Editing The Pen Addict 416/transcript (section)

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'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right. Our good friend, Michael, Mr. Dan Provost and Mr. Tom Gerhart from Studio Neat launched the Mark II yesterday on Kickstarter. There is a new episode of Thoroughly Considered, which I just caught this morning. I'm about three quarters of the way through. So definitely go and give a listen. I love hearing y'all talk about like when products happen. You know, that's like my favorite. That's like, that's my jam. Like I want to hear all the nuts and bolts.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I like being able to do those episodes of them when they have something new and I can ask them, why did you do this? Why did you do that? Like, I like, I mean, that's one of the reasons the show exists anyway, because I like talking to the two of them about how they design their products. And for me, my favorite episodes are when they have new campaigns. And as well, it's like, you know, I know a lot of this stuff, but I see the whole product development that we talk about this in the show. But the Mark II has been in development for over two years. It followed along from the Mark I very quickly and has since taken some interesting twists and turns in the way that the pen has ended up being. So it is a pocket pen, which when extended, when you post the cap is as long as the Mark I, which is kind of incredible. And there's a lot of really smart engineering into what's made them get it to this point. It takes either the Fisher Space Pen or the Schmidt 8126, which is the mini. I was going to say, it's the one we love, but small. Now, I had never heard of the mini 8126 until Tom told me about it. I didn't even know it existed. I've not seen it anywhere before. So this allows for the same experience that you'll find in the Mark I and the Retro 51 and many more, but will allow for smaller pens because it is a smaller version of the refill, which I'm super happy about because I hate the Fisher Space Pen refill. So I'm super pleased that this product takes that because it would have been a harder sell for me. Like my Apollo Mark I, I immediately threw the Fisher Space Pen refill out and put in a Schmidt 8126. And so I was really super excited when they told me that they found this refill. And it's like, they're a supplier, right? Like they work directly with the supplier. They even supply their own, right? Like, and I'm sure they'll be doing that for this pen too. Like you can buy refills directly from Studio Neat. And I think they're branded Studio Neat the same as Retro 51 brand them as well. And so they were able, they were able to find out this product and they helped, it really helped them kind of like finalize the plans for the pen. It's got a clip on it, which a lot of people really wanted in the Mark I. And there's something that's on this pen, which makes, I think, a lot more sense for a pocket pen. And I think the product wouldn't have been a good without it. It's like an important thing for people that care about pocket pens. And the other thing is this one is made fully of stainless steel, which is different. Cerakoted on the cap and then either polished stainless steel or PVD coated stainless steel. And it's a more expensive pen. Starts at $85 or $105, depending on whether you go for the black and silver or the black and black model.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It's great. I've had a prototype of this. We're trying to figure out before the show how long I've had it. It's got to be. So jealous of you. There you go.

'''Myke Hurley:''' That's it right there. Yeah, thanks. Right there. Yeah, it's great.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Since late last year and Dan sent it to me and then when I received it, we chatted a little bit about it and he kind of broke my brain on how they did the tapering on the barrel to where it sleeves in, you know, three quarters to seven eighths of the way when you have it closed. But then when you go to post the cap, it only sleeves in halfway. And Dan would just giggle when I'm typing to him, like, because you can't visually see it in the barrel. And they talk about this on Thoroughly Considered. They talk about how microscopic that taper is. You can't see it visually. And as someone who is involved in making things, like you see things like that. And I would just stare at the pen and flip it over. It's like, is this, is there something inside the cap that is stopping this? How does the front end go further than the back? But whatever they did, it's like a little magic. It's like a little magic trick that makes it work really well, which is why, you know, I like their products to begin with because they do such a good job. It's a great size. It's cool looking. It's well built. I mean, it's studio need. What do you expect? And the refill, the refill, I'm with you guys. I was not aware this refill existed. And I haven't gone into research to see if it's new or old. I'm guessing it's old, but just never used. Right. So the funny thing about this refill, so it's the 8126 Mini. Next to it, it says Private Reserve Inc. And I don't know what that means. I haven't seen, I don't recall seeing that on other Schmidt refills. Maybe I just haven't paid attention to it. No, I didn't. But it was weird. So not that it means anything. It writes just like the 8126 that we both love and expect. So it's great feeling, great looking. I've backed it for the black PVD barrel. Me too. So the black on black.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Because this, in case you're wondering, this is very similar to the Apollo Mark 1, the black PVD coating. And also it's also made of stainless steel, the same as the Apollo Mark 1. So that was why, like, for me, this was easy. It was easy. I knew what color I wanted and I knew I wanted it because the Apollo Mark 1, the more I've used it, like, that has become an absolute favorite pen of mine. Because it's just wonderful to use. The weight of it is incredible. So it was, you know, this obviously isn't going to be the same. I expect it will be much lighter. But I'm super, yeah, I'm super excited about this pen.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, I went into the campaign thinking it was just going to be, like, the black and stainless, which is great. I think it's an awesome look. And I love pens like that. Then I scrolled down. I was like, oh, look at this one. I was like, oh, yeah, the PVD coating. Yes, I know it's more expensive. But, man, it's so good. And it just matches the Apollo like that. And I just think it's really cool. So I'm excited to see how this progresses because I love what they did already with this model. And to see, like, I think this is a really, really early on prototype. Like, I wouldn't ever review something like this early on. This is, like, alpha or pre-alpha level prototype just to kind of get the concept down. And it was great then. So I know the final result is going to be equally as nice.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Another product, Myke. I get all the sneak peeks, Myke. All the sneak peeks today. The analog productivity system from Ugmonk. So Jeff Sheldon with Ugmonk, we've become friends over the past year or so, just talking about some, you know, different analog tools that he makes through his company. And he wanted to send me a set of the analog card that just launched on Kickstarter yesterday as well. So big day for the Kickstarter in our realm yesterday. And what this – I'm, of course, very interested in any note card index card system. And that's what this is. So Jeff built a note card system that will allow you to track your daily tasks, your weekly, monthly, or future tasks, and then your long-term tasks in one set of note cards. So each pack – I don't know the exact quantity in these, but your daily cards will last you. There's probably like – I don't know. Is there how many?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Every pack that you get includes 35 today cards, 10 next cards, 5 someday cards.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Okay. So there's 35 cards. Your today cards are essentially your daily cards, right? So they have spots for – they're lined with little circles for you to fill and complete your tasks. You can mark them complete and progress, delegated, you know, anything you want to do to work on those. And you can put a little date. It has – I really like the little three circles in the corner. You can kind of denote different things like completion levels and different things like that. So, like, I'm not a system person, right? So I don't really go for analog systems. I like my digital systems. Like, if I'm going to do tasks or to-dos, I don't use a system. I'll use just like a general – a basic note card or a basic notebook or an app. But I like what he did with the storage of this kit. So it comes with – or you can order separately a little note card holder. And it will hold like a full pack of these cards. And it will allow the primary card, say the today card that you're using, to have a vertical orientation. And I think as someone who makes note cards and someone who believes in note cards, that the vertical orientation is way underused. And you will see me live that. Like, the way I use note cards. They're – I can't tell you the last time I've used a note card horizontally. So I just think they're built for vertical use. And Jeff has built this into the little stand for these cards. So I think it's pretty cool. The biggest question people will want to know from me is, are these fountain pen friendly? Which is Jeff's and Ugmonk's probably least important question. And I have to say, they're really good, especially the today cards, right? The most common card you use, the today card that has the most cards, they work great for fountain pens. So I'm happy to say that. But the next cards are not as good for fountain pens. And I relayed this to Jeff in the feedback. They are fine for fountain pens, but they do feather a little bit more. The someday cards, which I thought were going to be very poor, which they're the craft color ones, they are excellent. Like, I really enjoy using the someday cards. But look, the colors of the ink show up well. There's actually sheen on the inks, which means that the ink is not getting into the fibers of the paper. So overall quality, I'd say they're very good for fountain pen users. You know, you might see some, a little bit of issues with wider, wetter nibs. But I think overall, they're pretty good. And let's be clear, that's not Jeff's customer base, right? As our fountain pen fanatics, right? They're mostly going to be using every other pen but a fountain pen, which they all work. I'll put some photos. I sent Jeff all my ink tests pictures. So I'll share these pictures now that the product is launched. I'm allowed to share this stuff. So I'll put some pictures up on Instagram of just all my ink tests. And when I did this, so this was on, I put the date on this. This was 3-9-2020. So in early March is when I sent Jeff my tests of the paper quality. And yeah, overall, I think it's a cool product. So again, I've backed this mostly for the stand. And I will probably, honestly, when they come in, I'll give away the card packs. Like we'll do giveaways because I'm not going to use the system. Like this, I am not a system person. Like I think that's just abundantly clear. But the idea of this is great for someone who would like to track their information these days. I just tend to do it in even a more simple manner than this. That works well for me. So there you go.