In this Goulet Q&A episode, Brian talks about Fountain Pen Day, break in periods for pens, and his every day carry items (beyond just pens). Enjoy!
This week:
- Virginia Tech visit
- TWSBI ink
- Pinieder Forged Carbon
- Galen Leather
- Stipula Ventidue Gold Touch
- Namiki Emperor Shoki
- Diplomat Aero Orange/Black
- Field Notes National Park Series D– Arches, Grand Teton, Sequoia
- Coming Soon:
- More Mark Bacas medium CSI custom grinds on Homo Sapiens
- Homo Sapiens Skylight
- Montegrappa Elmo Genziana Sfrangiata (Purple)
- Namiki Yukari Royale Lioness and Cubs
- Diplomat Esteem MadC
- Diplomat Excellence A+ Waves
- Diplomat Aero Flame
- Pelikan m200 Gold Marbled
- Visconti Torpedo Blue (Rose gold/ruthenium) $1756
- Pelikan Maki-e Japanese Umbrella
- Visconti Van Gogh Wheatfield with Crows
- Conklin Duragraph Black Matte/Rose Gold
- Montegrappa Elmo Iris Yellow, Black Star Calla Lily, Blue Cross Gentian
Pens/Writing
1) Mackenzie H- Facebook (19:15)
The Diplomat Esteem and LAMY Studio seem like similar pens. I love the Studio and I’m wondering if you could compare and contrast them side by side.
- They actually are fairly similar in style, price, size, general style, both C/C pens, snap caps, metal, both made in Germany, both great fit and finish
- Lamy Studio
- propeller clip
- proprietary converter
- slick metal tapered grip
- not for everyone
- LAMY proprietary nibs slightly more swappable among LAMY
- Diplomat Esteem
- SI converter
- #5 JoWo nib
- both pens write well, not all that different from each other
- Largely it’ll come down to whichever of these are more to your liking! Both good pens
2) pasteboard_love- Instagram (26:49)
Do most pens have a break in period out of the box? or should they write perfectly immediately?
- perfect as a word isn’t one I like to use around pens, because they’re so subjective!
- but I get what you mean, should it perform well out of the box vs need to be “broken in”
- mostly, it should perform out of the box, with some slight exceptions
- sometimes it benefits to clean your pen before using it, not always essential but usually recommended
- everything should fit well, look good, etc
- ink may take a little bit to get flowing in some pens (especially ebonite feeds), but it should work well fairly quickly
- nibs are something that’s more tuned that broken in, though there can sometimes be some getting used to, adjusting your grip/speed/etc with a certain pen (flex comes to mind)
- largely I feel pens should work pretty well right away, but the “break in” period comes in more on the part of us as the users!
Troubleshooting
3) Andrea P- Facebook (31:47)
Why does ink get inside the clear (or not clear) grip section above the nib? It’s annoying!
- ink is mostly water and it takes the path of least resistance
- capillary action is your friend, and is what gets the ink down through your pen
- the grip inside every pen is often filled with ink, you just don’t see it unless it’s clear
- I agree it may be annoying visually, but it serves a really important function of helping to regulate the flow of in through your pen
- not every pen has ink in the grip, some have internal housings that keep the ink insulated from the grip itself, but unless there’s an o-ring there, ink may still get in the grip when you fill it
- as many pens as I use it’s something I’ve come to just accept and appreciate, like nib creep, it’s just part of what makes a fountain pen a fountain pen!
- it may still annoy you, but at least now you know why it’s so
Business
4) Stephanie P- Facebook (38:53)
Any big plans for Fountain Pen Day?
- yes! lots of deals, for sure, though I won’t get into too many specifics here
- definitely sign up for our email newsletter, or just come check out our site next Friday
- we’ll have a lot of one-day only deals, things we wouldn’t normally
- it’s a day to embrace, promote, and share about fountain pens, an unofficial holiday within our community
- Started on FPN in 2012, with Cary Yeager really leading the charge
- Cary has since changed his career to work full time in pens at Kenro (US distributor for Esterbrook, Aurora, Montegrappa, Loclen), and still manages the FPD efforts
- retailers like us often run deals, help share and promote
- for you, you can obviously feed your own passion with pen stuff
- it’s really great to spread the love online, posting, sharing/tagging
5) Alan S- Facebook (44:46)
Besides the obvious busy times of the years (holidays), what is the busiest stationery-buying season we wouldn’t expect?
- for us, not much beyond what you might expect
- back to school, somewhat but it’s actually not all that big for us, I hear it’s bigger for others
- new product releases, mainly and that’s about it!
Personal
6) rtylerjames- Instagram (48:01)
Brian’s EDC. Like EVERYTHING he CARRIES daily.
- do I count everything in my backpack? I basically carry all that everywhere I go
- this will be a long question if I cover all that!
- I’ll focus mainly on what’s on my person
- lots of normal stuff like keys, chapstick, phone (iphone 11pro)
- always a pen, often my Homo Sapiens in a single Aston leather slip
- Apple watch, wedding ring, wallet, sunglasses, Benchmade 530 knife, Airpods
- I really wouldn’t consider myself an EDC guy, not like some others I know who are really thoughtful about everything on their person
- I’m pretty thoughtful about a couple things, other stuff I don’t really care, it’s just stuff
- The stuff that’s pretty crucial to me: phone, pen, airpods, knife, beyond that I just use whatever works and I’m okay cycling it out
- for me, I spend SO much of my time and energy on pens, kids, etc, I just don’t spend much time if any on getting deep into other things like flashlights, knives, minimalist wallets, or other accessories
- I get targeted ads like crazy online for EDC stuff because I fit the demo, but it’s just not something I devote a lot of my time to, but I probably would if I had more free time!
QOTW: What are the everyday carry things you that you have with you at all times? (01:01:01)
Write On,
Brian Goulet