In this Goulet Q&A episode, Brian talks about his favorite stealth pens, which pens he gives to people, and what he really thinks about people who leak product releases ahead of time. Enjoy!

Pens/Writing

@PamelaPKelly- Twitter (2:02)

When were “official” music nibs invented? Are they still manufactured for the purpose of composers notating a music score by hand? That is my preferred method (though my also-musician husband wrote his own music notation software program!). Any best nib options? Thanks!

• sadly I don’t know when exactly they were invented, but they were on dip nibs before fountain pens were even invented, so probably mid-1800’s commercially
• I don’t know if they were ever really mainstream in fountain pens, pencils were likely a more practical choice for their erasability
• the music aspect of them is pretty unique, the grind is specific to allow for a higher writing angle
• most people buying them just prefer this style nib, I doubt they’re writing music by hand
• Platinum makes my favorite
• Sailor also makes one, it’s similar to Platinum’s but two-tined instead of 3

@ramit_mitra- Twitter (7:57)

Will love to know what’s your favourite all matte black fountain pens ?

• Love the black matte Pilot Vanishing Point
• The Monteverde Nighthawk (original) has a special place in my heart
• Visconti Homo Sapiens Dark Age is pretty slick
• Lamy Studio Lx Black, All Black Safari (or Charcoal, slick too)
• I’m not as super into stealth pens as some others, but these are just a few of my favorites (there are many others)

marlin_yo_boi- Instagram (14:15)

What pen do you lend people without having to worry about them breaking?

• Pilot Varsity I never worry about
• Jinhao Shark
• Pilot Metropolitan
• Lamy Safari
• TWSBI Eco
• That’s about it, beyond that I give it a second thought

@crazybirdnerd- Twitter (22:28)

A lot of fountain clips from several brands have that little ball – functional or aesthetic?

• both
• it’s function is that it gives a little firmer grip than just a flat clip, but is also slightly easier to get on or off of a pocket material
• it’s simple, it works!

Ink

@clbdroid- Twitter (28:21)

So you’re looking in your cabinet at your ink stash and thinking I should use a water resistant ink today…now what?…is there an easy way to know if an ink is water resistant? i.e. Are all black inks? Guessing from now on when ordering ink I should mark box/bottle immediately.

• nope, no easy way
• there’s not an all-or-nothing indication by color, brand, or anything like that
• it’s really color by color, and not all of them say if it’s water resistant on the bottle (they usually don’t)
• you basically just need to know, reference reviews and websites like GouletPens.com
• If you can’t recall and want to mark it, a small sticker on the cap would help indicate and not leave a permanent mark

Business

Trish S.- Facebook (33:53)

I noticed the Montegrappa Queen pen— is there a person you have in mind to sell such a pen too? Seems very risky to carry such an expensive pen unless you KNOW you can sell it.

• ideally yeah, it’d be great to have a specific collector in mind!
• sometimes we know, and we do try to learn what people like if we can
• This isn’t often the case, sometimes we have to buy on spec, and pray we find someone who wants it, especially if global demand is high and they don’t have enough to go around
• it’s difficult with really specific, really expensive pens to hit the mark for individual collectors
• it’s complicated more by very limited stock
• with pens like these, many retailers will offer pre-orders or special orders, it just makes sense rather than every retailer stocking multiple pens (for the multiple nibs)
• however the arrangement, it’s still just as authorized and supported through the retailer and manufacturer as a regularly stocked item
• it’s perhaps different for us as an online retailer since we don’t have people coming into our store, I can see it being further complicated with B&M

origommi- Instagram (47:03)

How do you feel about people who leak product info before the start date in the industry?

• let me caveat this question by saying I’m not speaking of anyone specifically, and I don’t have any bad blood with a specific competitor of mine so I’m speaking more in principle here
• the very connotation of “leak” isn’t particularly positive, it implies it wasn’t “supposed” to be talked about yet
• this is something set forth by the manufacturer, they have a marketing and distribution plan and when that gets disrupted, it complicates things
• in most situations I’ve observed, pen “leaks” are generally not enjoyed by the manufacturer, it’s frustrating for them especially because they are often coupled with little information or context, or just flat out wrong information
• on the flip side, it does generate some buzz I guess? But it’s often not super constructive
• if you’re an authorized retailer, you really ought to adhere to the manufacturer’s wishes
• the increase in “leaks” has risen with the internet, it “pays” to be first to talk about something, because then people point to your source (blog, feed, store, etc) and you get all the SEO and links, maybe even some pre-orders
• it’s a short-term gain with long-term harm, from a brand-relationship perspective, so we don’t ever leak anything intentionally
• we very rarely will accidentally publish something too early on our site, or mention it in a video when it’s not public yet, we do launch 1500 SKU’s a year! But it’s unintentional because we know it’s important to let the manufacturer execute their launch plans

Question of the Week: If you could have a manufacturer create the perfect limited edition pen for you, who would make it and what would it look like? (59:11)

Write On,
Brian Goulet

In this Goulet Q&A episode, Brian talks about if all demonstrator pens are doomed to be stained, best ways to incorporate fountain pens into your daily life, and the best pens to come in 2020. Enjoy!

Pens/Writing

1) voltronsleftfoot- Instagram (0:50)

Is reusing pen flush ok?

• Yes! That’s actually part of why we provide the little vial
• If you have an ink you know shouldn’t be mixed with others (like Noodler’s Baystate) then you shouldn’t reuse
• otherwise, reuse to your heart’s content

2) mohitdongar- Instagram (4:51)

Which pens are you expecting to be a hit in 2020?

• This is so tough, because we only have visibility mayyyybe a few months out, with some brands
• we don’t know at the beginning of the year what’s coming, honestly
• Monteverde and Conklin will be coming out with a lot, they have their new JoWo nibs and they plan to make a splash with those
• TWSBI for sure
• I’m hoping Namiki has some releases again as they’re catching up from their 100th anniversary backlog
• Lamy has a lot of cool stuff in the works, some of it’s leaked!
• Montegrappa’s got some insane LE pens coming
• For sure there are a number of really exciting things on the way, 2020 will be a fun year for pens

3) karveto- Instagram (10:25)

Hi Brian! I am wondering what happens when people “regrind” nibs? Can any nibs be reground?

• yes, they sure can!
• there are two reasons to do it: to revive/repair a worn nib, or to alter it to match a preference
• it’s a craft, part art and part science, and to really do it well takes a lot of practice and ideally some special training
• it’s essentially using a series of tools and abrasives to reshape and smooth a nib to write finer/broader/wetter/drier/etc
• I had 3 days of training on it myself from Richard Binder and could go on and on about the details
• basically nibs are metal, they last a long time, and they can be altered several times over their life!

4) wonderbreadmel Instagram (14:42)

How do you pronounce “Kaweco”? Is it ka-way-co, or ka-weck-co?

• I believe the proper pronunciation is “Ka-vay-co”, since it’s German and their “w” is spoken as an English “v”…but of course I say it wrong…
• I debate about how properly I should say it…truth be told foreign languages are an absolute struggle for me, so this is a weak area for me…

Ink

5) ciao_Ig- Instagram (16:30)

Will all clear demonstrators stain with ink – or does it depend on the specific resin & ink used?

• no, not all will stain, it really does depend
• sadly, I don’t have super good sense of which do and don’t, it’s just too much to keep in my brain!
• 700+ inks we carry (and even more we don’t), many different pens, it’s thousands and thousands of combinations
• I think generally there are some pens more prone to it, some inks more prone to it (especially some pinks, purples, and blues)
• but it is not a given that it will stain

Business

6) chrismaklive- Instagram (20:41)

Are there any makers that have tours of their manufacturing?

• to the public? Not many that I know…
• Pelikan does, that I know
• Montegrappa’s done many private tours, we’ll have a video out on that
• Aurora has a writing museum, I don’t know how much of their factory is open to the public though
• I have heard of people touring Visconti, but it might just be by appointment?
• that’s all I can think of, honestly, Pelikan’s the only one that advertises it
• it’s not super common, I think just because of safety, liability, practicality, and general disruption to their operation
• most of these pen companies are way smaller than you’d think, and public tours are quite a logistical feat, it just isn’t something most of them are set up to do, which is why it’s good to do video tours when we can!

7) ayesha_0222- Instagram Pens/Writing (24:42)

What ways can I incorporate my fountain pen in my daily life?

• This is a great question, great!
• It’s something I’ve been thinking a lot more about recently, as our digital age is challenging the daily practicality of writing at all
• I think this depends a lot on what your daily life is
• the best way I’ve found is to just get one pen that you really like keeping with you, and carry it everywhere you go
• ideally, keep a notebook with you too, as that’s kind of important too in writing
• and just look for ways to write
• there are surely a lot of good writing prompts that can help, but here are 3 to get you started:
  • write down the names of people you meet and one thing from your conversation, you can reference it later and it will wow them that you remembered
  • write down things throughout the day you’re grateful for
  • write down the 1-3 most important things you want to do that day, every day, and look at it several times throughout the day
• This is honestly a question I’d be interested in exploring even deeper in a future video, so I’ll reflect on it more

Question of the Week: How do you incorporate fountain pens into your daily life? (38:41)

Write On,
Brian Goulet