I discuss fountain pens, inks, and more.
Chapters:
00:00 Beginning
18:45 Talking Starts
19:04 FA nibs
20:37 Over-tightening
26:37 My “Cujo” experience
34:33 “The Other Stuff”
34:57 Filming on Location
37:03 Garden Update
38:32 Round Numbers on YouTube
39:53 Dinosaur Park in Rapid City
48:14 Closing
Airmail Wality 69P – Parker Quink Washable Blue
TOZ/Penkala Mirna (F) – Rohrer and Klingner Alt-goldgrün
Lamy 2000 (F) – Edelstein Onyx
Nakaya Decapod Twist (SF) – Akkerman Groenmarkt Smaragd
Lamy 2000 (B) – Krishna Writer’s Night
Platinum 3776 (SF) – Noodler’s Black Swan in English Rose
Parker International Duofold (M) – Lamy Bronze
Senator “Cummerbund” – R+K Blu Mare
Got some fun ideas from my viewers!
*FA Nibs
*Overtightening pens fountain and otherwise
*The time I almost had a “Cujo” situation
*Comments on the nature of my channel
*Fun (yet disappointing) dinosaur tour
*Recording videos on location
*Getting videos ready just to record in the Badlands
*The Garden
*YouTube and Round Numbers
*Previous remarks on Noodler’s
YouTube Video Link
Pens in Use Music
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For High Resolution Photos Visit:
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s630/sh/d79ff79a-a606-0232-1bed-8491b99b3475/M1SaJu7aY6nazhPp3PTWCIPd3lfg95vwgACcZQoQWuBCTduoTDhZtI1U2Q
20 Comments
I think Stephen King, whatever you think of his usual genre(s), if probably the best current "best seller" contemporary author. He actually can write. His book are entirely lacking in the usual super clunky prose style of many authors on the usual best seeking lists. Shall I name names? OK, for example Tom Clancy or John Grisham.
Looks like the newer to you pens might be fun. 😉 I just bought several (more 😂) Esterbrook ones: a black SJ school loaner pen from the Fort Wayne, Indiana consolidated school district that might have never been used (a still working 70+ year old sac is a clue), a (W?) Esterbrook counter pen chained to the "8 ball" holder, with a very strange nib for the type of pen: a broad. Needs a new ink sac, and will probably be a glorified paperweight for the most part, unless I get into using it for a desk pen. And then the brown Esterbrook 407 inkwell and Dip-Less pen I just bought for a nephew who said he wanted a dip pen. Why not a classic dip set? 😁
And because I do that, sent him a bottle of ink in the color he chose: black. Can you guess what brand I got him? (I have a soft spot for Sheaffer's Skrip, as it was the ink used by both sides of my family. Not that.) Was your first ink purchase, from what you've said: Parker Quink black. Just a basic, well behaved black ink that cleans up easily. And the best price I found.
USPS got weird with the shipping on the Dip-Less set. Was "out for delivery" from his hometown in mid Michigan, and 2 hours later said it was delivered in Texas… He apparently didn't check his mailbox, so he said it didn't arrive. Called his post office the next day, and the carrier remembered the exact mailbox she'd put it in. His. 🙄 The nib looks like it was used by the student who capped your Sharpie. Massive bend at the end, so again, he wanted a wettish finer nib, so I lucked out and found a 9556 firm fine that met his requirements. And tipped for durability, plus was even cheaper than the untipped version, used (the one he's getting was NOS.) Might ultimately lead to another fountain pen user.😉
In use for me (it's a monthly selection): a grey Esterbrook A with the 2968 firm broad nib with "unobtanuim" Sheaffer's Skrip Peacock Blue, a lower end Parker 21 with Parker Quink microfilm black, still 2 Wing Sung 3008s with Noodler's General of the Armies for a non black more permanent (basically for checks) ink, and Noodler's Heart of Darkness pretty much just for addressing envelopes. Use what you have. 😁
The Wing Sung pens are generally dryer and fines, so they tend to help tame the potential undesirable traits of the Noodler's inks in use. Heart of Darkness I've had good success. General of the Armies? Like several others supposedly purpose designed for cheaper paper and permanence, the use on basically the copy paper used for checks it bleeds, feathers and spreads. Only time I use reverse writing.😁 It'll be probably either an iron gall ink or 54th Massachusetts the next one, because they are both better behaved.
A chatty range of topics this time! Nice! Have a great weekend!
Funny how I also currently have two of my three Lamy 2000s inked and in use. Usually, it’s just any one of the trio that is inked, by rotation, throughout the year. The 2k with the broad nib is my favorite and most used one. The other two have the M and BB nibs.
I’ve seen many people do the rough handling of pens or other things that you described here. It always greatly irks me too. Btw, I cringe whenever I see anybody snap open a cap off a pen forcefully with one hand, rather than gently slide it off. It looks absolutely barbaric when yanking a cap off a pen the way I see many reviewers do all the time.
Good you mentioned driving. Many of the jerks I’ve seen driving (especially manual transmission) cars like savages made me want to kick them off the car to the curb.
Slamming of doors is another very common atrocity that springs to mind.
Not a fan of Stephen King, so won’t comment much on that except to say that I’ve encountered seemingly demonic dogs, more than once in my life so far.
I had made a strongly opinionated comment about the Nathan Tardiff/Noodler’s controversy in your last PiU. You had replied to my comment. We obviously quite disagree over the essence of the issue and controversy – something that was reconfirmed by your brief comments on the topic in this episode. I’d just repeat that Nathan had nothing to be contrite about, whatsoever. He has a business to run, so he decided to cut his losses and give in to the mob. I’ll leave it there.
I’d be keen to hear your ‘digression’ about certain pen brands that you edited out of this episode, sometime soon.
As for channel growth, yours and OdE’s, to name two that I always watch, seem to have grown slowly towards your present numbers and then plateaued. The two channels that grew astonishingly rapidly and probably equal your subscriber base today are the ones by Doodlebud and Hemingway Jones. I’m still subscribed to both, but seldom watch either anymore, albeit for quite different reasons.
Edit: Forgot to mention that I just ordered a pen that I’ve long lusted for but never bought before. Now I have. Directly from Japan to dodge the extortionist pricing here in the U.S. It’s the Pilot Custom Urushi Vermillion (M). Still very expensive as you’d expect, but I’m certain it will be totally worth it.
It's no secret i really like the 'other stuff' as well as the pen content 😀
I'm curious about the digression now. If you hadn't mentioned it, my interest would not have been piqued.
When you mentioned you went to a dinosaur park, i thought you meant Kent Hovind's Dinosaur Adventure Land! 😂 🦖
Only been to Wahl Drugs once… still remember it,go figure, lol. Spearfish area is beautiful, to thanks. Love Stephen King. He does characters very well and is a great writer, in my opinion. Great content and as usual very well thought out. The fact is that we could have a discussion and disagree, but you would still treat me with respect. It would never devolve into an argument or name calling. So yes in those very few times when I may not exactly agree with your opinion I still like your content. Please don’t change. Oh yes, have to agree that sometimes King’s endings don’t stick the landing.
It’s Autumn/Fall where I live in Australia so the leaves are starting to fall off.
That lava lamp is directly behind your head. It looks like it is popping out the top of your head. Mr Squirrel 🐿️ becomes a Unicorn 🦄.
Love the Senator. What an excellent nib. Cheers from Oz.
Jason, I usually keep my mouth shut, but I want to offer some experience of my own with the Pilot pens carrying FA nibs. I picked up an 823 from another reviewer, and have wanted to give the nib an ebonite feed. I discovered from internet searching that Pilot made older 823s with replaceable feeds and that substitution on those pens was an easy, and very gratifying, experience. However, several people had pens made after Pilot went to cementing in place nib and feed on the 823, and those folks broke their pens attempting the change. So, I only attempted a feed substitution on my 912. The change was dramatic: no more starvation when I was writing expressively, and a sense that i had now uncovered the true character of the pen. So, I would strongly recommend the change to owners of 743 and 912 models, but caution an 823 owner to do A LOT of research first. I don't have the courage to risk ruining my own 823 FA.
Came for the pens, stayed for the other stuff. Though I am careful about book reviews if there‘s a chance I‘ll read it eventually. Engaging in the comments (all youtube, not just yours) is difficult. Keep it up
I like a pen that produces a line with some finesse. In this video the three that had the x-factor, in my opinion, were: Nakaya, Platinum and Senator. The lovely way in which those pens demonstrate line variation, to me, make them far more interesting than the others. That said, the prettiest pen in this group has to be the Parker, without any doubt.
The topic about "over-tightening" reminds me of the incident a few weeks ago when I stripped the thread on a fairly unexciting Kaigelu fountain pen. Yet this was not me being rough with that pen. It just sort of happened. I think it would be interesting to know how many times makers of pens like the Lamy 2000 test the cap fit on the barrel. I realise this prolonged testing till destruction would probably only take place at the early design stage of a new pen. Once it passes all tests the prototype will go into production.
Your "Cujo" experience sounded quite frightening. The tale sounded like you'd had an encounter with "The Hound Of The Baskervilles".
You're quite right about exploring our own backyards, so to speak. If you travel to another town or city there is a high chance that the urge to explore is stronger than in our own neighbourhood. I guess you have to ask yourself the question – where would a visitor go to explore my town? Maybe a museum, an art gallery or a beach or park? Then I wonder how best to explore. If it's your own town perhaps on foot, bicycle or public transport. I find I miss so much when driving a car. My passenger sees everything but my eyes are on the road!
Talking of cars, you must hold the record of only two vehicles since you qualified as a driver. What was your first car? I haven't owned too many cars. I'm 61 years old and currently on my seventh car.
In my own fountain pen journey I've just bought a few new inks. I took delivery of the Cult Pens Exclusive "Wonders Of The World" inks (by Diamine) a week or two ago. There are seven colours in that set, I believe. Also, I've just received four Rohrer & Klingner inks that were new to me: Alt-Bordeaux, Morinda, Sepia and Smaragdgrun.
I've also just bought two vintage fountain pens in the last few days. The first is a Reform 1745 piston fountain pen. The other is a Platinum pocket fountain pen with 14K fine gold nib. All these goodies will keep me well occupied for a long time.
i come for the pens but especially the other parts. I try not to be rough either. I happen to have my IPhone 6s plus; still in use. I have had far more than just two cars; one did sacrifice itself to save me, I was in a head on crash that I walked away from but the car was totalled. Another was totalled by a drunk driver. I have had two Camrys at the same time. Keep up the intersting videos.
Happy Mother's Day
I had a used Decapod Twist in my hand at the Chicago Pen Show. Fortunately, it had a clip so I wasn't tempted to ask the price, but without the clip it is a pen I would love to own!
Nathan was far from sincere, his claim of ignorance bs, the ink is meh, and his politics troubling.
I don't think people should be "cancelled," but I do think it makes sense at least to try to align one's choices with one's values, which is why I'll never again purchase another Noodler's product. I'll leave his stuff to MAGA fountain pen folks.
There's a place called the "Greenback Castle" just a few miles from my home here in east Tennessee. I'd lived in the area for two decades before I heard about it… Definitely an eclectic off-the-beaten-path kind of place 🙂
FYI Dimedrodon is actually our ancestor, and not a Dino. We still have some recessive remnants of them in our DNA. The pedologue of Lizard brain comes from this fact.
Hidden gem in my Toronto (Canada,) is George St Diner, which still serves soda fountain Coca Cola. Might go by for a sip as a bucket list item.
Yes, I come here for the pens, but I appreciate your channel for what it is in general. When I’m interested in the subject matter I watch, and when I’m not, I don’t. This is your channel that you make for yourself and you don’t owe anyone specific content. Viewers shouldn’t feel so entitled.