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In this week’s Q&A, I talk about whether or not you can eyedropper convert a Pilot Falcon, how to smooth out a stub nib, and the Brian Goulet system of personal organization. It’s a beefy one!
New Products: – (2:54)

In this week’s Q&A, I talk about whether or not you can eyedropper convert a Pilot Falcon, how to smooth out a stub nib, and the Brian Goulet system of personal organization. It’s a beefy one!
New Products: – (2:54)
- Filofax A4’s
- AG wax
- LOTS of package sets
- Kaweco Metallic Purple
- Visconti Opera Master Crimson Tide Ruthenium and Blue Swirls
- ENP Mystical Myrrh
Pens/Writing – (5:52)
1) @DillonIanCarter- Twitter – (5:59)
Can the Pilot Falcon (resin) be converted into an eye dropper?
- there’s some debate about this one!
- there’s a fair amount of speculation about it online, some of what I’m reading says it leaks from the back finial
- the press-fit end cap isn’t necessarily air-tight, so it could leak if you fill the whole body with ink
- my personal pens don’t seem to leak, I’ll experiment with them further though
- I will settle on saying that they aren’t advertised as eyedropper convertible so you should expect it, but it’s a nice-to-have if they work out that way
2) Denise K.-Facebook – (12:22)
What’s the very best pen w/ stub nib at $200-ish or less? I prefer a finer line in general.
- not as many distinctly different options here as you might think!
- Monteverde/Conklin are all similar nibs, stubs are generally okay, do have some tine pinching reputation
- Edison nibs are great
- TWSBI nibs are generally pretty good
- Pilot VP is awesome! but not readily available…
3) Janet D.-Facebook – (17:40)
I recently purchased the Conklin Duragraph in green with a 1.1 stub nib. The pen is beautiful, but the nib seems a little “scratchy.” Are stub nibs generally a little more “scratchy” than regular fine or medium nibs?
- stubs are a little tougher to “do right”
- it’s not necessarily that they’re more scratchy, but they are not as forgiving for rotation in your hand
- even Goulet #6 nibs we get in need to be adjusted, we find that 1.1 nibs need more adjustment and smoothing than just about any other nib size
- Goulet Loupe Tutorial Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ29a1ct5XA
4) Janet D.-Facebook – (22:16)
Can you smooth a stub nib with micro mesh?
- absolutely, just like any other nib
- check alignment first
- be very aware of your pen rotation when doing your smoothing
- figure 8 patterns help
5) Janet D.-Facebook – (27:04)
Can the nib on the Conklin be replaced with a #6 Goulet nib, and if so, how?
Can the nib on the Conklin be replaced with a #6 Goulet nib, and if so, how?
- it can, just be aware your new nib won’t be warranty covered by Conklin (obviously)
- it’s friction fit, so just pull and replace!
Ink – (32:42)
6) John Y.-Facebook – (32:45)
Is there a fountain pen ink that works on credit cards? I just tried to sign one of mine and even after a day the ink still smeared. I used Noodler’s Black Eel.
- nope! FP ink is water-based and needs paper to soak into
- best to use a sharpie, something else solvent-based
- same goes for photo paper, glossy cardstock, “waterproof” paper, etc
7) André V.- Facebook-(35:06)
Are “universal” cartridges/converters truly universal? Are there things to look out for?
- there is no such thing as a universal converter or cartridge
- the most versatile one is called Standard International and it fits a wider variety of pens than any other
- many brands use proprietary C/C’s though, always look to see what type a certain brand takes
- you can get a good start under the “Compatible Inks & Refills” filter on GouletPens.com
- you can select “Standard International Ink cartridges” and see all the ones that take those
Personal – (40:59)
8) Samantha W. -Facebook – (41:06)
How does THE Brian Goulet stay organised? Between the store, the videos, emails and social media I’d imagine it’s a tall order. What organisers and/or notebook styles do you use (bullet journals, …?) Thanks in advance!!
- that is a great question! and I have a complicated answer that’s more high-tech than low-tech
- personally, I write because I love it not because I “have to”, so many of my productivity methods are high-tech so I can get them done quicker and write more for the joy of writing
- the simplest answer is with David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) method
- discovered it about 3 years ago, been honing it ever since
- literally made somewhat of a breakthrough this past week with my “contexts”
- Basic ideology of GTD:
- get things out of your head and in a trusted system that you review regularly
- have everything go into an “inbox”, clarify what it is and the next action for it, review it weekly and determine its priority, then do it!
- I use many, many different programs depending on what I’m managing
- High-tech:
-
- Omnifocus 2 for my Mac and phone, my main holding place: 1,100+ actions stored there!
- recently getting into Evernote, trying that out in tandem with Omnifocus
- Simplemind for mind mapping on the phone
- Basecamp for projects across the company
- Outlook Exchange for shared calendar and email
- Slack for interoffice communication
- Various apps for all our social media channels
- Google docs/sheets for collaborative work
- MarsEdit app for drafting blog posts (like Q&A!) and video prep
- Reminders app on my phone for certain grocery lists and whatnot
- 1Password for security and account management
- Textexpander for faster typing shortcuts of repetitive things
- Jumpcut is a cool app for copy/paste actions
- Dragon Dictate for some things like transcribing notes from books I’ve read
- YNAB– You Need A Budget for personal budget
- personal photos, been using Aperture now I’m switching to Lightroom
- videos using Final Cut Pro X
- Low-tech:
- several different journals, this is mainly to try them all out!
- Midori Traveler’s Notebook
- Leuchtturm for personal journals
- Rhodia Webnotebook for brainstorming work stuff
- Always several different notebooks in my backpack
- Filofax Notebooks, Rhodia Meeting book, CF wire bound
- whiteboard in my office and in other various places around GPC
- single inbox for pens, papers, business cards, etc
- labelmaker
- pen cabinet with Excel doc
9) @smadayrrek- Twitter – (1:04:05)
What is your favourite holiday movie to watch with your family for Christmas?
- haven’t established a single “must watch” Christmas movie yet, probably Charlie Brown Christmas though
- watch a lot of Veggie Tales, Mickey Mouse
Troubleshooting – (1:05:02)
10) Tonja B. Facebook – (1:05:03)
I have a TWSBI Classic black. A co-worker, fascinated by my pen a few weeks ago (he loves fountain pens) attempted to take it apart by unscrewing the nib/grip section from the barrel. Obviously this created a problem, as he soon discovered (his hands turned black from the ink), but ever since then, every time I take the lid off the grip section is all inked up. Since the barrel was full when he did this, I hate to waste all that ink, but should I simply expel what is left, wash it all out and start all over? Or is the pen defective? Advice?
- check to make sure the nib unit is installed properly
- at least wash off the grip of the pen
- visually inspect to see if anything’s stripped, cracked, etc
- pen only holds 1.5ml of ink total, the more expensive inks are about $0.50/ml so don’t sweat the lost ink too much
- hard to say if it’s defective, likely not
QOTW: How do you stay personally organized? – (1:09:40)
Thanks so much for joining me this week! You can catch up on any old Q&A videos you missed here.
Write On,
Brian Goulet