Thursday Drops: More Midori MD Cotton Notebooks, New Marks'tyle Colors, and More!

Midori MD Cotton Paper is one of my favorite fountain pen friendly papers on the market, and has recently been released in two new formats: A standard A5 notebook as well as a new “A5 Square” format as announced Tuesday. The standard A5 notebook will of course fit the entire line of Midori MD covers, as well as any A5 notebook system such as Lochby and Roterfaden.

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After being out of stock, we once again have most of the Mark’style Needle-tip ballpoints and refills, the Mark’style Anterique designs, and all colors of the Mark’style “Days” Gel Pens back in the shop. These pens from Mark’s Tokyo have been extremely popular over the past couple of years and feature a calendar motif as well as excellent Anterique and Ohto refills that dry quickly and write a clean, fine line. UPDATE: As of yesterday we also received an unexpectedly quick Caran d’Ache/M+R restock, including the new Nespresso 849 ballpoints!

Finally, I’ve added a handful of gently used products and “second” products that can’t be sold as new due to minor flaws to the T.G.S. Gently Used page. Patreon members already have had first pass at these, and I’ll be rotating through some additional items in the near future as I clear out space to make room for yet more review and testing item. All Gently Used items can be combined with purchases from the standard shop to reach the free shipping threshold, though they are sold “as is” and not subject to any manufacturer warranty or guarantee since they are used and heavily discounted.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold in the main T.G.S. Curated Shop.

1. Midori MD Cotton A5 Notebooks. Midori used to have an entire line of A5 notebooks in their MD Cotton paper, and this notebook marks a welcome return to the standard line. One of these went immediately into my Roterfaden as my “working” notebook.

2. Midori MD Cotton A5 Square Notebooks. Square shaped notebooks are extremely popular in Japan, and it’s fun to see that these are now being released in the states. This particular notebook has partial A5 dimensions, measuring 5.75” x 5.75”.

3. Midori MD Leather Covers. These undyed leather covers for Midori MD System notebooks develop a patina and age beautifully as you use them. We currently have a couple different sizes in stock, including the A5 Square.

4. Midori MD Paper Covers. These paper covers from Midori are not really “paper” in the sense you might thing: They’re tear-resistant and designed to last for years and patina and age like leather. Midori recently introduced sturdier versions with hardcover backing inside the A5 size.

5. Mark’style “Days” Mach Ballpoints. The Anterique line of low-viscosity ballpoint pens represent a new riff on a classic design, and Mark’s Tokyo of course has their own version in nearly a dozen different two-toned “Days” edition. These use the same .5mm “Mach Ball” Anterique refill as found in the standard Anterique pens.

6. Mark’style “Days” Needle-Tip Ballpoints. These hexagonal woodcase “Days” needle-tips have become a shop staple, and we’ve restocked on all the favorites along with the Ohto refills.

7. Mark’style “Days” Faceted Metal Gel Pens. These faceted metal gel pens come in a range of primary colors and feature a needle-tip gel refill that writes a .5mm line.

8. Traveler’s Notebook Brass Ballpoint Pens. Traveler’s Brass Ballpoint Pens are now back in stock, along with refills. These mark one of my favorite portable pocket pens for everyday use, especially for reading notes and carrying with a pocket notebook.

9. Stálogy Editors Series Water Resistant Covers. We’re building out our Stálogy system offerings! These heavy-duty, stitched Japanese paper covers are designed to fit the Stálogy 1/2-year and 365-day notebooks, and will hold them open as you work.

10. Stálogy Editors Series Removable Calendar and To-Do Stickers. For those who prefer flexibility in how they work and plan, these stickers allow you to add calendar and to-do list functionality to your notebooks. The stickers are removable and can be moved from page-to-page or even notebook-to-notebook. And of course they work with paper other than Stálogy.

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All Midori MD Notebooks come with stickers and labels for easy indexing and archiving.

New Arrivals: Midori MD Cotton Square A5 Notebooks, New Stálogy System Accessories

This weekend marked the arrival of a new format in the Midori MD Cotton series: the MD Cotton A5 “Square” notebook. Square notebooks are a popular format in Japan, and this notebook measures approximately 5.75” x 5.75” and contains 176 pages of Midori’s excellent, ink-friendly 20% cotton paper. New hardback Japanese paper covers (with more structure than the standard paper) and natural goat leather covers are also available. Check out our full line of Midori MD products here!

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The “Landscape Format” Calendar Sticker. Other calendar formats and a “to do” list is also available. Extra stickers fit neatly inside the new Stálogy covers.

We’ve also received a shipment of newly released accessories for the Stálogy “Editors Series” A5 notebooks, including durable water-resistant covers specially designed for the 365 and half-year A5 notebooks, as well as new removable calendar and “to do” stickers. The latter allow you to easily format your blank notebooks for planning and task management, and move the stickers around to different pages (or even different notebooks) as necessary. You can view our full line of Stálogy Products, including the recently released limited edition 1/2-year notebook, here.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold. We are supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

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These Stalogy covers are understated and will age beautifully. They are stiff enough to allow your 1/2-year notebook to lie flat.

Thursday Drops: Memorial Day Weekend Sale Details and Yes, Another Giveaway!

Memorial Day Weekend here in the U.S. is here, as is the end of school (at least for our household) and the beginning of Summer. So let’s kick off the season with a sale and a giveaway! Now is a great time to kit out a new notebook for your travels or your adventures closer to home, and we’re happy to help you out with that. We are newly stocked on most Traveler’s Company refills, Midori A5 notebooks, Laconic A5 inserts, Tomoe River refills, and more!

For now through Monday at 11:59pm CT, take 10% off your order using the code “SUMMERSALE” at checkout! The code will apply to many different brands in our shop, though some (including TWSBI, Roterfaden, Pilot) are excluded due to manufacturers restrictions. In addition to the discount code, all orders over $75 automatically ship free with USPS.

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Clockwise from top: Scriveiner Fountain Pen; Blackwing pencils (not necessarily representative of the prize pack), and a Lamy AL-Star Rollerball!

We’re also running another giveaway through the weekend: I’m in the process of clearing the T.G.S. HQ out a bit in preparation for a potential move, and there’s no reason the readership shouldn’t benefit! We have three prizes for this week’s giveaway: (1) a Lamy AL-Star Rollerball in the new “Fiery” finish; (2) an assortment of a dozen Blackwing Pencils, some standard, some limited Volumes from my personal back catalogue; and (3) another Scriveiner Fountain Pen that I can pass along now that I have my review of this brand in the pipeline. All you need to do to enter the giveaway is either leave a comment on this blog post or like the accompanying Instagram post featuring the giveaway. I will number all comments and likes and pick three winners using a random number generator.

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

1. Traveler’s Notebook Starter Kits and Accessories. Gearing up for your travels? We have Traveler’s Company notebooks and accessories in-stock, including ONE remaining Tokyo Special Edition Traveler’s Notebook that apparently ended up mixed in with our standard stock. A full restock on these editions is still some time away, so at least one lucky customer will be able to take one home! Any remaining 2024 dated refills are now 40% off.

2. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter Covers. While we can’t discount Roterfaden, this is still an excellent opportunity to stock up on A6, A5, and A4 notebook refills compatible with this series of organizers.

3. Lochby Field Journal and Related Gear. In the A5 size, we have Lochby notebook covers designed to fit the Lochby Tomoe River 68gsm notebooks, as well as the Lochby Tool Rolls and Quattro pen cases to hold all of your goods!

4. Midori MD Notebook Covers. Whether you want leather, sturdy Japanese paper, or standard plastic covers, Midori’s notebook covers are sturdy and functional, and designed to fit the excellent standard MD Notebooks.

5. Patalino Cases by Raymay. I love these flat-pack cases, which are perfect for pens, pencils, scissors, and more. I tend to move between bags during the week, and modular cases like these allow me to pack my stationery kit at the beginning of the week and simply move it from one bag to the other without much “repacking” involved. The front flap folds down magnetically, and includes a slot for a large eraser, mechanical pencil lead refills, etc.

6. Traveler’s Company Tokyo Special Edition Brass Pencil. We bought a lot of these and still have a few in stock. I love the finish on them, and the orange eraser is outstanding.

7. Craighill Caro Pen. I can’t praise the Craighill Caro Pen enough, as it’s been my constant companion since January. It’s a small pen that takes a D1 refill and attaches to it’s “dock” via a secure garter spring clip mechanism. Available in multiple finishes and perfect for attaching to a bag or keychain. You can read more on this pen here.

8. Tom’s Studio Lumos Mini Refillable Fineliner. The Lumos “Mini” has become my pen of choice to carry in my Plotter Mini 5, as it slips into the pen slot on the Plotter quite well. The standard Lumos pens also make excellent planner pens. We’ve recently added the entire line of Tom’s Studio fountain pen inks to the shop - you can check out my overview of all the colors here, as well as my notes on a few favorites.

9. Anterique Brass “Mach Ball” Ballpoint. An excellent low-viscosity ballpoint pen that can go anywhere with you - including in your planner pen loop!

10. Laban “Greek Mythology” Inks. Some of my favorite colors to have been released during the past several years are included in this ink line, including the unique “Aphrodite Pink”! Laban has new distribution so it’s easier to keep these in stock.

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Quick Look: Different Grades of Blackwing Graphite (Plus a Bonus YouTube Video)

Blackwing doesn’t use either of the typical graphite grading scales in their pencils. Instead of numbering them 1-4, or H, F, HB, B, etc., they’ve designated their different graphite formulations as “X-Firm”, “Firm”, “Balanced”, and “Soft”, with each core given its own standard production line pencil and rotated through the limited edition “Volumes” line. Last quarter’s Volumes release (Volume 2) even introduced a new “XX-Firm” formulation that’s the closest Blackwing has ever come to a true HB/No. 2 pencil. To date, it’s only available in this special release pencil.

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The two extremes. “Soft” graphite at top compared against the XXF Graphite in the Volume 2, compared against the Tombow HB.

I love Blackwing pencils because even their “lightest” shade of graphite is relatively dark. As a fan of dark pencils, I regularly use most of the standard Blackwings, as well a full pencil chest of their special editions. Despite the darker core, Blackwings retain their points well - even the soft graphite in my favorite “Blackwing Matte” with low-smear performance. My second favorite would probably be the “X-Firm” Blackwing Natural, but that’s more an aesthetic preference than anything to do with performance!

For a fun bonus, check out our latest YouTube video which dropped today, where I look at the Blackwing Pencil Extender and how it works.

As of last month, the T.G.S. Curated Shop is an official Blackwing retailer! We carry the full range of pencils, accessories, and even paper (the excellent “Illegal Pad”) in our curated stationery shop, which is how the site gets supported.

Thursday Drops: All the New Pens and Inks So Far, Plus Pen Storage! (And Maybe a Giveaway?)

2024 has been a whirlwind of a year. So much has happened in the past five months, including four pen shows, countless new releases, and shipping LOTS of orders! To recap a bit, we still have some remaining stock of 2024 new releases and special editions, and will restock as we can. We’ve also been swimming in a bunch of new arrivals as our shop expands, including everything posted Tuesday (Patalino and Kept cases).

Overall, this has been a great year for Lamy and Kaweco releases. I’ve personally enjoyed the new Kaweco pens, particularly the Art Sport, and TWSBI has been regularly releasing excellent new color/trim combinations to the point that I sort of wish they would slow it down because my own pen cases are getting full!

Finally, don’t miss the giveaway included in yesterday’s post on the line of Tom’s Studio fountain pen inks! You can win a bottle of “Cassis” or “Strawberry Jam” - red of course!

1. Kaweco Sport Piston Filler Fountain Pen. We have some remaining stock of the initial release of the Kaweco Sport piston filler, which ships in a set with a vintage-style bottle of blue ink. Check out my YouTube video in which I walk through this fun new addition to the Kaweco lineup!

2. Kaweco Collection Apricot Pearl Sport Fountain Pen. This year’s Kaweco Collection features a translucent AND pearlescent orange acrylic. It’s a beautiful pen and a great addition to the “Collection” Sports.

3. Kaweco Art Sport Fountain Pens. I want to see Kaweco do more with the Art Sport line. The “Terrazzo” finish has been inked up and in my pen case pretty much non-stop since these arrived late last year.

4. Blackwing Volumes 710 “Jerry Garcia” Edition. These colorful matte-finish pencils feature Blackwing’s softest core, which is coincidentally my favorite.

5. Traveler’s Company “Tokyo” Limited Edition Pencil. We have a handful of this year’s limited edition Traveler’s Company Pencil, though the notebooks and refills remain sold out and subject to re-order.

6. Lamy Safari “Pink Cliff” and “Violet Blackberry” Special Editions. These are two of my favorite Safari releases in a long time. It’s been difficult to choose a favorite between the two, but Pink Cliff is the one that’s stayed inked up. We also have both limited edition matching inks available.

7. Lamy AL-Star “Fiery” and “Aquatic” Special Editions. These turned out to be some pretty stunning finishes. The AL-Star lends itself to nice blues and reds, given the brushed metal construction. We also acquired a shipment of prior years’ editions as well.

8. TWSBI Special Editions, Including the Caffé Bronze ECO. TWSBI has been on a tear this year, and we have stock of nearly all recently released special editions that include the ECO Caffé Bronze (with bronze-toned trim!), the ECO “Dark Sapphire”, the ECO Creme and Rose Gold, and some remaining stock of the Kai Piston Filler.

9. Tom’s Studio Pens. We have all sizes of the Lumos Fineliners back in stock, some remaining colors of the Studio and Studio Pocket, and a fresh restock of the pre-ground fountain pen nibs, including the Architect!

10. Tom’s Studio Fountain Pen Inks (Also Suitable for Lumos Pens). We now carry the full line of Tom’s Studio fountain pen inks (currently at 19 different colors), per the note above and yesterday’s post that walks through the entire lineup!

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized reseller of the brands featured here.

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We’re giving away two of the colors pictured here! Check out yesterday’s blog post and our Instagram account for details!