New Arrivals: Cool Stuff from Japan, Including Allex Scissors and Camel Pencils!

Finally, after nearly a year of working on this, I’m happy to announce that two of my all-time favorite stationery brands have arrived in the shop. As of this morning, we have a selection of Allex stainless steel desk scissors in three different sizes: the 7” Desk Scissors, the slightly smaller S-165 and S-165F (fluorine-coated) general-purpose office scissors, and the Allex Slim 100 portable scissors that are designed to fit inside a pen case, Traveler’s-notebook pouch, or similar stationery pouch.

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Sharp, portable miniature (under 4”)? These are an excellent tool to keep in your bag.

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Allex S-165F Office Scissors

Renowned for their sharpness and precision, Allex scissors are cut from a single sheet of stainless steel. The black fluorine-coated versions cut through tape and adhesive with ease. (I purchased a pair of the fluorine-coated desk scissors years ago from C.W. Pencil Enterprise and they remain my go-to cutting tool.)

Camel Pencils have long had a place in my graphite rotation. Featuring their signature integrated eraser that sits flush with the barrel (and does an effective job erasing to boot!), Camels are sleek, modern Japanese cedar pencils that leave a dark line and sharpen to a nice point with a long-point sharpener. Currently we have two natural-finished HB versions: the white eraser with a honey-gold tone, and the grey eraser with a lighter wood. In addition to selling these individually, we offer them in a pack of six, with three of each version.

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Be sure to check out our 2023 Holiday Gift Guide! The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

The 2023 T.G.S. Holiday Gift Guide is Live!

Sure, it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but since I’ve been getting “Black Friday Sale” alerts since the Fourth of July, why not? ;) You can find the 2023 version of the Gift Guide here, and since new arrivals tend to trickle in from distributors through November and early December, I will likely update it periodically.

Each year, I don’t revise the Gift Guide from scratch, since the different categories of recommendations don’t change much. Since the store has grown exponentially in the past year, however, you’ll find new items in each category, most of which are targeted gift ideas for those who you think might appreciate stationery but may not necessarily be as “enthusiastic” about it as many T.G.S. readers.

A Note on Shipping

This looks to be a busy holiday season, so the earlier you get your orders in the better. The holidays always suffer from shipping delays - we have no control over USPS, UPS, or Fedex - so please give yourself time by ordering well in advance of when you will need your package to arrive. Finally, please review our shipping polices, particularly as they pertain to international shipments as those are more delay-prone due to customs issues.

As always, many thanks for your support! The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases through the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Thursday Drops: T.G.S. Gift Guide Preview, Including Book Darts, Anterique, and More!

The Holiday Season is almost upon us! While the full 2024 T.G.S. Holiday Gift Guide will drop this weekend, this week’s Thursday Drops post features a preview of our standard gift recommendations as well as some new arrivals. (Thank goodness Book Darts made it back in time!) The past couple of weeks have seen the arrival of new items from Anterique Stationers, Lamy, Kaweco, and Caran d’Ache, among others, all ready to ship immediately.

This past year we’ve also worked to expand our shop selection beyond your typical pen and stationery store to include a range of high quality desk and reading accessories that make excellent gifts, including for the pen and paper enthusiasts in your life who might be particular about their pen and ink preferences and “challenging” to shop for. :) Finally, for those who can’t decide, we do have a digital gift card option!

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Anyone recognize artwork similar to a classic 1990s Christmas Album?

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

1. T.G.S. Signature Book Darts. One of our first shop items is back in stock! Book Darts are one of my favorite all-time desk accessories, useful for anything from marking passages in favorite books to dividing notebooks into multiple sections.

2. Anterique Brass Ballpoint Pens. Looking for a pen-related gift for someone who enjoys a quality pen but may not be as “particular” as you? Anterique takes an instantly recognizable classic format and upgrades it with a brass barrel and high-quality refill.

3. Caran d’Ache Keith Haring Limited Edition Sets and Rylsee Limited Edition Fixpencil. The rest of the 2023 Caran d’Ache Limited Editions are here, with two new 849 Ballpoints featuring the work of pop artist Keith Haring, along with a signature colored pencil set and a limited edition Fixpencil set designed in collaboration with Swiss lettering artist Rylsee.

4. Diamine Inkvent Calendars. We still have a few of these hanging around! I’m planning my “Inkvent” sampling strategy because I plan to start playing along as of December 1!

5. TWSBI Kai Fountain Pens. Yesterday I reviewed TWSBI’s latest (third) release in their acrylic limited edition series, the Kai. As I mentioned in the review, I wish TWSBI would make this particular shape part of the regular lineup.

6. TWSBI ECO-T “Rosso” Fountain Pens. As a fan of red pens, I’m thrilled to see a red TWSBI ECO! I’m still trying to match an ink to this particular color.

7. Kaweco Collection Fountain Pens. We brought in additional colors of Kaweco Sport fountain pens from the “Kaweco Collection” series! There are some fun offbeat colors in this line, including some muted blues, blue-greys, and light greens.

8. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter Organizers. Looking for an upgraded leather (or vegan leather) cover to house your notebooks or planner(s) for 2024? TGS is now an authorized retailer of Roterfaden, and we have both A5 and A6 sized covers in stock and ready to ship.

9. Traveler’s Notebooks and 2024 Refills. The Traveler’s Notebook is one of the more versatile, customizable notebook systems on the market, with its wide range of accessories and refills.

10. Lochby Notebooks and Cases. Whether you’re looking for a pen case, a travel carry-all, or a versatile notebook cover that handles most A5 sizes, Lochby makes durable waxed canvas goods that pair well together.

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Don’t rule out fun desk accessories such as these combination eraser balls, pencil holders, and picture stands (?!?) from HMM Project!

Thursday Drops: Lamy Restock (including the Studio!), New Caran d'Ache Arrivals, and More!

Lots of new arrivals to discuss today, including the rest of the Caran d’Ache Keith Haring special editions, the entire Caran d’Ache Colormat-X 849 series, and a huge box of Lamy pens that includes the first Studios we’re bringing into the store! The Lamy Studio is significantly underrated as a pen, IMHO, particularly the Piano Black and Palladium versions which are still priced well under $200. Alongside the Pilot Custom 74, the gold-nib Lamy Studio builds out our growing lineup of workhorse fountain pens that offer exceptional quality without breaking your bank account.

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We’ve also restocked on a lot of fun favorites, including the Caran d’Ache Infinite 888 ballpoints in all colors (sorry, the mechanical pencils have been discontinued), and a growing selection of woodcase pencils that we intend to expand even further. Eventually these will warrant their own stand-alone shop page, so stay-tuned.

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Yes, those are all matte-finished. That red pen is calling my name but I must resist.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

1. Keith Haring Caran d’Ache Special Editions. Caran d’Ache has collaborated with the estate of pop artist Keith Haring to release two new 849 ballpoint pens, as well as a Colour Set (colored pencils plus a brush pen) and an A5 Coloring pad featuring Haring artwork.

2. “Creative Nomad” Caran d’Ache Rylsee Fixpencil Set. Special/Limited edition Fixpencils are much too few and far between, and this set features not just a Rylsee signature Fixpencil but an eraser, a set of 3B leads, brush and fibre-tipped pens, and access to a lettering course taught by Swiss lettering artist Rylsee. These are nearly sold out but I will try to get more.

3. Caran d’Ache Colormat-X 849 Ballpoints. The most popular models of the Caran d’Ache 849 ballpoint are the ones with matte finishes, and Caran d’Ache recently released the “Colormat-X” in eight bright colors different from much of what has previously been on offer.

4. Lamy Studio 14k Fountain Pens in Palladium and Piano Black. I can’t tell you how excited I am to offer the Studio, and to see that Lamy is keeping the price point of the 14k nib version accessible. I personally find huge value here and I have many Studios in my collection.

5. Lamy Studio LX All Black Series. Aesthetically, one of my favorite Lamy pens released in recent years has been the Studio LX (pronounced “luxe”) series. The fountain pen ships with a black stainless nib, but it also looks great with the Black Lamy Cursive nib, available separately and which I will install upon request.

6. Lamy Pico Pocket Ballpoint Restock. These pens ended up being a smash hit at the San Francisco Pen Show and I’ve been sold out since. We have stock of all the Pico colors as of yesterday, as well as refills.

7. Lamy 2000 Collection Restock. Lamy 2000 Rollerballs, Ballpoints, Multi-Pens, and fountain pens are all restocked as well, just in time for the holidays. To read more about why this is one of my favorite everyday writers in the $200 range, check out the Workhorse Pens write-up.

8. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter Organizers. We still have organizers available from our most recent shipment, including a few in A5 and several A6. While I plan to post in a few days how I will match my Roterfadens to Hobonichi notebooks for 2024, these softer leather options (with no elastic) fit an A5 Hobonichi Cousin and standard Hobonichi notebook very well.

9. Caran d’Ache 888 Infinite Ballpoints. Thankfully, we were able to receive a full restock, in all colors, of what has become one of our best-selling ballpoints, mainly due to the combination of balance, refill quality, and price point. Unfortunately the mechanical pencil has been discontinued, so what stock we have is all that remains and I understand these will be going away indefinitely.

10. Caran d’Ache Jumbo Maxi Highlighter Pencils. I’ve been looking to add jumbo highlighter pencils for quite some time, as they’re a key part of my work rotation at the office. If these do well I will look to bring in more, and perhaps even the option to buy individual colors by the dozen.

Curated Shop Updates: Keith Haring from Caran d'Ache, plus the Rylsee "Creative Nomad" Fixpencil Set

I love the fall, not least because it’s always time for another round of Caran d’Ache collaboration releases! This year’s offerings feature a line of products inspired by pop artist Keith Haring, as well as a special edition Fixpencil set developed in collaboration with the Swiss lettering artists Rylsee. The latter is a truly special release, as it includes not only the Rylsee signature Fixpencil but a set of 3B leads, eraser, plus a set of Fibralo brush and fibre-tipped pens along with access to an online lettering course!

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Shown here is the Caran d’Ache Keith Haring Colour Set, which includes 10 water soluble colored pencils plus a Fibralo brush pen. Use them with the Keith Haring A5 Colour Pad, featuring 20 different prints.

In addition to these limited quantity releases (more of which will be coming in the next few weeks), we’ve added to our selection of Caran d’Ache woodcase pencils (as well as our wide selection of pencils in general) and at customer request, expanded our line of Fixpencil replacement leads to include 12-packs. You can view the full selection of Caran d’Ache products, including all the new arrivals, here.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold, including Caran d’Ache.