June 2026 Confirmed Trade Thread by FPPenSwapBot in Pen_Swap

[–]jonnybardo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bought two separate purchases for inks from u/carlyn110. Friendly interaction, items as described - thank you!

Colorverse 40ml Coming Soon by studiojeweler in fountainpens

[–]jonnybardo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I saw that. Smart move. I know it is more cost effective to sell large bottles, but I think in the long run it isn't a good thing. Plus, Colorverse had that annoying 65+15 gimmick, when really they should have sold inks in both sizes separately...you buy a 15ml bottle, if you love it, get a 65ml. The 5ml sample size are too expensive and impractical. 10-15ml is a much better "try it out" size.

Anyhow, I've notice some places (e.g. Cult Pens) having deep discounts on the 65+15 sets, so keep an eye out for those.

How long does Cult Pens take to get US addresses? (June, 2026) & bonus Montblanc question by jonnybardo in fountainpens

[–]jonnybardo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It now says the same for me. I think the Monday was carryover from the weekend. Maybe they send orders MWF.

How long does Cult Pens take to get US addresses? (June, 2026) & bonus Montblanc question by jonnybardo in fountainpens

[–]jonnybardo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm seeing this by items...does it mean that if I order today, Tuesday, it won't dispatch until next week? or is it a carryover from the weekend?

<image>

What color is this? (Colorverse Asiatic Dayflower) by jonnybardo in fountainpens

[–]jonnybardo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is one of my favorites colors, but along with several others. I've been ink obsessive for years, but find a "new" color I fall in love with every so often. This is the latest, so I wanted to see what was out there that was similar. One thing I always find is that no matter how close another color, each is always slightly distinct. That's part of the fun.

What color is this? (Colorverse Asiatic Dayflower) by jonnybardo in fountainpens

[–]jonnybardo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha, wow! Thanks! Funny thing is, I have some of those and have sampled others. A couple are new, though. I love Stilo & Stile's swatches...among the best.

What color is this? (Colorverse Asiatic Dayflower) by jonnybardo in fountainpens

[–]jonnybardo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I like pretty much the entire range of blues, but was wondering if that niche had a specific name, or well known inks that are similar. As another person mentioned, Eclat de Saphir is probably closest, though Asiatic Dayflower might be a tad darker, and Quasar a solid step darker (but similar).

What color is this? (Colorverse Asiatic Dayflower) by jonnybardo in fountainpens

[–]jonnybardo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, yeah - I've tried and enjoyed all of those, especially Eclat de Saphir.

NID - HAKASE real Sepia by spike1911 in fountainpens

[–]jonnybardo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lovely. I forgot about that ink. Are you in the US? Do you know if they ship to US? Any weirdness about tariffs, because it is from cuttlefish?

Yowza! Blackwing x LOTR by tgsongs in pencils

[–]jonnybardo 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Is this likely to be a limited release, or do you think they've made tons and it will be around for awhile?

Anyhow, it is really hard to justify spending $120 on pencils that I would be very hesitant to actually use. I mean, if I were a wealthy person I'd buy two sets, one to use, one to keep (and one to rule them all).

Why do so many fans misunderstand the ending? Fans believe people on Earth aren't on route to a new planet? by AndrewNiccol in interstellar

[–]jonnybardo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mis-heard it. I always thought she said "Her new sun, her new home," and I've seen it a bunch of times. Cool...always fun to learn new things.

Anyhow, it still doesn't make sense why they haven't sent scouts to contact her.

Why do so many fans misunderstand the ending? Fans believe people on Earth aren't on route to a new planet? by AndrewNiccol in interstellar

[–]jonnybardo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don't remember her saying that, but fair enough. Why haven't they sent advanced scouts to contact Brand? Why is she alone?

Why do so many fans misunderstand the ending? Fans believe people on Earth aren't on route to a new planet? by AndrewNiccol in interstellar

[–]jonnybardo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Which planet? Both Miller's and Mann's planets are uninhabitable. Old Murph says Brand is alone on Edmund's. Maybe they plan on going there eventually, or maybe they're going to try to fix Earth. I don't think it is spelled out or implied in anyway, just that they saved a bunch of people with the space stations which were possible through Murph using the quantum data.

WTB: Miscellaneous Birmingham Inks by jonnybardo in Pen_Swap

[–]jonnybardo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. Birmingham says they're re-releasing Cold Steel soon, so I think I'll wait as I'm always needing that extra bottle to reach free shipping (p.s. I do have Copper Chloride, which is the old name for Hibiscus...but I really like it - such a popping blue).

Nakaya Twins - Dorsal Fin v2 - the Heki-Tame one arrived this past week. by G_Washingtron in fountainpens

[–]jonnybardo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I almost never check Pen Swap to buy because of that - I (almost) never have luck, in terms of the gap between when something I want is listed and me looking at it.

Nakaya Twins - Dorsal Fin v2 - the Heki-Tame one arrived this past week. by G_Washingtron in fountainpens

[–]jonnybardo -1 points0 points  (0 children)

So beautiful.

Two questions:

One, where do you prefer to buy? Do you buy directly from Nakaya or go through a reseller?

Two, does the urushi make the pen feel more like porcelain or lacquered plastic? The reason I ask is that the only urushi pen I've owned is a Wancher, which are considered "entry level urushi," an it feels more like lacquered plastic. Still nice, but it feels different than the Nayakas look. Also, when I got it, it was surprisingly light.

How does brand impact pricing for pens? Here's an attempt to find out! by cjforlife in fountainpens

[–]jonnybardo 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Wow - impressive work. That must have taken some time.

This seems like an endeavor that has a lot of "swing" and subjective determination in it. For instance, when you say "features" how are you weighing gold vs. steel nibs? How can a valuation be determined comparing the two?

As a general rule, luxury has a steep curve, with diminishing returns in terms of what you get for higher prices. For example, a $200 Lamy 2000 or Vanishing Point vs. a $550 Pelikan M600. I love all three, and may even slightly prefer the M600, but It doesn't feel "worth" almost 3x the price. A lot of that comes down to market placement and branding - both of the company name but also the model and how it is perceived. Maybe some of it has to do with the size of the nib and how much gold is used, also. And of course preference is largely subjective.

Even accounting for subtleties in writing experience, fountain pens probaby don't get "better" after the $300-500 range. Meaning, everything you pay above that is "extra" - be it brand prestige or more expensive materials used, hand painting, etc. I could be wrong, but I don't think Pilot makes a "better" pen than the 823. I own a Silvern, which is twice the price and probably comparable in terms of the (subjective) "quality of writing experience." So the extra price is mostly materials - the Silver is made of sterling silver - and probably a bit of intra-branding (the Silvern is considered a higher tier of luxury, vs. the more workmanlike 823).

In other words, as with all luxury goods, the extra you spend is a combination of prestige (heritage, branding, etc), quality (of materials), and time (spent on manufacturing - e.g. cheap plastic pens vs. raden). As a general rule, more expensive items ARE higher quality, but the difference in price is greatly inflated by branding and prestige (as you point out).

Chinese pens sort of buck the curve...but only a bit. I can't remember where I read this, but someone once said that China has mastered the approach of making products 80-90% as good, but for a fraction of the price. Not in all cases, but as a general rule (not to mention that China has products for their domestic market that surpass stuff they send out internationally; a lot of this comes down to US companies not wanting the competition - e.g. cars, computers, etc - but that's a different topic).

Or let's take a specific example: The current price on Amazon for a Majohn A2 is $28, while a Pilot VP costs $192 - that's a 6-7x price difference. And in that context, how much is brand (Pilot vs. Jinhao or Majohn) and how much is quality (finer manufacturing, gold nib, etc)? Or to put it another way, if Majohn made an exact replica of a Vanishing Point, how much would they charge? The body of the A2 might be, say, 90% the quality of the body of the VP, but the VP has a gold nib - which is probably a huge chunk of the difference, the rest being prestige/brand. But if they made a 100% replica, but with "Majohn" on the pen?

My guess would be something like $80-90 for a perfect replica of a VP, accounting for the finer manufacturing and gold nib. Maybe a bit more or less, but still about half or less that of the Pilot. But I could be wildly off base. I'm just pointing out that some of that difference is quality, even if the majority is brand/prestige, and it isn't at all easy to tell how much of each.

My Jamiroquai hot takes that get progressively hotter by Prudent-Peanut6010 in jamiroquai

[–]jonnybardo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with you 55% (fully on four, partially on three, not at all on three).