I'm an RN and work the ICU and all my night crew peeps were very aware of my "nerding" out on fountain pens, every once and a while I'd bring more expensive pens and everyone would want to try them out and see how they write and see the ink colors. When I switched from nights to days I gifted every one of my night co-workers a Pilot Varsity with a note that said "You hapPEN to be INKredible!" They all decided to place different colored nail polish on theirs so they could tell them apart and no-one could steal theirs. I've had two co-workers approach me and say they have run theirs dry, and ask where they can by more.
My wife is an FNP and absolutely would nerd like you. I’m under the radar with my pens. But she walks in and people start asking her about her bright pink sailor lol. Thank you for being a nurse. Never enough of you. You get my respect for a job that is unappreciated.
That flare-based mug had some coating on the bottom to help keep it from sliding around on the center console or dashboard. 🤔 I might still have one in the back of my cabinets.
After the panel at the San Francisco Pen Show, I told Drew I bought my first pair of cargo shorts and learned I could fit the contents of my messenger bag in them. When Drew expressed his incredulity, I unloaded a Kindle Fire, a case for Bose noise cancelling headphones, a triple pen case, a double pen case, an A5 journal, an A6 notebook, my wallet, and my phone. Drew said he'd never tell Brian. I promised I'd comment.
Brian's "why are vinyl records still a thing?" was a wound to my soul in the same way if someone asked that about fountain pens. I love curating my record collection to only contain the music I love most - as someone with tens of thousands of songs saved on Spotify, wading through all of that to find that one song I really liked six months ago is completely different from putting on a record and just enjoying the music. Just as with fountain pens, it's about intentionality, tactile feel, and the joy of having all your favorites literally at your fingertips. Thanks for another amazing Pencast. 💙
The difference is that, however impractical, fountain pens perform better in certain aspects than "normal" pens. That isn't the case for vinyl. I'm not against vinyl, just saying that it has been completely obsolete since the 1990s
@@DrinkWater713 Vinyl is a lossless format. They are higher quality than CDs or MP3s and on par with .FLAC and .WAV files. You have to actively search out and find digital music files that are the same quality as records. It may not matter for you just like a ballpoint is fine to a normal person. But there is absolutely a difference. I can go into the actual engineering of sample rates if you want. It’s a super cool area
Yeah but his point is made....records take up a lot of space. Are more expensive. Require more TLC to keep in good shape and there's still people out their using and collecting them. If it's your thing ...its your thing.
Drew, you captured my attitude about parties perfectly! "I like to talk...in small groups. Someone come find me and talk to me. One person at a time, please." 😂
Benu is the brand that enticed me out of 'starter pen' territory, largely thanks to Drew's 'Ten Most Outrageous Pens' video from last year. As soon as I saw the Grand Scepter X I was like 'That needs to be in life immediately 😱😱😱' Ordered one of those and a Talisman Mandrake at the same time; 13 Benus later I have no regrets 😄 I'm here for all the sparkles and any crazy design they want to throw at us.
Benu pens never jumped out at me but I ordered the Euphoria Love (M) as a virtual way of supporting them in their company move. The pen is great and I will likely order another Benu in the future.
@@QuirkyQuillify They do! Regardless of model or nib size they are incredibly dependable writers, plus they have surprisingly good seals on their caps as well. And you can eyedropper them! (most of them, anyway). This is a great option for their smaller pens like the Ambrosia that won't fit a standard converter. Really I can't find enough good things to say about them XD I hope more people give them a chance.
"The process is part of it" - yes indeed. Planning on going home tonight, cleaning a few pens, swatching some ink, filling a couple of pens, and doing some journaling. Sounds like a great night.
I have been on my quest to watch all of the Goulet videos. I started in reverse, so I’ve been watching you guys get younger. Brian, you have aged so well! You mention many times in your videos how you look forward to salt and pepper and the notion of aging. I just wanted to say, job well done! Drew, you honestly don’t look like you have aged a day! So I’m not really sure who this compliment was directed toward after all….🤷🏻♀️🙃
WR 10 Bar refers to water resistance down to ~100M, which is the minimum recommended amount of WR for swimming. For snorkeling and diving, 20-30 bar (or 200-300 meters) is recommended. Most dress watches are rated at 3bar or 30m, but this DOES NOT mean that you can go down to 30m underwater with these watches. 3bar is usually only splash or light rain resistant.
To add to that, the reason is because the measure refers to the pressure water applies on the watch, not just the depth. As you move your watch under the water water pressure increases at certain points. Anyway 10BAR is enough to jump in the pool.
I have an anecdote about luxury pens. A dear friend of mine, with whom I worked many years ago, started a discussion on Facebook about getting back to journaling. She asked her friends for pen and paper suggestions. I suggested a paper and told her I used a Pilot Falcon fountain pen. I even sent her a Goulet Pen link so she could see the actual pen. She came back immediately with, "Holy cow! Are they really that expensive?!" I explained to her as gently as possible that as far as "good" gold-nibbed fountain pens went, the Pilot Falcon was actually quite economical. To illustrate my point, I also sent her a link for one of the Namiki Emperor Maki-e pens.
@@DrinkWater713, I was very much considering my audience. This woman was sophisticated enough to appreciate fine things and see the value in them, but she had never before encountered a pen with a three-digit price tag. I have another friend, and I've only ever been able to get her excited about the Pilot Varsity.
Wow you’re in the same room next to each other! I’m shocked. I feel like I’m getting all nostalgic over here. This is scary to feel this way since it’s only been a couple aid years with Covid distancing but it’s done a number on my mind. Great ti see you two together in the same room next to each other. Cheers
Coming here to see if I am the only pedantic Muppets fan who screamed “NOOOOOO!!!!!! MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN!” during the intro. 😂 Drew continues to delight in his joy of all the things. Thanks, guys, for another delightful show. You make me feel normal. #thunky
Ahhh! It's good to see a Muppet fan here! Although, Landon - if you go back and listen, I said "Together Again - Again" which was a alightly altered reprisal of the original song, specifically for Muppets Most Wanted. You're in good company! Haha thanks so much for the kind words! - Drew
I've been a Pencast fan since the beginning and just wanted to say how much it means to me to tune in weekly and feel like I'm hanging out with friends, having a fun time, and geeking out about pens! Thanks for making difficult times more bearable and good times even better! You guys are both awesome! Big respect for Brian (& Rachel!) for the way they run Goulet Pens. And Drew, you're so much fun, you're the best! Glad to see you both back together! - Ana
If I remember correctly, the flared bottom coffee mugs were called something like Java Travel Mugs. Like Drew said, they didn't slosh around too much and the base had a grippy material so it wouldn't slide around your dashboard (cup holders weren't a thing until the late 80's-90's). They were literally outlawed in most states because the base would obstruct your vision! You couldn't see the road when you took a sip of your Maxwell House drip brew. 😵
I have worked with drawing tablets for years, and it has never come close to replacing the tactile satisfaction of working with pen or pencil on paper. I highly doubt a tablet or screen will ever be able to simulate that alchemy you get at the intersection of pen, ink, paper, and hand.
Agree with this wholeheartedly! Though, my love for digital art and my love for traditional art are each in their own hemispheres of appreciation and utility. Quick design and easy fixing of mistakes makes creating less of a chore, but the old traditional time and effort approach you need to go through to work through the mistakes is sometimes more fun. I will say, though... fountain pens used in traditional art, and then taking it into other medias followed up by some digital touch ups and flare is not too shabby at all! Coexisting love for the both! 💜
Yes, agreed. I take distinct breaks from digital painting just to paint with watercolors, ink and pencil. How I move my wrist and shoulder while drawing also drastically changes. No felt nibs will replace that at least not yet.
I'm just getting back into fountain pens, I have an old Mont Blanc, not even sure why I stopped using it. I always really found it special. So stared with back with something inexpensive, then got a Vanishing Point which was a splurge. I Really Love it! THE Pilot Vanishing Point has improved my writing and the process can be so calming. I think it is a shame that a lot of schools stopped teaching cursive. Now, I'm watching your videos like crazy. Trying to decide what I want to buy next, certainly not a need, but a want. You guys make it difficult, since you alway have interesting lists. Your videos also provide great information on cleaning, assembling and using your pens. Pens are so personal, but you give foundation for making a choice. So cudos to you and your staff. I may never be your best customer because my disposable income is limited, you have me lusting after a few things. So thank you for being so generous with your time and info. Next, INK....too many choices!
So a quick note in regard to your veblen goods piece - my Dad was a director of a bank which specialized in syndicated loans (think $1Bn + loans to finance capital projects, think hydropower dams etc.) - they used to get "signing pens" at the completion of the loan signing, these included Montblanc, Namiki, and to this day he has a Montegrappa Chaos, which were gifted to the signatories of the loan. So $50k on pens was only a footnote in the overall expenses.
Brian talking about board games.... Well that's all my hobbies combined in one! And to Drew - modern board games do combat the things you mentioned, I can say that they very much are a continuation of the 'analogue' hobbies and do some amazing things, including cooperative, app assistance, legacy games (that alter every time you play to tell a longer story) and narrative games with huge stories.
Question!: With the recent accession to the throne of King Charles III, fountain pens were suddenly in the news for a second! There were lots of pens around in all part of the accession ceremony with people signing documents. And evidently Charles apparently carries a fountain pen on his person, and the tray of pens (and inkwells) got in his way while signing official proclamations. Do y'all know what pen Charles writes with? What pens were they using throughout, in general? Because the monarchy is entirely about symbolism, what message do you think is sent by the use of fountain pens?
New to the fountain penthousiast hobby, in a very systematic way I've started to watch the Pencast episodes starting at episode 1 in between to "now" episodes. I'm very happy to see that the Comp-nay updates are still here 😂
Listening to you in the background as I'm working on an economics lecture (and writing my notes with an Omas Russian Empire pen) and suddenly I hear the words "Veblen good". I'll probably have to discuss pens like Montblanc in class. When I worked in Russia, we used to tell this joke: Ivan and Dmitry meet on the street. "Dmitry, that's a fantastic suit!" "Thanks, Ivan. I paid $5,000 for it at a shop around the corner." "You fool! You could have bought it for $10,000 on Tverskaya!" Veblen goods as a way of life. I'd better get back to the lecture.
It was great to meet you in person at the SF Pen Show, Drew. Thanks for being so kind in your interactions with all the fans. Meeting you was definitely the highlight of the show for me. To make a minor correction to Brian’s explanation of purchasing Ferraris, anyone with the money can buy any of the “entry level” cars. Only those with a proven history of loyalty to the brand are invited to purchase their top tiers.
Hooray for the SF pen show! It was my first- sadly I didn't see Drew :( My stand-out moments were that I bought a 6 pen case from Franklin-Christoph that I absolutely love (happens to be "vegan leather" too!), and I spoke to a gentleman that was an encyclopedia of vintage pen knowledge: I had taken my decades old Parker sterling silver grid-patterned pen (it was my dad's who passed >20 yrs ago) to see if I could find out when it had been made and he was able to tell me (1970's) - definitely worthwhile to attend
Just to add to the point on Pilot Varsity, i just noticed that in the proclamation of british king Charles, they were actually using pilot v pen for signatures by witnesses 😄 including the prince. i was expecting a fancy british pen. But looks like pilot it is. I could not identify the pen used by their new king. Screw on cap, dipped into ink. It would be great if you could take a guess in your next video
Drew, I think Archer’s random phrases might come from you. Turkey Hammock has caught on quite well here. I think writing his phrases down might just be your next ink testing tool. 🤘🏼😸
Random fact, The Queen used a Parker 51 for many many years. She was a classy lady. I think the fountain pen hobby is more than just the pens. For me, it's the paper, the ink colours, the bottles themselves, as well as the pens. Technology can never replace all that. Ps just discovered Monteverde Copper Noir and am besotted!!
If Jinhao instead of the Dragon. Would make a Jinhao Corgi or Labrador Retriever. Maybe even the Jinhao Dachshund! I think they would do good in the USA.
Yes to ink sample sets, Yes to Brian doing seasonal videos! I have enjoyed watching/listening to all the Pencasts! Thanks for taking the time to do them! SF Pen show was awesome and I enjoyed meeting you, Drew, and going to SJ! The avocados were the best! “strangerdanger” will always be a funny inside joke among my friends and I!! I hope to see you and Brian next year!
3:15 Bryan was talking about a double board monopoly and it reminded me of my ex in high school. She used to get her friends together for the weekend and play what they called “epic monopoly” where they combined 3 monopoly boards. I thought that was bad, but one time over a winter break she took it even further and combined 8 BOARDS and had something like 10 players! They lovingly called it “Octopoly”. I’m not sure they even got close to finishing the game, but they definitely tried. I myself have never even finish a normal game of monopoly so I can’t even imagine how they did it
Talking about the varsity so much just made me think about how much I love mine. I got mine on vacation to France so it’s a different style from any one I can get here in the US but I love it so much that I’ve use the hack to refill it. Been using the same pen for about 5 years now and, though a lot of the outside has worn off, it still writes every time even if I haven’t touched it in months.
Drrew, I'm laughing about the slow-motion clip and it gave me an idea:: next time Brian goes long on his explanation of something, edit it in fast motion. I think that would be entertaining. :) - Melodie
I'm going to try and not sound like someone's cranky grandma here, but one reason I prefer to use physical/analog media as much as possible has to do with digital business models, and what people think they're paying for versus what the company claims they're actually paying for in the exchange. In 2009 a well-known e-tailer silently pulled copies of Orwell's 1984 (ironically enough) from a large number of their e-readers. More recently, Beyonce released an album and a few days later changed some lyrics on two songs, and my guess is that most or all digital servers immediately changed to the new version right away, and how many of us will even remember in ten years what the original lyrics were, or that they were changed? And of course software as a service has fast become an industry norm, which is now inspiring auto companies to try applying the subscription model to car features. Meanwhile, if I purchase a record album, I can listen to that record as many times/whenever I want provided I have a record player and I haven't destroyed the physical object. If there is some part of the album that gets changed after release (like the Beatles compilation album that got pulled in 1966 for the controversial cover photo), the record hasn't just been disappeared from existence (the album covers that got pasted over can be pulled at the corner and you might just have an extra-valuable record!). I'm only a little older than Brian and Drew but grew up actually feeling like I owned my CDs/books/records/etc, so I resist certain digital business models pretty passionately even though I was also a fairly early adopter of digital methods. Going a bit further, my man-friend uses film cameras because he simply never stopped using film and has a lot of skill and training in doing so. One benefit of shooting on film is that the information of the image is all there-you can size up a portion of a frame of film and still get a sharp photo, not pixellation from missing information. The National Park Service (and I presume other federal agencies in the US) still hire photographers skilled in working with large-format film photography because of this and because the photos are frequently printed as enormous graphics, like a whole panel wall on a visitor center exhibit. The images are sharper. Unfortunately I'm not the most knowledgeable about photography in particular, but I do know that film photographs can be digitized, but digital photographs cannot be printed with the same high quality. Okay, cranky grandma needs a nap! Drew, I hope your first visit to California was pleasant and you got to see lovely things without it getting spoiled by all the wildfire smoke. :)
I got a 2018 ipad pro when I started uni, and used it for my entire degree (science). It's one of the best purchase I've ever made, reduce everything to a small 11'' tablet is just incredible. But, at the same time, anything that's not academic related, like signature, reading journal, calligraphy practice, letters to a friend, etc. I used almost exclusively fountain pen. Along the same line, any book that's fantasy or sci-fi, I read them exclusively on kindle. Anything that comes in a textbook format, I use the ipad. And all of my classical study (greek/latin) and poetry, I always get a physical copy. It's just one of those 'each of their own' situation. They each serves distinctively different purpose.
Bryan asks, "What pen CAN'T fit in your pocket?" Do you really want people to ask you, "Is that a Namiki Emperor in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" 😆
"How are you not dead?" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 OMG Drew, you're hilarious! My prayers are with you, Brian and Rachel. LOL. Take comfort in the words: This, too, shall pass. 🤣
I laughed about the comment about $4,000 handbags! I personally am not a handbag person, but I did a quick look of the most expensive handbags of 2022 and came up with these: 1. Mouawad 1001 Nights Diamond Purse - $3.8 million 2. Hermes Kelly Rose Gold - $2 million 3. Hermes Birkin Bag by Ginza Tanaka - $1.4 million 4. Hermes Chaine'd Ancre Bag - $1.4 million 5. Lana Marks Cleopatra Clutch - $400,000 6. Niloticus Crocodile Himalaya Birkin - $379,000 7. Chanel "Diamond Forever" Handbag - $261,000 8. Fuchsia Diamond-Studded Hermes Birkin - $222,000 9. Hermes Exceptional Collection Shiny Rouge H Porosus Crocodile 30cm Birkin Bag - $203,150 10. Blue Crocodile Hermes Birkin Handbag - $150,000 ... looking at those prices, I guess getting a $5000 pen to throw into that bag for free is a drop in that 2 million dollar bucket! XD
-Drew, my daughter was the same way about tabletop games when she was a teen. Now there are so many that are more interesting, engaging, and even cooperative, she and her partner have a selection that rivals my pen collection. There are so many more options now that they didn’t have when you and she, or even I, were kids. -Also, your reaction to Archer saying “demon breadstick” is priceless, considering the things you write while testing inks/pens. You’re still there, just not saying it out loud. ;) -Brian, I do like the idea of a seasonal roundup. It’s nice to go through the past few months and refresh the memory of recent releases. -Stealth bus… you guys kill me. 😂
Crystal, I thought the exact same thing about "demon breadstick." I was like, "That's rich, coming from the 'Turkey Hammock' man!" Who knew it was genetic?! 😂
Fun video idea: Brian & Drew test fountain pens from the back seat of a Fairfax County electric school bus (full size, not just a small one) going through a parking lot with speed bumps (if possible, the double bumps for maximum turbulence). Fountain pens of 3 different price points on a note pad with no hard backing/clipboard
LOL - my brother claims that I have Champagne Taste on a Rootbeer Budget! And don't get him started on why I need so many fountain pens!!! But as my friend says "When was the last time you saw a Brinks truck at the cemetary!
I'd love to see a similar video with your favourite season inks and Rachel favourite ones (just to avoid a full blue inks list) so a 5 vs 5 would be great. Specially for the winter with the inkvent calendar. 😊😊😊
Hi Drew, Did you know that BROWN IS NOT A COLOR? An interesting trivia :) Actually brown is just dark orange that our brain interprets as "brown" depending on the context. Do the following experiment in a dark room to have a proof. Make two slides in your favourite presentation software. 1st slide with a fully black background and a brown rectangle in the middle. Make 2nd slide having a white background and put an identical brown rectangle in the middle. Now do a full screen presentation and you'll see that the brown rectangle in the middle of the black slide is in reality is dark orange. If you advance to slide to you'll see the same dark orange rectangle as brown. However it's just how your mind interprets that color in that context. As long as there are lighter colours in the surrounding in relation to a brown thing, your mind will see that as being brown. But if there's nothing lighter to give your mind this context, you'll see that dark orange. More details in a video I've just found: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wh4aWZRtTwU.html
Pens, knives, and watches oh my! Definitely went down the rabbit hole with these. 😂 I do love the analog nature of things though. Kindle app is good for travel but I’d much rather hold a paper book. Walking into a Barnes & Noble and just smelling the books is awesome. If only they carried better pens…
I can commiserate with Brian and his yellowjacket sting. One of the little suckers managed to get in the house and decided to hang out in that gap between the toilet seat and the bowl. Got me right on the back of the thigh. (It could've been SO much worse.)
So excited that my question about ugly pens made it into the pen cast - and even the title!!! There really are some ugly pens out there that nonetheless have "good personalities." Just watched a video of the accession of King Charles III where they signed the two documents with what looked to be some consternation around various pens. Did Charles use a dip pen??? For a minute I thought he'd knocked the inkwell over. Then later, he pulled a pen out of his pocket. Others were choosing pens from the tray, that seemed to be at different times to be getting in the way of the proceedings and thus being pushed around. Before going down the rabbit hole that is the fountain pen world, I would never have noticed any of this. Nor would I have thought to wonder what kind of pens were being used. Now, however, I. MUST. KNOW. Help!!!! Someone in an earlier comment said they were Pilot Varsitys. Please tell me that isn't so! I'd be so very disappointed.
Good to be back here! My holiday in London put me so far behind on the pencasts that I tried using 1.5x speed on this video. Works pretty well, but if you think you guys sound funny when it is slowed down, listen to it at a higher speed. Especially when you get excited and start talking faster and higher anyway! Ugliest pens: I remember seeing the BENU pens the first time and thinking how outrageous they were, and then I bought the Black Opal because it was relatively subtle. I now own four of these pens, and the other three are definitely NOT subtle. I have even bought one of the glow-in-the-dark pens. But hey! I‘ve bought 4 demonstrator pens now, and I never thought I would like those one little bit. Thanks for your videos!
I would suggest that a pocket pen should be limited by length. 120mm overall length seems to be a good upper limit, but hard limits always create problems. But since you brought up pocket depth, consider that on average women’s pockets are 1/2 the size of men’s pockets. I think the consideration must use women’s pockets as it’s limits. The average depth of a woman’s pocket is around 5.6”/142mm which means you can completely hide a pen that is 120mm comfortably in the vertical orientation with some room to spare above it. Pockets tend to be wider than they are long. The average width of a woman’s pocket is 6”/152mm. For reference, the average depth and width for men’s pockets are 9.1”/231mm and 6.4”/163mm, respectively.
One of the things that drives me crazy about fountain pens is that the nib dries out Between uses. I keep many more than three pens inked always, but some are more dependable than the others. Some stay wet for months or years lol... Generally speaking these are pens that cap well & have an inner liner or a tightly fitting cap. Generally speaking I have a case full of pens that I quit using because they would just dry out. Sometimes if I’m doing a long letter or a few pages in my journal I noticed that some pens can’t keep up and they dry out and you have to let them rest a few minutes or shake them down a little bit to get the ink flowing through the feed again. I suspect pens with ebonite feeds might be able to keep up and stay wet longer. Is that true?
I agree! I think a better question would be what causes dry starts. I have 40+ pens inked next to my desk (and at least 20 that are stored because I gave up on their dry starts). I have many steel nibbed pens that never dry start. They are the pens that seal the best (Platinum Preppie, most Pilots like Metro, Petit1 - the most reliable!, Explorer, TWSBI, some Moonman). I have gold nibs that usually dry start, mostly vintage Sheaffer and Platinum pocket pens, and others that rarely hard start like VPs, Falcon, and Pocket Elite (the vintage version of Pilot E95). I keep a dropper bottle of water by my desk to regularly drop on breather holes and in converters as the ink dries down. Lamy and Jinhao are the worst, but I love the pens so I accept the trade offs.
Glad to hear you guys acknowledge the crossover between the hobbies. Knives were my first love, took me to watches which became my obsession. Now fountain pens have become a passion. I guess it’s the engineering and design mixed with functionality of all three. They are all tools.
Gotta speak to the tech replacing pen and paper. I remember walking into a Barnes and Noble, and having a salesman try to sell me on a Nook. Stumped him with one question: "Do they smell like paper?" 😉 I'll always prefer the sensory elements of analog writing, and having to physically turn the page, and everything else involved. Not just because I'm "old," either. I was in middle school when affordable PCs came out. (The original Macintosh was when I was in college.) There was talk about people going to lose the capacity to write, which still hasn't happened. Is "cursive" going away? Not sure, yet, but it's just a version of script, which is still being used. Will printing overthrow script? Maybe. But writing styles have changed multiple times over the millennia. (We don't still write letters like they did when Rome was overrun by the "barbarian horde," do we? 😁)
Even if it was possible to replicate the feel of a nib on paper, it still wouldn't reproduce the experience. There is so much more. The feel of the paper itself, the way the wet ink flows from the nib and even watching the way the ink dries as you write. These things can't, and shouldn't be replaced by digital technology.
I may be weird but I love the mid-century modern design of the Pilot Parallel. Not the ones with the grey body though, those are vomit. My only complaint is I wish the cap posted. But in terms of looks I think they look great.
Oh no! Not the Jinhao red dragon pen. I LOVE my dragon pen which I bought from you. It's a great conversation starter on my office desk... although, I'll admit it's probably not the easiest pen to write with as I've never even tried.
"What pen does not fit a pocket?" The last Cecil brand jeans I owned could barely fit a Kaweco Sport, and I braced myself for a crunching or snapping noise each time I sat down with my Sport in that pocket. In other news, still sewing along while listening to you. I'm gonna put in pockets big enough that I can carry a full size pen, an A5 notebook, my wallet, keys and phone and sit down on the bus without worrying about any of them.
OMG! For me a really ugly pen that I just can‘t deny its writing so incredibly well is the Lamy Safari. Why? I‘m from Germany and when I was in school, we all learned how to write with a fountain pen at a really young age. So Even if I never owned one myself, I saw it on a daily basis for about 8-10 years in the hands of my classmates (the ones who didn‘t change to ballpoints at a certain age). So I am always associating that particular pen with school. When I was rediscovering - or rather really getting into the topic - of fountain pens at the age of 26, I was so suprised that outside of Germany so many adult people love that pen.
I'm one of those weirdos that like the "long-tail" art pen style pens. My fave is a PenBBS 267. My ugliest pen that performs well is an old Wingsung 590 - It's a black flat-top pen, with ugly "gold" trim, areomatic filler, breather tube, etc. But once I cleaned it up, it writes amazingly well with great flow, never hard starts, and I can swap jowo nibs onto it easily. It's also the largest pen you can get for under 30 bucks - and the size makes it very comfortable in my hand. It's become one of my favorite pens and turned me onto other vintage Chinese pens like the Hero 856 and "Golden Star Type 28" pens.
The ugly fountain pens question took some amazing left and mysterious turns 🤣😅🙌 I love light pens. I didn’t like the Diplomat Magnum, it feels… yeah, for lack of a better word “cheap”, maybe easily breakable or too fragile. I’ll take a Kaweco Perkeo or a Platinum Preppy/Prefounte or a Pilot Explorer any day over the Diplomat Magnum #sorrynotsorry
the Platinum Preppy can be “ugly” but it writes sooo good! and those special edition colors/patterns look very nice, so it becomes a perfect pen (for me)! 💜🖋🥳
Agree about the body of the Diplomat Magnum feeling cheap... but the nib is perfect. It doesn't feel like a steel nib at all. And the purpleish one is so beautiful! I have it and I love it. And it posts surprisingly well! So it has all the checks for me. And because it is light I can bring it with me everywhere without overloading my bag and write with it for longer journal writings.🥰
Why can't a pen be cheap and still be beautifully designed have a nice shape doesn't cost any more to have a nice shape than to not have a nice shape or does it? I purchased a brialet which is not the type of pen I would normally purchase I'm more of a Conklin do a full person but I just love it I think it's beautiful and it writes beautifully. I would love to buy one of the newer models especially the one in the dark blue but they're just out of my price range I can't afford $300 for a fountain pen. Once you're retired that's it I think my saying is going to be if you don't save when you're 20 you're not going to have it when you're 84
Skydiving, oh the memories. My former girlfriend from the early 90s had over 800 jumps from planes. She tried like crazy to get me to jump from a plane - told me she'd personally pack my chute and that it would be fun. Never, ever would I jump from a plane at 10,000 feet up. 😮💨☹️😳😳😨😫🥺😓 (And I hate summer too, Drew. Lived in Texas for 3 years. Too many 110, 115 degree days for this yankee to handle. Hello autumn, winter, and spring.)
Well, if the Pilot V Pen (Varsity) is good enough to be used by the witnesses at the accession of King Charles III, then it must be a good introduction for someone new to fountain pens. Was watching the accession ceremony this morning and when it came to the point where the witnesses had to sign the official documents, a pen was provided on a stand next to the documents for the witnesses to use. Was trying to figure out what it was, and then got a good look, and realised it was a Pilot V Pen.
Yep pen on tablet- never replace a fountain pen or the inks! Metro was my first pen and I still like it. Drew, there were several videos I watched about the San Francisco Pen show and on one of them I saw YOU! I was so excited! I thought -there is my pen friend! You were sitting next to CY with the others. Made me happy. Great video guys, as always! BLESSINGS
I love the idea of ink sample sets that correspond to certain videos that you guys release! I think it would be neat to see holiday themed sets as well maybe with team input/favorites (especially with Halloween right around the corner 🎃)
I've found my gold Sailor 1911 ef nib is really prone to drying with high-sheening inks, while I do not have that issue with other gold or steel nibs, for what it's worth. It happens reliably enough that I just will not put certain high-sheen inks in that pen. Diamine Midnight Hour is the top offender.
Well of course sheening inks would have issues in such a fine nib. A japanese EF has the smallest ink flow channels of any nib. On top of that all sheening inks are have higher viscosity than regular inks. They sheen due to a higher concentration of dye in the ink, which makes the ink thicker and thus flow worse.
I have 4 Wingsung 3008, fine nibs, which are piston fillers that emulate TWSBI vac fill. They have been inked with the same ink for a couple years and are infrequently rotated into just because I have so many inked pens. They have tight sealing screw caps, and the only one that hard starts is the one inked with OS Nitrogen. I have always assumed it was the monster sheening that causes that. I use monster sheeners in F and EF nibs because that is the only way I can enjoy the actual ink color and not just the sheen! So I accept that I have to drop a little water in the breather hole to get it going.
@@anneK3801 Yeah sheening inks are essentially just normal inks with less water in them relative to how much dye they have, so as a result they dry out a lot faster.
I really don't like the look of the TWSBI Vac-700R, but I have to say, I have a great deal of respect for it. Number six nib, high ink capacity... just weird and chunky.
Pilot did have a table at the Raleigh pen show, at least on the day I was there (which sadly was the day after Drew left). Not sure if those same guys were at the table, but yes, they had the whole Pilot line there, and they were great about letting you try out all the grail pens you will never be able to afford. :^)
@@heathergleiser Heh! I understand. They were very gracious, though, and when I admired the Custom 845 Urushi, they insisted that I try it out. You should give that peony Namiki a test-drive next year!
I think as a society we might need to get back to some analog practices. My young nephew can barley write and calls my long hand/cursive "vintage" writing. My husband and I played a trivia game with a couple in their late 20s who are interesting and intelligent people but could barely read as they mostly listen to books on tape...use talk to text etc. I for one was born in a mythical time before the internet and my brain just functions using analog systems such as paper planners, notebooks , and written journals. I use F.P. because they're cool AF and make me feel nostalgic....not to mention they are reusable which makes me feel like I'm creating less waste. Holy shit the mailman is literally walking to the door as I type this with my new Sailor pro gear slim I recently purchased from ya"ll. Write On!!! Whoop! Peace out......Turkey Hammock for life!
ComicTom101 did a couple great videos on comic convention etiquette and stereotypes from their point of view as booth vendors. Can you guys cover pen show etiquette and possible stereotypes? I'll be going to my first pen show next time it comes to Philly. Don't wanna look like a complete noob.
The discussion about luxury pens makes me think of how badly I want to go visit the Montblanc store that’s near a friend in VA(in McLean)and buy a bottle of their super fancy scented ink just to say I did, lol. Goodness knows their pens are out of my budget but I can certainly see how branding figures into their price point in addition to the lower production numbers and more expensive materials. That said, I do tend to be much more careful with things that I know were expensive brands so they’ll last longer. I’m waaaay more gentle with my used Prada sunglasses than I ever was with any pairs from Target.
I believe there's something wrong with me I have two Mont Blanc pens sitting in a drawer that need repair and instead of repairing them I buy new pens to add to my collection it's just stupid. Now I got that off my chest
@@CockatooDude thank you very much I've already called Mont Blanc and I'm going to send the pens to them for a estimate on what it will cost to repair them. It may cost more repair than they cost originally who knows. If you're interested I'll let you know what they say thanks for the info
@@CockatooDude no unfortunately the nib is not the issue it's the filling system something I would not be able to do myself. But thanks for your interest
Drew: Coit Tower, maybe? San Francisco is a great place to visit. Too bad you couldn't take an extra few days and do the tourist thing. Great restaurants, too.
I'm not necessarily a folding knife enthusiast, but I dipped my toes into pocket knives this year and last. I have just a couple for the circumstances that they're needed in. IE- a more gentleman style knife for going put and about, a rugged tactical knife with half a serrated edge to use for rough and tough situations, and I'm soon looking to find the perfect beater knife that doesn't break the bank just for the sake of general use EDC. It is so funny how fountain pens and knives with their terminology and collectibility and usage really do fall into each other! I just don't see a ton of knife enthusiasts on youtube talking about fountain pens, and I'd love to see where they stand with the idea of them.
If the U.S.A.'s big cities share similar transportation approaches to New York city, then the reason they don't have more school buses than Fairfax county is because there is no public school bus system to speak of in these much more dense cities. Any school buses you see are run by private companies, and they are very few. The general public transit system is used for public school transportation.
