Episodes
CY and Jacob discuss Sailor's new Tuzu pen, Korean stationery, glass pen snobbery, recent and upcoming events, and Mitsubishi Pencil's trademark headaches in early postwar Japan.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 04/28/24
Published 04/28/24
CY and Jacob, joined by returning guests Khuê and Alesa, discuss spring pen fairs, stationery M&A news, earthquakes, and a new steel nib. This episode was recorded on March 3rd.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 03/17/24
CY, Jacob, along with returning guests Khuê and Alesa, reflect on the past year and make some predictions for 2024. Note: This episode was recorded early on January 1st, hours before the earthquake. All of us are OK, and we will talk about it in the next episode.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 01/03/24
CY, Jacob, and returning guests Khuê and Alesa talk about recent acquisitions, pen shows, Sailor saturation, and mystery vac fillers.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 09/18/23
CY, Jacob, and returning guests Khuê and Alesa talk about last month's pen shows, Pro Gear saturation, and distilled water.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 04/14/23
CY and Jacob talk about large and small Sailor nibs, long flights, retractable fountain pens, clicky keyboards, vermilion urushi, and owls.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 03/05/23
CY and Jacob talk about turned acrylics, faceted barrels, price increases, counterfeit pens, and middle names.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 01/29/23
CY, Jacob, and returning guests Alesa and Khuê look back at 2022 and try to make a few predictions for 2023.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 01/02/23
CY and Jacob discuss stationery gifts, Pilot's elusive annual Capless LE, filling systems, clicky knocks, and vintage camera lenses.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 12/27/22
CY and Jacob discuss Maruzen's 2023 spring event lineup, Pilot's new 30th-anniversary Custom 74, flea markets, kimono fabric, and sticker printers.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 12/04/22
Jacob, CY, and guests April from Penguins Creative and Alesa recap TIPS 2022 and discuss planners, new pen releases, engraved gold nibs, and shrinking profit margins.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 11/13/22
Jacob and CY come together to give you the live update from the Tokyo International Pen Show! Wait... but it's almost two weeks late?! You can blame CY for that. He failed to upload the audio on time, but better late than never?   Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 11/08/22
CY, Jacob, and returning guests Alesa and Khuê discuss nib grind names, paper testing, shady business practices, Montblanc's Naruto pen, price increases, and TIPS expectations.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 10/16/22
CY and Jacob talk about bankruptcies, biomass, nib-shaped factory buildings, and new releases from Sailor, PenBBS, and Majohn.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 10/02/22
CY and Jacob talk about Shishikura pens, Toyooka trays, Hobonichi paper testing results, nib padawans, and anime inks.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 09/18/22
CY and Jacob talk about Bungujoshi's annual ink show in Tokyo, paper theories, new pen releases, lemons, factory calligraphy nibs, and the business of nib grinding.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 09/04/22
CY and Jacob talk about CY's pen adventures in the US, pocket pens, Sailor's new dip pen, upcoming retail events in Tokyo, maki-e stickers, and Japan's commercial transactions law.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 08/21/22
CY and Jacob talk about differences between pen shows in US and Japan, Shishikura and Wagner pen news, how Sanzen intentionally tweaked Tomoegawa's paper formula, Icelandic volcanoes, and more.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 08/07/22
CY, Jacob, and guest Alesa talk about Itoya’s ink show, prison-made glass pens, unpopular opinions, and how to buy pens from Japan.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 07/24/22
CY and Jacob talk about glass pens made in prison, ink trends, Hachimonjiya's sparkly new Pro Gear, and Platinum's surprisingly popular new pen.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 07/10/22
CY, Jacob, and guests Khuê and Alesa discuss TWSBI's and Narwhal's joint statement, Plus's acquisition of Sailor, upcoming events, dip pens, and CY's spicy article about Wancher.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 06/26/22
CY and Jacob talk about Platinum's all-new nib, Sailor's upcoming price increases, a new store-exclusive Capless, Naniwa pen show, dip pens, and more.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 06/12/22
Frank from Narwhal Pens joins Jacob and CY to talk about in-house nibs, piston designs, upcoming products, and much more.   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 05/29/22
CY and Jacob talk about stationery store visits during Golden Week, Pilot and Sailor news, and the Noodler’s Ink controversy that’s rocking the fountain pen world. (Trigger warning: there is discussion of antisemitic imagery from Noodler’s Ink)   Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).
Published 05/15/22