Pen Reviewers on Youtube

[sgphoto]

The fact is you will learn more in watching a variety of pen reviews on Youtube than years of reading pen forums. Forums are worthwhile for specific questions, but in general, Youtube combines the best ways of learning about pens, inks, and papers. For the vast majority of people, you'll do better beginning with Youtube and save pen forums for specific questions.

If you want conversations, pen forums can work. But pen forums can be cliquish, subject to territorialism, and oft-putting to those whose opinions don't lock-step with the old hats. Most forum members are nice, but there's always the inevitable passive-aggressive types. That's true of most forums, not just pen related ones.

Here are some Top Tier Youtube reviewers. Some review high-dollar pens, others review less expensive pens, but all offer something - credibility, presence, and subjective objectivity.

These are my choices. Others have suggestions in posts below this post but these are the ones I find helpful. At one time there were more youtube reviewers on this list but I've eliminated several on watching them again and finding them repetitive and bringing nothing new to the viewer.

After all, having 30 TWSBI pens and 30 matching colors in inks and chatting about your pens doesn't make you a reviewer. I've eliminated those who add nothing but repetition.

Start with these guys. If you never go beyond them, you're way ahead in the pen game.
SBRE Brown - as good as it gets in so many ways. Smart, dry humor, fast.
Figboot on Pens - tends to review high dollar pens, but he's very knowledgeable and dependable. Occasionally falls under the spell from manufacturers who send him pens then fan-boy gushes. Do be aware his writing samples are useless. Tiny printing isn't writing and tells you nothing about the pen or inks.
Gourmet Pens - She's smart, knows her pens, and hits things others don't.
Brian Sizemore - Vintage pens. Worth watching.
Quick Fountain Pen Reviews Outstanding. Best I've seen lately.
VittaR the most comprehensive ink reviews on Youtube. The best show-and-tell on inks.
jk_pens - Knowledgeable, succinct, solid. Not your typical "Here's the pen - watch me take it apart." Fancies bespoke pens not just large manufacturers.
Liz McGuire Can say more silently about an ink than most reviewers can in an hour. First-rate.



In addition to my top tier, this next batch are great to watch.


Inkluminati Vintage and modern. Excellent writing samples. Hector is a sharp guy and witty. A+.
The Pen Collector - European slant with pens and brands you rarely see in the US. Thoughtful, informative, knows his pens. Lots of older Montblanc pens.
Bryan Marsh Fast talker - doesn't waste your time with unnecessary bs. Good at explanations, knows pens, one of the best.
waski squirrel - Highly entertaining. You'll see pens here that no one else covers. Unlike many, he doesn't take himself seriously. Honestly refreshing.
Grandmia Pens - knows his pens, solid reviews. Great repair videos. Lots of vintage pens.
Scrively - Good reviews, great accent, knowledgeable
Gentleman of the Pen - Beautifully photographed, great voice, smart guy. In a class by himself. A thinking person's reviewer.
What I Ink - Solid reviews, gets to the point. One of the better reviewers. Good Esterbrook repair videos.
A.ZY.LEE - Silent reviews well done. Other reviewers could learn from watching to demonstrate more and talk less.
InkNeedLastForeverNathan Tardif of Noodler Ink. Some love him - some hate him. I like him.
Tamenuri - DIY Urushi, tools, and abrasives. Good teacher on an esoteric subject.
Joshua Danley - obsessed with Pelikans with solid information you won't find elsewhere. If you collect Pelikans his Youtube and web site are valuable.
Pen Venture good reviews of European pens from an European.

Though I prefer those reviewers who have substance over style with a get-to-the-point and less meandering, I still included the now-defunct 'The Pen Habit' and a couple others who aren't active reviewers.

My pet peeves are excessive and useless verbiage, personal life meanderings, general silliness, little to no forethought of what needs to be said and how to say it, trite expressions such as 'like, you know, that's how I roll,' etc. Some, rather than giving a simple and direct writing sample prefer to give you a "quote" but I find that rather pointless. I'm not watching to hear your philosophy of life. Add to that those who are totally unprepared and constantly scrounging around for pens, supplies, writing pads and have TVs and family loudly talking in the background.

Those "unboxing" videos that take longer than 1 minute are just silly and borderline stupid. Some of the reviewers take five minutes (often much longer) to get the pen out of the package and find it necessary to describe in minutia what the mailing package looks like from all sides, how it's sealed, every frigging mark on the envelope, and other details that would bore a brain-dead zombie. Somehow they think that's important.

I can only imagine them doing the same when they get groceries. "Now here's the plastic bag for the milk. Notice the brown color and double handles, and if you look closely you can see at the bottom that it's from Publix, and it's recyclable. Publix did use white bags but now they're using brown bags. Isn't that interesting? Now let's look at the milk container . . . . " ad nauseam.

Just as there are 'Director's Cut' of movies perhaps those unboxing videos can be assembled into a 'Packaging Cut' where all the packaging and related uselessness can be assembled into a 15-hour extravaganza where those interesting in stamps, addresses, envelope color, plastic sleeves, bubble wrap, who wrote the address and what they ate for breakfast before addressing the envelope, and other such topics unrelated to an actual pen can relish the exciting footage of trips to the mailbox and the actual hand-off of delivery from UPS. What Thrills Await!

The actual pen box is one thing and in a rare 5% is interesting. Otherwise, you are wasting time with verbal fluff. How many times have you ever written with the box?

"Live Chats" are a living hell for me and are as interesting as hearing Aunt Gladys talk about her bunions to a room full of cats. You may like the slow and exceedingly dull pace as does Aunt Gladys who uses that valuable babble-time to trim her bunions.

Hell is also 95% of pen show videos If you're going to do a Pen Show video for God's sake stop moving the camera around like a drunken sailor. Find something interesting, focus on it, pan slowly if you must, and stop roaming around thinking you're giving the flavor of the show as you're not unless the flavor is vertigo. Stop thinking you're funny and giving a running commentary like a late-night television comedy monologue. If you want your video to be like old home movies that's great, but I don't really cares about your home movies.

Most important to Youtube reviewers - EDIT-EDIT-then EDIT some more. There might be 10 minutes at most in each hour that's interesting. The rest is boring and vomit-inducing.

If you're going to cover a pen show, watch how Inky Rocks does it. She's the best.

I've deliberately left out retailers like Goulet, Goldspot, Jet Pens, etc., and manufacturers. While they have some good information on Youtube, they're not anywhere close to objective about the pens and merchandise they sell.

I will make an exception for the European retailer Appelboom as he has great content, no hard sells, and supports independent reviewers. Watch his "Three Pens Reviews" from various Youtube enthusiasts.
US retailers could learn from Appelboom about making a classy presentation with good information minus the "Latest and Greatest Pen of the Day" hard sell.

After a while, you'll see the 500th review of a TWSBI, Lamy Safari, Metropolitan, and many of the same pens over, and over, and over again. Nothing new, no great insights, just the same repeated review by a new reviewer. Boring.

It won't take you long to discover who is adding to your pen life and who is Aunt Gladys talking to her cats.

All of my opinions and comments are subjective - what else could they be? That's why I'll tell you to watch them all.

Some I like, you might hate. Some I dislike, you may love. Others I didn't initially care for, but slowly came to trust and enjoy. This doesn't mean those not on this list are not good people; in most cases I found them to have a low signal-to-noise ratio, boring, simply repeating other's reviews, ill-informed, or shills for retailers.

Rather than add a lot of URLs, just go to Youtube and do a search.


In the group below you'll find some good reviewers with solid information and some who can waste your time with unboxing, chit-chat, and sometimes misinformation. You can make that decision yourself.

The Pen Habit - now defunct. Great production values. Beware that many of his early videos contain inaccuracies and a lack of basic pen knowledge like when he didn't know the difference between a #5 and #6 nib or thought that 585 on a marked 14k nib was perhaps a model number. He spent a boatload of money ($20,000.00) on pens and supplies but money couldn't buy credibility or deep knowledge of the subject. Loved expensive pens to gush over. Still worth watching for the production values.
chrisrap52 - never met a garish and gaudy Chinese or strikingly ugly expensive pen he didn't love. His inconsistent ratings make you say 'WTF'. He's a nice long-winded guy but slow to get the pen unboxed and get on with the show. Still, he's better than most and helpful.
Fountain Pen Fanatic - Troy LePlante - a variety of pens new and old - Down to earth, good repair tips.
OdE- I believe this guy is Portuguese, interesting take on things. Creative.
JG3 - Down-to-earth reviews from a nice guy who would make a good neighbor.
Mick L- A nice Australian reviewer who gets better with experience. A freelance opera singer.
Fountain Pen Insanity - lots of nice pens.
Kpurpose10 ! Lots of information, fast pacing which I like.
nswecronos - Interesting pen videos, likes to frankenpen at times but makes it work, has good ideas.
Seele2015au - Not your average Lamy, TWSBI, typical ad nauseam reviews. Interesting pens and wish he was current.
ziptrickhead - Good stuff. Wish he was still making vids.
Liz McGuire - Quiet, informative, good writing samples with a variety of inks. She doesn't waste your time.


Vintage Pens

Old Guy vintage pens with emphasis on flex
Brian Sizemore (vintage)
Inkluminati
Pier Gustafson Vintage pens by the hundreds and knows about them. The problem is for every 30 minutes of video, he's down a rabbit hole for 25 minutes doing stream-of-consciousness malarky. I lose patience with his tedious ramblings and find I can only go about 5 minutes before leaving. It's a shame as he is very knowledgeable but a terrible presenter. Watch at-risk to your sanity.

Then there are a few YouTubers that go beyond simple pen and ink reviews. Some of them express more without a spoken word than many can do speaking volumes. Often their photography, thoughts, and passion result in exceptional examples of artistry. We need more of these people who go beyond reviews into the realm of transcendence and beauty.

It's difficult to classify them so I'll just call it -

Pen Artistry

Liz Butcher
The Hardcore Dilettante
Inky Rocks
Leigh Reyes
Gentleman of the Pen
Arvid Al Chalabi
Masters of the Fountain Pen - Michael T. Shue Studios

Websites of interest
http://www.nibgrinder.com/
https://inkyfountainpens.wordpress.com
http://inkophile.wordpress.com/
https://www.fpnibs.com
http://www.mainstreetpens.com/index.htm
https://goodwriterspens.com/
https://vintagepens.com/
https://antiquedigger.com/collections/pens
https://www.lbepen.com
http://www.penhero.com/
https://www.sbrebrown.com/
https://nickstewart.ink/


Cheers.
Sg