TGS Responds: Questions from the TGS Mailbag!

November 25, 2023

So I had grand ambitions to finish a couple of reviews in-progress this weekend, but the combination of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, shipping, etc. didn’t leave me enough time for the photography stage. So, I decided instead to jump-start a project that I’ve been wanting to do for some time: answer questions I receive via e-mail, DM, etc.

I do get a lot of mail, and unfortunately there just aren’t enough hours in the day for prompt responses. I try to get back to everyone eventually, but as the readership grows logistically it may not be possible to do personalized responses (though please do know that I read everything that comes my way). I figured a happy medium might be to take some of the more common or interesting questions and publish the responses in a new series of posts. Enjoy the first three!

Written Correspondence Cards — From artisanal correspondence cards to a simple A5 or A4 writing pad, there are many different options for letter writing.

Question 1: What is the best paper for written correspondence, such as letter writing?

I get this question at least twice a week. It’s by far the most frequently asked, and to answer categorically, since people respond to letters in different ways. For example, some people love to adorn their letters with calligraphy, ink washes, mixed media, etc. - which necessarily requires thicker art paper - and some people simply like to respond to letters with postcards, especially if they receive a lot of mail and can’t respond at length to everybody.

That said, generally speaking, I offer three specific recommendations. For standard A4/A5 writing paper, the gold standard is Clairefontaine Triomphe, which is bright white, fountain pen friendly and showcases ink well. It’s also fairly inexpensive. Fans of laid paper enjoy both G. Lalo and Original Crown Mill, both of which are excellent though I’d recommend trying textured paper once or twice before stocking up, as it can be an acquired taste. For something special, check out the lightweight onionskin Life Airmail Paper. Of course any quality paper works for writing letters - you don’t need to limit yourself to “letter writing paper” - but these are good options specifically advertised by their manufacturer for that purpose.

Question 2: Where is the best place to sell used pens?

This is a question I get all the time, but is another hard one. Certain resellers (Peyton Street Pens and Chatterly Luxuries are two that come to mind) sometimes purchase secondhand pens for trade or resale, but given that retailers need to maintain a margin, you will nearly always get less money selling to a dealer or retailer than by selling to an end-user directly online. Whenever I look to offload pens, I first try to sell directly to friends and acquaintances at pen shows or my local pen club (so they can see the pens in person), but barring that I use direct channels such as the Pen Addict Slack Group, my Patreon, and the Gently Used page here. In the past, I have sold via forums such as FPGeeks and Fountain Pen Network, but it’s been years and can’t vouch for them as current options. Many people use r/pen_swap on Reddit and/or Discord Channels, but I have no personal experience.

I still have a LOT of “old” Tomoe River Paper, shown here in my Nanami Paper Cafe Note

Question 3: Which notebooks still use “old” Tomoe River Paper?

Right now, it’s safest to assume that nearly all notebooks being sold are the new Sanzen Tomoe River paper unless expressly stated otherwise by the seller in a product listing. While I’ve heard that the 68gsm paper currently on the market is “old” paper (i.e. non-Sanzen), I’ve also heard rumors that there is a “new” 68gsm paper being made. Most makers don’t specify because they either have mixed stock or don’t want to create expectations when they can’t be guaranteed a supply of the old paper going forward.

Submit Your Questions to TGS!

I’ll plan to do this periodically, and keep a running list of questions that might make for interesting responses. You can submit questions through the “Contact” link on the header, which is by far the easiest way for me to keep track. While I do read and sometimes respond to comments, those get buried and are hard to manage, especially recent comments to posts published years ago.

Note: All Thanksgiving Weekend Specials run through Monday, November 27 at 11:59pm. Many thanks to everyone who has supported us so far this year! The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter A5 side-by-side with a William Hannah A5

Notebook and Planner Choices: Thinking on 2024

November 11, 2023

If you’ve noticed a more active T.G.S. over the past month, your eyes do not deceive you: I’m now working here about half-time, in addition to a day job. But that commitment comes with a healthy dose of reality - namely, how to successfully manage different projects that both require time and attention to detail, yet which are very different in terms of both hours and the substantive work involved.

Minimizing Context-Shifting by using Separate Notebooks for Different Projects

Though I may write mostly about pens and ink, paper has always been the focus of my stationery obsession, namely notebooks and organizers and how best to use them. People often ask how I work on multiple unrelated projects at once, but the truth is that I’ve been doing this my whole life. I have divergent interests, and while I sometimes have to “thin the herd” by shelving projects and hobbies that I can’t do justice, over the years I’ve cultivated an analog-focused system that (mostly) maintains my sanity. The trick has been to compartmentalize where I can, and avoid having to switch back-and-forth between unrelated matters, which I find draining.

Hobonichi Yamazakura and Roterfaden A6 Side-by-Side — I picked up one of the A6 Hobonichi Yamazakura notebooks at the Dallas Pen Show just because I loved the cover design, which got me thinking about how much I missed using the Hobonichi products (particularly the daily quotes) and how I might incorporate them going forward without really changing my setup.

The big question from my personal organizational standpoint has always been this: Do I keep one notebook or planner with multiple sections for different projects, or multiple notebooks with each one dedicated to a single project? While I’ve experimented with both methods over the years, I prefer the latter approach because a dedicated notebook locks in my focus on that particular project and allows me to maintain my concentration. (I do keep a central “Planner” that I use to organize my time across projects and track what I work on each day. This is the only daily notebook that deals with multiple subject matters.) Each of the “projects” that I’m working on has their own binder, typically a Plotter or William Hannah notebook that lets me add individual pages, which can then be organized and subdivided into sections as necessary.

Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter containing Hobonichi Cousin — I’ve had a couple questions about whether or not the Hobonichi Cousins “fit” the Roterfadens. I’ve personally used this Roterfaden pictured here with Hobonichi and similarly-sized notebooks like the Nanami Seven Seas for years, but it can be a tight fit given how thick the Hobonichis are. If you want to ensure extra coverage for your notebook, consider one of the recycled leather versions (LB23 or LB15). For the cousin, I’d suggest the SO20, which is a thinner A5 leather cover without an elastic, and it seems to be cut slightly larger than standard A5 and can accommodate the extra thickness.

My Tentative Notebook Setup for the Remainder of 2023 and For the next year

Keeping in mind that this remains a work in progress, here’s my preliminary setup:

Working Journal/Time Block Planner. One technique that’s helped me avoid a sense of overwhelm is “time blocking”: managing my time in dedicated larger blocks as opposed to working off a mixed to-do list and jumping back and forth between projects throughout the day. My ideal setup would be to assign entire days to specific projects - made easier by the fact that TGS now has its own office space - but I’ll settle for a system where I can at least block out hours of time for uninterrupted focus, and my new work arrangement better allows for that. Time management techniques are somewhat beyond the scope of this blog, but if you’re interested in reading further (or testing it out yourself), the Time Block Planner 2.0 by Cal Newport offers a good introduction to this concept. I don’t plan on buying another Time Block Planner once this one runs out, however: I want to customize my layout and plan to use the Hobonichi Cousin as a substitute. (Note: the Time Block Planner 2.0 with the spiral binding uses thicker paper that works with fountain pens.)
Project-Specific Binders. Plotter and William Hannah. I use these ringed notebooks as “binders” to organize notes on the projects that I’m actively working. These binders tend to live on my desk where I can access them when I’m working on the specific project to which the notebook is dedicated. The one exception is the William Hannah, which serves as my “law notebook” and goes with me everywhere since the realities of legal practice requires that I have quick access to my case notes. My A5 Plotter houses T.G.S., and the Bible-Sized Plotter contains notes from a creative writing project I’ve been pursuing for several years and which I’ve decided to finish.
Personal Journal. Hobonichi Techo A6. I felt the most “put together” when I consistently took 20 minutes at the end of each day to reflect in my Hobonichi. The A6 page is small enough not to feel intimidating, and you can always write larger to fill it up a page with fewer lines if time runs short or you’re simply exhausted. I don’t plan on using a Hobonichi Cover. Rather, I’m going to choose a Roterfaden in the A6 size. The leather and recycled-leather Taschenbegleiters are just big enough to fit a standard Hobonichi A6, though you may be limited to just the Hobonichi or the Hobonichi + a slimmer second notebook. (I plan to carry just the Hobonichi in the cover and use the multiple clips to mark off different sections of the Planner.)

This proposed setup isn’t all that different from my current rotation, just more streamlined, which suggests that after a decade of experimentation I’m finally settling into a long-term system that works for me. If you were to ask me what notebooks I envision having in my bag at any given time, I would say it will be (1) the Hobonichi Cousin and a Plotter Notepad in my A5 Roterfaden; and (2) the William Hannah, which are pictured at top. The Plotter A5 will live on my TGS office desk, and the Plotter Bible in my home office with my personal journal. Again, the goal is to stay organized and focused by having separation between the (very) different worlds in which I spend my time, while still preserving flexibility where necessary.

Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter Stacked Notebooks in front of Joe's Bookcase — Though you can (and should) take my opinion with a grain of salt since T.G.S. is a Roterfaden retailer, I’ve used the Taschenbegleiter Organizers for years, and love their versatility as dedicated binders that can be used to organize specific projects, or simply as portfolios to hold papers and writing pads.

While these are the notebooks that I plan to use most often, I do keep a multitude of others in rotation, including an A4 Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter with larger format paper for longhand drafting; my Midori 5-Year Diary that I irregularly update as a 30,000-foot record of my life, and a Standard Traveler’s Notebook that’s both my periodic travel journal and pen club notebook. For those who will ask, I do use my Plotter Mini-5 as my wallet, and it’s also an excellent “capture” notebook for when I simply want to go out with a notebook in my pocket and not lug around a bag. That said, none of these are mission-critical to my workflow, and I don’t allow myself to get stressed if I’m not using them regularly because they have specific purposes that don’t arise on a daily basis.

I don’t consider myself a productivity nerd - I’ve actually come to dislike the term “productivity” as it evokes widget-cranking and isn’t consistent with how I believe people actually want to live and work - but I do have a longstanding fascination with information management and how people organize their time and thoughts using both analog and digital tools and systems. Of course, this led me to notebooks, notebook systems, and anything remotely related. Have you developed your own system for keeping your life (relatively) organized? Drop a comment or send me a message through the site. I’m all ears!

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

Why Fountain Pen Day is Important: Reflections on 12 Years

November 4, 2023

Has it really been 12 years? I didn’t realize that the community has been celebrating Fountain Pen Day for more than a decade until I opened up this year’s shipment of Fountain Pen Day swag and realized that it’s emblazoned with “12th Anniversary!” I don’t plan to get very far into the history of the holiday - Kimberly over at the Pen Addict recently published an interview with Fountain Pen Day founder/creator Cary Yeager that does just that - but I did want to briefly reflect on why I enjoy Fountain Pen Day and why I think it’s important that we as a community continue to celebrate.

If Things Are Important To You, You Owe Them A Day. Fountain Pen Day is sometimes cynically written off as “Black Friday for Pens.” Look, I get the sentiment. Fountain Pen Day “the event” has grown exponentially since it was first launched, and - intentionally or not - has morphed into one of the biggest sales events of the year for many stationery retailers. Some of the hype borders on FOMO-driven consumerism. That said, I still believe that the idea of a day devoted specifically to fountain pens remains important because of what it represents. With “tech” increasingly pushed on us at every turn, celebrating Fountain Pen Day makes a statement to others about what we value, and provides us with an opportunity to reflect on why we devote so much time, energy (and money!) to this thing we love that goes far beyond a hobby.
If You Value Small Business and Independent Makers, Support Small Business and Independent Makers. I can personally vouch for the fact that the vast majority of us on the “business side” of fountain pens are not in this to make a lot of money. We do this because we love writing and want to do our part to ensure that quality pens, paper, and ink continue to exist well into the future. Events like Fountain Pen Day serve as a concrete reminder that if you value smaller, niche industries, it’s essential to make a conscious effort to support the participants you want to see continue, rather than defaulting to Amazon or whoever offers the biggest discount. Sure, nearly everyone has limited funds to devote to their hobby, but I’ve made a conscious effort to redirect my own personal spending this year to specific people I care about and who I want to see succeed.
It’s Nice to Have a Permanent “Stopping Point” for the Year to Evaluate How I Use My Planners and Notebooks and What I Might Want to Change. Over the years, Fountain Pen Day has become a waypoint, which signals the start of my personal year-end review process and gives me a full two months to think about what works, what doesn’t, and what I need to change for the following year. For example, I rarely buy planners in October, when Midori, Hobonichi, etc. release their new editions. I force myself to wait a month until Fountain Pen Day, which pauses the FOMO and allows me to reflect on what planner or journal I might realistically use.

So How Did I Celebrate Fountain Pen Day? Plus Some Big News!

I actually intended to publish this short post yesterday, but as you’ll read below, the day turned into a bit of an event! I kicked off the day by visiting friends from our local/regional pen club at the Columbia Arts Building in Columbia, Tennessee, about 40 minutes south of where I live. After meeting for coffee, I had the opportunity to stop in and support another small retailer at Butler Stationery. If you ever make your way down to Columbia, it’s a great little shop with a nice selection of pens, ink, and paper.

Second, I took possession of and moved into the new offices of The Gentleman Stationer! Our operation has grown to the point where the business needs to begin moving out of our home. This isn’t a retail location - it will primarily serve as a space for me to work on administrative and content-related projects with a permanent setup - but at some point in the near future we will probably offer the option to pick up orders at the office. (We’re not quite there yet). Stay tuned for updates.

Finally, while the office move prevented me from attending this week’s Ohio Pen Show in Columbus, I will be going to pen club for Fountain Pen Day weekend! Those of you in the greater Nashville, Tennessee area (both residents and visitors!) should consider attending a meetup of the Middle Tennessee Fountain Pen Club. Meetings take place every Saturday at alternating locations. Details are available through the Facebook Group and/or a mailing list. (I’m not an admin - just a member - so please don’t rely on me to sign you up.)

TGS Office and Warehouse Expanding to Accommodate Growth — In addition to adding office space, we recently had to lease a larger warehouse space to accommodate growth!

T.G.S. Fountain Pen Day Promotions and Giveaways

All T.G.S. Fountain Pen Day promotions from yesterday’s post will run through 11:59pm tomorrow. Starting today, we are also launching a giveaway of two Esterbrook x Fountain Pen Day pen sleeves (shown at the top), both in this year’s Magenta colorway! All you need to do to enter the giveaway is to comment on either this blog post or the ensuing Instagram post that will be up shortly. No purchase is necessary, and I will choose a winner by numbering all comments and selecting two winners using a random number generator. Each winner will also receive a full T.G.S. Swag Pack. Many thanks for all your support this Fountain Pen Day!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop, and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. Patreon members get exclusive access to meetups, periodic additional content, plus early access to my quarterly “Gently Used” sales. New items not claimed by Patreon members were recently added to the Gently Used page, which you can check out here.

Recent Vintage Pen Finds: Pens Lying in a tray — The five pens on the left in the Toyooka tray were acquired in a single inexpensive eBay lot! All are salvageable, and 4/5 have 14k nibs.

My Personal Approach to Vintage Fountain Pens

October 21, 2023

My acquisitions at this year’s pen shows have leaned decidedly more vintage-heavy. There are a few factors playing into this. First, for the most part I’ve been uninspired by many of the modern releases from mainstream pen companies - not necessarily because the pens are bad, but simply because we’ve reached a point where innovation has plateaued. Thus, in addition to focusing on those smaller makers who continue to experiment, I’ve started looking backwards to an aspect of the hobby that I’ve dabbled in yet haven’t fully embraced: the vintage world.

Vintage Fountain Pen Nibs: Sheaffer Inlaid 14k Gold — All five pens from this lot are salvageable, and 4/5 have 14k nibs. The Kaweco is a new pen to which I added a vintage Mabie Todd 14k nib that I had in my parts bin .

Second, given the amount of time that I now devote to writing about and retailing stationery, I need to carve out some aspect of this hobby that’s pure fun for me. I plan to attend the Ohio Pen Show in a couple weeks, which is one of the premier vintage shows in the country, and is actually the first pen show I attended way back in 2012. In advance of this trip I thought it might be fun to not only show off some of my newer vintage acquisitions, but also provide some insight into how I approach vintage pens in general.

Kaweco Collection Olive Sport with Vintage Mabie-Todd nib — A close-up of the Olive Kaweco Sport with a vintage Mabie-Todd nib. Read more on what I’m doing here below.

My Recommendations For Enjoying Vintage Pens

Don’t Worry About Locating “Mint” Pens or Valuable Collectibles. Nearly all of the vintage pens I own would be deemed “user grade” by a serious collector. I’m totally fine with that. A 75+ year-old pen that’s served as a functional writing instrument for nearly a century should have some dings, scratches, and signs of use. Not only do they make me less reluctant to use a pen for fear of damaging it, these marks add character. In certain vintage watch circles, it’s considered a faux pas to overly restore and polish a vintage watch to where it looks like new, and I take the same approach to my pens. (User-grade specimens of common vintage pens like Sheaffer Snorkels and Parker 51s are also much easier on the wallet than new-old-stock or “mint” condition versions, and you can get them at extremely low prices if you purchase unrestored examples.)
Learn How to Restore Pens Yourself. To get seriously into vintage pens - and arguably, to have the most fun with them - it helps to learn a bit of basic pen repair. Most vintage pens use some variation of a sac-based filling system, which may need to be serviced periodically. Learning how to restore your own pens not only saves you money (and the inconvenience of having to ship off pens to get fixed), but in the course of doing your own work, you also learn how pens are made, the intricacies of vintage filling systems, and how they differ from the modern filling systems we use today. Repairs can range from simple and straightforward (lever filling pens like Esterbrooks) to time consuming and more complex (such as a Sheaffer Snorkel, some of which you can see in the stories on my Instagram profile). Many vintage pens are incredibly durable, including the Parker 51, 51 Special, and Super 21, and often require no restoration beyond a flush with water or bath in an ultrasonic cleaner to remove dried ink.
Swap Vintage Nibs into Modern Pens. While I would strongly advise against purchasing your first vintage pens on eBay or Etsy (unless you absolutely know the seller is reputable), it’s sometimes fun to buy a big lot of unrestored vintage fountain pens sold “as-is” or “for parts”. Usually you can get one or two salvageable fountain pens out of these lots, and the rest you can scavenge for spare parts for other restorations or - my favorite - for nibs and Frankenpens! Many vintage pens, even inexpensive ones, featured 14k gold nibs, some of which are compatible with the feeds and sections used today. You will need to experiment, and it will most certainly void your warranty, but this is a great way to add a luxurious gold-nib writing experience to a less expensive modern pen like a Kaweco Sport. As shown in the picture below, I swapped a Mabie-Todd No. 2 gold nib directly into a modern Kaweco Sport nib unit, so now my Olive Kaweco Collection pen has a 14k gold nib.
Don’t Baby Your Pens - Write with Them! As you can probably tell, I am not a traditional vintage pen collector. I purchase pens both to use them and to help me learn more about the history of writing instruments in general. Because I acquire user-grade pens and have a basic knowledge of restoration and repair, I’m much less hesitant to use my vintage writing instruments and carry them with me semi-regularly. (Most don’t handle airplane travel well, however. Fly with them un-inked.)
Learn About Your Pens. My interest in history, antiques, and “old” technology is what led me to the pen hobby in the first place, so it’s a bit ironic (and inexcusable) that I’ve let this part of the hobby slide. One thing I’ve started doing recently is keeping a “pen journal” about pens I’ve acquired - vintage and modern. For the vintage pens, I note the make, model, and approximate date of manufacture, as well was where I acquired it and how it was restored. I’ll also make notes about why I acquired each pen, what I know about its history, and why I found it interesting enough to add to my “collection.” I’m also considering adding photographs, keeping both a digital archive and a printed copy using my Fuji Instax or similar printer.

Vintage Sheaffer Snorkel Dissassembled for Restoration — The Sheaffer Snorkel from the eBay lot shown above, disassembled and ready for restoration. While a Snorkel is a sac-filling pen, it has a more complex - yet fun - filling system that also requires the replacement of a gasket and an o-ring.

The Best Paper for Everyday Writing, Part VI: Legal Pads

October 18, 2023

While I had originally envisioned “The Best Paper for Everyday Writing” as a five-part series, based on reader questions, I thought it made sense to expand it to include a stand-alone article on “Legal Pads”. I’ve placed the term in quotation marks because it’s regularly used to describe several very different types of stationery, ranging from the traditional 8.5” by 14” U.S. “legal-sized” pad of paper to any writing pad that is glue-bound on top and features detachable perforated sheets. I use the broader definition, since in my experience as an attorney fewer and fewer people are using actual legal-sized paper each year, and most of the legal pads I see in everyday practice now feature either letter (8.5” x 11”) or A4 (8.3” x 11.7”) sizing.

The main question I get from readers is very straightforward: What is the best fountain pen friendly legal pad available today? The answer, however, is NOT so obvious, because people prioritize different things. For example, many office workers will churn through a lot of legal pads (think three or four per week), so they look for the least expensive option with acceptable fountain pen performance. I don’t go through as many pads as I used to, so I no longer take this approach myself. Therefore, I’m not up to date on which Amazon or eBay brand of inexpensive legal pad is currently using decent paper - batch performance tends to change from year to year or even month to month. I tend to stick with slightly more expensive paper that delivers consistent performance with fountain pens, rollerballs, and fineliners, and that is how I’ll approach this post.

Clairefontaine Pupitre Lined Legal Pad with Writing Sample — In my mind, a classic “legal pad” has to allow you to easily fold sheets over the top, and feature a backing board sturdy enough to permit notetaking while standing up. In order to write on both sides of the page, you will have to tear the page out (hence, perforations).

My Favorite Fountain Pen Friendly Legal Pads

Clairefontaine “Pupitre” Writing Tablets. My long-time favorite for a legal-style writing pad remains the classic Clairefontaine “Pupitre” series. Available in A4 and A5 sizes, this durable writing pad is both glue and staple-bound across the top, and features a wrap-around cover in addition to a thick chipboard back for maximum durability and ease of use while standing. The combination of paper quality and high-end construction has kept this pad at the top of my list for many years, and I can’t recall a time when I didn’t have at least three of these in my office desk.
Rhodia A4 Dot Pads. The reliable Rhodia Pad can be found pretty much anywhere these days, including in big-box art supply and craft stores, so they get extra points for availability when you may not have a brick-and-mortar pen store nearby and need quality paper quickly. Also, when I’m looking for dot grid paper, which can easily be turned sideways to use in a “landscape” orientation, Rhodia is my go-to. Of course, Rhodia pads are available in other rulings and a wide range of sizes. I place them at No. 2 on this list, essentially tied with Maruman Mnemosyne, for the same reasons discussed below.
Maruman Mnemosyne A4 Pads. Basically, Maruman Mnemosyne pads tie with Rhodia after Clairefontaine in my book, with Clairefontaine given the edge due to the slightly sturdier build. Rhodia edges out Mnemosyne based on availability. That said, Mnemosyne paper is excellent quality, and if you enjoy having a dedicated space for a header at the top of the page, their layout makes it very easy to organize your notes. Maruman also makes a range of portfolios/padholders across a range of price points, including both PVC and vegan leather options.
Write Notepads Memo Pads. Featuring excellent paper and versatile layouts that include a “Meeting” format, these memo pads are sold in packs of two and therefore also offer good value. While the Write Memo Pads have a backing board, they don’t have a cover like the first three pads on this list, so they’re not quite as durable for portable use, but I’ve absolutely used them in a portfolio. Note that these are letter-sized (8.5” x 11”) and not A4.
Plotter A4 Pads. DesignPhil’s proprietary paper is exceptionally fountain pen friendly, but the A4 writing pad itself is (1) tailored toward users of the Plotter system, and (2) suffers from durability issues that will keep most people from using this as an everyday legal pad. You can use the Plotter A4 pads in either traditional “portrait” or “landscape” mode (i.e., horizontally or vertically), and the paper comes hole-punched for an A5 Plotter binder along the top edge. Because A5 is exactly half the size of A4, you can simply fold the sheet in half (or do a tri-fold) to carry with you in your binder. As a fairly heavy Plotter user, I’ve been experimenting with one of these pads in my A4 Roterfaden, and the primary drawback is that the pad doesn’t have a sturdy backing board or binding and falls apart fairly easily. This product appears to be designed primarily with desk use in mind, where you tear the sheets out one by one as you use them.

Honorable Mention: Midori MD and MD Cotton Writing Pads

Intended more as a desk pad than a traditional legal pad, the Midori MD and MD Cotton pads are glue bound on two sides (crosswise and lengthwise), which ensures the paper lies flat and prevents “curling” of pages as you get to the end of a pad. I include these as honorable mention because, while you can’t use them easily in a portfolio or padholder without breaking the binding, they are excellent pads of paper and can absolutely be used to take legal pad-style notes as necessary.