The Pen Addict 431/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	431
Title:	May I Buy This From You?
Release Date:	October 7th, 2020
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	No guests this episode
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 431
Audio File:	Audio Episode 431
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 431
Length:	7676 min <br />1.267 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

Myke Hurley: From RelayFM, this is The Pen Addict, episode 431. Today's show is brought to you by ExpressVPN, Pen Chalet, and the Canalea Pen Company. My name is Myke Hurley and I'm joined by Brad Dowdy. Hi Brad.

Myke Hurley: You caught me giggling on that one. I don't know why. It's like I went up and down. Yep, you went up and down. Kind of like my night last night, Myke. I'm running on fumes this morning. I'm propped up by Caffey. Caffey? Coffee and caffeine. So we're going to go with Caffey.

Brad Dowdy: Caffey, what is that? C-A-F-F-E? With like one of those little accents over the E? Yeah, like the little accent. Accent they go. Oh, okay. So yeah, I saw this. I read it. You had a really wild tweet thread. Ah, yeah. Last night.

Myke Hurley: As one does when they can't sleep.

Brad Dowdy: I'll put that in the show notes for people to find.

Myke Hurley: Oh, great. If you want to read along with you talking about nip sections for a while. I should probably read that. I should probably read that. But yeah, this could get a little sideways today. I got plenty of sleep. I got a good six hours, so I'm totally fine. But yeah, I am definitely on the Caffey train.

Sleep Habits

Brad Dowdy: Sometimes, so I feel this. It isn't the amount of sleep that can make the difference. It's the time that you go to sleep. And my theory on this is that you're awake for too long the day before, and that's what messes you up. Yeah. So like if I went to bed at four in the morning but got 10 hours of sleep, I'd still feel like trash because I overdid it the day before.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. Yeah. And my issues are multiple nights of shorter sleep. Like I'm a seven to eight hour sleeper. Okay. So six is fine one day. Six is fine probably two days. If I start getting three, four, five, six hour days, then I start to tank pretty hard. So one night's fine. And yeah, no, it was good times. Good times on the Twitter last night. Happens to me, you know, what? Once every few months, I just like my mind is just racing and I can't go to sleep. So I finally fell asleep about midnight last night.

Brad Dowdy: And the way I was reading it, it felt way worse. I couldn't sleep last night, went to bed at three.

Brad Dowdy: No, see, I never do that. But I don't have kids in the morning to deal with. Yeah, my alarm is... I woke up at 9.45, so...

Myke Hurley: Yeah, exactly. So my weekday alarm is 6.30 a.m. every day. So yeah, that's...

Brad Dowdy: I feel like at the moment we're having a... This is exactly the type of conversation in content and cadence that we have when we start our calls before the show. So we've almost not really started the show yet, which is weird. So should I just... I'll just do it again, right? Like, welcome to the Pen Addict, episode 431. I'm Myke Hurley and I'm joined by Brad Dowdy. Hi, Brad. Hey, Myke. And see, I'm still giggling.

Myke Hurley: It didn't change. It didn't change anything. So your Kickstarter's going well, right? I'm very pleased with how the Kickstarter's going for the Noxco Wax Canvas pen cases. It's going to be that type of show today.

Brad Dowdy: What were you just about to call it? Knock Cax.

Myke Hurley: Knock Cax. What was he going to say? I don't know, Myke. Knock Wax Co Canvas. It's going to be that kind of show all day. Do we have any rough pronunciation? We have a lot of Ask TPA today. This is an Ask TPA catch-up episode, which means we're going to have to pronounce things that... I'll handle it. It's not going to go well.

Brad Dowdy: I'll do all the reading of the questions today. Because I'm not confident that you'll be able to manage it.

Myke Hurley: Well, I'm confident I can get back on topic and say thank you to everyone who supported this project. We're at $35,000. Our goal was $30,000. Nice. We have 11 days to go. We should get up in that $40,000 range, which thrills me to no end. I think it's the perfect situation for what I was trying to accomplish with this campaign. And it's played out how I had it played out in my head. Which, when you launch a project, that's the best thing you can hope for, right? Maybe your head's wrong and you made a mistake. But if you launch a project, you kind of have these ideas of what the goals are you want to meet. And this one is playing out to where I'm not going to have to stress about it. Or try to do something like to go crazy and push it. Or wind it down. Or whatever. It's gone as expected, which makes me very happy. And I definitely appreciate everyone's support on that. And like I said, 11 days to go. So you'll be seeing me talking about it some more.

Brad Dowdy: And this is like what you say about going as expected. This is the kind of thing that we were talking about previously. Of actually creating a Kickstarter campaign with the goal in mind to be enough to produce the thing that you want to make. And not doing it so you're just getting in the door. And then hoping you'll get enough excitement that it bumps you up to the level that you actually require to produce the thing.

Myke Hurley: Exactly right. Exactly right. And that's how I have to do projects, right? That's just how I'm built. Not everyone does these types of things the same way. And there's lots of different ways to do it the right way. This just feels like the way that I'm the most comfortable doing.

Brad Dowdy: I think it's the right way. For a lot of products, this makes the most sense.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. I think it's the most respectful to the consumer and your customer and your friends and your supporters.

Myke Hurley: That's always number one. And then number two is everything else I do in the project, right? Number one is be most respectful to the customer. And then number two is figure out everything else that makes number one the focus.

Brad Dowdy: I also think that there is a little bit of respect to the project itself.

Kickstarter Update

Myke Hurley: True.

Brad Dowdy: You know? And you're not going to have to skimp and save on it because you didn't make the money that you needed. Oh, sure. You know? So you're actually staying true to what the thing is. So, you know, and that's like, I think that that is just a very sensible way of doing things for businesses of our size. Right. Rather than like hoping you'll make it up in volume or, you know, having like, actually having a bunch of your own cash that you can invest in it. It's like, no, this is like, this thing needs to happen. I need to raise money for it. I'm going to sell you product at a good price for it. If I don't make the goal, then the thing's never going to get done. Simple as.

Myke Hurley: Yep. Yep.

Myke Hurley: Let's segue into some more, I guess this is customer facing decisions made by a certain company that we love. And I stumbled on this. I forget what I was looking for at the time. I was looking for an answer for something. Oh, I know what I was looking for. It's going to come up later in the King of Pen review that we talk about today. I was looking, I was actually looking for the proper spelling or the proper, you know, pluralization of King of Pen. So we'll hold that for the later section.

Brad Dowdy: Ah, is it King of Pen or King of Pens, right?

Myke Hurley: Well, we're going to, there's a whole thing on that that I didn't even write up. So where do you go to sort this thing out? You go to Sailor's website, right? Mm-hmm. So I jumped on Sailor's website this weekend and I was hit with a homepage.

Myke Hurley: And I didn't share this with you before the document, before I put it in the document. But I haven't talked to you about this. I'm not even going to say what it is yet. But when you click that link, I want to know your thoughts and what you found.

Brad Dowdy: Well, it's, can I say what it is?

Myke Hurley: You can say what it is.

Brad Dowdy: All right. So Sailor have rebranded or at least have tweaked their branding.

Brad Dowdy: I think it looks fantastic. So they've effectively changed the overall look of the anchor. I guess they've kind of made it a little chunkier. There's something about this which kind of says like anime to me. I don't know why. I can't explain why. But I really like the treatment of the new text.

Brad Dowdy: Again, it feels very like open seas to me, the text. There's like an almost like mystical pirate nature to it. That's kind of the way that I'm feeling about it. I like it. I like it a lot.

Myke Hurley: I am a little bit surprised that I agree with you on the anchor. I think the anchor is pretty darn good. Yeah. I didn't expect to say that because if you grabbed one of your pins right now in front of you, Myke, and you know, one of your pro gears and you look at that anchor on the finial, you're like, man, that is a good logo, isn't it? Like we always talk about Sailor's logo.

Brad Dowdy: Now looking at the difference for them, right? Mm-hmm. The old logo just looks like a nice anchor.

Myke Hurley: Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: The new logo is much more stylized. It is. In a way that I like. And I think actually looks a little bit more like a fountain pen nib.

Myke Hurley: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I just, I, the, the lines of the anchor really work for me. They do lose me a little bit in the word mark. I'm not in love with the A.

Brad Dowdy: The A is weird. I will give you that. If I was going to say there's a part of this I don't like, it's the A because they don't have any joining line in the A. Like that go, like the horizontal line in the A, which I think is a weird choice.

Brad Dowdy: Because like in the, in, we've got two links in the show notes. It's only Japanese. But there's one which is the announcement of the branding. And then one which is the website that features the new branding. Mm-hmm. And if you look at the announcement page, they've put the Sailor logo on a horizon line. Yes. And the horizon line puts the line in the A. Yes. And it looks good. It's like, well, that, you can see it's an A. But then when you look in the top left-hand corner, it doesn't have that. And I would say it is missing that. I think that that is the one criticism that I have whilst I do like it overall. The other thing that I like about the logo, Brad, is it looks like it was made with a fountain pen. In the sense that it's like a lot of line whip variation that I like too. But, yeah, I think they've missed a little bit on the A. But overall, I think this is a, I wouldn't say a needed refresh. But I would say a welcome one.

Myke Hurley: Right. And if you go through the translated version, and it's definitely, you can see that the new company, the new ownership has taken some, you know, good looks at what Sailor is doing, and kind of wanted to put their own stamp on it is what I'm guessing this came about. And you saw the exact same thing that I saw. Like the Sailor logo and word mark on the ocean image looks cool. Then you look at the top on the website image, and to me it looks like a stencil. I like, I get the line width variations. I think the word mark is going to grow on me. I'm down with the anchor. Like I really like the anchor. I think it's pretty sharp and pretty clean. And, you know, in the size we see the anchor on the pen, it's going to look very similar. You know, it's going to depend on what they do with like the cap bands and some of the other things. Like when they did the, when Sailor a few years ago tried to over-modernize the, what was it, the Pro Gear lineup with that, I don't even forget the name because it was such a bad pen, and they've closed them out, but they did that really weird shaped clip and just tried to make like, it's basically like Sailor Pro Gear modern version number two. And it just didn't hit. And because the classic design is just that, like it's a classic. Everyone knows what Sailor's clip looks like and what their finial looks like and what their cap bands look like. And then they tried to do this modern version of it and it didn't really play well. So we're just going to have to see where this ends up in the long run. I'm pretty positive on it overall. Like I said, I think we're pretty much on the same page.

Brad Dowdy: I have continued enthusiasm for the new owners of Sailor because all of the early changes that they're making, I agree with. Like the product lines that they've slimmed down, they've trimmed the fat and got rid of the products that don't make any sense, right? So we've seen that already, right, over the last couple of months. I think a modernization or a refresh of the brand is a good idea. Like I was just looking at the old Sailor logo and especially the way that the text was written. It's so boring. Like it doesn't say anything, you know?

Myke Hurley: I'm going to have to see on this, like on the cap bands. Like I'm just looking at the cap bands is my sticking point. Because like you said, you know, on my custom Rialo that I got with the Pizza Planet logo, like we're not many steps away from the Pizza Planet logo on the cap band.

Brad Dowdy: The thing is though, Brad, the Sailor logo on the cap band, like the text logo, is not Sailor's logo. I know, it's a text. It's in a different font. Yeah, I'm with you. So they weren't doing that anyway, which now I think about that is wild to me. The text logo that they have used is not the same as the one that they actually print on the pens. Why do they do that?

Myke Hurley: Now you've got me concerned.

Branding Changes

Brad Dowdy: Right? Because the logo, the old Sailor logo is a sans serif font, right? It's just like a big blocky thing. Like it comes on the... On the cap bands on the pen, they use a serif font.

Myke Hurley: Right. So like the stamping on the box that you get your Sailor pen in is the sans serif gold stamped Sailor. Big chunky. But then the bands are all as a Sailor serif font. So we're going to see, maybe they're going to work on making that more consistent with the new thing. So we'll see. I'm interested to when these are going to start coming off the line, right? Because they're probably still going through the things that we've had.

Brad Dowdy: The website still has products that they're offering which show the old branding, like on the main page, because it's too early, right?

Myke Hurley: Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's got to be next year we'll see our first products, because all these other products have had to be made for a long, long time now. So I think they're just setting it up for next year.

Brad Dowdy: Their new pen. That's the next thing, right? That's what I would expect now. So you've got rid of stuff. You've rebranded. Show me something. That's what I assume will be next.

Myke Hurley: Now you've really got me thinking.

Brad Dowdy: I think it's exciting.

Myke Hurley: I'm wondering what that could be.

Myke Hurley: Okay. Yeah. So anyway, I wanted to share this because I thought it was very interesting. Oh, it is. And like you said, the new, with not necessarily how the design looks from a design perspective, but what the new ownership group is choosing to do. And pretty quickly, like they're ready, it seems like. Well, yeah. They're pushing their vision forward.

Brad Dowdy: Yes and no, right? It's worth remembering that Plus have been a part of Sailor for a long time. Right. So, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the things that they have started doing immediately are things that they have been suggesting Sailor do for a while and Sailor have not done them. And now that they have the majority share, they're like, great, these are all the things that we're doing. Remember that stuff I mentioned six months ago? It's happening now. You know? Yeah. Because that kind of stuff would tie up for me, right? Like, you know, because they so quickly got rid of like the pens. I don't remember the names of them. What I remember is the, is it Milikolo? It was the only one I remember the name of because it's also the only one that I actually remembered. Yeah. And did I get rid of some of the Profit line?

Myke Hurley: Some of it. Yeah. Um, and then, yeah, I, I, I can't remember the name of that. The, the weird, the weird Sailor, but it was, it was actually a very extensive list of things that they were thinning down. But the fact that we don't know them or don't like really, you know, think about those pens probably means it was the right decision to thin those things down. And now that's, that's me being dismissive of like what the, the Japanese in-store stationary market is like and like people walking into the store and, and all the Japanese usage, usage of fountain pens. And, you know, maybe the, you know, the Milikolo or, or some of these other pens like do super well just, you know, from your day-to-day non-fountain pen addict customer.

Brad Dowdy: I feel like if they were doing super well, they would still be available for sale. Right. And they're not anymore.

Myke Hurley: But I, I couldn't agree more on the thinning of the product line. Yeah. Because like, like that's very much trimming the fat of their product line.

Brad Dowdy: I think it's exciting to watch.

Myke Hurley: Yep. So this will probably, you know, if you, if you're tired of hearing us talk about Sailor, you're probably going to want to tune out in 2021 because I think there's going to be a lot of, a lot more changes we're going to see starting, you know, probably February.

Brad Dowdy: We're not even done with Sailor in this episode.

Myke Hurley: That's true. I already forgot about that. And I already, I'd already teased it and then forgot about it. And then, yeah. So we'll get some emails. We'll see.

Brad Dowdy: Let's take a refreshing, a refreshing break from our Sailor coverage and talk about another wonderful pen company and their wares. This episode is brought to you by the Canalea Pen Co. Canalea makes stunningly amazing, beautiful pens inspired by the images of Hoi. Canalea's founders, who's found as you and Carol believe that the locations that they depict in their products can help recharge our spirit and help us connect with nature. While the story behind these pens is wonderful, it's idyllic. The execution is actually what sets them apart. You can have a great story. It's lovely to have. But you've got to actually represent it in the product. That is what Canalea do. Every single Canalea pen is handmade in a process that means no two pens will ever look alike. Because the materials that they use offer such variation from pen to pen. It's unbelievable. And every single nip is hand-tuned before it ships to a customer. By Hugh of Canalea pen company. What you get is something truly unique to you. One of the things, the words that I think about when I think of Canalea pens, which I don't think about this of a lot of other pens, especially in their price range, is luxury.

Brad Dowdy: It is a luxurious experience. You receive something which is unique. You know it has been hand-tuned and refined to make sure it's perfect. And it is shipped to you in the best packaging in the pen community, bar none. So you get a truly luxurious experience. So we spoke about this last week and I want to remind everybody about a brand new pen in the Canalea lineup. It is called Kona Snow. And it is inspired by the life cycle of the Kona coffee plant. Before we get to the red berries that inspired the Kona Cherry pen, which was a previous release from Canalea, the plant's life begins with snow white flowers that are seen for just a few days in the spring. The Canalea Kona Snow is a beautiful pen featuring white acrylic with porous and swirls and rose gold accents throughout the material. To ensure that the pen stays magnificently white, Canalea performed a bunch of tests on it. You may remember I mentioned they submerged the material in Waterman's mysterious blue ink for 24 hours. It saw no discoloration, which is fantastic. Canalea pens feature Joao No. 6 nibs. You can buy a steel or 18 karat gold nib direct from Canalea. They also offer rose gold too, which is the perfect pairing for the Kona Snow. Canalea offers nib sizes from extra fine to 1.1 mm stub. And every pen ships in a beautifully packaged keepsake box. The Kona Snow is available to order right now with the classic flush profile, which is the most popular, the standard profile that you see from Canalea pens. That is available for shipping within a week if your order is placed by November 1st. After November 1st, it will move to their usual four-week window. And all other profiles of the Canalea pen of the Kona Snow are available to order now, but they will ship within four weeks. Canalea is also using the proceeds of the Kona Snow to give back to the communities of Big Island in the Kona area by donating a portion of the proceeds to the Hawaii Food Bank and Hale Hanakahi Emergency Shelter. You can check out the Kona Snow today at canaleapenko.com. That is canaleapenko.com to choose your aloha today. Our thanks to Canalea for their support of this show.

Myke Hurley: Can I make a couple comments? I had one comment I wanted to make, and then as you were talking, I think the list is now like three or four. So number one, I read an article this week about how hard Hawaii is being hit economically right now, either through job loss, with tourism and travel. So these donations that they're making are going to very important causes right now for the island to rely on tourism dollars that are not getting it right now. So these food banks and other charities are very, very important to Hawaii right now. So I think that's very, very cool that they're doing that. Secondly, I completely agree with the packaging aspect of it. It's a joy. Even though I know exactly what I'm getting, Myke, and it's awesome every time. I was like, yeah, this is really happening. It's like still pretty awesome. So I really enjoy that. And third, the feel of the pens, kind of what you're mentioning as part of the ad. It's kind of unlike any. I have a lot of acrylic and handmade turned pens, and they just feel different in the best way possible. Like the quality, like you can feel it the minute you pick it up. So very happy with all my Canalea pens. So thank you for sponsoring the show. Appreciate it. All right, Myke. Yes. On the list of products I love, have owned for years, and had yet to review, I ticked off another one. So the first one was the Y Studio Brassing Fountain Pen, one of my all-time favorite pens. And also on that list was Sailor King of Pen. Like for all that I talk about the Sailor King of Pen, all that I use it, all that I love it, I've never actually done a proper review of it on the blog. So I corrected that this week. Although I kind of would say it's really not a proper review. And that was one of the challenges and one of the reasons I held up on reviewing it for so long, because I don't know that I can actually review this pen. And I have to almost separate this review into two parts or at least two segments or two ideas of one, my personal thoughts and use on the pen. And number two, the idea of the king of pen. So I took this post as more of a discussion around the idea of the king of pen and then tried to kind of relate a little bit how I feel and why I feel the way I do about it. But also having the reality check of all the problems that come along with the king of pen. The first of which, Myke, is how to spell king of pen.

Myke Hurley: That is the great unanswered question out of this review, Myke. So I learned it as king of pen. Okay. That's what I've always called it. That's what I learned it as from, you know, reading about it years and years ago and following the pen and then eventually owning now four of them. King of pen. So I said, you know what? I'm going to write this. I need to verify that it's not king of pens, I think is the second option.

Brad Dowdy: If you're pluralizing.

Myke Hurley: Yes. But is a singular. Do I own a king of pens pro gear? Sky. Oh. So that's what I wanted to try to figure out. So I go to Sailor's site and I was like, I'm going to look. I mean, what better place to look than all of Sailor's product models? And, you know, they have the inventory of all their pens on there. And you know what they call it in most places on their site? The KOP. They don't even spell it out. I was so mad. So I found several places where they referred to the idea of the pen in quotes as king of pens. Yeah. Plural. But there's no clear product listing that says king of pen or king of pens. They all say KOP. Which was endlessly frustrating. So then the next thing you do is you go look at retailers. Right? Because they're getting the most direct information usually from, you know, the product marketing and the retail marketing. Right? You usually copy exactly what the brand you're buying from, how they call the thing, how they call the product. There's a lot of king of pens out there. Right. But there's a lot of king of pen out there too. So I'm flummoxed. So I didn't really go in and commit either way, like saying this is definitively right or wrong. I just went with what I've always called it, which is king of pen. And it feels like the right name to me. Do you have any statements on this? The silliest part of this entire review?

Brad Dowdy: I would say king of pens.

Myke Hurley: So?

Brad Dowdy: If I was pluralizing.

Myke Hurley: So what is your tangerine 1911?

Brad Dowdy: What are you asking?

Myke Hurley: I want you to say the full name of your tangerine 1911.

Brad Dowdy: Okay. Sailor 1911, king of pen tangerine.

Myke Hurley: But not king of pens tangerine.

Brad Dowdy: No. If there was.

Brad Dowdy: So if I was saying. If I wanted to say two of those. I would say sailor 1911 tangerine king of pens. Nope. That's what I would say though. You asked me what would I say.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But when you have a product listing at a retailer. You're purchasing the king of pens.

Myke Hurley: At many retailers. I'm buying one sailor king of pens tangerine.

Brad Dowdy: Hmm.

Myke Hurley: This is an entire show. Like I'm not even kidding. But I tried. I tried. To get the definitive answer. So I'm just going to have to get. You know. Someone who knows more than me. On the origination of the name. Because there's too much. Of pen and pens out there to be.

Myke Hurley: Definitive one way or the other.

King of Pen Discussion

Myke Hurley: I. For some reason I learned it as king of pen. Because I thought originally it should be king of pens.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah.

Myke Hurley: Right. This is the king of pens. This is what we're making. We're making like. We're making a statement with this pen. It is the king of all pens. Right. But. It makes a lot of sense.

Myke Hurley: If you think about it. That it's. The king of pen. The way they word it and phrase it and market it. So I don't know. Anyway. So. With that out of the way. What I was trying to do here. Is just. Kind of have. A. Stream of consciousness. Conversation about this pen. What I think about it. Like. How much I love it. Contrasted. With. How much. I've been on record saying. How it's like. One of the most overpriced pens on the market. Right. So like. That's my two. Kind of. Differing points. I was trying to explain. So. One of the. Ways. I went about it. Was. Trying to describe. What makes up. The cost. Of a pen. Just in. In general terms. And I came up. With. Three. Kind of. Major buckets. That. Are the. Driving price factors. It's materials. You know. Yeah. Not just barrel. Barrel materials. But nib materials. Mechanics. You know. Is. There's a piston filler. Or a vac filler. That has. More extensive mechanics. And then. Craftsmanship. You know. How much. Handwork. Is in it. Like a. A rushi pen. Versus a machine. That comes off a. Injection molding. Line. Right. So.

Myke Hurley: That's always been. The kicker. For me. With. The king of pen.

Myke Hurley: Is. There's things. That it's very special. About it. The size of it. It's. It's a. You know. Imposing pen. The.

Brad Dowdy: What makes it so good. And we said this many times. Is that. It doesn't feel like it's being big. For the sake of being big. Because the entire pen. Is scaled. Accurately. Like. If you took a picture. Like. If I showed someone a picture. Of the. This king of pen. That you've taken here. There is nothing to say. That that is not a regular sized pen. Correct. It gives no hint. Of the fact. That there is. A large size to it. Which is why. The first time I ever saw one. I just started laughing. Because it looked like. Like. A pen for a giant. Or that Brad. Yeah. Was a very small person. Holding a regular sized pen.

Myke Hurley: But when you put it in your hand. It's not. No. It's big. But it's not too much. Right. It's. That's almost impossible to. Explain in writing. In writing a review saying. This is a big pen. That. Is one of the best. Writing experiences. From comfort and feel. In your hand. Yep. It just is. That's why I bring this pen. Everywhere. So. I can let people. Test it out. And. That's when you usually go. Oh. I get it. Like. I understand this now. Mm-hmm. Um. It's still extraordinarily expensive. And. Like. That's the hardest thing I have about this. The king of pen. Is. Is justifying the cost. Like. This is not something you can justify the cost. And you'll yell at me. It's like. This is a luxury item. You don't have to justify the cost. And I. I agree with that. Right. Anything over. Over your Bic. Or your G2. Is a luxury pen. You don't have to justify the cost. For buying something that you like. That's very expensive. But. I'm also in a position where. I spend a lot of money on a pen. And I'm expected to say why. And I'm. I'm like. Happy to do that. Like. I want to figure these things out. For other people too. Yeah. And this is one. That it's. Like. I can tell you why. And none of that adds up. To how expensive this pen is. Right. That's the challenge. In doing. Like. A proper pen review. Of the Sailor King of Pen. Right. There's not a technical detail. Review. That can be written about the King of Pen. Right. The King of Pen. Is like an idea. Or a feel. And it's not something that can be really captured. In words. Which is why I didn't review it for so long. Despite being one of my single most used pens. And one we talk about. All the time.

Brad Dowdy: Because it is super difficult. Because. As you very rightly put. In your review. And as you've kind of said. A little bit here. It's like. It's. It's very difficult. To justify. Why this costs. What it costs. Yes. So. Like. Because it is made of plastic. Right. So. When you're talking about the materials. It's. It's a plastic pen. Right. It's an acrylic pen. And which. You know. That can. Mean a lot of things. If it has a look to it. Which makes it look expensive. But they don't. Right. They look. Quite frankly. Most of the time. A King of Pen. Is just a larger version. Of a Pro Gear. That they are already selling. So. This is. It doesn't have any different look to it. At all. It's just bigger.

Myke Hurley: This is. This is what happened. In the. In my. Dealings with the King of Pen. I fell in love. With the original King of Pins. That were. The big. Torpedo shaped. They were just called King of Pen. At the time. You can still get those. And they're. Yeah. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: Mostly. Rushi. Or Ebonite. Or something. Yeah. And they're over a thousand dollars.

Myke Hurley: Fifteen hundred dollars. And things like that. And those are the ones I fell in love with. And I was like. Oh. I will never own that. Because. Number one. It's very expensive. And number two. They were very. They're honestly very basic. That's. But that's. Those were craftsmanship pens. Right. And then. Sailor. Decided. Well. We're making. These really great colors. Like the Sky. Which. I reviewed. And they're making the Sky. In the Pro Gear Slim. And the Pro Gear Standard. Well. Why can't we just make. An even bigger. Pro Gear. And use the. The King of Pen nib. That we've used for these other. You know. Ebonite and Arushi pens. And have a lower price. King of pen. So it's almost like. They. They marketed to me. Saying. Oh. Brad loves. This fifteen dollar. Fifteen hundred dollar pen. But what if we made an orange one. And charged half the price. And it'd still be seven hundred fifty dollars. Yep. And it's made out of plastic. And Brad would be all over that. And I'll be darned. They were right. Right. So.

Brad Dowdy: But then. You know. Like you're saying about the. I really also liked what you were saying. About the filling system. And your quote. I quote. You wrote. You know. Because you're like. Saying what are the mechanics of the pen. Which is how you. Kind of. Kind of defined it. And you basically. It's essentially a lack of mechanics. There isn't anything. Right. I mean. It has a different look to it. I don't know why. It looks so weird. Like it has that huge. Extension. From the grip section. Which the converter goes into. I've never understood. Exactly what is going on. With that. And why it's so aggressive looking. Compared to other pens. But all you're doing is. Is sticking a regular converter. Into this thing. Yeah. There's nothing special about it. At all.

Myke Hurley: Mm-mm. Mm-mm. So it's hard to write about. But I wanted to put the thoughts down. So I could at least link to it sometimes. When we talk about it here. Mm-hmm. To say like. You know. If you want me to recommend. The King of Pen to you. You're probably talking to the wrong person. Yeah. And here's why.

Brad Dowdy: I really think this is a pen. That you can only know you want. If you've used it. I would never recommend somebody. Buy a King of Pen. Having never used a King of Pen. Or at least held one. Because until I. I actually tried one. I didn't get it. Didn't make any sense to me. I thought it was hilarious. And then I put pen to paper. And I was like. Oh.

Brad Dowdy: It's quite special. Like the nibs. Are so wild. But they're excellent. Mm-hmm. Right. Like what is the size number?

Myke Hurley: Um. Nine. Right. But I don't know how to relate that to. Well I've never. I've never come across that number before. Mm-hmm. So Pilot has like a number 10 nib. And a number 15 nib. That's even larger. Oh my god. But then like some other companies. Will have make a giantly large nib. And not really call it a number. So it's a little bit hard to. To match up one to one. But just know that it's a very. Very very large nib. And the best part about it. Having used a Pelican. M1000. Which is their largest model. That nib is very very soft. And while a 21 karat gold nib. This size in the King of Pen. Is also soft. It's not really bouncy. It's like the ultimate writing pen. For me. Um. And my writing style. In that it doesn't really bounce around. Like and have the flex. Like a M1000 nib. Which is what it gets compared to some. Right. And also the Montblanc 149 nib. That's close to that too. And it's just a little bit. A little bit tighter. A little bit better feel. Than those.

Brad Dowdy: I feel like. So. I might be getting a little high concept here. But to me. The King of Pen. Is like. One of the ultimate.

Brad Dowdy: Examples. Of what this. Hobby is all about. Because. It's. It's. More expensive. Than you would expect it to be. In looking at it. Which I think is the same. For basically all good pens. If you don't know. About this. If you. If you have no conception. For what it's like. To like fountain pens. All fountain pens. Are too expensive. Right.

Brad Dowdy: It. And it really is. A. Experience. That you feel. It. And I think. That's really. Like. It does something. It does something. In those two elements. Of like. The value. Being so out of whack. Even to people. Inside of the pen community. I think. Makes it kind of like. A perfect encapsulation. Of the entire fountain pen hobby. From the outside. Right. That like. Everything seems too expensive. But once you use it. You'll get it. And I feel like. That is exactly. What the King of Pen is. It seems too expensive. Once you use it. You really understand it. And then you buy multiple ones.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. I don't know why. I like this pen so much. Because like. I'm the first. To like. Criticize it. But it just really. Really works for me. In. In. Every single way. Except the cost. But that hasn't. Stopped me. Apparently. So. Yeah. I don't know. Myke. Like. Again. I could just talk about this pen. All day. Because it's just. Such an interesting.

Myke Hurley: Idea. I honestly. I think sailors. Like super nailed. This pen. Product. Doing. When they. Once they. Expanded it. Into the pro gear. And the 1911. Lineup. Because they were going from. You know. 350. 400 dollar pens. Like if you bought. The most expensive. Rialos. To over a thousand dollars. For the King of Pen. And like. They had this high end gap. That they chose. To fill with this. And it seemed like. It's probably the right answer. Like it certainly. It certainly looks awesome. Like you know. When they show it. And like I said. You know. There's certain pens. If they ever released them. In a King of Pen model. I'd probably buy that too. That's just kind of. One of my things. So. Good stuff.

Brad Dowdy: This episode. Is brought to you. By Express VPN. In the physical world. In the real world. If you want privacy. You close a door. Right. But online. Doors are left open. Everywhere we go. Using the internet. Without Express VPN. Is like never closing doors. Behind you. Your ISP. You know. Companies like Comcast. Or Verizon. If you're in the US. But you know. There are ISPs. All over the world. They know every website. That you visit. They want to. This data could be sold. Your information. Could be sold. To ad companies. Tech companies. So they would get more information. About you. You don't have to be giving away. That information. Express VPN. Can help you create. A secure encrypted tunnel. Between your device. And the internet. So your online activity. Can't be seen by anyone. Express VPN. Works on everything. From phones. To laptops. Even routers. So everyone who shares your Wi-Fi. Can still be protected. Even if they don't have. Express VPN. On their device. That is a pro move. And the best part is. Using Express VPN. Is as easy as closing a door. You just fire up the app. And click a button. And you're protected. And Express VPN. Is rated the best. Number one. By CNET. Wired. The Verge. And countless others. Some sites that I trust. Sites that you trust. I use Express VPN myself. The experience. Is so simple. And the speed. Stays so consistent. That's why I love using it. Because I don't feel like. I'm being. Penalized. For wanting to use a VPN. Because things run nice. And smoothly. And it's super easy. To connect. If like me. You think your online activity. Is your business. Secure yourself. By going to. Express VPN. Dot com. Slash. Penaddict. Today. That is. E-X-P-R-E-S-S-V-P-N. Dot com. Slash. Penaddict. And you can get an extra. Three months. For free. That's. Express VPN. Dot com. Slash. Penaddict. Our thanks to Express VPN. For their support. Of this show. And Relay FM.

Myke Hurley: So what's funny. About the king of pen. Myke. Is. That we can have. That conversation. And then we can have it. In the same context. As. The product. We're going to talk about next.

Myke Hurley: Which. I have a lot to say about. And love. And was. A quarter of the price. So like. These are the things. I think about all the time. So. Let's get into. A new to me product. And I'm assuming. New to you product. This is a fountain pen. From a company called. Rockstar. And. What I find. Interesting. Before I even get into. The product itself. Is. How I came about. This pen. And. I did something. That I rarely. Ever do. And. I can't remember. The last time I did it. But. Somehow. One of. Rockstar's. Fountain pen images. Showed up in my Instagram feed. I wasn't following Rockstar. Maybe. I don't think it was an ad. I think someone maybe. It was you know. Like one of the people I follow. You know. Maybe it was tagged. Somehow. Somehow I saw it. And then this one. Do you follow hashtags? Yeah. I follow the pen addict hashtag. So I don't know if they use the pen addict hashtag in there. That's only. That's the only. Like on this picture I'm looking at. The pen addict hashtag isn't in there.

Myke Hurley: So yeah. I'm. I don't know how I found it. Originally. But it was this one pen that I ended up ordering. And. Because it completely. Knocked my socks off. And. The quick version of what I ordered is. It's called the troubleshooter. And it's this black.

Myke Hurley: Celluloid. Acetate. It's. It's just really finished. The material is really unique. The translucency is cool. It's kind of swimming through the barrel. And it has this red ring. On the finial. We'll have this link in the show notes. And.

Myke Hurley: You know. Well. You can take a look at this. And.

Myke Hurley: I just. Opened up. Instagram. And saw this. And I went over. And messaged. Rockster pens. And said. I would like to make a purchase of this pen. Please. And. The. The maker. Ash. Who is in Wales. Myke.

Brad Dowdy: I know. I was very pleased to see that. Yeah.

Myke Hurley: Nice. Nice. Beautiful area. Of. The kingdom. Over there. And. Ash. Got right back to me. Said. Yeah. I have like a. Two to three week. Waiting list. I said. Just send me an invoice. When you're ready to roll. This is exactly what I want. And he said. What nib size. And. That was it. Two to three.

Brad Dowdy: So you saw this one. Which was a commission. And you were like. I want. Make me that one. Yep. Okay.

Myke Hurley: Yep. And like. That was it. Like. I did it. Within like. Minutes. Of seeing a pen. And I haven't. I can't tell you the last time. That I've done that. Made that type of purchase. Online. Right. This is what you do at a pen show.

Brad Dowdy: I can tell you the last time I did it. I did it once. And it was. It was the primary manipulation. Eastman. From Newton pens. Yeah. I saw it. He posted one. Sean Newton posted one. And I messaged him. And said. Sean. I want that pen. Please. Can you make me that.

Myke Hurley: Please. Right. So. Like. My point in all of this. Is this is what we're missing. At pen shows. Right. This is something. I would have ended up at. With a pen show. If I happen to see Rockster. And got to talk to Ash. And got to look at all the pens. On the. On the table. Like I've done with. You know. Matthew Martin. At the Atlanta pen show. And like. Countless of other. Like. Small makers. You know. That I've bought things from. At pen shows. Because you get to see them. You get to talk. You get to handle them. Yeah. And then you can get to decide. Oh. Does this fit. You know. Me. And then boom. You know. The next thing you knew. You spent money on the pen. Like. That's how pen shows go. For this discovery. This is the first time. I just got. Something off of Instagram. That I saw. Knew I had to have. And asked someone to buy it. So. It was a totally different experience. For me. Like. I'm surprised. I don't do this more. Honestly. But you know. I can't buy everything. But this one. Like. I could not buy it. So. Did you go through. These pictures. So. This is like. This isn't my pen. But mine's exactly like this. Did you see. The inspiration for this pen. Myke.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I did. Yeah.

Myke Hurley: So. Ash's dog. Is named Rocky. And. If you scroll through. Like. The fourth picture. On this. We'll have it in the show notes. I suggest you go look. The inspiration. Is. His schnauzer. Rocky. Rocky. Who is. Black and gray. And has a red collar. And that's. I mean. That didn't sell me the pen. But that did not sell me the pen either. Right. Do you know. That's true.

Brad Dowdy: Because I was looking through. The Rockstar Pens page and stuff. The blanks. Are they buying them? Are they making them? Like the materials?

Myke Hurley: See. I didn't even get that far. Right. But the materials are such that I don't really see them. My guess. And this is. An unresearched guess. Is that they're buying them. That they're buying rods. And then turning the pens from the rods. Right. Like. I see some. That I've. Some materials that I've seen in other places. Okay. But like this material. I have not seen. And a lot of the materials. I have not seen. But that. You know. I'm. I can be very wrong. On that. Without reading all that. But I knew. Like this material was unique. And. The way the pen was finished. Looked fantastic. And. I love the red ring idea.

Brad Dowdy: So there's one pen called the ring leader. On the page. This is why I asked this question. Because I just assumed that was the case. But it says. This is the first of a new model. And is made from in-house cast. Orange flare resin. Well there you go. But this is. So it sounds like both. I think it's a mix of both. So I wondered if you knew. Because I was just. I was just intrigued. Because some of the. Some of the pens.

Brad Dowdy: They have very attractive.

Brad Dowdy: Acrylic. Yes. So this. This particular one. It's not a knock. If they are buying them. Right.

Myke Hurley: Like not by any stretch of the imagination. I was just trying to get the information. Yeah. Yeah. You want all the information. So mine. I'm guessing. Is not. In-house made. Because it's a cellulose. And not everyone. Can just make that. In their garage. That's tricky. I think that's a.

Brad Dowdy: The Edison type stuff. Right. That's a lot of that.

Myke Hurley: Solulose isn't it. Maybe. It's not the basic acrylic. Material. That you get in. Within a lot of the other pens. Yeah.

Myke Hurley: So yeah. So there you go. It looks like there are some in-house. But there's definitely some. Bought as well. But. Which is great. So anyway. I don't know why I'm telling you all this about this pen. Other than I love to talk about pens and discovery. And like I'm certainly not the first Rockstar customer. And I hope I'm not the last. Because I like what they make. But I thought it was interesting that I.

Myke Hurley: Made a purchase like this. That I haven't had.

Myke Hurley: In a while. And I think it's because we're not having pen shows right now. To be perfectly honest. Like I would totally do this at a pen show. Right. But it was a new experience for me to just see something online. Say wow. That's exactly my type of pen. And hey. May I buy this from you. And that was it.

Brad Dowdy: Very nice.

Myke Hurley: Very cool. Very cool. Nice discovery. So yeah. So I got it. I opened it up yesterday. Inked it up. With a red ink. To match the red ring. At the behest of the Twitch stream. It's Robert Oster red candy. It's a very very good ink. And I've been using this pen. It's got the black. Bach. You know the black. Plated Bach nib. So it's just a really really cool. Look. It's right up my alley. Very happy with the pen. The quality. The price. I want to say. I don't have my receipt. So I don't have the full. The final. Cost. With the currency. Conversions. But I'm guessing it was around. Between 160 and 180 bucks. Like. That's exactly. The perfect price range. For these type of pens. Like. There's. That's. That's an easy decision. To make at that price point. So yeah. It was fantastic. Very happy with this pen.

Brad Dowdy: All right. Brad mentioned earlier. We have a bunch of us. TPA questions. To do today. And the first one. Comes from Alisio. So Brad. Listening to your show. I often hear you say. I need. Or will buy this pen. Probably now. You consider. New pen. Purchases. Part of your business. But before you were running. This is a formal business. How would you finance. Purchasing so many pens. And stationery. Would you limit yourself. To what you would use. And finish them. Before purchasing new products. Or would you buy over budget. On a monthly basis. So. What do you have? What do you think about this Brad? I have thoughts too.

Myke Hurley: But what do you think? Yeah. So. They're asking. Kind of in the before times. Like. When I was. You know. This wasn't. My job. Necessarily. But. I was still. You know. Running the blog. And doing all these things. And getting access to a lot of products. So how would I. Basically. Manage my own purchases. And. You know. Stationery usage. It was mostly. Budgetary. Not. My. My ideas have never been. Um. You know. Complete usage. Of everything. Before I buy the next thing. Right. Like with fountain pens. And things. And general pens. Regular pens. Gel ink pens. It doesn't really work that way. I've always been. Very interested. In the discovery. Of a new product. And how it compared to. Existing. Really good products. That I love. And. I would just. Manage. The ones. I thought. I would like. The most. On a list. And then. Just kind of. Tick off that list. As I had. The budget. To make those purchases. So. Never overextend. And I. I never overextended. On anything. You know. I had. You know. A regular job. At the time. And you know. I had the money. To. To buy these things. But I never went. Crazy. You know. I never put things. On credit. Or. Did anything wild. I never. There was never. A product. That I had to have. That was going to break. The budget. And I chose to break. The budget. To. To purchase. So. I'm definitely. Very budget conscious. I still am. To this day. Even though I have access. To a lot more stuff. I get a lot more free stuff. I get a lot of stuff sent to me. So I have access. To a lot of stuff. But then. You know. I still. For my pens. For personal use. Like. I still make decisions. Like. I don't want to spend the money on this. And I do want to spend the money on that. So it's all budget based. For me. In general.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I. I guess. A mix of both. I also. For this kind of stuff. I don't. I still don't subscribe. To the idea. Of like. I'll use it. And like. And then when I'm completely bored of this. I'll buy something else. I think budget is a good thing. To do. To understand. How much you can actually. Really afford to spend on this stuff. And try and stick to it. And allow yourself. To go over. When necessary. But also then. Recoup that. The next month. Right. Like. If your budget is 300. And you spend 500. One month. Don't spend 300. The next month. And trying to have some. Self-control is good.

Brad Dowdy: I. Have been. Having to do this. And pay more attention to this. Now that I'm interested. In another new hobby. Which is. Mechanical keyboards. So I'm being very conscious of that. One of the streamers. That I watch. His name is Alex Otos. He always says this thing. Which I actually really like. Which is. Don't. Buy something. Unless you have the money. To buy it three times.

Buying Decisions

Myke Hurley: Yeah. That's. That's a good. Perspective. To think about. If you're considering a purchase. Yeah. I like that. I'm. I'd say that's. Kind of how. Without. Realizing it. That's probably how. How I am with purchases. Right.

Brad Dowdy: That makes a lot of sense. You know. The thing I think is more important. I like that as an idea. You can't always have that. Like as a thing. But you will sometimes.

Brad Dowdy: The bigger thing for me. Is. And we said this so many times. On this show. Is. Don't buy this stuff. Out of money. You don't have. Don't buy it on credit cards. If you can't pay for it off. The next month. Never buy it on like. A loan account. Right. Like. You have to be able to afford this stuff. If you can't. You won't be able to enjoy it. I think that's the real thing for me. Is because. It's going to become. A burden. And then you don't get to enjoy it. And there's so much great stuff. In this. Fountain pen. Pen community. That isn't the mega expensive stuff. You don't need the mega expensive stuff. All the time. To be able to enjoy this. You know what I mean? Yep.

Myke Hurley: I completely agree. Yeah. I mean. You know. This gets all into like. You know. Using versus collecting. And all of these things. So. You got to figure some of these things out. Lay a little bit of groundwork. Yeah. You know. I've made. I've certainly made some mistakes. Oh. In purchases. You know. We're all going to make those mistakes. Um. But I feel like. I've gotten into. A better place now. Of understanding my needs. And where. I'm spending good money. And not spending bad money.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I completely agree. Look. And like. Make those. You got to make the mistakes. Make the mistakes. But learn from them. Don't go crazy. And blame yourself for it. But like. Just learn from them. And then it's okay. To make the mistakes. Yep. Yep.

Brad Dowdy: All right. We have a question. That comes from Florence. And Florence says. I'm having some fountain pen troubles. The cartridge is emptying itself. I've cleaned the pen. Hasn't worked. I've let it soak in vinegar. To remove dry ink. And clean it again. Still hasn't worked. I'm not sure what else I could do. Do you have any ideas?

Myke Hurley: So. I apologize to Florence. For not getting back sooner. To this question. Because I. I. I had to think a lot about it. And. There was an image. And.

Myke Hurley: So. Cartridges. They can. They can. They can evaporate. Being sealed up. And then they can evaporate. Even quicker. Without usage. When they are.

Myke Hurley: In a pen. And it's just kind of the nature. Of how. The ink cartridges work. But I think the problem. Which Florence was having. Which. I still haven't wrapped my head around. On was. It was almost. Sweating out. Of the cartridge. Like there was almost. Something in the barrel. So. I don't know. If anyone's ever experienced. Anything like this. I think a lot of us. Have experienced. Like cartridge ink vanishing. Like when we. Hey. I haven't used this pen. And why is this cartridge. Now half. Full. Like. I think a lot of us. Have seen this. But what Florence was explaining. I haven't experienced. And I'm wondering. If anyone else did. And it just. Honestly. I don't know. That there is a solution. Other than. You just need to try. Something different. Try different cartridges. You know. Try different converters. Things like that. And. I'm curious. On what the environment. Was like. Was it very hot? Was it very cold? Or was there a change. In. In environmental issues. Around that. But it was really strange. In that it was more. More of a. For lack of a better term. Sweating out. Than an evaporation. And. I just found that interesting. And wanted to keep this question in here. Because I don't have an answer. But I'm curious. If anyone else has ever seen that. And what. What brought that about. So. Yeah. Let me know. You know. Y'all can hit me up. Myke. Myke. Myke knows all my. All my deets. At the. At the end of the show. So we'll give you all the ways to contact me. But I'm. I'm curious. So. And I. Florence. It's been a long time. Since you asked this question. If you have any follow up. Let me know.

Myke Hurley: Sorry. I'm terrible.

Brad Dowdy: All right. Today's show is brought to you by Pen Chalet. They sell authentic. Amazing. Roller balls and fountain pens. Mechanical pencils and ball points. They have all of the accessories you're looking for. Maybe you want a carrying case or a pen holder. Maybe you need some refills or some converters. Some ink. They got it all. They have all of your favorite brands. And they're doing great discounts all the time. So every month. They're having multiple discounts. Close out specials. They're always adding new products as well. There's always something going on. At Pen Chalet. They have very fast. Very reliable customer service. And they back everything up. Of a 100% satisfaction guarantee. On their high quality pens. That they sell. At low prices. They sell internationally. With great shipping rates. But if you're in the US. And you order over $50. You will get free shipping. On your order. We love Pen Chalet. Here at the Pen Addict. They've got everything that we're looking for. Whenever I want to buy a new pen. I go to Pen Chalet first. Because I know I'm going to get a great experience. And also. Because. You can get the best prices. And Pen Addict listeners. Get even better prices. Because you can save. 10% on anything. At any time. At Pen Chalet. When you go to Pen Chalet. Pen Chalet.com. Click the podcast link. At the top of the website. And enter the password. Pen Addict. You will get this code. As well as access. To some special offers. Just for Pen Addict listeners. What do we have this week? Brad?

Myke Hurley: I am. Really interested. In what it is. About. A red stripe. Around the barrel. That does it for me so much. The Conklin Empire. I have not tried this pen. The price of this pen. Is ridiculous. And all I see. Is the red stripe. On the cap band. I was like. Man. That looks good. And then you scroll down. Myke. There is even a better looking one. Like that one is good. Up top. It is called Oatmeal. This one down here. What is the name of this? It has this really wild. Red and blue acrylic. Look. Harlequin. Harlequin is the color. And it has also got that red stripe. But Myke. What I am most interested in. Is a different Conklin. Which I have never seen before. And it is almost.

Myke Hurley: Like just a throw in blindly price. It is called the Conklin mini graph. And I am wondering. Is this a mini fountain pen. From Conklin. Because it looks like. It might not be much bigger. Oh it is tiny. I will say it this way. It looks like it might be bigger. A slightly bigger version. Of the Kaweco Lilliput. Like a more usable. Mm-hmm. Version. Of the Kaweco Lilliput. And it has a clip. Already built into it. Which I know a lot of people like. On the Lilliput. This is intriguing. I have never seen this pen. It's five inches posted. I want this pen.

Brad Dowdy: So.

Myke Hurley: It's very small. Very small. And. As is the price Myke. The price. Very small. Is very small. That's a five inch price. You should buy that pen. Yeah. So. Yeah. Really good. And then you just keep scrolling forever. And then you get into all your Pelicans. And your Lammys. And your Diplomats. And your Platinums. And your. All your amazing stuff. So yeah. That is.

Myke Hurley: That is interesting. That is compelling. I am interested in that pen. I'll have to look into that more.

Brad Dowdy: Penchalet.com. P-E-N-C-H-A-L-E-T.com. Click the podcast link. At the top of the website. And enter the password. Pen Addict. To see these deals. And to get that 10% off. At any time. At Penchalet. Our thanks. To Penchalet. For their support. Of this show. And Relay FM. Alright. So our next question. Comes from Nick. Says. It might seem weird. But I was wondering. What is the best refill. To take notes. On your arm. Fisher Space Pen. Does a pretty good job. It feels a bit dry. Extra points. For not being removed. Easily with water. Also needs to be fine. To write text. Brad. I just want to offer. Up here. Nick. If you want to go hardcore. Use a Sharpie.

Myke Hurley: I love this question so much. I mean. I love Nick already. But I love this question so much. Because there is thought. Into this question.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I mean. I'm just going to say. I really recommend. Not doing this. But if it's something. You need to do. For some reason. I mean. I'm sticking by Sharpie Brad. I think that's. That's it.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. I think it's fair to have a disclaimer. On this. No. Which is fine. No. It's fine. No. No. No.

Brad Dowdy: Just use the Sharpie. It's fine. I don't know what the problem is.

Myke Hurley: The Sharpie is obviously a great choice. But the Sharpie Ultra Fine. Not the marker. The standard Sharpie. Yeah. The big felt tip. You want to use the needly tip. Because you're still going to get. Like some feathering. On your skin. That's just going to happen. But I'm curious about a certain pen.

Myke Hurley: And that. Oh man. I just totally blanked on the name. I have to look it up. But basically.

Myke Hurley: Pilot makes a pen. That's designed to write. On all kinds of surfaces. Like including glass. But it like. It writes on paper. It writes on glass. And. It's not a marker. It's a roller ball. With roller ball type ink. And it makes me wonder. If this would work. In that situation. The oil base pens. Like. The Fisher Space Pen Refill. Is still. I think. Going to be the best choice. If you're not. Going to use. A Sharpie. But. Gosh. I'm sorry. I'm blanking on. On the link. I should have put it in the show notes. Beforehand. But there is a. There is a pen. Designed. To write on glass. And. Like. Pottery. And like. Fabric. It's all this. This pen. And I just think. That might be. Something to work. Worth looking at. So let me. I will find that. We'll put it in the show notes. Afterwards. Or I'll email it to Nick. Or something. But. Yeah. It's a. Interesting pen. We'll see if it pops into my head here. I haven't had enough coffee yet. Myke.

Brad Dowdy: Twitless Dan asks. Is there a Parker style refill. That would fit the Karas Customs. EDK V2. With copper ink.

Myke Hurley: I have never seen a copper ink. Ballpoint style refill. Or gel. Parker style refill. With a copper ink. Like. That's pretty cool. Like. I think that would be an awesome idea. The best I can tell you. Is Monteverde's. Parker style gel refills. Come in a lot of colors. Like. You can get oranges. And greens. And purples. And teals. And things like that. But I have never seen a copper. Refill like that. You would just have to buy. You know. A. A gel. Like. Some gel. Some off brand gel pens. You can get in a copper ink. But those refills. Aren't going to fit. The EDK. So. I think that's just a match. That does not exist. But you can get. At least some interesting. Parker style refills. With the Monteverde gel refill. It will fit that. And. At least be something. Even though it won't be copper.

Brad Dowdy: Greg Coe asks. Do you find that caps. Unturned acrylic pens. Come loose in your pocket easily. I have a couple. And the caps don't seem to stay on. So I'm nervous carrying them. In my pocket.

Myke Hurley: I get this. Like. I get this idea. And I get that this happens. And I just don't see it enough. To where. That it's been a consideration. For me. That it would prevent me. From carrying the pen. And if I like the pen enough. I wouldn't carry it in my pocket. Right. Like. I. I would agree. That this could be a problem.

Myke Hurley: For. Like a technical problem. It's like. Okay. If I put this specific. Acrylic pen. In my jeans pocket. And. The cap comes a little bit loose.

Myke Hurley: I would agree. That that can be a problem. But I would just solve it. By not doing that. I mean. I know that sounds stupid. Right. Yeah. But. I'm serious. When I say that. It was like. Okay. Well. Then I'm going to.

Brad Dowdy: The pen to carry around. In your pocket.

Myke Hurley: Right. Like. I don't think there's a solution. Like. You're not going to want to grease. The threads. Or anything like that. To. To make it a tighter fit. Or put. You know. Like plumber's tape. On the. In the cap. So. The threads don't thread. That you just carry it in your pocket. Or a pen case. Or a bag. And I. I mean this in. In the nicest way possible. Like. You just. You just don't do that. And. And. You know. I. Because you want to use the pen. Clearly. Right. And. If it's going to be your carry pen. You. Find the way. To carry it better. Not. Manipulate the pen. So. It stays better in your pocket. And make the writing. The using of the pen experience worse. So. I don't know that there's a solution. There is definitely. A problem. I find it more on metal. On metal pens. If. The threads. You know. If I'm carrying it in my pocket. The threads. Tend to come loose more. Than acrylics.

Myke Hurley: But. If that's the case. Well then I'll just. I'll. I'll do something different. And. So. I think that's. Probably not the advice. You're looking for. But I think it's. I think it's the best answer. I. I think you just. Don't do that.

Brad Dowdy: I think this is maybe. A.

Brad Dowdy: Quality thing.

Brad Dowdy: Right. Like. Yes. I feel like. This is this thing where. There is. Varying levels. Of. What a turned acrylic pen. Means. Where it's coming from. Who's making it. And what they're pricing it at. And especially. On the threading. This is someone who is. Who made this pen. Is. Would not be particularly. Like very well experienced. Or. Is charging a high amount. I don't know that to be the truth. But I would imagine. That's the thing. Just because I've known people. That have like. Started out doing this. And I've seen their pens. And the threads have been a bit. Not great. But they get better at it over time. Because this is a tricky thing to do. The threading is hard to do. And get right. That's from the sense of like. Making it smooth. Making sure the cap stays in place. And not having too many threads. Like you see. I see this quite a lot. Like the way that people try and solve it. Is by having too many threads. Right. And that makes the uncapping of the pen a nightmare. Because you're just unscrewing it forever. You know.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. There can definitely be some QC threading issues. It's not easy. No. To make that part. So yeah. Like I. But I. My point in all of this. Is I wouldn't try to fix. The cap. Threading coming loose. In your pocket. No. Because you're going to be less happy. With actually using the pen. If that makes sense. Right. Yeah. Like. You might fix it. It's spinning in your pocket. But then you're going to go. Oh. I really don't like what I had to do. To do that. Therefore I'm not going to use the pen. And I wouldn't want to see that.

Brad Dowdy: The only thing I would recommend here. Is maybe just getting a sleeve. For the pen. That might help.

Myke Hurley: Myke. That was a smart answer. Single pin sleeve. Yep. We could have been three questions down the line now. If I was as smart as you.

Brad Dowdy: Because it might stop the. The friction. The action. That is uncapping the pen.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. It would. It would be tighter fit. So it wouldn't move.

Pocket Pen Issues

Brad Dowdy: But if you're. You know. If the reason you have it in your pocket. Is because you want quick access. Well you've removed the quick access. Because now you have to get a thing out of your pocket. And take it out of the thing. And then you have the thing to hold. Right. So. Isn't this.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. An amazing podcast.

Brad Dowdy: It was the best.

Myke Hurley: That we can spend that much time. On Greg Coe's. Pocket. Pen. Cap. Spinning in his pocket.

Brad Dowdy: They just aren't. This isn't a show like this. This is why I was in the BBC.

Myke Hurley: Right. I love this so much. I literally love that question. Even though I'm not sure. I gave Greg Coe the answer. That they wanted. Right.

Brad Dowdy: Sometimes it's not the answer that you want Brad. But it's the answer you deserve. You know. You're like Batman.

Brad Dowdy: You know. You're not the hero of the pen community you want. But you're the hero of the pen community you deserve. Okay. We'll see. Chris asks. What is your recommendation for a lined A5 journal with more than a page a day. 370 plus. This is where it starts to get more tricky. That will ship to Toronto. Now that's the part that I don't know if we can answer. I've been alone. Yeah. We can. It's a 7C's user but they're not shipping right now. Lots of online choices available on Etsy. It doesn't need to be tomorrow river.

Myke Hurley: Chris. I probably need to reply to you directly on Twitter. Which I think is where this one came in. In case you don't listen to this. But you have two great fountain pen stores in Toronto. One's called Laywines that Myke and I have been to. The other is our good friend at Wonder Pens. Which we've also been to. Yep. They both stock a ton of awesome paper. The 370 plus. You can find at one of those shops. In either they're carrying something similar. You know like. Oh gosh I forget the one. Stationery Cafe is one of the brands. There's other brands. I'd look at Steyology. I'm not sure if they quite get the 370. They have some big ones. Midori's doing some bigger diaries this year. Basically I would look at Wonder Pens. And I would look at Laywines. Right there in Toronto. They both have online shops. They both have huge inventories. Especially in paper goods. And I promise you. You will find something compatible. Even maybe exact. To your needs. If you want to stick with. Like the big thick. Tomoe River paper journal. But brand wise. I'd look at Steyology. Which is S-T-A-L-O-G-Y. It's hard to pronounce for me. And Midori. To see if. It seems like I remember Midori. Doing something different this year. They don't really. Don't make. A very very large page. Notebook. Oh. Chat's also mentioning. Gale and Leather. Which I bet both of those shops. Carry. They're making a new. Very very thick. Tomoe River notebook. Which might be right up your alley. So yeah. Lay wines. Wonder pens. And you'll be set for life. Put those stores. In. In your mind. And in your. In your shopping rotation.

Brad Dowdy: Alright. Final question today. Comes from the Inky side. Who asks. When I get a new nibble pen. I want to get a good feel for it. Before tweaking it. Tuning it. Or sending it off. I use. Kompeki. Or. Tsukiyo. For the first inking. As my default assessment. Because I know how they behave. What are your default inks. To assess a new pen. Or nib.

Myke Hurley: I wish you could see.

Brad Dowdy: How big I'm smiling. How about this question. Great question man. It is a great question. I don't think I have.

Brad Dowdy: I don't do this. But I know what my answer is. Okay. Go. It would also be. I would also say. Either Hiroshizuku. Kompeki.

Brad Dowdy: Or. What is the orange one called? The one that you like.

Myke Hurley: Fuyugaki. The one that I like. Is Yuyuki. I mean both.

Brad Dowdy: Because I know. How Kompeki and Fuyugaki work. Because I use those. They're probably my most used inks. Of all time. Those two. I still use them. In some pens today. Like I still have pens. That I inked up. With those. With those colors. And I know how they work. Like I know how they dry. I know how they look. On the page. Right. Like. They are absolute. Like I know those. So that's what I would use. One of those two. Depending on the pen.

Myke Hurley: Yep. But mine is even more basic than that. Even though I've kind of stopped doing it for now. But for the longest time. Yep. Go. Pilot Blue Black. A hundred percent. Right. It is one of the most consistent inks. I know how it's going to act. I know how it's going to react. I know it's going to behave with the pen. I don't do that anymore. Really. Because now. I'm more. Brand based. To where I feel. If I get a certain type of ink. From a certain type of brand. I'm okay. Yeah. Not using the exact same one. Every time. Because I know. In general. What that ink is going to do. To where I don't have to go with. The Pilot Blue Black first. And then pick whatever ink I want. I know if I'm going to pick. You know. From. Ten Robert Oster inks. They're going to be generally the same. I know if I'm going to pick. From. You know. Certain sailor ink lineups. They're all going to generally be the same. So I'm okay. Switching that up a little bit. But I think everyone should have. An idea. Of what their baseline ink is. So you can compare. It doesn't. The ink could be anything. It doesn't have to be a simple ink. Or a basic ink. Like Pilot Blue Black.

Myke Hurley: But you need to know. How that ink behaves. With different nib types. And different papers. So you can assess. Whether a new ink. That's coming into your life. Is performing up to. The expectations. That you have set. Love that question.

Brad Dowdy: If you would like to send in a question. For a future episode of the show. You can send out a tweet. With the hashtag. Ask TPA. Or you can use. Question mark. Ask TPA. In the Relay FM members discord. You can also email. Brad. At hello. At penaddict.com. If you want to find Brad online. Go to penaddict.com. And you can see all the work. That Brad and others are doing. You're all doing fantastic work. Over there at the penaddict. Every single week. Churning those amazing articles out. You can go to knock.co. And spoke design.com. To buy the products. That Brad is making. And is involved in. As the creative director. Of both brands. That's what I've just decided. To call you. Okay. You are though. Right? Like if we were going to give you. A job title. I think that would probably be. The main thing that you do. Okay. Right? Yeah. I've decided that. Creative director at NotCo. Okay. And spoke design.

Myke Hurley: Man about town.

Brad Dowdy: Man about town. You can also catch Brad. On Tuesdays and Thursdays. At 10 a.m. Eastern time. Over at twitch.tv. Slash penaddict. I'll use this as an opportunity. To say that I am streaming. On Twitch more now. And it's basically. All keyboard focused. So if you're interested. In mechanical keyboard stuff. Go to mike.live. I brought a really good domain Brad. That's a good one. I like that. You need that. You should get penaddict.live. Okay. I think you should get. I think that's a good. That's a good domain. So you go to mike.live. And I'm doing some streams. I don't have. I'm not on a schedule yet. Like Brad is. But I will be. At some point. You can also follow Brad online. He is dowdyism. On Twitter. Penaddict. On Instagram. I am imike. I am yke. Thank you so much. To penchalet. Express VPN. And the Canalea Pen Company. For the support of this episode. And we'll be back next time. Until then. Say goodbye Brad.

Myke Hurley: Goodbye Brad. n