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  • From Relay, this is The Pen Addict, episode number 671. Today's show is brought to you by Enigma Stationery and Penadex. My name is Brad Dowdy and today I'm joined by Blake from Blake's Broadcast. It's hard for me to say Blake. And the paper mine, how's it going today? I'm doing well. Thank you so much for having me. I am so excited to do this. You know, I've listened to this show for quite a long time, actually. And I remember like, I want to say, was it almost 10 years ago? I got a shout out to my old blog, The Enroyal Warrant, and I was like, this is so cool. So I'm excited to be here. Yeah, so we've kind of known each other online for easily a decade, if not more, like you said. We're going to talk about the previous blog, The Enroyal Warrant, here in a little bit as we get started. But recently, we've more known each other because I keep bothering you about paper and the paper you make over at The Paper Mind. So needless to say, I will have a lot of questions about that, that part of your journey here. But we have to start at the beginning, especially for, you know, first time guests here on the show, and hopefully not last time guests, because you're an awesome person to talk to, and I always love talking to you offline. But we're going to bring it online this week. And I kind of need to know, like I need to know with everyone, how did this get started, right? Like you started sharing your pins, you know, and doing pin reviews online with The Enroyal Warrant. I think I looked, it was 2013 when you started that blog. But how did you get into just liking stationery in the beginning?

Early stationery memories and childhood experiences

  • Yeah, you know, something that I've liked for a long time, I remember, you know, being in elementary school and like, the Sakura jelly roll was a big deal. Like, I wanted those. And, you know, doing like back to school shopping, going to the office supply store was like a highlight every year. So I've liked pens and stationery for a long time. And when it comes to fountain pens, like, I think I started that maybe in middle school, my friend had a Waterman laureate. And after that, I just started using fountain pens nonstop. And it's been, I don't know, almost 25 years I've been a fountain pen user. Nice, nice. So would you use the fountain pens actually at school, like for schoolwork or in the school environment, like even in middle school, high school? I would. It wouldn't always go well, because you have to deal with varying paper quality. And yeah, I don't, you know, what's funny, I don't feel like I ever got made fun of for using fountain pens in school. But when I started working, it's like, what is this? Man, I know those conversations so well. And I do think it was, it was more like, noticeable, like in like the workforce, you know, when you start bringing around something that, you know, someone didn't grab out of the office supply cabinet. They're like, what are you doing? Yeah, totally.
  • When did you realize there was like an escalation in like in your fountain pens, right? Like, you know, you could use whatever through high school and college and later and even starting in the workforce. When did you make that like step up after like those first entry level pens? When did you start like shopping for like something really cool for yourself to use? Yeah, so you know, I grew up in like the Seattle area. And at the time, like, it was pretty, like spoiled with stationary stores. Like we had some really nice stores. We also had like one of the first, or like very early, like online pen retailers, which was called World Lux. So like, I got to see some like high end pens, like right out the gate, I couldn't afford any of them. But like, I would say it escalated pretty quickly. Like I had a Visconti, I think it was called like the, the Percolese or something like that is the like a Roman general and his it was like named after his like, helmet, but it was a steel nib pen, but it was very expensive to me. So I started with some nice pens right away. I mean, I think the first one I had was a Schaefer No Nonsense. But then after that, it was like, okay, we're in like the 50 to like $70 range, and then $100 range. And I kind of plateaued at like the $300 range for like maybe 10 years. And then I dipped over. Yeah, the things of escrow. Believe me, we have a we have a list to talk about in a video to go along with that. But yeah, we're this actually like hearing you say about that Visconti at the time, like, okay, that actually makes sense with where you're at now with some of the things that you like, like, we like what we like. And actually, I want to, we're going to specifically talk about this later in the show. About one of the recent videos you put up. And I think it's important to have like, hey, this is this is what I like. And this is what why I like it. And like, it's okay, if you don't like it, but I really like it. And that's one of the cool things about this stationary hobby is like, there's something out there for everyone, right? Like, it's really fun to just kind of dabble and figure out what's what's out there for you and share that with other people, which you did with the unroyal warrant. So what made you want to start blogging about pens? Yeah, so I started that in like 2013. And at the time, I had just, I've gone on sabbatical, I was working at a big CPA firm. And I was like, you know, this kind of line of work wasn't right for me. So I took some time off to travel and someone was like, Oh, you should start a travel blog. And I was like, I don't know if I could do that. But I could do a pen blog. And that's kind of what I did. And, you know, I went to Japan for the first time. And I traveled, you know, a decent amount through Europe and just all the stationary stuff there. There was like, just so much content that was so much fun. And yeah, that's really how that started. Yeah, so I remember seeing your post and it was it was kind of different for me at the time. That was still real early in my fountain pen journey. Like I'd been writing the pen addict since 2007. But I really only started getting into fountain pens like in, I don't know, that 2010 to 2012 range where I was starting to think about it a little bit more. And then I was watching, I was reading your blog and just going, Whoa, look at what look at what this guy's doing. Look at these pens. This is so cool. Like it actually really made an impression on me at the time, which in 2013, like there still wasn't like a huge amount of pen blogs at the time. And how long did the unroyal warrant last? Because I know it didn't last forever. It's not necessarily still going on today, but you're, you're, other things we'll get to. But how long did that, how long did that last? I think it lasted maybe three or four years, maybe I, you know, eventually I had to go back to work. And then I started working in tech, but I, it became too much with like the amount that I was working. And I just, I had to let it, it go, unfortunately. Yeah. So I think it lasted maybe three or four years. Okay. So back at work blogs kind of on the side, but you obviously still have like the desire, like the stationary desire to get into fountain pens even more than you were at the time. So when did you decide to make a YouTube channel into, you know, what's now a lot of people might know as Blake's broadcast on YouTube? Um, what made you decide to start getting back into that and sharing, sharing your thoughts on pens? Yeah. So this was, you know, I think during, you know, when we were kind of locked down, I was working from home, um, and I needed something to do. And I, you know, I considered doing the blog, but I thought, you know, let's try video. I like some of like the more unscripted type of content where writing a blog, I don't know. I always found that actually pretty hard. I always wanted to be, you know, great at writing, but it never happened. After I took some classes on that, it was like, well, this just isn't clicking. Let's do the video. And, um, that was really fun. And, you know, to my surprise, people have been so, so nice. Um, like you just don't really expect that on the internet, but the pen community is so nice and like, they just made it so much fun. So I just kept doing it. Yeah. Yeah. One of the great things about the pen community is again, they may like or dislike what you're reviewing, but they're always inquisitive. Right. And it comes from like a place of curiosity, I think. And we're all like trying to discover things. And, you know, to have someone like yourself, like sharing, like what you like, that helps other people figure out what they might like, might dislike, you know, things like that. So do you got this? I'm putting you on the spot here. Do you know how many videos you've done on your channel by chance? I want to say it's, I think I'm under 300, but I'm not a hundred percent sure. Yeah. That's a lot. That's a good number. That's I had no idea what the number would be. Yeah. I've consistently done like at least one a week for, yeah, I think three ish years now. But I try to do more when I, when I can. Let's dig into the channel a little bit more because I have quite, I'm, I watch a lot of YouTube videos, but I don't necessarily create YouTube content. Like I, I dump my Twitch stream VODs over there that like, that doesn't count. Like I'm not making anything for YouTube. Sure. What's that process like for you? Like one, one video a week in, for someone who's just like consuming content, that seems like a small number, but I sit there and go, OMG, like that's a ton that, that feels like a lot to me. So like, what's that process like of, of making a video? Like how much time are you putting into that? Because I know it has to be a lot. Yeah. I mean, I kind of try to come up with like a list of reviews that I want to do and kind of put together and I'll, I'll shoot like probably four at a time. Okay. Um, and then I'll edit, you know, maybe two at a time and, and release them. You know, it takes probably two ish hours to do it to one video. Um, it's not, it's not a huge amount of time. Like I know people do scripted, um, videos. I tried that and I'm like, I can't, I can't read a teleprompter. I can't read off a piece of paper. Um, I just, you know, try to think about what I am going to say, you know, ahead of time and make sure that like, if I'm reviewing a product, like I want to like really use the product. Um, it only if I, if somebody gives me like a time crunch, will I be like, all right, I can do it for, I can do a review. And like, after just one week of using a product, but I'll also say for the most part, I only review the things that, I want the 99% of the stuff that I review is stuff that I've bought with my own money. Like I don't have people sending me stuff all the time. That's not really how my channel is set up. Mm-hmm. And would you say it's mostly like on the things that you like, right? So if we're focusing on like what you're the most interested in, are you then trying to like review that product as, as you use it and just tell people like what to expect from this pen, what your experience has been like? Is it kind of that like experiential review type of content that people can expect on the channel? Yeah, definitely. It's, you know, how does it feel in the hand? How does the nib write? How well put together is it? And then, you know, I do measurements and stuff like that for people. And I do, you know, a writing sample, um, just so people can really see what the pen is like. Um, that is one of the benefits of video too. Yeah. You get more of like a real picture of what the pen is like. Yeah, that's a really good point. And honestly, that's how, why I started the, my blog back when I did is because I wanted to buy a pen, but I kind of wanted to see what it looked like when you write with it. And like no one was doing that. And even in videos, it's hard to sometimes capture that writing experience because it's still, it's so dependent on the user, but I think it's good context. And good information. So I, I, we're going to talk about a couple of videos later in, in this episode and they're not like the peer review videos. Like you're done, you know, some, you know, fountain pen brands tier list. We're going to dig into you did your personal pens list. We're going to dig into. Um, but I'm more wondering just in the general sense of the channel, is there anything you want to do that you haven't really like dug into yet? Or like you pretty content with where you're at now with the channel? I, yeah, I mean, I really do like where, where the channel is. I mean, I don't have it set up such that it's going to like explode in growth. It's the things that I like. I have been doing more like top five lists and, you know, I, I want to do like a video that shows, you know, like my pen cases because I've had so many pen cases. I got to do a review on that. But, um, but I, I like the, I do like the way that it, it, it is right now. Um, but yeah, maybe some more, not just straight reviews, just kind of general talking about fountain pens. I want to see it, see if people like that. I just, I, I do love like just the conversational style like that you do. It's, it's really good and it's enjoyable to watch. So we'll obviously have links in the show notes to your channel, but, uh, I know you have a bunch of followers listening to this show, but hopefully you, some other people will go in and check this out. I want to dig into a little bit of the selling side of what you're doing on doing over there at the paper mine, making things alongside having your YouTube channel. But first let me talk about another store that sells things. And that's our good friends over at Enigma stationery. This episode of the pen addict is brought to you by Enigma stationery. Enigma stationery offers unique items made from in-house designs, along with top brands and hard to find imports. Enigma would like to take time this week to thank all their customers who have purchased Enigma pride collection products or made direct donations to the Trevor project as part of team Enigma stationery. So far this year, as a special thank you to those making direct donations to the Trevor project, as part of their fundraising team, they created a wallpaper pack featuring a collage of pride nib sticker designs. So you can celebrate pride and your love of stationery on all your devices. And that's all to say, thanks for your help as they continue to work towards their goal to raise $10,000 in 2025. And if you want to donate and get that awesome wallpaper pack, just go to give.thetrevorproject.org slash Enigma stationery 2025. That's give.thetrevorproject.org slash Enigma stationery 2025. And if you want to shop their amazing selection of products, head over to enigmastationery.com slash pen addict. Plus, when you enter the code penaddict25, you'll get a free gift and free U.S. shipping on orders of $50 or more. Our thanks to Enigma stationery for their support of this show and all of Relay.

Launching the Paper Mine and its concept

  • All right. So you've had, you had the video channel for a while. It's been going on since, you know, pandemic time. When did the idea for the paper mine, which is, okay, let's do this. How would you describe the paper mine? Yeah, so it's a stationery store, an online stationery store. And I really specialize in paper for fountain pens in particular.
  • I have my own line of notebooks that I design. That's really where the paper mine started. And it's kind of expanded into other stationery items from there. But it's really all, it's about the paper. Yeah, yeah. When did this start in relation to like the channel? And like, was this kind of around the same time or shortly thereafter? I would say shortly thereafter. I reviewed a Kakimori bank paper notebook and I was reminded how good bank paper is. Oh, yeah. We're going to talk. Believe me, we're going to talk. Like, I wanted to, you know, I wanted to buy another one and they didn't make it. And at the time, like, I couldn't find another bank paper notebook. Maybe Atelier Misubi had one, like their high-end, like hand-bound one. Yeah. But it was blank pages and it was like, well, maybe I should try to make one. I know other fountain pen users will like this paper. And that's kind of, I just started exploring from there, trying to find binders and people that could make the notebook in the way that I wanted. So I think with a lot of us who create stationary content, for lack of a better term, or, you know, make stationary related products, we're, you know, none of us are like big companies and we're not just making like universally like broad products. We're making very specific products that in the end, it's like, hey, I want to use this and it's not out there, but there's parts of it out there. Can we pull all this together and make the thing that I want to use every day? Is that kind of how this started in your mind?
  • Yeah, totally. It was like, you know, I've reviewed, I had reviewed a lot of notebooks. I tested a lot of notebooks just between the blog and the channel. And I was like, we can put all these different ingredients together. I can make my perfect notebook and I think other people will like it. That sounds very familiar. Very familiar. Yeah. But like, again, when you're making a, you know, you have a channel and you're creating content and even from the blog days when you're writing, like the paper is important and people always inquire, right? Because it's such a huge, I don't want to call it a barrier to entry to fountain pens, but like if someone's like trying fountain pens for the first time and they don't go all the way through like the whole product cycle where you need a good paper too, like I imagine you get lots of questions about paper and it's like, well, yeah, like here's what I like and here's why I like it. And maybe I should make it too. Why did, why did, why did bank paper stick out for you? Because it's one of my favorite papers. I understand that it's not like a universally loved paper. It's a little bit particular and weird. For sure. But it has some features that I like. What was that the first product? Was it a bank paper notebook? Yeah, that was, that was the first product. And that was, yeah, it was, it's been a, it's been a bumpy ride with paper because like the paper industry is shrinking.
  • But anyway, yeah, that paper, I love how crisp it is. It has, you know, an extremely like natural feeling to it. It's not like printed with like a polymer on it, like a Tomoe river would be. And it holds fountain pen ink really, really nicely.
  • And it's a relatively compact paper. Like, so it's, I think like 88 GSM, but that's just the weight of the paper. But like, because it's so dense, it's actually thin. Like I have another notebook that I make called the Dandelade and it's 80 GSM and it's way thicker than paper. So it's, it's a very special paper. And I think unlike a lot of other, you know, fountain pen friendly papers that we know, this paper was like specifically designed for writing. It's not like a catalog paper or like Tomoe river was a Bible paper. Like this was made for pens and I just love it.

Challenges with paper availability and collaboration

  • And now they're taking it away from us, Blake. Why can't we have nice things? I know it is. It was so, so brutal. Yeah. And yeah, I had, I know we talked about doing a collaboration at one point and I think this was like the third to last production run of bank paper before they canceled it. Yeah. And there was something went wrong. There was too much humidity in the paper. Typically paper needs to be dried to like 15% or 5% humidity. And so we bound these notebooks and they were like all wavy. It was, it was, it was a mess. And they only set up like the super old machine to make bank paper once a year. And we're like, will you remake the paper? And they were like, nope. We're done. So it was, yeah, I was like, I can't do a collaboration with Brad. Yeah. Don't trust the product. Yeah, for sure. And it's like, I'm like, yeah, it's like we could pick something, we could choose something else, but like my long-term experience has been with like Mitsubishi's classic bank paper, like, which is what most people, you know, use when they're using the bank paper is the Mitsubishi. Yeah. You know, Taizo Yamamoto has made, made some other options now actually using those facilities, print facilities, but it's, it's not the same type of paper. It's a very different paper in my book. It's enjoyable, but it's not the same as the original. So there's still stock out there because like, again, it's never been like the fountain pen paper, but it is for like a certain type of, it gives you a certain type of feedback on the page, whether it's feel or color. And just like you mentioned the crispness of it, like I didn't go out and hoard any, I haven't like, you know, loaded up on any. Do you still, do you still have some bank paper notebooks in stock? Oh yeah. Yeah. Well, not, yeah, I do have stock. I think we'll probably, I mean, I tried to make as much as I could. Yeah.
  • So I think we probably have stock throughout the year and then I have my own private stash of it, but. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So, and that's the thing and you brought it up earlier and this is kind of what I want to transition to next. Like the paper industry is, I don't even know if consolidation is the right word. A lot of it's just going away, right? Like stuff's just vanishing into thin air. Even stuff that fountain pen users have discovered, say like in the past five years, like, you know, three years into that run, it's like, well, that we can't get that anymore. And, you know, like Cosmo or Light was a great example of that as a paper that like came in gangbusters into the community and then poof, like you get rug pulled. So how has that challenge been for the paper mind and how do you go about sourcing like new types of paper? Yeah.
  • So, I mean, I've tested like hundreds of paper and yeah, I mean, I made two different types of Cosmo Air Light notebooks and yeah, that's gone. And then I also made this really nice, like super smooth, uncoated paper notebook with Passipede cream that's gone. So, it's like, you know, I have like a lot of papers sort of in the back of my mind that I can use. So when the ones that I love go away, I can get another one. I mean, that's basically how it's been going. But I also, yeah, I mean, I have like tons of like books from mills. Like I have this beautiful book from Arjo Wiggins, which is like this Scottish mill from like the 1700s. And, you know, they went out of business, of course. So I've just like, oh man, it's really, yeah, it's tough. But there still are a lot of papers out there and you just have to find the ones that I think maybe have still like a lot of commercial use. Like, you know, Cosmo Air Light was a catalog paper. Like they wanted to be able to like just dump ink on the page, like full color, you know, both sides.
  • And, you know, like catalogs are disappearing.

Nostalgia for traditional catalogs

  • I don't know if Fountain Pen Hospital still does a catalog. I know Farnese does. Yeah, Goldsby, I think, still does the traditional catalog. Okay. Yeah. I mean, I miss those. Yeah, for sure. Back to my childhood. I know. I know. And yeah, like pretty much if people aren't like deep into the paper stuff like we are, almost none of this stuff is made for writing. We just happen to find writing implementations for a paper that's used for other things. And, you know, the reason why a lot of these papers are going away is like you're saying, like the industries that their main purpose of, their main moneymaker is, you know, selling for these catalogs, not for people wanting to buy, you know, like pallets to bind into notebooks for fountain pen people. Right. Totally. Yeah. We're like microscopic in the paper industry just because, yeah, I mean, it is really, yeah, it's different than like fountain pens. Like we're the direct, you know, customer for that. We're just like, this is some weird offshoot for other. Like I remember talking to Mitsubishi paper mills in the USA and they had no idea they even made the paper that I was trying to sell. Like we don't, we're, we're like so far to the right of the decimal point on whatever like accounting spreadsheet they have for like usage. Right. Like it just does not even register. So like we can, we can get mad and upset like the Tomoe river disaster, which is just seems like it will never go away. It's like, they do not care about us. I love it. I love you Tomoe river paper, but we do not register. Although I guess Hobonichi was probably a big enough client to where that did register. It's like, Oh, they use it for different stuff, but it's never, it wasn't enough to keep the factory going and keep the printer going. Right. Yeah. Yeah. So I want to, I want to talk about a couple of new papers that I'm looking on the paper mind homepage that I'm not familiar with. So you have a dandelade notebooks and the trantex notebooks. Can you tell me about those papers? I see they're both a Japanese based papers. What are some features here? What are you liking about these? Because I have not tested either of those types of papers. Sure. Yeah. So like dandelade, this is as the name kind of suggests, this is a laid paper. So there's sort of like a lattice like watermark on there. And it's a textured, like natural paper. It holds fountain pen ink really, really nicely. Like for an uncoated paper, like, you know, I can do like all my ink swatching on there and there's like no bleed through or anything, which is pretty unusual for an uncoated paper. So it's super nice to write on. It's, you know, if you like bank paper, I think you might like it. It definitely doesn't have quite as much crispness. It's a thicker paper for its weight. But it's, it's, it's really a beautiful paper to, to write on. Yeah. I, I really have been loving it. And then. So on this, let me ask you real quick. Is this mostly a white page? It looks like a white page, but maybe has a little bit of a tone or a tint. I can't totally tell. It's, it's a bright white laid paper. Yeah. And then it comes in rolled and blank at the moment. Gotcha. All right. And so the other one. Yeah. Try next is, um, this is extremely close to Cosmo air light. It's a little bit more bright white, but the performance is almost like exactly the same. I did a video comparison of that and like the feel on the page, the way that the ink looks on the page, it's like almost identical and it's just as good with fountain pen ink. Um, you definitely still get that, that line spread that you have with Cosmo air light. So that's something to be aware of. Yeah. If you don't necessarily like that, I like it. It's like, Oh, my extra fine nib is now like a fine.
  • This feels more luxurious than normal.
  • Yeah. No, it's, it's paper. So interesting to me. I love this stuff. Like, um, like just the feel of paper and the way people use it. And the particularness each of us might have where if I'm, if I'm liking my extra fine lines, I kind of want them to stay there, which is why I like paper. It's like a very rigid, like line specific, um, output that you're getting on the page. And then you use, you know, like Cosmo air light is like, well, this is different. Why, why is this happening? Like, is this, you know, a feature to someone like this? And it turns out like, you know, Cosmo air light and papers, you know, related to it. Like, I think I'm, I'm interested in trying this. I think they're great for fountain pens because they're just so color accurate, you know, like more than like a bank paper, like people that like ink love like the Cosmo air light types of paper or the era full or now the, the tran next. Um, yeah, you know, you're going to get, if you like a lot of ink on the page and you like good color representation, like, man, some of these papers are like, I see why they're so popular. Right. And is that kind of what you're getting from here? Yeah, totally. I mean, if you're an ink person, yeah. Cosmo air light and tran next, like they're really the best for that. And it's, you know, it's funny. I did a, I haven't, I filmed it, I haven't edited it yet, but I have like a, my top five like green inks and I did a comparison like on dandelade versus tran next. And some of the colors look like completely different. And, you know, I know the tran next is going to be the, is like the more accurate ish color, but it's funny how much that, that changes it. But yeah, I mean, there's just so many different qualities, like dandelade, like if you're a left handed person, that paper dries really fast. Whereas like Cosmo air light or tran next, you know, it's, it can be easier to smudge paper with that. So it's just, I don't know. Paper is so weird. Like, I feel like when I think I've like understood some concepts about paper or something changes. Yeah.
  • Humbled again. If I write a review on paper, I could probably take the same word count and just caveats of like, like there's so many exceptions and so many like specificities about each paper type that what I'm seeing and feeling based on what I'm using could be vastly different than what you, the output that you get. But we're going to have the same general concept, say maybe like, you know, ink brightness or feel on the page and things like that. But yeah, it is so like situationally dependent. And I, I, I love that like our community likes to explore this stuff and tries to figure stuff out until like you said, the rug gets pulled.
  • Yeah, exactly. And then we have fewer sources now, like not everyone's making paper anymore. So we have fewer sources to get like the good stuff, which I think that's what like the paper mind is to me. Like it's a very specific curation of papers that like you've explored and you're able to explain and you know, one paper might be good for one type of user, another for another type of user. So is that kind of, kind of like the gist here for, for the paper mind and are you going to keep exploring and keep trying to find like new papers and other things? Yeah, definitely. I've got, you know, a couple in the works and you know, like the, the line isn't where I expected it to be because every time I lose a paper that I've been making, it's like, well now I can't do the different sizes and the different variations that I had planned. So I kind of go back to like my core, which is, you know, the A5 size, because that is the most popular size. And just see, do people like this new paper? And then from there I can, I'm hoping I will be able to expand the line and offer more variations. Um, yeah, that's kind of the plan. Yeah. Well, can you explain or, or, you know, describe to me your, your binding style? Because it's very consistent across the products. It's a style that I love and it seems to be very purpose, purposeful, uh, and what you've, what you've produced in across the different types of notebooks, you get the similar type of binding, right? Can you just elaborate on that a little bit? Yeah. So for most of my stitched bindings, they're all Smith sewn. Um, and then I like a naked, um, spine essentially. So it's just, you know, the individual signatures, the stitching, and then there's like, you know, book binders mesh or mole over the back of the spine. And that just allows the notebook to be more flexible. Um, I do have, you know, hardcover notebooks as well. And, you know, I work with the binder to say like, you know, we need this to be looser in like the book binding world. Um, there's a term, it's not the greatest term, but it's literally called throw up where like how like the, the book like opens, like, you know, um, and like, I want that to be completely flat. Whereas like, if you have like a really tightly bound book, like the paper will kind of like come into the, the book a bit and won't be flat. So I, I really prioritize that because like writing comfort is number one, like the idea behind the notebooks is I don't want them to like get in the way of your writing and your sort of thinking on the page. Like there's nothing more annoying than fighting the tools you're working with. Yeah.
  • Yeah. I think it's, I don't know. That's one thing I can't explain for someone who likes to ramble about just like the minutia of all this stuff. I can't explain why I like the soft cover details and binding. Um, like I don't, I like that there's no overhang on the cover, right? Like, like a lot of hardbound books or I have a little more overhang, literally nothing wrong with that, but I just have like a stylistic preference for like, like everything's like right on the edge and the binding is, is very, you know, pliable. I don't know. It's just something about it. It's one of my like just favorite notebook constructions. I really, I really like these a lot. And the fact that you can get a lot of different papers in it. All right. So I want to, we'll probably dabble in some paper some more as we go. Cause I have a lot, uh, a lot more specific questions, but we're going to get into some of your videos. Uh, but first I want to thank our good friends over at Penadex this week for sponsoring the Pen Addict. So this episode of the Pen Addict is brought to you by Penadex, your digital stationary companion for all things Pen Addict. Whether you're logging your daily writers, planning your next pen show, or just trying to remember which shimmer ink you've already brought twice, Penadex has you covered. It's beautifully designed for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. And it has several new experiences that are all Pen Addicts will enjoy, such as tracking your full pen and ink collections with fields for nib type, material, color, and more. Building your wishlist of grail pens and inks. Your daily usage calendar to log which pens you're using each day. And the usage stats for, and beautiful ink color spreads, even right from the home screen widget. So I've been using Penadex for a while, and what I really like is the continued building of the app that Connor Rose, the app developer, does. He has added a stationary shop page for locations all over the world where Penadex users can find stationary shops local to them or within a short driving distance. Also, something I need to use in the latest version is really digging into the nib details where you can add in specific nibs, nib details, nib grinds, and tie that into your collection there on Penadex. So if you're headed to a pen show this summer, Penadex also includes a full pen show planner with customizable checklists, itinerary planning, and a budget tracker so you don't overspend before Saturday. And for travelers and shop explorers, what I mentioned earlier is the new stationary store map. It's hand curated international guide to independent stationary shops. You can explore from within the app or online at stationarymap.com. So even if you don't have an iOS app, you can still see all the pen stores from one convenient web page. Penadex is built by a solo developer who's been part of the Penadex community for over a decade. You can download Penadex for free on the iOS app store or visit Penadex.com. That's P-E-N-E-D-E-X.com. And if you're a pen shop owner and want to be added to the stationary store map, just email hello at Penadex.com or tap submit store info at stationarymap.com. Our thanks to Penadex for supporting this episode of the Pen Addicts. All right, let's dig into the YouTube comments. Just kidding. Like no one wants to read the comments, but your recent video, I actually shouted out on the podcast a couple of weeks ago. The best and worst of 2025 fountain pen brands tier list. And I love this video. And I think you got a lot of views and lots of comments in there that I purposely did not read after like the first couple. And I was like, okay, good. Everyone's behaving. And then I'm not going to read the rest because it's not only going to get downhill from here. Tell me about putting together that video and just the reception you got on that.

Tier list videos and pen comparisons

  • Yeah. You know, it's the tier list videos. I thought they're really fun. Like I've watched them for like watch content. Like, and I thought about how I could do that for pens. Um, and you know, it's a little bit like pens, I feel like in a way are a little bit less complicated than, than watches, but it was something I, I spend a lot of time thinking about. And I was like, you know, I know this is going to upset some people. Um, but as I said multiple times in the videos, like, this is just for fun. This is off the top of my head and this is subjective. This isn't, you know, fact at all. Right. Um, but people were really nice. You know, I, after talking to people, it's like, well, I could probably move some of the brands around a bit. Um, I've been convinced, but you know, I think it'll be something I probably do every year because it is, it was pretty fun. But the point I brought up when I was talking to Myke about this was I thought it was really cool because you presented it and you did a good job of, of laying all this out, like in the beginning. And like you said, mentioning through the, um, through the video, like this is your rating, right? Like this is very personal. And sometimes that gets lost that you're saying this as, oh, this is like factually correct that, you know, this pen is this tier and this pen, pen brand is this tier. And people like, it's, it's hard for people sometimes that don't have a lot of background or the context around like what you're trying to do that they'll take this definitively, you know, it's like, oh no, but my favorite pen is X. Why is it rank so low? It's like, well, you're missing the point. But I mean, that's what the YouTube comment section is for us to yell at you for that. Um, but I thought it was very good how you laid that out. And I took it after, after we're going to talk about some specifics here. Um, but like, I listened to your, to your video, like every bit of it. And I'm just going, I'm just like nodding my head with like literally everything. And I told Myke, like the only thing I can disagree with in is only a personal thing, but it's the exact type of commentary that should be on this video is like you ranked. So you're, let me lay out the categories and I'll have a link in this, the show notes. Y'all should all go watch this video. And if you're familiar with tier lists, like the format will look familiar. Um, number one, your tiers were pretty funny. So let me read the tier. So you have the top tier is like the very top. And then these go in order down to the worst, if you will. So top and then class and then excellent. Next is value. Then maybe, and then overhyped. And then history, which there's a lot of ways you can take that word, uh, there in that category. And then the last one is hilarious. Total Schmidt, which you said the first time you said that, I was like, what did he just say? And I had to go look at the chart. I was like, oh, he did say that. Yeah. I love it.
  • And I, I, you know, I thought about like, should I not do that? Cause you know, Schmidt does make some good nibs and I I've had plenty of pens with good nibs that, you know, are by Schmidt, but I don't know that, that brand for whatever reason is always dunked on in the fountain pen community. So I was like, let's just do it. Yeah. See, I like, I like, I didn't even think of it as like a dig on Schmidt. I just thought it was hilarious. It was like, oh yeah, this is great. This is great. So like literally the only argument I had, and it's not even a direct argument. I think it's why this type of list should exist is like you had a poor customer service experience with Leonardo, like repeatedly. And just like, it makes you want to pull your hair out. And these are the types of experiences that a lot of people have with a lot of different brands. And I think it's good information to put out there. Like I like Leonardo, I would rank them higher. I've also never had an issue with them. Right. So like all of these little things play into where you put these products on a list like this. So I don't want to cover every brand here, but I do want to like talk about the, the, the two brands that, you know, rose to the top and these, these, um, these types of tier lists should be very like middle heavy, right? The top should be very exclusive. So you got two brands at the top. Why don't you tell us what those are and why? Yeah. So at the top I put Montblanc, that one was, you know, the easiest for me. Um, I know people don't love Montblanc always, uh, in the, in the community, but they, I really feel like, you know, as a fountain pen user, um, you know, they've been in business forever, just making like nonstop, like great pens. They've been doing their custom, like nib program, which is pretty sweet. And recently we've been getting like their calligraphy curve nib, their flex nib. Like they're not just doing stuff for, you know, people that want to buy some kind of like fashion accessory there. They're, they do it. They do a great job and they do a great job for collectors. And I think, uh, Montegrappa, I know some people don't agree with this, but I, I think that they, um, their build quality is extremely high. They use no injection molding. They take a lot of risks. So like they have some of like the most polarizing pens out there, like love it, hate it. Um, and, but the quality is just excellent. And for me as a collector, like their pens are just so much fun and they're, they're taking risks, which a lot of brands don't do. So I just wanted to give the prop them up and they had great customer service. Um, and very responsive, which a lot of pen brands, I would say most pen brands are not. At least not the big ones. Um, you know, some of the smaller companies are, are responsive. Yeah. So I, I wouldn't say that the Montegrappa was a surprise, but I imagine it was, but I am someone who has come around on them right at the timeline where they switched over from like using Bach to using Yovo for their base steel nibs. It matched up with a, like kind of a design shift. I feel like, you know, without knowing like all the details, but I don't know, things just started to line up for me around them. And there's some, they make some of my favorite pens, um, these days as well. Um, you know, I have a few that I just really like, and I like their overall just aesthetic. I even like, like the outrageous pens. We might talk about one, uh, here later in this episode, if we have time, uh, that you might own. Um, but I, I just think for, I guess what's, I mean, would you consider them a small maker? I don't know. They're like, everything's in house, right? Like I don't, I don't think so. Yeah. Only they don't make the actual nib. They make their own feeds. Yeah. But everything else is in house. Like they even like their cap liners are like all like turned. They're like not injectionable. They just, they, they do a great job and they're, you know, I don't know what their production numbers are like, but I have seen some great factory tours. Um, Apple boom did one and then like style of ZOO did one. And it's just what they're like. The technology that they use is incredible. I have this one pen that they made with like this six access laser machine. It's like, it's just the stuff they're doing is, is nuts. And like, they'll do hand painted pens. Like if you want a picture of your dog on a pen, they'll do that for you. I mean, it won't be cheap, but they'll do it. Yeah. None of these are cheap. And like, but even their, even their baseline pens are, I would say relatively expensive, like to like the direct competition, like in the entry level price points. They, they're a little bit. They were in it. And I was definitely late to the Montegrappa game. Like I always thought they were like, this is just too much for, for what it is. But I eventually bought like a, a Fortuna, which they had like on sale for like a hundred dollars at, I think it was like called shop worn or something like that. And I was just blown away with how nice this pen was. Like, I mean, it was just like a, a white resin pen, but then it had like incredible, incredibly nice, like machined threading. And then the grip section matched the body, but it was white lacquered metal. I was like, whoa, they really, the build quality is just really good.
  • And same, like, I don't have a lot of experience with Montblanc, but I respect the heck out of them as a fountain pen company. I think they, they do a good job as like, yes, they're a premium luxury brand and they do have a lot of, you know, you play, pay a premium for the name and things like that. But I do think, I do think they really care about their, their fine writing lineup and it shows, uh, like you were saying, like in the results, like, I, I think there's like no doubt that should be, should be at the top of the list as someone who I like, I literally own one. I own a Bohem, like the little small, little small, only one I own and I love it. And like, I will get a mom, another Montblanc one day. And there's some that I really like, but I just, I just haven't yet. And, you know, but I do respect them a lot as, as a brand. Um, what I want to talk about, and it's in the maybe category, and I think this is a really good pen to talk about in this. And it's, it's Kaweco as a brand. I really think that's a love, hate brand. Like that's a, not a lot of middle ground brand just because of the style of their pens, it's like 90% of what they make is like a pocket size pen. And that just eliminates so many people from the conversation. Right. Yeah. Yeah. No, I mean, I think I don't, Kaweco isn't one that like instantly comes to my mind necessarily as a, as a recommendation anymore. I mean, back in the, back in the day, like an affordable, like nice pen was, was like the, the sport. Um, but it's a classic design. And I do like like their metal pens, like the Supra is a great pen, but I feel like that, like more entry level, not entry level, but like in the a hundred dollar to like $50 price range, we've gotten so many, like just fantastic new pens that Kaweco is more of a maybe for me. Right. Yeah. I totally feel that. And like, I wanted to like the super more than I did, but I think it's just like over designed. Like, I think it's like one step too far from away from like what they could have made for that pen. But like, again, this is why we love talking about, we could literally have done the whole podcast and just gone through this list and argued, argued about them. Um, tell me why I need a graph on Faber-Castell. So that's one, that's one pen that's been a pen brand that's been on my list for years that I'm missing like that experience. And I know I would like it and I just haven't ponied up for one yet, but you, you have several, right? I have. Yeah. I have three of them and I would never tell someone that they need a graph on Faber-Castell because literally nobody needs one. Yeah. No one needs a Kaweco. You know, no one needs all this stuff. No one needs a graph on Faber-Castell pen with abs, which we have talked about many, many times. Oh my God. Yeah. That was really for such like a, what I would consider like a sober brand. It's like, what, what happened?
  • I was waiting. That was so embarrassing. I was, we're going to talk about another video next, your favorite pens. And we started pulling that out. I was like, please don't pull out the pen with abs. Please don't pull out the pen with abs. You did good. But what is it about graph on Faber-Castell that I like so much, but they haven't made me like spend the money on it because they're expensive. Sure. Yeah. They're, they're expensive. And, you know, I, you know, go used if you can. I always try to when I can.
  • I think they just, they have like a very unique style, like where I look at a pen and I'm like, that's a graph on Faber-Castell. Um, the fit and finishes is really nice. And I really love this pen that they made. Unfortunately, they don't make it anymore. It was called the, uh, intuition Platino wood. And it has this fluted wood body, um, which also acts as the grip section. So it's kind of rare to have a wood grip section and then to have that extra, you know, haptic experience of the fluting is really, really nice. And then they always do a great job with their nibs. They, I believe they're, they're either Bach or Yovo. They might be Yovo now, but they do their own like tipping. Like they adjust the tipping to make it, you know, special to them. And they really, I've never had a bad writing one, you know, knock on wood. Yeah. Yeah. Um, yeah. How would you compare the writing experience to like a Pelican gold nib? Say like, um, I don't know if they even get up as big as like the 1000, but like an 800.
  • Yeah. Uh, so the 800 is, is interesting. Like I think Pelican nibs typically are softer. And especially if you get the ones with the Pelican fabric hallmark, those are really soft. Um, whereas the Graflon Fabric Estelle, they're like, they're very smooth. They're very wet. Um, they do have a little bit of bounce, but I would say not quite as much as Pelican. Okay. Yeah. That's kind of from the reviews I've watched and seen people write with them and like getting to use some of them that it feels like more in line with what I would enjoy. Like I, I, again, Pelican is one of those brands. I absolutely love Pelican, but I almost can't use them because of the nibs. Like the way I write and their nibs just don't work with me, but there's some of the best nibs in the world, I think. Right. I mean, you, you clearly think they're ranked at the same right under the top level is, you know, Aurora, Graflon Fabric Estelle, Pelican, you know, all that stuff. Yeah. And like the Graf compared to an Aurora and Aurora is like a nail. So like the Graf is definitely softer than that. Yep. That's why I like the Aurora so much. Exactly. So yeah. Yeah. So many, so many good things. All right. Well, this is a good, uh, this is a good jumping point into another video. I think people should watch, which is your entire fountain pen collection.
  • Yeah.
  • Was that literally the entire, like you started pulling like, well, I'm like, here's the cup on my desk. And like the things just kept coming out. I think, I think that was everything. The one I missed was there was a Kaweco that I had. I can't remember what it's called, but it was like designed to put like clay on it. And then you actually like would bake the pen. I didn't show that one. I mean, I never used it. Yeah. Is that a real thing? I have never heard of that. I can't remember. It's like something with an F Fimo clay. It's like a German thing, but it was like, you could make your own pen a body and you would bake the pen and then you would have, you know, your own custom pen. Oh, wow. Yeah. I got to look this up. Yeah. I think it's called Fimo clay, but I don't remember what the pen was called. But anyway, it was everything. Yeah. And I, I had a lot of trepidation about like putting out like my whole collection. People asked for it for a long time and it was just like, this isn't going to look good, but here we go. And well, it ended up good. Like I thought it, I thought it was good. And I wanted to bring up a point that you made like right in the beginning. You did a good introduction on, you know, why you buy these pens and how, you know, the personal aspects of it and that you think of, you know, like this pen collection, you think of it more as like a consumption idea concept versus a collection. Like you're buying this stuff to use, right? Like you're using these pens and that's kind of like, I believe like a really important part of this whole thing that we do. Yes. We might buy some expensive pens, but I'm not building a museum collection. That's never going to be used. Right. Sure. Yeah. I mean, I won't keep anything that, that doesn't get used. I mean, unless it's like really cheap or something, but. Or there's some sentimental stuff that could be like, you know. That's true. I do have one. Yeah. Fair, fair enough. And, you know, I don't, if you want to have like your museum collection and you get enjoyment and value out of that, like that's totally valid too. But for me, I, I have to use everything except for maybe some of those sentimental pens that don't work that well. Yeah. You had like a good, a good bit of context that you were talking about like watches and cars and like, you know, you're saying like the coolest car is, is the one that gets used. It's, it's, it's the car that you love and you think it's cool. And it has a hundred thousand miles on it, not eight, you know? Right. Right. Like, because it's just, it, it imparts a different meaning on the product. I think like, if I'm going to use this Namiki or this Nakaya and like, you know, it might have a scratch on it or, you know, you can start to see the wear of the Urushi is like, that's cooler than if, to me, if it sat there like in a glass case on display. Right. Right. Yeah. You're not, you're not making any memories with the pen. Yeah. There's less of a connection. It's just like, Oh, that's a beautiful object, which is fine. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So now I have to, I have to pin you down on a couple of these, the Montegrappa pirate. Oh yeah. I haven't seen this before. And I, I try to follow like all of their like really like unique, you know, designs that they do, which they, they do, they do so many of these, like in a good way, like they might do like four a year of like these just wild things, but that's a lot. That is a ton. And I love the concept of these pens. So we used to, for years, we would talk about the chaos pen, the Montegrappa chaos pen. Yeah. And this one reminds me of just like a bigger, more awesomer version. And until I got the chaos pen in my hand, it took me until that point to get it. And I got it. Like, I was like, okay, I was like, I'm making fun of this pen. I am like, kind of like, you know, looking at it sideways. Like, I don't know what to make of this over the top design. And then I met someone in person who had this literally carried it in a lanyard around their neck and let me use it. And I was like, I actually want this pen now. Like, I get it. So tell me about the Montegrappa pirate pen and what you think of a pen that like, that's big. And like, you know, for lack of a better word, ostentatious, like it's, it's, it's a, it's a kind of a shock to the system and what we normally think of as a fountain pen. Totally. Totally. Yeah. And I mean, my collecting has definitely evolved. Like this was a pen that I would have just like never, ever considered like years ago. Like it would be like, that's ridiculous.
  • But, but my tastes changed. And I'm like, yeah, I would never bring that to like a meeting like that. It would be like just crazy. But like the amount of like detail, like on the pirates pen, like I've looked at a lot of different Montegrappas and like just the quality of like the workmanship and the details insane. This is like one of their most detailed pens. And I saw it, you know, at a brand new at a, at a very good discount. And I was like, let's just see what this is like. Cause I don't have any other pen that's, you know, quite as crazy as that. And it writes so nicely. It's got like, you know, a bouncy, um, it's a Bach nib because I think back then they were, they were Bach, but like the, the, the clip is like the, like a skull's like head with like a sword. And it's just crazy. Like the whole thing's articulated. And when you're holding the pen on the back of the pen, there's like, you know, like a mermaid who is topless and like, I'm being like poked by her. I'm like, there's no other pen with this kind of experience. It's like, it's not necessarily a complaint, but it's, uh, it's interesting. And I never thought I could use such big heavy pens, but like I, I journal with that all the time. I write thank you notes with it all the time. And the same thing goes for, I have a Graff on Fabric Estelle Knights pen, which is my heaviest pen. That's like a hundred grams. And I still write with it. Yeah. Yep. Yep. For some reason, when I got to use that chaos pen, I could not believe how well, how nicely it fit in my hand and that I could write with it. And I was like, okay, fine. Y'all win. Like I need something like this one day. And that the pirate falls into that category for some reason it works and it just kind of blows my mind. How many of these, how many of these pens do you think you have inked up at any time? Like, do you keep like a rotation going, like just kind of go with the flow? Do you have five inked up? Do you have 20 inked up? What's, what's kind of like the usage? Yeah. So in my desk drawer, I have like a pen tray that holds 12. So I'm typically 12 plus, you know, maybe five overflow, which is, is more than I like, but sometimes I need to ink a pen to like compare it to something or somebody's asking me about something and it's like, okay, I got to ink this up or somebody wants to borrow a pen. So I always end up inking more than I want. But yeah, I would say probably 15 is the average. Yeah. Yeah. That, that, once I hit that number, that's when I start to panic. Like I got to keep it closer to 10, but I would love to have like three. Yeah. I would like it to be like, I would, I would even give into like five or six, but it just, it's just, Oh, one more thing. One more thing. Oh, I haven't used the pirate pen in a while. Look at this. Look at this ink. Those will go good in the pirate pen. All right. I'm going to get you out of here and cause a little bit more trouble for you on the way out. I noticed going through this video that several of your pens still had the stickers on them. Granted they were vintage, but are you keeping? Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You were, there was a, I mean, a couple of Mont Blancs, there was a Pelican, I think with a sticker on it. Do you keep the stickers on the pens? Is it just a vintage thing? Like, so for the Mont Blanc 149s, I have, I have four so far of the exact same pen and they, you know, they were two of them are that have stickers are the calligraphy nib pens. And so if I leave the sticker on there, I know that one's the flex, that one's the curved. Fair enough. And then I have a Pelican M600 from 1988 and it came with the sticker on it. It's like, am I really going to pull that off? I don't know.
  • Whereas the Mont Blancs are new and, you know, the stickers are falling off and eventually they'll come off and it'll be fine. But I know, I always think it's like, you know, the hats with like the stick, you keep the sticker on the hat. I'm like, I'm doing this with the pen. I'm like, oh, what's happening? All right. I feel like I can let you off the hook on those. It's like, that's fair and reasonable. It's like, geez, I was like, I can't give you too hard a time on that, but we always enjoy having fun with stickers on pens. Blake, this was a fun and amazing conversation. We could talk for hours more about pens and paper. That's for sure.

Closing remarks and shout-outs

  • I might have a bunch of links in the show notes for people to go find your work. Is there anything in particular that you wanted to shout out or anything like that? Like I'll have links to the YouTube and the paper mine and all that stuff, but anything else? No, I just the paper mine and Blake's broadcast on YouTube. Yeah, that's it. All right. Well, that's a wrap on this week's episode. My thanks to Enigma Stationery and Penadex for sponsoring. And we'll be back next week with another show. Until then, say goodbye, Blake. Goodbye, Blake.
  • Bye. Thank you.
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