transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:05] From Relay, this is The Pen Addict, episode 713. Today's show is brought to you by the Canalaya Penco, Squarespace, and Penchalet. My name is Myke Hurley, and I'm joined by Brad Dowdy. Hi, Brad.

Speaker 2:
[00:19] Myke Hurley, did you get caught on the 713 again? Like, wow, that's a big number.

Speaker 1:
[00:23] I don't know what it is. I say, I don't know what that is.

Speaker 2:
[00:26] This happens like every third episode I say this, but it's like, it's like you go, wow.

Speaker 1:
[00:31] It doesn't make sense to me really, because like, so many of my shows now are way up there. You know, like obviously we got a bit of a head start, but you know, like I'm up to like, we're doing connected 600 today. So like it shouldn't be like, like a thing, but for some reason I stumbled on 713. Sometimes I think just the numbers are hard to say. And like this one was like a harder one. It doesn't have a good mouth feel, Brad. 713.

Speaker 2:
[00:58] True. Yeah. Not, it's not, it's not anyone's favorite number. I don't think so.

Speaker 1:
[01:02] It's not 710. Let me tell you that.

Speaker 2:
[01:04] No, no, no. It's no, no 711 either.

Speaker 1:
[01:06] Indeed.

Speaker 2:
[01:08] We have a lot to discuss this week.

Speaker 1:
[01:10] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[01:10] I think we should probably get into it. Are you ready?

Speaker 1:
[01:15] I am.

Speaker 2:
[01:16] All right. So last two episodes, we've been stringing along this pocket fountain pen discussion, right? I got this question a couple of weeks ago, you know, with a specific set of requirements for a pocket pen. So I answered that. So we mentioned that two weeks ago. Then we did some follow up last week. And the end result. And I also got feedback from the questioner.

Speaker 1:
[01:42] Ah, yes.

Speaker 2:
[01:43] That I actually didn't answer the question or they weren't clear enough. So the original question that I answered was based around a pocket fountain pen with like no threads, just a snap cap. Um, just very simple to use, low, low cost. And we answered all those questions. It's a surprisingly short list.

Speaker 1:
[02:02] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[02:03] The question actually is, I want a pocket pen that meets those requirements that you mentioned, that only feels like a fountain pen and writes like a fountain pen, but isn't a fountain pen.

Speaker 1:
[02:18] Okay. Well, I've got to say, Brad, to the question asker. You should have asked the question correctly.

Speaker 2:
[02:26] They admitted it. They're like, maybe I didn't explain this correctly.

Speaker 1:
[02:30] Yeah. I mean, we're in a completely different ballgame now.

Speaker 2:
[02:33] Yeah. I was mentioning this yesterday on stream, and one person actually got it. It was like, I listened to it, and I think they didn't want a fountain pen. I was like, you know what? You're smarter than me because that's not the path I went down. So here's how we're going to start this discussion. So the parameters again, like pocket pen, capped, no threads, okay? But feels like a fountain pen, but it isn't a fountain pen.

Speaker 1:
[03:01] You see, so here's like the initial question. What does that even mean? What does feels like a fountain pen mean?

Speaker 2:
[03:07] Right. So how do you define this? So I put in the meta discussion, is this a thing, right? And how do you define feels like a fountain pen, but isn't?

Speaker 1:
[03:19] I don't, I can't do that.

Speaker 2:
[03:22] Yeah. That's why I had to sit on this for a little while. I really needed to dedicate some time.

Speaker 1:
[03:26] Now it makes sense why you were so cagey about just saying it. Now I get why you didn't want to say it last week. You're just like, I have the question, but I'm not telling you.

Speaker 2:
[03:36] It's like, okay. Because I wanted to finish the feedback on that topic, on the original, the misquoted topic.

Speaker 1:
[03:44] Because that was also a good question to answer.

Speaker 2:
[03:46] Yeah.

Speaker 1:
[03:47] It just wasn't for this person.

Speaker 2:
[03:49] It was great. It was great. But then I didn't want to muddy the waters, if you will.

Speaker 1:
[03:53] Sure.

Speaker 2:
[03:54] And I didn't have an answer, because I had to think about this. And if you were thinking about this, like, can you even think of what that would be? And I came up with a couple of answers.

Speaker 1:
[04:08] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[04:09] And I have not, I enjoy doing this, because this person listens to the podcast. I do not share these answers with them before they listen. So these could be like totally wrong. So we'll probably get some feedback on what does this feel like a fountain pen mean? I didn't want to, I purposefully didn't ask, can you define this a little bit better for me? Because I wanted to give it a shot. And it's like, I don't know that this is a thing.

Speaker 1:
[04:30] I think the question actually requires a separate question, which is like trying to dig into the, well, considering the fact that that doesn't exist, what we need to isolate is what is the element you are trying to emulate? And so it's like, what do you enjoy about fountain pens? Like, for me, what I would be looking for in this pen is something that writes really smoothly, but for you, it would probably be a different thing.

Speaker 2:
[05:03] Yeah, so my theory...

Speaker 1:
[05:05] Because I like medium to broad nibs because of the smoothness, where I think you would want more tactility, like feedback, from the page.

Speaker 2:
[05:14] Yep, so my theory was line variation, which leads into like feedback type of situations, right? So like, I started looking at brush pens. Like, is a brush pen... Does a brush pen feel like a fountain pen to people? Does it make brush pen lines? Do brush pen lines... Are they similar to what a fountain pen feels like? Well, we're gonna talk about a fountain pen later, and I'll go ahead and bring this up now. That is one of my favorite pens of all time, the Pilot Murex. It is the most nail-like fountain pen, right? So if I want a non fountain pen that writes like the pure Pilot Murex, well, I'm gonna say like Uni-Balt Jetstream, right? Because it writes like a nail, and the line is fine. Does that write like a fountain pen? It depends. Maybe some of mine, like to your point, you know, what my needs are. But in a broader sense, would a brush pen meet what people think a fountain pen writes like? And again, this is me not asking this person to define this because I wanted to explore this a little bit.

Speaker 1:
[06:20] Absolutely.

Speaker 2:
[06:20] Right? So that's like two very disparate things is just a basic brush pen or like the most nail pen you can find, which is like a jet stream. And I put down the Tombow Fudenosuke brush pen, which it could be any of these. Again, none of these are pocketable, right? What I consider pocket size, this is a standard size pen, right? That's one of the other caveats here. Well, this is a big pen. I mean, not a big pen, it's a standard size pen, you know, like a SecurePigma Micron size pen. And then I picked the firmest brush tip to give you some line variation, but not all the line variation that you need there. Who knows if this is an answer, you know, we're going to ask at the end for y'all's feedback. So y'all be thinking about this, listeners, and, you know, coming up with some feedback. I'm sure we'll have more discussions on this. But like, if is, so that was where I went first, was like a brush pen tip.

Speaker 1:
[07:20] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[07:21] And so, okay, if I'm going to go down a brush pen tip, and I want a smaller pen, what would something like that be? And the Tom Studio Wren kind of came up in my head. This is a pen I've had pass through my hands, and it is a small compact, more of a felt tip type of pen than a brush pen. Does it feel like a fountain pen? I don't know. It's a metal barrel, aluminum barrel. You can put interesting colors in it, right? These are those refillable type pens.

Speaker 1:
[07:56] Well, I mean, maybe you're... Again, it's like, what is a fountain pen to you? If a fountain pen is like freedom of ink, then this is going to feel like that, right?

Speaker 2:
[08:07] Right, right.

Speaker 1:
[08:10] Yeah, it has to be that.

Speaker 2:
[08:12] Yeah, it fits the small pocketable thing, right? And metal, small pocketable, threadless. But does the output match? Does it solve the question, right? Does it answer the question? I don't know. I love this kind of topic because we can just kind of talk through it, and then maybe next week we'll get some more feedback. I think some people would enjoy this as, I'm not comfortable taking a fountain pen and putting it in my pocket, but something like the Tom Studio Wren might give me some aspects of what I like about my fountain pens in a nice portable package. So that's one, which I think is probably a pretty good take, I don't know. The kind of the last one in this category of me thinking on the brush pen idea. This is a really cool pen, and I've reviewed this pen, I should probably find my review, I'll let you go dig that up while I'm talking. The Kuretake Zig Coco Aero. So again, small barrel, I was trying to find a smaller barrel brush pen, and what they do with this pen, it is a compact barrel, and it's oddly designed in that the refill just kind of like jams through the back of the barrel.

Speaker 1:
[09:33] That is a massively weird design. I love it. I didn't know what that was in the image. Yeah, that's the refill. That is so weird.

Speaker 2:
[09:44] So this is like a combination, like if you mashed up the last two pens, that's probably what this is. It's kind of like a brush tip, kind of like a felt tip, but it has a kind of a bulky refill that sticks out the back of the pen.

Speaker 1:
[09:58] Why would they do that?

Speaker 2:
[10:00] I don't know, just like some weird aesthetic thing. I don't hate it. Like I actually kind of quite enjoy it, the look of it. And they're cheap.

Speaker 1:
[10:07] Do they do color refills? Oh, they have different colors? Cause they're different colors. That maybe makes sense to me.

Speaker 2:
[10:12] They don't. There's blue, black, blue, bordo, sepia, sepia. So there's like five colors, but there's not like orange, purple, green, that kind of stuff. It's a very neat, comfortable functional pen. I thoroughly enjoy it, just from the fun perspective.

Speaker 1:
[10:29] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[10:31] So I thought, is this a pocket pen with a snap cap that could, you know, mimic your fountain pen, if you didn't want to carry a fountain pen? So I was actually pretty happy to pull this one out of thin air, which I've had a lot more experience with this one than the other two for sure. And it's one I like. I was like, oh yeah, that's a good one.

Speaker 1:
[10:53] So then I have a brush on this. Is it hard?

Speaker 2:
[10:55] Yeah, yeah. It's medium. It's, if you're talking in a brush pen category, it would be hard. But if you're talking a felt tip, it would be softer.

Speaker 1:
[11:06] Softer than that. Okay.

Speaker 2:
[11:07] Yeah. So it's like, I would say it's probably on, if you were going on the brush pen scale, it's gonna be on a firm or hard brush pen. So it's got a little bit of flexibility around the tip of it. Little bit brushy, but still has some firmness in there.

Speaker 1:
[11:21] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[11:22] Yeah. Good pen, good fun pen. So that was my list, and that was hard to pull this out. And the Tombow brush pen isn't even a pocket pen. The other two, I'd say would fit that category, especially the Wren. But I still don't know that they solve the issue. I was like, okay, so I'm racking my brain trying to come up with some other things. And I thought, you know what else is kind of writes like a fountain pen? And people actually say this, but they don't think of it anywhere near the same category as a pencil. Do you buy that a traditional wooden pencil, non-mechanical pencil could have some fountain pen line characteristics as far as like shape and feel?

Speaker 1:
[12:14] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[12:15] Do you buy that? Some people might not buy that. Some people probably think I'm crazy. But I buy that. So I was thinking something like the Traveler's Solid Brass Pencil, which is the pocketable pencil. We mentioned the fountain pen for this original category. I was like, you know what? This pocketable pencil, it's a bullet pencil, so you have a short pencil that you take out and you flip it around and it makes a full size barrel. No threads, no anything like that, quick deployment. Would you consider something like this as a fountain pen replacement? I know it's kind of hard to get there mentally, but I don't know, I kind of feel like that's a reasonable solution. Like, pencil may not work for the needs of this writing, right? But from a conceptual place, which is all I had left. Like, this is the last, I was at the end, I was like, I don't know what else goes on this list.

Speaker 1:
[13:16] I think this is going back to what I was saying earlier, that a pencil for you is closer to what you get out of a fountain pen, which is not the case for me. It is more of a brush or felt tip pen would get what I like most out of a fountain pen, which is the smoothness where you are looking for kind of a toothiness. Feedback, shape, and a pencil will give you that.

Speaker 2:
[13:40] Yep, exactly. So I don't know. I just kind of had this little like for me, like I could only think of this for me, right? Because it was hard enough to come up with any answer period. It was like, what would I think as something that would represent an answer to this question? So those were four things I came up with. Rough, like rough coming up with this, but I wanted to work on it. I want to spend some time in it. Do I have an answer? I don't know. Before we wrap this, I did want to say, don't fall into the Pentel Tradio trap. This is a pen that I have basically told people to avoid for years, if not decades. They originally marketed this as a fountain pen, but it has this weird felt angled tip. It's like this cross between a felt tip and then a calligraphy tip. And they call it the Tradio fountain pen originally. They've backed off that marketing because they actually do make a metal nib fountain pen one. So I've been looking around as like, oh, they don't use fountain pen with this type of pen much anymore.

Speaker 1:
[14:56] Because it's not.

Speaker 2:
[14:57] Yeah. So don't fall into this trap. It's just technically a bad pen. Right. And this doesn't fit the answer because it's a big pen anyway. But don't fall into the trap of thinking this is going to give you some type of fountain pen feedback or style of writing. I mean, technically it does give you that little brush style, a little bit of an edge to it. It's better in theory than it is in practice. I just thought it was actually just a poor product, right? You're going to be better off just buying a Micron or a calligraphy nib. Something specific for what you want to do instead of something like this that's trying to be all-encompassing, and I just think it's not enjoyable to write with. So that's my list. We'll see what the feedback is on this question from the asker, but I want to know what listeners think about a fountain pen feel in a non-fountain pen. Specifically, a pocket pen, if you can come up with something, what do you think meets that criteria? Is that a thing? You can just tell me that's not a thing. I mean, I'd buy that too, right? Like I'd say, this is not a thing. You have to change or meter your expectations a little bit. Can you get close? Can you figure out something? So also, it's very personal. To your point of this whole conversation, your answers would be extremely different from mine, right? Based on the fountain pens that you actually use. So yeah, I think it's super. This was a fun little experiment. I don't know that I got anywhere, but I do like thinking about this kind of stuff. This is my kind of question and it was tough. It was tough. So yeah, let us know. Love to hear your feedback on that. You can obviously email me hello at penaddict.com. You can get us at penaddictfeedback.com. And yeah, definitely give me some thoughts if you spend some time thinking about this, because I certainly did and I don't know that I got anywhere. Oh, one last thing.

Speaker 1:
[17:12] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[17:13] The brush pens, circling all the way back to the top, I meant to mention this. Several of the brush pens, especially Pilot, I believe, I don't have this pulled up, call themselves pocket brush pens. They're not, they're just full size, like a secure pick up mic.

Speaker 1:
[17:28] Are they getting around? Is that like, typically a brush pen would not have a cap?

Speaker 2:
[17:34] No.

Speaker 1:
[17:35] They're saying something like you can take these with you?

Speaker 2:
[17:38] I think they're saying you can take these with you because they're refillable with our cartridges.

Speaker 1:
[17:42] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[17:43] I think the three there.

Speaker 1:
[17:44] Pocket is being used to suggest this is different to another type of brush pen though, right? Like what they're getting at? Okay. You can put a cap on these, take them with you, they've got refills in them, like they're not just a thing that sits at a desk.

Speaker 2:
[17:57] Yeah.

Speaker 1:
[17:58] Correct.

Speaker 2:
[17:58] So they're just not a what we would consider a pocket size pen or standard size pen, but they use that in the product title is Pocket, and I didn't even list that one because it's a very, very soft tip. It's a popular pen. It's just a very, very, very soft tip. So very mostly art usage as opposed to like me writing, writing usage. So there you go.

Speaker 1:
[18:21] This episode is brought to you by the Kana Leia Penco. For 10 years, Kana Leia have been making stunningly beautiful pens inspired by images of Hawaii. Right from the very beginning, Kana Leia's founders, Hugh and Carol, who are both wonderful people, have believed that these locations can help recharge our spirit and connect us with nature. And time and time again, they have produced products that embody just that. We are so excited to get to share information with you about Kana Leia's newest release, which is available now, the Aluala Collection, which has been designed to commemorate their 10th anniversary as a company. This pen was inspired by the sunrise of a haleakala in Maui, which is the Hawaiian island that Hugh and Carol first visited. This trip sparked their desire to create these wonderful pens, so it only felt right for the commemoration of this release to be that. In Hawaiian culture, Aluala signifies the sunrise, but also the ideas of new beginnings, hope, clarity, and renewal. It is the encouragement to take a step towards change in your life, which is a very fitting idea indeed. The Aluala Collection features fountain pens and three of Canalea's profile options, as well as a ballpoint pen, and also fountain pens at the Maua, Loa, or Mailele bands that are both available. I love these bands. To me, they actually really enhance Canalea pens. Like this is, I have multiple of their pens now with the bands on them. I think it adds something special.

Speaker 2:
[19:57] I know you're in the middle of the ad read, but this is a true separator.

Speaker 1:
[20:00] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[20:01] Right, product separator. It's outstanding.

Speaker 1:
[20:03] Yeah. And brand new for this anniversary is the option of an Argentium Silver Medallion in your choice of Golden Yellow, Sky Blue, or Midnight Blue. They've always been kind of a silver before, like a silver color, and now you can get them with actually different colors which match the colors that are in the pen itself, which is very yellow and blue. We'll talk about that in a minute. The pens in this collection can be taken one step further to become a full anniversary edition with the option of an enameled anniversary medallion. Hawaiian enameled jewelry is a legacy piece that is passed through generations and is given as a lasting and meaningful token to commemorate a life event. I have one on the, so Hugh and Carol always send us a pen in advance, and I have like yellow enamel inside of like the silver medallion, and it matches so well with the main color and the cap of my pen, which is yellow too. Like, so nice. Overall, the hopeful meaning of aloala is the, and the bold design of this pen is significant to Canalaya as they enter their second decade. For them, this is a signification of renewal, inspiration, and moving forward with the Aloha spirit. Canalaya pens feature JoWo number six nibs. They offer sizes from extra fine to 1.1 millimeter stub. Hugh smooths and tunes every nib before it leaves their shop so that your Canalaya pen will write beautifully straight out of their lovely black walnut keepsake box. With each purchase of a pen from the Aloha collection, Canalaya will be making a donation to the Maui Humane Society, the Hawaii Food Bank, and the Stronger Hawaii Fund, giving back to the communities that inspire their work. You can find out more about Canalaya's whole offering and place an order today at canalayapenco.com, and we can celebrate their anniversary together. Thanks to Canalaya Penco for their support of this show. So this pen, the Aloala Collection, is a me and Brad will have them. The colors in this pen, you know, it's their beautiful swirls they do, and it's a really light blue, like almost like a baby blue, a very dark sky blue. Yeah, okay, we can go with that.

Speaker 2:
[22:19] Yes, it's the official name.

Speaker 1:
[22:21] Thank you. A very dark blue, like a midnight blue.

Speaker 2:
[22:26] It is actually midnight blue. These are all the enamel names, just for the record.

Speaker 1:
[22:30] Oh, good, good, cool. And then there is a golden yellow.

Speaker 2:
[22:34] Let's see what you have. You got it.

Speaker 1:
[22:36] I open the web page. So one of the things that I love about this pen is the yellow is essentially the same or very reminiscent of the yellow in the Haleakala Sunrise, which is my favorite of all time that they've made. And it also makes sense. I don't know if they intended to, but I would expect that they are kind of harkening back to that pen because they were at Haleakala when seeing. This is what they're going back to, that image in their mind, right? Of being at Haleakala. And so like the yellow and the blues and stuff all go together. Yeah, I mean, look, this is Canalea doing what they do best. You know, like they've done it again. Like this is, you know, if you like yellow and blue, you are going to love this pen. There's kind of no two ways about it. And, you know, like, I don't know how they continue to do this to me in such a way that I always like the pen with all of the options, but they've done that too. Like the one of the hero images on their homepage shows the enameled versions, which are also in the golden yellow, sky blue and midnight blue. And they all look superb. Yellow is the winner for me, but I also really love the sky blue one as well. Like they both really, all of them pop, but those two for me are the big ones.

Speaker 2:
[24:03] So I got the sky blue one.

Speaker 1:
[24:05] Oh, you did.

Speaker 2:
[24:06] It was a great discovery, right? So when I get the package, right, we have all the materials on it. And I'm like, I'm not looking at the card. I'm not looking at the materials. I don't want any spoilers on this. And I just start opening the box. And then I opened it and unsheathed the pen. And it was like, you know, like Pulp Fiction gold briefcase moment, right? It was just, I was like, this is so bright and so colorful and so different from some of the ones that they've been doing. And I love it. I love just how this is a very like, I like the concept of like sunrise. It's very like energy inducing, like this pen. This is like the pen I want to write morning pages with my coffee in the morning with. Like it's just gives you that like little burst. And then I was, you know, I have the the Miley Lay band on mine. What are the so there's a couple of different patterns on their minds, like the the wave. Oh, that's the Malaloa band.

Speaker 1:
[25:01] So yeah, Malale is a more like a kind of leaf like lay. Yes.

Speaker 2:
[25:05] So I have the Malaloa pattern on this one and it's beautiful. So I was looking around, I was like, oh, this material is great. And I was looking at it and then I popped over and I was like, wait a minute, this, they haven't done this before, right? On the little medallion, I was like, my medallion is blue. And I had to start going looking, I was like, they haven't done this before, right? So yeah, and then I, like a good person would do is like, well, let's look at the paper where I can see. So I love the shape, I love the brightness of this pen and just the colors. It's really just kind of like a happy uplifting pen.

Speaker 1:
[25:43] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[25:43] Right. And I like that it's a change. Some, not that the previous one, the Papa Kalea is not brighter uplifting, but it's a completely different story and a completely different style. And I like how they kind of change it up from addition to addition.

Speaker 1:
[25:58] I do think there is a vividness in this pen, like a very bright vividness, which is not necessarily new, but they haven't come back to inquire while. I feel like some of the original, original Kalea were very bright in color. And where I feel like they've kind of, they've had more either understated tones or deep tones in a lot of the more recent ones. And this one is, is like it screams off the page at you, like which is very, very in, like out and proud, I would say.

Speaker 2:
[26:35] Yeah, it's a very, which is correct for the 10th anniversary edition.

Speaker 1:
[26:39] Yes, I think so.

Speaker 2:
[26:40] Yeah, and so like, It feels like a celebration. The best way I can put it, like with the Candela pens and why you and I like them so much, not to put words in your mouth, is that we are spoiled for choice in this industry, and where we spend our money. At the end of the day, I want a pen that makes me feel something, right? And this is kind of what you get, like from the moment I opened the box, it's like, okay, it's like fine. It's like you got me. It's like it makes you feel something. Like, you know, honestly, not all pens make you do that, right? So I appreciate the work that they put into it in the storytelling behind it. And the execution, last thing for me, and I've said this probably every time that they've been on the show, there's no better fit and finish of any maker pen. I will stand on that. Just the feel of the pens and the finish and the fit of it is noticeable. It's something I noticed very, very clearly.

Speaker 1:
[27:38] Yeah, you've put something better than I was about to say. You've summed it up really well, but I will add on to it. Obviously, I sponsor the show, but they don't... And we talk about how we feel, but things like what I'm about to say is not what they're paying for, but it's how I feel, which is there are lots of pen companies and brands that produce a product with bright or vivid, swirled acrylic, right? It's a trend that has occurred over the last, however, many years. But I just don't think anybody does it better and more consistently than Candela.

Speaker 2:
[28:14] Yeah, and not, so you're going to get me going down a rabbit hole. They do it sparingly and controlled, which I appreciate, right? So, yeah, so everything is...

Speaker 1:
[28:28] They produce, they don't just produce like, oh, here's this thing, there's four of them, you know? And then like, wait a while and you can get another one. It's like, no, here is our product now. Like, this is the product, you can come and buy this product, and it's in our offering and it will be here until it's not. Like, they have found a way to do this, I think, really professionally, and I really respect that.

Speaker 2:
[28:55] Yep.

Speaker 1:
[28:55] So congratulations to them.

Speaker 2:
[28:57] Yeah, congratulations on the 10th anniversary. You can go see this pen at the Chicago Pen Show next week, I think.

Speaker 1:
[29:02] Yep. I have a Hiroshizuku Konpeki in mine.

Speaker 2:
[29:08] That's a good call.

Speaker 1:
[29:09] I was thinking about putting a yellow ink of some kind in, but I was like, no, no, I've done that too much. And so I was kind of digging through and I was like, well, I haven't used Konpeki in a while. And as soon as I put it in, I was like, oh yeah, that was the right answer. Very Oceany.

Speaker 2:
[29:25] So Oceany. I love it. All right. You ready to go to our Shoutout of the Week?

Speaker 1:
[29:30] Shoutout of the Week. And if I had like an angel sound, like I would play it now. Yeah. For what we're about to talk about.

Speaker 2:
[29:39] Okay. So you feel that way too, huh?

Speaker 1:
[29:41] Absolutely.

Speaker 2:
[29:43] This caught me very off guard and I've had to read this like 10 times. So we're going to say the Shoutout of the Week is for the Nagahara Model Number 1. But what this is, is a particular pen that's released at Bunga Box Japan. And this is from a pen from Yukio Nagahara, who formerly of Sailor for many, many decades there. Nimmeister at Sailor now on his own as the Nib Shaper. And I'm sure many people who've been, who are very deep into this industry and have gotten, you know, nib grinds at different shows have, are familiar with Nagahara's work. So this is a pen that was made. Only 50 of these pens were made, and it's an ebonite barrel, and it's got some like ridges and I don't know, it's a really, really beautiful pen. I have to kind of look at the details of the pen a little bit more, but it's stunning. I don't know, it's a really neat shape. And the concept is that the nib shaper, Nagahara, has essentially made a raw tipping on the end of each of these pens. Therefore, you buy this pen with the intent of getting it finished by Nagahara himself. And it's kind of a wild setup, but for him, it makes total sense.

Speaker 1:
[31:14] Like, how does it actually work? Like, when you buy this pen, how do you get the nib that you have to go?

Speaker 2:
[31:24] I would imagine there is a coordination. I wouldn't be surprised if like, like say Bungu Box, for example, might have like an in-store, right?

Speaker 1:
[31:34] Yeah. Like, you book an appointment or something.

Speaker 2:
[31:36] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, I don't know, right? I don't know all the details, but I'm kind of like fascinated by this whole thing. So yeah, it's basically an unground nib, and there's only 50 opportunities to pick this up and then have this done. I guess, does the grind come in the price? I haven't even looked at the price.

Speaker 1:
[31:55] I'm sure it does. I'm sure it does.

Speaker 2:
[31:57] It's gotta be.

Speaker 1:
[31:58] It's like, what would be the point of it? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:
[32:02] It's so cool. I don't know. I'm kind of fascinated by this whole thing.

Speaker 1:
[32:06] Who makes this pen?

Speaker 2:
[32:08] I don't know.

Speaker 1:
[32:09] It looks like a sailor to me.

Speaker 2:
[32:11] So the middle, the black parts, so it's black and silver pen. The black is ebonite.

Speaker 1:
[32:18] Cause that's a sailor clip.

Speaker 2:
[32:21] It is a sailor clip.

Speaker 1:
[32:22] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[32:23] Now that you say that. It's not, it's not a sailor shape necessarily.

Speaker 1:
[32:27] It's not branded.

Speaker 2:
[32:29] It's, yeah, it's not branded. It's Rialo-ish in shape with those tapers on the ends, but it looks a little bit bigger than a Rialo. Rialos are pretty small.

Speaker 1:
[32:37] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[32:37] I don't know. This whole thing is wild. I wanted to look in this more. This just kind of caught me off guard. And the more I read, the more I just went down like, yes, like this is amazing. Like I like that they're doing this. So Bungu Box literally has addition number, model number one. So I don't know if they're numbered or whatever, but they're, they're claiming like, this is number one of the 50, and there's only 50. So honestly, Mike, now that you say that, since he travels to a bunch of pen shows, I bet these come with him. Oh, and you bet they're not all store things. Yeah. Because he basically does like a bunch of pen shows, like he'll be maybe in San Francisco, you know, he'll do like Manila or crazy. And I bet you just buy it there.

Speaker 1:
[33:16] Like a billion dollars. Because this pen is very reminiscent to me of the blue black that I have, the Bungle Box Blue Black. Right. Like, you know, which is also... Yeah, that was it. Yeah. It's also like ridged.

Speaker 2:
[33:33] Are they raised or are they just like a visual? Like...

Speaker 1:
[33:36] No, no, no. They like cut into the acrylic and filled it with blue. Okay. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[33:41] It's tactile.

Speaker 1:
[33:42] Yes, it is tactile. So this looks kind of like the big brother of that pen.

Speaker 2:
[33:47] Exactly. So like, where is this coming from?

Speaker 1:
[33:49] Yeah, it's a wild story. I want to know more about it. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[33:53] Very cool. Very cool. Something to look at. So yeah, if you're really... Like this is like very, very deep down the rabbit hole. And if you're in that place, this is something to just go like, you know, check out and see someone doing something a little bit different and unique and fun. I think it's pretty cool. So...

Speaker 1:
[34:09] All right, Brad. I need you to do some investigative journalism for me. So I received a package that I bought of two Kuru Togas. One was the Kuru Toga Wood, which is truly one of the greatest products I've ever held in my hands. OK. I'm in love with that, right?

Speaker 2:
[34:27] Yep. OK.

Speaker 1:
[34:28] I also got the Limey Safari of Kuru Toga inside. Yeah. I can't work out how this is doing the Kuru Toga thing because the refill is not the same.

Speaker 2:
[34:39] What do you mean the refill is not the same?

Speaker 1:
[34:41] It's not the same mechanism. OK. It doesn't mean the way that Kuru Toga looks.

Speaker 2:
[34:48] But it has the marker on it, right? It has a it has a porthole on the barrel, right? In a rotation, is it not rotating?

Speaker 1:
[34:55] I can't see the rotation and it doesn't look like when I when I take it apart, it doesn't look like the way a Kuru Toga looks.

Speaker 2:
[35:03] Have you already broken it?

Speaker 1:
[35:05] No, no, no, no. Like how you would how you would like kind of take it apart to refill it or whatever.

Speaker 2:
[35:09] I mean, it's not a speed racer rotation. Like it takes some time. It's like like you're a watch person, like it's slowly going to go around as you're writing.

Speaker 1:
[35:18] I'm just it just look, it just can't work it out. And so like you said, you're getting one of these, right?

Speaker 2:
[35:24] I haven't ordered one, but of course I will be getting.

Speaker 1:
[35:26] I just want you to to kind of because it's it's just feels it feels so much less obvious. OK, that I'm not sure it's working the same way.

Speaker 2:
[35:37] Fair.

Speaker 1:
[35:38] OK, I wonder if they've they've actually developed a different way to to do the rotation for this product.

Speaker 2:
[35:47] Yeah, I wonder if it was like a fit issue and they had to make an adjustment.

Speaker 1:
[35:51] OK, you know how you see like the teeth? Yeah, it doesn't have that. OK, because you can unscrew the cone in the end. Yeah, and there's nothing there.

Speaker 2:
[36:04] Yeah, I mean, it's yeah, because it's it's up the barrel inside.

Speaker 1:
[36:08] Yeah. When you get it, I just want you to look at it because it just so it doesn't feel as obvious to me as the regular Krutoka does.

Speaker 2:
[36:16] I got you. So I've been very patient for this. Just waiting, right? Because in the at the end of the day, it's not going to be the greatest Krutoka ever. No, it's not. Yeah. It's something I very much want though, right? And I'm excited that it exists. It fixes this pencil. But I've just been patient because I didn't need to rush to get this one, right? But now you actually have me much more curious, and maybe I'll just escalate in getting this and see. Then we're going to have to have an OG mechanism versus a current Safari mechanism to see if there's any difference in them. So this is my kind of investigation.

Speaker 1:
[36:58] It's very possible that I am overthinking this, but it just doesn't look the same. It doesn't act the same.

Speaker 2:
[37:08] Fair enough. Fair enough.

Speaker 1:
[37:10] You know what? I'm actually looking at the Vista one, and I can't tell.

Speaker 2:
[37:16] Which color did you get?

Speaker 1:
[37:17] I got yellow. Okay.

Speaker 2:
[37:21] Yeah, maybe I'll get the Vista so I can get the full visual, but I don't know.

Speaker 1:
[37:25] Keep using it.

Speaker 2:
[37:26] Yeah, it's got the porthole in it, and so that orange will rotate, right? That's where we show you that it works, because this is the piece that moves.

Speaker 1:
[37:37] Yeah, which it did do as soon as I started using it. I don't know, man. I'm probably overthinking this.

Speaker 2:
[37:44] I love it. This is why we do this.

Speaker 1:
[37:46] It's just who I am. I can't help it.

Speaker 2:
[37:47] Yeah. This is why we do this. And this is why I reviewed the Kakamori Frost Fountain Pen.

Speaker 1:
[37:52] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[37:53] Hesitantly. This is such an interesting pen to me, and I've waited a couple of years to actually get mine because I was pretty sure from the time I first held this pen in 2024 at Stationary Fest that I I hesitate to say it wasn't going to like it, but I was like, oh, yeah, this isn't really for me. Like, I don't see the point here. But they keep releasing them. They keep having these great colors. I think it's a great looking pen, right? So this is by the Japanese brand Kakamori, who is more widely known in our spaces for the bullet nibs that they use for ink swatching, writing, dip pens, things like that. And they've made like a fountain pen. And this is the theory behind this pen, Myke, is that it has the swappable front end. I only got the fountain pen tip because I generally don't like the roller ball tip, but you can just swap out the tip in this if you want to use a roller ball tip with a fountain pen ink cartridge or converter, right? So that's kind of like a combo meal with this pen. I want to like this pen so much more than I do. And I don't dislike it. It just doesn't do anything for me because at the same time I'm using it and feeling it and writing with it, I also know how much it costs. And those things, all those things together in my head don't add up, so it's $58 in a vacuum that seems fine. I mean, it probably seems expensive, but I was like, yeah, there's lots of pens in this range that are expensive. Like the Pilot Pereira, it comes to mind, it's like $64, and it doesn't offer that much. And it's lightweight and things like that. But I just couldn't get all the way there. And I'm not even going to get all the way there talking about it today because it confuses me that much because I really want it to be spectacular. I think maybe I've just over, I can't manage my own expectations of wanting this pen to be something, say like a Y Studio Resin fountain pen that I shouldn't like and I ended up loving. And this one I should like by style and design, but it just doesn't add up to me when I think about comparing it to a Platinum Preppy or Platinum Pre Fonte more specifically, a Pilot Cocoono, Things in the Low Teens. I just can't get there with this one and I'm a little bit flummoxed as to why. So yeah, I really didn't have much to say because I'm still confused about my feelings of this pen. But go read the review, check it out. I think it's beautiful and they have some other colors, like the greens and the oranges are really, really nice as well. But yeah, it just didn't click. Didn't click all the way. If it was like half the price, maybe I'd think a little bit differently about it. But I don't know. I wanted to like it more. I couldn't get all the way there and therefore, I enjoy reviewing products like that because there's kind of, I mean, I don't want to say there's no conclusion. My conclusion was I can't recommend this. But it doesn't mean it's bad? Question mark. So it's such a weird, weird product. So I don't know. Just one of those things. It's definitely a very me topic to talk about. It's like, yeah, I don't know. I want to like this more and it just didn't get there.

Speaker 1:
[41:28] So I've been doing some research in the background. Okay. And I don't know what this really means, but it might be one I'm noticing is different. The Lamy Safari has the Kura Toga KS model mechanism in it, which is a different one that was introduced to reduce wobble, pencil tip wobble.

Speaker 2:
[41:52] Yeah, the sideways.

Speaker 1:
[41:54] And maybe that is constructed in a different way, so it doesn't look how I expect it to look in that regard. Like, maybe it's done differently, and that's what I'm noticing, that I'm super used to the standard Kura Toga design, and this isn't that.

Speaker 2:
[42:11] So that would make sense that the front end is different, because that's the area where that mechanism, the anti-wobble would be in place.

Speaker 1:
[42:22] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[42:24] Which is different from the traditional base Kura Toga. So that's more of a front end mechanism there, area where you would see a difference. Yeah, I get that.

Speaker 1:
[42:35] Okay. So that might be what I'm noticing.

Speaker 2:
[42:36] Fair enough.

Speaker 1:
[42:38] Not that this is a massive difference, but I'm very familiar with the Kura Toga, and it just doesn't seem to look the same, and I think it's because it's a different engine that I'm not used to.

Speaker 2:
[42:49] Yeah, this is why I don't use the Kura Toga advance, which I don't like. That's the one that will continue to extend the lead as well.

Speaker 1:
[42:56] I want to try that. I think that's an interesting idea.

Speaker 2:
[42:59] Oh, people love it. People love it. It's just not for me.

Speaker 1:
[43:01] It's a bit lazy though, isn't it?

Speaker 2:
[43:05] It's like, how much can we solve writing here?

Speaker 1:
[43:08] The next one is just the Kura Toga writes for you. You just let it go and it just does the thing.

Speaker 2:
[43:15] AI Kura Toga.

Speaker 1:
[43:16] Oh, I love it. Kura Toga AI is exactly what everybody's been needing.

Speaker 2:
[43:21] You know what? Don't give Mitsubishi. I wouldn't put it past them. Especially now that they have Lamy, and Lamy's done all that digital writing stuff that has generally failed. Like, don't give them any ideas. Don't give them any ideas.

Speaker 1:
[43:41] This episode is brought to you by Squarespace, the all-in-one website platform designed to help you stand out and succeed online. Whether you're starting out or scaling a business, Squarespace will give you all of the tools that you need to claim your domain, showcase your offerings of a professional website, grow your brand, and get paid all in one place. I'm going to tell you today about how they do all of these things. So claim your domain. It's very easy to get. It's not just all about getting a website into the domain name. Squarespace offer this. You can go and do that. The professional websites showcase your offerings. They have beautiful tools to allow you to set up your website. You can choose from their wonderful award-winning templates, and they have all these galleries that you can go through, and they were broken down into business types. Or you can use Blueprint AI, which is their AI-enhanced website builder. So you just tell them, you just type what your website is, and what you want your business, and what you want it to be, and then they will give you recommendations. But no matter how you start, you can always customize things. To grow your brand, they have SEO tools built right in. So when people are searching for you, they'll be able to find your website, or searching for the thing that you do, they can find your website. They take care of all of this for you, so you don't have to. And you can get paid as well, because they have the ability for you to offer consultations to events and experiences. You can have invoices that all get sent out, online payments, physical and digital goods. You can even sell, like digital goods, can include videos and courses that you can sell on Squarespace. It's all really easy to do. Go and try it out for yourself by going to squarespace.com/penaddict, where you can sign up for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use the offer code pen addict, and you'll save 10% of your first purchase of a website or domain. That is squarespace.com/penaddict and the code pen addict for 10% off your first purchase and to show your support for the show. Our thanks to Squarespace for the support of this show and all of Relay.

Speaker 2:
[45:29] So I just went to my Squarespace site, penaddict.com, to grab a link that I forgot to grab last night when I was making the show notes, because I wanted to take a couple of minutes to talk about the Pilot Murex.

Speaker 1:
[45:41] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[45:41] And this has been a historical pen in this show and that we've talked about it since probably single digits. Time frame, it just has a very interesting pen, a very unique pen and a pen that I personally say is my favorite pen of all time. So does that still hold true, right? Every year, there's more pens coming by and more pens we're trying and things like that. Does it still stand up? And the reason why I'm putting this in here, because one of the things I do on Twitch stream is we have, if anyone is familiar with Twitch, the viewers watch and just by their watch time, they gain like channel points, right? And then the creator myself can say, hey, you can do these things with channel points. It's just like a free little thing. So for a certain amount of channel points, someone can make me fill a fountain pen, right? That's the redemption. And they get to pick, they get to pick the pen and they get to pick the ink with very little restrictions. There's a couple of things like I won't do.

Speaker 1:
[46:47] You won't put shimmer inks in the-

Speaker 2:
[46:49] Yeah, I'm not going to put the shimmer in a Murex, right? Like, like that's just not going to happen, right? There's, but with very, the point is I want very few limitations because I want people to mix things up. Well, yesterday, the redemption was to ink up one of my Murexes because I have two. I have a standard black trim one, then I have a smaller skinnier red trim one. And I haven't inked up the red trim one in a long time, literally probably a couple of years. And so I got that inked up with Pilot Orochizuku Sukiyo, which is one of the two S-tier Orochizuku inks. If we go back to my tier list in the previous episode of the show. And I inked it up, I put it on the page, and I pretty much blacked out. It's the best pen and nib and ink combination ever. I could get rid of all of my pens and keep the Murex and I would be happy. That's how that pen feels to me. So I just wanted to put that on record. The Murex continues to hold up for me and how I like it. This is not going to be a pen for everybody, right? And we talk about this all the time, right? You know, one of my goals in everything that I do is help people find the pen that is for them. You know, I'm gonna find a pen for you that you feel like I feel about the Murex, right? It's ridiculous how perfect this pen is for me, how much of a nail it writes with, with just a stock fine nib, how small and fine this pen is. I don't know. It's crazy. So that reminded me that I need to update my analog defaults page, which we talked about earlier this year. And I've already put like one, I've already changed like one or two things. This is a, not a permanent what I'm using page, but these are these standout products that I currently use. And I've changed. Let's see, I think I added the Pilot Explorer because I've been using that one a lot to this list. We'll have a link in the show notes and you can go see my explanation of what this is. And I think I have a couple of changes I want to make. And one of them is the Murex is going to go to the Found Pen List. And the only reason, so this is again, not a permanent all time list. This is more of a snapshot. And when I was making the list, I wasn't using the Murex. It wasn't putting in the work. So what are the pens that we're putting in the work? And I have the pencils and gelling pens and kind of run the gamut of all the products. So there's a couple of things I want to change here and tweak here, so like I'm going to swap out the wooden pencil. Maybe the mechanical pencil. So I've done one or two small changes, but I'm do a little bit broader change for this. So I just wanted to put out there and, you know, relive the glory that is the Pilot Murex.

Speaker 1:
[50:03] I mean, for me, it's all about the M90. Yep. But it's a similar idea. It's funny, looking at your, the post that we put in the show notes, your fountain pen education post, you say here, knowing that my podcasting partner, Myke Hurley, had never seen or heard of The Pen, I sent him a link to the Murex to check out. My headset was promptly filled of an OMFG type expletives. And then he said something that I agree with completely. If Apple made a pen, this is what it would look like.

Speaker 2:
[50:29] Yeah. I still believe that.

Speaker 1:
[50:30] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[50:31] This article was from 2013.

Speaker 1:
[50:33] Yeah. So it's the engineering and the seamlessness. I mean, it's actually why I like the M90 more. I think the M90 does that even more. Sure. Because there's no even grip lines. Like it's just like perfect, you know? But yes, this, I just, I cannot understand again, still why they do not make a product like this today. It makes no sense. It would sell so well, so well because people who don't know anything about fountain pens would buy this pen the way they buy Mont Blancs. Because you see this and you're like, that looks really fancy.

Speaker 2:
[51:15] And I don't even think it's a cost thing at this point. Like this doesn't, I mean, I don't know, right? But like, I think they could make this for $300 like easily to sell for like, I don't know, maybe not.

Speaker 1:
[51:27] The only question I have is, is the quality control on this pen more difficult?

Speaker 2:
[51:35] Yeah, maybe.

Speaker 1:
[51:36] Like, is that the blocker? Is the fact that it is the nib is formed from the body of the pen, essentially. Does that make it harder to make well? I don't know.

Speaker 2:
[51:48] Maybe. Maybe.

Speaker 1:
[51:51] All right. Let's finish out with our final sponsor and then finish out again with some Ask TPA questions. Two finishings today. Nice, nice, nice. This episode is brought to you by Penchelay. Penchelay sell wonderful products from your favorite brands. Whether you're looking for a new rollable or fountain pen, a ballpoint or mechanical pencil, maybe a bottle of ink or an accessory, they're going to have it for you. And their brands list is growing all the time. It's so fun to go to Penchelay and just click the brands button to take a look at all the incredible companies that they sell products for, because they're adding new styles of pens every month and they have discounts every two weeks, close out specials as well. Penchelay do free shipping on orders of over $75 in the US and they have the best shipping rates they can give you for international shipping as well. But no matter what, Penchelay has low prices and high quality products and they offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee with fast and reliable customer service. So go to penchelay.com/penaddict and you can get 10% of anything. And to see what this week's exclusive offers are because you listen to this show.

Speaker 2:
[52:54] So before I get into the exclusive offers, I got to bring up a pen that so many people have mentioned to me and gone, wow, wow, wow, what is this? It's the new Pelican Souveron Pelican Art Collection, George Tipo fountain pen. The design of this pen is out of the park and that's pretty much what Pelican does. I had a member's podcast recently, and I forget the exact impetus of the question, but basically who makes the short version of is who makes the best pens across the board from every category. And I think I wasn't allowed to say pilot, maybe something like that. And I said it's Pelican and I never use Pelican pens because I don't get along with the nibs, but that doesn't preclude me from saying they make kind of the best like special edition, just beautiful pens, art pens. This one is a 600 model, which is right in the middle of their lineup. So they have smaller barrels and they have larger barrels. I honestly thought it would be more like they're expensive pens to begin with. And the way they do these designs, I don't know, in these limited art editions tend to be like pretty, pretty fancy and pretty nice. So I don't know, this one really stood out. It's an interesting story about Pelican's first, one of their poster competition artwork. So it's just stunning and a beautiful pen. So go check that one out. I really, really enjoy that one. And then on our Pen Addict page, I mentioned this, I think, last time, and this is still got to be one of the best deals going. The Novelord Nautilus TI Black. The price is ridiculous. And I'm looking at the nibs available. So they have broad and double broad. This is your nib grinding platform. The way the Novelord nibs are, are really, really great for nib grinders. They have a good amount of tipping. And this is just a large capacity, really fun to use pen that I can't speak highly of. Highly enough of. And then finally...

Speaker 1:
[55:07] It's a very different way of putting it. I can't speak highly of this pen.

Speaker 2:
[55:13] I just plowed through that because I was pretty sure I misspoke, but I wasn't going to try to revisit it. So thank you for pointing that out.

Speaker 1:
[55:22] I can not, under any circumstances, can I speak highly of this pen? Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[55:27] So I have the shiny titanium one, the Pendular model. Lastly, the Joya Van Demans World Ocean box set. This is a crazy cool material, great pen, great shape, and it comes with the pen and the matching ink on this set, and it's a really, really great price. And yeah, it's a, I don't know, super, super fun to go check that out and check out everything over at penchalet.com and appreciate their support.

Speaker 1:
[55:56] Yep. Go to penchalet.com/penaddict, you'll find the special offers for this week and the code that you need to save on anything over at PenChalet. Our thanks to PenChalet for the wonderful continued support of this show and Relay.

Speaker 2:
[56:11] All right. You want to hit a few STPA and we'll wrap it up?

Speaker 1:
[56:13] Do indeed. Pilot writes in and says, I have not been a fan. It's not that. It's not that.

Speaker 2:
[56:19] Are you sure?

Speaker 1:
[56:20] Well, we'll find out when you hear the question, you'll feel confident. I've not been a fountain pen user, but I love the discussion. I've come into possession of several pilot varsity pens. They are so easy to use and a nice writer. If you discuss this pen before, what are your thoughts? Actually, I was wrong. This may well be pilot.

Speaker 2:
[56:38] That is what pilot would say, right?

Speaker 1:
[56:40] If they're coming to water, you talk about it.

Speaker 2:
[56:42] Right, right. So pilot is not wrong in this case. So the pilot varsity is their entry level fountain pen that you can buy in bulk. And it's a non refillable black. I think they might have blue, but I mostly know them as a black medium nib. And you can buy them in like a 12 pack. So like you would actually see these at offices sometimes. It is a very good pen, but the problem is usually the area you acquire them in a lot of cases, since like I mentioned, you can buy them in bulk, they will end up in people's hands who are using them with regular copy paper or bad paper. And this is a very inky pen. It is very good to see if you like fountain pens, and it's a very good quality pen, and it's a great nib, and it's a great ink, just even the basic black ink. And if you like that, you will move on from it very quickly, right? Because there are better options for not much more money. But it is a high quality starter pen, and that's all it is. It's a beginner pen, maybe an art pen, but an artist is gonna want a refillable pen. And there's all, you can go find like pilot varsity hacks like magically refill these, you know, by, you know, syringing it up in the barrel and things like that. But they're not designed to be refillable, like say like a platinum preppy. But yeah, great pen, great nib, very small window of opportunity, I believe, and it's just kind of to see if you like fountain pens. I take that back, I think now that I'm thinking about it, I think they do make like purple and green. I think they might like have like a five color pack. I'll have to go look, but anyway, good pen, and once you decide you like it, you'll move on.

Speaker 1:
[58:37] Alan writes in and says, I judged high school debate for the first time in a bit, and I used my old standbys. Pilot better ballpoint and fine in multiple colors. But they're really light and don't flip as well as heavier pens. Now, I didn't understand this. Do you think that Alan means like, they're like doing tricks with the pens?

Speaker 2:
[58:57] No, and it took me a second. I think he actually means the click. And I think it might be like an automatic typo refill. I think he means they're really light and don't click as well as heavier pens. I could be wrong, but that's my note, because the pilot better ballpoint is a retractable.

Speaker 1:
[59:17] Flip I think, yeah, means like retractable. That's a good one. That's a good one. All right. So I'm looking for refills that fit in spoke pens that are, whoa, I know, really fine to fit many notes on a sheet of paper. Do not feather or bleed on terrible budget legal pads. Never or almost never skip and fast drying. Also, spoke multi-pen.

Speaker 2:
[59:40] We've had people asking for that. I can't even fathom what that would cost us to make.

Speaker 1:
[59:46] As for multi-pen, it would be insane.

Speaker 2:
[59:49] In our style of pen, it would be so big too. It would be so big. It would be like it's awful just to think about. Maybe some two-color multi-pen, but people don't think two-color multi-pen.

Speaker 1:
[60:04] Maybe a Kalito, right? Because it's like super tiny.

Speaker 2:
[60:08] Geez, Louise. But can you imagine, I know you could technically make a mechanism to make that work. It would be miserable. I would hate making... The design process for that would be just outrageously expensive. So back to Alan's question, or maybe this is Brian. Again, we had a pilot plant, now we have a spoke plant. So maybe it's my partner Brian planting this. I don't know what model they're looking for. But if they want a retractable, like the better ball point. So our Model C is like a good retractable. And it can fit the Jetstream Parker style refills. And you can find those in 0.5 millimeter, I think, if not 0.7, which is plenty fine enough. And they will write on any paper. They will have a very, very clean line, never skip. They dry instantly, like it is very clear what this answer would be to me. The Jetstream, it's, I'd have to get the model here. It's in this pen, SXR 007 or something like that. Let me look at it. I'm gonna disassemble a Spoke Roadie, but they do fit in the Spoke Click Model C pen. Let me get you the exact refill type here, which is the Jetstream SXR-600-07. I do think they make an 05. I don't have one. These aren't the easiest refills to find, but you can find them out there, and they're great. So you're limited to just black ink, but it answers every question. Unlike the topic we started this show with, where we didn't answer any questions, this directly answers every question you have perfectly.

Speaker 1:
[62:06] All right. So we're going to tie up today's episode with, I'm going to say this is like a bookend to the beginning of the show.

Speaker 2:
[62:14] Man, the fix is in.

Speaker 1:
[62:15] Yeah. Matcher writes in and says, I love my Spoke Axl S. I'm sad they're no longer being produced.

Speaker 2:
[62:21] I mean, they still, okay, point of clarity, they're available.

Speaker 1:
[62:25] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[62:25] They're available until they sell out.

Speaker 1:
[62:28] And then they're no longer available.

Speaker 2:
[62:30] Then they're no longer. Yeah. But there's plenty available.

Speaker 1:
[62:33] Available.

Speaker 2:
[62:35] Chill, Matcher.

Speaker 1:
[62:35] All right. All right. I'm fond of many pocket pens, but I have to wonder what pocket is this? What pocket is this pocket term referring to? Myke Aveiko often falls out of my pants pocket and not all of my shirts have pockets. So there's a selection of questions here. Yeah. What pocket do you put your pens in? That's question one. You can answer it.

Speaker 2:
[63:00] Okay. So there is pocket bias here when I talk about pocket pens. I'm talking man's front pocket, front pant or short pocket. So me.

Speaker 1:
[63:10] Okay. Maybe you have a pen boy. I don't know.

Speaker 2:
[63:14] That's even more biased. This is specifically my front pocket. So there is pant pocket bias when we deal with.

Speaker 1:
[63:24] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[63:24] So front right, front right, Brad, Brad's front right pocket. That's where we're, that's where everyone has their pockets. Okay.

Speaker 1:
[63:37] I never put pens in a pocket. If they go in any pocket, they go in the pocket of a bag.

Speaker 2:
[63:47] That's generally more of the pocket.

Speaker 1:
[63:48] I do not put pens in my pocket. Okay. What else goes in that pocket? Is it a pen only pocket?

Speaker 2:
[63:56] No. Only my front pocket wallet, which is a smooth leather, so nothing will bang up against each other and damage each other.

Speaker 1:
[64:09] Okay. So I'll give you a quick, I put my wallet in my back pocket. Don't just leave me alone. It's where it goes.

Speaker 2:
[64:16] Yeah, it's fine. Old man.

Speaker 1:
[64:17] Front right pocket is my iPhone. Front left pocket is my keys and my AirPods. That's my pocket situation.

Speaker 2:
[64:26] Gotcha. Gotcha. So yeah, does it go in back pocket?

Speaker 1:
[64:30] Is the next question, do your pens ever go in back pockets?

Speaker 2:
[64:33] Never. Are you insane?

Speaker 1:
[64:35] Yeah, that's a bad idea.

Speaker 2:
[64:36] That's a bad idea.

Speaker 1:
[64:37] And finally, are fishing vests the way of the future for those of us who love having multiple pens on us at all time?

Speaker 2:
[64:43] No, no. So your other carry options. So for clipless pens, I'm or even clip pens, I'm fine with that front, front right, Brad's front right pocket carry. And then other pen, if I want to, I might clip it to a shirt because I don't just wear like a t-shirt. That would be difficult to clip. I usually wear like a button type shirt. So I can clip it to the placket or to the pocket on there on the shirt. Otherwise, I would go straight to a bag. And then, no matter how small a pen case is, the pen case is never going to go in my pocket. I would have to go to a bag or something smaller like that. You know, like I have some small two and three pen cases, those are just still too big to go in a pocket. I'm like a single pen in a pocket person. No more, any more than that, we're going to start to like having extra carry stuff.

Speaker 1:
[65:35] If you would like to send in a question for us to answer in a future episode of the show, just go to penaddictfeedback.com. You can send us your questions there along with your feedback and follow up if you have any about this episode. If you would like to find Brad online, go to penaddict.com. He is on twitch.tv/penaddict and sells products of spokedesign.com. You can find me and this show at relay.fm. I am also at the enthusiasts.net and cortexbrand.com. Thank you to Pen Chalet, Squarespace, and the Canal Air Pen Company for the support of this week's episode, and we'll be back next time. Until then, say goodbye, Brad.

Speaker 2:
[66:13] Goodbye, Brad.