Thursday Drops: A Lochby Pocket-Sized Restock, Plus Other Top-Sellers from 2025 So Far

After a long, nearly six-month wait, Lochby has restocked both the Field Journal Mini and the Pocket Journal, both of which are sized to fit the 3.5” x 5.5” pocket notebooks (the standard “Field Notes” size, including the Lochby 68gsm Tomoe River version). You can read more about the Field Journal Mini here, but in short it uses the same cord-based system as the Lochby Field Journal and Field Folio (which is now available in B5 to fit the Lochby B5 notebooks and a standard composition book).

The new Lochby Field Folio B5, which per Lochby, can hold a composition book? I didn’t realize that about B5 sizing, which has always puzzled me as an “in-between” size but now I think I get it. (Photo courtesy of Lochby)

Other new releases to keep an eye on are the Diplomat Viper Fountain Pen and Rollerball, the latest Blackwing Volume 140 pencils (plus a general Blackwing restock, including sharpeners), and new Lamy inks. We’re also in the midst of our annual mid-year review, so I’ve added a handful of “best-sellers” to today’s post. Happy shopping!

Come see these and more in-shop! We will be open this week from 1pm-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-6pm on Saturday. Be sure to check the shop page for up-to-date hours.

1. Lochby Field Journal Mini. It’s back, after a long wait! This version of Lochby’s classic Field Journal features the same cords and hook-and-latch system as the A5, but fits 3.5” x 5.5” pocket notebooks. Brown only at the moment.

2. Lochby Pocket Journal. I feared this model would be discontinued, but the zippered Lochby Pocket Journal (which holds 1-2 pocket notebooks in a wallet-style waxed canvas case), is back! Brown, Navy, and Charcoal options, with the Charcoal now featuring the gold “Bumblebee” interior.

3. Lochby Field Folio. The zippered Lochby Field Folio is now available in B5 size, and apparently will also fit a classic composition book. The Field Folio works the same as the standard Lochby Field Journal, only it uses a zippered closure for added security. There is also an interior pen loop. And, yes, the B5 size comes in the coveted Nautical Navy/Cream colorway.

4. Lochby Sidekick. Lochby’s wallet/notebook cover will hold a pen plus an A7 notebook such as these Clairefontaine options. All three colors are back in stock!

5. Diplomat Viper Fountain Pens and Rollerballs. I’m thrilled to be able to add this new hooded-nib fountain pen to our lineup. The matching rollerball has much of the same aesthetic, and takes a classic long capped rollerball refill.

6. Lamy Crystal Bottled Fountain Pen Ink. You didn’t know that Lamy has an expanded line of ten additional inks in more vibrant colors than the standard releases?

7. Colorverse “Nebula Note” A5 Notebooks. A somewhat overlooked line of paper, Colorverse Nebula Note is fountain pen friendly, relatively inexpensive, and comes with perforated pages! I will always promote anything with convenient perforated pages!

8. Lamy 2000 Pens (Fountain, Rollerballs, Ballpoints, and Multi Pens). By far our top selling product, the Lamy 2000 line of pens is a personal favorite of mine, and unsurprisingly, our top selling pen across the entire range of variants.

9. Tom’s Studio Lumos Pro Duo. We just received a box of Lumos Duo refillable fineliners from the UK, and have most colors back in stock. For further reading on how these pens work and why I enjoy them as everyday writers, check out this post.

10. Yamamoto Paper. Yamamoto Paper is known for their assortment of unusual Japanese looseleaf papers, as well as their sampler packs that are organized by paper type and use. Both products allow you to try papers that otherwise would remain largely unavailable to the U.S. market.

11. NJK Long-Point Pencil Sharpener. Our top-selling individual product by volume isn’t a pen, but rather this cult favorite handheld pencil sharpener that takes a simple task and does it well.

View fullsize

Colorverse Nebula Note: Tactile paper, perforated pages, and a sturdy double-ring spiral.

New Arrivals: Diplomat Viper Fountain Pens and Rollerballs, plus New Lamy Inks!

As you might guess from my love of the Lamy 2000 and the Parker 51, I have a thing for hooded nib fountain pens. An icon of mid-century modern design, a hooded nib allows you to have the fountain pen writing experience in a slightly less conspicuous format, because to the untrained eye, this sort of fountain pen will resemble a standard ballpoint or rollerball. I often prefer this type of fountain pen at work - especially in meetings - because it’s not flashy or distracting.

View fullsize

I was excited to see Diplomat release the Viper fountain pen last year, and we now have them in our own shop in all three guilloché colors (Blue, Brown, and Black), in both fountain pen and rollerball format. Priced at $100 for the fountain pen and $88 for the rollerball, the Viper has one stainless steel nib option (a fine/medium), and I’ve found my own blue to be a smooth, reliable writer. The rollerball uses a standard long-style rollerball refill, which is Diplomat-branded and comes in a medium black tip size. I did not opt for a matching set, and chose the blue fountain pen and the brown rollerball for my own personal demos. I’m still trying to work out which tone I like the best, but I’m leaning towards the brown.

View fullsize

We Now carry Lamy Crystal Inks!

Need some new ink to go with your new Viper fountain pen? We’ve expanded our lineup of Lamy Inks, offering the Lamy Crystal line which is inspired by Gemstones. (Peridot and Amazonite are longtime favorites.) Lamy’s standard line of inks, while dependable and a reliably safe standby, is sometimes criticized for being overly… standard. The Crystal inks combine the quality of Lamy ink with a bit more saturation and some fun colors.

We are an authorized reseller of both Diplomat and Lamy products. Come see these and more in-shop! We will be open this week from 1pm-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-6pm on Saturday. Be sure to check the shop page for up-to-date hours.

Thursday Drops: Penco Perfection Alternatives and Inky New Arrivals!

After yesterday’s New York Times Wirecutter article declaring the Penco Perfection Bullet Pen to be the ideal pocket ballpoint, we had a run on those and the plastic Penco Perfection Light like never before after the Hightide site sold out of both models. While I question whether the Penco Perfection is the “best” pocket ballpoint out there, it is a very good option, and I do agree with their comments about D1 refills being versatile and inexpensive. In light of the internet’s overnight fixation on this little pocket pen that we’ve carried with moderate success for more than 5 years, I thought it would be fun to dedicate today’s “Thursday Drops” post to a few other pocket pen recommendations in addition to the Penco pens, since those are quickly on their way to selling out and I expect it will be quite some time before Penco/Hightide is able to restock.

View fullsize

I’m constantly behind on all the restocks showing up. I may not specifically feature them below, but we have more Taccia Ink as well as Ohto CR series rollerballs.

As noted with this week’s “New Arrivals,” we’ve added all sorts of new items from Rite in the Rain, including not just the All-Weather pens but heavy duty mechanical pencils, more Rite in the Rain Paper, and the “Monsoon” line of pen cases and notebook covers.

Come see these and more in-shop! We will be open this week from 1pm-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-6pm on Saturday. Be sure to check the shop page for up-to-date hours.

1. Lamy Pico Pocket Ballpoint. Lamy’s retractable pocket ballpoint expands from the size of a tube of lip balm to a full-size writing instrument with a click. The M22 ballpoint refill is available in black or blue, and multiple tip sizes.

2. Anterique Mini Ballpoint and Brass Mini Ballpoint. The pocket-sized versions of the Anterique low-viscosity ballpoints feature a miniature version of the same excellent “mach ball” refill.

3. Rite in the Rain All-Weather Pocket Pen. These lightweight plastic bullet pens are sold in a pack of 2 and feature Rite in the Rain’s pressurized refill cartridge. Multiple colors are available.

4. Rite in the Rain All-Weather Metal Bullet Pen. Rite in the Rain’s version of the classic bullet pen features a modified formulation of the Fisher Space Pen ink, tweaked to perform optimally on Rite in the Rain’s all-weather paper. I enjoy this refill because I find it slightly less viscous, and capable of writing a cleaner line than the Fisher cartridge, but that’s a matter of personal preference.

5. Fisher Space Pen Bullet Pen. The all-time classic pocket pen, now available with Cerakote finishes!

6. Traveler’s Company Brass Pocket Pens. Whether you want a classic ballpoint or a refillable rollerball or fountain pen (or even a bullet pencil), these sturdy brass pens are built to last.

7. Penco Drafting Ballpoint Pen. Ok, so if you’re stuck on Penco, and the Perfections and Perfection Lights have sold out by the time you’re reading this,

8. Platinum Prefounte Fountain Pen Restock. The excellent Platinum Prefounte - a exceptionally good choice for those just starting to explore the fountain pen segment - is now back in stock.

9. Papier Plume Bottled Inks. We’ve now added our own ink swatches of tbe Papier Plume Classic Collection, including personal favorites Moss Green, Midnight Blue, and Burgundy!

10. Anderillium Ichthyoformes Inks. If you’d like to check out the most recent releases from Anderillium, be sure to take a look at this recent YouTube walkthrough in which I swatched all of the inks, and I’ve added the swatch cards to the product listings.

View fullsize

All the Papier Plume Ink Swatches

New Arrivals: Rite in the Rain All-Weather Pens, Mechanical Pencils, and Cases!

I’ve been aware of Rite in the Rain for a long time, mainly due to their “all weather” line of notebooks and notepads (including some really nice hardbound field notebooks) that are a favorite of field researchers, backpackers, boaters, and really anyone who needs a notebook that will perform under non-standard conditions. While the paper doesn’t work with writing instruments that use water-based ink (since the paper is designed to repel water), those looking for an all-weather solution typically use a pencil, ballpoint, or marker, so it tends to be a non-issue in this specific case.

View fullsize

Shown here is the Rite in the Rain Monsoon “Dirtbag” (Yes, that’s the name :) ) which is a waterproof/dirtproof pouch designed to protect your notebooks while offering easy access to pens, pencils, and accessories.

As of this week, we’ve also added Rite in the Rain’s line of 1.3mm mechanical pencils, click pens and bullet pens, and “Monsoon” waterproof pouches and cases. The mechanical pencils have been a frequent request, as many of you are apparently looking for pencils that use sturdier lead in the .9mm to 1.3mm range. The standard Rite in the Rain pencil uses a very dark 1.3mm 2B graphite, which I’ve found quite nice to write with. The ballpoint refills are manufactured for Rite in the Rain by Fisher Space Pen, but per Rite in the Rain feature a slightly modified ink formulation optimized for Rite in the Rain’s paper. Personally, I find the Rite in the Rain refill slightly less viscous, and that it leave a finer line.

We are an authorized reseller of Rite in the Rain products. Come see these and more in-shop! We will be open this week from 1pm-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-6pm on Saturday. Be sure to check the shop page for up-to-date hours.

Thursday Drops: Happy Inky Thursday! New Inks from Anderillium, Papier Plume, Swatch Books and More

If last month was “Pencil Month,” maybe this month will be “Ink Month?” We’re building out our lineup of inks to offer both in-store and online, including an entire new line of Anderillium Inks (“Ichthyoformes Series”), the Classic Collection from Papier Plume, and another Iroshizuku restock. As noted last week, we have a huge shipment of new Pilot multi pens, ballpoints, and mechanical pencils, as well as the latest TWSBI ECO in Matcha Green, and the Pilot E95s in all sizes in burgundy and black!

View fullsize

Finally, we’ve had a great response to the new Laconic notebooks and refills we received last week. While many of the A5 6-ring binder inserts are sold out, we still have lots of the new planner stickers, A5 softcover notebooks, and bookmarks, with another order of the binder inserts on the way.

We are back to normal hours this week in-store, open from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday. Looking forward to seeing you all there!

1. Papier Plume Ink Swatch Album Sets. These Bible-sized binders from Papier Plume/San Lorenzo contain plastic holders for 60 swatch cards, and come with a separate card holder full of Col-o-Ring swatch cards cut down to business card size to fit the album.

2. Papier Plume Classic Collection Fountain Pen Inks. These Papier Plume inks are from their Classic Series, and include long-time favorites such as Moss Green and Oyster Grey.

3. Anderillium Ichthyoformes Series Fountain Pen Inks. Be sure to check out yesterday’s epic YouTube video, in which I swatched all 8 of the latest releases from Anderillium. There are three dark red inks that I’m really enjoying, including two that would qualify as red-blacks.

4. TWSBI Diamond Ink Bottles. These ink bottles can function as your standard uncap-and-dip ink bottles, or you can remove the grip section of a TWSBI Diamond-series pen and fill directly from the barrel without dipping the nib.

5. Pilot 4+1 Multi Pens. These Acro-ink gel pens feature Pilot’s own low-viscosity ink formulation in a familiar 4-color ballpoint plus .5mm mechanical pencil format. Four muted colors complete the package.

6. Pilot Legno 2+1 Multi Pens in Striated and Natural Hardwood. The striated wood Pilot Legnos are what drew me to this line, but the story behind the hardwood versions (North American Hard Maple used for baseball bats?) has me fascinated by these as well.

7. Laconic Tokyo Undated Planner Refills, Notebooks, and Stickers. We’re almost completely sold out of the A5 6-ring binder editions, but we have the new planner stickers as well as additional planner bookmarks and A5 notebooks.

8. TWSBI ECO Matcha Green Fountain Pen. TWSBI’s latest ECO release is a tea-green, designed to complement the rest of the espresso-themed breakfast collection.

9. Pilot E95s Fountain Pens. Now available in all colors and available sizes, including EF. The E95s is the current heir to the vintage integrated nib models that include the Myu and Murex models.

10. Pilot Iroshizuku Fountain Pen Inks. Just today we received another shipment of Iroshizuku ink, and have the new colors (Syun-Gyo, Rikka, and To-ro) back in stock alongside most of the old favorites. I recently did a post on my personal favorites from this line.

View fullsize

I almost forgot to mention that this past weekend we also added the Laconic A5 Field Folio, which is an A5 clipboard/calendar pad that is customizable with refills.