Editing The Pen Addict 2/transcript (section)

== Pilot Prera ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. This is something you and I have talked about a lot, and actually before we started this podcast. And I'll go on record, and I think I did it on the first episode too, I am no fountain pen expert. I don't pretend to be. I don't play one on the blog. It's a new world to me, the fountain pens. I've owned a Lamy Safari for years, and I thought that's about all I need. That really suits my needs. It's high quality, smooth writing, cool looking. And if I want to play around with different inks, I can get a converter, and I'm set. I don't need some kind of hugely expensive fountain pen because that can really – some of these fountain pens out there can put you in debt real quick. But I found a pen called the Pilot Prera that has kind of kicked my Lamy Safaris to the curb. And we talked about it. It's because Pilot Prera is a Japanese pen, and the Lamy Safari is a German pen. And the reason why that's important is because while the nib sizes might be called the same thing, both an F nib or a fine nib, they write completely differently. And the Pilot, the Japanese nib, is going to write a much finer, cleaner line than the Lamy Extra Fine nib, which is what I'd used previously. So this is a pen, the Pilot Prera, that really caught me by surprise and really knocked my socks off. It's an excellent – I hesitate to say entry-level fountain pen, but in the grand scheme of the world of fountain pens, it's not an overly expensive pen. And for what I use every day with the Pilot High Tech Cs that run about $3, $4, the Prera at $50 is very expensive. But relative to other fountain pens, it's actually quite a cost-effective fountain pen.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I am actually going to be buying one of those probably next week. Cool.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Which one are you looking at?

'''Myke Hurley:''' The Ivory Medium. Cool. I figured Medium would be good for me.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, that's a good safe bet. And actually, it writes – I have a Medium laying around here somewhere too. It actually writes relatively fine. I think you'll probably –

'''Myke Hurley:''' That was why I thought I'd go for the Medium because I remembered you saying to me about the Japanese size because I figured I would probably quite enjoy a Medium in the regular sizing. So Medium and Japanese size would be good.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. I would bet you my Pilot Prera F-Nib lays down a finer line than your Pilot High Tech C .5 millimeter.

'''Myke Hurley:''' That terrifies me. Because what I love about fountain pens and why I do prefer them over other types of pen is the smoothness of the line. Right. I've always had an affinity for a smooth line. And I don't know what that is. I don't know what it is that makes me like it like that. But I like my lines to be smooth.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. Yep. And that's a good choice. I think you'll like it. So the last one I have on the list – and this isn't an all-encompassing list. But people always ask me what my favorites are. So I really just wanted to highlight a few of the main pens in my arsenal. And the last one is not a pen. It's a pencil because people don't like it when I leave pencils out. Even though I'm not a heavy pencil user, I do use them from time to time. And this is probably the most no-brainer item on my entire list of favorite pens. If I was recommended a pen or a pencil to anyone, the Uniball Kuro Toga pencil is absolutely a no-brainer for anyone who's looking for a mechanical pencil. It's ridiculous.

'''Myke Hurley:''' It is. It's incredible.