The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 123 - He'll Always Be Huckleberry to Me

I've been lucky to meet Georgia resident Scott Fuller in person on a couple of different occasions and was happy to have him on the podcast this week to discuss his design studio, The Studio Temporary. I'm a fan, as the walls of Nock Co. and the stickers on my laptop will attest to. We also talk about an interesting new Kickstarter pencil project and how I used to hate fountain pens.

Show Notes & Download Links

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This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:

-- lynda.com: An easy and affordable way to help individuals and organizations learn. Free 7-day trial.

-- Hover: Simplified Domain Management. Use code 'HELLOSAILOR' for 10% off your first purchase.

Venturi One - Minimal Design (Sponsor)

Venturi Pen is a small collective of creative designers based in London, UK. Their initial offering via Kickstarter is the aptly named Venturi One, a sleek metal bodied beauty based on the cult icon Pilot Hi-Tec-C gel ink pen.

The Venturi One is an indulgent Apple-esque design which uses simplicity and quality craftsmanship to produce a beautiful pen with a real statement of intent from the Venturi design team. Options for the metal body of the Venturi One include stainless steel, sterling silver and 9ct gold, the entry level being priced around $30 with free worldwide shipping.

Get behind the project on Kickstarter and bag one of the Early Bird options which will be delivered in time for Santa's arrival!

My thanks to Venturi Pen for sponsoring The Pen Addict this week.

Uni-ball Vision Elite BLX Roller Ball Pen - 0.5 mm - Purple Black Review

In the world of non-standard inks, purple black is only behind blue black as my favorite color outside of the standard black, blue, red trifecta. If I could only use blue black inks the rest of my life I would be happy, but dang it if purple black doesn't sneak into the rotation frequently.

Uni-ball introduced their BLX lineup in 2012 to some fanfare but I personally never fully embraced it. That was a mistake because these are really good pens. And after using the Vision Elite 0.5mm Purple Black model I think I am ready to name it my number one liquid ink roller ball when I add that list to my next Top 5 Pens update, which will be out before the end of the month.

I've defaulted to the Pilot Precise line as the best liquid ink roller ball pen for years, but the Vision Elite is where it is at, especially in the 0.5 mm tip size. The line is super clean and as smooth of an 0.5 mm pen as you will find. The barrel design is great, including the comfortable cross-hatched grip. On top of that, the Vision Elite uses archival ink, and the pen is airplane safe. What more can you ask for?

The only knock you are likely to have is that while the pen is refillable it is not very cost or size effective. Due to the design, and assumedly to keep it airplane safe, the "refill" comprises replacing at least 50% of the total pen, if not more. It is a huge piece that includes the grip section and pen tip, along with the ink reservoir. I think most users would just buy a new pen.

That oddness aside, I love this pen. I've long been a fan of Uni-ball's use of lavender black in the Signo DX and Signo RT so I am glad to see this similar color make its appearance in on of Uni-ball's main line products like the Vision Elite. The Signo 207 and Jetstream lineup also feature the same colors. I hope to add those to the arsenal soon.

(JetPens is a sponsor of The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)