Thursday Drops: NJK Long-Point Pencil Sharpeners Are Back, Along with Allex Scissors!

We’ve been awaiting a huge restock of products from Japan, including in-demand items such as the NJK pencil sharpeners and Allex scissors in multiple sizes and finishes. We also have new Tomoe River notebooks and Journals from Karatis, including vegan leather versions with massive page counts, Caran d’Ache pencil restocks, and even a handful of Standard size Traveler’s Notebooks in Olive. (I don’t expect these to last long so get them while you can!)

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We’re getting very close to Christmas and are shipping orders as quickly as we possibly can. Right now, we are within our usual 2-3 business day ship time, but we continue to encourage people to get orders that absolutely need to be delivered by Christmas or New Years in to us as soon as possible to account for any delivery delays. If you’re looking for gift ideas (including any last minute items), be sure to check out our Holiday Gift Guide, which we update every year!

Our Nashville shop is open this week from 1-6pm on Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-5pm on Saturday. (We plan to close an hour early on Saturday due to a personal commitment.) Check the shop page and on our Google profile for hours.

1. NJK Long-Point Pencil Sharpeners. These long-time T.G.S. favorites are imported directly from Osaka, Japan, and come in several different colors. Replacement blades are also available, though all sharpeners ship with a spare blade. You can read about why we enjoy these sharpeners here.

2. Blackwing Volume 21: The Woodworking Pencil. These unique pencils feature a square barrel plus a stained finish that still allows you to see the finger joints on the wood. The pencil is designed to work in standard sharpeners, including the excellent Blackwing sharpeners.

3. Allex S-165 Office Scissors. The classic Allex Scissors available with three different handles and fluorine-coated or stainless steel blades. (Fluorine is a teflon-like coating that helps cut through substances like tape and sticker paper.)

4. Allex Desk Scissors. These standard desk scissors also come in coated or non-coated blades and feature textured metal grips. This is my personal favorite model and use the standard stainless version in my office.

5. Allex Slim 100 Portable Scissors. These compact scissors are a great choice for a portable stationery kit, and available in either a standard stainless or blacked-out fluorine finish.

6. Exacompta Index Cards. These fountain pen friendly index cards come from the same paper mill as Clairefontaine and Rhodia paper, and come in multiple sizes and rulings. These are classic pieces of stationery that we’ve tried to keep in stock as staples.

7. Clairefontaine “My Essentials” A5 Notebooks. These were top sellers when we had them in the shop the first time around, and we finally got around to restocking. We have all cover colors available!

8. Herbin “Shogun” Ink. Way back when we first launched the store, we included this dark grey shimmer ink with an understated look. I’ve never been a huge proponent of shimmer, but it’s growing on me as I expand my range, and Shogun was one of the first that really appealed to me.

9. Lamy Bottled Ink. We have the full line of Lamy bottled ink back in stock, including Petrol, Sepia, and Dark Lilac.

10. Tom’s Studio Fountain Pen Ink. Tom’s Studio recently released several new ink colors, including a Clementine Orange, Espresso, and Sepia. These are warmer colors perfect for autumn and, soon, winter!

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Blackwing Volume 21: The Woodworking Pencil

New Arrivals: Karatis Tomoe River Paper Notebooks

Tomoe River Paper has long been a favorite choice of fountain pen enthusiasts, and now that production issues have seemingly stabilized, we are once again starting to see many new brands release notebooks and journals using “TRP”. Our most recent arrival is a line of notebooks from Karatis, featuring blank 52gsm cream paper. (Each notebook ships with guide sheets for maximum versatility.) Karatis notebooks are available in multiple formats, including “Soft” kraft cover notebooks in two sizes, and vegan leather journals containing a substantial 240 sheets/480 pages for those of you who love to journal for multiple pages a day.

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We carry a wide range of notebooks featuring Tomoe River Paper, which you can find in our shop. These include the soft and hardcover Sakae notebooks, along with looseleaf sheets, as well as the entire Lochby notebook lineup which uses the slightly heavier 68gsm variant. Visit our Curated Paper section to see all of these and more!

This week our Nashville shop will be open normal hours, from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday and from 10am-6pm on Saturday. If you’re looking for gift ideas, be sure to check out the 2025 edition of our Annual Holiday Gift Guide!

Thursday Drops: New Fountain Pen Nibs & Ink From Tom's Studio, Maruman Padfolios, and an In-Store Exclusive!

This has been a fun couple of days as we wind down from the first wave of holidays! We received a large shipment of new and restocked Tom’s Studio items, including both fountain pens (Studio and Studio Pocket) along with new nibs that include Zoom and Fude options. We also have new Tom’s Studio inks (Clementine and Espresso), plus a restock of Lamy pens and Lamy inks in all colors from the standard lineup. Finally, Tom’s Studio has released a new series of Wren Fineliners, the Wren - Write Off! which is made from reclaimed plastic from disposable pens. The caps are delightfully textured and paired with an aluminum writing section.

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Paper wise, the shop is fully stocked on Maruman, and though not specifically listed below, we have some TRAVELER’S Notebooks (Passport-size) in Olive, Brown, and Blue leather. TRAVELER’S has been experiencing material shortages, which is why the Standard size has not been available, but we continue to try to restock as we are able.

Our Nashville shop is open this week from 1-6pm on Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-5pm on Saturday. (We plan to close an hour early on Saturday due to a personal commitment.) Check the shop page and on our Google profile for hours.

1. Tom’s Studio Fountain Pen Nibs (Zoom and Fude). New Tom’s Studio fountain pen nibs include Zoom and Fude versions, as well as additional Architect, EF Steel Flex, and more! These nibs are a great way to test out custom grinds, and they fit the Tom’s Studio fountain pens. I have heard of people pairing them with Bock housings, but I have not experimented myself and cannot vouch for compatibility with any brand other than Tom’s Studio.

2. Tom’s Studio “The Studio” Fountain Pen. By customer request, we’ve brought back a few of the full-size Tom’s Studio fountain pens as a test run. If they are popular we will stock the entire line. These pens will accept the Tom’s Studio fountain pen nibs.

3. Tom’s Studio “Studio Pocket” Fountain Pen. This compact fountain pen works the same way as the Wren fineliners, with a pocketable form that expands to a full-size fountain pen. These pens will accept the Tom’s Studio fountain pen nibs.

4. Tom’s Studio Fountain Pen Inks in New Colors! The Tom’s Studio fountain pen inks are now available in three new colors, “Clementine” (a golden orange), Espresso, and Sepia. (The latter two are exactly what you would expect, rounding out the line with different shades of brown.) We’ve also restocked on many popular colors.

5. Lamy 2000 Fountain Pens. One more post-holiday Lamy restock arrived, including a shipment of Lamy 2000 fountain pens. We started with most nib sizes but some already have sold.

6. Lamy 2000 Multi Pens. The 4-color ballpoint/multi pen is one of our top sellers, and an incredibly versatile multi pen in that it takes universal-style D1 refills. You can read more about why we love this pen here.

7. Lamy Fountain Pen Inks. Lamy surprised many by adding three new inks to their permanent lineup this year, including new versions of old special editions Dark Lilac and Petrol, plus a somewhat out-of-nowhere release of Sepia. Of these three, Petrol is probably my favorite.

8. Maruman Mnemosyne Notepad Holders. We’ve finally been able to restock the Mnemosyne Notepad Holders in the 5-Pocket format. Each of these padfolios holds a Mnemosyne grid writing pad in either A4 or A5 size. We also have extra pads of paper available.

9. Maruman Mnemosyne Spiral Notebooks and Notepads. Maruman Mnemosyne remains one of my go-to recommendations for a nice professional notebook. These are available in multiple sizes and rulings.

10. Maruman Basic Spiral Note in A4. The excellent (and inexpensive) Maruman Basic notebook is available in A4 size, in addition to A5 and B5. These notebooks remain fountain pen friendly while coming in at a lower price point than the Mnemosyne line, featuring a kraft cover and single wire spiral.

11. In-Store Only: Maruman Mnemosyne A3 Spiral Pads. These giant spiral writing pads can’t easily be shipped, so this is an in-store item for the time being. We have a small number so if you want one please come see us in-store!

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We’ve been keeping the pencil section fully stocked, including with a wide variety of unique erasers. More are on the way so stay tuned!

New Arrivals: Lochby Field Sling, "Duo" Two-Pen Cases, and New Colors!

The long-awaited Lochby “Field Sling” is in stock in limited quantities! If you’ve been looking for a streamlined A5 EDC bag that can hold a notebook, a phone, a few pens, and maybe a small tablet and other items, the Field Sling features the same waxed canvas construction as the rest of the Lochby line. We’ve also added the Lochby “Duo” two-pen cases, the new Quattro 2.0 with a longer design, and new colors of the Field Journal and Mini Venture Pouch. Lochby is always popular over the holidays as these sorts of cases and travel accessories make great gifts!

If you’re looking for a compact notebook to carry in your Field Sling, we also received a shipment of Passport TRAVELER’S Notebooks in Brown, Olive, and Blue, as well as a restock of most TRAVELER’S Company refills. The notebooks have been out of stock for a while but we are starting to see restocks trickle in, at least in the Passport size.

This week our Nashville shop will be open mostly normal hours, from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday and from 10am-5pm on Saturday (closing slightly early due to a personal commitment). If you’re looking for gift ideas, be sure to check out the 2025 edition of our Annual Holiday Gift Guide!

Cyber Monday Promotion: Continue to Take 10% off Paper & Pencils, Plus Tiered Giveaways!

“Inksgiving” may have ended last night, but there’s one more sales day on the post-Thanksgiving calendar! Through 11:59pm today US Central Time, take 10% off paper and pencils with the coupon code “DECEMBER”, plus enjoy a tiered gift/giveaway promotion on orders placed today (12/1) as follows:

• Index Card Sampler. Orders $50 and above will receive an index card sampler pack that includes a handful of fountain pen friendly cards from different brands, both from our own store and a few others from my personal collection. If you’ve been curious about index cards and card systems, or just how fountain pen friendly some cards are, this is a great opportunity to test them out.

• Journal and Notebook Giveaway. I have a HUGE back-stock of notebooks that I’ve accumulated as excess inventory and product samples over the years. All orders over $100 placed today will receive a complementary notebook (spiral, journal, or composition - dealer’s choice), and all orders over $150 will continue to receive a notebook with retail value in excess of $20.

• Clearance Items Remain 20% Off. Discount will automatically be applied at checkout and you should see it in your cart when you go to pay.

Some brand exclusions (i.e., TWSBI and Blackwing) will apply.

Many thanks for all your support! If you need advice on a holiday gift idea, please check out our 2025 Holiday Gift Guide, but it may be easier for you to come in and speak to us in person. Our Nashville Shop will be open Thursday and Friday from 1pm-6pm, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday. We hope to see you soon!