Year-End Review, Part IV: Series and Editorials

As the years have gone on (The Gentleman Stationer will celebrate 10 years in April 2024), content has shifted somewhat from pure reviews to more of a 50/50 balance between specific product reviews and more “big picture” content that offers an overview of general product categories and how more specific products fit into the overall scheme of what’s available. To that end, TGS content in 2023 was heavily influenced by reader questions, as I aimed to be more responsive to what I perceived as the needs of the readership. Did this result in a more “scattered” range of content without a central theme? Possibly, but I also found unresolved loose-ends in some of the longer-running series, as well as gaps in coverage of certain product categories that needed to be filled.

TGS Responds! Your Questions Answered

Even if I can’t respond to all of the e-mails, direct messages, and snail mail correspondence, I do read every one, and I try to maintain a master list of questions that inspires future content. If the same question resurfaces frequently enough, I’ll answer it directly. Here are some of the questions I answered in 2023:

• #21PenQuestions from The Gentleman Stationer (My responses to this year’s internet trend)

• #5MorePenQuestions: What I Really Wanted to Answer (My own attempt to add a bit more depth to the analysis)

• Questions from the T.G.S. Mailbag (Frequently Asked Questions to which I wanted to respond directly)

• How to Get the Best Writing Experience with Shimmer Inks

• Fountain Pen Basics: 5 Best Practices for Fountain Pen Users

• Five Things You Can Do To Introduce New Users to Nice Pens

• Pen Problems: Do You Feel Compelled to Match Pens and Inks?

• My Personal Approach to Vintage Fountain Pens

• How Do You Curate Your Shop? (If you’re interested in my decision to open a companion shop, and the “philosophy” that guides my stocking decisions, I’d encourage you to read this post.)

View fullsize

Updates to Established Series (i.e., Workhorse Pens, Fountain Pen Friendly Paper, etc.)

You can find links to the full range of series content in the “Resources” section, but here I’ll recap some new additions from 2023.

• The Gentleman Stationer’s Favorite Fountain Pen Inks Inaugural Edition (2023) (People have been asking me to do a “favorite inks” list for years, and this was fun so I’ll likely update it.)

• The Best Paper for Everyday Writing, Part VI: Legal Pads (I’m a lawyer. How did I go nearly ten years without ranking legal pads?)

• Workhorse Pens: Considerations and Pitfalls of High-Capacity Pocket Fountain Pens

• Pocket Fountain Pens, Part II: Further Reflections on Pocket Carry

• Personal Workflow: It’s More Than Novelty - Different Paper Rulings for Different Purposes

Updated Review Archive, Best Pens, and 2023 Holiday Gift Guide

I’ve (mostly) kept up with the T.G.S. Fountain Pen Review Archive in real time, adding new pens to the archive as I review them. Every spring I also update the “Best Pens List”, and in the fall, I launch the Holiday Gift Guide! These remain live throughout the year as I feel they provide good general references for those seeking guidance in their pen purchasing decisions.

View fullsize

I attended the Dallas Pen Show for the first time this year, and spent a LOT of time perusing available vintage pens.

Pen Show Recaps and Travel Posts

2023 was a year of travel, and while I hopefully don’t have to hit the road quite as much in 2024, that’s likely an unrealistic expectation as there are so many places I want to visit, both to expand my own horizons and interact with the readership. As I travel, I generally post recaps of my trips, including pen shows and trade shows (there’s a difference!), as well as the occasional vacation post to share my stationery travel gear of choice.

• 2023 Bag Dump: What Do I Carry to Work

• 2023 Bag Dump, Part II: Travel Edition and Pen Show Packing

• Adventures in Pen Travel and Pens for Vacation

• Travel Kit: National Stationery Show Edition

• 2023 Dallas Pen Show Recap

• 2023 San Francisco Pen Show Recap

• 2023 DC Pen Show Recap

• 2023 Atlanta Pen Show Recap

• 2023 Arkansas Pen Show Recap

• 2023 Baltimore Pen Show Recap

• A Trade Show vs a Pen Show: My Trip to NY Now and Shoppe Object

View fullsize

Inkvent was fun but I’m feeling ready to conclude for the year!

Expanded Patreon/YouTube Content and the 2023 Inkvent Calendar

The YouTube Channel has been reactivated! During the second half of 2023, I’ve made an effort to supplement the written content on the site with (1) additional video content to showcase more aspects of the pens I review here; and (2) offer some additional perspective on items I’m using week-to-week. Finally, I put together a nearly complete - three more days to go - overview of the 2023 Diamine Inkvent Calendar, which you can follow on this YouTube Playlist.

Our Patreon program has turned into a pen club of sorts, which offers access to monthly meetups on Saturday night via Zoom, as well as additional content and early access/preferred pricing on T.G.S. Curated Shop exclusive releases. I have a lot planned for 2024, so if this interests you please consider joining. (If you join for a year in advance, I believe Patreon offers a discount on the yearly pledge.)

Each year in December I recap the prior year, including favorite acquisitions (Part I), favorite products I reviewed (Part II), and top sellers from the T.G.S. Curated Shop (Part III). Stay tuned throughout the next two weeks for additional recap content.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Year-End Review, Part II: Five Favorite Products Reviewed in 2023

As with my favorite acquisitions, my favorite reviews from 2023 leaned heavily towards small-batch and independent makers, and also reflected my efforts to branch out a bit and explore different aspects of the stationery world beyond the “workhorse” or “daily driver” pens, ink, and paper that have formed the core of my review content in the past. While people may be tired of hearing about the Schon DSGN Monoc :), there’s no denying that it’s one of the more influential and talked-about pens to have been released (and expanded upon) over the past year. Moreover, Toyooka Craft has cultivated a significant presence at U.S. pen shows, bringing their expansive range of accessories for attendees to peruse in person (and in my case, take home). I’ll talk a bit more later this month about my intentions for 2024 and how I plan to approach content in the New Year!

1. Schon DSGN Full-Sized Fountain Pen and Monoc Nib First Impressions. The Monoc nib, developed entirely in-house by Ian Schon and his team, might be the most talked about piece of stationery in 2023 (at least in the fountain pen world). I’ve enjoyed writing with my Monoc(s) throughout the past year and exploring the intricacies of this unique nib and feed system. I know it was linked in my “Five Favorites” installment from Saturday, but the follow-on review of the fine-nib Monoc fountain pen can be found here.

2. Pen Trays and Accessories: Toyooka Craft and the Beauty of Simplicity. I didn’t acquire that many pens in 2023. Instead, I focused on accessories and those things which enhance my enjoyment of the pens I already own. As items I interact with every day, my Toyooka Craft pen trays easily make the list of favorite discoveries, and I look forward to reviewing additional Toyooka Craft products in 2024.

3. The Cortex Brand Sidekick Notepad: Hype or Innovation? A Bit of Both. The Cortex Brand Sidekick Notepad straddles the online stationery and digital productivity communities, and it’s been interesting to see this product take off in popularity. I’ve enjoyed using mine - it’s a very well-thought-out product and I’m excited to review Cortex Brand’s expanded lineup as they’ve recently announced a new calendar version of the Sidekick that’s currently available.

4. TWSBI Precision Ballpoints and Mechanical Pencils. In addition to reviewing new products, I delved into the “new to me” category. The TWSBI Precision lineup of ballpoint pens and mechanical pencils has been around for years, but for whatever reason I stuck to TWSBI’s fountain pens. That’s a shame, because the Precision line is an excellent take on technical pens and pencils. I even added the Precision fountain pen, which shares the name but sports a slightly different design, and I plan to write about that in the future.

5. The Good Blue R615 “Titanium Blue” Vanness Exclusive Edition Fountain Pen. While people have had mixed results with the Good Blue pens, I’ve enjoyed using both their flex and “Zoom!” nibs. This review was more about breaking out of my own comfort zone than it was about the pen itself - I’ve traditionally shied away from flex nibs as “impractical”, but lately I’ve incorporated them into regular use. They’ve allowed me to enjoy different types of ink, and have also encouraged me to slow down and focus on improving my cursive handwriting.

View fullsize

Each year in December I recap the prior year, including favorite acquisitions, favorite products I reviewed, and more. Stay tuned throughout the next two weeks for additional recap content.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Year-End Review, Part I: Five Favorite Acquisitions of 2023

Every year towards the end of December I take some time to reflect on some of my favorite content from the previous year, as well as on favorite new acquisitions. Today I’ll start out by mentioning five of my favorite pick-ups from 2023, which includes four pens and one paper product/organizer. These are in no particular order - I review and acquire a fair bit of stuff throughout the year, all of it different, so it’s nearly impossible to do a fair ranking beyond a “Top 5”. Enjoy!

1. Schon DSGN Monoc (Fine Nib). One of two big purchases from this year’s San Francisco Pen Show, the fine-tip Monoc features an architect-like grind on the reverse side, making it an extremely versatile writer (in addition to being a stunning visual piece, especially with the anodization).

2. Kyuseido Kakari Fountain Pen. Kyuseido’s take on the syringe filler, designed in partnership with Ben Walsh at Gravitas Pens, has been perpetually inked since San Francisco. Yes, San Francisco was an expensive show for me. And yes, I have a review of the Kakari in the works. It’s a somewhat complex review to write of a very specialized pen, but if you love highly engineered filling systems you will enjoy this one.

3. Montblanc 149, Studio Bokumondoh Edition. Earlier this summer I sent my plain black Montblanc 149 to Tokyo for an urushi treatment at Studio Bokumondoh, and received it back around two weeks after returning from San Francisco. (Did I mention August/September hurt my bank account?) I will likewise plan to write up this one in the coming year, with more details on the design, etc. The link is to my original review of the 149.

4. Kaweco Art Sport in “Terrazzo” Acrylic. I was thrilled to see this year’s Art Sport fountain pen released with the same integrated clip from the older (and now discontinued) “Sport Luxe” collection. While I enjoy all four colors, The Terrazzo and Hickory Brown spoke to me the most, and I added these two to my personal collection alongside my original Navy Blue Art Sport from several years ago.

5. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter A4 Portfolio. I’ve had an A5-sized Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter for years, but I’ve always wanted a larger portfolio that can hold both an A4 or letter-sized pad as well as an A4 notebook. This has been an excellent solution. While we are mostly sold out of the larger Taschenbegleiters at the moment, we plan to bring them back and restock around the end of the month.

View fullsize

Stay tuned for more Year-in-Review content! I’ll be doing favorite my 5 favorite reviews from 2023 next week.

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

TGS Responds: How To Get the Best Writing Experience with Shimmer Inks

Maybe because it’s Inkvent Season, but over the past several weeks I’ve received a few different e-mails asking a version of the same question:

I love shimmer inks, and want to use them in my fountain pens, but I’ve been experiencing lots of hard starts and instances where the ink clogs the nib. Is there any way to prevent this and have a better writing experience?

First, I have to admit that I’m not a shimmer ink aficionado, though I have reviewed them and tested them out a bit over the years. They are NOT, however, part of my regular writing rotation, so my experience is more limited than many. That said, I believe I’ve used them enough to offer some advice here.

View fullsize

A dark burgundy ink with red/gold shimmer? Diamine Bah Humbug (Inkvent Day 12) might be my favorite so far!

1. Accept that some flow issues are inevitable. You’re using an ink with large particles suspended in the ink, so eventually, you will probably experience some instances of clogging and skipping when using these inks, especially if the pen is left unused for longer than a week or so. While there are steps you can take to minimize problems, which I’ll address below, shimmer inks are never going to behave exactly the same as standard writing inks. That said, newer shimmer inks flow much better - and generally dry faster with less smearing - than the first batch of inks released several years ago. The “ink technology” has gotten a lot better and each new shimmer ink release that I’ve tried has written better than the last, with fewer issues.

2. Clean/flush your pen regularly. While you can leave most standard inks in a pen for months without serious problems, the inevitable evaporation will make a shimmer ink thicker and cause more frequent issues. As liquid evaporates in the pen, the shimmer particles make up a larger proportion of the ink, creating a thicker consistency that doesn’t flow as well. Also, any ink that dries up in the feed will leave shimmer residue behind, causing clogs. If you ink up a pen with a shimmer ink, I recommend writing that pen dry within a week or two, and cleaning it out as soon as you begin experiencing any issues with ink flow.

3. Relatedly, use pens that are easy to clean. Cartridge-converter pens, Japanese-style eyedroppers, and piston fillers that can be disassembled are all great options because they allow you access to the internal parts of the pen where you can flush them out with a syringe or run them through an ultrasonic cleaner.

4. Use a broader nib. I’ve always had much better luck with shimmer inks in broader nibs - both round broad nibs and stubs are good options. Not only will you use up the ink faster, but you’ll put more ink on the page which gives you a smoother-feeling writing experience and also allows you to enjoy the shimmer effect since the shimmer tends to pool in the broader lines. My go-to shimmer ink pen is any sort of TWSBI with a broad nib.

5. Use smoother paper with less texture. Smooth, bright white paper not only shows off the color best, but you avoid having paper fibers contribute to any clogging issues, something that can happen with heavily textured paper. I enjoy using Clairefontaine, Write Notepads, and of course Tomoe River papers with shimmer inks.

View fullsize

Believe it or not, most pen companies did not design their pens to accommodate the amount of shimmer many ink manufacturers now offer!

Finally, it goes without saying that writing with shimmer inks is supposed to be pure fun, so don’t take the process too seriously. A fountain pen is a higher-maintenance writing instrument to begin with, which requires some level of attention to things such as pen cleaning and ink/paper combinations. Using specialty inks such as shimmer inks, heavy sheeners, multichromatics, etc. introduces new factors into the equation, so be prepared to experiment to find what works best, and remember that experimentation is part of the fun in this hobby! It’s also important to remember that most pen manufacturers do not make shimmer inks and accordingly, do not design their pens to use these inks. If a specific pen “doesn’t work well with shimmer,” it doesn’t mean that the pen is “defective,” just that the specific design of that pen is incompatible with how you personally want to use it.

Shimmer ink lovers - I want to hear from you! What are your tips for enjoying shimmer inks in fountain pens? Leave a comment or send a message through the contact link!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. If you’re looking for gift ideas, check out our 2023 Holiday Gift Guide!

Checking in at Year-End: My Five Most-Used Non-Pen Stationery Items

I’ve been doing a lot of “checking in and thinning out” lately, with the goal of reducing both physical and mental clutter by keeping tidier workspaces and focusing on having close at hand those specific items that I use the most. The reason for this is twofold: (1) Towards the end of the year, I always take stock and try to figure out what might be eliminated, replaced, or improved; and (2) It’s been a busy holiday season - possibly the busiest I’ve ever had - and I’ve needed whatever edge I can to make it through the past several weeks, even if that’s just a few extra seconds in the morning of not having to sort through a jumble of junk on my desk. For this morning’s post, I asked myself: What are the five stationery items - other than pen/pencil and paper - that I touch every day?

1. My 30-Minute Hourglass. The first thing I interact with after I wake up. Every morning I try to read for 30 minutes and then write in my journal for 30 minutes. Two flips of the hourglass. Later in the day, when I’m doing periods of focused work, I try to maintain 30 uninterrupted minutes of effort between short breaks. While I currently only have one hourglass in rotation, I will likely add another to avoid tempting fate by repeatedly moving the hourglass across the room from my desk to my reading chair over hardwood floors with three (yes, three) dogs underfoot. For more ways on how to use analogue timing devices - of which I’m a big proponent - check out this post.

2. A Cutting Tool. Whether it’s breaking down boxes and packaging, cutting tape, snipping loose threads, or opening mail, a good pair of scissors or a small penknife is essential. Personally, I have four items I use regularly: My Allex fluorine-coated desk scissors that I’ve owned for years and which we now carry in the shop, a pair of discontinued Write Notepads Pocket Scissors, smaller Allex “Mini Scissors” that fit into a stationery pouch, and a pocketknife (rotating brands, depending on whether I’m at a desk or in the warehouse that day).

3. A Bookmark. My accumulation of bookmarks is somewhat embarrassing, second only to pens (and maybe notebooks), but I have a wide range of paper, metal, leather, and even cloth bookmarks that I use regularly, ranging from cheap bookstore and promotional freebies to quality, slightly overengineered metal ones. For some reason I hate dog-earing pages in books. I’d much rather use a bookmark while I’m actively reading, with sticky notes and Book Darts marking those passages I want to flag for long-term reference and/or archiving in my commonplace system.

4. My Classroom Friendly (Carl Angel-5) Pencil Sharpener. When I read, I annotate and take notes in pencil. At home, this relatively inexpensive hand-cranker remains my long-point sharpener of choice. The blades leave as sharp a point as ever, five+ years into its lifespan.

5. Toyooka Craft Pen Trays. I have two Toyooka Craft six-pen trays. One on my personal desk at home, and one at work. Both sit next to my keyboard and hold the pens/pencils that I’m working with at any given time. Typically, this will include 2-3 fountain pens, a ballpoint, a rollerball, and a mechanical pencil. Once I have this rotation set for the day, I don’t go rooting around in my bag or pen case for something “new” and instead just focus on the work at hand.

View fullsize

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that you can’t use “all the things” all of the time - at least not if you want to get anything done during the day because you’re spending all of your time and effort picking out your tools. Set your core workhorse lineup and run with it. Periodically evaluate and make changes. If you like to rotate stuff, do it regularly (or at least semi-regularly, just not on a whim). And if you don’t use something, pass it along!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We don’t just write about and sell pens! Lately we’ve been expanding more into non-pen (but still stationery-related) content and goods. You can read more about our “stationery philosophy” here.