Sunday Reading for August 9, 2026

1. Pen Shows 101 (and Stationery Festivals Too) (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). If you’re attending a pen show this summer/fall, and especially if you’re attending one of the big ones, Kimberly just released this comprehensive post on pen show prep and attendance etiquette.

2. Live from the 2026 Fountain Pen Supershow, Part I and Part II (via Inkdependence). Check out Mike’s 2-part livestream from the show floor.

3. BENU Tessera Black Amber Fountain Pen (via Pen Addict - Sarah). Benu’s latest releases are more … subdued. For Benu, at least.

4. Yoseka Stationery Fest 2026 and Haul (via Inky.Rocks). A comprehensive video from a huge event in New York City. I love a good haul video.

5. Florida Stationery Fest 2026 - First Year! Amazing Turnout! (via Feed Your Creativity). Toni walks the floor at the inaugural Florida Stationery Fest. If you’re curious about the differences between a stationery fest and a pen show, these videos are incredibly helpful to give you a visual demonstration.

6. Drillog Kodachi (via Figboot on Pens). Yes, Drillog is still around, and they’ve released even more nib variants including a “Kodachi” bent nib.

7. Pen Review: Drillog Classical2 Material AL Nib Holder & Kodachi Machined Dip Nib (via Well-Appointed Desk). I have this same Drillog nib holder and love it. Plus another review of the Drillog Kodachi.

8. William Hannah Inserts (via Philofaxy). Wow - William Hannah unfortunately has closed shop, but have made their inserts and layouts available as a download for those who want to be able to print them for future years.

9. Comparative Overview: Pilot Custom 823 & Pilot Custom 74 (via Scrively). Two of my favorite pens, side by side.

10. 5 Pen I’d Purchase if I Started Again (via UK Fountain Pens). An interesting thought experiment. What pens would you buy if you had the ability to start from scratch? There are many that I “missed” and are no longer available.

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Come see us on Sunday! You have one more day of DC!

In Case You Missed It…

You didn’t miss much! We’re at the DC Pen Show. I did do a post earlier this week on what to expect at pen shows - specifically the DC Pen Show and other pen events. It’s been incredibly busy here and hopefully today I will get to step out from behind the table and roam for a while! Thanks to everyone who came by to support us, and especially those who stopped by my notebook systems class in the Vanness Pen Lounge. It was great to see you!

Lots of people discovered Logical T-Line Paper this weekend!

This Week in the TGS Curated Shop

The restocks didn’t stop this week while we are out! We have the new Blackwing Volume 458 Birding Pencil, more Lamy Meteorite and Meteora fountain pens, and restocked Nakabayashi paper that includes the T-line Multilined paper. Be sure to check out this week’s Drops Post for a full listing of all new arrivals and restocks.

Our Nashville shop will be open from 1pm-6pm on Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-5pm on Saturday (back to normal hours). Please note that we are currently at the DC Pen Show until tomorrow. Online orders placed last week will have a 3-5 business day shipping window, instead of our normal 2-3 business day ship time. We appreciate your support!

Lamy

Blackwing

Field Notes

Nahvalur

How YOu Can Support us further: Visit Us on Patreon

If you enjoy our content (whether here on the main website, Instagram, YouTube Channel or elsewhere), and would like early/extra access to shop releases and special promotions, consider supporting us via Patreon. In addition to exclusive content, Discord access, and online meetups, Patreon supporters have access to one or more initial “practice” episodes of “On the Paper Trail” which have not been publicly released.

Weekly Drops: DC Pen Show Weekend Edition!

It’s DC Pen Show Weekend! We’re looking forward to seeing many of you in person at one of the pen community’s premier 3-day events. We’ve brought Roterfaden, OnionBrand, Lochby, and of course select pens and paper with us to the show! We will of course remain open online and in-store in Nashville, with the new Blackwing Volume 458 Birding Pencil, more Lamy Meteorite and Meteora fountain pens, and restocked Nakabayashi paper.

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Online orders placed between Weds and Friday will have a 3-5 business day shipping window, instead of our normal 2-3 business day ship time. To accommodate for any delay, all orders placed between Wednesday and Sunday (8/5-8/9) will receive a special freebie (an ink sample, free pencils, etc.). Many thanks for supporting us while we are off growing the business!

The Nashville Store will be open normal hours Thursday and Friday from 1-6pm, and with slightly reduced hours on Saturday from 10am-4pm.

1. Lamy Safari Meteorite and Meteora Fountain Pens. We have additional stock of this summer’s Lamy special edition releases, Meteorite and Meteora!

2. Blackwing Volume 458: The Birding Pencil. The latest Blackwing Volumes release is a colorful homage to birding, a hobby that’s coming back into vogue along with other analog pursuits.

3. Nahvalur Nautilus Ebonite Fountain Pens. The Nahvalur Nautilus has been redesigned with a more streamlined modern look. We’re happy to have these pens back in the shop!

4. Nahvalur Nautilus: Ti Fountain Pens. This upscaled version of the Nautilus features black or toffee titanium finishes, and adds an ebonite feed to the nib unit for enhanced ink flow.

5. TWSBI Rootbeer with Bronze Trim Fountain Pens. We have additional stock of the TWSBI ECO in Rootbeer and Bronze finish! This translucent amber ECO is one of the more popular releases this year and we will continue to stock it as it is available.

6. Nakabayashi Logical T-Line Paper. Multi-lined paper similar to Nakabayashi’s Logical Prime, only the guide lines are faint so they only appear when looking at the page under direct light or from a certain angle. It’s a cool ruling similar to other “whitelined” papers.

7. Midori Kirei Letter Pads for Fountain Pens. By popular request, we are now carrying these fountain pen friendly pads that come with 25 sheets each of white and cream writing paper.

8. Teranishi Guitar Taisho Roman Haikara Fountain Pen Inks. We have all colors of the Teranishi inks back in stock at the moment, including favorites such as Antique Black, Emotional Olive, Nighttime Soda, and more.

9. Teranishi Capped Glass Pens. I’ve come to depend heavily on glass dip pens for ink swatching, journaling with multiple ink colors, ink comparisons, and more. These capped glass pens for Teranishi are excellent options for pen show meetups,

10. Clearance Section. Just a reminder that we have lots of items still on Summer Clearance. Clearance discount will be applied at checkout automatically, no coupon code necessary.

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It's Pen Show Season! What To Expect At the 2026 D.C. Pen Show!

This coming weekend, we’ll be attending the 2026 D.C. Pen Show, one of the largest and longest-running pen shows in the world. In addition to the opportunity to shop with makers and retailers in person who you usually would only get to visit online, pen shows have increasingly become more like traditional conventions or “cons”, hosting seminars, classes, and other informational events. These days, I usually forgo a traditional show setup in favor of a reduced table and more ability to roam the show floor, choosing a reduced table setup in favor of more flexibility to teach classes and seminars and visit with customers, brands and distributors. This weekend, T.G.S. will be setup with Vanness Pens in our usual spot up front, near Pilot and Matthew Chen. We will be bringing Roterfaden, OnionBrand, Lochby, and of course select pens and paper. I will also be teaching a course on Notebook Systems on Friday and Saturday in the Vanness Pen Lounge downstairs.

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Yes, we are almost packed. With two hours to go before departure!

If you’re attending your first pen show, we maintain a lot of back content that addresses tips for how to prepare for and attend a pen show. I generally link back to a series of “Pen Show Primer” articles I’ve written including Volume 1: Why Visit a Pen Show; Volume 2: Getting Ready for a Pen Show; and Volume 3: Tips for Surviving the Pen Show. While these particular articles have some age on them, I stand by pretty much all of the advice. (You’ll also note that “get a good pen show bag” has remained consistently high on the list of tips for a positive pen show experience, along with “take breaks” if you can.) For those looking for information on nib grinds, earlier this year I did a YouTube video walking through a nib grind I had done by Matthew Chen at this year’s Arkansas Pen Show.

What To Expect This Weekend with T.G.S. - Nashville Shop and Shipping (SPecial promotion)

Online orders placed before noon (12PM CT) will likely ship today (Wednesday - 8/5). Orders placed between Weds and Friday will have a 3-5 business day shipping window, instead of our normal 2-3 business day ship time. To accommodate for any delay, all orders placed between Wednesday and Sunday (8/5-8/9) will receive a special freebie (an ink sample, free pencils, etc.). Many thanks for supporting us while we are off growing the business!

The Nashville Store will be open normal hours Thursday and Friday from 1-6pm, and with slightly reduced hours on Saturday from 10am-4pm.

Blackwing Restock: Volume 458 "The Birding Pencil" (Great with Matching Field Notes?)

It’s a double new-release week, with the TWSBI Pink Lemonade pre-order opening up yesterday, and our allotment of the Blackwing Volume 458 Birding Pencil arriving yesterday afternoon. Since this has been one of the more heavily requested Blackwing releases, I thought it made sense to do a separate announcement. We’ve also restocked on many of the standard Blackwing items, including the Natural pencils and the Blackwing One-Step Sharpeners.

What to pair with these? We recently restocked on Field Notes, and in addition to all of the latest new releases including the Paletas Summer Release and the Spring “Lucky” notebooks, the new Blackwing pencils would be the perfect companion to any of the Birds & Trees of North America series!

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of both Blackwing and Field Notes products.

New Arrivals: TWSBI ECO Pink Lemonade with Bronze Fountain Pen (SOLD OUT)

Update - Unfortunately the TWSBI Pink Lemonades sold out almost immediately due to unprecedented demand and relatively small initial shipments from TWSBI. We hope to have more pens in the coming weeks. We recently received a fresh shipment of the ECO Rootbeer + Bronze fountain pens, and continue to have stock of those and other ECO models available.

The wait is over! TWSBI’S latest ECO release - Pink Lemonade with Bronze Trim - is available for pre-order, with pens starting to ship on Wednesday (8/5). Pink Lemonade looks to be especially popular, as the milky pink acrylic gives the pen a true late summer vibe. All TWSBI ECO nib sizes are available, in EF-1.1mm stub.

We will be at the D.C. Pen Show this coming weekend, but all pens pre-ordered prior to the launch date will ship Wednesday before we leave. Pickup orders will be available in the Nashville Shop Thursday-Saturday, as we will remain open.

The Gentleman Stationery is an authorized TWSBI retailer.