Goulet Q&A Episode 139, Open Forum

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In this episode, I talk about thick ink, troubleshoot a lot of different issues, and I am giving away a Pilot VP Guilloche!

This week:

50k giveaway! VP Guilloche on the line
To enter, leave a comment on this week's Q&A (139) on YouTube with your favorite GPC YouTube video and why
Only 1 entry per person
Entry window closes on Monday morning (9/26 at 8am EDT)
I'll be announcing the winner the following Friday (9/30) at the beginning of Q&A (140).
Winner will direct message Goulet Pens through YouTube with their email, we'll get the info we need from there
Winner will have a week to reach out to us

New/Upcoming Products - (4:39)

Pens/Writing - (11:41)

1) Marcus C.- Facebook - (11:43)

Several videos ago you recommended a Platinum carbon ink pen to someone who was looking for a very stiff nib "Hard as Nails" I think they referred to. I tried out the Platinum and really like the way it writes. But it is not the most good looking pen. Is there a way of combining this pen with another maintaining the nib, but making it look better? A "Franken-pen".

Nope, not this particular pen (that I know)
Platinum makes all their own nibs, so they're fairly proprietary in terms of how they fit in there
I did see a blogger hack the end off the pen with a hacksaw (a literal hack!) to make it more portable
the one exception might be the 3776, which uses a #6 size nib but still I wouldn't have high hopes that would swap well in many pens
you're pretty much stuck with what you have

2) Mike C.- Facebook - (16:21)

I have a Nimiki VP I purchase new in July of 1996...I have never used it...should I ink it now or keep it pristine as a small investment? Yes I put it away and forgot about it.

that's pretty cool to still have that, honestly
I can't really tell you the right answer, you'll have to look inside your heart
it's not going to be a huge value bump though, honestly
they aren't particularly valuable, maybe $100 or so more than a modern VP if that (though special editions and stuff might be worth more)
I'm really not a vintage expert, and you could probably hold on to it forever and get someone someday who desperately wants that pen for their collection and get a good price
it might be worth posting it on FPN just to get an idea what it's worth
if you use it, the value will surely go down a bit, but that's up to you
personally, I might be inclined to just leave it as is, it's been this long!!

Ink - (21:00)

3) Silvia C.- Facebook - (21:03)

Would you use the word THICK to describe the properties of an ink? I've used both Diamine's Apple Glory and Lamy Turquoise in my Lamy NexxM with steel fine nib, and noticed that the same quantity of both ink does not last for equal amount of time/writing. Have you also experienced the same with different inks?

Oh sure, the viscosity of an ink is definitely a factor in how it performs
unfortunately, that's not something the ink makers advertise at all, really
now there are a LOT of factors for how quickly your ink will be used up
viscosity is surely one of them, though your sample size here is pretty small and non-scientific
I wish I could even generalize to say which inks seem thick and which are thin, and I've even contemplated doing viscosity testing on all our inks to come up with some objective way to share this info, but I don't know that I could translate results from a test to an actual attributable performance
any scientists out there have experience with this? I'm curious

Paper - (27:05)

4) Kevin G.- Facebook - (27:07)

Are there particular papers that are especially prone to skin oil? My Apica basic notebooks make all my pens from Jinhao to Visconti skip, and only my Japanese and nibmeistered pens managed to survive perfectly. Since the paper is not super glossy, I'm suspecting that oil may be the problem.

This is interesting because I usually hear of complaints of this on slicker paper like Rhodia or Clairefontaine
the oils are just keeping the ink from absorbing into the paper, and the more ink repellent the paper is to begin with, usually the more issues you'll have with it
honestly, I don't hear of this happening allll that much though, on any paper (though it definitely does)
this really varies person-to-person
slicker paper with oil on it will really test the fine tuning of your nib, because it won't be assisting in the capillary action of the ink flow
it'll be a trial and error thing
you can keep a piece of paper or blotter card under your hand as you write on the top of the page to help keep the oils at bay

Troubleshooting - (33:08)

5) Melissa H.- Facebook - (33:10)

I used J Herbin Rouge Hematite in my new clear Ahab and had a devil of a time getting it all out. I took it completely apart then used the first thing I always reach for when I have a stain on a hard surface, a magic eraser. About the time I was finishing up scrubbing that tiny plunger piece it dawned on me I might be wearing away at the vegetal resin. Should I avoid using the magic eraser? I know they are made of the stuff used for automotive sanding, but super, super fine. Thanks so much!

Red inks are sometimes tough to clean out of demonstrators, especially this one!
the clear Ahab is clingier with inks anyway, just that material
you are basically polishing the pen surface with a magic eraser, which is okay from time to time but you wouldn't want to be doing that on too regular a basis
it is an actual abrasive, so save it for special occasions
you can drive yourself crazy keeping demonstrators clean, really
try using pen flush, and other less abrasive things like toothbrushes or q-tips as a first resort

6) Mike W.- Facebook - (39:06)

Is it ever necessary to heat set a plastic feed? If so how is that best done? Thanks!

it's usually not necessary, but it can sometimes help
it's not for the faint of heart, as it takes more work to heat set it than ebonite
the plastics used in different feeds varies, so you may have a differing amount of time to heat set one feed over another
it's not as standardized as ebonite
the process is more or less similar though
I sat with Mike Masuyama as he showed me what he does
he removes the feed, heats it in water, then bends it up, lets it cool
he inserts it back into the pen, then sticks the feed/nib into warm water to heat set it again
the pressure from the nib sets the feed in the right place
the risk is if you heat the feed too much, it can melt it and then it's shot
you usually can't get a spare feed easily, which is a bummer
do at your own risk

7) jmcollis- Instagram - (45:50)

How standard really is the International Standard cartridge system. I have some (admittedly cheap) pens that are supposed to take international cartridges that a cartridge will not stay put in, i.e. they easily fall out. I have similar results with converters for them.

generally it's pretty standard, but if you have a really cheap pen it could definitely not be manufactured up to par
I haven't seen issues with this in any of the "cheap" pens we've carried (Jinhao/Daiso), but they're out there
definitely one thing to check is to make sure it's inserted all the way, sometimes they actually click into place
if the tolerance is too small it could just fall out, but if it's too great, then you might have to kind of force it on there
if you get one that just won't accept anything, then you're kind of up a creek...just eyedropper convert it if you can (even if it's metal...what choice do you really have at that point?) or toss it

8) @brianhodgepodge- Twitter - (50:46)

Any tips on swapping the nib on pens w/a nib unit? I'm worried I'll damage the feed as I swap them because the fit is so snug.

you definitely need to watch out when doing this, it's easy to damage some feeds out there
TWSBI feeds I find are particularly fragile
a lot of #6 size feeds are pretty robust, like Monteverde/Conklin, Noodler's, Edison
using a grip can definitely help
gently rocking back and forth as you pull helps
gentle twisting as you pull can help too

Business - (57:09)

9) Sue M.- Facebook - (57:11)

I miss the overhead views that you used to have in your older videos. Is there any chance of you bringing those back for the Q and A when you are showing something up close?

For Q&A, not really, we never really did overhead for Q&A
It's really just way too much footage to manage, and the camera we normally used for overhead shots is what we'd use for Q&A face shots
this is a technique Jenni and I have sort of moved away from lately in general
just for our own workflow, it's worked out better doing more scripting/planning of what I'm going to say in order to keep the video length much shorter
in the "old days", I'd ramble more in one continuous take, mainly because that was faster and easier to edit back when I did it all myself
Jenni allows us to keep it shorter and more concise, and she's helping me shoot a lot of b-roll/hand shots now that we've been working together a while (and I'm getting pretty dang busy)
I admit, it'd be pretty cool but it'd just be too much for us to handle with multicam in Q&A

QOTW: What has been your favorite Goulet Pens YouTube video, and why? - (01:05:03)
**Be sure to leave your comment on YouTube for your chance to be entered into our 50k Giveaway**

Thanks so much for joining us this week! You can catch up on any old Q&A videos you missed here.

Write On,

Brian Goulet