Sunday Reading for December 10, 2023

1. Grail Feeling: Aurora Internazionale Orange (via A Gathering of Curiosities). I find myself wishing I had picked up an Internazionale in blue, when they were available!

2. Interview with Daisy from Yoseka Stationery (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). I love reading interviews with other shop owners!

3. Diamine Inkvent 2023 Days 1-5 (via Mountain of Ink). It certainly is that time of year again! I love reading everyone else’s impressions of the various inks.

4. Diamine Inkvent 2023, Day 9 (via Cheryl Lindo Jones). Day 9 (“Moonbeam”) might be my favorite “Inkvent” ink thus far.

5. Montblanc Writer’s Edition Agatha Christie Fountain Pen Review (via SBRE Brown). Reviews of this pen are few and far between, so when I see one, I will post it!

6. Cartier Diablo (via Dapprman). I have a Cartier nib from the late 1980s/early 1990s on a custom pen in my collection, and I enjoy it very much. I’m not sure the original Cartier bodies are to my taste.

7. Dip Pen Handles (via Goodwriterspens). Many people collect dip pen holders/handles, in their various formats. In addition to vintage options, I’m starting to see more custom turned versions as well.

8. Sakura Retrico Ballpoint (via Left Hook Pens). This is cool to see. I love ballpoint pens more of a technical, mechanical pencil format.

9. On Planners: The End… and the Beginning (via Well-Appointed Desk). It’s that time of year again, when we all finish our current planners and/or journals and start new ones!

10. Faber-Castell Electric Pink (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist). Faber-Castell makes a very nice series of often-overlooked inks, and this vibrant pink is one of the more legible (usable) pinks on the market, IMHO.

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What’s one thing I pretty much use every day? Bookmarks.

In Case You MIssed It…

I took a crack at Part II of my “TGS Responds” Series, answering questions from my mailbag about how I curate items in the shop! I’ve enjoyed writing these posts and may continue once a week or so through the month of December. I also wrote the first of a few contemplated year-end “check-in” posts in which I talk about five of my most-used non-pen stationery items.

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TWSBI ECO Creme + Rose Gold pens are now available!

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

This past week saw a restock of most Hightide and Penco products, including Sandglasses and Penco Perfection Bullet Pencils! We also have some remaining stock of the new Kaweco Art Sports in all but one material (Hickory Brown is now sold out, unfortunately). Finally, TWSBI ECO Creme + Rose Gold Fountain Pens will begin shipping out tomorrow. Don’t forget to check out the 2023 T.G.S. Holiday Gift Guide, and remember that in order to give yourself the best chance of receiving items by December 25, please try to place your orders by December 15. While we will be shipping up until December 23 before taking a short break, the sooner you get orders in the better.

Penco

TWSBI

MT Tapes

Traveler's Company

Check Out TGS Patreon for Free This Week - including Inkvent Content!

If you enjoy our content (whether here on the main website, Instagram, YouTube Channel or elsewhere), there are several ways that you can support us. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop, especially during the upcoming holiday season! If you enjoy in-person and virtual meetups and having access to more personal content, consider joining the T.G.S. Patreon, which also includes early access to quarterly gently used sales. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. This month, Patreon supporters have access to additional Inkvent content, including commentary on my favorite Diamine Inkvent inks and more. The first of these Inkvent posts is public, so please check out Patreon to learn more!

No matter how you support us - even if just with a comment, recommendation, or encouraging word - we greatly appreciate your readership!

Sunday Reading for December 3, 2023

1. The Gathering and the Menagerie (via A Gathering of Curiosities). R.B.’s posts on collecting are among the most interesting I’ve read this year, and certainly have me thinking about how I curate my own collection(s) to pare stuff back and focus on what’s meaningful.

2. Pens of the Tough Love Variety (via mnmlscholar). Some pens are just built to take the rigors of daily carry. Like the Kaweco Sport.

3. Diamine Inkvent 2023: Spoiler Free Introduction (via Writing at Large). Many of us are posting our daily Inkvent finds as we go. Just be sure to open your own Inkvent Calendar before checking your feeds!

4. A Sturdy Pen (Not Fountain) (via Pen Picture). Tombow’s pressurized pen (think Fisher Space Pen equivalent) was popular a while back, but I’ve not heard of it for a while.

5. 3D-Printed Diamine Inkvent Tree, Version 2.0 (via Cheryl Lindo-Jones). This needs to be a generally available product. Seriously.

6. Bringing Less Stationery? (via Stationery Pizza). This x 1000. I’ve not inked up many new pens in a while, as I focus on reducing my daily carry to a manageable level.

7. Early Thoughts on the Hongdian N23 Year of the Rabbit Fountain Pen (via Fountain Pen Blog). Hongdian is one of those companies people keep mentioning that makes inexpensive, Amazon-accessible pens with fairly decent quality specialty nibs. I’ll have to check one out eventually.

8. Ink Review #788: Vanness Fountain Pen Day (2022). Each year, our friends at Vanness release an official Fountain Pen Day Ink to match that year’s color theme. There are several inks now. Anyone have them all?

9. Nahvalur (Narwhal) Does Nashville (via Penquisition). Being an actual Nashville Native - one of five remaining in the city, don’t get me started - I have strong feelings on this pen, which I won’t get into in this short post, but I’m pleasantly surprised to see that they did make an effort to tie the colors chosen to Nashville. I do have to admit that I’m disappointed to see that the artist they chose to help design the pen is from and lives in Oklahoma.

10. Opus 88 Demonstrator Sapphire Fountain Pen (via Pen Addict - Sarah). It’s interesting to see that Opus 88 is doing more with their larger “ink tank” eyedropper line, in materials other than transparent.

In Case You Missed It….

For the past few weeks, I’ve been spending time going through my personal accumulations of pens and ink, selling some off and just generally consolidating. I wrote this short post about what turned out to be the three most “well-worn” items in my current rotation. In the meantime, I’m also participating in Inkvent for the first time ever! You can check out the first couple of days in yesterday’s post, along with details on my plans for documenting the entire Inkvent adventure.

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New Arrivals in the T.G.S. Curated Shop: Kaweco Art Sports!

This week saw the arrival of the latest round of Kaweco Art Sport Fountain Pens. For those of you who haven’t been in the hobby 5+ years, the Art Sport is a higher-end line of Kaweco’s iconic pen, in which Kaweco uses Italian resins to make a turned version of the Sport fountain pen that feels quite different from the original injection-molded version. There are four colors: Hickory Brown, Terrazzo (personal favorite); Pebble Blue, and Mineral White. In recent weeks we have also added an expanded assortment of woodcase pencils (including Camel pencils from Japan), and high-quality Japanese scissors from Allex.

Kaweco

Diamine

Pencils

Allex Scissors

How to Support T.G.S. This Year!

If you enjoy our content (whether here on the main website, Instagram, YouTube Channel or elsewhere), there are several ways that you can support us. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop, especially during the upcoming holiday season! If you enjoy in-person and virtual meetups and having access to more personal content, consider joining the T.G.S. Patreon, which also includes early access to quarterly gently used sales. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. No matter how you support us - even if just with a comment, recommendation, or encouraging word - we greatly appreciate your readership!

Sunday Reading for November 26, 2023: Cyber Week Edition

1. 10 Things I’m Grateful For, the Fountain Pen Edition (via a Gathering of Curiosities). I’m thankful we have posts like this one.

2. Using an A4 Organizer on a Daily Basis (via Philofaxy). Sure, it takes a bit more planning and slightly more complicated logistics to carry every day, but count me a fan of the A4 organizer.

3. 2023 Hannukah Gift Guide (via Penquisition). Looking for Hannukah gifts? Start here! (And check out Evan’s new Benu collaboration!)

4. Plotter Alternatives (via Rachel’s Reflections). Interested in a binder system like Plotter, but don’t want leather, want a slightly thicker binder, etc.? Here’s a comprehensive series.

5. Splitting the Difference (via mnmlscholar). Part of the fun with inks is finding one equally suited for work and fun.

6. Best Sale - FPD v Black Friday v Boxing Day (via Dapprman). This is an interesting post from a UK perspective. Here in the U.S., what I’ve noticed is that many larger retailers are simply running sales for the entire month of November.

7. Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Sketchers (via Writing at Large). This is an interesting new twist on the gift guide, from a different perspective!

8. Cleaning Tips That Will Help Keep Your Fountain Pens Writing Great (via Fountain Pen Love). It’s almost time for the great year-end fountain pen cleanout! I’m slowing the pace at which I’m inking pens, in the hopes of starting fresh on 1/1/24.

9. Reflections on Some Currently Inked Pens (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). The TWSBI Classic is the one TWSBI I’ve never tried, believe it or not….

10. Find Those Black Friday Deals! (via Well-Appointed Desk). Yes, go ahead and get that pen you’ve been eyeing, but remember to support smaller retailers as well.

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Three years’ worth of Camel Pencils from my personal collection

In Case You Missed It….

This week on the blog I reviewed one of my favorite woodcase pencils of all time, the Camel HB Pencil. I also wrote the first post in a contemplated series: “From the T.G.S. Mailbag,” in which I answer three frequently asked questions that I receive from readers.

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

Through tomorrow, take 10% off your orders with the coupon code “GIVETHANKS23” at checkout! There are also markdowns throughout the store, including automatically applied 15% discounts on certain items. You can see the details here, including any exclusions.

We’ve recently added Allex Scissors and Camel Pencils to the shop, which are two of my favorite all-around stationery products. We also have special editions from Caran d’Ache, a Write Notepads restock and more!

Allex Scissors

TWSBI

Book Darts

Anterique

How to Support TGS!

If you enjoy our content (whether here on the main website, Instagram, YouTube Channel or elsewhere), there are several ways that you can support us. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop, especially during the upcoming holiday season! If you enjoy in-person and virtual meetups and having access to more personal content, consider joining the T.G.S. Patreon, which also includes early access to quarterly gently used sales. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. No matter how you support us - even if just with a comment, recommendation, or encouraging word - we greatly appreciate your readership!

Sunday Reading for November 19, 2023: Holiday Ramp-Up Edition

1. Pen Frustration, Pen Magic (via a Gathering of Curiosities). Do you particularities about your pens ever prevent you from simply enjoying them? R.B. reflects on a post from r/fountainpens asking this question.

2. Revisiting Diamine Inkvent 2022 (via Cheryl Lindo Jones). I had grand plans to find a copy of the 2022 Inkvent and take a practice run before starting 2023, but I may have waited too long and might just pick a couple of my favorites from this post.

3. Recap of TIPS 2023 (via Inkredible Colours). Will I get there in 2024? I hope so.

4. It’s a Conference Not a Show - 2023 Chicago Planner Conference (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). I think we need more conferences in the community, distinct from commercially-oriented shows.

5. Mike’s Pen Fun Fountain Pen Review (via Pen Addict). I love reading a review about a pen from a new independent maker!

6. Making Filofax Personal Size Your Everyday Organizer (via Philofaxy). Is the personal size the equivalent of Plotter Bible Size?

7. Ink of the Week: Sailor Amamoyoi (via Fountain Pen Love). To date I’ve not spent much time at all with the Sailor multi-shaders or multichromatic inks. That needs to change as I’ve seen so many of these at pen club and shows, and they’re generally becoming so popular, that I need to familiarize myself with at least a few.

8. Robert Oster 7th Anniversary Inks (via Mountain of Ink). Has it really been 7 years of Robert Oster Inks? I’ve not seen these colors before (but then again it’s hard to keep up).

9. Early Thoughts on the Tibaldi Infrangible Black Gold Fountain Pen (via Fountain Pen Blog). Ebonite feed on a reasonably priced pen. Enough said.

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In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog I reviewed the TWSBI Kai limited edition fountain pen, which is a special TWSBI piston filler model that they only release periodically, every few years. Yesterday, we also released the 2023 TGS Holiday Gift Guide, which has been updated to reflect some new arrivals this year and to reflect some new gift ideas for this year’s holiday season.

The T.G.S. YouTube Channel has also been more active! In addition to releasing a new “Currently Inked” video, which I’ll try to do more often, I’ve published video review supplements on both the Santini Italia Libra and Sailor 1911L Kyomachi Legend Blue fountain pens.

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We once again have Book Darts!

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

While the 2023 Holiday Gift Guide will highlight many recent shop arrivals (which were selected with the holidays in mind), you can read about our Anterique restock/expansion here, which is the big news from this week - the “High-lighters” are really cool and interesting looking. We also have T.G.S. Book Darts once again in stock and ready to ship, as well as a full shipment of Write Notepads Memo Pads and Classic Hardcover Notebooks!

TWSBI

Lamy

Anterique

Highlighters

How to Support TGS!

If you enjoy our content (whether here on the main website, Instagram, YouTube Channel or elsewhere), there are several ways that you can support us. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop, especially during the upcoming holiday season! If you enjoy in-person and virtual meetups and having access to more personal content, consider joining the T.G.S. Patreon, which also includes early access to quarterly gently used sales. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. No matter how you support us - even if just with a comment, recommendation, or encouraging word - we greatly appreciate your readership!

Sunday Reading for November 12, 2023

1. How Pens Leave and Enter the Gathering (via A Gathering of Curiosities). How do you manage the number of pens in your collection, if at all? Do you adopt a “one-in, one-out?” philosophy? How do you choose which pens stay and which pens go?

2. Fountain Pen Day 2023: An Interview with Mr. FPD (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). I’ve been in the hobby long enough to recall when Fountain Pen Day first started. I enjoyed reading this interview with my friend Cary Yeager, who started the whole thing!

3. Fountain Pen Day Project: Starting My Ink Swatch Library (via Cheryl Lindo Jones). Another Fountain Pen Day has come and gone. Did you have any special pen-related projects that you tackled last week?

4. Tokyo Pen Show Haul (via Inky Rocks). Ok, so I’ve been watching TIPS videos for the past week and have now decided that I’m going to do anything and everything in my power to get there next year.

5. Pen Upgrade: Pilot 912 with Custom Nib Studio Spencerian Nib (and Flexible Nib Factory Feed) (via Well-Appointed Desk). If you are looking for a soft flexible nib and are willing to invest in customization, I cannot recommend Gena enough for this grind.

6. This Is All of It (via Line Variation). I really do need to photograph my own collection, even if just for informational/inventory purposes.

7. Summoning All of the Grinds. Well, Five of Them (via mnmlscholar). There are many ways to choose a “currently inked rotation.” Some people go by color, others by size and shape, and as here, a nice selection of different nib grinds.

8. Monteverde Jungle Chameleon (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist). Whoa, this very dark purple really jumped out at me!

9. Flushing New Fountain Pens (via Dapprman). This post points out an important thing to remember with any new pen - if you have flow or skipping issues with a new arrival, be sure to rinse it out and re-ink first because the problem could simply be manufacturing residue or dried ink from quality control testing.

10. Ink of the Week: Scribo Grigio (via Fountain Pen Love). Or, as I like to describe it, “Best Ink of All Time?” Seriously, it may come to that, as I have three pens inked with it right now.

11. Pelikan M200 Pastel Blue (via Mountain of Ink). A nice review with photos of the latest Pelikan M200 release, which is a pastel blue color paired with ivory. I tend to prefer Pelikan’s transparent demonstrators in this line but variety is good!

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In Case You Missed It….

This week on the blog I reviewed a pen that I picked up at this year’s Dallas Pen Show: a Nagasawa Stationery exclusive 1911L dubbed the Kobe Affection Kyomachi Legend Blue! I also wrote a piece outlining my plans for the remainder of 2023 and 2024 in terms of my notebook and planner setup, as well as some additional insight into how I manage my workflow using analog tools.

Finally, be sure to keep an eye on the T.G.S. YouTube Channel! Yesterday I hit publish on a companion video to my recent review of the Santini Italia Libra fountain pen, and I have another such video in the works on the Sailor 1911L Kyomachi Legend Blue. Video content on these two pens offer me the ability to provide some additional context when discussing size, writing samples, etc. You can expect more of this type of content when I review stuff going forward.

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We are now fully restocked on the Anterique Brass Ballpoints, including two new colors! (Keep in mind that the top portions are interchangeable with the standard Anterique Pens, allowing you to mix and match to create pretty much any brass + color combination you like.)

Curated Shop Arrivals: New Lamys, Caran d’Ache Special Editions, and Anterique Brass!

The past few days have been huge for the Curated Shop, as we’re listing new arrivals prior to the holidays. The rest of the Caran d’Ache Keith Haring special editions arrived, including the Keith Haring 849 Ballpoints in two different designs, along with Anterique Brass Ballpoints in two new colors.

On the heels of our Kaweco expansion, we’ve also decided to offer additional pens from Lamy, including one of my favorite sub-$200 14k nib options: the Lamy Studio. Be sure to check out all of the new shop arrivals for the remainder of the month as we have more on the way.

Anterique

Lamy

Caran d'Ache

Roterfaden

How to Support TGS!

If you enjoy our content (whether on the main website, Instagram, YouTube Channel or elsewhere), there are several ways that you can support us. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop, especially during the upcoming holiday season! If you enjoy in-person and virtual meetups and having access to more personal content, consider joining the T.G.S. Patreon, which also includes early access to quarterly gently used sales. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. No matter how you support us - even if just with a comment, recommendation, or encouraging word - we greatly appreciate your readership!