If I could choose one picture to summarize 2022, it might look something like this.

2022 Year-End Review, Part IV: Series & Editorials

December 21, 2022

Of all the 2022 year-end review posts, today’s installment is the one I most looked forward to because a major goal of mine for the year was to focus less on writing pure “review” content and more on archiving/consolidating 8+ years worth of stationery-related experience and knowledge in order to make it more accessible to readers both new and experienced. As I worked my way back through everything I wrote this year, I think I exceeded my goal! Given the volume of editorial/lifestyle/series posts, I’ve broken this portion of the 2022 Year-End Review into different sections to make it easier to navigate.

Updated Review Archive, Best Pens, and Holiday Gift Guide

Last year, I launched a navigable archive of all past T.G.S. fountain pen reviews, organized by brand. It’s now been updated to include pen reviews from 2022. The “Best Pens” recommendation page, as well as this year’s Holiday Gift Guide, are also up to date.

Guide to Notebook Systems

In 2022, I dove into the world of “notebook systems” / “System Techo”, which honestly took my focus off of pens and inks for the second half of the year. That’s not altogether a bad thing, because I did need a break from “collecting,” and I needed to think hard about how I was using all of the various notebooks and planners I had in rotation. Look for a post after the New Year on my setup for 2023.

The addition of a “Perspective” Nib by Gena Salorino brought this Pelikan M800 “Stone Garden” back into rotation for me.

Mini-Collections and Review Series

I only purchased a handful of pens this year for my personal collection, focusing more on having nibs customized to enhance certain pieces that I already owned. I managed to review four of the grinds, and have several more custom grinds on the way and/or in rotation.

DesignPhil Table San Francisco Pen Show 2022 — The DesignPhil table at the 2022

2022 Pen Show Recaps & Travel Posts

2020 and 2021 injected a lot of uncertainty into the future of pen shows, including concern over whether the “show circuit” would survive. I attended a handful of shows in 2021, and it clearly wasn’t the same. The 2022 pen shows - especially those on the back end of the calendar, went a long way towards allaying most people’s concerns about the future of pen shows. San Francisco, in particular, was an exceptionally well-run and memorable experience!

Questions about traveling (particularly flying) with fountain pens topped my list this year.

How-To Posts and Responses to Reader Questions

I made a conscious effort to be better about responding publicly to more frequently asked reader questions, specifically topics of interest to those considering purchasing their first fountain pen or who recently acquired their first pen and have questions about using it in certain scenarios. Cleaning and travel-related questions top the list of inquiries received.

Three favorite ballpoint pens. Check out the post below, for details!

Stationery Lifestyle Posts & Industry Trends

Finally, I try to find space in the rotation every other month or so to write a personal reflection on topics of interest to me in the stationery community. While I plan to continue writing these posts on the main site, I also plan to add some exclusive content to the T.G.S. Patreon Program in 2023, which will likely be along these same lines.

2022 Year-End Review, Part III: Top Sellers from the T.G.S. Curated Shop

December 20, 2022

We launched the T.G.S. Curated Shop in 2020 to replace sponsorships, paid advertisements, and other forms of outside support. Over the past two years, we’ve been able to bring together a curated collection of stationery products that we not only sell but enjoy using ourselves. For today’s year-end recap, I’ve pulled together a list of the ten best-selling products, in order of number of units sold. Honestly, there weren’t too many surprises on here! Many thanks to everyone who has supported T.G.S. over the past year, and if you haven’t had a chance to try out one of these customer favorites, please give them a shot. (For those of you interested in following stationery trends, here is last year’s post.)

Since faith in the USPS apparently springs eternal, orders continue to come in and we are shipping as fast as we can to give these the best chance of arriving by Christmas, though there can be no guarantees this late in the season. The $8.50 level of shipping (starting at packages weighing 1lb and above) will go USPS Priority (typically 1-3 days) or UPS.

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

Lochby Field Journal and Lochby A5 Refills. The entire Lochby lineup was definitely the star of 2022, but the A5 Field Journal, which holds up to six of the Lochby-branded Tomoe River paper refills, was our top seller. Since the refills are standard-size, they can be used in many other A5 covers, and they also come in pocket size.
Lochby Quattro Four Pen Case. After the Field Journal, the Lochby Quattro won out over the rest of the lineup. This slim, compact four-pen case is a stalwart of my own daily carry, and I love how the slots are offset so your pens don’t touch when the case is closed.
Hightide Hourglasses. I’m a little surprised that the Hightide Hourglasses and Book Stands made the list this year - due to shipping delays and inventory shortages it took us the better part of a year to get a restock. You all made up the difference over the past two months!
Hightide Metal Folding Book Stands. Easily one of the more practical gift ideas we offer, these folding book stands slide easily into a bag so you can take them with you on the go. Available in nearly a dozen colors!
Book Darts Archivally Safe Page Markers. One of our original items offered, Book Darts remain a customer favorite. Use them as bookmarks, line markers for favorite passages, or (my own favorite use) to divide a single notebook into multiple sections or subjects.
Midori MD Cotton Paper. Midori MD Cotton Paper has become my favorite fountain pen friendly paper on the market, and it looks as though many of you agree!
Midori MD Paper. Standard MD Paper is also one of the best fountain pen friendly options, and it comes in multiple formats (i.e. pads, notebooks) with several refillable cover options.
Clairefontaine French-Ruled Looseleaf Sheets. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a special order product sell out as fast as these looseleaf sheets of the Seyès-ruled paper. I still have a few packs of the double booklets!
Caran d’Ache Infinite 888 Ballpoint Pens. Yes, the best-selling pen in our shop costs $6.25, and personally I think it’s one of the best ballpoints out there. It’s also refillable.
Write Notepads Reporter Notebooks. Finally, there has to be at least one Write Notepads product on this list. Our top seller is the Reporter-style notebook, which we’ll have to reorder after the first of the year since there’s been a bit of a run.

2022 Year-End Review, Part II: Favorite Products Reviewed in 2022

December 17, 2022

Earlier this week I kicked off the 2022 Year-End Review Process with a new entry in the series, a “Five Up, Five Down” post, in which I looked at five products I personally used more than expected in 2022, as well as five I used a lot less. Today’s post is a bit more traditional, with a short list of my five favorite products reviewed for T.G.S. in 2022. As I reflect back on 2022, I’ve focused more on those products that I enjoyed due to the level of innovation and creativity they displayed, even if the products themselves are a new riff on something that’s been around for a while. Enjoy!

Good Made Better “Writewell” Writing Desk. The Writewell captured my interest immediately when I first saw it at this year’s 2022 D.C. Pen Show. Dan was kind enough to send me a production sample, and I went ahead and backed the Kickstarter because, well, why not have a second writing desk! This product embodies everything I love about this community and those who create products for it, with well-made construction, thoughtful design, and a useful purpose.
Nock Co. x Rickshaw Sinclair “Model R” Pen Case. My favorite pen case of all time is back, in a slightly larger, and dare I say improved, layout! I understand that eventually you will be able to customize the Sinclair using the Rickshaw Bagworks configurator, though you can put in a special request now if you reach out to them.
Kakimori Brass Dip Nib and Drillog Metal Dip Pen. I’ll keep these as a single entry, because I enjoy them as a product category. Both of these machined metal dip pens offer an excellent way to test and use your inks, whether you want to move between colors quickly, or have a particularly high-maintenance ink that doesn’t behave well in fountain pens. While I had some initial trouble with my extra-fine Drillog, the larger medium point that they sent me as a replacement works quite well.
Vinta Inks Aegean Armada and Leyte Kelp. Vinta inks have become a mainstay in my rotation, particularly the blue-green-grey “Armada” that I can’t keep out of a pen. The Vinta ink line in general made last year’s year-end review as a new discovery, and these two specific inks made for a favorite 2022 review. Vinta keeps getting ever more creative with their offerings, and as I consolidate my personal pens and inks into a smaller number of core brands, Vinta is guaranteed a slot due to their combination of quality and uniqueness.
Nahvalur Nautilus Ebonite Fountain Pen. Frank was kind enough to provide me with a sample of their “Pen Show Special Edition” Nautilus at April’s Atlanta Pen Show, and I’ve had that pen inked regularly, in addition to the purple “Stylophora Berry” edition. I’ve long been a fan of ebonite as a material, and love how Nahvalur (formerly Narwhal) has kept the price point reasonable while still offering an innovative design (porthole ink windows!) and quality feel.

My Plotter Mini 5 continues to go nearly everywhere with me. That patina is really coming along!

Year-End Review: Five Up, Five Down in the Personal Collection for 2022

December 14, 2022

It’s that time of year again, when I close out the year by looking at what I liked and what I didn’t, not just in my capacity as a pen reviewer and retailer but as an enthusiast in my own right. I thought it might be fun to kick off the year-end review process with a list I’ve never done before - one where I took stock of my own collection and listed those products that surprised me with how much use they received, and others where usage was down. Note that this shouldn’t be considered a “good/not good” list - it’s more a personal reflection on how my own preferences are changing. As you’ll see, I’m not happy that a couple of things appear in the “Five Down” section, and will be making some changes to get true favorites back in rotation.

The Schon DSGN Emojis just make you want to pick up and use the pens!

Five Up: Products I Used More Than Expected

Plotter Binders and Accessories. It’s no secret that I went all-in on the Plotter notebook system/system techo in 2022. I’ve been regularly using all sizes from A5 down to the Mini 5, and I see this trend continuing into 2023. While I personally use Plotter more as a notebook/binder system than a planner, given the range of available refills and accessories you can deploy this one however you want.
Schon DSGN and Opus 88 Fountain Pens. A solid 60% of my usage over the past several months has consisted of pens by either Schon DSGN or Opus 88, and I don’t see that changing. These versatile everyday writers hold a lot of ink and feature JoWo No. 6 nib compatibility, which I’ve used to swap in custom-ground Franklin-Christoph nibs as well as nibs by brands such as Platinum and Pilot using the Flexible Nib Factory housings.
Naginata-style Nib Grinds. I have a larger review of Naginata-style grinds in the works, but I’m having trouble bringing it together into a coherent piece because there are so many different styles and variations on this Japanese blade-style grind that writes similarly to an architect nib but with fewer sharp edges. Regardless, this style of grind has become a staple in my everyday writing rotation.
Ballpoint Pens. If I had to call out three specific ballpoints that I’ve been using more than most, I would say it’s the needle-tip Traveler’s Brass Ballpoint, the Gravitas Pens “Ultematum” Twist, and the Caran d’Ache 849 Rollerball with a Parker-style .5mm Jetstream refill. I’m firmly on “team ballpoint,” and recently wrote about how I consider it an unfounded myth that ballpoints aren’t for “real” pen enthusiasts.
Galen Leather “Magnum Opus” 12-Pen Cases. One of my favorite acquisitions from 2021 was the natural leather “Magnum Opus” 12-pen case with the magnetic closure, and this year I picked up a dark grey zippered version at the D.C. Pen Show. Since I’m a regular attendee at both pen shows and meetings of my local pen club, I’ve been carrying at least one of these two large pen cases to meetups on a weekly basis, as they are a very secure (yet attractive!) way to move multiple pens.

As hard as it was to part with some of the Blackwing Volumes editions where I loved the design (such as the “Bauhaus” edition pictured here), the fact that they sat unused in a box for years didn’t bode well, and others would use them much more.

Five Down: Products That Saw Much Less Use Than Expected

Lamy 2000 Fountain Pens. This one is NOT a reflection of any sort of changing sentiment for the Lamy 2000, which remains one of my favorite pens, but is more the result of my personal collection getting too large for me to rotate through everything as much as I’d like. This changes immediately, with at least two Lamy 2000 fountain pens going back into rotation as of January 1, 2023.
Blackwing Pencils. I accumulated more Blackwing pencils than I could ever use in five lifetimes, much less one, so I sold off 90% of my stash. I’m no longer a Volumes subscriber, and I’m happiest with the standard dark “MMX” Blackwing and the Natural pencil with the extra-firm core. I simply don’t use a high enough volume of woodcase pencils to justify holding on to anything more than my absolute favorites.
Tomoe River Paper. Partly due to the paper’s (temporary) discontinuation, partly due to my discovery of Midori MD Cotton paper, I’ve used a lot less Tomoe River despite liking the new Sanzen product. I’m still waiting to see whether a new 68gsm version reappears, as that particular paper is one of my absolute favorites of all time, and since I have a healthy stash I’ll be looking to get 68gsm Tomoe back into rotation in 2023.
Liquid Ink Rollerballs. Though some people love them, the liquid ink rollerball is probably my own least-favorite writing option. Don’t get me wrong, I have “rollerball” pens that I absolutely love, such as the Caran d’Ache 849 mentioned above and the Baron Fig Squire, but nearly all of them have ballpoint or hybrid gel refills substituted for the rollerball cartridge. I’ve found that most rollerball inks tend to bleed-through and feather on basically every paper out there, though the Montblanc and Caran d’Ache options fare much better than most.
Leonardo Momento Zero Grande. While NOT a knock on the MZG in general - I still think it’s a great pen - I included this one on the list because I found myself with four or five of these pens in my possession after I fell in love with the materials. The problem is, the MZG simply doesn’t fit my hand as well as the standard Momento Zero, so I recently made the decision to begin selling off the larger pens and consolidating my collection into what I will actually use. “Zero Regrets.” (Sorry.) I still have one currently for sale in the “Gently Used” section of the website, and have at least one more in my collection that I will list at some point in the near future.

Stay tuned for more year-end review content, including lists of my favorite products reviewed, favorite products acquired, and favorite shop additions!

Overall, I’m really happy with how this is aging!

This post does not contain paid advertising or third-party affiliate links, and the Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely via purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop, the Gently Used Store, and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. The Patreon Program will be undergoing a bit of a revamp in 2023, as I’m going to look to add in new content such as weekly updates and mini newsletters, in addition to the current benefits. This week in the Patreon, I posted my entire “currently inked” lineup, which gives you a sense of just how many pens I’m evaluating at any given time! We appreciate all your support.

The Modern Parker 51 fountain pen reissue: A “Hot Take” poster child for internet hatred.

On So-Called "Hot Takes" and Exploding Myths About Pens

November 30, 2022

I spend a fair bit of time reading pen blogs, participating in pen forums, and listening to pen podcasts. (Call it “professional research.”) As I was catching up on back podcast episodes over the holiday break, I listed to Pen Addict Episode No. 538, “Lukewarm Takes”, in which Brad and Myke discuss the prevalence of so-called “hot takes” in the pen community and elsewhere on the Internet. Needless to say, it got me thinking.

The best definition of “hot take” that I found comes from the Cambridge English Dictionary, which defines a “hot take” as “a piece of writing or speech, especially on the internet, giving someone's personal opinions about a topic, usually strong opinions that have not been carefully thought about and that many people are likely to disagree with.” As a general matter, hot takes annoy me. Not necessarily because they’re wrong - most at least start with a grain of truth - but rather because they nearly always take someone’s personal observation, experience or preference and extrapolate it into a broad pronouncement or judgment supposedly applicable to everyone else.

Some of my personal favorite pens are among those disparaged by online pen snobs, such as the Waterman Expert ballpoint and fountain pens shown here. The Parker Sonnet is another one of my “unpopular” preferences.

While many hot takes are not intended to be taken seriously, and are made solely for entertainment value, some are more pernicious. What I mean is that there are a series of “myths” out there about pens and stationery - particularly fountain pens - that I am asked about frequently, and which have a negative effect on the community. Most of these started as uninformed “hot takes” and have somehow become so ingrained that they’re accepted as “truth” by new users. I’ll address a few of them here.

Pens over [insert dollar amount] are never worth the money because you can find a good pen for $20 or less. Of all the ill-informed hot takes and pronouncements, this one annoys me the most, probably because it’s nearly always presented as an arrogant, condescending attempt to impose someone’s personal preferences on others and judge the choices of others. Sure, this statement can be true, if all you’re looking for is a pen that puts words on the paper in a satisfactory manner, with nothing more. However, this particular “hot take” ignores the myriad reasons that people buy pens that may cost more, including the different writing experiences offered by different nibs, the artistry involved in handmade or custom pens, and the flat-out fun of using an intricately engineered filling system. Everybody is in this hobby for different reasons, and if you’re buying a specific pen because it makes you happy, go for it.
True pen enthusiasts/connoisseurs only use fountain pens. Similarly, this one imposes a personal preference/snobbishness on others and I particularly dislike it because it’s often used to exclude others from the pen community. Not everyone can use fountain pens, and to be honest, many people prefer to use ballpoints or rollerballs exclusively. I know from personal experience running this blog and a small shop that there is a large number of people out there who are “into pens” but don’t show up at pen shows and other community events because they are perceived as “fountain pen exclusive.” There is nothing wrong with using what works for you, and outside of the loud voices on the pen internets and social media, most people who actually write a lot “in real life” use a wide array of fountain pens, ballpoints, pencils, and other writing instruments.
Cartridge/converter fountain pens are cheaply made and for beginners. You can substitute “steel nib” for “cartridge/converter” and get the same result: another “hot take” that’s essentially the inverse of No. 1. As I’ve written before, this hot take is nonsense, as I firmly believe cartridge/converter filling systems are often the best option for many people, including experienced fountain pen users such as myself. It’s about convenience and practicality and what works for your own writing needs, not your level of purported “sophistication” as a fountain pen user.
Vintage pens are better because you get “more” for your money. If what you’re looking for is a gold nib (particularly a flexible one), or vintage materials such as celluloid that cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars in a modern pen, then this take has some truth to it. That said, many people pass on vintage due to the need for periodic repairs, the lack of a warranty, often finicky filling systems, and a retail network that can be less than friendly to new users. Vintage pens are neither “better” nor “worse” than modern ones. Rather, they implicate so many different factors that I don’t think any comparison is fair.
You have to spend a lot of money to get interesting materials. In recent years, pen companies have taken to releasing an endless litany of “special” and “limited”, mainly standard-model pens in different finishes and materials, whether acrylic, ebonite, or celluloid. The markup on these editions can range from nothing to thousands of dollars, depending on factors such as scarcity of materials, artistry, and demand. In short, shop around. Companies such as TWSBI, Nahvalur, Opus 88, and PenBBS release runs of pens in fun materials without any markup at all, and you can often find independent pen makers who will make you a pen in that coveted Brooks material for hundreds of dollars less than what you would pay at retail.

All of the pens pictured here feature relatively uncommon materials, and each cost less than $130 from an independent maker.

So what’s the purpose of this post? To encourage people to slow down, explore their options, exercise their own judgment, and make their own decisions. Don’t buy pens based solely off of someone else’s opinions on what’s “acceptable” or “the best”, especially internet opinions that tend to be amplified according to who shouts the loudest. Try everything. Experiment and discover what you enjoy. We absolutely live in a time that many are calling a second “golden age” of fine writing, with many different options for pens, ink, and paper. Start with pens that don’t cost a lot of money and work your way up once you're comfortable (if you want). Try different types of pens. Or stop when you find something that works for you. It’s about your enjoyment, after all!

This post does not contain third-party advertising or affiliate links. The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.