Editing The Pen Addict 413/transcript (section)

== TPA Questions ==


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'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right, let's knock out a few ass TPA, Myke. What do you think?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yes, at lauryspenser68 asks, I want to get a cursive italic grind on a new TWSBI 580. Should I order the medium or broad nib to start with?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right, Anna, we're putting you on the spot. You have full responsibility for the answer to lauryspenser68.

'''Ana Reinert:''' Oh, good grief. Okay, well, I suppose it depends on what size cursive italic grind you want. If you want a broad cursive italic, then I would start with a broad. If you want a fine cursive italic, you could probably get away with a medium.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I couldn't agree more. It really depends what you're trying to solve, what your handwriting style is, what you want your writing to look like. And yeah, it's really going to be up to you knowing that the TWSBI, even the medium, is not going to be crazy, crazy fine. You know, it's a good medium. Like, it's very, very traditionally sized. So, if you want that wider line, broad's the way to go. I think I couldn't agree more. It really depends. Like, we can't give you a definitive answer.

'''Ana Reinert:''' Yeah, if you want to be on the safe side, I would say go with the broad. Because they can always thin it out a little bit. But it might end up costing you a little bit more money if what, in the end, you want is a finer cursive italic.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Lynn LG asks, I have trouble getting a good fill with the TWSBI minivac, particularly from bottles with more horizontal shapes. Do you have any thoughts about ink bottle shapes? Do you ever choose an ink with this in mind?

'''Ana Reinert:''' Okay, I might have to throw this over to Brad because I don't have a lot of experience with the TWSBI vacs.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, I mean, the vacs are hard just because you have to get below the ink line very, very well. Like, sometimes with pistons, like, you can skate with a, you know, like a moderate seal around there. But with the vacs, you're going to have to tilt and get, like, a full, full depth of everything down there to get the proper fill on it. But I think it comes down to more how bad do I want the ink over the bottle shape of the ink? And will that prevent me from buying the ink? And most of the times I'm going to say no because things like the TWSBI vac in particular, you can unscrew the nib unit very easily and syringe fill it. So I will forego worrying about an ink bottle shape if I want the ink bad enough, knowing that I might have to take some extra steps to fill certain pens, if that makes sense.

'''Ana Reinert:''' A lot of online retailers will also sell you empty ink bottles for a couple dollars. So if you really want an ink that comes in a low, shallow bottle, you can always buy a tall, skinny bottle.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, perfect. Perfect.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, I don't know if I've ever made a decision based on an ink bottle, but I tell you I would make a decision about rebuying an ink if the bottle was a pain.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right? That's fair. Like, one of my biggest challenges is as much as I love Sailor inks, and I love the design of the Sailor ink pot. It's such a traditional, beautiful design. It is not the best ink bottle to fill from because it is that horizontal shape that Lynn is talking about, right? You just can't get the depth after you've used a quarter of the bottle. You're starting to get into this challenging area where you're not getting a good seal when you dip the nib into the bottle. So, like, I understand it. It's not preventing me, though. But, like, I will think about it from time to time, but it's not going to prevent me in the end, I don't think.

'''Ana Reinert:''' I used to dislike Robert Oster's tall, skinny plastic bottles, but I can get a really good fill out of those, and I think I will end up holding on to one of his bottles once I've emptied it just for some of those Sailor inks.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep.

'''Ana Reinert:''' Because they are very efficient face savers.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, they really are.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I am a big fan of the Akamon ones because they have that little kind of chamber that you fill at the top. You turn it upside down and you fill it, so then I don't have to, like, stick the pen all the way down into the bottom, right? Like, it's the best that I've seen as a way to keep ink, to be able to get the bottom of the ink bottle, basically. You know, like, I've had bottles where you're kind of having to, like, awkwardly tip it and try and hold on to it, right? Like, you're holding it at an angle and still trying to, like, operate the converter, and I'm convinced everything's going to slip out of my hand, and I make a horrible mess. So I really like the Akamon bottles for that reason, because they give you that system.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, Ana did a great post, I don't know, what, a month or so ago, Ana, maybe two months, where you kind of went through the history of just that bottle design in general from, like, a vintage perspective. I thought that was a super cool post. We'll find that link and put that in the show notes, because I think it was just a fun read for anyone learning about these new things. Yeah, it's very cool.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I love that bottle. That's a great, but they're huge and so unwieldy, right? That's the other thing about the Akamon bottles is they're massive.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right, because they have to get the top section correctly sized, right? The top section cannot be short.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, exactly. So it just, it all compounds.

'''Myke Hurley:''' This is a great question. I love this question. I love this question. I'm so excited when I saw this. It comes from the real nib.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' We're all going to answer this question, so.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I just got a new old stock Pilot Mayu, still with the sticker on. Should I peel off the sticker? Should I ink it up?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right, who wants to go first?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I'll go first, because I've done this. Okay. Yes to both things. Like, what do you have it for?

'''Myke Hurley:''' To use it. Okay.