DOUBLE REVIEW (metal tube edition)
fountain pen and MRI machine
Hello! It is November, which means it is time for our annual post where I review a fountain pen AND a men’s health thing.
Last year we reviewed a BENU Euphoria (recommend) and testicular cancer (do not recommend). This year our reviews have a metal-tube-shaped theme: the Shibui North Dragonfly fountain pen and the MRI machine you will use for follow-up screening of testicular cancer.
Review: Shibui North Dragonfly fountain pen
What is that thing?
It’s a pen. The design is, of course, evocative of a motorcycle engine part—I believe the spokalator, but possibly the gasketron—which is why it’s easy to mistake it for something else, but it’s definitely a pen.
That’s a very industrial design. Is it for men?
Yes! Someone has FINALLY designed a fountain pen for men. Hooray!
Only men, actually: one neat feature of this pen is that it electrifies if a girl picks it up. (It knows by using electrical impedance to measure the amount of wing sauce residue you have on your fingers, so technically you can fool it if you are a lady by eating a man-sized number of hot wings, but you didn’t hear that here.)
What does the inside look like?
Covered in skulls.
That said, they make this and other related models in a variety of designs ranging from unicorns to Cthulhu.
Does it write well?
Yes. It’s a pretty big pen with enough heft to feel substantial but not enough to where you have to fight against it. The steel flex nib performs well, and the feed does a good job of keeping up with the ink flow; it’s a cartridge/converter pen and I can blast through an entire converter pretty quickly with this one. I went through a short breaking-in period with the nib, but now it’s a really good, consistent writer.
Who makes it and where I can get one?
Shibui North, a small maker in the UK who has not yet figured out that their pens are underpriced. You can buy one on their site.
Review: MRI machine
So: good news. I am now one year cancer-free (see last year’s review for context) and am considered low-risk enough that my doctor said I can switch from CT scans to MRI scans, which I’m doing twice a year (it takes five years of monitoring before you are considered cured, so I’ve got like, eight of these left).
Let’s go over some questions you might have about that!
What is a MRI exam?
It’s basically the thing they used in the beginning of Jurassic Park to find fossils, except instead of looking through dirt it looks through people and instead of finding dinosaur bones it finds tumors and any toy cars you may have swallowed.
Is it safe?
Yes. Unlike a CT scan, which is basically a zillion X-rays in an instant, a MRI exam is radiation-free and takes forever.
Is it comfortable?
Not remotely! Exactly how much depends on what you are getting scanned and whether they need to do it with contrast, but it will be a range from “wow that was uncomfortable” to “you know, maybe radiation isn’t that bad.”
Wait, is the thing that’s like a combo coffin/human torpedo tube?
Yes, exactly!
What if I get panicky or squirmy in the tube?
Don’t worry, you can’t! They strap you down so you can’t move whatever they are scanning. If it’s your abdomen/pelvis, that means you are basically entirely strapped down.
(They do give you a panic button you can push, which is nice if you want to get out of the tube. But you still need to do the exam, so it’s only a temporary reprieve—you’re going back in the tube anyway.)
Ok, fine. How long will it last?
About five minutes longer than you want. Don’t worry, your exam be supervised by a skilled technician who can monitor when you are at the edge of panic, which will start your five-minute clock. The ones I have to do take 45 minutes.
Do I get to listen to music?
It depends. For some exams (like abdomen and pelvis) the machine will tell you that you need to hold your breath at certain points, in which case, no. The good news is that the machine constantly makes a ridiculous array of loud noises that sound like you’re inside an arcade machine from the mid-80’s. If you are between the ages of 40 and 55 you might find this nostalgic, otherwise maybe try pretending you have been eaten alive by a Transformer and see how that goes.
Will there be an emaciated corpse hiding in the tube who will try to grab me?
No, you are thinking of the MRI scene from the movie Insidious: The Last Key.
I have not seen Insidious: The Last Key. Should I watch Insidious: The Last Key before my MRI exam to help me prepare?
Yes. Studies show that having intrusive thoughts about some monster attacking you while you are strapped down and trapped in a small hole makes the imaging 23% more effective.
Bonus question: I just need a MRI of my hand. That won’t be that bad, right?
Haha nice try! I just had one of these done too (totally unrelated) and I was hoping that I could just, like, stick my hand in the tube. Nope! Having a hand MRI is like having an abdomen MRI, except they pin you in position on your belly like a dog and put your hand in what is basically a panini press while your face is smooshed in a pillow. You can listen to music for this one, though.
The Dragonfly is a great pen! I picked up a blue Cerakote-coated version with a Koi engraved on it & a seigaiha pattern on the section & flex nib during fountain pen day last year & it's always in regular use. Love it.
You're spot on about the MRI as well. Thankfully, I don't have to get them very often any more, but I'd never felt claustrophobia until I entered that big metal sphincter. Glad you're cancer-free!