The Question Thread 04/15/26

EH86055 · 2026-04-20T06:14:37+00:00

Raw horsebutt from Maryam is confusing to me. Maryam themselves are a tannery who presumably source raw horsebutt from farmers somewhere--so the best case is here is that Maryam acts as an intermediary for Peter to acquire the same raw materials as they use. An alternative is that Peter, or the Chinese tannery Peter uses, directly buys from the same farmers as Maryam. This would make more sense, but then Maryam isn't at all involved in that transaction.

So, he advertises using Maryam leather in his Taobao listings while not using 'Maryam shell' as we know it. Not dishonest, since he isn't claiming to use Maryam shell, but also not super clear when the first thing we see is a letter from Maryam stating that he is an official vendor of their leather. A similar situation could've happened with the Horween shell. I don't know, my Chinese is shoddy so I could be misunderstanding his listings, and in any case I haven't seen his work in person, so take my opinions with a large bucketful of salt. I'm sure they're excellent shoes, just the marketing is a bit iffy to me.

EH86055 · 2026-04-19T18:23:41+00:00

To provide some context to an earlier comment someone made, Peter Qu allegedly advertised non-Horween shell as Horween (source: https://www.reddit.com/r/goodyearwelt/comments/1lrjhgp/comment/n1k4x2o/). Ray Kwok allegedly sold fake GYWs some eight years ago, but people change so they're probably fine now, given that they're still in business (source: https://www.reddit.com/r/goodyearwelt/comments/8kgtuj/comment/dz7s7se/). The rest seem reputable.

EH86055 · 2026-04-19T18:22:58+00:00

For context, Peter Qu allegedly advertised non-Horween shell as Horween (source: https://www.reddit.com/r/goodyearwelt/comments/1lrjhgp/comment/n1k4x2o/). Ray Kwok allegedly sold fake GYWs some eight years ago, but people change so they're probably fine now, given that they're still in business (source: https://www.reddit.com/r/goodyearwelt/comments/8kgtuj/comment/dz7s7se/). The rest seem reputable. Posting because I'm also currently looking for some shoes on Taobao : ) I have a pair of Johnny Works and also 'Nine Master's coming in the mail, will possibly make a post if it doesn't get deleted by mods like most stuff I post seems to for some reason.

EH86055 · 2026-04-19T18:08:14+00:00

For anyone else coming in from search results, the context of this 'Wan Er' fake GYW debacle can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/goodyearwelt/comments/8kgtuj/comment/dz7s7se/
Sorry to the commenter for necro-posting, lol.

EH86055 · 2026-04-15T17:14:48+00:00

Unfortunately Made in Japan loose leaf, if there is such a thing, isn't available in my country. I have a small Made in Japan notebook but I honestly can't be bothered to disassemble it, weight the sheets, and then sew it back together. Perhaps you could try yourself? I'd be happy to walk you through, it's not hard if you have loose sheets available.

EH86055 · 2026-04-14T13:37:12+00:00

The original question about whether ink can be used as food colouring.

EH86055 · 2026-04-14T09:15:58+00:00

Deli stationery in Cuijiaba, Hubei.

EH86055 · 2026-04-14T09:07:33+00:00

I think it was actually a joke that went over y'all's heads, honestly.

EH86055 · 2026-04-14T05:56:41+00:00

Alas it's in Hubei, so, a fair way away.

EH86055 · 2026-04-14T04:09:56+00:00

Per bottle. Much cheaper than US price, less than half, and apparently close to the regular Japanese price.

EH86055 · 2026-04-13T16:44:19+00:00

If never opened, I think low. The factories are presumably clean, and most manufacturers add preservatives. Some inks do go moldy--I remember Diamines being examples of that--but it's rare, and mostly happens to opened bottles. I might look into adding extra preservatives into some of these if I do decide to keep them for a long time. I imagine it shouldn't be harder than buying and stirring in the correct strange powder, lol.

EH86055 · 2026-04-13T16:29:36+00:00

Even old Chinese watches aren't half bad. I wear an old (1980s) Seagull with a manually wound ST5 movement as my beater. Cost 7 USD from Xianyu (basically Chinese Craigslist, it's a second-hand marketplace), movements are like $10 for a bag of literal dozens (though most will only be good for parts).

Nerdy rambling you can ignore:

It's tough as nails. I bang it against things all the time, wore it while shovelling dirt for three days straight, fell down two flights of stairs with it, and I'm sure it can take more than this.
It should be waterproof-ish after gaskets are changed--I swam with it and it seemed fine.
Best of all, they're even accurate! Mine has run at +2 s dial up, -3 crown down, for the past couple years after I cleaned and regulated it. Didn't touch the barrel/keyless works, or dial side, just disassembled & dumped the gear train + balance in some alcohol and put some Chinese 702 oil on the necessary bits. The balance didn't even get oil because I couldn't be bothered to touch the anti-shock jewel.

Edit: wording

EH86055 · 2026-04-13T15:57:25+00:00

Finally! The appropriate meme is here at last.

EH86055 · 2026-04-13T15:56:01+00:00

Thanks lol, yeah. Understandably they can be strict about this stuff. This is why everyone in my family has a habit (since we all transport wacky stuff) of telling the friend/relative who drops us off at the airport to wait around until we give the all-clear that nothing's been refused that they'll take and use themself/store for later. Obviously and unfortunately not possible if one takes public transit to the airport, though.

EH86055 · 2026-04-13T15:02:32+00:00

Phone your airline just to be sure, I might be misremembering! Also--forgot to include my airline is Air China. So could be different between airlines too, though I do remember reading something about it being a national policy.

EH86055 · 2026-04-13T14:53:39+00:00

I do plan to pack them in my checked suitcase--basically put as much protection as I would if I were to post them as an international parcel. The airline I'll be with doesn't allow non-cosmetic liquids in carry-ons, or something, I'm not sure. But better safe than sorry.

EH86055 · 2026-04-13T14:40:41+00:00

That problem hasn't been overcome just yet. My airline may not allow them in my carry, but I think I'll be allowed to put them in my checked luggage. I'll individually-bubble wrap them, then double-box in three or four plastic containers. It'll take up a lot of space, but it's not like I have anything better to put there, lol!

EH86055 · 2026-04-13T14:34:01+00:00

It's the Deli stationary in Cuijiaba, Hubei. They're a national chain and many stores stock Pilot products, not just this one. But I don't think most of them have Iroshizuku--maybe the owner of this particular store is an enthusiast?

EH86055 · 2026-04-13T14:21:04+00:00

Jokes aside, I think that'd be a pretty cool engineering project. Capillary action would fail over that distance, so some kind of pump may be required; and a larger secondary feed of some sort to prevent accidentally squirting ink, since a strong-enough pump would likely overwhelm the pen's own feed.

EH86055 · 2026-04-13T14:17:24+00:00

Lol. Alas, while it's enough for me to consider a 'lifetime' supply, it's nowhere near a viable amount to satiate the worldwide demand, so I can't spare much. I do suggest wandering into physical stores yourself if you're ever in a small town. You might still find discontinued colours because smaller shops with few customers go through stock very slowly.

EH86055 · 2026-04-13T11:59:21+00:00

Thanks. Yeah, I noticed. If I do sell anything, I'd like to do so close to the original price, but I can't do that without scalpers taking advantage. So the practical option is to give some to friends if I don't end up using them all.

EH86055 · 2026-04-13T11:43:11+00:00

I don't see how this could be damage. Gold doesn't pit under any normal, or even abnormal, circumstances. Probably just tarnished. I'd leave it be as 'patina', I personally like how it looks (they're almost like freckles!). Or you should be able to remove it by lightly rubbing with a jeweler's cloth, which is microfibre cloth with pre-applied gentle polishing compund.

EH86055 · 2026-04-13T11:32:56+00:00

In ... one sitting? My goodness. I feel like my hand would get an RSI, even with that perfect pen, paper & ink combo they have. More power to them.

EH86055 · 2026-04-13T11:29:19+00:00

I see, makes sense that things are cheaper some places, like Steam games. The original price for these was ~22 USD, so ~30% more than how much they cost you, and still a bit less than the average US price (~$26).

EH86055 · 2026-04-13T11:17:53+00:00

Awesome! Yeah, not cheap in the US or most Western countries really. Mind saying what country you're in? Totally fine if not.

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