The Pen Addict 706/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	706
Title:	The Zebra Zebra
Release Date:	March 5th, 2026
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	No guests this episode
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 706
Audio File:	Audio Episode 706
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 706
Length:	5555 min <br />0.917 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

• From Relay, this is The Pen Addict, episode 706. Today's show is brought to you by Enigma Stationery and Factor. My name is Myke Hurley, and I'm joined by Brad Dowdy. Hi, Brad.
• Hello, Myke Hurley. How are you doing today?
• I'm doing good. I was really nervous saying your name. I'm not gonna lie. We were just reflecting on the end of this episode.
• Lingering effects.
• Yeah, trauma. It's a big trauma.
• We won't revisit that.
• If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is the point of, like, you gotta listen to the end, you know?
• Yeah, yeah. We don't sneak those ads in the end like other, like, podcast networks.
• I hate that so much, by the way.
• Trust me.
• Like, when a podcast ends and then, like, before your next one plays, now you have to listen to another ad before you get the next set of ads for the start of the next podcast?
• You don't get that here at Relay.
• You know.
• We don't mess with that.
• Trust me, I know how hard this business is, right? Maybe more than most people.
• Like, I know how hard it is to make money in this business, but, like, some things just feel, like, listener hostile, you know?
• Yes.
• I was gonna say that's, like, just, like, a passive attack on your listeners for, like, no reason.
• And really, honestly, no benefit.
• I don't care how big your show is.
• Well, I'll tell you.
• There's just no benefit to that.
• The money for those kinds of ads is so small.
• Yeah, that's my point.
• Like, the outro ads, because they know most people will stop listening.
• Like, it's when you've got the fewest listeners at all.
• I mean, most, you know, it's really weird with, like, the completion rates of podcast episodes.
• You're lucky if 75% of the people that start it get to the end.
• Like, it just in general.
• Oh, that actually seems high.
• Yeah.
• Yeah, like, you're super lucky.
• I mean, like, by the end, I mean, like, the last third of the show or whatever.
• And then, you know, the thought that, like, how many people are actually there?
• Anyway, it doesn't matter.
• Let's do some follow-up.
• Yeah, let's do it.
• So, we've got a...
• Que sera!
• Oh, boy.
• We've got a...
• Whatever will be, will be.
• We've got a great piece of feedback.
• I love this on-the-ground reporting from Josh.
• He says, I listened to the episode last week where you spoke about the sailor Que sera.
• I was curious about it leaving eraser shavings, so I went to check it out at my local shop,
• Japan Life Privilege.
• That's not the shop.
• That is Josh saying that they live in Japan and they have that privilege.
• That's a great name, though.
• Maybe the store's called Japan Life Privilege.
• I don't know.
• You know what?
• There's probably a translation of a shop over there that's called Japan Life Privilege.
• That's probably what Mooji means, honestly.
• Yes.
• That is what it means.
• So, Josh says, I rubbed just an eraser on the paper for a good 30 seconds with no eraser
• shavings to be seen.
• As soon as I used it on the pen's ink, though, eraser crud galore.
• But don't just take my word on it.
• I made a video of it in action.
• So, I think, Brad, that this is like...
• We were circling around this last week.
• I don't remember if somebody in the live chat brought it up or if it was me that brought
• it up, but I know I brought it and was like arguing this point of like, I think it's the
• ink coming off the page.
• Yeah.
• And I think that's what it is.
• And I was like, there's no way.
• There's no way.
• Someone in chat mentioned that, that they thought that and you latched onto that.
• Yeah.
• And I was like, no, really?
• It's the ink coming off the page.
• It's 100%.
• Which I think...
• That makes it worse.
• No, I don't think so.
• I don't think so.
• I think that that is a...
• I think that's the selling point.
• I do.
• So, you want peelable...
• It's peelable ink.
• So?
• Why does that matter?
• Case or I guess.
• I don't know.
• But it's like...
• It's just like if I...
• You know, if I erase a pencil...
• I don't want it on my paper.
• I don't want to push around ink shavings on my paper.
• But you erase a pencil, right?
• And just like pieces of the eraser come off, you just swipe them away?
• Yeah.
• Yes.
• That's the expectation.
• Friction, the dominant player in the category.
• Has my expectations set that it's clean.
• Yeah, but then you can...
• This is why Uni has failed.
• Put the friction in a microwave or freezer or whatever it is.
• And bring back all your secret notes.
• This is why Uni-Ball has failed on their attempts at this.
• Because it's just not as good of an experience, right?
• You're asking people to take an experiential jump to go into an erasable gel ink pen, right?
• And the experience has to meet a certain level now that the friction exists.
• And I just think they ruined it for everybody.
• Because like, I don't...
• I'll say this.
• Most people have so many...
• So much ingrained eraser swipe.
• I bet even with the friction, they go, swipe, swipe.
• After they're done erasing.
• Yeah.
• So it's probably not a big deal.
• This is why I think that in practice, this is actually a product benefit.
• Because I don't think it will bother people.
• Because I think people will erase and then just swipe.
• Because it's what we've done since we were kids, right?
• That you just swipe away.
• And now it doesn't...
• To your point, it doesn't come back now.
• Yeah.
• You have literally peeled the ink off the page.
• Exactly.
• And I think that is a unique selling point of this product compared to its main competitor.
• And whether that matters to you or not, it doesn't matter.
• That's marketing.
• Right?
• Sure.
• Like, you could have a side-by-side video that would work really well.
• Right?
• Of like, I write on this.
• I write on this.
• I put it in the fridge.
• Whatever it is you do.
• And you can bring it back.
• You do the same thing with the case or are.
• It doesn't come back.
• Because you know what, Brad?
• Whatever will be, will be.
• You know?
• That's right.
• This product...
• Honestly, this product thrills me.
• Yeah.
• I'm glad we have some real competition.
• Hopefully, it makes it in the...
• Well, they have to do a lot of work around the design of the product.
• Yeah.
• Yeah.
• Yeah.
• I think that the core idea, what they have managed to do, I think it's interesting enough
• that I could see them being able to make a run of this.
• Yeah.
• And me being as pedantic as I am about this stuff when I watch the video, and we'll have
• a link in the show notes so y'all can go watch this.
• And thank you again, Josh, for doing this.
• The eraser moves like a pencil eraser.
• Right?
• There's some side to side.
• Yeah.
• And that's just not something that the friction does.
• Right?
• With that type of friction eraser.
• It's a fixed, rigid thing.
• And I just...
• We'll see.
• I can't wait to get these.
• I'm excited.
• I find the friction eraser to actually...
• To not feel very good for that reason.
• Mm-hmm.
• It feels quite unnatural.
• What I'm interested about, though, is actually how this pen feels to write with, and what
• the ink looks like.
• Because if the ink is just sitting on top of the page, does it dry quickly?
• Like, you know, I'm more interested in this because this is not typically what happens.
• Right?
• Typically, the ink is absorbed into the paper at least a little bit.
• So, it's fascinating.
• Yeah, it's very surface level.
• So, like, depending on paper type, I'm interested to see what the ink, like, chemistry does with,
• like, a porous page.
• Right?
• Yeah.
• Or you're going to have, like, little pits in the paper.
• Like, microscopic stuff you can't see, but the eraser can't pull it out of there.
• I don't know.
• It's...
• I love this stuff.
• It's so good.
• I wonder what it feels like to write on Tomoe River with this pen.
• So, you say that, and that's one of the reasons why the friction is so popular.
• It's the number one Hobonichi pen.
• Why?
• I don't know.
• Oh.
• Like, it blows my mind.
• Oh, it just is.
• Yeah.
• That's what people use in Japan, mostly in their Hobonichis.
• To the point where...
• I can't imagine.
• That's in Hobonichi's marketing.
• I cannot imagine using the friction eraser on Hobonichi paper.
• I feel like I would just make a hole in, like, six pages.
• Yeah.
• Just, like, crinkle it.
• Yeah.
• I couldn't even imagine erasing that.
• I mean, obviously, it works as people do it.
• But, like, to me, that feels like such a fraught experience.
• I should do it.
• I still have...
• So, I'm using my five-year Hobonichi journal, and that's got the original Tomoe paper in
• it because it was old enough.
• And I have a new friction that I like.
• It's 0.3.
• I haven't used that combination yet, but I'm literally staring at it on my desk as we talk.
• So, I'll report back next week.
• So, that's follow-up that you love from Josh.
• Now, this follow-up from Justin, this is the kind of stuff I love.
• Yes.
• No, I love this, too.
• Justin says, I love the look of the new Kaweco DIY glow-in-the-dark sport, and I plan to make
• one wherever they're available near me.
• I agree they nailed the design and aesthetic of the pen.
• However, I can't help but wonder what they were thinking in terms of practicality.
• How will I ever use it when it's glowing in the dark, i.e., its main feature?
• When do people find themselves writing in the dark?
• Am I supposed to wear a headlamp to write and see this cool pen in practice?
• No, because you wouldn't see the glow.
• This is why the Pen Addict Podcast exists, right?
• Like, these types of questions.
• Maybe, Brad, it glows so well that it illuminates the page.
• I think that's probably it.
• Yeah, it's like one of those rave sticks, right?
• Yeah.
• Where it's like, you snap it, and it's like so bright, you can just see your writing on
• the page, Justin.
• I don't know what the problem is here, Justin.
• I mean, you have some in the background.
• And then you're making your journaling, you know?
• It's fantastic.
• I love it.
• This is all...
• I love this because I think about this a lot.
• Just take a very specific example, Retro 51.
• They do a lot of glow in the dark.
• Like, when I make pens, like, you know, the question is, do you want any of this to be
• glow in the dark?
• And I'm like, no, I don't want any of this to be glow in the dark because, like, it's
• pointless.
• And it just costs me more money for someone to go in the bathroom or the closet and shut
• the door and go, ooh, look at the ghost.
• And then, like, you can't really write with it like that because you're in the dark.
• So, no, it's totally stupid, which, Justin, if you're new to the show, that's what we're
• all about here.
• Listen to us just talk about the Sailor K.
• Sarah.
• Like, this is the best question.
• And it's, yeah, like, they make a pen that I've had sitting here.
• Zebra makes one with, like, one of those flashlight with, like, a light on the point.
• So, you can use it in the dark.
• So, yeah, maybe Kaweco needs to implement a little light bulb.
• I'm not sure I understand why people are writing in the darkness to the level that they need
• a light on a pen, if I'm being honest.
• I don't know what's happened.
• Maybe you're out in the woods.
• Yeah, sailors at night.
• That you had some other kind of light with you.
• Yeah.
• It's so pointless.
• Yeah.
• Just like glow in the dark.
• Any glow in the dark on any product, if you're not, like, outside in the dark in a city where
• a car needs to see you, like, I don't know, you know, that there's much need.
• It's just cool to say.
• It's cool marketing.
• And the pictures are cool.
• You're just like, oh, look at this.
• Well, I'll say.
• Like, look at the sick glow.
• And then you're using the pen and it just looks like a booger or something like that.
• The great use of glow in the dark is on a watch.
• True.
• So you can see the time of night.
• That's a good one.
• Loom.
• Yeah.
• Yep.
• So, great question.
• It's totally nonsense and just marketing.
• But you know what?
• It ate me up and I'm still going to get it.
• Let's move on, Brad, to the news of the year.
• Yeah.
• I think this is news story of the year so far.
• So far, I agree.
• What's going on with Lamy now?
• Lamy Mitsubishi Uniball has finally fixed the Lamy Safari Manical Mechanical Pencil by putting
• the Kura Toga Mechanical Pencil inside.
• Fantastic.
• Just brilliant.
• This was number one on my list at the acquisition because the Lamy Safari Mechanical Pencil is
• a bad product.
• Why is that?
• Because, so I've got a whole review I've linked in here.
• I actually did a pull quote for my own review.
• And this is because Safari, this level of Lamy product has a molded grip section.
• Yep.
• And for a fountain pen, that works because the nibs are singular alignment in nature.
• And for mechanical pencil, the problem that Kura Toga solves, it doesn't really solve anything,
• but it's nice to have, is mechanical pencils you rotate in your hand.
• Wooden pencils you rotate in your hand when you write because the lead wears down at an
• angle and you always want a sharp point.
• Well, the Safari Pencil fights against that because you have to rotate the pencil and it's
• got a molded grip.
• So this quote I enjoyed for my own review.
• Shout out me in 2020.
• Molded grips.
• He's so good.
• This guy.
• This guy right here.
• Listen to what this guy said.
• Molded grips.
• Molded grips don't belong on a mechanical pencil.
• I knew that going in, but that still didn't stop me for some reason.
• I love it in the Safari fountain pen, rollerball, and ballpoint.
• So why not in the pencil?
• Because you rotate pencils in your hand when you write silly.
• How else can you keep a sharp point on the graphite?
• Unfortunately, having a molded grip section works against that rotation,
• leaving you with an awkward, uncomfortable grip much of the time.
• Yeah, because just to give us another explanation, essentially with the molded grip,
• it's forcing your hand to hold the product in a particular way, which doesn't work if now,
• because now you'd be constantly using just one edge of the mechanical pencil,
• which doesn't work for most people because you're going to have a really thick line as
• opposed to one that can be more uniform.
• But if you twist it, and that's what the Kuru Toga is all about, because the mechanism twists
• the lead for you instead of you needing to think about it.
• So it still may not work for someone like you who doesn't really like a molded grip, right?
• That's fine.
• Yeah, but I like the Safari though.
• So that works for me.
• That molded grip doesn't work for me.
• But my point being, it's still going to have the molded grip,
• but now it fixes the problem with why this product existed in the first place.
• It was a poor product design.
• They just stuck with, oh, Lamy Safari gets molded grip.
• We're going to put that on the pencil too.
• No one likes this.
• Literally nobody does this work for.
• So this was the number one perfect item when Mitsubishi bought Lamy that I said this would
• have been number one on my list.
• They can completely fix the Safari if they can fit the Kuru Toga mechanism inside.
• And it's a pretty wide barrel pencil.
• It looked like it would be no issue.
• And it's not.
• It looks exactly like the Safari.
• So we have a link in there to the press release.
• The barrel has is the barrel looks identical, except it now has the Kuru Toga rotation notch in it.
• So there's like a little yellow porthole in the middle of the barrel, which other Kuru Togas have,
• or unless they're like a demonstrator barrel, you don't need it.
• To actively see that the mechanism is rotating.
• That's what that little dot is for there.
• And it's great.
• Like this is actually product solving a problem.
• You know, my argument always in the past was like they didn't need to make this pencil because it doesn't function like a pencil should.
• But this is the combination of two things that makes, I'm not going to say a perfect product.
• Like there's still, you know, issues with people not being able to use this grip.
• But now it fixes it for me.
• And like I can't wait to use this.
• It's gone from an unusable product to something I will use regularly just because I love the Lamy Safari design aesthetic.
• And now it has a mechanism that allows it to function as a pencil.
• So it's about $10 more than the regular one, which is kind of what we're finding with these upgrades that Mitsubishi is doing.
• The Jetstream inside ballpoint, I think it was around an $8 or $10 upgrade from the standard for the Lamy Safari ballpoints.
• And then this is going to be a standard product line.
• It's actually coming out next week.
• I think it was, what does it say?
• The 13th?
• Yeah, March 13th.
• It's coming out in about a week and a half.
• And, you know, they have black, blue, yellow, standard Lamy Safari ABS colors, and then the clear Vista looking one.
• And it'll be like $24-ish, right?
• Where the regular one's about $16.
• So I guess about $8 to $10.
• Upcharge, it still makes it a pretty expensive pencil.
• Yeah.
• You know, relative to the base level Kuro Toga is, I think, under $6 still.
• Which is just a fabulous pencil, right?
• Like, no one needs, like, the $25 Safari Kuro Toga version except me.
• But, yeah.
• This is, like, the most obvious synergy, Mike.
• Synergies between companies that they could have had from the jump.
• And then the second one would be the ink formulation.
• The ink formulation is obviously a much broader in scope.
• And we'll do a much better overall job at improving Lamy's products.
• They've started with the Jetstream.
• If we can start getting some Signo gel inks.
• Or any, or one Uni-One gel inks.
• Or even Uni-Vision Elite rollerball inks.
• If we can get any Uni-Ball ink in any other product, that would be great.
• And that's going to be a higher volume product than this.
• But this is the perfect way to fix a bad product and make it, like, top tier.
• I'm excited to hear what you think of it when you get a hand on it.
• Is it available worldwide?
• Or is it going to be Japan only?
• Or what?
• I'm thinking it's Japan only, unfortunately.
• They haven't expanded even the rollerball, excuse me, the ballpoint Jetstream cartridge, the M17.
• You know, people, resourceful people, you know, can order them from different places that have been able to access them.
• But I don't think they're in the Lamy pipeline of distributorship worldwide yet.
• Okay.
• I think they'll eventually get there.
• Yeah.
• Right?
• This is still, I'm not going to say that they're moving fast here, but, like, this seems like a proper pace so far.
• Right?
• I mean, these are big, like, relatively speaking, Uni-Ball is kind of a behemoth of a company.
• Lamy's much smaller, but they have a lot of moving parts to adjust.
• And, like, you and I very much know manufacturing is hard.
• Right?
• You want to make a change in that Jetstream.
• You know, you decide that today we're going to do this.
• It's probably, like, a year to make that happen.
• And that's what we're seeing.
• Right?
• And then they can't do it all at one time.
• So, I'm actually fine with this.
• As long as I keep seeing that they're thinking about these things, I'm super happy.
• Right?
• Even though I know it's going to take a while.
• I mean, I think we're, what are we, almost three years into this?
• Two and a half?
• Something like that?
• And we've gotten two just, like, winner products.
• Like, that's okay.
• But that seems fine.
• Because they've got a lot of other things going on, too.
• So, this is great.
• All right, this episode is brought to you by our friends over at Enigma Stationery, who
• offer unique items made from in-house designs, along with top brands and hard-to-find imports.
• It is one of mine and Brad's favorite things to go over to enigmastationery.com and see
• what they have available right now.
• Brad, is there anything over at Enigma, maybe in their new stock, that's exciting to you right
• now?
• Or it sounds like you found something?
• I forgot about this.
• So, you know, knowing Dan, like we do, one of the owners of Enigma Stationery, he sent
• me a message, I think after the, like, two weeks ago, basically yelling at me, tweezers
• are back in stock.
• There they are.
• There they are.
• Here are.
• And they are.
• And spellbinders wholesale detail tweezers for the stickers.
• Yes.
• So, when I saw the stickers, I saw the tweezers on the thing, I just started laughing and that
• reminded me that Dan was yelling at me that we've got the tweezers.
• You've got to get the tweezers so you can do all those sticker craftss that we were talking
• about.
• Well, I have so many tiny stickers, Mike, and I need these tweezers, honestly.
• I really do.
• One product they have, keeping the Uniball love going on here, the Zento is going to be a
• problem in that it's really good.
• And that's what I mean.
• I can't stop using my Zento pens.
• I'm using a standard, I didn't even look at this before we started the show, but today
• I'm using a Clicky Zento, just one of the base, you know, $3 Zento pens.
• The refill is really, really good.
• I'm not going to commit that it's a gel ink pen, even though all the retailers call it
• a gel ink pen.
• And Uni Japan does not reference the word gel on their product page.
• So I don't know where I'm going to have to get this clarification from.
• But I will say it's Uniball Zento good pen, Mike.
• And Enigma Stationery has a bunch of the models.
• And they are kind of, if you're into standard pens, these are a can't miss, right?
• I think you just buy one of these and you're going to be happy.
• And they even have 0.38 models, which I'm using a 0.5 model today.
• Am I?
• I'm using a 0.38.
• It's not, yeah, I'm using a 0.38.
• It's not as super crispy as the DX or the One.
• Both of those are Uni refills, by the way, for people who are new to this.
• But it flows so smoothly.
• It's a beautiful, beautiful writing pen.
• And so, yeah, those tweezers, my gosh, literally everything else, including these stupid cat
• stands that I'm going to have to get with the mouth open.
• Now that I got to order, now that tweezers are here, I haven't ever ordered my animal pen
• stands.
• And there's a bunch of them with just like, you look at them and they just make you giggle.
• So, yeah, I'm going to have to get one of those now that I got it.
• Now that Dan has reminded me that tweezers are in stock.
• And you can just get all kinds of cool stationery like this at Enigma.
• They do a great job curating products for their store.
• And along with having like really quality like mainline products like the Uniball Zento.
• If you want $10 off on orders of $50 or more, go to enigmastationery.com slash penaddict
• and use the code TPA26 at checkout.
• That's enigmastationery.com slash penaddict and you'll get $10 off on orders of $50 or more
• with the code TPA26.
• That is a great deal.
• Thanks to Enigma Stationery for their support of this show and Relay.
• All right, Mike, we got our shout out of the week.
• Shout out of the week.
• Job's Journal.
• My friend Job, who has been a long time, long time YouTube vlogger and video maker in the
• journaling category, as you can tell by the name, has been working for Design Phil for a
• few years now, which is the Plotter, Travelers, Midori companies.
• And he just posted a video from the California Pen Show, what it's like working for a stationery
• company.
• And I think everyone should go check this out.
• I want to watch this.
• Yeah.
• He does great vlogs.
• I watch everything he makes.
• I just love Job so much.
• He just rules.
• And his videos are just always, always really good.
• So this is a great look at what it takes to actually staff a table and work a pen show and all the
• things that go along with it.
• So go check that out from Job.
• It's cool looking.
• Job rules.
• Yeah.
• Job rules.
• Just an awesome, awesome human being.
• Amazing human being as well.
• And shout out Job.
• He was one of the first people that reached out to me.
• This will not surprise you whatsoever.
• But when I did my first retro pen in the off-white style with the Virgil Abloh kind of detailing,
• Job basically just messaged me.
• He's like, yes.
• Oh my God.
• Somebody gets it.
• And I'm like, yep.
• So yeah, I appreciate Job for that.
• So all right.
• Moving on.
• Not so great news, Mike.
• Not so great news.
• William Hanna is closing down, which stinks.
• Like you hate to see any company in our space close down, especially one like this.
• But like I totally get it.
• Like they are a, they make a luxury notebook, right?
• Like this is like really high-end stuff.
• I have one.
• I love it.
• You know, wonderful like disc-bound systems.
• And we've talked about them for years.
• I used one as a planner for, I don't know, maybe two years until I went to a smaller size
• product.
• And now I use it as just kind of a paper testing and cataloging type of product because
• the quality of the cover is so good.
• But yeah, unfortunately, they're closing down.
• It's like, I get it.
• I get it.
• It's tough times always.
• Like we talk about all these stationery companies and, you know, how much we love and appreciate
• what they do.
• But like, it's still a tough business at the end of the day.
• So you hate to see that.
• But I did, I did want to point that out in case anyone's looking.
• They still have, you know, I think they're looking at like a six sometime this year.
• Like it's not, not an immediate thing, but they're basically like sun setting, right?
• They're just kind of roll, roll it down and then shut the doors when things are gone.
• So just wanted to point that out to everyone.
• Yeah.
• I just wanted to touch on it if it's okay.
• Like the, the.
• Please.
• Because I think that David William Hanna was very clear in like why this is happening.
• Um, and it's reduced sales because of tariffs and to minimus and all that kind of stuff.
• Uh, and then also just increased costs of product, which I've also seen a lot of over the last
• couple of years, just as you would imagine, the price of the materials are all going up.
• Um, then, but there were two other things that I found to be really interesting.
• Uh, one was the paper that they were using was discontinued.
• Um, they were able to kind of stock up on a bunch, but probably not enough forever and
• finding a new paper they found to be really difficult.
• And the reason I want to mention this part specifically is, um, David William Hanna reached
• out to me a long time ago to talk about paper stuff because I was having some paper struggles,
• uh, with the theme system journal.
• And we were having a good chat about that kind of about reliability.
• And it helped me learn a lot about kind of the way that paper can change, um, because
• it is a chemical formulation, but then also the printing, there was like a thing that they
• were using with HP to get their printing done kind of on demand.
• And this is going to increase the basic.
• It's like the reason I wanted to mention it is like, there isn't just one thing.
• It's like four distinct problems that any of them could take a business down.
• Yeah.
• And so hats off to William Hanna for clearly trying to keep it going for as long as they
• could.
• Um, but yeah, sad, sad times.
• It is.
• So it, you know, makes me sad.
• Yeah.
• And they've always been a good, good friend of, of the pen acting and a good friend of the
• show and just really open and, you know, nice to work with.
• And like, to your point, when you get one issue with supply chain or delivery or any of that,
• it's an issue.
• But when you get it coming at all sides at once, like that's just no way to get out of
• that.
• No.
• And like, we all see it like, you know, people have wanted me for years to make the not note
• cards again.
• Well, that paper went away.
• Like, and could I find another one?
• Yeah, I, I, I probably could, but like, I'm just not compelled to, because it just leaves
• a bad taste in your mouth that the thing gets taken away from you.
• And like the challenge of, and you know, this, the challenge of finding that quality is it's
• a long process and trying to, trying to nail all that stuff down.
• So yeah, like you and I definitely know exactly what they're going through at William Hanna with
• a whole list of things here.
• So like we get it and it stinks, it stinks because this is a great, this is a great brand
• and we appreciate them for everything that they did because it was really, really high
• level.
• Yep.
• Absolutely.
• Random link I wanted to put in there, literally no reason this should ever be in the podcast
• other than I'm a fan of the Platinum Preppy and I always talk about the Perponet version
• I use, which is the all white version of the Platinum Preppy.
• Someone sent me this link.
• I hadn't seen this before.
• There's an all black version now with orange writing and it's kind of sick and stylish.
• Yeah.
• They've, I wonder if they're going to change their aesthetic from the transparent ones.
• Maybe not.
• They'll probably keep the transparent ones because they could just flat out charge you
• more for this, right?
• This is what you see companies doing like when they need to increase prices.
• So it's like, well, we have the stock one at $7 if you still, still want like the transparent
• ones with the traditional looking logo.
• But for $2 more, look at this sick black one with orange writing.
• I was like, you know what?
• I'll have the sick black one with orange writing for $9 instead of $7.
• So it was kind of random.
• It's like, I wonder, is like Platinum just going to introduce this as a product lineup?
• Because, so they've always had the Preppy and it's pretty much stayed the same and it's
• increased a little bit in price just, you know, as things do over the years.
• But then they introduced lineups like the Preppy Wah series where they have like those pattern
• arts on there and they would charge like $12, $13 for those like fancier style, more stylish
• Preppies.
• And this one's kind of in between.
• And the Perpenep, the one that I always use, the white one was also $9.
• So just an interesting thing, really not much to say about that other than like, yeah,
• like that's cool.
• I would like them to do more of that.
• And I will, I personally will pay the premium for that.
• Last one in this little segment.
• Twisby Eco Bahama Yellow Mike thoughts.
• I don't, I don't, you know, maybe there's something I'm missing.
• Correct.
• I don't really know.
• Bahama Yellow.
• Is that a thing?
• Like I, I don't know.
• Maybe I'm missing that.
• I think my response was exactly the same as like what I,
• Okay.
• Bahama Yellow is a color.
• I've just Googled it.
• And it's, it's apparently been very popular in Porsche.
• That's what I have.
• Really?
• Yeah.
• Bahama Yellow Porsches seem to be like a thing.
• Hmm.
• Warm, vibrant, slightly orange toned yellow.
• Historically significant as a prominent color for the Porsche 911.
• Between 1966 and 1969.
• Interesting.
• And I have a link to the, I'm not kidding, the Porsche color wiki that I will put in the
• show notes.
• But that's it.
• It's a good looking color on the car.
• I don't, you know, on the pen.
• I don't see here.
• Maybe.
• Yeah.
• I just thought it was a brighter yellow.
• I guess.
• It looks better on the Porsche than on the TWSBI.
• I'm not going to lie.
• Yeah.
• But I mean, that's just one of the greatest cars of all time anyway.
• So it's, anything's going to look good on there.
• Yeah.
• This, it's a fine color.
• So we're getting close to moratorium territory.
• Yeah.
• With TWSBI colors, basic TWSBI eco colors, because like, there's nothing to say.
• I kind of wanted to put this on here because this is just SSD type of stuff from TWSBI.
• And like, it's totally fine.
• It's like a good color.
• But like, they've done so many in this range, like the browns, the caramels, the creams,
• the coffees, like everything in that brown, taupey, tan, off yellow type of range.
• It's like, they're just like going to like the one shade over in the Pantone book and
• making the next one.
• It's like, chill out.
• So like, I don't know.
• So we should have done a bingo card.
• And one of the, one of the boxes would have been, will TWSBI come out with a new fountain
• pen model in 2026?
• Things are tracking towards no.
• No, they just, just colors.
• I mean, it's only March, but still, it was like, man, the way they unloaded it,
• at the end of last year and are kicking things off with, you know, Bahama yellow.
• Like, it's fine.
• Like, it's going to sell fine.
• Maybe just someone at TWSBI just a big Porsche fan, you know?
• They could have nailed the color a little bit better, I think.
• Like, I think this is definitely a couple shades off.
• I would have preferred the, the, the Bahama yellow glossy Porsche paint lands better than
• this one actually looks like a, kind of like a rotten banana kind of.
• Well, this is the funny thing is when I first opened this link this morning, I misread it
• and thought it said banana yellow.
• I did too.
• That's why.
• Yeah.
• But I, but I can't get it out of my head because it's relative.
• Yes.
• So it's like stuck in my head that this is like mushy banana.
• That's not a good banana, you know?
• No.
• No.
• But it was a banana.
• I mean, I had one for breakfast and it did not look like this.
• Nope.
• You know where I can have breakfast sometimes, Mike?
• Fantastic.
• This episode is brought to you by Factor.
• Cold days, big goals, no time to cook.
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• Brad, can you tell me about something you've been enjoying from Factor recently?
• Well, what I...
• I don't mean this in a bad way.
• What I haven't been enjoying is the breakfast items because I keep forgetting that they actually
• have them.
• Plus, they have these shakes that are great, which I tend to not order because my son steals
• them all.
• We'll just drink three at a time.
• I'm like, hey, hold up a second.
• But what I like about their foods is not just the quality and not just the ease of use, but
• it's the flavors they create.
• So I could cook.
• I'm not a good cook, but I can manage.
• I can follow directions, and I can make something fun and tasty.
• But what they do, I like to...
• I'm a little bit experimental with food where I like lots of different dishes from all parts
• of the world.
• Well, at Factor, I can order Indian dishes.
• I can order Latin dishes.
• I can order Mediterranean-type dishes.
• Things that I can't make at home, and I can have them for lunch.
• I'm not having a special occasion where I'm going out to this great Asian restaurant that
• I want to go to.
• I can have that for lunch from Factor in two minutes.
• And they do such a good job.
• So I always try to mix and match.
• I don't get just the same thing over and over again for six meals.
• I just really try to get a good range of flavors that I like that I can't get at home or I'm
• not making for myself.
• I don't have a huge spice cabinet or all the additions to make these wonderful meals.
• So I definitely appreciate that a lot about Factor.
• I'm just looking at their website now.
• These shakes look really good, and there's some really interesting stuff here.
• Breakfast empanadas.
• Yep.
• Yep.
• Are you kidding me?
• It's been a long time since I've done any of the breakfast stuff, mostly because I never
• get to eat them.
• Right.
• My son will attack those when we get home.
• Go and check all this out for yourself right now and go to factomeals.com slash penaddict50
• off and use the code penaddict50 off and you will get 50% off and free breakfast for a year.
• Eat like a pro this month with Factor.
• Yes.
• News subscribers only.
• Varies by plan.
• One free breakfast item per box for one year while subscription is active.
• Factomeals.com slash penaddict50 off with the code penaddict50 off.
• A thanks to Factor for their support of this show and relay.
• Look at me.
• I didn't even plan that.
• I know.
• The breakfast focus.
• I was ready.
• I'm ready.
• Pure talent.
• Pure talent on this end of the mic right here.
• You've really been on it today.
• You know who's on it, Mike?
• Montegrappa.
• Sure.
• They're on something.
• Did we miss this?
• I feel like this just appeared in one of my feeds and I'm like, I know they've done Pac-Man
• before.
• Yeah.
• But I don't recall this special edition one.
• I haven't seen this one though.
• Okay.
• This is basic.
• It's bedazzled Pac-Man.
• Yes.
• It's sick.
• Yes.
• It's absolutely sickening how good this pen is.
• This is what they do.
• This is what Montegrappa does.
• Yeah.
• The barrel.
• I'm not going to lie.
• The barrel could use a little.
• If you're going to go this hard at like a 25,000 euro pen, 26,000 euro, excuse me, let
• me get it right.
• 26,000 euro pen.
• I think the barrel could be bedazzled.
• The barrel on the original.
• A little bit more.
• Is better than the barrel on this one.
• It is.
• It is.
• There's much more detail on it.
• So the original is a black model.
• It's called Ghost Right, which is a wonderful name.
• This one just called Pac-Man Limited Edition and it's silver, but they just, they overloaded
• the cap with jewels.
• I would say, I don't know if this is correct anymore.
• Diamante.
• Precious stones.
• Yeah.
• Wait.
• Is it what?
• Diamante is what I would say, but I don't think that that's what this is.
• I'm trying to find out.
• Yeah, they don't.
• They just say precious stones in the material.
• A hand set yellow sapphires.
• Okay.
• There we go.
• What about the blue?
• There's.
• I mean, I assume there's blue ones.
• Okay.
• Apologous surfaces of the cap and the parve of saf-parve and the parve of sapphires, topazes
• and diamonds, Brad.
• Yeah.
• Okay.
• So the ghost eyeballs are better diamonds because they're clear.
• I mean, not that you can have other colored diamonds, but there's, yeah.
• This is so good.
• We love-
• Parve means a setting of precious stones placed so closely together that no metal
• shows.
• That's a very specific word for that thing, isn't it?
• Yeah.
• Like a mosaic, but expensive-er.
• Yeah.
• I don't know if we need one word to describe that very specific thing, but sure.
• Yeah.
• It looks like, as best as I can tell, this is an edition of eight because on the actual
• product images, they're showing one of eight here, which makes sense.
• The box is lame for a 26,000 euro pen.
• Yeah.
• It's just like this flat.
• It's the stock fancy pen box, if you will.
• Yeah.
• Right?
• Just the wood lacquered snap case with a bottle of ink in it.
• Just like, how do we not have a Pac-Man game pattern like on the lay flat there where the
• pen is?
• Like, I don't get it.
• Like, it's just standard, like velvet.
• The box is a letdown.
• Why isn't the whole box painted with the pattern?
• Anyway, this pen is cool.
• I just had to put this in because I thought I was confused, right?
• I was like, I know we've seen this before, but apparently not the fancy bedazzled version.
• Speaking of fancy versions, Mike.
• They did Zebra.
• Sorry.
• Before we move on.
• Sorry.
• It just seems like so much work from like creating the website page for just eight of
• these.
• That's what they do.
• But yeah, they must just be very efficient.
• It's $200,000 worth of pens that is guaranteed to sell.
• Yeah.
• So that's, but it's like, but this is one of these things to me.
• It's like, is anybody buying this from the website?
• True.
• Yes.
• Fair.
• But that's the marketing aspect.
• Yeah.
• Right?
• Yeah.
• Yeah.
• So if you're going to have this type of luxury, you got to show it off.
• And also, I guess you do this so then you sell more of the $1,000 goes right a pen
• too, right?
• Yes.
• It makes the other one look like a deal.
• I think the ghost writer is better.
• Yeah.
• The, the, the bling on this one is pretty sick though.
• That's what caught me.
• Yeah.
• Um, zebra is getting into the bling game.
• All right.
• I watched.
• So, okay.
• So there's a link in the show notes here.
• Brad has a video.
• Yes.
• Mike's excited.
• So many ways.
• Can you guess the price?
• And there are other links and I have not clicked these links because I don't.
• Yeah.
• Yeah.
• Because I also, I don't fully understand what is going on with this pen.
• Okay.
• So number one, let's start at the top.
• Number one, this new pen is from zebra and it's called the zebra.
• So they've definitely done a Monte grappa, Monte grappa thing here, which I appreciate.
• Like just lean into it.
• Well, I don't know when we're going to get the uni ball, uni ball, but I'm here for it.
• So zebra, the zebra.
• It's just one bowl.
• They just sell.
• They have a, it's a limited edition.
• One of one.
• This is the uni bowl.
• Yeah.
• So this is their, so zebra traditionally makes good quality gel ink pen standard, you know,
• your $3 gel ink pen.
• And then they will take those pens and make a premium metal barrel version for about $20.
• Okay.
• So, and that's usually it.
• That's usually like the cap of their product lineup.
• You know, there's maybe been some more stuff historically, some one-off, some fancier roller
• ball barrels, things like that.
• So what they've done here is they've gone and made, let's just, let's call it a machined
• barrel pen because they are saying that these are basically like handmade or like hand turned
• because they have this really interesting upper barrel section that has kind of like
• these ledges.
• And then the clip kind of sets almost slightly recessed into the top most tier.
• And you'll see this in the picture, what I'm talking about.
• It's like a little wave step up thing.
• And then the clip kind of sits in there.
• And that, and that's the, that's the feature of the pen that it's like this handmade metal
• barrel from, you know, your gel ink pen company.
• And, um, it's, is it retractable?
• Now that I say that, is this captor retractable?
• I'm going blind here.
• I forgot.
• I've looked at this so much.
• It's, it's dazed me.
• Like, so anyway, but it's like a standard refill, like one of their standard, like gel
• refills.
• Nothing special.
• It's not a fountain pen or anything like that.
• Um, so yeah, like this caught me so off guard because it's out of their traditional work,
• which is great.
• Like I'm, I'm for these things.
• It is a retractable pen.
• Yeah.
• So it's weird how they do it.
• So, cause it looks like it's got a cap on it.
• It's part of the design.
• But it's actually retractable.
• Yeah.
• It's actually, I think it actually might be a twist now that I look at it or a push down.
• There's no button.
• It's a retractable, but without a button.
• Yeah.
• Uh, it's not capped.
• So yeah.
• So interesting.
• And I was like, okay, if I had to guess the price, you know, relative to what they've made
• before, like I came up with a number, um, of what I thought this might be in, you know,
• what they were trying to do here.
• Um, and what did, what did you come up with?
• I mean, cause I do, I do like the style.
• There's a lot of handmade elements into it.
• Like every word I say just raises the price, but all I have.
• So like I'm, I am basing this on the video, mostly like looking at it.
• What material did you say it's made from?
• I didn't, I didn't.
• It looks aluminum.
• Look for them to get this type of work in here.
• It looks aluminum.
• Let me see if I can hit the translate real quick.
• Yeah.
• Yeah.
• I forget.
• I should have done more notes.
• I was more fascinated just by the aesthetic of it.
• I mean, I can't imagine it's more than $50.
• So my guess was like, ah, this is probably like a good 65.
• Yeah.
• 75, maybe 95, maybe $95 pen.
• It's a $380 pen.
• No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
• Why?
• Why?
• Why?
• It's the zebra, Mike.
• It's the one.
• It's the one pen.
• What is going on?
• Is that $400?
• Yeah, basically.
• I don't understand.
• Yeah.
• Which for zebra, it just kind of, it kind of breaks contain here.
• Like, I don't know that does zebra need to get in the luxury market?
• You know, maybe they'll sell these like.
• This doesn't look like a luxury pen.
• I know.
• Especially with the retract, like, part of it.
• Um, so it's like, I think this is just very, maybe an in-store, in-Japan, business person pen type of situation.
• Yeah.
• Yeah.
• But I think they want it to be like a luxury type situation.
• Yeah.
• And I don't know that that can deliver.
• Oh, let me look at the PR page.
• The PR page had a lot of information on it.
• And that's where I got the pricing from.
• Um, so just to see the materials.
• But I think, and I, they don't, I don't know that they necessarily said it's limited.
• The retracting system is actually quite interesting.
• Um, because it's, you press the clip down.
• Okay.
• And then the, then it, oh, no, wait, that's different.
• Uh, it's a twist mechanism, but the clip.
• It looks like a twist.
• The clip retracts when you twist it too.
• Okay.
• So when you engage the, the tip, the clip retracts into the body of the pen.
• And then when you, when you like break, when you like you're finished with it and you,
• Oh man, I don't know.
• That makes sense.
• Retract the tip.
• Yes.
• Then the clip pops out so you can clip it onto stuff.
• That's fun, but that's, yeah.
• I don't know.
• Yeah.
• No, it is.
• It is aluminum.
• It's aluminum.
• The main body.
• The main body is aluminum made from a single metal using Japanese metal processing technology.
• The ripple pattern is what they're calling the pattern.
• I think it looked like that little pattern and clip area looks nice.
• I, I, I think this is like, can I see this from the display counter and I'll buy this for
• a gift type of pen.
• But like from zebra, like, are you going to choose zebra for this when you can choose,
• you know, pilot or Montblanc or whatever.
• This is the thing of like for, for, for this price, this pen just isn't, that's just not
• what this, it's not what people want.
• Surely.
• Like you would get something else, right?
• Yeah.
• Yeah.
• Like you wouldn't get this.
• The box is like the standard sailor pen box, like the little coffin box where you just
• pull off the top.
• Like it's, you know, fine basic box.
• Wow.
• That is a jump scare of a price spread.
• Yeah.
• Yeah.
• Like I know they're using this to celebrate an anniversary, right?
• Basically.
• Yeah.
• 120 years.
• Yeah.
• Like I'm here for it, but like, it's just, it's such an outlier that it's hard to compute.
• Right.
• And maybe that's a little unfair on my part.
• Like, why shouldn't they do this, Mike?
• Right.
• Well, but no, I think that they can, right?
• Like I think zebra should be able to make a $400 pen.
• I just don't think that they nailed the design for a $400 pen.
• I guess, yes, both of those things can be true, right?
• Yeah.
• Yeah.
• It's just like, I'm actually the look, I think, I think it doesn't, it, this pen does
• not look like a $400 pen.
• Yeah.
• Yeah.
• The more I look at it, I'm actually talking myself into like, okay, $125 maybe, but I'm
• never getting, I'm never getting to 380 on this, which is, it's kind of wild.
• Honestly, I think it's the nose cone.
• I think the nose cone looks very, very stockish.
• Yes, it does.
• They did all the work in the, in the clip area and the mechanism up there to just kind
• of have a letdown all the way forward.
• So I don't know.
• Super interesting.
• Super interesting.
• All right.
• Last one.
• Lots of new products today.
• Again, it's that time of year.
• Pelican Inc.
• of the year, Mike.
• Pyrite.
• Did you watch this video?
• I just put it in this morning.
• You may not have had time.
• Oh, no.
• This was a late edition.
• Sorry, I did not.
• Yeah.
• It's, it's, it's not a video.
• It's just like their little Instagram.
• Like you can watch it while I'm literally talking here.
• So what this is, is.
• Okay.
• Known as Firestone, Pyrite brings a striking new energy to your collection.
• This luxurious golden gray shade draws its strength from the earth, blending a metallic
• sparkle with symbol of vitality and inner confidence.
• It is, looks like nail polish.
• And I don't want this anywhere near my pens, but it's probably not.
• But it's kind of frightening the level of shimmer this has in it.
• They, I have a second link in here where they just do a sample of it.
• And like, okay, that's fine.
• It's a super heavy shimmer.
• Um, I call this like a hundred percent shimmer that when you write your ink line looks fully
• shimmery, right?
• It's not like a partial, like partial shimmer.
• It's like you're writing with just shimmer.
• And I've reviewed an ink like this before that shockingly worked well.
• And I could not believe I liked it.
• It's called a Monarcho Ray Jaguar.
• If you look at this link of my Ray Jaguar, it looks just like I've put shimmer on the
• page in liquid form.
• It's so massively shimmery.
• I couldn't believe that I liked it to be quite honest.
• So that's what I was saying when I saw this color with Pyrite, this will absolutely crush.
• They will sell every bottle of this.
• Yeah.
• I just don't, I don't have any need for anything like this, right?
• I'm not writing with this, but this ink will do so well for them.
• I think it's actually a very good ink and a good job by Pelican on this.
• Um, yeah, that's it.
• I didn't really have much to say other than like, I always like talking about what they
• do with their ink of the years.
• Um, this one is more extreme than most with the quantity of shimmer to where it literally
• looks just like shimmer ink with shimmer being the, the, the primary, primary, um, part of
• this, of this bottle.
• Like it's, it's pretty wild.
• So I'll look forward to seeing a person.
• I know I must, I must have brought this up before.
• When I was a kid, there was a magazine series called Treasures of the Earth.
• And I was a subscriber to Treasures of the Earth, Brad.
• It was a magazine that came with some stone.
• I don't recall you ever talking about this.
• And one of them was Pyrite.
• And so I had a little piece of Pyrite and I've put a link in the show notes to both the
• Treasures of the Earth magazine backup on internet archive.
• And we're going to see if I can try and find, aha, here it is.
• This is an auctioneer's website where they've got a full collection of the Treasures of the
• Earth set like that you would get in the magazine.
• So you get the magazine that came with these storage boxes and then you'd get the little
• gemstones that you could put in the storage boxes.
• So I had this magazine.
• I didn't have, I didn't get all of the issues.
• I stopped at a certain point because when I was a kid, these magazines were very popular.
• And what would happen is the first few issues would be stored, will be like sold at like
• a store, you know, but then you would have to subscribe to get the rest.
• And usually my parents were like, we're not going to do that part because you'd have to
• pay all up front or whatever.
• And they, they were right in thinking that my love for Treasures of the Earth was not
• going to last for the full length of the Treasures of the Earth magazine.
• Yeah.
• This is, uh, what is this?
• Uh, this is a hundred stones.
• Yeah.
• So that's at least a hundred issues.
• It was not going to go that far, but I had a little box and I had a bunch of them.
• Pyrite was a favorite, but also Tiger's Eye was another favorite of mine.
• Nice.
• So yeah, this is a magazine I had as a kid.
• And so seeing Pyrite, seeing the Pyrite in the, in like the animation that they made,
• it just immediately took me back, uh, to being in my grandma's house reading through
• Treasures of the Earth magazine.
• Now that you say that, this looks like a Ewing.
• I mean, you could get there.
• I am tempted, but Brad, let's be real.
• All right.
• Now, what is that going to do to the guy who doesn't clean his pens off?
• Yeah.
• This one, this one is, is a pretty hefty commitment.
• The color is for me.
• The formulation.
• Absolutely.
• I did not let that anywhere near any of my pens.
• Because I'm going to want to put that in my gold bungoo box, right?
• Oh yeah.
• Right.
• Now you can't do that because that's going to destroy that thing.
• Yeah.
• So we'll, we'll see a lot of this ink.
• I just don't know how much we're going to see in pens, but, um, that's okay.
• Like a lot of times, that's what ink's for.
• Um, one random, just comment before we wrap it up for today.
• Pelican's corporate Instagram account is called Pelican underscore passion.
• And that's always driven me crazy.
• Yeah.
• I, I, I just want it to be, I don't know, Pelican official or something.
• Yeah.
• Yeah.
• I don't know.
• Global.
• It's a good name.
• It's weird.
• It's weird.
• It is.
• And it's fine if it's their secondary account.
• Like a lot of companies will have like this, you know, the coach or account or whatever.
• Uh, I don't really apropos of nothing.
• That's always like when I go to search, like I follow them, but like, you know, they'd always
• come up in my feed.
• So you got to search and I'm never looking for Pelican passion.
• And it's, it's Pelican with a K.
• Like there's gotta be like some opportunity to just have the regular Pelican name as a brand
• name.
• But I don't know.
• Like I get it.
• I get that you're passionate about Pelican.
• I mean, but I always found that to be interesting, but meaningless.
• Just one of those things.
• All right.
• If you want to get the show notes for this week's episode where you can find links to
• all the things we've spoken about, they should be in your podcast app of choice, or you can
• go to relay.fm slash pen addict slash 706 and you'll get them all there.
• I want to thank Enigma Stationery and Factor for their support of the show.
• If you want to find Brad online, go to penaddict.com, spokedesign.com and twitch.tv slash penaddict
• where Brad streams three times a week.
• If you want to find me online, go to theenthusiast.net, cortexbrad.com, and you can find me here on Relay.
• We'll be back next time.
• Until then, say goodbye, Brad.
• Goodbye, Brad.