going to review them? So they're coming soon. Coming soon.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Well, you just got it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. It's a hard pen to review, honestly.