The Pen Addict 339/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	339
Title:	Wub Wub Nib
Release Date:	December 19th, 2018
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	No guests this episode
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 339
Audio File:	Audio Episode 339
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 339
Length:	7878 min <br />1.3 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

Myke Hurley: From RelayFM, this is The Pen Addict, episode 339. Today's show is brought to you by Kane11, Harry's, and Blue Apron. My name is Myke Hurley. I'm joined by Brad Dowdy.

Brad Dowdy: Hello, Myke Hurley. How are you today?

Myke Hurley: I'm very good, Brad Dowdy. How are you?

Brad Dowdy: I'm good. I'm good. But I'm a little sad. This is our last episode of the year. Quick upfront reminder, we are not recording next week. We're taking next week off. Wow. I'm not going to know what to do with myself.

Myke Hurley: You can still record one episode if you want to. I just won't be there and it will never get released.

Brad Dowdy: Okay. Well, then we'll just do like a group chat with as many people as I can fit in a channel at one time and then we'll just send it over. We'll do individual recordings and we'll send them over for you to edit. How's that sound?

Myke Hurley: Well, as I said, I'm not going to touch it. You can feel free to go like to do whatever. You can do whatever you want, my friend. But it will not find its way in front of me.

Brad Dowdy: I hear you. I hear you. But yeah, we won't be recording next week, but I'm sure we will find a way or at least I'll find a way to be out and about, you know, streaming or something like that. So yeah, we'll make up for it. But we'll be back in the new year. But before we do that, we thought it might be kind of interesting to do a bit of a recap, but more of a look forward.

Transition Episode Focus

Myke Hurley: Yeah, transition. Like it's a transition episode. We're going to look at some of our favorite brands and some of the maybe the kind of key things that they've done in 2018. And then what we would like to see from them going into 2019.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So I when I was putting together the list for this show and we haven't done anything like this before, but I thought it'd be kind of a fun idea to to approach. Which I just started rambling the names off as soon as they hit my head. So you'll see like the first five or 10 brands that we talk about are like super, you know, right in my wheelhouse. It's the brands that I care about the most. You know, we're not going to do like a completely thorough hit every brand, do all the pros and cons and all the details. But we'll kind of do, you know, a big overview of some of the most popular stuff that we talk about, things that we like and things like that. So there's no surprise, Myke. Maybe to you there is that I put platinum number one on the list, and that doesn't mean they're number one in anything. It just means the first brand I thought of was platinum, because last week I said what I wanted out of them next year. And that was the impetus for this episode, right? And you got a new platinum, so it was it was fresh in my mind. And for 2018, I just thought they had another killer year. So last year I talked about them as the brand of the year for 2017. I thought they turned a corner in their product lineup, specifically the 3776. They added the classic ink lineup. And they kept that momentum all through 2018 with, you know, just consistent releases. And I say that, and I'm just kind of talking about the 3776, which is kind of what I want to see from them in 2019. Something else besides that, right? Like, you don't have, like, the long, detailed history with platinum that I do, but you're kind of a newcomer and you've got it now. Like, what would you want to see going forward? Like, what would your next platinum be? Would it be another 3776 that is interesting, or do you want to see something else?

Myke Hurley: I mean, I would have no problem getting another 3776. Like, that wouldn't be an issue to me, but it would have to be designed in a way that I like. You know, and then I would be willing to try out a different nib size, right? Which is one of the reasons that I would be up for it, because I would want to try more of the nibs. So if it can attach it with a, you know, like it can be attached to a wonderfully looking, interesting, maybe fun texture pen body, then I would be up for that.

Brad Dowdy: But, yeah, so that's one thing they didn't this year was expand the nib offerings in the standard models. Instead of your standard extra fine, fine, medium, and broad, they added in soft fine, which I love. They made ultra extra fine more common. They added in soft medium. They don't have a stub yet. At least I say that question mark. I don't think they do. At least not in the 3776. So I'd like to see that. And like I mentioned last week, I want that orange. Give me that orange, Myke. 3776 translucent in orange. I don't know what they would choose, but I know they would do it well. I hope it would have rhodium trim, though. If it had gold trim, I might have to hesitate before buying it, but I'd still probably buy it. I think they can do more with their inks. So Platinum has a couple of really strong inks in their carbon black. It's a very popular, it's probably their most popular ink. And then their basic blues are pretty decent. Their blue-black isn't really blue-black, but they don't really have a stock lineup. They have some pigmented inks. And then they introduced that classic lineup, which was so experimental for them. And a bit of an outlier was kind of a surprise. It wasn't some standard ink lineup. Now it's time for the standard ink lineup refresh, I think. Give me that 10, 12, 20 stock colors. You know, they don't have to be iron gall. They don't have to be pigmented. Give me your basics in a high-quality ink, because I think you can compete now that sailors raise their prices. We're going to go down that path in a minute. So there's an opening for a really good Platinum ink. And with all these unique colors they're doing, why aren't there matching inks for your Lilas and your Lavand and your Shungyo and your Kumpus? I mean, those are crying out for custom inks to match with them, right?

Myke Hurley: Yeah, most definitely. I would love that, actually.

Brad Dowdy: So, Platinum. I need an orange 3776 with a 1.1 Wub nib. I need a Wub Wub nib, 1.1 Stub nib, and a matching orange. Is that too much to ask? Matching orange ink. Is that too much to ask, Myke?

Myke Hurley: I don't think so. Probably.

Brad Dowdy: Probably, but whatever. All right. Let's talk about our good friends at Sailor, Myke. They continue to kind of blow my mind that they have their hands in so many things. Mostly pens, like the limited edition pens and limited edition inks. Like, they have this huge, what I feel is a pretty large stock offering. And then they have a behemoth group that must work on all this custom stuff. I don't know how they coordinate all the different custom things that they do. So, we saw that in 2018 as being an even bigger part of their brand. It's almost like to the detriment of their standard issued pens.

Myke Hurley: Yeah, it's like they almost don't exist.

Brad Dowdy: Mm-hmm. And then, on the negative side, I thought their ink changes were not good. They lowered the ink capacity that you would get in a bottle from 50 to 30 and 20 in some cases, I think. And raised the price. So, they really put the screws to their ink pricing to the consumer on that. I think the jury's still out whether that's going to work. I don't think it's really stopped people from buying them, but I really haven't. Where, in the past, any new ink sailors would release, it was just a no-brainer for me to buy. So, that was kind of their last year in a nutshell, was all custom stuff, it seemed like. And raised price on inks. What I want from them in 2019, and we actually talked about this earlier in the year, is that I want them to fix and focus on the Rialo. This is their piston filler, and it gets absolutely no love. So, like, it just doesn't, you know, it almost doesn't exist, and it's a really good pen. So, I have one. I want to see that piston filler.

Myke Hurley: I have just the black one, which I bought in Atlanta for a pretty good price from my friends at Drone Goals. And I had never seen it before. I didn't even know this pen existed until you told me what it was.

Brad Dowdy: Mm-hmm. Yeah, so, and it just comes in, like, the basic few colors. And they did a couple of custom editions this year. I remember seeing one or two from, you know, different shops in Japan that had one or two. There was, like, a translucent one with blue end caps, similar to that King of Pen that we bought, but a lighter blue. That's the only custom one I remember seeing. They did a Soleil one for Bung Box a few years ago. So, but they don't do enough with that one, and I think it could be a much more popular product. So, I want to see that.

Myke Hurley: Maybe that's why, like, some of the people that are looking for customs don't do it, because maybe it would be pretty expensive.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, I think so. I mean, it's, like, mid-threes, I think.

Brad Dowdy: So, it's definitely more expensive, but that's part of the, you know, the cost of the piston filler, I guess. So, it's definitely easier to make the Pro Gears in 1911s, right?

Myke Hurley: Mm-hmm.

Brad Dowdy: So, you know, that's what I want to see. Give me one stock Rialo that looks awesome, or do one, you know, do something like the Tangerine in Rialo. Just once. Right. Once this year, give me a wide-release Rialo that's interesting. You know, it can be a limited edition, but it needs to be a worldwide limited edition, not a store-brand limited edition, right? Those are different.

Myke Hurley: Well, yeah, that actually leads into what I would like to see, which is to continue doing these wild and wonderful collaborations that they've been doing, but try and do more that are more readily available to people in different destinations. Like, I'm not saying to make the Japanese exclusives only available to places that sell to America and Europe, but maybe do more with American and European companies, or make it kind of more open for people to pitch them, or whatever, so that there can be more of these collaborations for other markets, because they seem so willing to do so many of them, but a lot of them are very difficult to come by unless you're in Japan.

Brad Dowdy: Right. And, you know, our community is willing to jump through the hoops to get some of these things, and most people aren't, right? Mm-hmm. We're a special breed in that. But, you know, they did a, you know, they just did an edition with Goldspot, like, in this past week or two, this beautiful sea glass.

Myke Hurley: But they don't do any. Right. The sheer misweighting of how many they do with Japanese companies, like Bung Box, who feel like they have one every three weeks, you know? Right. I would love to see a little bit more. And also, as well, I mean, I don't know if this is where this comes from, I don't know who's making the minds up, but I feel like the US-based limited editions are far less adventurous than the Japanese ones.

Brad Dowdy: We don't get as many store-specific limited editions as we do get North America limited editions, right? Yeah. Where we'll get, like, which, those are the ones I've ended up liking. Honestly, that's where the Tangerine came from. Mm-hmm. And, you know, like, they've done the gray ones and the frescas and things like that. But it's like a one-off, one-per-year type of situation. Yeah. It's like, I'll be interested to see how 2019 goes for that part of their business. So, it's, you know, that's at, like, the top of our list for things to watch, you know, that we're interested in and, you know, what we're going to be involved in. And I also put down, I want them to bring back the Sapporo Mini. And I would be okay, and this is going to be blasphemy, I think they should eliminate the Sapporo from the lineup and just make it the Mini. I don't think the Sapporo is their strongest pin, the Pro Gear Sapporo or the Pro Gear Slim, whatever you want to call it. I think that's probably their weakest overall pin in the gold nib category. And I think it could be fully replaced with the Sapporo Mini because it gives you that full-size writing experience while being a pocket-sized pin. And I bring this up because I saw, like, Joe at Gentleman Stationer, and I've seen a few on Instagram. They did a mini pin for one of the Japanese stores, just like we were mentioning. So, they still are making a few of these pins. It's not like they did away with it completely when they did away with the main. It used to be a regular category in their stock lineup, right? It used to be, like, a SKU for the Sapporo Mini. And now I've seen a custom one come out in the past month or two. Why can't that be back in the regular offerings? I want to see that. So, and I would go as far as saying you can get rid of... They'll never do it. But I don't think the Pro Gear Slim is that interesting unless it's a special edition. Like, there's some really cool... Like, the Cosmos and some of those have been really good. And the Bung Box ones, you know, we've bought in the past. Like, Pink Love, those are great. Like, those really, really custom ones. But the stock ones, I'd rather buy a Sapporo Mini. I think it's more... I think it's a better pen. So, we'll see. Sailor definitely keeps us on our toes. There's always something we've missed in the past month. You know, it's just never-ending.

Brad Dowdy: Pilot Michael.

Myke Hurley: Mm-hmm.

Brad Dowdy: I wrote in the notes, and I'm going to read it, exactly what I wrote. Did 2018 even happen for Pilot? Was there a 100th anniversary I missed or something? That's what 2018 was for me, as far as Pilot goes.

Pilot Discussion Shift

Myke Hurley: Yeah. Disappointment.

Brad Dowdy: A huge disappointment. Lack of effort. Complete whiff. Like, not, like, straight negative. They didn't make, like, garbage pins. They just didn't do anything interesting.

Myke Hurley: Mm-hmm.

Brad Dowdy: And they had a 100th anniversary. I'm not sure if you heard that or not.

Myke Hurley: It was so much hype for this. And I feel like they kind of let everybody down, really.

Brad Dowdy: Mm-hmm. Yeah. And, you know, we might see some stuff trickle into this year. Like, they were talking about the inks being released, like, in March or something like that, the limited, the 100th anniversary inks. But at this point, that ship sailed. And...

Myke Hurley: I mean, if you... It's not like they didn't know this was happening. They missed it, right? Like, it's been missed. And if they're like, oh, we have this cool stuff now, it's like, well, it's 2019 now. We're into your 101st, right? Like, yeah. It's, you know, they missed it. And it's a shame because we spoke, you know, we've flogged this horse many times now. What does Peter say? It's a feed a fed horse, right? That's... Yes. Have you seen that meme? Right. So, we fed this fed horse a bunch of times now. Yeah. And I feel like it's, you know, they had such a great back catalogue to borrow from, you know? Yeah. Obviously, the beloved Mayu Murex M90 line, which would have been so perfect for this. And for whatever reason, I'm sure they had their reasons, they just didn't bother.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. So, let's fix them, Myke. 2019. I want the Pilot Custom Heritage 912 to be the new pro gear that we all want. This pin is so good. It's priced really well. It has all the nibs. Like, any crazy Pilot nib that you can get is available, and you can just get it in a black pin with silver trim. Mm-hmm. Now, I love that, but where this pin is priced, they could make a huge dent in Sailor and Platinum in the $175 to $225 price range. Give me, and I don't even need, like, your fancy limited edition crazy finishes. Give me some colors. Give me some trim options. Give me something. The 912 is the most boring great pin out there, I think. I absolutely love it. Just, like, the size is perfect. The nib is perfect. But I just need the one black one, right? I mean, that's it. We're done. Like, I'm not going to buy all the nibs in there because they make great nibs, but I don't need them all in that pin. But if you made me a green one or a purple one, you know, maybe I'll pick up a second one or a third one. I don't understand why that's not happening. So that's what, I mean, I've spoken about that for years for the 912. That is just an area that's ripe for the picking. I just think it's practically a no-brainer. But who knows if it'll happen. I also want to see added colors to the Orochizuku ink lineup. This ink lineup's been around for like a decade. It's been the same 30 or so colors. They did introduce, it started out a little bit fewer and they introduced a few, I don't know, six or seven years ago to complete the lineup. I don't know if these new 100th anniversary Orochizuku inks are going to be a permanent edition. I'd like to see that. I want to see just a refresh because it's a really, really good ink. And I want to see just a refresh of the line. Something just to, you know, put it back in the focus again because it's really one of the best inks out there. Talking about what I want to see in the 912, I did see just yesterday that they have two new colors coming in. The 74, which is their kind of entry level gold nib pen. They have a really pretty red translucent and a really pretty blue translucent. I don't know what they're exactly calling these colors, but I love the colors. And a new vanishing point. This all metal stripes vanishing point is what they're calling it. I want to know what you think about this pen.

Myke Hurley: That's not for me. Okay.

Brad Dowdy: If I, if this pen came out eight months ago and was the 100th anniversary vanishing point, I would have insta bought it.

Myke Hurley: I would have got it, not like bought it, but like, if like, it would be like, okay. Right. Like that's not for me, but I can see the thinking that gets you to that. Right. But like, it's just not, I'm not particularly excited about it, but I don't think I would have been mad about it. So.

Brad Dowdy: And I can see now I, now it's a wait and see for me. It's like, I want to see it. I want to feel it. You know, I think it's over $300 because it's, you know, all metal fancy limited edition. And I, why aren't, why weren't these three pens the, in the hundredth anniversary? Like if these three pens came out in the hundredth anniversary range of pens, I would have insta bought. It's like, I don't know what they're doing because these look awesome. I think all of these look awesome. I don't know. I love that blue color. Um, I'll probably get the vanishing point, but I'm not as jazzed about them now because I don't know. They're just any, any other release. Like you got to line it up with any other release that we have coming up, right? You can't buy every pen. So it's now in the great group of all the pens that, you know, we might be interested in instead of being a special 100th anniversary pen. So whatever. But I, I mean, I think they look fantastic. So yeah, they, they need, they need a kick in the pants. I think they, um, they're just one of my favorite brands and I think they can do more and I want to see it.

Sponsor Break

Myke Hurley: All right. We have a bunch more brands to get to, but before we do, let me take a break and thank blue apron for their support of this episode of the holidays. Fast approaching meal prep is the last thing you want to be thinking about, but cooking delicious, wholesome meals is easy with blue apron. And blue apron really gives people like me a better way to cook. I've cooked blue apron meals. I've eaten blue apron meals. I've even just taken the recipe cards that the blue, a blue apron send you and I've recooked them again. Like they have chef designed recipes that use fresh seasonal ingredients that they ship to you and they're all ready to go. That's what makes it so fantastic. You get a box and everything's pre-portioned and you don't have to, you don't have to prep anything. You don't have to go to the store. It's all there. Their website and mobile app makes it super easy to plan meals. You'll never have to worry about that last minute dash to the grocery store to pick up the clove or garlic, or then you end up with like 20 bulbs of garlic and then like that's too much garlic to just ever have really. And, but with blue apron, you get just what you need. They cater to a bunch of dietary options. And I personally love learning to cook recipes I've never tried before and finding new things to add to my arsenal. This is what blue apron can do for you. Stuff like creamy saffron risotto with Sicilian style roasted cauliflower, seared steaks and loaded mashed potatoes. Or what about Korean style popcorn chicken with jasmine rice and roasted broccoli? Check out this week's menu and get three meals for free at blueapron.com slash penaddict. That's blueapron.com slash penaddict to get your first three meals for free. Blue apron, a better way to cook. So in the chat room, they're saying that they're upset about my never enough garlic. I feel like maybe people aren't listening to me. 20 bulbs of garlic is too much garlic to have in your house at one time. That's what I was talking about. I love me some garlic. Like I always put extra cloves in, but 20 bulbs is too much. That's what you end up with if you have to run to the grocery store to pick up some garlic. So that's what I'm standing by that statement.

Brad Dowdy: Well, I'll say when I cook blue apron, almost everything, most of the products come with garlic and you get a clove. And I actually use a little bit less than they ask for. I usually have extra garlic at the end. It's a lot of garlic. It's good stuff though.

Myke Hurley: Someone is saying, so Jovic, one bulb a day. I don't know if that person has any friends, loved ones, anything.

Brad Dowdy: I feel like... There's a vampire joke in here somewhere, but I'm not totally up to speed on that. Right? Yeah. Mince garlic. That's what we go with. That's what we cook with mostly at the house. Let's talk about Retro 51. Let's. I think 2018 is the year they blew up in the big picture. I think you're right. I think we, in the collective pen addict, we kind of know that they've been very popular for a while. I think they crossed a different threshold this year. And now I think it's time to be careful. Like, of the oversaturation, overdoing it. Right? I think we're not there, but we're close. Like, it was a lot.

Myke Hurley: They run the risk of losing what makes them special.

Brad Dowdy: Yes. Like, it was a lot. But how do you tell someone, like, that's very successful that, you know, hey, let's think about one or two things. But I still think there's room for them to grow and do more. And they're going to have to, in my book, for the next year, they're going to have to get more experimental. And what I mean is in barrel materials, finishes, treatments to pens. What are they going to do that's not what all Retro 51 has always been about? And that's a very difficult thing, right? Like, the tornado is everything to them. And, you know, you're going to get your cool colors. You know, you're going to get your cool patterns. You're going to get your cool branding and, you know, character things. You know, you're going to get some cool metals and etched type of pens.

Brad Dowdy: What are the next experiments that they can do? You know, what, you know, give me an acid etched metalsmith, right? Give me a torched metalsmith. What is going to separate this pen besides the branding of it, right? Like, you're buying, like, you know, their main lines, you know, like this year, you had Kiss and you had Smithsonian and you have all these brand agreements and, you know, doing different things. And that's like the core of their business. It's like, do that. But then where's the next interesting thing that's really going to move the needle? That's what I want to see.

Brad Dowdy: What about you?

Myke Hurley: Yeah, I agree. I think they've probably had their best year ever, but they've got to make sure that they don't, I think, don't go much more than this, you know, in the limits that they're doing. Um, and I would actually like to see them turn their attention to making the best fountain pen that they can make.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I think they're on the cusp, right?

Myke Hurley: I've heard, but I've yet to try.

Brad Dowdy: I haven't tried it yet because I mean, the only, the one we're talking about is the, the Goulet Christmas sweater one, which has the new section. If they're going to put this in a lot of their fountain pens, I will try one immediately. Just not, I just don't want the Christmas sweater one for like my everyday use pen. And it's a cool looking pen, but if I'm going to get one to try and use a bunch and, and like really test, I'm going to wait for like the next one and make sure that that's the section design that they're going with. And, you know, they have new sections, new nibs. That's everything for a fountain pen, right? I mean, that's, that's a big, that everything else retro 50 from the nib up retro 51 has got it covered, right? They can handle that part. It's that front end of the pen. And if they solve that, maybe 2019 is the year of the retro fountain pen. Who knows? So this, this, yeah, I think that would be cool. I would like, I do not own a retro 51 fountain pen because the, like the one I reviewed is really good, but it's not better than what I'm using to make me want to use it. Yep. That's kind of the thing. This whole little group here is interesting, Myke. It's retro 51 field notes and black wing all in this little section here. And I think field notes probably had their best design year ever. I don't know if it's their best sales year or whatever. It probably was. I mean, they're growing company. It probably was, but from a subscription limited edition, which is really what they're known for coastal three missions in papers and clandestine. And that's probably one of the best runs of any year that they've had. At least that I can remember.

Myke Hurley: What do you think about that? I think it's completely accurate.

Brad Dowdy: And when you get into the smaller companies like field notes, retro black wing, and we'll talk about a grouping of companies later, you get to the point where you can't really, it was like, I can say some things maybe I'd like to see, but having any kind of like important, like meaningful plan for a small company is much harder than what the bigger company is because they're, the bigger companies are kind of nameless and faceless, right? The smaller companies, like, you know them personally, and you're telling them something about their business when you don't really know their business, right? It's a little bit of a different feel. So it's like field notes, there's nothing really I can say to do more of, right? I don't know what that is. You know, the one thing I thought that might work in their product lineup for 2019 with the expansion of the formats that they carry, they could do a big A4 top bound spiral pad. I mean, that would crush. I think they would sell a ton of them. That's a very expensive type of notebook to build, like what I would envision them building. But I'd be in. It was just like, you know, these smaller companies that are doing a great job is like, who am I to tell them what to do, right?

Myke Hurley: Yeah. I mean, for me, I don't particularly want them to do anything wild next year. I just want them to keep doing what they've been doing because this past year has been, as you say, so good for them. So I would like to just see them continue going along that route. But yeah.

Brad Dowdy: Like they're, I think they're a company that's firing on all cylinders right now. Yes, I agree. They're not misfiring. Like they're just, they're just really doing their best work and it's showing.

Myke Hurley: And I would say they definitely reigned in their limiteds this year from previous years. Like it was getting a little wild for a bit. And I feel like whilst there have been some, they tend to have been of higher quality of the ones that I've seen. And they seem to be a little bit calmer. I feel like the wildness of years past has kind of, and like the way, like the furor around it as well seems to have cooled down a bit, which I think is good.

Brad Dowdy: And I think the result is the focus can be on what they do best. And I think they delivered that in 2018.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. Yeah. I agree completely. I mean, I think that those two things, now you've said it, they feel completely related, right?

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Right. So what you're saying is what, what I'm hearing you say is you need a retro 51 quarterly subscription.

Brad Dowdy: Yes.

Brad Dowdy: Cause that will fix everything.

Myke Hurley: But like, but yes though, right? I don't like if we remove the fact that obviously these things aren't, wouldn't be related completely. I would 100% want that.

Blackwing Discussion

Brad Dowdy: Right. Right. All right. Let's move on to black wing because they're not quite there yet. They are really dang good. I love them. Like I just, I think they do really, really great work and they're on the cusp of like what retro 51 and field notes is doing with like these regular custom special editions. I think they need to get their stories across better. I don't know exactly how to explain that, but it's like some of their stories with the products are super compelling and interesting. Like this last one with the Mars one. It's just very interesting. Now you can tell the story of this product where, you know, I'm unfairly crapping on the previous edition, which I didn't think told anything. Like it was uninteresting across the board. So the 33 and a third. So it's like, they're really good at storytelling. They're exceptional at product making. And I want a year in 2019 that field notes had in 2018 for black wing. Cause I think they can do it. Like I have full faith in them.

Myke Hurley: But they are still early on in this process. Pretty much. A couple of years at this point. Is it even? A couple of years? It's, I want to say it's three. I think we've done three. I mean, I think that they're still turning out majorly good stuff, right? Like by and large they are. But yes, it would be, of course, wonderful to see them nail it across the board for one whole year.

Brad Dowdy: Cause if there's any company I believe can do it, I think they can do it. Like they have some.

Myke Hurley: They have had some real stinkers this year.

Myke Hurley: They have. They have.

Brad Dowdy: So like, I think, I think black wing, I think they're playing it safe. And I think I'm ready for them to push the envelope a little bit. And this is a wooden pencil. How much envelope pushing can you do? Right. And that's the struggle. I don't know. Yeah.

Myke Hurley: But how much can you do with a paper notebook? I know. They're all like inherently simple products. But, you know, story, color, texture, core. Like that's the exact same things that the field notes have, right? Yes. Story, color, texture, paper. That's all it is. It's just those four things. But they execute them. Right. And like, you know, like, because I'm not so tied to the black wing as everybody else. Why don't you make it a different shape?

Myke Hurley: There's literally nothing stopping you. You make the pencil. If you want to make this one round, right? Like completely smooth. I know it would probably drive everyone bonkers. But like, let's go for it.

Brad Dowdy: They've done it. They've done it. And it did. And that's okay. Like, that's okay. You know, it's okay to take some risks. I think so. I put in here the Tahoe edition. I forget the number of it. But it's the one where they did like the raised topographical lake map. Like, just the finish on that barrel was awesome. It's like, do more of that stuff. You know, give me those type of features. One random non-subscription thing I want to see them do. I want them to make a set of pencils. I want them to make a set of pencils in all of their cores in one package. Whether that's five cores or whatever. The only hang up, I think, in the past is those are all separate product lines for them. So, other companies that do these core sets of 5, 10, 20 different core grades, they all have like the same artwork and same paint job and same style. Like, black wings are purposefully made like individually. I think they could benefit from a five pack of all the cores that they offer or whatever that number is. So, I would like to see that, you know, where someone can say, you know, let me try one of each of the 602, the MMX, the Extra Firm, the Pearl in one set of pencils. Like, I think that would be just kind of a neat thing to have. So, hopefully, we'll see that. And I think that's kind of your gateway into the brand, too. So, I think that might be helpful instead of people having to decide, well, what's the right one for me? Here's a core sampler pack. I think that would be nice.

Brad Dowdy: All right. Turning the corner back to the big brands. Lamy. Yes. It was a... Number one, hire me. Like, I'm not going to let that go. Like, I can fix it all, Lamy. Just hire me. I'll start learning German. Just let me know. Das ist gut. Yeah. I thought it was a little boring. A little boring of a year. Oh, hang on. All right. I'm going to do a quick roundabout here. Back to the Blackwing. There is a starting point set. There is a starting point set for Blackwing. So, I stand corrected. I didn't even see that. But it doesn't have the firm and this is too much. I don't need three. I don't need the three, you know, pen tips and things like that. So, this is close. Like, this is what I want to see from Blackwing.

Myke Hurley: It's only $35, though. I mean... Yeah. That is not an expensive set.

Brad Dowdy: Well, they sold those pen cover... Pencil covers for like $10 each when they first came out. The point guards. So, that's pretty much all the money tied up in there. So, I think you could get a small set of... Like, if they're going to keep throwing out this extra fine core... I mean, extra firm core. They need to add it to the regular lineup. Because they keep mixing it into volumes. And it's just making people mad they can't get it regularly. So, good. Thank you, Tony, for sending that link. We'll put that in the show notes for those who are interested in trying all the sets. So, yeah. Okay. Good. That's good. That makes me happy. But I think it'd be done a little bit differently. Don't give me all the stuff. Um, Lamy had a bit of a boring year. Like, we've been harsh on them for a while. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. I think seeing their proliferation. Whether you think that's good or bad in retail spaces. Um, I kind of like just from a bigger picture. What can they do for us pen addicts that's non, you know, retail? Or is that those retail environments going to give them the influx of recognition and sales to be able to do more things? I don't know. We'll see. But I just thought it was kind of a boring year for Lamy. You know, the limited editions weren't that great. Um, you know, the new pens. I guess the Ion was new this year. I guess it was late last year. But it really kind of came on this year. It's just kind of, it's, I enjoy it. But it's just kind of boring. You know, black and silver. It's like, eh, it was, Lamy was there. You know? It's like, I just think they could do so much more. Like, this is a, such a huge, well-respected worldwide brand. I want more because I like them, right? Like, I'm, it's like, it's your heart is on the ones you love, right? And I love Lamy. And I've been harsh on them for a while now. And I just think it could be better. So, the one thing I want to see for 2019, I want the Vista in all the colors. This is as big a no-brainer as we have on this entire document list. The Lamy Vista needs a minimum of six barrel colors. Yesterday. I don't know why that's not a thing.

Myke Hurley: Is this remaining clear with colors?

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Translucent colors. Yeah, okay. Purple, green, red, blue, pink. Yesterday. I don't know why this is not a thing. They've made other pens. They made the Lamy Balloon, which was one of my favorite styled rollerball pens that had a terrible refill in a translucent blue. And it was beautiful. It was beautiful. I don't know why the Vista does not have the experimentation that the Safari and the All-Star have. I don't get it. I, this, I, why aren't, why don't I have a color of the year in the Vista? Or, you know, whatever limited edition. They are, I just think they're losing out. Like, I'll still buy my Safaris and then I'll add in a purple translucent Vista. Like, that needs to be a thing. Yesterday. It's gotta happen. That's the, that's my... Man, I do not remember the Lamy Balloon. It's a great pen. But it had a terrible refill. It was a super proprietary refill. And it wrote awful. But the barrel is killer.

Myke Hurley: I agree with that, actually. I never would have thought that to make, to make the Vista in some colors. But that totally works.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I mean, it's the same price. It's in that price point of their other entry-level pens. And they make all those other ones in all these million different colors. They have experience doing it. And I don't know. It's the most no-brainer thing I want to see on this entire sheet. Mm-hmm. So.

Myke Hurley: All right. Should we take a break?

Brad Dowdy: Like, penaddict.com slash contact. You can get me hello at penaddict.com. I'm open. Lamy. Call me.

Myke Hurley: Well, you've just given them all the ideas for free.

Brad Dowdy: I mean, they need someone in there yelling at them to do it, I guess. I don't know what it is.

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Pelican Pens Discussion

Brad Dowdy: Let's get to another one of the big boys here. One of the big German brands in Pelican.

Brad Dowdy: I think they are the perfect fountain pen company. I don't have any negatives to say. And I don't have any recommendations for them to change. I think they nail everything across the board. Every price point. Every style decision. Every limited edition. The balance between primary lineup and limited editions. They execute flawlessly. They are on point with everything they do. Whether you like the style or not. Or whether you like the price point or not. I cannot argue with how they do it. So my recommendations for 2019 were. One, keep making the best limited releases. Which I think they do. And two, find some pricing consistency. They have been all over the board in the past few years. A lot of it is material prices and gold nibs. So some of that is not out of their hand. Not in their control. But they have bounced it around a lot. In the past several years. So people are like. Well is now the time to buy a Pelican? Are they going to change the price? Do I buy it because it is lower? They have actually lowered the prices in some regions. So they have a regional issue. And they have a materials issue. That they are constantly fighting. So you don't want a company. Like I understand when companies have to change prices. And raise prices. But Pelican seems to do it a lot. And they do it in both directions. So it is a little bit wonky. In helping me make a Pelican buying decision. Right? When you are making a buying decision. You take those things into account. Is today the right day to buy this pen? And Pelican is the only company I can think of. Where you have to ask that question. Normally. Okay. Today would be the day. Yes. With Pelican you go. Is it? Like I don't know. What are they going to do next? But as far as a brand. As far as functionality. As far as technical. As far as design. As far as limited editions. Maybe the stock lineup could use a refresh. You know. Who is buying. You know. Green stripe. Blue stripe. Pens. Solid blacks. That they have had those out for a long time now. Maybe they will not go anywhere. But I don't know. Maybe a refresh there. But man. They are practically unassailable. In my book.

Myke Hurley: I don't really have anything to say about Pelican.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah.

Myke Hurley: Like. I see it. Every. Like six months or so. Or whatever. I'll see one of their editions. I'm like. Oh. That looks really good. But that's as far as it ever really goes for me. Yeah. Their pens are pretty expensive.

Brad Dowdy: A lot of the time. Yeah. They are. They are. But. But. Like. Like. When you're talking about a brand. You can't say. Okay. Now make it cheaper. Right. Then you. You lose. Kind of what Pelican is. Like. They're expensive. They are not for everyone. But as far as. The year that they had. And. What I wish to see from. In the future. Like. I got nothing. I think they do it right. And I don't buy very many Pelicans. Like. I got the. I bought the Ocean. Last year.

Brad Dowdy: You know. Maybe one a year. I'll buy one. Like. I had the 800 Demonstrator. The previous year. So. Yeah. I like. I enjoy Pelicans. They're not my favorite brand. You know. They're not the one. That I'm always. You know. Clamoring for. Every limited edition. But. As far as. What they do. I think they're practically flawless. And I think that's. That's a lot to say. But I just. I mean. I got no complaints. Other than the pricing consistency. You know. Things wavering. All the time. So. That's about it. Um. They. They. They're as good as anybody. In the business right now. So. That's what I think. All right. I'm actually surprised. As I was going through this list. I forgot Uniball. Until someone said. What about Uniball? In. On Twitter. When I mentioned some of the brands. I had already covered. I was like. Oh my god. I did not put them in. I think because they don't make a fountain pen. Or subscription service. Those are all the things that were above. Right. But. I think. Uniball makes the best.

Brad Dowdy: Standard pens. Like their gel pens. Their ball points. Like. The DX. Is the best gel pen. You know. The Signo. The Jetstream. Is the best ball point pen. You know. They have some. Really high. They make one of the best mechanical pencils. On the market. In the Curitoga. Like. They're super good. At. The low end. Stationary. And I don't. You know. I don't really want them to change. I don't know what excited me. Last year. About Uniball. I don't know that they did anything exciting. You know. We saw. Pictures. Of. The large capacity. Jetstream. Refill. And we still haven't gotten to try it yet. It hasn't made it to the US. Unless you want to buy on the Japanese market. That's fine.

Brad Dowdy: You know. What innovation. Can they do. Going forward. I'd like to see maybe a premium. Retractable. For the DX. You know. Like. They make the Jetstream Alpha. Which is an awesome pen. You know. Like in that $10 to $15. Price range. They've never done. They've never done one. I guess it wouldn't be for the DX. It'd be for the RT. The RT is the. Retractable. Model. The DX. The UM151. Is the. Capped. Model. So that wouldn't be a retractable. It'd be the RT. Which. You know. You can always swap out the refills. But. It's never had a standalone. Product. I would also like to see. Them. Do something interesting. In the wooden pencil. Landscape. So. Mitsubishi. And. Is the pencil brand. I don't know. The full organization. Of this company. The structure. But I count them. As all the same. Mitsubishi. Uni. And Uniball. I count them. As kind of all. One big. Massive company. Most of the pencils. Get made under Mitsubishi. There's some. That are under Uni. But I think. They could do more. Mainstream. Pencil stuff. Because. The ones that they make. Are really good. But they just make. Very few. Of them. So. I wonder what it could be. You know. What type of innovation. Could they do. In that wooden pencil space. But. They. They already do it really well. I just think. There's a little bit of room. For it to become more. Mainstream. Like. The Mitsubishi. Pencils. Are some of my favorites. And. You know. Maybe. They could do. A little bit of a higher end. Model. I don't know what that would be. So. Who knows. But. I. They're my number one. Non-fountain pen brand. Like. I think they. Do everything. In a really high quality.

Brad Dowdy: Fashion. Like. Everything is a really. Really good product. I don't know if you have any. Have anything for Uni. Ball. That's not. I know that's not really a brand. That you use. Frequently. That's kind of not your thing. I mean. You know.

Myke Hurley: They were one of my starter brands. And so. Yeah. So that was cool. But like. These days. I mean. Everyone knows this. I don't really keep up with. With this level anymore. Like. Just because. I don't. Live this. Every day. The same way that you do. Right. You know. Like. So.

Brad Dowdy: Like.

Myke Hurley: So. I. I. Found. The area. That I like. To spend my time. And money on. And I. Stay in that area. And it's basically. All fountain pens. By and large. Right. Is most of the stuff. That I'm buying. With some exceptions. And they're all kind of. Like. In the. 100 plus. Range.

Brad Dowdy: Right. So. I probably use. Uni. Ball products. More than any other product. On this list. And I almost forgot. To put them on the list.

Myke Hurley: Well. But I mean. I mean. It's terrible to say. But. They are. Pretty. Like. Forgettable. I mean. Yeah. Not that they don't make good products. But. Like. Nothing is screaming at you.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. They're normal. Standard. Pens. They're just. The best. In that category. And I use that a lot. So. Like. I'm using a .38 DX. Right now. Well. There you go. Yes. I am. You're not even sure. I used to have to do that.

Brad Dowdy: I. This next.

J. Herban Brand Focus

Brad Dowdy: Brand. I had no interest. In putting in here. Until I thought about it. A little bit more. And it's really. I want to get. The listeners. Perspective. On what they think. About J. Herban. So. My friend Sarah. Said. Hey. You know. When I was asking. For other companies. To put on the list. She said. J. Herban. I was like. They didn't even register. With me. Because. As far as I'm concerned. They just make ink. They make really good ink. Make really good. Special edition inks. But not a lot of people. Use their standard inks. At least with regularity. So. I didn't have anything. To say about their 2018. I don't have anything. To say about their 2019. Other than. Are they in.

Brad Dowdy: Our realm. Like. I think they are. Like. What is J. Herban? Are they an ink company? Are they a paper and gift company? Are they a luxury brand? Why should I be interested in J. Herban? They make the. They just launched the. Jacques Herban. Like. The fancy ink lineup. But like. Not everyone's getting those. So I can't. I'm not really going to try those. Unless someone sends them to me. You know. I'm not going to hunt them down. Are they. I. I'm. They confuse me. I guess. Is where I'm at. With J. Herban. They don't have a pen. Right. That we use regularly. They made that rollerball. Type. Fountain pen filler. They make glass dip. Pens. Pens. What are they. As far as. A pen addict goes. Like. You know. Should they make. A compelling fountain pen. That. You know. Makes me want to try. More of their inks. Like. I think I've tried to make a pen before. Um. I just. They confuse me. And I wanted to bring them up. Because I'm interested in. What other people think about them. Like. They know them for their inks. And they. They know that they're good inks. It kind of stops there for me. Because they're not like a diamine. Who has. You know. 300 ink colors. Like. Where ink is their business. And they're going to innovate in that space. I'm not sure J. Herban is that. Right. So. That one confused me. So I wanted to throw that out there. So I'd love to hear some feedback on J. Herban. Just as a brand. Yeah. And then finally. Before we get. Into. What our listeners want to see next year. I put. All of the smaller. Makers. Or. I don't know what you want to classify this category as. Together. And. And. I'm going to leave someone off. Don't yell at me. But. You know. I'm talking about. Like. Franklin Kristoff. Canalea. Edison. Karis Customs. Robert Oster. Story Supply. Write Notepads. Knock. Shown. Woodshed. All these people.

Brad Dowdy: Who. Who. I think.

Brad Dowdy: They're the core. Of this industry. Like. I think. This is why I do. What I do. For. You know. Because. Of. The people that are in this category. And I apologize. If I left someone off. I'm. Guarantee. I did.

Brad Dowdy: This is why. I enjoy. Doing what I do. Every day. Because. I get to. See what these people make. I get to talk to these people. I get to work with them. And that's different. Than. Your large corporations. Right. So. There's a different. You know. I don't know what the word is. There's a different communication level. There's a different feel. Like. These are personal brands. To. A lot of us. In the community. So. Who am I. To tell them. What they should do. In 2019. I obviously. I have opinions. On lots of things. But these are people. Trying to run. A small business. In the best way. They know how. Who am I. To say. You did this terrible. And you should do this. Better next year. It's like. That's not the business. I'm in. Like. I'm in the business. Of supporting these people. And. I'm. I'm in the business. Of stating my opinion. On the products. Like. I'll. I mean. If. My best friend. In the world. Makes a crap product. I'm going to tell them. It's a crap product. Right. But. I'm not going to say. Well. Next year. You should work on making. The most not crap products. You can make.

Brad Dowdy: You know. I just want these. You know. Everyone in the. Like. In the smaller makers. And then. We're talking like. Smaller retailers too. Like. Everyone just. Like. You know. Get involved in the community. You know. Be. Have like. The best customer service. Make cool stuff. Tell great stories. And. You know. Share your journeys with us. Like. There's nothing more I can ask for. These are great. So.

Myke Hurley: All right. Should we take a break? Yes. And then we're going to get into. To. What the pen addict listeners. Want to see. In 2019. As well. Good stuff. From their favorite brands. So we've got some good suggestions. In here too. But let's thank our final sponsor. For this episode. And that is Harry's. We all know. That finding gifts. For your loved ones. Is super difficult. Do they want more. Pajamas. Do they want more. After shave. I don't know. Get them something. That they really want to use. Every day. Buy them a gift. From Harry's. Harry's. Raisers. And shavings products. Make the perfect gift. Because they're super practical. Once the person gets hooked. They're going to end up saving money. Because Harry's razors. Will cost them as little as $2 each. After they've used the gift set. That you got them. You can personalize. The razor handle. To make it feel extra special. So you can get great colors. Or you can have it engraved. And Harry's gift sets. Come in ready to gift. Wonderful boxes. With sets. Starting. At just $10. As a special offer. For listeners of this show. We have a great deal with Harry's. You can get $5. Off any set. Including their limited edition holiday set. When you go to harrys.com. Plus you'll get free shipping. This offer is for new. And returning customers. And is only available. For the holidays. Each set. Each of Harry's shaving sets. Comes with an ergonomic weighted handle. With an option to engrave it. German engineered. Five blade cartridges. That provide a close comfortable shave. Foaming shave gel. For a rich lather. Travel cover. To protect your blades. And a handsome holiday gift box. As well. Or even if you're looking for a treat yourself. You could redeem a Harry's trial offer. To experience the quality of the shave. Before committing. So Brad. What do you love about Harry's stuff right now?

Brad Dowdy: I love. That. They make. The best quality. At the best price. Like you can buy. A cheaper razor. You can buy. A more expensive razor. And. Neither. Of those. Are going to work. As well. As the blades. And Harry's razor. And the handles. Like. Everything about. The brand. Is. Kind of. Set. Perfectly. And that's. Only because. The quality is so high. And they've hit the price point. To where. It's like. Perfect. Like this. Like in the holiday season. It's the most perfect. Boring gift. You can buy anyone. Because it would change. How they do things. Like Harry's. Changed. How I shave. Just because the quality is so good.

Myke Hurley: I mean. You can't beat that. Right? Nope. So. Shipping cut off. So. To get that holiday shipping. In time. It ends this week. So. Shipping cut off. End this week. So. Act now. Go to harrys.com. Slash. Penaddict. To get your $5 off a gift set. While supplies last. That's harrys.com. Slash. Penaddict. Our thanks to Harry's. For their support. Of this show. And Relay FM.

Brad Dowdy: So. The chat room. Wants to know. What I want to see from Harry's. In 2019. And my immediate response. Is translucent. Translucent handles. Everything. 2019.

Myke Hurley: Is going to be the year. Of translucency.

Brad Dowdy: For Brad Doudy. Give me some. Translucent color handles. We're in.

Myke Hurley: All right. Let me start off. With some of these. What do our Penaddict listeners. Want to see in 2019. Oxa Mendy says. I want to see Pilot. Take a second crack. At giving their average fans. An affordable pen option. For their 100th anniversary.

Brad Dowdy: Yes.

Myke Hurley: Yes. Yes.

Brad Dowdy: Yes. But it's not going to happen. No. But they've had. Yes. Like. They've. I mean. Look. I can argue about this all day. What. What they did. For their 100th anniversary. Was. Super. Selective. For. It wasn't for everyone. To share in the experience. It worked for them. Clearly. It was what they wanted to do. What they did. It was flat out amazing. Right. Like. The technical. Artistic aspects. Of what they created. Was. Amazing. It was for. Five people. You know. It was for a super limited number of people. We're pilot fans and customers. We wanted to experience it all. And we're not going to get it. So. The release of their new colors now. For 2019. Just shows. We're not going to get anything. For. The 100th anniversary. So. We'll have to move on from that. Unfortunately. And see what they do. For their regular products. Although. I guess we'll get some ink here. Probably. March time. For their 101st anniversary. Whatever. I don't know. They just. Screwed the pooch across the board on this. All right. Go ahead. I'm done.

Myke Hurley: Bump says. More cool limited edition. Sailor Pro gears. That you don't have to guess. How to obtain. Not too many though. I don't want to bankrupt. Myke. Me and Bump. We're on the same level.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. This is everything. We talked about.

Brad Dowdy: Do some really. Cool stuff. That you're already. They're making. They're doing some knockout stuff. As far as design goes. Give. The greater. Planet. A little more. Chance. To get them. In an easier fashion. That loses. Some of the specialness. I understand that argument. But you can still. You can have it. This one. You can have both ways.

Myke Hurley: Doesn't have to be. The same crack. Of all of them. Right. You can still have. The special Japanese ones. In Japan.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. So. You can. This is one. That I do believe. You can have. Both ways. And I would. I have. I'm on board. I'm on board with that.

Myke Hurley: Brandy says. In general. I want more dark purple. And more silver trim. But as a particular wish. I'd love to see a transparent. Purple. Twisby Eco. Brandy. Is part of the year. Of transparency.

Brad Dowdy: Year of transparency. And guess what Myke. Twisby replied. To that tweet. They told Brandy. You're not going to have to wait long. Oh boy. I love it. Year of transparency. 2019. I didn't realize this was going to be a thing. I've always been a transparent pen person. But apparently. I want everything to be transparent. I'm not very transparent in that fact.

Myke Hurley: Abbynormal23 says. I'd like to see Blackwing offer an extra firm core. Outside of the volume series. Series.

Brad Dowdy: I mean. This is an amen. This is a preach. This is. If they don't do it this year. I don't know what they're doing. It has to happen. Because they keep slamming it in the volumes. And they just keep making it harder on themselves. By not offering it in the primary lineup. I don't know what the hold up is on this. It's the best core. And.

Brad Dowdy: They continue to use it. And they continue to not make it. A general everyday product. And that needs to change.

Myke Hurley: Alright. So our next one comes from Doc Krog. Who says. Honestly. As much as I love pocket notebooks. I love what Story Supply Co. Is doing with making A5 stuff. I know that's a wildly big ask from other companies. But just expanding and experimenting. Into fun new ideas of paper products. Would be fantastic.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. What Vito and Gabe have done. With their A5. Is super cool. Because it's. Got a lot of handmade elements into it. And that's a. Very time consuming. And labor intensive product. And it shows. Like it came out. Amazingly well.

Myke Hurley: Which one is this? Which one is this? The A5? What's it called? I knew you were going to ask me the name. Is it the Exposition Notebook?

Brad Dowdy: Yes. That one. That one. That one. So. Yeah. It's fantastic. Like it's everything I want in an A5 notebook. And. As far as other companies go. Yeah. I mean. You know. They look at it. There's. There's a new level of competition there. That's. In the mainstream.

Traditional Notebook Views

Brad Dowdy: Of stationary users. Like. Your pen addicts. And like your. Mainstream stationary buyers. The traditional. A5. Slash. A5-ish. Hardbound notebook. Is what they think of as a notebook. So there's a lot of competition in that area. So. Story supply is able to. Do something cool and innovative. You know. Like for us. But in the big picture. It's kind of hard to go up against. Like. Leuchtturm. And Moleskine. And things like that. But. That doesn't mean they shouldn't try. Right. This is the stuff that we find. Fun. And interesting. And want to support companies. That are doing these things. And making these choices to be different. So. Yeah. I mean. I totally agree with. Dot Krog. I just wonder how we get there. You know. It's. It's cool. We're going to keep seeing new notebook companies. Come out. Like all the time. We had a ton this year. You know. Element. Elia is new to me. You know. It's just brand new stuff. So. And there's 8,000 other ones. That I'm. I'm not thinking of. So. Yeah. It's good.

Myke Hurley: BDU Cav says. Pilot launch. A new collection of vanishing points. Of a retro 51-esque visual design. More patterns. More releases. More fun for the office.

Brad Dowdy: Pilot leaves so much on the table. The more I think about it. The more mad I get. I. So they did. What was. I guess it's been about 4 or 5 years. Where they did that 5 set of vanishing points. That were not the limited edition release for that year. But they did the. They did the black matte. With the colors. Like purple, green, blue, orange, and red. Why don't they just have more. Vanishing point releases. Throughout the year. That barrel is a perfect canvas for so many things. Right? The. It's just. It's. It's two cylinders of artwork. Whatever you can put there. There. It could be some really neat stuff happening in that space. Like. I don't understand. Why that one. Hasn't seen. Like. More of the. Disney. Sanrio. Star Wars. You know. Branding and marketing. Not. I'm not saying that I want that. I'm surprised. I haven't seen that. From a company. As big as pilot. Who does things like that. With the. It's essentially a blank slate. On that vanishing point barrel. It has to be. Generally. Easy. To make. Make that work. Like. How cool. Would some of those things be. I. I'm.

Myke Hurley: I can see. I'm not holding my breath. I can see. That they. Hold that pen. In too much respect. To. Brand it. With other people's stuff.

Brad Dowdy: I'd buy the Hello Kitty one tomorrow. Well. I know. I know. It's not going to happen. Right. But. Yeah. I'm with you. I agree.

Myke Hurley: I feel like. I feel like. That they might. They might not want to. Kind of sell that one out. Because it is. It is a truly unique pen. That only pilot have. You know. Anyway.

Brad Dowdy: Well. Well then expand on it. Yes. Now you're making my argument. Yeah. So. I didn't realize how perfect. That barrel is. For other things. Until. Thinking about it now. So yeah.

Myke Hurley: Calligraphy Nut says. I'd like to see someone. Offer a traveler style approach. To a sectional notebook. Design. With more fountain pen friendly paper options. Sketching notebooks. Calendars for example. But without the crazy price. On simple things like covers.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I mean. This is kind of. The dream scenario. This is why we like. Brands like travelers. Who. Give us. Infinite options. Um. And then they also charge us. You know. 50 to 70 bucks. For a slab of leather. You know. I think that's. You know. It's kind of the style. And the aesthetic. Like I get it. Um. You know. The. Rotor Foden. Toschen Big Leiter. I think. Is one of my favorites. In this type of category. But it's. Way expensive. Um. Like. Much more expensive. I think. William Hanna. Um. Is. In this category too. And it's. Crazy expensive. So yeah. I don't know the answer to this. But I'm with you. Like. I love. You know. Like the. Customizable. Kittable. Notebooks. Journal setups. You know. I. I think that's a big thing.

Brad Dowdy: You know. How do we solve this problem? Who's going to take this problem. And. And run with it. You know. Um. Yeah. To build. To build that perfect kit. I. Yeah. I. I think that's something. To keep an eye on. And I. Because I think we're close. We see so many options. For notebook styles. And notebook covers. You know. Can. Can someone do. Make the perfect. Perfect kit for calligraphy nut? Maybe so. I could see that happening.

Myke Hurley: Alright. So. Our next question. Comes from Rustopher. I'd like a Pro Gear. Purple Cosmos. From Sailor. And a larger size of pen.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. I mean. I.

Brad Dowdy: I don't want to. I don't want to go down the path. Of. Like. Bashing on the. The Pro Gear. Sapporo. But I think the 1911. Standard. Just changed my mind. On that pen. So much. It just feels so much better. So. Give me all your. Fancy sailors. In the big sizes. That's it.

Myke Hurley: And then. Michael Grover. Says. 2019 wish list. I'm really hoping. To see more. Full size. Pro Gear. Limited editions. In the USA. All their core colors. Are usually available. In the 1911. And I much prefer. The Pro Gear. Body style.

Brad Dowdy: I'm right there. With you. I'm with you. In the full sizes. Totally agree. And. I don't know. Maybe we'll see that. This year. I. You know. We'll see. Sailor is so. Active. With releases. Like. I'm kind of. Surprised. A little bit. Like. It's constant. Which makes it tough. On the wallet. And tough. For consumers. To decide. You know. Is. Is this the one I want. Or am I. Should I wait. For the next one. You know. That's a challenge. With. You know. We talk about things. Like Retro 51. And. Now. Sailor. You know. Retro 51. That's their business model. They make. Pretty much. You know. Limited editions. Only. Where Sailor. Makes stock. Editions. And limited editions. So. Yeah. I'm. With Michael. Just. You know. Overall. Let's get. Let's get more. Pro gears.

Brad Dowdy: In the. In the. In the cool styles. That we get. Everywhere else. In the world.

Myke Hurley: Patrick O'Neill says. This might not be. Brand specific. But I'd love to see. More lay flat options. In notebooks. Like the Moo. Hardcover. Also more stationary. From Moo. Because the lay flat. Is great.

Brad Dowdy: Moo really had. Something here. And it kind of fell off. I think. They had. Yeah. It fizzled out. Because. Once the word got out. That they were good. They sold out. And I think the restock. Was slow. And. Just like any business. You move on to the next thing. Right. But. That didn't change the fact. That this was. They made a really. Great notebook. Just out of the blue. So yeah. I agree on all counts. Lay flat. Any hard bound book.

Brad Dowdy: And. Lay flat option. Is. A tough. Uh. Tough process to. Succeed in. It can be done. There's lots that do it. I just. I'm kind of with them. That you know. Maybe we'd like to see more. So. Um. And more from Moo. Let's. Let's. Let's. Let's relaunch that notebook move. It was really good. It's still there. But. You know. It's just kind of. It could have really been. A thing. I think they were probably surprised with it. To be honest. Right. I mean. That's not their business. No. And. They made something. That actually. Worked. On the first shot. And like. They took their shot. And they hit it. And I was like. Well. What do we do now? So. I think they got stuck a little bit.

Myke Hurley: All right. Our next one comes from.

Myke Hurley: T.O.I.P. 2019. Wishless item. Visconti. Homo sapiens. Vesuvius. Vesuvius. Special edition. I don't know if I've ever seen that word written down before. Oh. Really? Yeah. So. I was like. Vesuvius. Okay. The Homo sapiens. Vesuvius. Special edition. Using llama. Llama. My word. All right. The Vesuvius. Llama edition. Okay. Using lava. From a volcano. I have visited.

Brad Dowdy: Do it.

Myke Hurley: Is this a thing? They do? They make it from lava?

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So the Homo sapiens. That's their. That's their selling point. And that's why it's so popular. It's got this really unique feel to it. And I've always wanted one. And they've never gotten the nibs to where I wanted. But. In this past year. They've kind of fixed a lot of their nib issues. I'm not hearing about as many nib issues. I think Visconti makes some of the. Have. They have really great designs. Yeah. Now I'm more concerned about like nib materials. Like. And price point. So. It's a very expensive pen. And. Nib materials. Aren't gold. They're. Whatever magic. Nibs. They're using. So. I can't argue with their design stuff though. I. I'm really taken by their designs. I've always wanted a Homo sapiens pen. I've never pulled the trigger on it. But. Yeah. I'm with you. That's a good one.

Twizby Mini Preferences

Myke Hurley: Eat Nick says. I'd like to see Twizby do more fun colored editions of the mini. Maybe some colored caps like the eco. And I'd also like to see right pads do more limited edition notebooks with bold color covers and pure binding. No one does it as well as them. Saddle stitch is nice. But boring.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So. Both. I. I'm with. I'm with Michelle on both counts. So. Twizby mini. Especially the mini vac. I love those pens. Give me. They're doing a lot with the eco. Which I love all the eco designs. And they've done a lot with the 580 as far as the aluminum anodization. Throw me a bone on the mini. Or the mini vac. Pick one. I don't care which. Throw me a bone. Give me something fun on those pens. Give me. Give it the eco treatment with just translucent caps and pistons. Whatever. I don't care. Twizby's doing a really good job at making it fun. And giving lots of color options. Give it to me in the mini vac. Or the regular mini. Whichever one. Write pads. I agree. Like. I love everything that write pads does. What actually I want from write pads. Is a better.

Brad Dowdy: Basic notebook. Not a better notebook. I mean. They make like one of the best notebooks. I want more. Variety. In their stock offerings. Like they have a stock three pack. Of blank lined and dot. That's kind of their only basic edition. Everything else is kind of limited. Or like the bigger spiral bound stuff. That they're doing now. You know. Give me a basic dot three pack. Give me a basic grid three pack. Give me a basic blank three pack. You know. Just to get more people into the base editions. As opposed to just the limited editions. Which I buy universally. Like. No questions asked. Like. They're such high quality. I love them. But yeah. I'm. I'm with eat nicks across the board. On both of those things.

Myke Hurley: And finally. From warehouse 40. I'd love to see some. I'd love to see not code. Do a mini note card. That folds open. Similar to the gigantic one. Perfect to keep in a wallet. And get a little bit more writing room. Than a business card.

Brad Dowdy: So this is. I. The gigante. Note card. Is just one of my favorite things. It's. It shouldn't exist. But it does. And it's fantastic. At the same time. We made that. We said. We have to do this. In a mini. Note card. We have to have. The petite. In the fold over size. And it would cost us more. To do that. Than. To have the regular petite. So. When you do. A small product. And then have to score it. Like we do. It's. Highly labor. Intensive. Highly machine intensive. And it would cost us. More. Than. We could sell them for. In a reasonable. For a reasonable question. So we tried. Like. We really. Like. We said. Well. We have to do this. This only makes sense. It's the perfect. Format for it. And look at the price. That's a no. So.

Brad Dowdy: So that's. And that's a no. Sorry. Warehouse. So. I'm so positive. About all these other things. But we actually tried this. And it would be. Ridiculously priced. I think it would cost us. As much as we sell. Like the regular petite cards. For now. Just to get them made. That's a shame. It was ridiculous. It was ridiculous.

Myke Hurley: So that's it. That's 2018. In a nutshell. We're all done. We can move on to 2019. Onward and upward. Thank you so much. To everybody who submitted a question. Thank you so much. To all of you for listening. Both now. And at any point. That you may have joined us this year. Or any other year. We sincerely. Sincerely appreciate it. We can only do this show. Because of wonderful people like you. Also. For our sponsors. Harry's. Kane11. And Blue Apron. They supported this episode. And they've all been great supporters. Of the show this year. As well. If you want to find Brad online. Knock. Co. Dot com. Knock. Dot co. I'm going to assume. Yes. I'm going to assume he has both of those. Because I've missed the first one. Brilliant. Yes. He. Penaddict. Dot com. Don't forget to become a member. That's a great digital gift. For the pen addict. In your life. This year. Become a member. Of pen addict. Over at penaddict.com. Slash members. And you can. You can get yourself. A lovely. Refill newsletter. Every. Every. Single. Week. I'm looking for. I look forward to it. Every weekend. It's a wonderful newsletter. Brad is a Twitch streamer. Twitch.tv. Slash penaddict. For that. He is on Instagram. Penaddict on Instagram. He is dowdyism on Twitter. D-O-W-D-Y-I-S-M. I am imike. I-M-Y-K-E. On Instagram. And Twitter. And we'll be back. In a couple of weeks time. In 2019. For our next episode of the pen addict. Until then. Say goodbye Brad.

Brad Dowdy: Goodbye Brad.