On The Paper Trail, Episode 11: Why Is My Fine Nib Not Actually a Fine?

Have you ever written with two fountain pens of the same model and same nib size, only to notice subtle (or maybe not-so-subtle) differences in line width? As retailers, we get questions about this topic all the time, and have experienced this ourselves in our own personal use, so we wanted to talk about why this happens and what you can do to help ensure you get the nib closest to your desired line width. (Spoiler alert: if you're looking for consistent line-width specificity down to the millimeter, you're almost certainly looking at getting a pen tuned or custom ground for your specific writing style, and paying close attention to your ink and paper choice.)

We also talk a bit about upcoming pen shows and events, including the DC, San Francisco, and Dallas Pen Shows, as well as our own On The Paper Trail Live Event in Nashville!

On The Paper Trail: Where You Can Download the Podcast

Get caught up on previous episodes, and find more information about our first On The Paper Trail Live Event, which will be held in Nashville from October 16-18, 2026! Tickets are now on sale! ⁠⁠Check out the main podcast informational page for additional details. ⁠

Episode 11 Show Notes and Links

1. ⁠Pilot Custom 823 (Joe's Pen)⁠

2. Pilot 4+1 Wood Multi Pen (Joe's Pen)⁠

3. ⁠Nagasawa Odyssey Starseeker (Lisa's Pen)⁠

4. ⁠Savannah James Stickers (Lisa's Stickers)⁠

5. ⁠TGS Roterfaden Restock⁠

6. ⁠OnionBrand Notebooks⁠

7. ⁠TWSBI ECO Rootbeer Fountain Pens⁠

8. ⁠Coffee Stickers⁠

9. ⁠Opus 88 Cloud Dancer Fountain Pen⁠

10. ⁠DC Pen Show⁠

11. ⁠SF Pen Show⁠

12. ⁠Dallas Pen Show⁠

13. ⁠On The Paper Trail Live in Nashville

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. You can also come visit us at our physical stationery store in Nashville, Tennessee. We WILL be open regular hours this week, including on July 4!

New Arrivals: Colorverse Restocked, Along with Platinum Pens and Inks!

We’ve received a fresh shipment of Colorverse Ink, meaning that nearly all of the Colorvent “Top 3” Inks are back, including the 2024 and 2025 three-bottle sets as well as quirky favorites like Erebus Crater and Polar Night! We also have more of the 2025 Red Horse Collection, as well as all of the colors in the “Joy in the Ordinary” series.

Every year we update our “Best Pens” list, which includes recommendations from across a wide range of product categories.

We also have more Platinum Plaisir and Prefounte fountain pens, both of which are mentioned on our “Best Pens” list for beginners as well as those simply looking for a reliable everyday writer that you don’t have to worry about when knocking around town, the office, or your world travels! Finally, fans of permanent, dark black inks can also celebrate because Platinum Carbon Black and Chou Kouro have both returned.

Come see these and more this week in our Nashville shop! We are open normal hours (1-6pm Thursday and Friday and 10am-5pm on Saturday), meaning that yes we are open for the 4th of July weekend. Many of you have reached out to let us know you are coming to town so we will be there and ready to welcome you!

Sunday Reading for June 28, 2026

1. Health & Fitness Journal with the TRAVELER’S Company Free Diary (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). This is a great proposed use of the TRAVELER’S Company undated diaries. I love to see how people are using these in everyday life!

2. Moving On… (via Vanness Pen Shop). Our friends at Vanness are moving! Follow along as they relocate the shop from Little Rock to Fort Smith.

3. Thursday Stream: Full Mildliner Swatches, Hermes 3000 Typewriter, and Lamy Vista Kuru Toga Pencil (via dwrdnet). Derek walks through his expansive collection of Mildliners, plus a fun Lamy Safari pencil featuring the Kuru Toga engine.

4. Kilk Celestial + Galen Bohemian Twilight (via Figboot on Pens). A favorite material paired with a favorite pen design!

5. Soolla: Not Quite What We Need (via Rachel’s Reflections). Soolla bags have become increasingly popular, and based on what your needs and preferences are, they may or may not work for you. But it’s a creative design!

6. Omas555 Grey Celluloid (via UK Fountain Pens). An incredibly thorough review of a gorgeous vintage pen.

7. A €10k Noris (via Bleistift). Wow. Just wow.

8. Art as Meditation (via Comfortable Shoes Studio). Another great post exploring mindfulness and how art and journaling can contribute.

9. Thank You, Brian Anderson (via From the Pen Cup). Another Waterman Laureate post! The Laureate was my first “nice” fountain pen many years ago.

10. See You In St. Louis! (via Well-Appointed Desk). If you’re in the area, be sure to stop by the St. Louis Pen Show for the last day and visit Ana (and Lisa at the Ink Pony Club tables).

In Case You Missed It….

This week we finalized our 2026 mid-year review, and published a couple of new installments, including an update to the Hierarchies of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper Resource, and a post on my Top Five Personal Stationery Discoveries from the First Half of 2026.

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop

The most exciting new is that we received a large restock of Kaweco Fountain Pens and the TWSBI ECO Rootbeer fountain pen! We also have additional Platinum pens, including the Plaisir and Prefounte, as well as restocks of Colorverse and the Laban Greek Mythology Inks. Our Colorverse restock included additional units of the 2024 and 2025 Colorvent “Top 3” Colorvent Ink Sets. Be sure to check out each week’s Thursday Drops post for a full listing of all new shop arrivals and restocks.

Roterfaden

OnionBrand

Kaweco

Pilot

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.

2026 Mid-Year Review: Five Personal Favorite Stationery Discoveries from the First Half of 2026

During the first half of 2026 I delved pretty deeply into the catalog of Japanese-exclusive products I’ve been testing, many of which have made their way into our shop. You might be surprised to learn that most of my favorite new additions to my own rotation are less expensive everyday writers, including the Uni Zento Flow Gel Pens and the Pilot Kire-Na highlighters. There’s also a fun, offbeat ink, as well as a stationery-adjacent entry!

You can view most of these products in our own shop, both online and in-store. Check out the rest of our 2026 Mid-Year Review Post, including 5 Favorite Posts from the First Half of the Year, and our Annual Update to the Hierarchies of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper Resource.

1. Uni Zento Flow Gel Pen. If I had to pick a favorite everyday gel pen, I would say that the Uni Zento Flow has become my everyday “inexpensive carry”. I like the weight of the aluminum barrel, and I actually prefer the click-style Flow to the capped Signature model (which you can’t find anyway). I’ve had one of these since late last year, but in 2026 it firmly established itself with a key role in my rotation.

2. Colorverse Follow The Water Fountain Pen Ink. Each year, Colorverse selects three of the prior year’s Colorvent Inks to release in full bottle format. In 2024, they released three colors that many considered “safe,” while the 2025 selections were more adventurous and, in my opinion, excellent. “Follow the Water” is a muted yellow-gold multi-shader with shimmer ink, which is not a typical choice for me but I can’t get over this one.

3. Hibi Japanese Incense Matches. I’ve fine-tuned my work setup this year, and one addition I’ve grown to love is some sort of aromatic component, including these 10-minute incense matches from Hibi. (Note: They are also quite helpful for covering up that “warehouse smell”.)

4. Pilot Metropolitan Rollerball. Can you believe that until this year I had never used the Pilot Metropolitan/MR Rollerball or Ballpoint pen? The “rollerball” is actually a Pilot G2 gel refill, so it’s super smooth, and the ballpoint uses the same Dr. Grip/Cocoon refill that fits Dr. Grip Ballpoint pens and the Pilot S20. If I had to pick, the rollerball is my favorite because I still love the G2.

5. Pilot Kire-Na Double-Sided Highlighter. The “guides” on the chisel-style highlighter tip won me over during our trip to visit Pilot USA headquarters earlier this year, and the fine tip end is ultra-fine for extremely detailed annotation work. It’s one of those highly-specific tools that not everyone may need, but which is great for those who love tailoring their stationery carry to their precise needs.

Thursday Drops: TWSBI ECO Rootbeer Is Back! Plus TRAVELER'S Notebooks, Maruman Mnemosyne and More!

Summer restocks and new releases have started to arrive, including a much-anticipated restock of the TWSBI ECO Rootbeer + Bronze, and the Kaweco Perkeo in Pearlescent Green. We’ve also received a handful of TRAVELER’S Notebooks in Standard and Passport sizes, a full shipment of Viarco pencils from Portugal, and more!

Kaweco’s Pearlescent Green Perkeo simply won’t stay in stock anywhere.

I wanted to take the opportunity to spotlight two gorgeous new additions to our Roterfaden lineup: the Taschenbegleiter LTD_039, with a natural leather cover, and the Taschenbegleiter SO_26, which pairs “Smoke Blue” with olive suede. Both of these are smaller test orders, and we will try to get more if we can, but for now they are limited quantity!

Come see these and more in-store during normal hours this week, from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-5pm on Saturday.

1. TWSBI ECO Rootbeer Fountain Pens. Possibly the most popular and in-demand fountain pen that TWSBI has made in a while, the transparent ECO “Rootbeer” features clear amber acrylic paired with bronze trim.

2. TWSBI ECO Serpentine + Bronze Fountain Pens. If you’ve been thinking about an ECO Serpentine fountain pen, now would be the time, as they’ve been on the market for a while. TWSBI tends to rotate its colors in and out of the lineup.

3. TWSBI ECO Black + Bronze Fountain Pens. Similar to the Serpentine, the Black+Bronze ECO features swirled black acrylic and bronze trim.

4. Kaweco Perkeo Fountain Pens. We received a fresh shipment of the Pearlescent Green Kaweco Perkeos, in addition to a general restock of Kaweco Sport fountain pens, inks, and more.

5. TRAVELER’S Notebook Starter Kits. We have a fresh shipment of Traveler’s Notebooks in stock in multiple colors, two of which are Standard size and two of which are Passport.

6. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter TGS_25 A5 Slim Notebook Covers. Our own exclusive design is back in stock, in the green leather colorway with both elastic options (grey and light green).

7. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter A5 Notebook Covers. In addition to the A5 Slim Notebook covers, we have a fresh shipment of standard A5 covers as well.

8. OnionBrand A5 Leather Covers. These simple-yet-elegant leather notebook covers come in multiple finishes and use a cord-based binding system that will hold up to two slim notebooks or one thicker notebook.

9. Viarco Wood Pencils. A fresh shipment from Portugal landed this week, including standard and vintage-style woodcase pencils in multiple designs and hardnesses. Viarco is one of the last surviving European pencil manufacturers.

10. Graphilo Paper. Kobeha’s Graphilo paper is some of the most ink-friendly paper available, in that it resists any feathering or bleedthrough and showcases ink color nicely. We recently updated the “Hierarchies of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper” resource to include Graphilo as an easy “Tier One” paper choice.

Oh, and one last thing! Uni Zento Flows and Zento Gel Refills are now restocked!