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Thread: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    I've become fond of these. They're fast and quiet!

    My other pen is a Montblanc.

    And my other blog is a tumblr!


    And my latest ebook, for spooky wintery reading:

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CM2NGSSD

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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    Quote Originally Posted by Sailor Kenshin View Post
    I've become fond of these. They're fast and quiet!

    A silent review is actually quite refreshing.

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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    Quote Originally Posted by sgphoto View Post
    I've added pen repair videos to the first post. If you know of pen repair people on Youtube I missed, let me know.
    Reviews of pens are one thing, repair persons - and the recommendations of them - is another kettle of fish.

    I consider Stef of Grandmia pens to be extremely dangerous for advice and he flies in the face of a lot of the understood pen repair stuff. I'll also be honest and say that I think these two topics need separate threads - the initial post is already bloated with info and discussions of review vs. repair will lead to confusion. Submitted for your consideration.
    "When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
    and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

    ~ Benjamin Franklin

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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    Quote Originally Posted by Jon Szanto View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by sgphoto View Post
    I've added pen repair videos to the first post. If you know of pen repair people on Youtube I missed, let me know.
    Reviews of pens are one thing, repair persons - and the recommendations of them - is another kettle of fish.

    I consider Stef of Grandmia pens to be extremely dangerous for advice and he flies in the face of a lot of the understood pen repair stuff. I'll also be honest and say that I think these two topics need separate threads - the initial post is already bloated with info and discussions of review vs. repair will lead to confusion. Submitted for your consideration.
    I agree wholeheartedly. Having crossed swords with Stef in the past, it is clear that he has been made aware of what is best practice repeatedly but he stubbornly sticks to his strange notions of pen repair. It is alarming how many people refer to him in glowing terms. I also agree that pen repair videos would be best dealt with in a separate thread. A very different topic.
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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    Being completely new to fountain pens this year, I've gone through quite a bit of YouTube just to learn about filling systems, nib types, etc. Quite an exhaustive list in the OP, but much appreciated.

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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    Quote Originally Posted by ThirtyOne View Post
    Being completely new to fountain pens this year, I've gone through quite a bit of YouTube just to learn about filling systems, nib types, etc. Quite an exhaustive list in the OP, but much appreciated.
    Thanks. I'm glad you found it useful.

    You can generally learn more about pens on Youtube than forums. Forums are good for specific questions or concerns, but nothing beats a variety of visual reviews where you can see the pen, parts, writing samples, and varied opinions from those who know pens and those who think they do.

    Watch as many as you can. You'll learn that there are reviewers who value your time and those who value their voice.

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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    Quote Originally Posted by sgphoto View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by ThirtyOne View Post
    Being completely new to fountain pens this year, I've gone through quite a bit of YouTube just to learn about filling systems, nib types, etc. Quite an exhaustive list in the OP, but much appreciated.
    Thanks. I'm glad you found it useful.

    You can generally learn more about pens on Youtube than forums. Forums are good for specific questions or concerns, but nothing beats a variety of visual reviews where you can see the pen, parts, writing samples, and varied opinions from those who know pens and those who think they do.

    Watch as many as you can. You'll learn that there are reviewers who value your time and those who value their voice.
    I hear ya. I've really enjoyed the camerawork of may YouTubers and seeing the pens in action, comparisons, etc. There is such a large variety of pens out there, that it can be kind of difficult to navigate it all. I definitely subscribe and do the like button thing when I find a good YouTube channel, as being a viewer helps them produce more content.

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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    What you'll find is that by watching many videos about the same pens you'll begin to absorb a lot of information. You'll also discover those that gush over expensive pens as they're tied in with certain manufactures. There are those who appear knowledgeable, but lack depth.

    If you watch no one but SBRE Brown you'll be ahead of the game. He's head and shoulders above anyone else on youtube for consistency, knowledge, integrity, and his great ability to give you the nuts and bolts of what you should know. Is he opinionated? Of course - we all are. But I trust him.

    There are other reviewers that have their specialties and do a good job, but SBRE Brown is tops.

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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    Quote Originally Posted by sgphoto View Post
    If you watch no one but SBRE Brown you'll be ahead of the game. He's head and shoulders above anyone else on youtube for consistency, knowledge, integrity, and his great ability to give you the nuts and bolts of what you should know. Is he opinionated? Of course - we all are. But I trust him.

    There are other reviewers that have their specialties and do a good job, but SBRE Brown is tops.
    I agree. He is definitely my go to pen reviewer.
    Last edited by Chrissy; May 8th, 2020 at 11:39 PM.
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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    Quote Originally Posted by Chrissy View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by sgphoto View Post
    If you watch no one but SBRE Brown you'll be ahead of the game. He's head and shoulders above anyone else on youtube for consistency, knowledge, integrity, and his great ability to give you the nuts and bolts of what you should know. Is he opinionated? Of course - we all are. But I trust him.

    There are other reviewers that have their specialties and do a good job, but SBRE Brown is tops.
    I agree. He is definitely my go to pen reviewer.
    The lobster alone is reason enough.

    Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk

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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    Quote Originally Posted by sgphoto View Post
    What you'll find is that by watching many videos about the same pens you'll begin to absorb a lot of information. You'll also discover those that gush over expensive pens as they're tied in with certain manufactures. There are those who appear knowledgeable, but lack depth.

    If you watch no one but SBRE Brown you'll be ahead of the game. He's head and shoulders above anyone else on youtube for consistency, knowledge, integrity, and his great ability to give you the nuts and bolts of what you should know. Is he opinionated? Of course - we all are. But I trust him.

    There are other reviewers that have their specialties and do a good job, but SBRE Brown is tops.
    Absolutely. I’ve seen a number of his videos. I also appreciate that they are relatively short reviews.

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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    It's nice to see a compilation of YouTube resources, so thanks for that! There's always a question of personal taste, and what some might like, others will dislike.

    I also quite like Stephen Brown, because he's concise enough and has a pleasant sense of humour. He also makes mistakes, like we all do, so it's best not to limit one's sources to only one pen reviewer. David Parker's reviews are a lot longer, but he often gives more in-depth info about the history of the manufacturer, etc. I also like Pens and Tea, again because she's concise, and I don't think that the fact that she's also talking about other things reduces the interest of her pen videos. Stephen Brown also does videos about other topics and that's fine. You don't have to watch them if you don't care.

    One aspect that is important to me, and that's been implicitly mentioned by others, is to look for reviewers whose handwriting and whose way of holding a pen resembles your own. Though I like David Parker and Scrively for the way they present the pens, their handwriting is so different from mine that their writing samples are meaningless to me. They won't ever be able tell me if a certain nib would make my writing look good or if it would be comfortable. I use a typical European cursive script, which is closest to Stephen Brown's (though smaller). I can therefore reasonably extrapolate the visual aspects and writing pleasure/comfort from his writing samples, and I have to say that it works. I usually have to choose a smaller nib size than his preference, because my writing's smaller, and that's it. I also ignore what he says about the size of the pen, because short and slim pens work as well for me as the bigger ones.

    It's nice to have a variety of reviewers out there with different styles, because we all look for or need different kinds of information.
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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    Quote Originally Posted by GreyFool View Post
    It's nice to see a compilation of YouTube resources, so thanks for that! There's always a question of personal taste, and what some might like, others will dislike.

    I also quite like Stephen Brown, because he's concise enough and has a pleasant sense of humour. He also makes mistakes, like we all do, so it's best not to limit one's sources to only one pen reviewer. David Parker's reviews are a lot longer, but he often gives more in-depth info about the history of the manufacturer, etc. I also like Pens and Tea, again because she's concise, and I don't think that the fact that she's also talking about other things reduces the interest of her pen videos. Stephen Brown also does videos about other topics and that's fine. You don't have to watch them if you don't care.

    One aspect that is important to me, and that's been implicitly mentioned by others, is to look for reviewers whose handwriting and whose way of holding a pen resembles your own. Though I like David Parker and Scrively for the way they present the pens, their handwriting is so different from mine that their writing samples are meaningless to me. They won't ever be able tell me if a certain nib would make my writing look good or if it would be comfortable. I use a typical European cursive script, which is closest to Stephen Brown's (though smaller). I can therefore reasonably extrapolate the visual aspects and writing pleasure/comfort from his writing samples, and I have to say that it works. I usually have to choose a smaller nib size than his preference, because my writing's smaller, and that's it. I also ignore what he says about the size of the pen, because short and slim pens work as well for me as the bigger ones.

    It's nice to have a variety of reviewers out there with different styles, because we all look for or need different kinds of information.
    Stephen Brown's videos on Stoicism also are worth watching as well as his videos on the human body and critical thinking. He's an excellent teacher.

    I agree that handwriting is important to show a pen, but printing samples, as opposed to cursive, is useless for me and tells me nothing. I'm amazed at the number of reviewers who have almost illegible handwriting.

    I wish reviewers would use the same ink if making pen comparisons. Different inks make a different appearance on the page. I also prefer dark inks (black, blue, brown) for all samples as to me it shows better on the paper even in poor lighting but that's my prejudice.

    Apparently, some reviewers have read my comments, particularly about the dreary 'unboxing', and have shortened that useless portion of their reviews.

    I continue to update the list with quality reviewers but have decided to take others off the list as in rewatching there's little to no substance.
    Last edited by sgphoto; May 12th, 2020 at 10:33 AM.

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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    Quote Originally Posted by sgphoto View Post

    I wish reviewers would use the same ink if making pen comparisons. Different inks make a different appearance on the page. I also prefer dark inks (black, blue, brown) for all samples as to me it shows better on the paper even in poor lighting but that's my prejudice.
    +1

    I occasionally review some pens on another forum, and always use the same ink and paper (Waterman Serenity Blue + Rhodia), for consistency's sake, and also because many of us have used these two at least once before and know how they behave.
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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    There's another item that I was subconsciously aware of but jumped out at me this morning when I was watching a Japanese reviewer of a Pelikan M1000. As he was speaking Japanese I wasn't being distracted by language.

    That's the issue of visual perspective. Pens, writing samples, and all other objects have a distortion in the videos, particularly in close-up photography such as pen reviews. Pens appear bigger or smaller, writing samples the same with line distortions, and ink colors can vary wildly depending on the lighting setup.

    This is not taken into account by most viewers and can result in misconceptions. Regardless of the camera and lighting setup, photography can give you some ideas but is not absolute reality.

    I first came to realize this (even though I've been a professional photographer for 42 years in film and digital) when I watched Noodler's Apache Sunset being reviewed. After buying a bottle, I was very disappointed when it dawned on me that I was basing my judgment of the ink on a varied assortment of lighting conditions from reviewers that weren't even close to achieving a white balance in the camera.

    Add to that the assortment of viewing monitors, screens, and televisions that are also skewed in color balance, and the problem is magnified many times away from reality.

    That is why nothing beats an eyeball on the pen and inks in person and the value of brick and mortar stores and pen shows.

    So you can get an idea from pen reviewers but not absolute size perspective and colors in pens and inks. Most still photography such as printed brochures and catalogs use controlled lighting and give a more accurate rendering though the printing process itself can distort colors.

    Figboot on Pens and The Pen Habit seems to have the best lighting conditions for video colors, but camera distortion is inevitable regardless of lighting.

    It may help you to remember the camera does, in fact, lie. Maybe not deliberately, but to paraphrase Rene Magritte, "This is not a pen."
    Last edited by sgphoto; May 12th, 2020 at 09:48 AM.

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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    Pen reviews are not a 'thing' for me, though I have seen one or two. Regarding perspective/distortion I have to disagree in part. If a pen is presented by a reviewer as held in their hand then, given the assumption that most hands are average sized (unless the reviewer states otherwise) plus any personal knowledge one already has of pens of known dimensions, it is easy to get a good impression of size. The comparison effect.
    Last edited by Dave; May 15th, 2020 at 05:59 AM.

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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    Quote Originally Posted by Dave View Post
    Pen reviews are not a 'thing' for me, though I have seen one or two. Regarding perspective/distortion I have to disagree in part. If a pen is presented by a reviewer as held in their hand then, given the assumption that most hands are average sized (unless the reviewer states otherwise) plus any personal knowledge one already has of pens of known dimensions, it is easy to get a good impression of size. The comparison effect.
    I see your point and it's valid for certain people. However, visual information, including distortions and illusions, is far more powerful and faster in our makeup than the deeper thought process of reason. Someone may jump at seeing a snake only to discover a few seconds later it's a stick.

    Someone may "know" that a heretofore unknown pen is the same size as a Lamy Safari, but when photographed the angle, depth, color balance, and other visual clues can make the pen appear smaller, bigger, a different color, etc., than what it is in person.

    Manipulations by photography have been used for 150 years to give 'false' information. Why? Because it is so easy to do and people respond to visual clues faster without taking the time and brain-power to analyze. Response to visual information is built into humans for 200000 years as a fast mechanism as opposed to logical thought and reason.

    So while I understand what you are saying, the vast majority of people rely almost totally on visual input first and studied thought and logic falls far behind.

    Advertising and magicians are two of the best examples of this. Photography of all types does too. The best reviewers can perhaps minimize the distortion, but it's always present.

    Thanks for your reply.

    Cheers,
    Sg
    Last edited by sgphoto; May 16th, 2020 at 06:32 AM.

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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    I rely a lot on youtube reviews, and I consume hundreds of them. I have never bought a pen without watching reviews of it, especially a review of the pen with the precise nib that I am thinking of. I trust live action reviews for line width (allowing for manufacturing variances, of course) more than I trust static images (with no scale, either) of writing samples. Again, I prefer less talk, I couldn't care less about the packaging, ink the sucker up, put it in your hand, and write with it. Give one comparison to a few other common pens and end the video. Thank you very much! I will then look for five more vids just like it to see if anything different shows up.

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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    I have not done reviews in a while but I just finished recording a portion of my next review. I am a total novice at video reviews and do them for fun so I get to them when I can.
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    Default Re: Pen Reviewers on Youtube

    Quote Originally Posted by KrazyIvan View Post
    I have not done reviews in a while but I just finished recording a portion of my next review. I am a total novice at video reviews and do them for fun so I get to them when I can.
    I for one will be interested to see it when you have finished it, so please be sure to give us the heads up when you've posted it.
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