The Pen Addict 714/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	714
Title:	Look
Release Date:	April 30th, 2026
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	No guests this episode
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 714
Audio File:	Audio Episode 714
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 714
Length:	5151 min <br />0.85 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

From Relay, this is The Pen Addict, episode 714. Today's show is brought to you by the St. Louis Pen Show and Penadex. My name is Mike Hurley and I'm joined by Brad Dowdy. Hi Brad.
What's up Mike Hurley, how are you?
I'm good. We've actually got a very good pairing of sponsors today, I think.
It was about to, I was about to say the same thing, and then I, unbeknownst to me, I did a shout out of the week that is also related in the broader scope of things to the sponsors.
Fantastic.
This is a great week for that though, honestly. We'll get into that here in a little bit later.
So, we have more on the pocket pen discussion.
This might be, this might be the final, the final roundup of the pocket pen, because as we, if you, you, you, I'm not going to rehash everything, go listen to the last three episodes maybe.
Because we skipped one episode getting answers.
Trying to find a pocket pen that's a fountain pen, but not a fountain pen, and doesn't have a screw cap, and there's all kinds of little specifics.
So, in the end, we wanted something that writes like a fountain pen that's pocketable, like a pocket pen.
And, as I mentioned last week, and I think what most of the feedback, we did get a lot of feedback on this, a lot of it's similar.
It's like, basically, we don't have enough information.
Because, at this point, everyone's going to have their own criteria for what this feel of a fountain pen should be.
And, I've got a couple of, like, disparate answers for this, what people think, they quantify or qualify as the feel of a fountain pen.
Let me tackle Matthew's reply first, and I'll let you grab the second one.
But, I think Matthew kind of encompassed, like, a lot of the different feedback.
We kind of, kind of all in this one.
So, the first thing that comes to mind with this question is, what is the primary criteria?
Is it the writing experience, the ability to use multiple inks, or the pen's form factor?
If it's writing experience, then what comes to mind for me is a fineliner.
I think fineliners are the closest to the writing experience of a fountain pen.
The challenge is finding a small one, which I think you covered.
If you take size out of the equation, though, the Schmidt 60-40 refill is a great, underappreciated option.
It's only available in blue or black.
Kikuyo also makes a similar refill, although I've not tried it, and it's available in blue-black.
I did not know this existed, I don't think, this refill.
Yeah, so, I think it's, that Kikuyo is that Kikuyo business pen we referred to.
I don't, did we even do that on the show?
Was that a post-show thing?
I don't think we did.
So, there's a Kikuyo fineliner, if you will, that's fancy, it's like a fancy refill, to where, it's different than the Schmidt 60-40.
The Schmidt 60-40 looks like a Secura Pigma Micron tip in a rollerball, a classic rollerball refill shape.
There is a Kikuyo with a, let's call it like a Papermate flare type of tip, or something along those lines, I forget.
Anyway, so yeah, same category, different shape of tip, like the Papermate flare would be like probably a good answer to this general question.
Oh, so, Matthew goes into the 60-40, and let's talk about what I was saying here.
The Schmidt 60-40 refills fits into most rollerball pens, though it may require a small shim at the back for some.
The refill opens up things for pens like the Lamy Safari, All-Star, Kaweco Perkyo, etc.
You can pick for most any rollerball version of a fountain pen with a slip cap, even a Lamy Studio or 2000.
While not short, these are lightweight and provide a similar experience to their fountain pen counterparts.
Do you remember many, many, many years ago, and I don't know the name, and, you know, we can get feedback on it.
And Parker made this fountain pen, fake fountain pen tip with the fiber tip.
It was like Parker 54th or something weird, I don't know.
Okay, you didn't remember that pen.
That was a bad attempt at trying to solve this question, but that one just came up.
Okay, I was close, I was close.
Such a bad pen.
I doubt it exists anymore, maybe it does.
It doesn't.
But yeah, shock to the shock of that one.
Yeah, this, it was like, what if we, what if we like cut something in heart?
Very strange.
So I found an article on your website by Sebastian Morissette, who, when promises are not delivered
is the name of the article.
I think he was adamant on, he's like, I want to write this for you, will you publish it?
I'm like, yes.
Okay, so continuing on, we'll put a link in the show notes to that pen, because if that's
one you have not seen over the years, because it doesn't exist anymore, it is worth the click
to go look at the catastrophe that is this pen.
If using different inks is the criteria, so this is Matthew continuing, then the Traveler's
Company Rollerball is a good option.
Its body is identical to the TRC Fountain Pen, just with a rollerball tip, and it uses short
international ink cartridges.
So that's not a bad idea.
So I've mentioned twice in the replies to this whole thread that the Traveler's Company, either
the Fountain Pen or the Pencil, might be a good option.
I didn't realize the Traveler's Company Rollerball, which is the same physical shape as those other
two in a good pocket option, uses that rollerball refill that you fill with short international
ink cartridges.
So that's interesting.
At this point, I need to buy all the Traveler's Company pens, because I've never really used
any of those except the Pencil.
So maybe I need to try those for myself.
Lastly, if the pen's form factor is the primary criteria, then I would suggest the Spoke Roadie.
Whoa, shout out, Matthew.
It's funny how that keeps happening.
Crazy.
To me, it provides a very fountain pen-like experience.
Now, this is something I've never heard.
It's form factor is similar to pens like the Kaweco Sport or the Pilot E95, but something
else it does is pick up on the whimsy that it's often part of using a fountain pen.
The fun factor should not be overlooked.
And while it's designed to accept a Parker G2 refill, it has the ability to accept several
different hack gel ballpoint refills, mostly from Uniball, like the RT1 and Jetstream.
So pick a refill you like and carry something that brings you joy when you use it.
That was a very nice thing to say.
Yeah, I didn't read that ahead of time, so I was not aware of that.
Yeah, I wouldn't say...
I see where they're coming from.
I wouldn't think the Roadie is something fountain pen-like, but I love the Roadie and use it
very frequently.
To me, the Roadie is our lives-in-the-kitchen-ready-for-any-moment pen.
Yeah.
You know, because you can kind of just throw it around a little bit, so...
It's easily my most used Spoke pen, and as someone who has access to literally all
of them, that's the one I've used far and away the most.
Is it available right now?
Ah, the model 2, the new one is the new one, right?
Oh, no.
So we're going to have a model 3, hopefully in May.
This actually can be something we talk about, because...
Okay.
Brian can't sit still and is always looking to improve our products, so we're actually
going to have a Roadie 3 coming out very, very soon.
So the model 2, which is now being called, is very limited in supply.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So there won't be any more model 2s.
Right.
Unless we have just like a batch of parts, and we're going to make some, you know, which
that happens all the time, you know, it'd be a small run.
But we're redesigning the Roadie, and it's essentially done.
We're just going to do all kinds of assembly and getting it ready kind of thing.
Okay.
So, coming soon.
So, good stuff from Matthew.
I pretty much agree, across the board, that this is like, the whole world of stationery
is like very particular to like your own needs, and that's what makes it fun, is you get to
try to solve these problems.
So this is one, you know, maybe our listener or our questioner maybe just has to solve this
for themselves, right?
We've given a lot of good feedback on it, and it might be time to test out a few things
and see if they're able to answer this question in a suitable fashion.
So, speaking of, I have an answer, well, I have something in from Gregory here, who says,
in regards to the pocket pen discussion, I want to add my opinion since I went on the
same journey two years ago as the original questions writer did.
My conclusion is that no non-fountain pen will give me what I want.
My solution is to carry a fountain pen with me most of the time.
I usually go with one of platinum steel nib pens because they seal well to prevent ink
spills, write well, and I wouldn't be bothered if I lost them.
For the rare occasion I need a ballpoint, I also have a Parker Jotto ballpoint.
Like you, I carry my pen in my front pants pocket along with my pocket notebook and my
cell phone.
I find this to be the best solution for me.
I'm on board with Gregory here.
You know, sometimes the best solution is the simplest solution, right?
I just, I think that, like, ultimately, there are other types of experiences with stationery
that are really good, and you should just try and find a new good experience than trying
to replace an experience.
Yeah.
You know?
Yep.
Yep.
So, turns out the platinum preppy is the answer to most of life's problems.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's just going to be fine.
It's going to work.
So, yeah, good stuff.
We appreciate all the feedback.
You know, I don't know if we put a bow in this.
You know, maybe something else will come up.
You know, I had a few other.
I had a few.
I had one really interesting comment that said, the Pentel Energel is the answer to this
question just in the way that it feels.
I was like, that is interesting.
Like, something like that.
That's why I like hearing from the listeners.
Yeah.
Because I would have never thought about the spoke roadie, but Matthew explained it
coming from a different direction than I did.
Then someone, I apologize, I forgot who sent me the Energel, said it is a
most fountain pen-like gel pen.
Now, the Energel is not a small pen.
It's, you know, and it's, most of them are retractable.
They have like one capped version, which I don't like carrying a retractable as a pocket
pen.
But they said as it writes, like, they feel like that is the most fountain pen-like writer
of like a standard pen.
I think the kinds of feedback that we've had to this question, because we also got a bunch
in the feedback form too, and they didn't include them for the reason that I'm about
to mention.
There was zero consensus.
And that is unlike most of the types of questions that we try to, that we answer on the show.
It's like, by and large, there's like a winner, you know?
But for this question, I feel like no one's giving similar answers, which suggests that
it is purely a feel thing.
Like, there isn't an answer to this question, which you can kind of just give to somebody
else, is kind of where I've come to on it.
So, yeah, last thing on this, and it just hit me, and I meant to put this in the show
notes, and I apologize, I don't have the name of who mentioned this.
They gave me a better description when I was talking about the Pilot Pocket Brush Pen,
and why is it called a pocket pen when it's a full-size pen?
Because the pocket is, the emphasis is on the brush part, because a traditional Japanese
brush would be very long.
Does that make sense?
I think so, yeah.
So, it's technically a pocket brush pen, right?
It's a pocket brush.
It's not a pocket pen.
Yeah.
Okay.
Where a traditional, like, Japanese artisan's brush laying on a table would be, you know,
like, paintbrush or a larger type of brush.
So, that made a little bit more sense.
Just that that was some good clarification on something I was saying, why is this called
pocket?
It's not a pocket pen, it's a pocket brush.
So, in relation to a standard brush, yes, that is pocket-sized and portable.
You can carry it around.
So, there you go.
All right.
One little tiny bit of feedback.
We were talking about the Nib Shaper Pen last week and how unique of a product it was
and trying to sort it out and figure out what was going on with it.
You know, go back and check out last week's episode.
I think it was an interesting conversation because I think this is a very, very fun product.
It looks like, by other people looking at it and giving me feedback, this looks like a
complete King of Pen build-out.
That's wild.
This is the King of Pen problem.
I never would have seen that.
I mean, now you tell me it's like the nib is real big.
I see it now, right?
And the shape, those taper shapes, look at some of their ebonite ones.
It's that shape.
So, I was right, it was the Sailor.
So, that was a good shout.
Yep.
And plus, I mean, he worked for Sailor for years.
Well, yes.
I mean, it definitely helped me.
Yeah, but I didn't, it didn't totally register.
I think like all the ridges were throwing me off.
But when you look at it side by side to like one of the ebonite or rushi King of Pen
shapes, it's like, oh, it's that same silhouette.
It just looks very differently.
It's also $3,500.
So, let's move on.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
Wow, we didn't know that last time.
No.
And that includes the work?
Yes.
Okay.
I mean, how much does it cost to get work done?
I mean, if you're going to get something fancy, which if you're going to do this, you're
not going to get, hey, can I get a stub nib on this?
Probably.
Man, that's what I would do, you know?
I mean, probably a few hundred dollars.
Okay.
Wow.
Wow, wow.
Okay.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's expensive.
But I mean, to make 50 of these with a chunky, chunky gold nib and all kinds of tipping.
And it's ebonite too, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, all the pieces are there to explain why it's $3,500?
He has a customer base that will handle it.
Like, he knows his clientele.
Yeah, but $3,500 is always all our money.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh, for us, yeah.
For, like, talking about this on this show, it's like, it doesn't fit.
But, like, for, like, his customer base, I, no, I don't think he's going to have any
issue.
Do you have any pens in that price bracket?
No.
No?
I think my most expensive pen, I paid, like, $1,400 for, but it was, like, a $2,400 pen.
Yeah, that was the, like, the Mickey, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
The Milky Way Galaxy.
Yeah.
And then I, then I maybe, do I even have one more over $1,000?
I don't know.
So, yeah.
That's out of my, out of my, it's out of my usage zone.
Yeah, my, I think my.
It's different from a comfort zone.
It's out of my usage zone.
Yeah, yeah.
I think my highest is the 3776 Galaxy Starlight.
Yeah.
Which is.
Yeah.
Not only was it my most expensive pen, it's my only pen that was broken two different
ways.
That is the most crazy pen.
Yeah.
OG, OG listeners know this, the, the long and lengthy year-long story of that pen.
It was amazing.
Did I tell you that there's a chip in the cap?
Yes.
Yeah.
So, like, part of the cap is just chipped away.
I don't even know how that happened.
It's crazy.
What a pen.
I use that pen so much, and I think that's the reason, so.
Yep, that's good.
It just happens.
Just use it, man.
Yeah, oh, I do.
It doesn't bother me.
It doesn't bother me.
Exactly.
It's funny.
It's funny to me, really.
Exactly.
This episode is brought to you by the St. Louis Pen Show.
If you love the feel of cursive writing with a fountain pen, documenting your thoughts
and ideas through journaling, or even just doodling, the 2026 St. Louis Pen Show is the place
for you.
L'Exposition de Stilo Saint-Louis, as we call it on this show, the exposition will be happening
from Thursday, June 25th through to Sunday, June 28th.
They're featuring special appearances by some guy called Brad Dowdy and also Scott Jones,
and they're going to be emphasizing the central location of Meeting in the Middle.
There will be 102 vendors from across 25 states and Canada as well that include artisan pens
and pencils, vintage pen dealers, nibmeisters, pen repair people, ink, journal, paper stationery,
clothing vendors, and so many more.
Thursday is Trader Day.
Friday is open to the public with an evening of a vintage pen panel and pen tasting, followed
by a free dessert party.
Don't get them mixed up.
Saturday and Sunday are open to the public with an evening pen show after dark on Saturday
night.
There are 26 classes over three days, including calligraphy, bookbinding, stamp making, and
card design.
There are lots of additional activities this year as well, including a silent auction, scavenger
hunts for kids and adults, journal meetup, limited edition stamp, and sticker collection
booklets, and so much more.
There's so much to see and do at this year's St. Louis pen show, so how do you get there?
The St. Louis pen show is at the Sheraton Westport Lakeside Chalet on the beautiful Westport
Plaza.
There's plenty of free parking, loads of restaurants, and it's just 10 minutes from the airport.
You can get a special pen show room rate of $155 with breakfast included.
Check out the St. Louis pen show at stlpenshow.com.
That is stlpenshow.com.
You can buy your tickets at $10 per day admission, $20 for a weekend pass, or $30 for a trader
pass for all show access.
Find that vendor information, sign up to classes, and get your ticket now at stlpenshow.com.
A thanks to the St. Louis pen show for their support of this show and all of Relay.
Yeah, so I will be there Friday and Saturday of the show.
This will be my first time at the St. Louis pen show.
I'm excited to get there.
It's been a long time coming.
Schedule finally worked out for me.
They do actually have a very good website, which is full of information and is up to
date, which is just like, that is not something that you can rely on.
I really like their survival guide page.
Yeah, exactly.
It's just how to get through it.
It's fantastic.
I'm scrolling through it right now.
So my, I'm not going to say it's a talk, but I'm in my conversation with, it's basically
a live Ask TPA.
So it'll be me and my-
A conversation with Brad Downey.
A conversation with Brad Downey.
They're like, what do you want to do?
I was like, I don't know.
We can just talk about pens.
Have a conversation.
It's basically a Ask TPA, live Ask TPA.
Love it.
But we're going to, I'm going to have a, a co-host there, my friend Andrew Kuhn, who
has been on the members podcast that I run called Friend of the Show a few times.
And he likes to ask me like really neat questions and fun questions and kind of takes me to task.
So he'll be firing some questions at me and y'all can come and fire some questions at me and we'll just, uh, have a good time.
It's free, free, free chat.
Just come hang out for an hour or so and, uh, we'll have fun talking pens.
All right.
Oh, we got a shout out of the week, Mike.
Shout out of the week.
Unbeknownst to me, because I could have looked at the, uh, the full show run of show.
Uh, but I didn't, I put shout out of the week as Chicago pen show because it's literally this week.
It is pen show season, which we, that was what you were referring to at the beginning of the show.
And this is what I was referring to.
I was like, oh, well, Chicago's this weekend.
I wanted to talk about that because it's a great show, um, that is always, it always comes highly recommended to people either in the area.
If you're in Chicago and you haven't, you know, heard about it by now, you should make plans.
Um, it's, it's kicking off probably today as we record this, but it's always a good time and a fun show.
And I just happened to be poking through the vendor list, which is something I like to do since I, I'm not going to be there.
I like to see what I'm going to be missing out on.
And a couple of vendors popped out.
If you don't mind me just sharing a couple of things, I do this knowing I'm going to miss like literally everybody.
Right.
I'm not here to like go down the vendor list one by one and tell you how great everyone is.
Cause they're all great.
But I was, I, what made me want to do this is my friend Casey from Dime Novel Raven.
Raven has a shop set up.
So they're going to be there, have a table there.
Maybe their first show.
I don't know.
Um, I haven't, but it caught me off guard.
I was going through, oh, cool.
Look at this.
So y'all should go, you should write these down.
We might have a place for you to write these down later in this show.
We can talk about, uh, also Dan from good made better.
This is one of the few shows that he goes to always enjoy seeing him in Chicago.
Um, he always has great products.
I think you were mentioning you had a pen, uh, in like one of your inkwells right now.
Yeah.
I use my inkwell often, but I have the kind of layer that we spoke about last week.
And I haven't been to the penwell website in a while.
I didn't know that they did doubles and triple penwells now.
So they don't do a lot of shows.
So go check it out.
If you, if you get a chance, I always come whenever I go to Chicago, I always come home with
something from good made better.
And lastly, my friend Tori from stationery universe, she's actually been doing a few
shows in the past, but she's kind of getting up and running.
So go check out.
She, and she just has an awesome curation of goods, like just really, really fun stuff.
Like that's somewhere.
Like I see her stuff and I want everything.
Um, so, you know, I just want to put a spotlight on some really small makers doing their first
shows.
But of course there's a million other great makers there.
You know, our friends at Canalea, you know, I'm a Rio stationery, Kaleidocraft, Anna, Anna
Reinhardt is going to be there, uh, with the well-appointed desk.
I mean, just a, uh, this is a good show.
So go hang out and have fun, make a list of some of the people you don't want to miss
and, um, and go to it.
So, uh, have fun in Chicago and I would love to hear any reports y'all have, uh, from the
show.
Last year was the first time in a new hotel and I think it went pretty well.
So definitely, uh, love to hear some feedback and next topic, Mike, if any of you see the
Santini Modula pin, I was asked to take a look at this yesterday and I didn't get a chance
to, I take a look and let me know what you think.
And I'm curious, Mike, so what the Santini Modula is and why I was asked to discuss it,
it is a singular fountain pen where you can swap out your number six and number eight gold
nibs interchangeably.
And that's a thing because the number eight gold nibs are so large, usually they require
their own pen barrel, pen shape, their own fittings on the front end.
Um, and I don't have a clear visual.
I've been looking for a clear visual of like a front end.
I'm wondering, is there just like, when you have the six in there, is it just like a lot
of like the black plastic or black ebonite that you see?
Like, does it, is the six inset so far?
So when you swap out the six to the eight, the eight fits normally.
So the six just has to fill in the gaps there.
And would that drive me crazy?
So that's all I can think about.
And I'm wondering, like, would people want this?
Would people want one pen with two nibs?
And you, just to be clear, you have to buy the nibs separately, which is totally fine.
So I'm looking at like the base level pen is 450 euros with the number six nib.
So like, if you buy the one with the six nib in it, okay, it's 450 euros.
And then you can add in the number eight nib as an option for like another, let's see how
much that is, 200, 280 euros.
So if you want one pen, two nibs, boy, quick math, 730, 730 euro.
I don't know.
I mean, they have images of some pens that have got the six and the eight and it looks, you
know.
I want to see a straight ahead shot.
You know what I'm saying?
I want to see, I want to look, I want the nib to be pointing at me.
Oh, you want to see how much?
It looks fine.
Is going on?
Yeah.
But it looks fine.
It looks properly designed.
The eight nib looks too big on this pen.
I think.
Maybe.
I think the eight nibs look too big.
Do the eight nibs look too big in general though?
Yes.
It's a bit, yeah, yeah.
Yes, but you can, you like, you know, the king of pen is a large nib and they, they build
the body of the pen to make it look right until you pick it up.
You know what I mean?
But to me, it looks misbalanced.
Like the nib is massive.
It's like the side, it's like bigger than the grip section.
Yeah.
So like the closeup, I'm looking at the modular black, right?
The basic one at the top, right in the center.
And just the header picture is like, that is large.
It looks, it is genuinely as large as the grip.
And I just feel like that.
I think it might be larger.
It might be larger.
That, it just looks weird.
These pens look really nice though.
Like the design of these pens is really good.
Totally what I was going to say.
Like of this vibrant bay one, like I can get into that.
I like the red one, the red ripple one.
And I like it with the six.
I don't like it with the eight.
And I, but like for me as well, like I don't, I don't understand who this person is.
Like to me, this feels like designing a product where there is actually no problem.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I honestly, yes, I agree.
I think this is for the number eight nib connoisseurs who will just straight up buy the number eight pen.
Yeah.
They don't care about the six.
Yeah.
I just, I'm not sure who this person is with like, just like a bunch of loose nibs.
You know, like, I'm a loose nib person.
I know they exist, but it's like, how big a market is that?
Yeah.
Yeah.
But really though, you know what I mean?
Like, what are you doing with them?
Yeah.
It's, you know.
Yeah.
For this now.
So interesting.
What a good looking pen.
I have not used a Santini before.
I'd like to hear some feedback.
But if, if y'all get to see this, I'm, I'm curious the sacrifices that have to be made
on that front end to have a comfortable looking pen when you're using either the six or eight.
And I think that's where, when you're trying to solve both problems, do you solve none to where
you're making it, well, the six looks too small to fill in the gaps here because I have
to fit in the number eight just in case.
And then the number eight is at the maximum configuration.
So it's kind of overwhelming.
It's not totally being built around because we have to capitulate for the six.
So anyway, I think there's a lot.
I like these kinds of products because I just have a ton of questions about it.
And it honestly looks pretty good.
I just don't know that it's a thing.
So speaking of looking pretty good, Mike, the Safari, Mommy Safari 2026 limited edition
colors dropped right after the show last year with a caveat.
Since a week ago, when like right after the show, I went live on Twitch and I got the link
from Fanta Plumo, friend of the show, Rob Knight, sent me the link.
Hey, have you seen the new Lamy Safaris?
I have not.
Clicked over and I saw them, which we'll get to in a second.
Then I was like, oh, let me go look at Lamy's Instagram and see, you know, if they've done
like the full, the full glow up, literally of these two pens to this day, Lamy has not
mentioned he's limited edition colors, but Fanta Plumo's had them listed for a week.
Only yesterday did I see a second retailer in Europe.
My friend Yost at Apple boom have these listed still not a peep from Lamy go global, which
I find insanely interesting and Lamy global even comment comment on one of Fanta Plumo's
posts saying, this is awesome.
Can we use this on our feed?
Still no word.
Still no launch.
Well, they must be gearing up for their own thing and they're just not, it wasn't meant
to be now, right?
Would be my assumption.
Sure.
So I'm just going to put these out and then just pretend they don't exist.
Yeah.
But like some kind of coordination would have been nice.
I would like to get the full, the full info here.
Yeah.
I'd like to get the proper release.
I mean, Frank's had these up for a week and Frank is awesome.
Frank always is on top of things.
So anyway, that's my, that's my, my business hat being on is like, where's the proper Lamy
push?
Even though these have been available for a week, they're like not getting any activity
unless, you know, you see Frank's site and we start passing around the links, which
I'm doing today.
So, all right, that's that.
We have, we have Mike, we may not be done yelling yet.
We have neon pink and neon yellow.
Is that the proper, I'm going with Frank's spelling here?
Neon pink.
One word, one word, all lowercase.
Is that going to be the real name and why?
I don't know, man.
Why would you do this to me, Lamy?
I, I, that's unnecessary.
It's unnecessary.
Well, okay.
My question, have they ever done neon pink or neon yellow before?
Oh, Mike.
I think that might be why.
I included a link that Frank put out called yellow over the years.
This is, was one of historically, one of the joke colors for Lamy because for a while, every
limited edition they released was this color or within a shade or two of the same color.
So that was my initial reaction.
When I saw this pop up, I was like, oh, come on.
Another bright yellow.
So, but, and they've done, they've done one pink one.
This one's a winner though.
Like, the neon yellow looks fantastic, I think.
I've beat around the bush this long.
The yellow is killer.
Except, well, okay.
They did a good job to clearly cover up a problem, which is they couldn't color match
the clip.
They've tried.
They tried.
And they obviously couldn't do it, so they went with black, black furniture.
So it's got a black clip, a black finial, and a black kind of band around the grip section.
Yep.
And the reason I say this is because the pink has matching pink, right?
Yep.
It has, it's not matching, but it's like, just slightly off.
Yeah.
They clearly couldn't get the yellow to be the way that they wanted, so they just went
to black, which is totally fine, but I would have loved to have seen them do the whole
nine yards.
I actually like this one better, I think, with the black trim than I would have a full
yellow, which is to relate so hard to some of the ones they've done in the past, which
is just like, you know, like give me something new, you know, a new color.
And then they have the translucent grip section, so the yellow has a bright yellow, the pink
has a bright pink.
Yeah, I think the yellow looks great.
The pink's fine.
I'll probably get both.
I think the yellow's the winner for me.
They're both glossy, which I prefer matte finishes on the barrel.
I wouldn't have minded if they did one of each, especially maybe the pink, because the
pink Safari they've done in the past was also glossy.
It was just kind of like a standard release.
It was almost like a catalog release.
It was a little bit brighter or maybe softer pink.
This one's a little bit hotter, a little more neon, if you will.
So I wouldn't mind a differentiation there.
Or even the yellow.
I guess the yellow they usually do.
What are these yellows?
There's like three.
I think they're glossy.
So anyway, I don't know.
I would have liked one of each, just for me personally, just because I prefer matte.
And you can have one of each, but I think they're both glossy.
Anyway, I think they look fine.
I don't think they're just like world beaters, you know, I think the Lamy Pine All-Star is
number one out of the four pens that were released from the Safari and AL competition that we
always have, you know, Team Safari and Team All-Star.
I think singularly, the All-Star Pine is like a tier above both the Safaris and the other All-Star.
So, but they all look great.
All pretty good.
Let's just say B's across the board and then A for the Pine.
So there you go.
I'm looking forward to get these in hand and see, to get some thoughts on them.
But I have a bunch of links in here.
So yeah, but what I don't have are links from Lamy, which I don't get.
But, and then two, the big question that they always make us ask, are we going to get any
inks for these?
Surely not the neon yellow, right?
You say that.
I mean, other German companies, such as Pelican and Kaweco, both have neon yellow inks.
So maybe they're feeling themselves and it's like, oh, we need to get on that.
I wouldn't mind a pink ink.
Give me the pink ink.
But yeah, we don't need neon yellow.
So, yeah, but neon yellow cartridges and pink bottles.
Give me that.
So who knows?
I, I would say probably no to both.
We didn't get inks with the all stars.
Do we get inks with this?
I don't know.
That's why I need Lamy to chime in here.
Where are you at?
Where are you at?
Hire me.
We would have, we would have coordinated this a lot better.
Promise.
Promise.
If you need to coordinate things, Mike, related to your stationery or to your,
pen show visits, where might one do that?
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Awesome.
I wonder, Mike, and you kind of alluded to this, how does it handle international shows
and travel?
Very well.
Things of that nature, like say maybe in Japan, which I've been holding off on talking about
until I booked flights, which means it's actually happening.
Mike, I booked flights.
It's actually happening.
I'm going to Japan.
Oh boy.
I'm so jealous.
I wish I was going with you.
I really wish I was going.
I know.
I wish you were going too.
It was supposed to happen.
There was an alternate timeline.
It was.
It was.
Alternate timeline.
It was supposed to happen.
Just not this time, but for me, it is actually going to happen this time.
So I'm mentioning this not because I have a full topic and breakdown, but now I'm actually
ready to move forward in thinking about things, planning things.
There's going to be a lot to look at.
It's not going to be like a full work stationery trip, right?
It's a personal trip and going with friends and things like that, but I just wanted to
say for like feedback, people have been sending me feedback since I've mentioned this and
links to stuff.
Keep sending that stuff because I'm like filing everything away.
And then once we kind of get into like summertime and stuff, I will start doing a little bit of
trip planning and doing a little bit of content around that.
Um, you know, just a few feedback items and things I've discovered and things I'm planning
on doing.
So, um, but yeah, I just wanted to mention it's as official as it's going to be.
I have plane tickets.
Like that's that, that was the, that was what had to over be overcome is figuring that out.
And once you make that level of commitment, like the most expensive part, well, until I
go stationery shopping, uh, the alleged most expensive part, it's didn't feel real.
Um, so now it actually feels real.
So I would love to hear y'all's feedback.
Always.
You can send them in to me.
So actually just send those directly to me.
Hello at penact.com.
Well, when are you going?
I've already saved some, uh, end of October beginning like last week of October, first
week of November.
So yes, good point.
So yeah.
Um, that's why, like I'm mentioning this now cause we need to book ahead of time, but
I'm not really going to be talking about this every week until we go there.
But as we get closer, I am going to mention a couple of things.
So, uh, it'll be fun kind of putting this together.
This'll be one that I kind of want to like put some work in on the front end, right?
To figure out what we're going to do, where we're going to go, things we're going to see.
I already have a list.
I already have some opportunities, Mike.
Hashtag opportunities that have been reached out to me.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
Oh yeah.
So you're not going in line with the pen show, are you?
Correct.
So you're just going to go and see what Japan has to offer you.
Yep.
Yep.
And you're really going to have to balance cause these opportunities that you, you are
not going to get to use many of them.
Right.
Because as you said, you're not, it's not just you and Mary Beth, like you're going
with a group of people.
And so like, you can't just be like stationery boy.
Yep.
So the one I will mention to you offline, sorry, maybe I can mention it to y'all later when
it's official.
Right.
Um, I like when I got reached out to, I messaged the group.
I'm like, look, I'm going to ask, it's going to be a lot of this between now and I, look,
gang, I come on.
Look, I've asked, I've asked, I said, the only thing I've asked for so far is if we go,
I want to go to the flagship Atoya store.
Like that's pretty obvious, you know, the big seven, 12 story stationery store.
Everyone will have a good time at that though.
Yes.
Everyone will be fine.
Like we can all go do that and that'll be fine.
And then I got reached out to, and I was like, look, the only other thing.
Yeah.
I have to do this.
And I was like, you know what?
I think y'all will be okay.
Y'all will get it.
Like, it'll be fine, but like, this will be worth it.
And then, okay.
It was like, and then I got a second one reached out afterward.
I haven't even brought that one up yet.
So we'll see.
So anyway, are you going to try and lobby for both of these things?
Um, just the one for sure.
Okay.
Maybe the second one.
Okay.
I'm looking forward to finding out what that is.
Okay.
Everyone else is going to have to wait.
Yeah.
You're going to have to wait.
I'm so jealous of you.
Like one day I will go to Japan.
Like there is, there's no, there's no stopping me really from this.
Yeah.
But obviously my life has changed in, in, in ways that just make that a bit more complicated.
Um, and me, it just means that like, we'll do this.
We'll do this later.
I think I'm at the point in my life now where a trip like this, it's very possible I only
do it once.
And so now I would prefer to wait until Sophia could have a memory of it.
Right.
I think that's fair.
So we're looking at a few years down the line, I think for us, for that part of the world.
Yeah.
And, and I'm not waiting until I can time it with the, with the Tokyo international pen
show.
Cause then I'll just never go.
Right.
I'm taking this opportunity now, even though it's doesn't coordinate with tips, like that's
not phasing me at all.
Yeah.
Like I'm just, I need to go, like it needs to happen.
So we're going to make it happen.
Yeah.
And tips can happen.
It still can.
Oh, of course.
Yeah.
Sometimes you just got to take the opportunities that are presented to you.
Yeah.
Like I can do this trip and then like, you know, years down the line I could do tips solo
and it would be a lot easier because I've had that experience.
So anyway, so it's as official as it's going to get.
So we'll talk about it more in a few months from now, as I start really getting into the
planning and stuff.
Amazing.
All right.
Let's finish out today's episode of a couple of Ask TPA questions.
Jeremy wrote and then says, I have an Amazon gift card waiting for me and I'd like to add
a few more bottles of ink to my collection, but it's purchasing fountain pen ink from Amazon
safe considering there is probably no care taken in storage and handling.
Should I just stick with my favorite online pen retailer?
Yes to both.
I wouldn't have any issue if you have an Amazon gift card.
I don't think personally I would have an issue buying from Amazon.
Yeah.
You know, as long as you're buying like Pilot Orochizuku and something like reasonably mainstream
Pelican Edelstein.
I know I haven't looked.
I haven't bought anything from there.
The preference is always going to be support your favorite online retailers, but I know
you have a gift card.
You have a gift card.
That's different, right?
Yeah.
Like as long as yeah, like I'm totally cool with that.
And also like Amazon's customer service in my experience is pretty, pretty good in favor
of the customer.
So like if you had a problem like this happen, they will probably just refund you.
Yeah.
And honestly, my only concern, and I don't think it would really happen with ink, would
be more of a counterfeit type of situation than a handling situation.
And I don't think the ink market is big enough to where you're going to run into like a real
issue there.
No.
So I wouldn't have a, I would, I would go for it personally.
Maybe if you're going for something like a brand, like a Mont Blanc or something, then
maybe you'd have a bit more likely of a problem.
Um, but if you're going for something, even of the Roshizuku level, like Brad mentioned,
you, I think you'll probably be fine.
Yep.
That's specifically why I mentioned that one.
That seems like the perfect sweet spot.
Yeah.
To like, to like where you're going to get something good.
And I, I, I'm not too concerned about, I'd be more concerned if, if you lived in a location
where it was freezing or crazy hot and, and ordering then what Amazon has done.
Even then, if they don't ship it correctly, I am very confident that they will refund
you if there's a problem.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I think you should be fine.
I'd say go for it.
Tomas wrote in and said, in 2024, Mike was teasing a new journal idea with plans to release
in 2025.
Was that idea shelled or is it still coming?
Well, I'm happy to say that in 2025, Mike is still testing a product that he's hoping
to release in 2026 and wait, I should say 26.
I'm look, I'm still working on it is the 26 ish I'm so I'm hoping like I'm hoping and
I've mentioned it in other places.
My, my plan will be if, if not, if when this project comes together, I will, it will be
a Kickstarter campaign.
Okay.
Just because as this, as this project has taken shape, essentially the, the cost of initial
production will be too high.
So to, to, to launch it well.
So what I want to do is understand, do people want this product?
I believe that they will, but do they want this product and how many do they want?
And so Kickstarter is the way to do that.
Yeah, that's fair.
I'm currently in the stage of getting what I hope will be final prototypes.
And then we'll start to put it all together, hopefully to get a Kickstarter run in sometime
later on in the year.
Awesome.
Awesome.
I'd love to hear it.
Yeah.
I mean, you know, I've, I've, I've, I, I've been a little bit like against Kickstarter for
myself for this stuff because it's so, it's so much stress.
It's a lot of work, but just the way in which this project is coming together and the fact
that I'm using the, our, like our existing supplier who we have such good relationships
with makes me feel confident that I can do it.
Yep.
I think a lot of the problems that physical product Kickstarters run into is that they
don't really have a lot of that squared away, like how it's going to be made and stuff or
like things pop up that are unexpected, but I feel, I feel as confident as I imagine I
could feel with a manufacturer to produce this product for me.
Exactly.
So when we get this together, that's how we'll do it.
But I really am hoping that at least the, I am aiming for this year, but who knows?
This, this, this prototype round that I'm getting made right now, that could be a disaster.
We have to go back to the drawing board a little bit.
Sure.
You know how this stuff can go.
Oh yeah.
Roadie 3 was supposed to be out months ago.
Yep.
We had to redo some parts.
It happens.
And Travis wrote in and says, I'm wondering if you have any recommendations for a fountain
pen friendly ledger like the Kukuyo auxiliary notebook.
It's the only thing I've been able to find of an accounting layout, but I'm struggling to
find it for sale outside of a very marked up eBay listing.
I had never heard of this product.
And while you were talking here, I went and grabbed a link.
Oh, not that full link.
I had never seen this product in this, at this link, it's not available anymore, which is
Trevor's issue.
This product is awesome.
This looks amazing.
Yeah.
So it's a hardcover accounting notebook.
The layout, I can't believe this is only $29.
The layout and design is so good.
I have no clue.
I've never seen anything like this before in this format.
I've seen the accounting books like at your office supply stores, right?
Yeah.
That's been a traditional thing they've always carried with that brown, brownish red faux
marbling looking cover thing with that to have that type of ledger layout.
And I've never used one.
I don't know if they're fountain pen friendly.
You know, they look fine.
I don't know.
I would love to hear some feedback if anyone has ever gone through this because this notebook
looks absolutely insane.
I would have owned one if I'd seen this while they were available just because it looks that
cool.
The overall design is fascinating.
Yeah.
Everything about this is insane.
Like the slipcases.
Mm-hmm.
And it's $29, which is, that's actually blowing my mind a little bit.
The whole thing.
Maybe it was $29 towards the end of its life.
That was, that was three years ago.
I think these came out a while ago.
So this just happens to be the first link.
And this is at PaperMind and I know Blake.
And honestly, I would reach out to PaperMind and see if Blake has any ideas for replacement
for this because he's dialed into this type of stuff.
That's what I would do to be quite honest because I've never seen anything like this.
The only thing I could even come close to recommending and it's nowhere near this and it would
require, you know, like, like some of your layout purposes is to use one, like one of the French
ruled Claire Fontaines to where you could break out the columns into how you needed it.
And it's fountain pen friendly, but it's soft cover.
It's only the singular, you know, French grid format, which is like overly aggressive.
Um, so I don't know that it would actually meet these answers.
I'm sure Trevor's already thought about something like that, but this, what a wild product.
I'm, I, I hate that I've missed this, honestly.
Um, yeah, I wonder what they go for on eBay.
That's good.
Like if Trevor's hesitating about that, I'm sure they're, um, you know, compared to their
29, $29 prices, I'm sure it's probably like double or triple that.
Um, especially since they don't make them anymore, so good.
I, I, I am interested, Trevor, Trevor, I'm going to need you to follow up on this.
I'm going to need you to ask some questions and get back to me on how I can get something
like the auxiliary notebook, because now that you've sent it to me, I need it.
Fascinating.
If you would like to send in that feedback or follow up or a question of your own, it's
very easy.
Just go to penaddictfeedback.com, or you can click the links in our show notes too.
You can find those show notes in your podcast app of choice or over on the web at relay.fm
slash penaddict slash 714.
If you want to find Brad online, go to penaddict.com, spokedesign.com, and twitch.tv slash penaddict.
You can find me here at relay at cortexbrand.com and theenthusiast.net.
I would like to thank Penadex and the St. Louis Pen Show for their support of this week's
episode, but most of all, I want to thank you for listening.
Until next time, say goodbye, Brad.
Goodbye, Brad.