Sunday Reading for January 15, 2023

1. Waterman Expert III Fountain Pen (via Blake’s Broadcast). The Waterman Expert III is an undersung workhorse of a fountain pen, as Blake points out. You can check out my own thoughts on this particular pen here.

2. Early Thoughts on the Otto Hutt Design 06 Fountain Pen (via Fountain Pen Blog). Another excellent workhorse pen that flies under the radar. I agree that Otto Hutt needs more consideration.

3. Ghosts of Planners Past: Chronodex (via Writing at Large). The Chronodex planner is simple yet intricate, but it’s also one of those systems that I’ve tried and failed to use as well.

4. A Dance with the Waldmann Tango Imagination (via Penquisition). Like Otto Hutt, I enjoy the design of Waldmann pens. I worry about the future viability of this brand in the U.S. after the steep recent price increases.

5. PenBBS 469 Double Ended Fountain Pen (via Pen Addict - Jeff). I love my PenBBS 469 and this review is a great reminder to break it out!

6. Journaling: Leuctturm 1917 (via A Fleeting Ripple). Leuchtturm paper seems to have fallen out of favor - or maybe it’s more accurate to say, fallen out of “focus” - in the fountain pen community in recent years. It remains a quality, budget friendly product for those who need functional paper in a workhorse format.

7. Ode to My Art of Analytic Journaling (via mnmlscholar). While my own journaling efforts have been lackluster in recent years, I’ve remained fascinated by the efforts of others and their specific journaling techniques.

8. Medioevalis Writing Pad Review (via Blake’s Broadcast). I’ve never heard of these pads before, but I really like the look of the brand.

9. The Noodler’s L’Ahab Frankenpen (via Left Hook Pens). I’m amazed that this is possible.

10. Ink of the Week - Sailor Rikyu-Cha (via Fountain Pen Love). Rikyu-Cha might make my list of inks of the decade. It’s an excellent, unique color!

In Case You Missed It….

This week on the blog I closed out my 2022 Year-End Review and 2023 Look Forward with a post on my community wishes/intentions for 2023. I also published the latest installment in the “Workhorse Pens” series, a piece on considerations when choosing a high-capacity pocket fountain pen (i.e., a “pocket ink tank”).

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This Week in the Curated Shop

We introduced several new and unique products to the Curated Shop, building out our collection of curated products that are both fun and functional. This week’s additions include the Midori XS Stationery Kits in both black and white, as well as a new line of composition books from Mr. Boddington’s Studio! We’re also restocked on all things TWSBI, including the Rose Gold Pens and the TWSBI Precision Collection.

Mr. Boddington

Gently Used

TWSBI Rose Gold

TWSBI Precision

A T.G.S. Patreon Ask

This year, I’m trying to be more visible and intentional with T.G.S. Patreon and how the support/membership program will expand in 2023 to include not only access to meetups and early gently used sales, but more exclusive content, including the potential return of Digital Divide. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. In addition to purchases from The Curated Shop, Patreon allows us to continue to grow the site without relying on advertisements and affiliate marketing. If you’re interested in meetups and exclusive content, or simply supporting the site, we greatly appreciate your support!

Sunday Reading for January 8, 2023: A Long One

1. 2022 Penwrapped (via Leigh Reyes). If Leigh has a post up, of course it’s going to headline. You should sign up for next year’s pen show courses right now.

2. My 2023 Theme: Release (via From the Pen Cup). Love the theme, Mary!

3. 2022 Pen Show Recap & What’s Next for 2023 (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). Not a lot to disagree with here! I hope Kimberly keeps up with her show rating system this year.

4. Pen Resolutions Tag 2023 (via Rachel’s Reflections). Resolution for 2023: Read Rachel’s blog more regularly, because I always discover new makers in her articles.

5. Putting Pen to Paper (via Fountain Pen Love). Welcome back John! It’s always fun to see how people have been using their pens over the past year.

6. Pen Review: Schon Full Sized Peek-A-Boo Pen (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist). Peek attracts strong opinions - people either love the taupe/beige appearance or find it boring. I own two Peek pens, so you know where I fall.

7. Wancher Sekai Tsugaru Urushi Midori-Age (via Rants of the Archer). I have one of these pens as well, and have been holding it back for review because I was told they weren’t yet available. I guess that’s changed!

8. Hack Idea: A Traveling Dip Pen (via Well-Appointed Desk). A portable dip pen has become a must-have addition to my pen show travel kit.

9. Pilot 78G Fountain Pen (via Blake’s Broadcast). I owned a Pilot 78G years ago, and found it to be a very nice budget fountain pen, especially with the available broad stub.

10. Ink of the Week (via Fountain Pen Love). People attempt all sorts of systems and techniques to make sure all of their various pens and inks get used. I love reading these posts and coming up with my own “system experiments.”

11. The New Year Diary, 2023 (via Fountain Pen Blog). Could Moleskine be moving to more fountain pen friendly paper in certain of their releases?

12. Diamine Writer’s Blood on Kokuyo Perpanep Zara Zara (via Inkredible Colours). I was more excited by the name of this ink rather than the ultimate appearance. The color, while nice, doesn’t necessarily have that “blood red” tone I’d be looking for but Diamine does have many other options in the same color family.

In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog I continued to talk about some of my 2023 goals and aspirations, including developing a more consistent journaling/writing habit over the coming year. Related to this last post, I published a short shop list of items that I enjoy and/or recommend for journaling. And last but not least, the first review of 2023 is live: Ranga ebonite fountain pens, where I look at both the Abhimanyu and Bamboo models.

Guess what arrived along with our Midori/Traveler’s Restock?

This Week in the Curated Shop

In addition to the Kokuyo Field Notebooks pictured above, we are fully restocked on most Midori and Traveler’s Notebook products, including the Midori MD Codex, Midori Multi-Year Journals, and nearly all of the Traveler’s Notebook Specialty Paper refills and other accessories (with the exception of the B-Sides and Rarities, which continue to be in short supply and on backorder). Before the end of the year, we also received a restock of the TWSBI Precision line of technical ballpoints and mechanical pencils, which have impressed me with their solid build and design. Look for a review of these in the future, and stay tuned for new 2023 arrivals! Finally, several new items hit the T.G.S. “Gently Used” sale page. These can be combined with Curated Shop orders to reach the free shipping threshold of $75.

TWSBI

Midori

Pencils

Gently Used

A T.G.S. Patreon Ask

In a special post from earlier in the week, I talked about T.G.S. Patreon and how the support/membership program will expand in 2023 to include not only access to meetups and early gently used sales, but more exclusive content, including the potential return of Digital Divide. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. In addition to purchases from The Curated Shop, Patreon allows us to continue to grow the site without relying on advertisements and affiliate marketing.

Sunday Reading for January 1, 2022: Happy New Year Edition!

1. No-Buy December: Year in Review (via A Fleeting Ripple). Today’s post will be year-end recap-heavy, I’m going for a modified no-buy 2023, limiting purchases to certain circumstances.

2. Thoughts Heading into 2023 (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). I agree with Kimberly that this year definitely felt like a whirlwind. We share many overlapping goals for 2023.

3. New Year’s Resolutions 2023 (via Well-Appointed Desk). “Use more of what I have” and “record more of my daily life” resonate with me.

4. My Favorite Five Pen and Ink Combinations from 2022 (via mnmlscholar). Here’s a shout-out to mid-toned grey inks!

5. Year in Review - 2022 Pens and 2022 Top Tens (via Rachel’s Reflections). There are some gorgeous pens featured here in the top ten, including several from companies with which I was not familiar.

6. Greatest of All Time (GOAT) 2022 Fountain Pens (via SBRE Brown). I’m sure many of you have been waiting for this one!

7. 2022: Some of My Fountain Pen Highlights (via Fountain Pen Blog). I love seeing what others picked up, and the directions they are taking with their collections as they evolve.

8. My Fountain Pen Drawings in 2022 (via Inkredible Colours). Speaking of what people do with their pens, this is incredible!

9. My Journey on the Path of Writing Instrument Enlightenment (via KraftyCats). Congratulations to Chloé on the profile in the PCA Pennant magazine!

10. Parker Vacumatic Shadow Wave and How I Look at Vintage Pens (via Writing at Large). This article captures the charming side of vintage pens. Sure, there are frustrations, and they can be high-maintenance, but the character of certain models is irreplaceable.

In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog, I finished my 2022 Year-End Review process and started looking forward to 2023, with a post on my personal reflections and goals for the coming year, as well as a post discussing my personal notebook and planner setup to enter the new year.

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This Week in the Curated Shop

Today is the last day for our Year-End/New Year’s Clearance Sale! Take 10% off most items in the shop using the coupon code “LOYAL10.” See this post here for full details on the promotion, and if you’re in the market for a planner/journal (dated or undated) we have you covered! Yesterday we received a massive restock of Lochby products, including the full range of A5 refills for the Field Journal, which features 68gsm Tomoe River paper (at least while it lasts)! We are also fully restocked on the Lochby Field Journals and Lochby Tool Rolls in all colors!

TWSBI

Caran d'Ache

Maruman Mnemosyne

Field Notes

Consider Joining T.G.S. Patreon for 2023!

Yesterday I posted what I consider the first post of the New Year for T.G.S. Patreon: a personal reflection on the current state of my pen collection and how I hope to further refine it in a way that ensures everything gets used - something that’s extremely important to me. This is just a start. One of my personal business-related goals for 2023 is to build out the Patreon program, which currently consists of a core group of my most dedicated supporters, into something that provides more benefits in the way of additional content that differs slightly from what you’ll find on the public blog. To start, I plan to bring back periodic “Digital Divide” content, which I enjoyed writing but for which I previously struggled to find an appropriate platform. Honestly, upon perusing the Digital Divide archive, several of the articles are dated and need to be refreshed, which gives me an excellent starting point. Patreon support levels begin at $3 and $5 per month, priced to allow as many people as possible to enjoy the community while providing me with adequate financial support for the site. A 10% discount applies to annual pledges. In addition to the exclusive content, Patrons receive early access to periodic gently used sales and access to monthly meetups.

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Finally, please note that I appreciate all of my readers, customers, and supporters, regardless of whether you decide to become Patreon members. There will be no change to the frequency or nature of the main T.G.S. content. Patreon’s just intended to be an extra. Best wishes for 2023!

Sunday Reading for December 25, 2022: Christmas Day Deep Freeze Edition

1. My 2022 Brand Discoveries (via Rachel’s Reflections). I was going to take a pass on Sunday Reading for today, but I was catching up on my own blog reading this morning, especially year-end reviews like this one, and figured I would go ahead and do a post. Rachel discovered some excellent indie brands this year.

2. My mnml inkvent challenge returns, week one (via mnmlscholar). Now that I have another converted fountain pen user in my household, I’m not going to get out of doing the inkvent calendar next year, and probably some sort of challenge like this one.

3. Vinta Holiday 2021 Inks (via Mountain of Ink). Vinta’s holiday inks from last year are still available at Vanness! Festive colors that you can use year-round!

4. IWI Color of Nature Cold Dew (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist). I’ve gotten really into grey inks lately, and this cool-toned grey looks interesting.

5. Fountain Pen Review: 2022 Lamy Safari Special Edition Strawberry and Cream (via Rants of the Archer). I still haven’t picked some of these up. I really want to swap the clips and end caps. I may indulge in some Christmas Day end-of-year shopping.

6. Classic Pens LB7 Artist’s Proof Review (via SBRE Brown). I guess there are still LB7s floating around out there, though they don’t seem to turn up much on the secondary.

7. Platinum Curidas Fountain Pen Review (via Pencilcase Blog). I need to revisit the Curidas, especially since Platinum has gotten most of the issues worked out with the feeds.

8. Inkmas Day 10: Dominant Industry for Wonder Pens (Tuna Grey and Ginger Chicken) (via Well-Appointed Desk). Shop cat themed inks from Wonder Pens and Dominant Industry! I’ve been using a lot of Dominant Industry inks lately, so look for reviews!

9. Inkmas Day 12: Vanness Inc. Sweet Tater Pie (via Well-Appointed Desk). In case you might have missed it, Vanness has launched their own in-house ink line!

10. Pelikan’s Pint-Sized Cap Top: The Long and Short of It! (via Pelikan’s Perch). Vintage Pelikans are growing on me more and more, especially the long-cap M101n model.

In Case You Missed It…

The past week on the blog has featured the annual Year-End Review series in which I recap posts from 2022 and make my year-end observations. This coming week, we’ll be talking about resolutions/intentions for 2023!

• Five Up, Five Down in the Personal Collection. I take a look at five items in my personal collection that I used more than expected, and five items that I used less. This project was pretty fun, especially in revealing that I wasn’t using certain pens I very much enjoy and need to get back in rotation.

• Part II: Favorite Products Reviewed in 2022. An annual tradition in which I look back at my five favorite products that I reviewed over the course of the past year.

• Part III: Top Sellers from the T.G.S. Curated Shop. Another tradition from the past couple of years (since I started the shop), I look at ten best selling products by volume. Any orders placed over the weekend will ship promptly after Christmas.

• Part IV: Series and Editorials. A resolution of mine from last year was to write more “editorial” style content, and I think I succeeded! This includes more posts in response to reader questions, as well as a series on Notebook Systems, Specialty Nib Grinds, and “System Techo”.

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This Week in the Curated Shop: New TWSBI Holiday Drops, and a Year-End Promotion Using the Coupon Code “LOYAL10”

While it was a bit too late to ship in time for Christmas, TWSBI is dropping a Jade Green and Rose Gold ECO-T set, which comes packaged with an 18ml bottle of midnight blue TWSBI ink. We also have more of the Caran d’Ache “Colour Treasure” Collection, which I believe will be going away after the holidays, so if you want your Jumbo Pencils sets, act now!

Finally, as a special year-end bonus, take 10% off all eligible items in the shop through 11:59pm Central Time on January 1, 2023. It’s time to clear out some back stock to make room for a bunch of new goods I plan to bring in, so enjoy this opportunity for loyal readers and customers! Use the coupon code “LOYAL10” at checkout. (Excludes TWSBI, Lochby, and Good Made Better.)

TWSBI

Midori

Caran d'Ache

Maruman Mnemosyne

Consider T.G.S. Patreon!

For those who want to support T.G.S. without necessarily adding to their accumulation via shop purchases, the Patreon Program offers two options for tiers of support: $3 and $5 (with a discounted annual option) and plan on making monthly meetups, pen show events, and periodic exclusive content the primary benefits. Of course, Patreon members will continue to get first access to periodic sample sales, with right of first refusal on gently used pens. (Reminder that those items which made it through Patreon become available to the general readership.) Many thanks to all of you who already decided to back via Patreon. Your support means the world to me!

Sunday Reading for December 18, 2022

1. Thinking Backwards to Plan Forwards (via mnmlscholar). Alas, I have begun the process of setting up my own planner/notebook/journal system for 2023.

2. My Techo Kaigi for 2023 (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). I’ve never heard of the concept of a “Techo Kaigi”, or a process where you reflect on your planner(s) and journal(s). and whether it/they are working for you.

3. Montblanc x Fritz Schimpf Special Edition Italic Edge Fountain Pen (via Blake’s Broadcast). Montblanc’s bespoke nib program apparently allows you to customize a nib to your preference, and German retailer Fritz Schimpf created this crazy customization.

4. Flying: Opus 88 Minty (via a fleeting ripple). Finally! Someone who apparently loves the Minty as much as I do. Happy to have enabled!

5. Ridiculous Pens (via Rachel’s Reflections). This was a fun post in which Rachel looks at several pens with (overly?) intricate design elements.

6. BlueDew Writer Lapis (via Rants of the Archer). I’ve heard a lot about BlueDew fountain pens, particularly their flex pens. They offer standard nibs as well.

7. Ensso PIUMA Primary Manipulation Fountain Pen (via SBRE Brown). Apparently even Ensso is getting into the Primary Manipulation game?

8. Unlined Smythson Notebook (via Notebook Stories). Smythson notebooks went on sale in November, and I considered springing for a (still expensive) review sample, but I deferred because I couldn’t find a reliable review testing the paper with fountain pens. Now we have one!

9. Inkmas Day 7: Colorverse Chi-Town (via Well-Appointed Desk). I agree that this is sort of an odd color for a Chicago theme, but the ink looks interesting!

10. End of 2022 - A Bit of a Wrap Up (via Gourmet Pens). I love year-end wrap-ups and reflections from others in the pen world.

In Case You Missed It….

This week on the blog, I started the 2022 Year-End Review Process, with the first posts in this series. Part I was “Five Up, Five Down in the Personal Collection,” and Part II was “Favorite Products Reviewed in 2022”. I plan to keep the multi-part format that I started last year.

This Week in the Curated Shop

PSA: This weekend I’m shipping out all orders placed through today, and starting tomorrow (and definitely by Tuesday), Christmas delivery is MUCH less likely given the rush of packages that will be going out this week around the U.S. So get those gift orders in ASAP!

So what’s new in the shop? Lots of stuff continues to arrive. We’ve built our our offering of Maruman Mnemosyne products, with literally all the sizes of notebooks and notepads that we can get our hands on, in spiral and bound formats. The Mnemosyne line is exceptionally good fountain pen friendly paper that won’t break the bank, and best of all, the spiral bound notebooks are perforated. Also, now is an excellent time to pick up your planner for 2023. We have Traveler’s Notebook Planner Refills, as well as all sorts of undated planner options and the Midori Multi-Year Diaries!

Maruman Mnemosyne

Caran d'Ache

TWSBI

Reading Accessories

Consider T.G.S. Patreon!

For those who want to support T.G.S. without necessarily adding to their accumulation via shop purchases, the Patreon Program offers two options for tiers of support: $3 and $5 (with a discounted annual option) and plan on making monthly meetups, pen show events, and periodic exclusive content the primary benefits. Of course, Patreon members will continue to get first access to periodic sample sales, with right of first refusal on gently used pens. (Reminder that those items which made it through Patreon become available to the general readership.) Many thanks to all of you who already decided to back via Patreon. Your support means the world to me!