Drew: It was a honor meeting you at the DC Pen show! Although I'm well known in the world of spacesuits, I'm a total newbie when it comes to the fountain pen hobby. So I was in total "hero worship" mode talking with you at the show, and was happy to share a tiny slice of my world with you, while immersed in your world. Keep up the great work at Goulet Pens!!
@K.D.P. Ross As much as I'd like to see it, it's not going to happen. Fountain pens won't work on the trip to the moon (no gravity = no ink flow to feed & nib ), and won't work while walking on the moon (lack or air pressure = boiling ink). But my company is working on the spacesuits for the Artemis missions!
@K.D.P. Ross Yeah, there is no getting around Boyle's Law (in simple terms; drop the pressure enough and heat is not longer needed to boil liquids). Fun experiment (if you have access to a vacuum chamber with a view port); put an ice cube in the chamber, pump it down, and watch the ice cube disappear (without melting into water first)! Fun fact: the only prized ball-point pen in my collection is a Fisher Space Pen, given to me by Bob Fisher himself (at a space symposium). Another fun pen in my collection is one of the limited edition Monteverde "First Step" fountain pens (from 3 years ago, made in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing) - particularly meaningful to me, since my company designed and manufactured the spacesuit depicted on the pen! BTW - we are hard at work on the next-gen lunar landing suits, which will see the next man and first woman explore the moon. The Artemis missions are planned to land near the south pole of the moon (which poses some unique challenges we didn't face when designing the Apollo spacesuits 55 years ago).
The Pencast and the awareness you guys bring about pens and all the turkey hammock nonsense, IS such a part of my weekly life. I am so grateful for all the awareness about fountain pens you both have delivered to the public (for free at that) LIFECHANGING!!!! Thank you guys so so so much
This is a stellar episode! Loved to hear about the pen shows, CY as a special guest, all the experiences, truly a chef's kiss episode! And congrats to Shannon!!! 🥳 That's beyond amazing!
Drew, regarding your back pain - My partner and I invested in a split king adjustable bed and it's honestly the best thing we've ever bought. I used to have terrible back issues that would flair up after sleeping, and I have been completely back pain free since we got the adjustable bed. And my partner has completely stopped snoring, AND his acid reflux is super improved as well. It's a big spend, but IMO well worth it.
Thanks for turning up your volume, Brian!! As for the discussion about SBRE Brown's video, I have not seen the video yet. But from what you say, I have to agree with him. I think Visconti should stop selling pens with nibs other than steel until they can get them right. When you first started selling Visconti, ?about 6-7 years ago, I bought a Divina from you, the large size. I had ordered a stub and when it came, around Thanksgiving or so, the nib would not write. I sent it back. You sent it to the distributer who sent it to Mike M to fix it. But it came back essentially unfixable. I settled for a medium nib, and by the time I finally received my pen, it was February. Yes, it was palladium it was never right. I ended up springing it in an effort to get it to write. I took it to Richard Binder at the Commonwealth Pen Show and he did his best to fix it. But you know what? It still doesn't write well. It hard starts every other sentence, and will start flowing and then stop. It's terrible. I have purchased a replacement gold nib for it and I will install it soon. It cost another $300 on top of the $7oo+ that I paid for the pen. And you know what Richard Binder told me? He said that at a pen show, he had to fix the Visconti nib of what's his name who founded the company, TWICE at one pen show! He had sprung it twice. For $700, I should have had no problems whatsoever with that pen. It took three months to get one that would write somewhat. And 6+ years later, it still doesn't write well. Pelikan and Montblanc and Montegrappa all make fantastic nibs that write beautifully! (OK, the Pelikan M800 Italic nib I, too, had a little difficulty with. My 15 or so other Pelikan pens with gold nibs write perfectly!)). The fact that Visconti continued to make those awful Palladium nibs for so long and get a lot of money for them is maddening. I have 3 Visconti Opera pens with pre-palladium gold nibs that write like a dream, each. They were worth the money. And the total cost of the 3 of them was the same as one Divina 6 years ago. If a nib doesn't write consistently well, no matter the cost of the pen, the manufacturer should not sell that pen until it does. These are writing instruments after all. And I know people give far more negative feed back than positive. But I am the odd person who gives almost exclusively positive feedback. I once called the number on the back of a truck ("How is my driving?" sign) to complement the driver on how courteous he was. Needless to say, the person on the other end of the phone said no one had ever done that before.
Hi Brian and Drew, I had a thought for a new segment. I wonder if it would be worth not only doing a pen spotlight, but an ink spotlight as well? Maybe we could see some of your slower selling inks. Sometimes I just need to see a writing sample to fall in love with an ink I never would have looked twice at. Always love your pencast, it's my Saturday morning breakfast ritual.
It was so fun to hear about the pen shows and really enjoyed the segment with CY and his insights about here and Japan. Look forward to seeing him back on your show.
First, I have mad respect for how you have grown your company. Your earlier videos are what brought me into the wonderful world of fountain pens and I will always be grateful to you for that! I still do buy from you when you have things I need instead of other retailers basically out of gratitude for introducing me into fountain pens and to support your videos as I still enjoy them to do this day. Now for the negative part of this comment: my first higher priced pen I bought from you was the same as Tyler Blacks from the comment below, Visconti Homo Sapien (lava) with the Paladium nib. The experience of that pen was just horrible. Your customer service was amazing and offered to take it back but since I couldn't send it back since I had become so frustrated with it, it had "accidently" ended up at the bottom of the harbor in which my boat is moored. I wanted to move on to Sailor at that point and you weren't a retailer of them at that time and your customer service said you couldn't special order from them. Fast forward to today, my journey led me to the Platinum brand nibs, I know I have a minority opinion on them, but I just love their regular harder gold nib. This led me to Nakaya pens. I have three so far and just ordered my fourth (I have to save up and can only get one a year of these as I don't get just the basic ones) and I love these pens. I will probably never buy another type of pen again other than Nakaya. So this is a long winded way of saying that the horrible nib on the Visconti brought me to the pen I love but unfortunately a pen you don't sell. But here again, I am grateful to you and your company, since as weird as it sounds you have led me to my dream pen. Again, you are still my first choice to look for what I need something as I respect you, your company and how family focused you choose to make your company. One question, you sell Platinum Ink but I don't see you selling the mixable ones. Have you ever and they just didn't sell? I now use these mixable inks so that my ink matchs the finish and scenes of my Nakaya pens and would be happy to buy this ink through you if you ever offer those inks. Sorry for the book long comment but the subject matter of this video was perfect place to say Thank You for leading me to my dream pens.
When Brian said “not that we had anything to do with it” regarding the pen community growing. I believe you do have a lot in it! I remember when I got into fountain pens, I was searching to learn more, but didn’t find videos that actually teach, except you guys! Which back then Brian had the 101 videos that was and still is so so helpful!!! And got me more into the rabbit hole and bring more friends into it! So I think you do have a lot in this community growing !!
How are you doing you say? Wonderful, stupendous!! Thanks for another great show. Yup show! Very entertaining as well as helpful. Drew, I enjoyed your pen show wrap up and the video also. Have a great weekend. BLESSINGS
So good to see the two of you again in this Pencast. Thank you for putting out this content. Every time I see a new video has been posted on this channel, I am looking forward to watch it all till the turkey hammock zone. Listening to you is so much fun.
Hi Brian and Drew...this had the two of you written all over it. Neil deGrasse Tyson tweeted this: Was recently asked. "Is Pineapple is a legit topping for Pizza?" As a pizza-eating, native New Yorker, I replied, "Is Pepperoni a legit topping for a Pina Colada?" And the conversation ended there.
Sitting here enjoying your Pencast. I actually have my windows open, is a very nice day here in central Oklahoma. As the weather cools down, thank goodness, what color ink would fit on a cool fresh fall day? Thanks you all. Have wonderful weekend
I had to go back and watch the cube show and I’m DEAD!! Drew looking so horrified and obsessively fidgeting with the coin/charm. And Brian so oblivious and obviously immersed in his obsession. It was perfection.
Brian and Drew! Thanks for the info on attending a pen show for the first time. I will be attending my first show in San Francisco next week. Love your Pencast!
Brian, your air fun fact made me think of another fun fact relating to air as well. Did you know that when you lose weight, 86% of it is exhaled as CO2 and 14% is excreted as sweat/urine/waste? Drew, it is my goal now to save money so I can attend the 2023 DC Pen Supershow.
Hi Brian and Drew! I dabbled in the hobby briefly about a decade ago then didn't actually get in until probably a couple of months ago. I really wanted to thank you for the many videos. I know it takes lots of time to put together, but like you've said many times, I'm the only one in my friend group who is even remotely interested in fountain pens. Having all the videos from one place with the same person/people makes it feel like you have a friend who is just answering a FaceTime call every time I have a question. Thanks for all you do!
I have an architect grind (the original grind on the original nib) on a pen from the early 1920's. This pen was owned by a Jewish lady who was given it as a Bat Mitzvah present when she was a girl to encourage her Hebrew studies. I purchased it from her family after she passed away.
I'm going to fit into Brian's statistic of sharing a bad experience, but with a happy ending! So I'm one of those people who purchased a Visconti Homo Sapiens (M) with a bad nib. For comparison, my Pilot Metropolitan (F) wrote better and much smoother. It was a worse writing experience than my Metropolitan, Lamy Safari, and TWSBI Eco. The Homo Sapiens was my first expensive pen and I was really upset that I just spent hundreds of dollars for a pen that didn't write well. At the time, I didn't know about Visconti nib issues. I then did research online and learned that I wasn't the only person this happened too. This bad experience completely tarnished my view of Visconti, and somewhat of high end pens in general. Thankfully, I reached out and Goulet refunded me! I bought a Pilot Custom 74 instead and it's been perfect!! My faith in high end fountain pens was restored! Thank you Goulet for the awesome customer service 👍
I’ve already dropped hints to one of my friends that I’d like that Twsbi for my birthday in a couple weeks, it’s so cool! I have two Ecos, a Swipe, a 580, and an Eco-T already but have accepted that as long as they keep releasing such unique limited editions that I’ll continue to hoard their pens like some sort of stationery dragon, lol.
A stationery dragon sounds so cool, i really hope you get the glow green from yiur friend. Im excited for the release:) happy birthday in advance hope you have an awesome day.
The Visconti Homo Sapiens was my grail pen. I purchased one with the palladium nib, and it was not disappointed. Smooth experience right out of the box, no hard starts or drying out and with a travel ink well I get a really good fill on it. I didn't get into the online groups until after the purchase and then I heard of the nib issues. I'm grateful I already had my dream pen, because otherwise I may not have made the purchase, and it's one of my favorites. But I probably won't buy a second one, just because it's so pricey and I my second favorite pen is my TWSBI Vacr 700 Iris is way more affordable.
I recently purchased a lamy safari fine nib it's scratchy and not so smooth ink flow is kind of poor too when I'm writing with it I feel like the nib is dry and I also bought the pilot metropolitan medium nib it is very smooth and has nice ink flow I don't know what's wrong with my lamy safari, I have seen many videos on RUclips in which they say lamy is smoother than metropolitan did I get faulty one
Your food banter is always so interesting! Snacks like these were not a thing when I was growing up over here on the old continent, so I've never gotten into them. Love living vicariously through you guys. 😁
Greetings from London! I‘m behind on my pencasts because I have so much to do here. I will be a while catching up. But I WILL WATCH! Stay healthy and happy!
Can't trust them SBREBROWN videos ;-). Thanks for discussing my video and providing your views! If everyone could have open discussions like this, the world would be a nicer place.
Yes! Such a good discovery. Given TWSBI's reliable nib, this is a great way to have multiple styles to swap between. More variety than Lamy Safari compatible nibs, in my opinion. :)
I love getting to pen shows. Always good to see people (like Drew!). I always try to take a look at the small makers and I've got a nice little collection going. I've also had vendors give me a discount because I was paying in cash. Bring water and some protein bars.
Hi ,great pencast! I just wanted to say that every time you talk about “old “ pens from the 70’s i cringe a little. I was 20 years old and had been using fountain pens for 15 years ( i learned to write with a dip pen , our desk had a hole in the top to fit our ink bottle! And being a lefty, ink smears and i were very well acquainted! ) i have never been to a pen show, something to look forward to! Thank you guys for widening my horizons! 👍
Now that Twsbi and Narwhal(Nahvalur) have settled their differences, have you any plans to stock Narwhal pens? and in this corner of the world friday is Pencast day!! thanks guys.
I'd love to know this, too. I actually think they might have used to carry them, but I might be misremembering. But they have been coming out with some great designs.
I agree with what you said, Brian, that it’s not wrong that companies like Montegrappa come out with pens you probably wouldn’t buy to use much. It’s like in fashion: couture is not the same as ready-to-wear. The former emphasizes craftsmanship/very low production numbers and the latter is made in larger quantities to be sold to multiple retailers. It’s about preserving techniques like maki-e, metal casting, guilloche, etc that might otherwise be lost. There is room for both in the community and one can appreciate the handcrafted nature of such pens even if they aren’t in one’s budget or aren’t pens you’d want to write with every day.
Hey Brian and Drew! This comment goes back to the past two weeks conversation around the discussions around color shifting/chroma shading/Multi shading inks. Is this something that could be added down the line as an ink filter option on your website? Or is this a too close to call kind of subject?
Really enjoyed the interview with CY I’m a fan of his podcast on the fun world of Japanese FPs. I hope to catch a pen show in SF or Tokyo someday. Aloha
LOL - I've never attended a pen show...yet. But will later this year. I'm still relatively new to the FP world and am still overwhelmed by just about everything. I know, for a fact, I will never own a Visconti or any of those incredibly outlandish and expensive pens. The pen community is such a friendly group of people it feels as if I could sit down and talk with people forever. Keep up the excellent work. Thanks for all the work and information. Oh and Drew, you and I share a common like of shirt style but I think you carry it better.
“Quick” question about nib grinding/customization. Being an online only shopper how can I know what type of grind will work best for me, is it based on writing style, grip style or do I need to physically try different grinds? Thank you for all you do to educate us newbies.
You can always ask a nibgrinder directly for their suggestions. Also, a good place to start would be a broad nib. That way, if you don't love the grind, there may still be enough tipping material to get it re-ground! - Drew
I appreciate Drew's appreciation of Albanese gummi bears. The factory is a 20 minute drive from my house so I can buy them pretty much everywhere around me. I feel like they're just a local company but I know you can buy them all over and it's good to see the love.
I have a Pilot VP:SE from Japan. It's lacquered over aluminum body, a full body decimo essentially, and a small metallic ring between the lacquered an metal portion of the body on the nib retaining half
Great seeing CY. So much so that I forgot to thank the podcast in person. And totally missed Drew and stickers. CY convinced me I need a Pilot 30/50 nib. But yeah, I was looking for a vintage Pilot Elite just out of curiosity and DC was not the place for it apparently (only 2nd time there, heh).
Drew, in the '40s and '50s, Sheaffer offered their pens in something like 30 different nib grinds from the factory, including multiple widths of stub, oblique and "Arabic".
The "glow in the dark" property helps you find it quickly in your bag. It's not completely useless... but yeah, it's so cool and that's enough.😁😁 Edit: I found out that Herbin has a Phosphorescent ink but I think it's too pigmented to be used with fountain pens... only with glass pens. But I hope they or another company could refine the formula.
Ahh… bumper pool! We had a bumper pool table with the flip-over top. The flip side only got used when my grandparents came to visit. I was just a kid and could barely reach to play properly, but I did enjoy the bumper aspect of b.p., and feel like it made me a bit better at bank shots on a regular table.
Perhaps it was simple irony or happenstance that at the DC pen show (earlier this month) that there were 3 different nib people within spitting distance of the Visconti table....Coincidence?
Maybe someone already said this, but there are big kayaks for big people. For stability you are supposed to brace your knees against the sides. If your legs are long (I'm 6'0") then no adjusting of pegs will make a kayak that is too narrow for you work.
I think the gummy bears "gee bees" saved the pencast from tge hotdog water. (Also when i saw Brian Kayaking i was thinking it would be so funny to have some fan art of him Kayaking in hotdog water hahahahah
Drew, have you had the Utz WHITE CHEDDAR cheese balls? They do them in winter and call them sno-balls, and at Easter they call the bunny tails. They are sooooooo good! I always get a bunch at Christmas time so I can enjoy them for a few months.
Hi Brian and Drew! I love your pencasts! This pencast was very timely for me. I am going to my first pen show on September 23-24, the Dallas Pen Show. I have collected and written with fountain pens for more than 40 years, but not ever had the chance to visit a pen show. You had lots of great tips and now I have a question, Drew, you suggested I take a notebook to test pens and make notes on what I see. Which notebook would you recommend for this?
If you'd like to avoid carrying a bad, this Maruman Mnemosyne is a great little book! www.gouletpens.com/products/maruman-mnemosyne-n192-b7-notepad-lined
@@Gouletpens Thank you! I will look into that one. It looks a little smaller than I had in mind, although I don't want a big one either. Kind of a "Goldielocks" dilemma
Hey guys I have been listening now for about a year and you often talk about vintage or collectible pens. Do you know of a resource or a book/web site that would show what pens fit the description of collectible. I live in an area of the country where you can find old pens in shops, antique stores, and flea markets and would love to educate myself on what I am looking at. Thanks for your time and keep up the great work.
After hearing you too talk about sweet and savory and foods again today. I just had to say something. I would not be able to eat with Brian I would definitely only be able to eat with Drew.
I have several dreamtouch palladium nib pens from Visconti and ALL have been amazing out of the box! Never had a bad pen from Visconti and I have close to 20 of them.
It's crazy to hear about these very big pen shows. I've only been to the Toronto pen show Scriptus. It's a one day show, free admission. Maybe because it's a smaller show, maybe because it's my city and I know a lot of the retailers from around the city, it always feels very intimate and familiar, like a well worn sweater. What Drew and CY described, the size of the show, the amount of vendors and attendees, the length of the show, all of that gives me anxiety, but I do want to try it at least once. A lot of the retailers that I'm interested in do not come to the Toronto pen show unfortunately, which is a shame.
Haha I had the opposite kayak issue I am smaller and borrowed a friends kayak and his was long and the foot pegs were broken - so yeah lose legs in a large space :)
First let me say, I love the pen cast. This is my Friday entertainment every week. I do have to weigh in on the pizza. On the one hand, I do not eat fruit, chicken, BBQ sauce, ham, or that stuff on pizza. I do regular pizza - tomato sauce, cheese, sausage and pepperoni. Sometimes I do mushrooms. That being said, I make a MEAN breakfast pizza. Eggs, sausage, cheese, mushrooms on a whole wheat crust. Breakfast pizza is a special treat for me.The only way I can think of right now that I do fruit with meat is pork chops and applesauce. I don't to mango salsa but then again I really don't do salsa at all. But I respect everyone's choice to eat their pizza the way they want. I would sit with someone eating their pizza their way while I eat mine my way and we would enjoy each other's company and have great conversation.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
Drew: It was a honor meeting you at the DC Pen show! Although I'm well known in the world of spacesuits, I'm a total newbie when it comes to the fountain pen hobby. So I was in total "hero worship" mode talking with you at the show, and was happy to share a tiny slice of my world with you, while immersed in your world. Keep up the great work at Goulet Pens!!
@K.D.P. Ross As much as I'd like to see it, it's not going to happen. Fountain pens won't work on the trip to the moon (no gravity = no ink flow to feed & nib ), and won't work while walking on the moon (lack or air pressure = boiling ink). But my company is working on the spacesuits for the Artemis missions!
@K.D.P. Ross Yeah, there is no getting around Boyle's Law (in simple terms; drop the pressure enough and heat is not longer needed to boil liquids). Fun experiment (if you have access to a vacuum chamber with a view port); put an ice cube in the chamber, pump it down, and watch the ice cube disappear (without melting into water first)!
Fun fact: the only prized ball-point pen in my collection is a Fisher Space Pen, given to me by Bob Fisher himself (at a space symposium). Another fun pen in my collection is one of the limited edition Monteverde "First Step" fountain pens (from 3 years ago, made in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing) - particularly meaningful to me, since my company designed and manufactured the spacesuit depicted on the pen!
BTW - we are hard at work on the next-gen lunar landing suits, which will see the next man and first woman explore the moon. The Artemis missions are planned to land near the south pole of the moon (which poses some unique challenges we didn't face when designing the Apollo spacesuits 55 years ago).
The Pencast and the awareness you guys bring about pens and all the turkey hammock nonsense, IS such a part of my weekly life. I am so grateful for all the awareness about fountain pens you both have delivered to the public (for free at that) LIFECHANGING!!!! Thank you guys so so so much
Thank YOU, Denise! We so very much appreciate the kind words! It keeps us fueled up! - Drew
This is a stellar episode! Loved to hear about the pen shows, CY as a special guest, all the experiences, truly a chef's kiss episode!
And congrats to Shannon!!! 🥳 That's beyond amazing!
Drew, regarding your back pain - My partner and I invested in a split king adjustable bed and it's honestly the best thing we've ever bought. I used to have terrible back issues that would flair up after sleeping, and I have been completely back pain free since we got the adjustable bed. And my partner has completely stopped snoring, AND his acid reflux is super improved as well. It's a big spend, but IMO well worth it.
Thanks for turning up your volume, Brian!! As for the discussion about SBRE Brown's video, I have not seen the video yet. But from what you say, I have to agree with him. I think Visconti should stop selling pens with nibs other than steel until they can get them right. When you first started selling Visconti, ?about 6-7 years ago, I bought a Divina from you, the large size. I had ordered a stub and when it came, around Thanksgiving or so, the nib would not write. I sent it back. You sent it to the distributer who sent it to Mike M to fix it. But it came back essentially unfixable. I settled for a medium nib, and by the time I finally received my pen, it was February. Yes, it was palladium it was never right. I ended up springing it in an effort to get it to write. I took it to Richard Binder at the Commonwealth Pen Show and he did his best to fix it. But you know what? It still doesn't write well. It hard starts every other sentence, and will start flowing and then stop. It's terrible. I have purchased a replacement gold nib for it and I will install it soon. It cost another $300 on top of the $7oo+ that I paid for the pen. And you know what Richard Binder told me? He said that at a pen show, he had to fix the Visconti nib of what's his name who founded the company, TWICE at one pen show! He had sprung it twice. For $700, I should have had no problems whatsoever with that pen. It took three months to get one that would write somewhat. And 6+ years later, it still doesn't write well. Pelikan and Montblanc and Montegrappa all make fantastic nibs that write beautifully! (OK, the Pelikan M800 Italic nib I, too, had a little difficulty with. My 15 or so other Pelikan pens with gold nibs write perfectly!)). The fact that Visconti continued to make those awful Palladium nibs for so long and get a lot of money for them is maddening. I have 3 Visconti Opera pens with pre-palladium gold nibs that write like a dream, each. They were worth the money. And the total cost of the 3 of them was the same as one Divina 6 years ago. If a nib doesn't write consistently well, no matter the cost of the pen, the manufacturer should not sell that pen until it does. These are writing instruments after all. And I know people give far more negative feed back than positive. But I am the odd person who gives almost exclusively positive feedback. I once called the number on the back of a truck ("How is my driving?" sign) to complement the driver on how courteous he was. Needless to say, the person on the other end of the phone said no one had ever done that before.
Hi Brian and Drew, I had a thought for a new segment. I wonder if it would be worth not only doing a pen spotlight, but an ink spotlight as well? Maybe we could see some of your slower selling inks. Sometimes I just need to see a writing sample to fall in love with an ink I never would have looked twice at. Always love your pencast, it's my Saturday morning breakfast ritual.
Perhaps Pen & Ink Spotlight... one or two of each? I just started watching this episode...
@@ZiaLinkZen that's a good idea too
I love the way Drew and CY managed to convey the atmosphere of the DC show. Sounds awesome!
It was so fun to hear about the pen shows and really enjoyed the segment with CY and his insights about here and Japan. Look forward to seeing him back on your show.
First, I have mad respect for how you have grown your company. Your earlier videos are what brought me into the wonderful world of fountain pens and I will always be grateful to you for that! I still do buy from you when you have things I need instead of other retailers basically out of gratitude for introducing me into fountain pens and to support your videos as I still enjoy them to do this day. Now for the negative part of this comment: my first higher priced pen I bought from you was the same as Tyler Blacks from the comment below, Visconti Homo Sapien (lava) with the Paladium nib. The experience of that pen was just horrible. Your customer service was amazing and offered to take it back but since I couldn't send it back since I had become so frustrated with it, it had "accidently" ended up at the bottom of the harbor in which my boat is moored. I wanted to move on to Sailor at that point and you weren't a retailer of them at that time and your customer service said you couldn't special order from them. Fast forward to today, my journey led me to the Platinum brand nibs, I know I have a minority opinion on them, but I just love their regular harder gold nib. This led me to Nakaya pens. I have three so far and just ordered my fourth (I have to save up and can only get one a year of these as I don't get just the basic ones) and I love these pens. I will probably never buy another type of pen again other than Nakaya. So this is a long winded way of saying that the horrible nib on the Visconti brought me to the pen I love but unfortunately a pen you don't sell. But here again, I am grateful to you and your company, since as weird as it sounds you have led me to my dream pen. Again, you are still my first choice to look for what I need something as I respect you, your company and how family focused you choose to make your company. One question, you sell Platinum Ink but I don't see you selling the mixable ones. Have you ever and they just didn't sell? I now use these mixable inks so that my ink matchs the finish and scenes of my Nakaya pens and would be happy to buy this ink through you if you ever offer those inks. Sorry for the book long comment but the subject matter of this video was perfect place to say Thank You for leading me to my dream pens.
this type of detail might be best by email... IMHO
When Brian said “not that we had anything to do with it” regarding the pen community growing. I believe you do have a lot in it! I remember when I got into fountain pens, I was searching to learn more, but didn’t find videos that actually teach, except you guys! Which back then Brian had the 101 videos that was and still is so so helpful!!! And got me more into the rabbit hole and bring more friends into it! So I think you do have a lot in this community growing !!
How are you doing you say? Wonderful, stupendous!! Thanks for another great show. Yup show! Very entertaining as well as helpful. Drew, I enjoyed your pen show wrap up and the video also. Have a great weekend. BLESSINGS
What a great episode! Loved the interview with CY
So good to see the two of you again in this Pencast. Thank you for putting out this content. Every time I see a new video has been posted on this channel, I am looking forward to watch it all till the turkey hammock zone. Listening to you is so much fun.
I am going to my 1st pen show in Orlando. I am so excited, especially after hearing the pencast.
Same here.
Same, but SF!
@@Miss_Nykki Enjoy 😉
Hi Brian and Drew...this had the two of you written all over it. Neil deGrasse Tyson tweeted this:
Was recently asked. "Is Pineapple is a legit topping for Pizza?"
As a pizza-eating, native New Yorker, I replied, "Is Pepperoni a legit topping for a Pina Colada?"
And the conversation ended there.
Beautifully well-said! I love it! - Drew
Sitting here enjoying your Pencast. I actually have my windows open, is a very nice day here in central Oklahoma. As the weather cools down, thank goodness, what color ink would fit on a cool fresh fall day? Thanks you all. Have wonderful weekend
You never know what you're gonna get with the Pencast. This week, it's hot dog juice. 🌭 I don't know that I can thank you for this.
Watching this is getting me so excited to attend the DC show this year. My first one since covid.
I had to go back and watch the cube show and I’m DEAD!! Drew looking so horrified and obsessively fidgeting with the coin/charm. And Brian so oblivious and obviously immersed in his obsession.
It was perfection.
I for one am so thankful for this community! I cant wait to go to my first pen show! Boston is about a 6 hour drive for me! But Boston, HERE I COME!
Bumper pool! OMG I haven't thought about my grandparents bumper pool table in years! Thanks for that flood of happy memories :)
Brian and Drew! Thanks for the info on attending a pen show for the first time. I will be attending my first show in San Francisco next week. Love your Pencast!
Maybe I'll see you there! - Drew
Oh my! The new resin Pilot Vanishing Points look beautiful 😍
Brian, your air fun fact made me think of another fun fact relating to air as well. Did you know that when you lose weight, 86% of it is exhaled as CO2 and 14% is excreted as sweat/urine/waste?
Drew, it is my goal now to save money so I can attend the 2023 DC Pen Supershow.
Hi Brian and Drew! I dabbled in the hobby briefly about a decade ago then didn't actually get in until probably a couple of months ago. I really wanted to thank you for the many videos. I know it takes lots of time to put together, but like you've said many times, I'm the only one in my friend group who is even remotely interested in fountain pens. Having all the videos from one place with the same person/people makes it feel like you have a friend who is just answering a FaceTime call every time I have a question. Thanks for all you do!
Thanks for sharing this with us, Ian! It's our pleasure to be here with you each week! Truly! - Drew
Thanks for the information on pen shows! I was wondering if I should go to one, and now I know I definitely do.
Guys, great topics covered from Stephen Brown's pen company opinions, the DC Pen Show review, and CY's visit. Best FP show on YT.
I have an architect grind (the original grind on the original nib) on a pen from the early 1920's. This pen was owned by a Jewish lady who was given it as a Bat Mitzvah present when she was a girl to encourage her Hebrew studies. I purchased it from her family after she passed away.
I'm going to fit into Brian's statistic of sharing a bad experience, but with a happy ending!
So I'm one of those people who purchased a Visconti Homo Sapiens (M) with a bad nib. For comparison, my Pilot Metropolitan (F) wrote better and much smoother. It was a worse writing experience than my Metropolitan, Lamy Safari, and TWSBI Eco. The Homo Sapiens was my first expensive pen and I was really upset that I just spent hundreds of dollars for a pen that didn't write well. At the time, I didn't know about Visconti nib issues. I then did research online and learned that I wasn't the only person this happened too. This bad experience completely tarnished my view of Visconti, and somewhat of high end pens in general.
Thankfully, I reached out and Goulet refunded me! I bought a Pilot Custom 74 instead and it's been perfect!! My faith in high end fountain pens was restored! Thank you Goulet for the awesome customer service 👍
I bought a Home Sapien and had to exchange it, the nib was wonky. Goulet was so helpful with troubleshooting and facilitating the exchange.
Drew! Ahh what was that thing you did with your hands when Brian was talking about his pizza...scary flappy hands sound hahahha
I had a friend who did that and Drew was literally the second person Ive ever seen do that - brought back some memories from college!!
Penguin from Batman hands!!
He kinda reminded me of a frightened turtle trying crazy hard to get back in his shell . . .
Thank you all so much for your guidance about attending pen shows. Now I am tempted to come.
Perfect timing, as I will be attending my first pen show (Commonwealth) in a couple weeks!
A fantastic episode! Looking forward to the SF pen show.
Me too! - Drew
Sooo....does this resin Vanishing Points mean that they could do a glow in the dark one in the future :)
Then it would never vanish..
(18:48): Here’s to Drew’s awesome inner Joan Crawford! “I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at the hot dog juice!”
Hey Brian and Drew, do you guys know of any solid reference material for swapping nibs in pens? Are there general rules of thumb one can follow?
I’ve already dropped hints to one of my friends that I’d like that Twsbi for my birthday in a couple weeks, it’s so cool! I have two Ecos, a Swipe, a 580, and an Eco-T already but have accepted that as long as they keep releasing such unique limited editions that I’ll continue to hoard their pens like some sort of stationery dragon, lol.
A stationery dragon sounds so cool, i really hope you get the glow green from yiur friend. Im excited for the release:) happy birthday in advance hope you have an awesome day.
@@stareenafraser Thank you!
Could you please demonstrate how to use a standard international cartridge on a twsbi swipe i would love to see if you can get it to work cause I cant
This guy is totally right, this pen is gonna make my work day better.
Going to pick up the glow in the dark TWSBI at some point to go with my Noodler's Blue Ghost ink for some black light fun.
Lebanon bologna is always all beef, and quite good stuff.
The Visconti Homo Sapiens was my grail pen. I purchased one with the palladium nib, and it was not disappointed. Smooth experience right out of the box, no hard starts or drying out and with a travel ink well I get a really good fill on it. I didn't get into the online groups until after the purchase and then I heard of the nib issues. I'm grateful I already had my dream pen, because otherwise I may not have made the purchase, and it's one of my favorites. But I probably won't buy a second one, just because it's so pricey and I my second favorite pen is my TWSBI Vacr 700 Iris is way more affordable.
I recently purchased a lamy safari fine nib it's scratchy and not so smooth ink flow is kind of poor too when I'm writing with it I feel like the nib is dry and I also bought the pilot metropolitan medium nib it is very smooth and has nice ink flow I don't know what's wrong with my lamy safari, I have seen many videos on RUclips in which they say lamy is smoother than metropolitan did I get faulty one
Your food banter is always so interesting! Snacks like these were not a thing when I was growing up over here on the old continent, so I've never gotten into them. Love living vicariously through you guys. 😁
OMG! I wish i was in the states, making ink splats with Drew and Aziza sounds so epic! She has the only video on the Benu Mandrake that i could find.
Idk if it's just me, but Drew somewhat looks like Saul Goodman.
Oh, and i love the podcast and i love fountain pens. Thx for doing these...
Greetings from London! I‘m behind on my pencasts because I have so much to do here. I will be a while catching up. But I WILL WATCH!
Stay healthy and happy!
Can't trust them SBREBROWN videos ;-). Thanks for discussing my video and providing your views! If everyone could have open discussions like this, the world would be a nicer place.
Hi Guys Luis here, you can use the Twsbi Go nib in the Swipe and the Eco. 😉
Yes! Such a good discovery. Given TWSBI's reliable nib, this is a great way to have multiple styles to swap between. More variety than Lamy Safari compatible nibs, in my opinion. :)
I love getting to pen shows. Always good to see people (like Drew!). I always try to take a look at the small makers and I've got a nice little collection going. I've also had vendors give me a discount because I was paying in cash. Bring water and some protein bars.
CY: "I'll be back" terminator impression was spot on
Hi ,great pencast! I just wanted to say that every time you talk about “old “ pens from the 70’s i cringe a little. I was 20 years old and had been using fountain pens for 15 years ( i learned to write with a dip pen , our desk had a hole in the top to fit our ink bottle! And being a lefty, ink smears and i were very well acquainted! ) i have never been to a pen show, something to look forward to! Thank you guys for widening my horizons! 👍
Now that Twsbi and Narwhal(Nahvalur) have settled their differences, have you any plans to stock Narwhal pens? and in this corner of the world friday is Pencast day!! thanks guys.
I'd love to know this, too. I actually think they might have used to carry them, but I might be misremembering. But they have been coming out with some great designs.
I agree with what you said, Brian, that it’s not wrong that companies like Montegrappa come out with pens you probably wouldn’t buy to use much. It’s like in fashion: couture is not the same as ready-to-wear. The former emphasizes craftsmanship/very low production numbers and the latter is made in larger quantities to be sold to multiple retailers. It’s about preserving techniques like maki-e, metal casting, guilloche, etc that might otherwise be lost. There is room for both in the community and one can appreciate the handcrafted nature of such pens even if they aren’t in one’s budget or aren’t pens you’d want to write with every day.
Hey Brian and Drew! This comment goes back to the past two weeks conversation around the discussions around color shifting/chroma shading/Multi shading inks. Is this something that could be added down the line as an ink filter option on your website? Or is this a too close to call kind of subject?
I think that's a possibility! - Drew
Wow, so cool you guys had CY on! Tokyo Inklings is my jam!
It's a great show! - Drew
Really enjoyed the interview with CY I’m a fan of his podcast on the fun world of Japanese FPs. I hope to catch a pen show in SF or Tokyo someday. Aloha
LOL - I've never attended a pen show...yet. But will later this year. I'm still relatively new to the FP world and am still overwhelmed by just about everything. I know, for a fact, I will never own a Visconti or any of those incredibly outlandish and expensive pens. The pen community is such a friendly group of people it feels as if I could sit down and talk with people forever. Keep up the excellent work. Thanks for all the work and information. Oh and Drew, you and I share a common like of shirt style but I think you carry it better.
I've bought Lamy 2000, my second fountain pen. Thanks.
I'm writing with a Steel Supra (albeit Fireblue) as I'm listening to the Feedback section. Love that your viewer did the maths.
“Quick” question about nib grinding/customization. Being an online only shopper how can I know what type of grind will work best for me, is it based on writing style, grip style or do I need to physically try different grinds? Thank you for all you do to educate us newbies.
You can always ask a nibgrinder directly for their suggestions. Also, a good place to start would be a broad nib. That way, if you don't love the grind, there may still be enough tipping material to get it re-ground! - Drew
Cool little interview with a new perspective.
Drew's distress at the pizza comment is golden
I appreciate Drew's appreciation of Albanese gummi bears. The factory is a 20 minute drive from my house so I can buy them pretty much everywhere around me. I feel like they're just a local company but I know you can buy them all over and it's good to see the love.
Wow! That's crazy! - Drew
I have a Pilot VP:SE from Japan. It's lacquered over aluminum body, a full body decimo essentially, and a small metallic ring between the lacquered an metal portion of the body on the nib retaining half
Great seeing CY. So much so that I forgot to thank the podcast in person. And totally missed Drew and stickers. CY convinced me I need a Pilot 30/50 nib. But yeah, I was looking for a vintage Pilot Elite just out of curiosity and DC was not the place for it apparently (only 2nd time there, heh).
Drew, in the '40s and '50s, Sheaffer offered their pens in something like 30 different nib grinds from the factory, including multiple widths of stub, oblique and "Arabic".
The "glow in the dark" property helps you find it quickly in your bag. It's not completely useless... but yeah, it's so cool and that's enough.😁😁
Edit: I found out that Herbin has a Phosphorescent ink but I think it's too pigmented to be used with fountain pens... only with glass pens. But I hope they or another company could refine the formula.
I love your stories.
Thanks for watching! - Drew
Pineapple and banana pepper pizza is my fav. Try broiling a fresh mango half, exposed fruit meat up. So good.
Enjoyed this very much!! CY was very interesting! Turkey Hammock......
Finished my dress. Still watching. Started on a ruffly skirt. Did my calculations with my TWSBI Go and Diamine Pain d'Epices.
Thank you, Brian "Archimedes" Goulet.
Ahh… bumper pool! We had a bumper pool table with the flip-over top. The flip side only got used when my grandparents came to visit. I was just a kid and could barely reach to play properly, but I did enjoy the bumper aspect of b.p., and feel like it made me a bit better at bank shots on a regular table.
I bought a glow in the dark pen holder months ago and finally, I think the Eco is the right pen for it! Perfect for my bedside table.
Perhaps it was simple irony or happenstance that at the DC pen show (earlier this month) that there were 3 different nib people within spitting distance of the Visconti table....Coincidence?
For drawing / sketching .. I have been enjoying the lamy vista black - it’s nice in the hand and the vibe has been right :)
In addition to fountain pens I buy from Goulet Pens thanks to your recommendations, I just put down Cheez-its and Utz Cheese Balls.
LOL very nice! - Drew
OMG! My home state is relevant in conversation! Delaware hosts an annual pumpkin chunkin contest and my high school would enter that.
Really enjoyed this pencast, especially the portion with CY. I don't own any TWSBI pens yet but the glow green is going to change that.
Maybe someone already said this, but there are big kayaks for big people. For stability you are supposed to brace your knees against the sides. If your legs are long (I'm 6'0") then no adjusting of pegs will make a kayak that is too narrow for you work.
Is there a show in Washington, DC?
Yes, that's the show we were referring to! - Drew
@@Gouletpens I never heard about the show when it was to occur, it would be nice if I did.
the Bologna/hot dog talk sent me into hysterics lol thank you!!
We need pen displacement in the specification table!!!
I think the gummy bears "gee bees" saved the pencast from tge hotdog water. (Also when i saw Brian Kayaking i was thinking it would be so funny to have some fan art of him Kayaking in hotdog water hahahahah
Drew, have you had the Utz WHITE CHEDDAR cheese balls? They do them in winter and call them sno-balls, and at Easter they call the bunny tails. They are sooooooo good! I always get a bunch at Christmas time so I can enjoy them for a few months.
Yes I have! I also love the smaller canister of Planter's Cheese Balls. They remind me of when I was a kid! - Drew
Hi Brian and Drew! I love your pencasts! This pencast was very timely for me. I am going to my first pen show on September 23-24, the Dallas Pen Show. I have collected and written with fountain pens for more than 40 years, but not ever had the chance to visit a pen show. You had lots of great tips and now I have a question, Drew, you suggested I take a notebook to test pens and make notes on what I see. Which notebook would you recommend for this?
If you'd like to avoid carrying a bad, this Maruman Mnemosyne is a great little book! www.gouletpens.com/products/maruman-mnemosyne-n192-b7-notepad-lined
@@Gouletpens Thank you! I will look into that one. It looks a little smaller than I had in mind, although I don't want a big one either. Kind of a "Goldielocks" dilemma
Hey guys I have been listening now for about a year and you often talk about vintage or collectible pens. Do you know of a resource or a book/web site that would show what pens fit the description of collectible. I live in an area of the country where you can find old pens in shops, antique stores, and flea markets and would love to educate myself on what I am looking at. Thanks for your time and keep up the great work.
I can't think of anything off the top of my head, unfortunately - sorry! Thanks all the same for dropping in and leaving us some kind words! - Drew
After hearing you too talk about sweet and savory and foods again today. I just had to say something. I would not be able to eat with Brian I would definitely only be able to eat with Drew.
I have several dreamtouch palladium nib pens from Visconti and ALL have been amazing out of the box! Never had a bad pen from Visconti and I have close to 20 of them.
It's crazy to hear about these very big pen shows. I've only been to the Toronto pen show Scriptus. It's a one day show, free admission. Maybe because it's a smaller show, maybe because it's my city and I know a lot of the retailers from around the city, it always feels very intimate and familiar, like a well worn sweater. What Drew and CY described, the size of the show, the amount of vendors and attendees, the length of the show, all of that gives me anxiety, but I do want to try it at least once. A lot of the retailers that I'm interested in do not come to the Toronto pen show unfortunately, which is a shame.
Lamy Vibrant Pink shimmers also!
44:30 actually around here people are SO BAD at driving that I do take note of people using their turn signals more often than of people who don't 😂
Haha I had the opposite kayak issue I am smaller and borrowed a friends kayak and his was long and the foot pegs were broken - so yeah lose legs in a large space :)
First let me say, I love the pen cast. This is my Friday entertainment every week. I do have to weigh in on the pizza. On the one hand, I do not eat fruit, chicken, BBQ sauce, ham, or that stuff on pizza. I do regular pizza - tomato sauce, cheese, sausage and pepperoni. Sometimes I do mushrooms. That being said, I make a MEAN breakfast pizza. Eggs, sausage, cheese, mushrooms on a whole wheat crust. Breakfast pizza is a special treat for me.The only way I can think of right now that I do fruit with meat is pork chops and applesauce. I don't to mango salsa but then again I really don't do salsa at all. But I respect everyone's choice to eat their pizza the way they want. I would sit with someone eating their pizza their way while I eat mine my way and we would enjoy each other's company and have great conversation.
Kaweco Sport I so wanted to like mine.
Made a great gift to a small hand person.
What SBREBrown meant in has video is that some companies just sell crap.
Some years ago there was a trend to have chocolate with meat. Had it at an restaurant in Zambia of all places.
That Aleve commercial though... Subtle. 😉
Great segment with CY!