Weekly Drops: Kaweco AL-Sport Navy Piston and Titan Sport Fountain Pens, TWSBI ECO Plum + Onxy, and More Inkvent Calendars!

We’ve had a huge week, between the arrival of a massive Kaweco restock, including the arrival of the new AL-Sport Piston Filler in Navy, Titan Sport fountain pens, and most models of Kaweco Sports. We also have the TWSBI ECO Plum + Onyx fountain pens alongside a general restock of TWSBI fountain pens. The Plum + Onyx ECO adds a touch of bright color to TWSBI’s current lineup - something that many felt was lacking - though as I note below it’s not quite as pink as it appears in some online photos.

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Kaweco AL-Sport Piston Filler in Navy Blue.

As announced earlier this week, the Roterfaden TGS_25 A5 Slim is back in stock, with a new grey leather exterior available. We have an additional batch of Diamine Inkvent Calendars, and are continuing to receive shipments from Japan, including restocks of Pilot and Uni gel and multi pens such as a full Zento restock and more Hi-Tec-C Coleto 1000s.

Our Nashville shop is open normal hours this week (Thursday and Friday 1-6pm and Saturday 10am-6pm), so come and see all these and more in-person! Check the main shop page for directions, and note that we have moved the shop/showroom to the front of the building in Suite 107.

1. TWSBI ECO Plum + Onyx Fountain Pens. The latest TWSBI release arrived yesterday, and it’s a beauty. Everyone who saw it in-store agrees that it’s much more Yama-Budo-esque than the pink that tends to show up on computer screens.

2. Kaweco AL-Sport Piston Filler in Navy. Last year’s AL-Sport Piston Filler is now available in Navy Blue, and everyone’s who has seen this one in person agrees that it’s a beautiful color different from anything Kaweco has done.

3. Kaweco Titan Sport Fountain Pen. The Titanium Kaweco Sport is here, and if you enjoy the look of the Brass/Bronze/Stainless Steel Sport pens but don’t like the added weight, consider giving the “Titan” a try. It’s a polished titanium that is light in the hand without sacrificing the nearly indestructible build of the metal sport series. (We have the other metal pens listed as well!)

4. Kaweco Liliput Fountain Pens. The Liliput is small and compact for a fountain pen, and many find it the perfect companion for a small planner or pocket notebook. The cap posts onto the back of the barrel securely with threads, adding enough length for writing. We now carry some of the basic colors as well as the blue and green special editions.

5. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter TGS_25 Cover. Our latest collaboration with Roterfaden is a new color of our exclusive A5-slim Taschenbegleiter, in a light grey leather with light green suede interior. The original dark green with dark grey suede is back in stock as well.

6. Uni Zento Flow and Zento Standard Gel Pens. We now have a second shipment of the popular Zento gel pens in from Japan, in both the metal barrel “Flow” model as well as the standard version.

7. Uni Jetstream Lite Touch and Lite Touch 4+1 Multi Pens. Uni updated the ink formulation in their standard Jetstream hybrid ballpoint and multi pens, and we now have a new set of limited edition colors available in both models.

8. Bindewerk Linen A5 Flex Cover Notebooks. These linen cover A5 notebooks feature fountain pen friendly textured paper lightly ruled with dots or lines, in a range of soft muted colors that includes pastels and natural tones. One of my favorite journal-style notebooks on the market.

9. Anecdote A5 Journals. If you’re looking for a cost-effective hardcover notebook that combines functionality and looks, the buckram covers on these Anecdote journals have a nice texture and will stand up to the stresses of everyday wear.

10. Tomoe River Paper Hardcover and Softcover Notebooks. Tomoe River Paper is back in stock in both pad and notebook formats, and we’ve added the 52gsm hardcover notebooks and well as softcover notebooks in both paper weights (52gsm and 68gsm). Multiple rulings are available!

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The Kaweco Liliputs, including the special edition blue and green colors!

New Arrivals: The Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter TGS_25 Is Back, with a New Color!

Late last week we received a fresh shipment of our exclusive Roterfaden collaboration, the TGS25 A5 Slim format! This release has been hugely successful, so in addition to the original dark green leather with dark grey suede interior combination, we’ve added a grey leather with light green interior version. Both options come with your choice of a light green or light grey elastic.

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The TGS25 is A5 Slim size, meaning that it is designed to fit refills that are the same height as your classic A5 notebook but slightly narrower. Any refill with 8.3” x 4.3” dimensions is compatible, plus any A5 notebook you might want to cut down to a narrower size. (Stàlogy is a favorite of many people for this type of modification.) Roterfaden TGS25 covers are available to ship immediately!

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We’ve been playing around with some sticker designs (some we’ll keep, some we won’t), but all the TGS_25 shipments will include our latest!

Kaweco Sport Fountain Pens Are Back in Stock!

Also, as a bit of an added update, Kaweco Sport and AL-Sport Fountain Pens are now back in stock. We finally received a restock from the distributor, and have the foldable mini converters as well.

Come see these and more in our shop this weekend! We are open Thursday and Friday from 1-6pm, and Saturday from 10-6pm. Be sure to check the main page for up-to-date hours, and note that our shop area is now in Suite 107 on the front of the building.

Thursday Drops: Roterfaden TGS_25, Inkvent Calendars, New Lochby, and a huge Zento and Anterique Restock!

While I took a couple days earlier this week to recover from last weekend’s festivities, we’re right back at it today with all sorts of new arrivals, including plenty of items that just cleared customs! Our pre-holiday shipment of Roterfaden TGS_25 Taschenbegleiters arrived today, with both the Dark Green and new Light Grey versions available for purchase immediately. This will likely be our last shipment for 2025, but I ordered a lot and I expect them to last.

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The Lochby Quattro v2 is longer and capable of holding larger pens more comfortably.

Diamine Inkvent Calendars have also arrived and are going fast. While I’ve yet to open one, I hear that this year’s calendar will feature permanent inks as well as sheen, shimmer, and standard versions. Finally, we have the 2026 Traveler’s Notebook Diaries and Special Accessories, new Lochby Cases and Notebook Covers, and additional Uni Zento gel pens and Anterique Pens.

We are open in-store this weekend, 1-6pm on Thursday and Friday and 10am-6pm on Saturday, but please keep in mind that the main shop has moved from Suite 113 to Suite 107. Come see these and many other products in person!

1. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter TGS_25. Our A5 Slim Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter has cleared customs, with a fresh shipment arriving today! I have made both the dark green version and new light grey version available for purchase. This will almost certainly be our last shipment of these before the holidays.

2. Diamine Inkvent Calendars. The Colorverse Advent Calendars sold out just in time for Diamine to arrive! We still have a handful of Inkvent Calendars remaining, and I don’t expect these to last through the weekend.

3. Bindewerk Flex Linen Cover A5 Journals. Those who enjoy textured paper should love these Bindewerk books, which feature a laid texture with light ruling on ink friendly Italian paper. Many different colors are available!

4. Traveler’s Company 2026 Dated Refills. We have both Standard and Passport sizes available.

5. Lochby Mini Venture Pouch. Lochby has released the classic Venture Pouch in a smaller size, for more compact modular carry! These feature the same inverted design, with a pouch on top and a zippered pen case on the bottom. Watch a demonstration of how they work here.

6. Lochby Quattro v2 Pen Case. The original Quattro pen case has been a best seller for us ever since it launched, and the Quattro v.2 adds a touch of length and wider slots to hold up to 8 pens, if they’re slimmer and/or you don’t mind your pens touching.

7. Lochby Field Folio, Now in A6! Lochby has expanded the Field Folio range to include not just B5 and A5 but also A6. If you’re looking for a zippered cover for an A6 notebook (including a Hobonichi Techo), please give this one some consideration.

8. Pilot Prera Fountain Pens. Pilot recently released the Prera in a range of new vintage-inspired colors. You can read my own assessment of this excellent midrange fountain pen in yesterday’s post.

9. Uni Zento Flow and Zento Standard Gel Pens. The popular Uni Zento is back in stock, in both the metal barrel Zento Flow and the standard Zentos, in .38mm and .5mm tip sizes. More details here.

10. New Anterique Bicolor Ballpoints, including TGS Colors! I really stocked up on new Anterique colors in this latest order, after you all cleaned us out. Let’s just say I bought a lot of the Maroon and Black Colorway, for obvious reasons.

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Just a few of the new colors that arrived this week! We now have 20+ color combinations to choose from in the BiColor Pen section.

Pen Review: The 2025 Pilot Prera Revamp

Believe it or not, there is a very popular pen that I’ve never reviewed, and that pen is the Pilot Prera. The Prera has been around for years, and often recommended as a solid “next step” option for those upgrading from a pen like the Pilot Kakuno, Metropolitan, Explorer or other basic “entry level” pen. The $50-75 price range can be pretty sparse, and the Prera has long been one of the stalwarts in this bracket.

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Why have I never reviewed the Prera? Well, for years the Prera was only available to the U.S. market in a clear body style that never appealed to me enough to buy. Since I run a highly curated retail store, I never previously explored carrying the Prera since I tend to focus mostly on pens that strongly appeal to me personally and that I like to recommend. Was this 100% fair to the Prera? Probably not, but in any event, the recent release of four new solid colors (Porcelain White, Honey Yellow, Empress Teal, and Cinnamon Brown) caught my attention and prompted me to reconsider. I’ve been using a yellow Prera nearly exclusively for the past two weeks and I like it.

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The Pilot Prera compared to a Kaweco Sport, Pilot Custom 74, and Tom’s Studio Wren. The Kaweco Sport and the Tom’s Studio Wren are what I would consider true pocket pens, while the Custom 74 is more full-size so you can see how they compare.

So what are my thoughts? For starters, I can see why this pen is popular. Compact fountain pens such as the Kaweco Sport, Sailor Pro Gear Slim, and Pilot E95s are favorites for a reason, in that they “carry small and write big”. While I wouldn’t put the Prera in the “pocket pen” category (it has a friction-fit cap), it’s small enough to be portable, and it would fit nicely with a planner or small organizer. Posted, the Prera is large enough for me to use comfortably for longer writing sessions, and I’ve used it to journal nightly without issue.

Though labeled a medium, the steel Prera nib could best be characterized as a “Fine Medium” nib, IMHO. It’s a perfect width for my own everyday writing.

Pilot’s main draw, in my experience, is the brand’s rock-solid reliability. The stainless steel medium nib on my Prera is a smooth writer and on the fine side for a medium steel nib, which I prefer. While not inexpensive at $64, the Prera does ship with both a cartridge and converter, so you’re able to use both Pilot cartridges and bottled ink out of the box.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Though more expensive than the Metropolitan or Explorer, the Prera offers a more traditional flat-top format somewhat reminiscent of the Sailor Pro Gear or Pro Gear Slim. A reliable writer that will perform as expected, these pens are great for those seeking a fountain pen with a “professional” look, or simply a more compact writing instrument for use on the go. Personally, I think the new colors are outstanding, with Honey Yellow and Empress Teal being my favorites since they remind me of classic vintage pens. Cinnamon Brown is also more of a burgundy than a true brown, and not a color that you typically see from Pilot.

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The Prera is priced at $64 and ships with a squeeze converter included. Currently available with either a fine or medium stainless steel nib, I understand that additional nib options are on the way, including a steel stub/italic that I look forward to trying out once it’s available. For now you can find the new Preras in our own shop, and we may consider adding the clear Prera’s going forward if there is enough interest.

Come see these pens in person! Visit our shop, currently open Thursday and Friday 1-6pm, and Saturdays 10-6pm. Check this page to keep up to date on our current hours, which may change depending on travel schedules during pen show season.

New Arrivals: Linen Flex A5 Notebooks by Bindewerk!

I’ve been building up to including these flexible linen Bindewerk notebooks in our curation, and was finally able to bring in a fun selection of covers in dot, lined, and at least one blank variant.

Bindewerk notebooks are handmade in Germany, and feature lightly textured/laid paper with an unobtrusive dot grid that disappears while you write. The flexible cover opens and lies relatively flat, for a comfortable writing experience both on the go and at your desk. The paper is excellent with fountain pens, and absorbent with relatively quick dry times. I already have a yellow one lined up for my next journal!

Be sure to check out these and the rest of our Curated Paper offerings in both our online and brick-and-mortar stores. Our Nashville shop will be open standard hours this week, from 1pm-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday. Please note that we have moved the shop/showroom area from Suite 113 to Suite 107, so look for us on the front of the building.