Editing The Pen Addict 487/transcript (section)

== Ask TPA Segment ==


'''Brad:''' Huge, huge follow-up in the Ask TPA. Are we ready to go there? Are we done talking about the state of the industry? I figure like we just scratched the surface and I'll probably have plenty of follow-up once the emails start rolling in.

'''Myke:''' I'm looking forward to everyone telling you why you're wrong. Yeah, I'm good with that. Like I'm okay with being wrong. Because that's good because that means we're going to find some stuff. Yeah. So I think it was last week Gil asked, is it Diamine or Diamine? And we have some follow-up via Alan.

'''Brad:''' Alan sent an email to the Diamine Corporation to get the correct spelling. And straight from the email, they spell it D-Y-E-Dash-A-M-I-N-E. That's the phonetic spelling. Phonetic spelling. Thank you. The phonetic spelling, Diamine. So there you go. Thanks for that clarification. Thank you, Christine, for responding to Alan's inquiry. And thank you, Alan, for taking up the mantle of figuring it out. Now I'm going to have to break myself. It's like the Sino-Signo thing. I finally say Signo all the time. But you say both of them for a while until you can officially convert over. And I was always a Diamine guy. So I'm going to have to cut over to Diamine and feel free to slap me down when I say it incorrectly.

'''Myke:''' I'm happy that I was right.

'''Brad:''' You were. Myke was right.

'''Myke:''' Skyblue asks, I just got my first pen, a Twisby Go, a first fountain pen, I should say, a Twisby Go, and I've run into a problem. I'm left-handed and I have found that I keep accidentally rubbing off the ink that I just wrote as I write down a line. Any tips for lefties to keep this from happening?

'''Brad:''' Well, as the resident lefty, I think you should go first.

'''Myke:''' Yeah, so I think one of the things that's the most important is the way that you hold the pen. I developed a kind of like an overhand grip so that the nib is actually more facing towards me when I write. Now this is complicated if you want to try and handle this, right? It's like you might have to change the way you hold a pen. Right. This is a big question. Yeah, that is hard work. And you might not enjoy it, but it might be, Skyblue, just a slight tweak in the way that you hold the pen could be a big help. The other thing you want to do is make sure you have quick-drying inks. So I went through this a long time ago. And I got a bunch of suggestions from other left-handed people on the show and ended up settling on the Pilot Hiroshizuku line of inks when I was really kind of starting out. And also at the same time trying to adjust my kind of writing style and grip. They dry very quickly. So that would be my recommendation. Try getting some Hiroshizuku. They have great colors and they have really good ink. But it dry really fast. And that really helped as I then also kind of changed my grip up a little bit. And that kind of helped me take it to the next part. So that's what I would recommend. Start with some Hiroshizuku. And then see if you can see how things go from there. But it is tricky. I'm pleased that you bought a Twisby Go as your first fountain pen. And you didn't like buy something mega expensive. And then realize it's not for you. This is a difficulty especially for left-handed people.

'''Brad:''' Yep. You definitely want to think about the ink. And paper is also a consideration. You know if you're using a coated paper like a Rhodia. It's going to no matter if you have a quick-drying ink. It's still going to dry longer than it would to a non-coated paper. So, you know, we can feel free to email me. Hello at penannic.com if you want some paper recommendations. But, you know, things like Midori and Life and a few of those other brands. They're going to be a little bit quicker drying than something like a coated paper like a Rhodia. Or even like a Lloyd Charmer would be a good choice. And while still remaining fountain pen friendly and handling your fountain pens well. So, yeah. It's complicated. Yeah.

'''Myke:''' All right. And the next question comes from Chucklestuff who asks, How do you temper the desire to buy everything? I've been into fountain pens for about two years and have steadily built my collection. My problem is that I ordered six pens last week and I have my sights set on more.

'''Brad:''' I mean, I'm there, right? It's a time thing for me. A time and discovery thing. You know, I'm lucky enough to be able to try and test out a lot of things before I buy them. So, I know what I like in a pen and what I dislike. So, I'm able to chop down the list for my personal collection of pens better. Sure.

'''Brad:''' Just understand that when we talk about FOMO, there's always going to be something else down the line. That you don't have to get things today. Like, Myke could not wait for that pink pen. Because it's kind of perfect for him. Like, I see why Myke wanted to jump on that Estabrook. But, like, if you're hedging, you're like, oh, well, if you're buying it because it's limited and it's not going to be there, you know, that's how you kind of, like, temper your expectations. Knowing that, hey, there's probably going to be something cool down the line, you know, a month or two down the line that might fit me better. Whereas, this is a perfect fit for Myke. Maybe it's not a perfect fit for me or for you. So, you think about these things. At least, that's how I think about these things. In that, there's always going to be something else down the line. If, you know, I can wait today, I'll hopefully be rewarded tomorrow. Whenever that is. So, you know, don't overextend yourself. Be very careful about that. Figure out, out of all these pens that you've decided to buy, figure out why you like certain pens and why you dislike certain pens. And don't hesitate to rehome, resell anything, the pens that you don't like, to keep your collection manageable. And then narrow your focus when you go shopping later. Just don't get caught up in the hype or the FOMO because you're always going to have an opportunity later. And it took me a long time to realize. It took me a long time to get there, to be perfectly honest. Years and years and years of just buying everything that flew across my screen or I saw in person at a pen show. So, and now I think, like, for my own usage, my tastes have become more refined and I'm more locked down on this is exactly what is going to be good for me. That way I don't have to question it later after I've bought it, right? That's the worst thing to do is to buy something because of the hype and then question yourself later on why did I do that? And it turns out it was just because of the hype, not because the pen was a perfect fit for you. So, it's a lot to think about. It's not easy. I'll admit I'm being caught up in this stuff for sure.

'''Myke:''' If you'd like to send in a question for us to answer on the show, you can send an email to hello at penaddict.com or you can send a tweet with the hashtag AskTPA or use question mark AskTPA in the RelayFM members Discord. I would like to thank Kenro, Uni, and Harry's for their support of the show. If you want to find Brad online, you can go to penaddict.com, spokedesign.com, and twitch.tv slash penaddict. Brad is penaddict on Instagram. Dowdyism on Twitter. Brad is a penaddict.com. I'm Michael. I'm Michael. I'm Michael. I am iMike. I-M-Y-K-E. And we'll be back next time. Until then, say goodbye, Brad. Goodbye, Brad.

[[Category:Podcast Transcripts]]
[[Category:The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript]]