Pens That Need More Colors and Brian's Birthday Surprise | Pencast 133

Brian shares a special surprise in honor of his Birthday! Plus, Brian and Drew discuss the top Edelstein ink, pens that they think need MORE colors, and the mysterious LAMY cursive nib! Plus, Kay from the Customer Care team drops by to say hello!
Pelikan Edelstein Special Edition History: www.gouletpens.com/blogs/foun...
SHOP at our store! www.gouletpens.com/
LEARN more on our blog! www.gouletpens.com/blogs/foun...
LISTEN to The Goulet Pencast here: gouletpencast.fireside.fm/
SUBSCRIBE to our KZbin channel: bit.ly/GP-YTsubscribe
LINKS TO PRODUCTS FEATURED:
Girologio Denim Pen Cases: www.gouletpens.com/collection...
BENU Euphoria - Steamboat Master: www.gouletpens.com/collection...
OPUS 88 Mini: www.gouletpens.com/collection...
New Clairefontaine Notebooks: www.gouletpens.com/collection...
Pelikan Edelstein Inks: www.gouletpens.com/collection...
LAMY Cursive Nibs: www.gouletpens.com/products/l...
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00:00 Intro
0:02:47 Feedback
0:15:46 New Stuff
0:23:53 Comp-nay Updates
0:25:02 What is your favorite Edelstein Ink of the Year?
0:37:04 Is there a shelf life for ink?
0:51:28 What pen do you wish came in more colour ways?
1:04:37 Tell us about the LAMY cursive nib
1:10:32 What's your dream pen collab?
1:20:00 Meet the Team
1:40:46 What's Happening?
2:06:48 Brian's Birthday Surprise!
ABOUT GOULET PENS:
Brian & Rachel Goulet started The Goulet Pen Company in 2009 and you can see the evolution of our mom and pop into a full-blown company through this channel. We run a dedicated online store with fountain pens, ink, paper, and other fine writing accessories. Our goal with this channel is to provide fountain pen fans at all levels of experience with comprehensive product reviews, round ups, and how-to videos to answer all the fountain pen questions you may have. Shop at www.gouletpens.com.
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Blog: www.gouletpens.com/blogs/foun...

[@marthamahlburg1866]

Happy birthday to Brian! What a gift you have given the community with sax on a tractor. It is an instant classic!

[@davegoodridge8352]

Sax on a tractor would make a great sticker! Great job Brian.

[@7_v610]

1:24:00 Kay is a FANTASTIC professional! You guys at Goulet couldn’t be more lucky by having her there!!! She is also such an amazing personality. A pure DIAMOND 💎 for the company guys! BRAVO! 👍👏🙌 (from a customer)

[@michellehiggins9465]

Yes she's really good (from another customer).

[@kristiw.1823]

What a treat - to have you give us the gift of your music, on your birthday, Brian! Happy 40th!!

[@crystalca9082]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for finally sharing your hard work on the sax, Brian! Made my morning.

[@kiwitwin478]

Sax on the tractor was amazing!!! Gonna make it my new ringtone 💯❤

[@kristiw.1823]

Kay!! So lovely to get to know you a bit better. You have been one of my favorite people to interact with, at customer service! You went above and beyond to make sure I felt heard and understood, and to also make sure I understood what you had done to test and work through the issues I was having with the latest Magna Carta. Thank you for doing such a great job!!

[@Gouletpens]

I'll pass this along to her! Thank you! - Drew

[@angelaschwentker]

My mother-in-law's parents had a kind of what you guys would call a general store in the 1970s here in Germany. When we moved into their house about 20 years ago, we found lots of the classic Pelikan standard blue cartridges they had offered in their store but obviously had not sold. The cartridges were stowed away in a pretty dark workshop area with thick stone walls and without any proper heating, still in their original packaging. My father-in-law wanted to trash them, saying "Nobody uses fountain pens anymore!", but my husband was able to stop him just in time, shouting "Yes, there is one person!". I threw the cardboard packaging out as it didn't smell too good anymore, but I still use the cartridges once in a while. About a third of each has evaporated during the past 40+ years, but the ink left still works perfectly. I have about 150? cartridges left...

[@EdoDoe613]

Kay is darling! Love that she’s a LoTR fan and yeah, she’s right Drew. Don’t watch Rings of Power unless you want to get angry, confused and sad.

[@Gouletpens]

LOL I'll keep that in mind! - Drew

[@EdoDoe613]

@@Gouletpens I so so wanted to love it, too!!

[@joistevens4454]

Kay is wonderful, she helped me solve a pen issue and was so helpful and nice! I told my husband that customer service like that makes you loyal to that company! I’m glad I have a face with a name now!

[@jeremiahdewey8291]

You guys had me cracking up with your discussion of tweed. I now must quote Brian at some point with "the tweediest tweed that you can tweed!" Thanks for all you do for our community!

[@fatal3713]

🤣 How do we go from fountain pens to Gatorade and Baja Blast. This is the conversations of distinguished gentlemen.

[@julielarry3551]

I LOVE my little Opus 88’s. Kay could get the new kitty Opus 88 to match her Hello Kitty shirt! Happy Birthday, Brian!🎉

[@s.scully]

I love Kay's Hello Kitty sweatshirt! Nice to hear from a newer member of the team too. I love both my TWSBI and Opus 88 - they have the best nibs of any modern pen I've tried. But I like smaller pens, so I have a Vac Mini and a Fantasia instead of the bigger models.

[@LordCthulhu01]

It was awesome to see Kay on the show! I've been working with her on an issue and she has been doing a wonderful job!

[@johnantonioni9654]

Ha, injured because of a sneeze. When I was 42; I sneezed and gave myself a double hernia. Yeah,that stuff happens now. Welcome to your Carlsberg years, gentlemen. I was quite embarrassed so for some months post surgery, I outright lied and blamed it on a hockey game.

[@Gouletpens]

That sucks - but the hockey thing was funny. Thanks for the empathy! I know it's just a matter of time! - Drew

[@c.j.nyssen6987]

Carlsberg? Hockey injuries? You must be a Canuck! 🍁

[@heathergleiser]

Happy belated birthday, Brian! 🎉

[@sarahwillcutts9169]

That was the BEST sax on a tractor 🚜 that was probably the weirdest thing I’ve typed in a long time. Love the pen cast!

[@ronwoch]

Night Falcon sounds like a new sticker

[@giselesmith7795]

Happy Birthday Brian! Sax on a Tractor is going to be a classic (I see a sticker in the future). Drew, if your brown sugar is hard you can put some in a microwave safe bowl, cover it with a damp paper towel and microwave at 10 second intervals, checking it with a fork, until you can break it up. Much easier than trying to chop it up!

[@brianackin1580]

"Forty is the old age of youth, fifty the youth of old age." - Victor Hugo Happy Birthday and thanks for helping me on my pen journey!

[@StacySchulze-cg1he]

Kay, to help you pick a pen: which one would fit into your love of LOTR? I could see Aragorn with the Opus, but perhaps the Vac for Legolas.

[@phillipfranco55]

About sneezing , if you feel a big one coming tilt your head up, do not tilt your head down when you sneeze that is how you can hurt yourself sneezing. I should clarify, just don't tilt your head down when sneezing that is when you can get hurt. Keeping your head looking straight ahead or any angle tilting up is good.

[@dashippo4372]

I am watching from Germany. In schools I used Pelikan (4001) ink in glass bottles. It is still in, after more than 25 years. There is no recognisable evaporation. But some old plastic cartridges are dry, now.

[@beautybug1831]

Thank you for the info... 😊 !!!

[@SuvinRK]

Drew, the solution to hardened brown sugar that I learned on the internets years ago is to microwave it for a few seconds until the brown sugar is soft enough to work with. Now the state of your brown sugar will never be a hindrance in future baking endevours

[@Gouletpens]

I would need a microwave first! Haha! - Drew

[@SuvinRK]

@@Gouletpens That's right, I forgot you don't have a microwave! After some brief searching, looks like the bread like method might be a good option. Put a slice of bread with brown sugar overnight and that should allow the brown sugar to soften up. It might take longer depending on how dry it is.

[@idipbananasintocoffee]

Brian, you beast. The birthday surprise absolutely surprised me. Kudos.

[@christinas8792]

Happy Birthday, Brian. I loved meeting Kay, I felt like she is someone I could totally hangout with. I hope she comes back for another visit on the pencast. Thank you both for another entertaining video.

[@kevinlandon7578]

great to meet Kay! Go with the Opus88 Bela in Red!!! A sure winner!

[@leslietto2248]

Quality surprise, Mr Goulet. A gifted man, to be sure.

[@sahrandipity]

Finally! Tractor sax! But, Brian, you forgot to show the cutting board and I genuinely want to see it, please? 😊

[@GummyBear1972]

I have a big, glass cutting board. It lasts forever, but of course our knives need frequent sharpening. But it's also easier to disinfect because it's not porous at all.

[@JasonReimink]

Brian gives US a gift for his birthday, that's great.

[@agachwosta3101]

Wow! I got so excited when Brian mentioned playing the sax on his tractor. Yaaay 😁 All the best to Brian! I hope he will reach his 100h goal very soon and show off his berry sax during the pencast at some point. 🎷🎉

[@ef5052]

Brian- knowing how much you LOATH cleaning pens it was precious to hear you say that you cleaned tourmaline out of “a TON of pens” because Rachel inked up so many. You certainly are an acts of service person.

[@yoonbitna-ib6ur]

Wow, Brian! Bravo! Impressive musical skills. 👏👏👏

[@BHeart26]

The Edelstein smokey quartz ink is accurate to what actual smokey quartz crystal looks like. A fun color, if you're into browns or crystals!

[@nixternal]

Happy Birthday Brian!!! She thinks your tractor's saxy!

[@Gouletpens]

Haha wow. I was working at Circuit City when that song was popular. I won't say that it's trauma...but it's close. - Drew

[@nixternal]

@@Gouletpens I miss Circuit City, ours is planet fitness now

[@tamramyers5841]

@Kay. Both are good choices. The Opus 88 is really easy to clean, and handles shimmercinks well

[@kimberlymillward7580]

Pens that need more colours: any pen that doesn’t come in a nice vibrant purple (like the TWSBI grape or your Sailor Northern Lights) needs to do so! Imagine a diplomat aero in that colour!? And any brand who’s had a purple pen, but it was a limited edition and it’s gone now (looking at you Custom 74!) needs to come back so I have the option to get one! PS: The 92 was my first gold nib and gets plenty of love from me 😊

[@blondescales1]

Yes, we need more purple pens.

[@dawndemanda]

Definitely! More purple always!

[@AmberUnfinished]

Bet Drew could iron on some patches to the denim cases. Maybe we need a dragon patch!

[@JRDiaz-tn5kb]

Another great episode! Kay: get the Vac 700 so the ink is on display so clearly, and thanks for all you do in customer service. Brian, happy 40th birthday! We (the Community) should buy you a 🎂 to celebrate with you. Thanks for showing your sax progress, on a tractor no less!

[@jolienkrispijn]

Wow Brian, you're so courageous! I would never dare to play for some thousands of people! Keep it coming and happy 40th!!!

[@AndreaP_N7]

Kay, sometimes when I have trouble deciding between two things, it helps me to imagine getting one of them (even going so far as to add the item to my cart, anticipate receiving it and unboxing it, etc.) and then if I feel a bit of disappointment, I know I really wanted the other thing. I love my Vac 700R, though. It's in Iris also 😁

[@Rob_Taggart]

K just seriously helped me out and went above and beyond to help me get my favorite pen repaired!!

[@sandrakingsley77]

Brian and Drew, regarding your inventory system for ink: I believe it is referred to as FIFO ( first in first out ). Love the Pencasts. Even my husband watches. Thanks for being my guide to the wonderful world of fountain pens! Happy Birthday Brian. I am nearing 70 so no sympathy here. My mind feels 35 but my body doesn’t agree 😊

[@Gouletpens]

You're exactly right, we practice FIFO with all our ink! Thank you for the birthday wishes, haha. My father likes to say that age sounds better if you think of it like computer software operating system versions. When you're a low number like 2.0 you might be fast there are still a lot of bugs to work out. The higher the version, the more stable the software ;) 7.0 is quite stable, moreso than 4.0 ;) -Brian Goulet

[@bluejchou4404]

You were even better than I thought you'd be and after all these years! Well worth the wait for the Sax on the Trax.🎉

[@periwinkletree]

Happy Birthday Brian! That's so great Brian plays saxophone! Worlds collide! My son just graduated with a degree in saxophone performance. So happy to know someone who loves pens AND saxes! Maybe you could use a music nib to write your own compositions ; ) And I'd like the TWSBI Swipe to come in different colorways and materials. I would love a rose gold trimmed TWSBI Swipe. I'd also like more permanent colors in the TWSBI Mini. Glad you kept your job after your hot takes video Drew!

[@mellow-jello]

Had the Lamy cursive nib on my Vista Black, writes uniquely cursive, block and Han characters, one of my coolest pens, thanks Brian.

[@littleword1]

Great to "meet" Kay! She sent the nicest note back when I dropped a quick one to say thank you to Goulet for taking me down the rabbit hole. ;-) I didn't expect any communication in return and was tickled to see her note in my inbox. Great customer care! AND she likes LoTR and "Rouille d'ancre!" Cool! The brownish pinks like "Rouille" and Diamine "Handel" have a place in my heart. (Strangely, I'm generally not a pink lovin' person, but I love these.) And, of course, can't forget to say "Happy Birthday," Brian!

[@MarshaLove0723]

Happy Birthday 🎊

[@kiwitwin478]

Oh!!! I love Kay she’s helping me with some of my Twsbi troubles that I’m having with my stuck plunger 😅

[@pandabugdiaries2384]

love the mini oppus 88s! glad to see you finally carrying them!

[@dawndemanda]

Drew, - buy a ‘never kink’ hose. I have 50 foot one out front and it’s on a heavy hose reel. I’ve been happy with mine. I have a 25 foot that’s the more fabric type. And I have the hanger that hangs off the faucet for out back, which is wonderful. - get a good airtight canister for your brown sugar and get a terracotta ‘brown sugar bear’ that you soak in water for a few minutes, dry it off, and set it in the canister. Lay it on a piece of plastic wrap if you dint want it to get sugar stuck to it. Or find a canister that has one built in. OXO has canisters that have a spot for one that you can buy separately. Best thing ever!

[@alisonthepastor]

Happy birthday!! My husband turns 40 in October and I’ll turn 40 exactly six months later. It is quite delightful to tease him about how OLD he is for six months. All that to say, I’m HERE for the newly minted 40 content. 😂

[@geralyng]

Happy birthday Brian!

[@sanjinp2416]

Brian playing sax on the tractor was epic! :)

[@arlenet.1520]

Sending birthday wishes to Brian from CA! And have many many more birthdays! That’s so great you have never been ill in the hospital. I think it’s all those backyard projects you do that keeps you healthy. Stay awesome!

[@dbrickner5292]

Happy Birthday Brian, my bday is today, may 3rd as I watch you two. Drew always makes me smile.Thanks

[@Gouletpens]

Happy birthday! -Brian Goulet

[@bendarel]

Happy birthday Brian ! Trust me, you are starting the path of "Things I used to be able to do, but not anymore apparently !"

[@jamesstorie2826]

Getting to watch the Pencast is always a great way for me to unwind and relax. I break it up over the week as it helps me decompress from teaching.

[@MarshaLove0723]

"More colorways?" Definitely the Pilot Custom Heritage 912. I have two SFM nibs and a FA nib. I painted one of the SFM pens and kept the sticker on the FA pen.

[@jorgeknightwalker8872]

When I turned 40 it was like if my check engine light came on. All kinds of little pains and issues and injuries take longer to heal.

[@amyfeigt6715]

My trick for ink bottle storage. I use hinged lid wooden boxes to store them on a shelf, the boxes are roughly 8"x9"x4" so they accommodate bottles of all sizes & I group them by brand so i can find them easily.

[@aesales9248]

OK! That was cool! Gonna do the same to my family. Yay! What an inspiration!

[@Jeanine_HuffpuffJ9]

Oh Brian!!!! happy birthday. Thank you for your gift. Your kids should be so proud

[@MrSickScience]

It’s pencast day!

[@stareenafraser]

That shirt you wore on the tractor 🚜 was epic! Mr Sax man 🎷. The most epic birthday treat ever ❤❤❤

[@jsapcakrrow]

Happy belated birthday Brian!! Fantastic music Brian, I think you surprised us all with your greatness! 😁😜

[@QuirkyQuillify]

I have eaten kumquats right off the branch. They are sooo tasty, sweet and sour and slightly bitter from the rind. Wishing Drew's tree thrive and bear many fruits for your family to enjoy

[@purpleyyy]

Happy birthday, Brian! Wishing you and your family many more years of health and pen-abling! ✒️🎉

[@itsmeLori]

Kay: both is always the answer 😂 but also, I’ve modified my Opus 88 Demonstrators with parallel nibs and it’s suuuper fun with all that ink capacity, I’d still definitely get the TWBI :) so… yes both. Ha!

[@sahrandipity]

I agree with the both plan! I have the twsbi vac in iris and love it, and am currently deciding which Opus 88 I want to add to my collection. Quantity is quality!!

[@tootsfour956]

Well, Happy 40th Birthday, Brian! It's a good year. Love the sax vid. Many blessings

[@CS_2306]

LOL - Brian's "What?!?.... I know what a tree is." to Drew's "I bought a Kumquat tree" almost made me spit my coffee out! Hilarious!! Love the pencast! Brian's BD surprise was amazingly hilarious as well! Loved Kay. She seems so fun. She made me look at the Benu Vodka on Rocks and now I think its going to be on my Mother's Day list. 😀 I do need to say, I have been praising the Goulet Brass Sheets all month. I got them in the small pen maintenance pack months ago but didn't really know what they were for. In April I had 5 pens filled with shimmer ink and few kept hard starting/clogging completely. It was driving me mad because my usual method of wetting the nib was not working. I decided to pass the brass sheet through the nib hole and down to the tines and like magic the ink began to flow so easily!! I was estatic!! Now I keep one fo the brass sheets in my pen case. It is a must for anyone that loves shimmer ink, like I do!! Thank you for including this in the kit. You guys need to show it off more in the pencast.

[@writerlizw]

Happy birthday Brian! This might have been the best Pencast yet - loved hearing you play!!!

[@bernadmanny]

I dug up my old 18 year old Schaeffer calligraphy kit two months ago, the cartridges were still at least 3/4 full.

[@jowright9577]

Happy birthday Brian...! Thank you for the amazing video of you saxaphonic prowess, sensational stuff for sure. Kay is a sweetheart and I love her Hello Kitty top. Drew is such a natural at getting people to chat, loving the meet the team series. Keep trying to break the longest episode record, and I'm loving every tangential, daft and adorable moment of each video 😍

[@MexieMex]

The Brian tractor video is great, he's clearly sax mad.

[@janepilecki8083]

My favorite Edelstein limited edition ink is Turmaline! I use it mostly in my M800 Brown Tortoise and my M200 Rose Quartz. When I bought my first bottle, I saw how beautiful it is and went back for 2 more. My second favorite is the Amethyst. A couple years ago, I broke my bottle of it and that was that. I saw a bottle on ebay for $300!!! I did not buy it. But a few months ago, I was looking in my pen cabinet and found a new, unopened box of Amethyst!!! I gues it really is a great thing to buy 2 bottles of a LE ink you love. Great show!!

[@iterationomega]

Happy weekend! Today i will ink up and test my new Kaweco Piston with Pelikan 4001 royal blue. That was the ink usually used in school some 40 years ago in germany. This ink is "erasable" by a Tintenkiller pen, it somehow chemically makes the blue invisible.

[@MagnaZeo]

I really wish TWSBI would make an Iris Vac Mini. I have the Vac700R in Iris, but I really want a pocketable one.

[@pastelpinkfairy]

Happy birthday, Brian!

[@PalehorseThirteen]

You guys really didn't let us down. It takes real talent to not just play the sax on a tractor, but to also drive the tractor while doing it? This is a hobby you surely should never give up.

[@InkcredibleScribbles]

I love this podcast. I like to think I'd love this podcast even if I didn't like pens, because your passion about the subject makes it fascinating and you're both such genuinely nice, kind chaps.

[@ash16lily23]

Happy Birthday Brian! Loved it!!

[@halfsourlizard9319]

I would 100% buy at least one matte-black Falcon the moment it became available.

[@Gouletpens]

Heck yeah! - Drew

[@sahrandipity]

Oh! The Lego hands pen got me thinking.. Halloween Lego Frankenstein themed Benu that is various Lego limbs and heads! I bet even Drew would enjoy that. 🤣

[@robbinallan3767]

Happy Birthday Brian! So much hype about your sax! I got into concert mode, glass of wine, turned up the volume! Did not Disappoint! Thank you so much for sharing!

[@GummyBear1972]

Happy birth week, Brian! Everyone gets the full week to celebrate their birthday in my book. And well done with the sax playing.

[@sanjinp2416]

Happy birthday, Brian! Delta had an Adolphe Sax fountain pen that looks quite interesting.

[@FountainPenNews]

"gobsmacked shimmer bonanza" made me LOL.

[@ExiledExia]

Brian playing sax + tractor = new sticker!

[@lulufortytwo3884]

the opus88 wine kitty is sold out 😭😭😭

[@Gouletpens]

They'll be back! - Drew

[@baddkatt9504]

@@Gouletpens Thx Drew... I thought I was a day late and out of luck purchasing a Cheers Kitty 😻

[@iamfilipinas]

Happy Birthday, Brian! Amazing sax playing!

[@entertheFinn]

Proud pen and knife collector who would love a micarta fountain pen to match the several knives with varying colors and materials of micarta including a denim one! It feels great.

[@penguin1780]

So far, the Golden Beryl has been my favorite Edelstein LE ink. My husband bought me the Lapis, but it’s under the birthday tree (we have a rule that anything bought in the 30 days before birthdays mustn’t be opened until said birthday). I do really like Apatite, Aquamarine, and Adventurine ( pretty much all of the blues and teals), and have an old 1990s Twist loaded with Rose Quartz now. I was using Smoky Quartz as my brown for a long time. It’s such an easy line of inks to deal with, even the shimmers.

[@JefferyHall-ct2tr]

Ok Guys! Another Stellar Pencast!!! But Brian! You broke my heart, buddy, that's not the song I requested! But, that's ok. The rest of the show was super great! The Meet the Team segment was brilliant as usual. Have a super weekend!!

[@Gouletpens]

Super weekend to you too, Jeffrey! - Drew

[@swe3tpeach]

Sounds like you need a HoseLink Drew! It's a retractable hose where the outer case doesn't crack or discolor in the sun. No kinking since you dont need to pull out more than you need. It's the best hose in the business👍

[@penguin1780]

HBD Brian!

[@user-bg2fs2oq4m]

As someone who regularly uses Hangul, Mandarin Chinese, and Hanja, the Lamy cursive nib is absolutely useless. That being said, it actually write nicely for Romantic languages, and looks pretty. Brian: Congrats on having survived a minimum of five pandemics, including the mess that was Corona, a century change, a stock crash, a bunch of riots, another stock crash, the technological revolution, and several dictators from various countries! You survived that, you can survive through anything. Drew: I pulled the trigger on the Pilot Elite and I think I’m in love. I didn’t know pens could write like this. It adjusts perfectly even through my varying degrees of pressure and writing angles, and looks gorgeous doing it. Manufactured sometime in January 2024, about to be christened Enid Hestia on the new moon. Anyway, thank you so much for giving me the push I needed to get this pen - I smile like an idiot every time I write with it. I’m sure everybody thinks I’m insane. Then again, aren’t we all, just a little? Lapis is a great ink. I did want a more actual ultramarine shade, though - the bright blue is decidedly not lapis-like. Maybe a dark version of Troublemaker Milky Ocean would work.

[@juicylouisey]

In the 1970’s my parents had a dinner party with another couple, all the rage back then. Mum was serving coffee in the living room and was kneeling next to the coffee table with the coffee pot in her hand. She felt a large sneeze coming, and twisted around on her knees, she was mid twist when the mother of all sneezes struck and dislocated her kneecap and tore a ligament. She was never the same again.

[@lilyplant8586]

Kay, thank you for joining us. Regarding your pen decision. First, I think it's great that you've saved your gift card. I bought several pens which weren't comfortable for my hands, e.g. Conklin, a Sailor Pro Gear, a Pilot with a nib that is too bouncy (FA). I think it's nice to have several pens, but not pens which are uncomfortable. So my suggestion is to use those two pens and others for as long as you can. Get into a comfortable position without anyone looking over your shoulder. Try them for long periods of time. And clean them out. I don't have the Opus 88 demonstrator or the vac 700. I'm interested in trying the Opus with a #6 nib. I don't want another TWSBI because it's easy to break their feed fins. On the other hand Brian K could prob. show you how to use a non TWSBI nib on the vac 700.