Editing The Pen Addict 72/transcript (section)

== Pen Review ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right. So we got a big interview, about big interview here. Goodness gracious. We got a big review here. Our friends at Cult Pens sent us each the Cult Pens mini fountain pen that they worked with Kaweco on to design a fountain pen just for them at Cult Pens. And our good friends sent us a pen, each of us a pen. And they sent me the full nib set. Did you get all the nibs for that?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I only asked, if you remember, I asked like three. I got like a medium, a bold, and a fine. And I, if you remember, because I've already given my initial impressions of the pen. Right. And I am using the fine nib. And I really love the fine nib, which is rare for me.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep. So I was a few weeks behind in getting mine. And I got all the nibs. I got extra fine, fine, medium, broad, and double broad. And we'll talk about the nibs in a minute. But do you want to give your impressions again about the pen? And we haven't talked about this from a review perspective, like a one-on-one thing, you and I, on what our complete review of the pen is. So do you want to go first? Do you want me to go?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, I'll sort of recap my feelings. I'm really, really happy with the way that the pen looks overall. I think that they chose some really nice materials. It's like aluminum and like chrome, I guess. I don't really, it's probably, I could find it by looking at the page. I'm sure it will say what it's made of. I'm looking now, Brad. Yeah, I'm looking now too. It just says metal. But it's metal. It feels really nice.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It's anodized aluminum. Anodized aluminum. With a matte brush finish. Excellent stuff. And the trim is nickel chromium plated brass.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Hey, so I did say aluminum and chrome. So, you know, I've got it going on. It's weighted really, really well. It's surprisingly small. It is so small that I do have to cap the nib to use it. But in doing so, it actually adds the weight required to balance the pen, which for me, I find that's quite a rare thing for me, where adding the cap actually balances the pen, but it does in this instance. So it's not really an issue for me. It's got a good clip. Nice, strong clip.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And I really like the experience. I mean, obviously, they've got real quality nibs. And they went with a great partner in Kaweco. Because, you know, if they would have just put any standard nib in here, it maybe wouldn't be as good as a pen. But they chose a real great partner because Kaweco nibs are very, very high quality. They're good stuff. I only have one small niggle with the pen, really. That the area where you screw the cap on is just quite sharp around where the cap and the pen meet. But it's not so much that it's a problem for me, in all honesty, but it was just something that I noticed. And that's me being extremely nitpicky. I have been using this pen at home an awful lot. It kind of fits in with using field notes for me quite nicely. I don't carry it around me on a daily basis. And you can tell me if I'm being silly here. I am a bit nervous about carrying a fountain pen in my pocket all day, every day. I don't know if maybe I'm being overcautious, Brad.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, I mean, a little bit. If you think about it, this is what Kaweco does, right? I mean, they obviously make a wide range of fountain pens from the smaller size of the scale to traditional size pens. But I think what they're known for is kind of the smaller footprint pens, whether it's the Kaweco Lilliput, which is the smallest. This Kaweco Colt pens, which is probably the next smallest. And then the Kaweco Sport, which is probably the main mini. It's basically a pocket fountain pen. So, I mean, this is what they do. And I trust them to make a pen that's not going to come unscrewed and get ink all over my pocket or something like that if I'm carrying it around in my pants pocket. I've carried the Lilliput in my pocket, my pants pocket. I've carried the AL Sport in my pants pocket, and I've never had an issue. They're totally sturdy, totally stable. And what the Colt pens one did that's different than both of those two is it added a clip. So that's even better in my book for a mini fountain pen to have a clip that's sturdy like this. You can clip it to your shirt, clip it to your Field Notes notebook, clip it to your pants pocket, something like that. So, yeah, I wouldn't worry about it if I was you. You know, I trust the brand implicitly, you know, and they do a great job. And until something happens otherwise, yeah, I carry them around in my pants pocket all the time.

'''Myke Hurley:''' What about taking it on an airplane?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I wouldn't do that.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Okay, good. Just checking. Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I'm super nervous about that. I don't know why. You know, I probably could. I mean, what you do with this is you just take it, you know, pop out the cartridge, carry the pen, and then arrive at your destination, pop in a cartridge. And then when you leave, take out the cartridge, throw it away, and put in a new one when you get back home.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, I could do that.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, I just wouldn't use it on the plane with the cartridge engaged.

'''Myke Hurley:''' One of the things that I love about this pen with the fine nib that I'm using is there's no bleed-free in Field Notes.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Mm-hmm.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And that's awesome because it means I can use it in my favorite notebooks. Yep. Which I can't really do with fountain pens.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, not all of them are really good for writing on, you know, thinner paper and things like that. And, you know, that's one of the things I want to talk about is the nibs. But I guess let me give my feedback on the pen if you – is that okay?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Well, the last thing I was just going to say is I just think this is excellent value for money. It's £30. And if I compare that to a, let's say, a Cueco Sport.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, so it's like £17.99 for a plastic Cueco Sport. So you're getting something that's much greater put together, I think.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Than that sort of pen. I really prefer the way that this feels and how thin it is and stuff. Like if you compare it to a Lilliput, which is maybe more similar, they're like £42. So it's much cheaper. And I think that they've done a great job. But, yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, I think they've done a spectacular job with the pen. I really love it. I use it all the time. I carry it with me. Actually, I carry it clipped to an exterior pocket of my backpack. So that's practically a pocket carry. It's exposed, you know. But the clip is so well done. I love the look of the pen. The brushed metal. It gives just that little bit of texture to where it's not super smooth and slick. It's got a good feel to it. I do have the same issue that you have with the grip area. But that's, I mean, that's just part and parcel with a mini fountain pen. There's only so much space they have to make the design decisions they need to make for the pen to actually be functional as well as look good and feel good too, right? But it does, like the back end of your grip does get on that little sharp edge. And that can be annoying to some people. So with the extra fine nib, I found, like, I gripped below it to use, like below that sharper edge there. And then with, like, the broad or the double broad nibs, I actually grip above it a little bit because you have that much more freedom with it. Yeah. With that wider nib. And that's actually kind of comfortable. So it is something to be aware of. And the section itself is a little bit slick. But for a smaller pen, it doesn't have, like, I would like it if it was brush, the section itself was the same brush metal. Because, you know, it almost grips better there than on the chrome part of it. But it's not that much of a hindrance at all. But outside of that, the cap posts wonderfully. It's, like, got, it's almost like a friction fit on the cap. It's, like, there's a rubber ring or a plastic ring inside the cap that fits on the back of the barrel. And you just kind of, you push it on and it stays firmly in place, which I like. Sometimes, you know, the mini fountain pens, when you write with them, the cap, you almost have to write with the cap posted, like you were saying, right? And that cap gets right in the cusp of your hand. And on a lot of pens, it'll move around when you're writing. This is dead solid firm. So that's a key for a pen this size. You have to have that or it's going to be wiggling around in your hand and you're not going to like that at all. This one, it's really, really solid. And that's what I love the most about this pen is the construction of it. It's really, really well done. I'll have to take some pictures of it compared to the Lilliput and the AL Sport or the Sport. It falls right in the middle size-wise. The Lilliput's smaller, smaller in length, and I think just a tiny bit smaller in diameter. And then the AL Sport is more of a normal width but still a shorter style pen. I mentioned before, the clip is key for a mini pen. I don't know many that have pulled off a clip this well in this size of a pen. That's probably my favorite thing about it, really. And then the nibs. These are the same Coeco nibs that are found in all the other Lilliput, AL Sport, all that whole line of pens. This is the same nib, and these are some of my favorite nibs on the planet. They are always smooth. They are always sharp. They are always clean. And I have discovered something with this set of nibs that even shocks myself. Being the extra fine guy that I am, like in the fine point nibs and right and small, I'm using the double broad nib, Myke. And I don't want to take it out. I love this super wide nib. It's amazing.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I've never even come across double broad before. I think I need to get a double broad nib. Yeah. I mean, I'm sure I'd like it, but I find it insane that you're using double broad and I'm using fine. What has this pen done to us? It's made us both question what we love about fountain pens. It's crazy.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. I think the thing about Coeco's nibs is, as opposed to like Pelican, the Coeco nibs tend to run much finer lines, I think, just in general. Like if you compared a Coeco EF to a Pelican EF, the Pelican EF is so much wider. Or maybe it's just that it's a more wetter flow. You know, it's putting a lot more ink on the page, so that makes the line wider.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Coeco's are more, I guess, maybe on the drier side, which I don't want to say that. That's not like an extreme. They're very wet and good flow and everything. But the ink doesn't spread or run or anything like that. So I'm able to use a double broad nib like this. And it looks to me, it's like when I write with it, it's like writing with a Sharpie pen or, you know, another marker pen. Like an 05 Secura Pigma Micron. And I've always liked that look. But I've never found a fountain pen nib that could pull it off without just completely bleeding through the page or feathering. And I guess the Coeco nibs, they regulate the ink properly to where it's ultra smooth and the ink flow is not exorbitant. So it's easy to write with. And, you know, with my writing style, the small block print, you know, with a wide nib, which is why I've never used them, you know, my letters will run together if the ink bleeds. Well, these Coeco nibs don't do that. And that's on all kinds of different papers, like you're saying. You know, you can even use it in your field notes. And I'm pretty much fascinated with this double broad nib. And I'm going to keep using it that way because I like it. I'm using a mini fountain pen with a double broad nib, which seems like kind of defeats the purpose. But it's fun. I'm having a heck of a good time with this pen. I love it.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I think in summary, what the Colt Pens guys have done is they've taken excellent nib manufacturing and they've paired it with a fantastic design for a pen overall. And they've got something which is great value. And if you're considering it, I would say drop the money and go for it because I think you'll be very happy.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, they did. Like I said, it fits in Coeco's lineup in a good spot. But it's bigger than the Lolliput, which I love that pen. But it can be a little small at some times. And it's a little bit more compact than the Sports and the AL Sports. And it's a little bit lighter. And the biggest thing, one of the coolest designs in all of Pendum are the clips that Coeco sells separately from their Sports and AL Sports. Like I like nothing better than seeing those pens with that add-on clip. I think it's beautiful. But it moves around. They come off. So they come off. And then what's the point in having the clip? It drives me insane. I can't clip it to my pocket because I try to and the nib slides up and off the pen. It looks beautiful. It's not functional. This is an integrated clip and it's super functional, super tight. And for a mini pen, you're going to lose it more readily than a larger size fountain pen. You need this sturdy clip to keep the pen in place wherever you're holding it. And they nailed this one. So they did a really good job. So good job by Coeco and Colt pens working together.