I've become a fan of the Write Notepads pocket notebooks, especially their latest Kindred Spirit limited edition.

Write Notepads Kindred Spirit Edition

August 17, 2016

I use a lot of pocket notebooks, and go through them fairly rapidly, so I'm always shuffling something in and out of the rotation. I started off using Field Notes many years ago when they were the only game in town, and even though the paper wasn't very fountain pen friendly, I stuck with it. One of my first reviews on this blog (and one of my personal favorites, if only for the sake of nostalgia) was my review of the original Kraft Paper Field Notes. Fast forward to 2016 (over two years later) and there are now a ridiculous number of new pocket notebooks on the market, ranging from the excellent to the gimmicky. Write Notepads, one of the newer entries to the market, are uniformly excellent.

Note: Most of this review is applicable to Write Notepads pocket notebooks in general, but the notebook pictured in this review, that I've been using for the past week or so, is one of the "Kindred Spirit" limited edition notebooks. More about the Write Notepads limited editions and subscription service towards the end.

For the first year-or so of the company's existence, Write Notepads focused on making their spiral-bound notebooks. Spiral bindings aren't really my preference, so I never pulled the trigger on ordering any. I took the opportunity to test the paper at the 2014(?) DC Pen Show, and came away a bit disappointed because I didn't feel that the full-size notebook handled fountain pen ink all that well. When they released their pocket notebooks, however, I went ahead and ordered a couple packs, because (1) paper weight and fountain pen-friendliness is far less important to me in a pocket notebook; and (2) the designs were more attractive to me than the increasingly offbeat Field Notes Colors editions.

Build and Writing Experience

For me, Write Notepads pocket notebooks offer a near-ideal pocket notebook writing experience. Chris Rothe, the founder, is a third-generation bookbinder from Baltimore, Maryland, and his experience as a bookbinder shines through in these products. One of the first things that you notice is the craftsmanship. Whether it be their standard spiral-bound notebooks or their perfect/glue-bound pocket notebooks, Write Notepad products are very well-made. These things aren't going to fall apart after a week of being carried in your pocket or your bag.

The glue-bound Write Notepads pocket notebook, with the Sostanza in the foreground. The paper in this notebook is excellent for pencil.

Initially, I was a little hesitant to use a notebook that wasn't staple bound, thinking that the glue binding would have trouble laying flat. While the notebook doesn't "lie flat" in the same way you can get a staple-bound Field Notes book to lie flat, it does well enough to allow me to comfortably write on both sides of each page, and I'll take the increased durability of the glue binding over a slight loss of flexibility.

Ruled paper isn't typically my favorite, but I do like the "boxes" in the left-hand margin, which makes this notebook good for bullet journal-style lists.

I find the paper to be a step-up from Field Notes. According to the company, this is 70 lb. paper "meticulously selected to perform the best for most writing instruments." I think that's a fairly accurate summary: this is some of the most well-rounded notebook paper I've used. It's excellent with pencils, ballpoints, and gel pens, and handles fine/extra-fine point felt-tip, liquid ink, and fountain pens pretty well. Occasionally, if I'm pressing down too hard, I'll see some pinpoint show-through and/or bleeding on the reverse of a page, but I've never been unable to use both sides of the paper (which is a key consideration for me). The cover stock is sturdy. The standard Write Notepads pocket notebooks sports a 100 lb. cover stock, while the Kindred Spirit limited edition features 80 lb. "butcher orange" cover stock. (Yes, THAT butcher orange.)

The notebooks are 64 pages (another bonus over the typical 48-page staple-bound pocket notebook), and the standard edition comes in lined, graph, and plain paper. The limited editions thus far have come in graph (Lenore) and lined (Kindred Spirit) paper.

The design of the Kindred Spirit Edition (including the packaging) was well-conceived and well-executed. I'm a barbecue guy, so the charcoal theme spoke to me.

A word about the limited editions: Write Notepads turned heads a bit when they first announced that they would be launching a quarterly subscription service, similar to Field Notes colors. There was even a little bit of annoyance expressed in places, and doubts about whether a second notebook subscription service could even be successful in an area where Field Notes supposedly dominates. I initially shared some of the doubts about whether it would be successful, but when I saw the inaugural Edgar Allen Poe-themed "Lenore" edition, I immediately became a fan. They've created a product that both tips the hat to the predecessor (butcher orange covers) while remaining distinctive enough to bring something new to the table.

Overall Impressions and Takeaways

These are high-quality notebooks, and Andy Welfle got it right: the Kindred Spirit edition is one of those products that just makes you smile and want to use it. And I've been using it a lot: I've not torn through a pocket notebook this quickly in a long time. I'll probably purchase a subscription this fall once the next quarterly edition launches, in order to grab some of the "extras" available to subscribers.

Where to Buy

I purchased most of my Write Notepads products directly from Write Notepads via their website. Unfortunately, the Kindred Spirit notebooks pictured here are now sold out.

UPDATE: As of March, 2020, I am an authorized retailer of Write Notepads, and stock a diverse selection of their products in my Curated Shop. Additionally, since this review was originally published, most Write Notepads paper has been upgraded to extremely fountain pen friendly paper stock.

Disclaimer: I purchased the notebooks featured in this review with my own funds for my own personal use. I was not compensated in any way for writing this post, though certain links contained in this post are affiliate links.

Introducing the Sostanza, a new wooden clutch pencil from Sotteranea Officina Sperimentale in Torino, Italy.

Some Kickstarter Inspiration: Sostanza Clutch Pencil

August 13, 2016

I've laid off the pen Kickstarters recently. Last year, the Tactile Turn Gist and the Namisu Nova really were the only two that piqued my interest in any way. A lot of projects now tend to involve designs that either aren't original enough to justify spending $50-100, or "tactical pens" that double as a weapon, which I don't have any use for.

Long story short, I haven't been monitoring Kickstarter as closely as I should have, and I would've missed the Sostanza clutch pencil entirely had the folks at Sotteranea Officina Sperimentale, a design studio located in Torino, Italy, not reached out and asked if I wanted to review their new project.

Design Overview

The Sostanza is a clutch pencil/leadholder. Part of its appeal lies in its simplicity: the pencil consists of only three pieces: the wooden body, the 2mm lead, and a silver ring that fits around the body of the pencil and acts as a clamp that keeps the lead from sliding out the front. It's not quite as simple in its design as the Penxo leadholder, but it's much easier to operate and won't rip your fingernails off when you try to release the lead.

The clutch mechanism on the Sostanza is simple: a split piece of wood held closed by a silver ring.

The pencil comes in various wood grains, including pear, mahogany, black walnut, ebony, and amaranth. (Note that ebony and amaranth are more expensive, being more exotic woods). I opted for the mahogany version. It's beautiful and smells great. All woods are said to have been sustainably harvested. The metal ring is made from sterling silver, but is cast in different tones to match the wood.

The Sostanza tucked inside my Write Notepads Kindred Spirit Edition (which I would advise you to get while supplies last). — The Sostanza tucked inside my Write Notepads Kindred Spirit Edition (which I would advise you to get while supplies last).

What I find interesting about this product is that the creators of the Sostanza appear to be trying to break the assumptions people have about clutch pencils and leadholders: people seem to assume that they are strictly artists' tools that are used for drawing. Instead, the creators of Sostanza have been very careful to refer to the Sostanza as a "wooden pencil that never ends," which to me strongly implies that this pencil is intended to be used as much for writing as it is for design work.

Sostanza is very light and well-balanced.

Sostanza works well as a writing tool. One thing that makes many leadholders unsuitable for long-form writing is their weight: they can be heavy and cause your hand to cramp. That's not an issue here. The Sostanza is extremely light, to the point where I can even comfortably tuck it behind my ear like a standard woodcase pencil. The pencil is also very well balanced, and feels similar to a fat "jumbo-style" woodcase pencil in the hand. Initially, I worried that the metal ring might make for an uncomfortable grip, but I've not had any issues based on how I hold the pencil.

I found the Sostanza very comfortable to hold, with the silver ring causing me no issues.

Pricing/Value

The Kickstarter price for the Sostanza was 25 euros for the Early Bird, 30 euros for the regular reward, and 35 euros for the "deluxe packaging," which is a glass test tube with a cork stopper. I'd stick with the standard packaging: the test tube is cool, but the cork really can't be used as a stand for the Sostanza, as the pictures on Kickstarter imply. Mine kept falling over. While not inexpensive - there are cheaper leadholders and clutch pencils out there - the Sostanza is a unique-looking piece that tries to bring something new to the table.

The Sostanza in its deluxe "test tube" packaging. Shipping from Italy was very fast. The Sostanza made it to me in about a week.

Takeaways

I enjoy clutch pencils, and it's nice to find one that seems like it was made for writers as much as artists and designers. The Sostanza is beautiful and, in my opinion, worth the price. It's made it's way onto my desk at work and I've been using it regularly since it arrived.

The one drawback to the Sostanza is that it's definitely a "desk tool" for me: there's no clip, so it can't easily be transported around, and it's a touch long to fit comfortably in a pen case. Plus it's thin: I don't think Sostanza would survive having much pressure applied to it in the event something accidentally got dropped on my Nock Co. Sinclair, which is where I've been storing the pencil during my review.

If the idea of a leadholder intrigues you, but you either can't wait for the Sostanza to hit the open market, or you'd prefer more of a traditional mechanical-pencil design (including a clip), I'd recommend that you try the Caran d'Ache Fixpencil.

Where to Buy

The Sostanza Kickstarter successfully raised over $12,000, so hopefully we will see this project on the market after the rewards are fulfilled. You can preorder the Sostanza here. Please note that the Sostanza does not ship with either extra 2mm leads or a lead pointer (i.e., a sharpener). I'd recommend Uni 2B Leads and Lead Pointer.

2016 DC Pen Show Recap: Sunday and Overall Impressions

August 10, 2016

Now that I've had a few days to think on it, this year's D.C. Pen Show probably went down as one of the best I've experienced, at least in terms of the people who were there. This was the first year I've attended all four days, and in the future I plan to make a point of attending at least a portion of the Sunday show. Sundays are MUCH less crowded than Fridays and Saturdays, and they give you an opportunity to interact with the vendors and other attendees when they're not slammed with customers.

Sunday Recap

Ok, so I ended up buying more pens and ink on Sunday. I thought I had finished with my buying on Friday, but as always happens, that's never the case. I had been eyeing two newer models that Franklin-Christoph had out on their table - in prototype color acrylics - and when they were still available at 2:00pm on Sunday... well, I was weak. I picked up a Pocket 20 in red urushi acrylic and a Model 45 in transparent orange acrylic.

My Franklin-Christoph Model 45. This orange acrylic is a prototype. The color is slightly brighter than the "Amber" color in the standard line.  Franklin-Christoph sometimes sells their prototypes online in the "Stock Room" section of their web… — My Franklin-Christoph Model 45. This orange acrylic is a prototype. The color is slightly brighter than the "Amber" color in the standard line. Franklin-Christoph sometimes sells their prototypes online in the "Stock Room" section of their website.

At the urging of Leigh Reyes and Thomas Hall, we tried to fit a 1950's Eversharp Skyline nib into the housing from a JoWo #5 nib, which would make the vintage nib compatible with the Model 45. Despite the best efforts of Franklin-Christoph's incomparable Jim Rouse, we couldn't make it work. I had to "settle" for a Masuyama-ground needlepoint that writes like a dream. The pocket carry pen that I've been looking for, in clear orange!

Jim Rouse tunes a newly purchased pen at the Franklin-Christoph table.

I finally got a chance to visit the Vanness Pens table and thankfully they had plenty of Akkerman Ink left. I grabbed this bottle of Akkerman #28 (Hofkwartier Groen), which went directly into my Franklin-Christoph Model 45. Also, Vanness purchased whatever Kobe Nagasawa did not sell at the show, so if you're interested in these inks head on over to Vanness and get them while you can. Certain colors are already sold out so they won't last long.

Overall Show Impressions

This year's D.C. Pen Show had a lot of buzz and energy, especially on Saturday. I'm happy to see that every year I've attended, there have been more and more attendees from all age groups, which gives me a lot of hope for the future of the pen show scene. That said, most of the "new group's" attention seemed to be focused on modern pens, with steady crowds mobbing Vanness Pens, Anderson Pens, and Franklin-Christoph. Brian and Rachel Goulet also made an appearance and made the rounds throughout the weekend. On the vintage side, things didn't seem as busy for some reason, though there were plenty of vintage dealers there.

Pleasant Surprises

The Kanilea Pen Company launched this weekend. I had not heard anything about this new company prior to the show, but several people went home with multiple pens. Hugh and Karol Scher did a beautiful job building out this brand, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with in the future. I didn't get to spend as much time at their table as I would've liked.
Stylo Art Karuizawa. Japanese pen-makers and urushi artists Stylo Art were in D.C. for the first time this year, after a strong showing at the Los Angeles Pen Show. Lots of people were purchasing Stylo Art's wood and urushi pens, and one of these is on my list for my next big purchase at a show next year.
Omas and Conway Stewart Re-launch. The word on the street is that distributor Kenro Industries is relaunching the Conway Stewart brand. On a similar note, the group that reintroduced Wahl-Eversharp is in the process of inking some sort of a deal to bring back Omas, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. Stay tuned for more developments. It's unclear from the post whether they have actually purchased the name, or rather just the pens and materials, but something is in the works.
Montblanc Ultra Black Special Edition Ink. Though I find the ink a bit wet, it has gorgeous undertones and shades very nicely. I currently have it inked in several pens and I'm liking it so far.
Better Ink Testing Station. The ink testing tables at the D.C. Pen Show are notorious for having dozens of bottles of really old ink (as in, more than 5 years old) that no longer resemble their original colors due to mixing, mold, dilution, etc. A couple years back, organizers of the San Francisco Pen Show came up with a new idea for an ink testing station, which uses inexpensive piston filler fountain pens to avoid having people dip dirty pens in multiple bottles of ink. They built one for Vanness Pens, and it was ready to go in D.C.
Lots of people stayed through the weekend. We still had a fairly large group of people Sunday night, and we all got together and had dinner in the hotel restaurant. You get to know people better over the entire three days, especially when we all finally had a chance to kick back in the hotel restaurant over dinner and drinks after the show closed on Sunday.

Brad of the Pen Addict and Cary from Fountain Pen Day, in the hotel bar Sunday night as the show closed down. Yes, Cary is that tall.

Biggest Disappointments

Montblanc Ultra Black 146. Prior to the show, I had one of these on order, but after having the opportunity to hold the pen in person I decided to cancel. The pen just didn't "click", and at that price point it has to be a perfect fit. Also, the matte black finish on Montblanc's resin looks as though it might be prone to scratching very easily. Since I post my pens, that makes me nervous.
No Bung Box! One of the highlights of last year's D.C. Pen Show was Japanese retailer Bung Box, who showed up with not only their entire line of ink but their special edition pens. Kobe Nagasawa made up for that this year, and Vanness Pens carries all the Bung Box inks, but I was really looking forward to picking up one of their special edition Sailor Pro Gears.
Very Few Vintage Japanese Pens! Ok, I'm reaching here, since I know that this is more the scene in L.A. and San Francisco, but I'm really on the hunt for a Pilot M90 and/or a Pilot Myu.

It makes me sad that I can only do two or three shows a year, but my wallet can't take any more than that. As good as this year's DC Pen Show was, I'm thinking of mixing it up a bit and taking a year off in 2017, perhaps attending the Los Angeles or San Francisco show? We'll see!

A repeat picture, I know, but this new and improved ink testing station is awesome.  The one at the San Francisco Pen Show has over 500 different inks! — A repeat picture, I know, but this new and improved ink testing station is awesome. The one at the San Francisco Pen Show has over 500 different inks!

2016 D.C. Pen Show Recap: Friday and Saturday

August 7, 2016

This year’s Washington D.C. Fountain Pen Supershow might have been the craziest pen show I’ve attended to date. Not so much in terms of crowds, but more in terms of the energy in the room and the enthusiasm shown by all the attendees. Needless to say, I’m absolutely exhausted, so there’s not going to be a links post this weekend, and Digital Divide will have to wait until next week. Instead, you all get to enjoy my pictures from the show, along with a brief recap.

Friday

Brian and Lisa Anderson of Anderson Pens with their assortment of Sailors.

Friday was your typical Friday at a pen show. The show was well-attended, but I wouldn’t say it was overcrowded. To get in on Friday, you have to purchase a weekend pass, which costs $45, and I think it’s worth it to “get first crack at the good stuff” before the crowds arrive on Saturday morning and it becomes a fight to get in front of some of the more popular tables like Anderson Pens, Franklin-Christoph, and Vanness Pens. It's also easier to get an appointment for nib work with Mike Masuyama or Dan Smith on Friday. Unless you arrive extremely early on Saturday, you can forget about getting nib work done.

Franklin-Christoph also had their customary trays of new prototypes that were snatched up first thing on Friday and Saturday morning.

I did my major pen shopping on Friday. I scored the only Visconti Homo Sapiens Dark Ages in extra fine that Bryant Greer of Chatterly Luxuries brought with him, much to the dismay of some. I also picked up a Vintage Pelikan M400 with a sweet oblique medium nib that wrote like a dream and did not need any work whatsoever. Finally, right before the show closed, I picked up a matte black Diplomat Aero, a pen that I’ve been eyeing for some time. I'll do a full review at some point, but this pen has one of the smoothest JoWo steel nibs I've ever written with.

Kobe-Nagasawa brought 57 colors of Sailor Ink to the D.C. Pen Show, and were sold out of many of those colors by the end of the day on Friday.

I also bought some ink. One of the big surprises of this year’s DC Pen Show was the appearance of Kobe Nagasawa, operators of a large department store in Japan, along with 50+ varieties of Sailor inks that Sailor makes especially for them. The Kobe inks are sometimes available through eBay sellers, but in general they are difficult to find outside of Japan. I picked up two colors: #6 (“Bordeaux”) and #9 (“Suma Purple”). Next, I paid a visit to the Anderson Pens table to grab a bottle of Montblanc Toffee Brown and the new Montblanc Ultra Black Special Edition Ink, which is a really interesting black ink that has some blue and green undertones to it.

Saturday

Since I blew it out on Friday, I took it somewhat easy on Saturday and limited myself to nib work. Good thing, too, because the show was so crowded it was difficult to navigate at times. I had Mike Masuyama tune the nib on my Visconti Homo Sapiens, and grind the nib on my Montblanc Heritage 1912 to a fine cursive italic, which gives the pen exceptional line variation.

Mike Masuyama happily grinding away. As usual, Mike stayed busy all day.

One of the highlights of the afternoon was getting to spend some time with Ernest Shin of Hakumin Urushi Kobo. Ernest stopped by the show to drop a pen off for my friend Thomas, and brought along some pens from his personal collection, all of which were hand lacquered by Ernest himself. There were some gorgeous pieces. Ernest accepts work on commission, and also works with Brian Gray of the Edison Pen Company.

Ernest has been perfecting his craft for years. The detail and craftsmanship in his pens is outstanding. This picture does not do his work justice, as the lighting in the ballroom was terrible.

More Later

Sunday was pretty quiet, though I’ll have some additional updates later, along with a report on the “after-hours” pen show scene in the hotel bar. I saw some crazy (pen-related) stuff! Here's a gallery of additional fun pictures from Friday and Saturday at the show.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links to companies who sponsor or advertise on this blog.

I'm pretty stocked up and don't need to go shopping, but if you do, I hope this list is helpful.

Back to School and Back to Work: Stationery for Any Task

August 6, 2016

I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to believe that schools are ALREADY back in session in certain parts of the country (even if research shows that shorter breaks are more conducive to learning). And now that the summer vacation season is also coming to a close, many of us are getting ready to head back to work as well. My daughter’s not yet old enough to have to worry about that, but it still doesn’t mean you can’t have fun getting geared up for the fall. Here are a few of my “picks” for restocking your desk, backpack, or briefcase, whichever the case may be.

Gel/Ballpoint Pens. Don't be caught using a pen from someone else's dentist's office in your next meeting or class. Even if all you want/need is an inexpensive click pen, there are better, more reliable options.

Uniball Jetstream. For all you ballpoint fans out there, you can't go wrong with Uniball's hybrid-ink Jetstream.
Pilot G2 or Uni Signo 207. I love the G2, and consider it one of the smoothest writing pens around, but some people find them too wet.
If you'd like a longer list of options, and especially if you're into ultra-fine point Japanese gel pens, check out this list for further reading.

Fountain Pens. If you're a regular reader of this blog, there are endless options out there for selecting the perfect fountain pen in any price range for any purpose. If you pushed me to make off-the-top-of-my-head recommendations, however, I would go with:

Work or School: Pilot Metropolitan. I continue to be impressed with the Metropolitan. This is a pen that has made its way in and out of my collection over the years, as I tend to give them away to friends, family, and coworkers who express interest in fountain pens. Available in both a fine and a medium, Pilot's steel nibs are exceptionally smooth and the quality control is top notch. The Metropolitan comes with a converter included, so you are ready to use bottled ink.
Heavy Notetakers: If you prefer a pen that accepts ink cartridges, go with the Pilot Metropolitan. However, the TWSBI Eco would be an excellent option for a college student that needs an ink tank.
A Bit More Money: If you're in the "back to work" crowd and looking for an understated pen that won't look out of place at the office, the Lamy 2000 is always a good bet.
Further reading for pen recommendations at various price points.

Fountain Pen Ink. Unfortunately, if you're a fountain pen user in today's world, you need to pay attention to the ink you use on the cheaper papers most commonly found in today's offices and schools. I tend to stick with Pilot and Sailor inks for my everyday writing.

Pilot Blue-Black. An often overlooked, versatile ink that is easily available in cartridges (for your Metropolitan), and in VERY LARGE bottles as well if you can find a vendor who will source it from overseas.
Sailor Ink. Sailor's line of ink is reasonably priced, and the entire line is available at most major pen retailers, including our sponsors at Anderson Pens, Pen Chalet, and Vanness Pens.
Note that both Sailor and Pilot cartridges are proprietary, meaning that they will only work in Sailor and Pilot Pens, respectively.

Paper (Looseleaf/writing pads). I tend to prefer tear-off writing tablets (8.5 x 11 inch letter size), because I can either leave the pages attached (when I have a one-subject pad) or tear them out to punch holes and stick them in a binder. My choices here are the same for work or school.

Rhodia Ice Pad (Grid). I prefer grid/graph paper to lined paper because I find it much more versatile. For fountain pen-friendly paper, Rhodia is one of the better values, and I enjoy the white pad with the grey lines. I've gotten more "where did you get THAT?!" comments at work from this pad of paper than any other piece of stationery I carry.
Staples Sustainable Earth. When I don't want to spend a ton of money, Staples' sugarcane-based Sustainable Earth paper is my go to option, and I always have these in my desk drawer at the office. They handle most fountain pen inks decently, especially with Japanese fine or medium nibs. Unfortunately they are getting hard to find in-store at Staples, so I order them online.

Writing Notebooks. Whether you use them for note-taking, writing your rough drafts, or journaling, you need some good notebooks in your kit. Here's what's normally in my carry.

Leutchturm 1917. The "black bound notebook with better paper."
Baron Fig Confidant. A lay-flat clothbound notebook that is exceptional to use with pencil, and works fine with most fountain pens as long as they are not too wet.
Clairefontaine. A colorful option that's probably better for school than the office (though I use them for both), Clairefontaine is the gold standard for fountain pen-friendly notebooks. They come in both clothbound, staple-bound, and spiral-bound.

Pocket Notebooks. You'll also need a good pocket notebook to capture thoughts, make quick lists, and serve as a scratchpad. I always have at least four on me. (Don't ask.)

Nock Co. Dot Dash. Staple-bound reporter-style notebooks that I've been using a lot lately. The paper quality is very good, and handles most fountain pen ink well.
Baron Fig Vanguard. Formerly called "the Apprentice", these pocket notebooks use the same great paper found in the Confidant.
Field Notes. The ubiquitous staple-bound pocket notebook that you can find at stores in most cities. The paper is not the greatest for fountain pens, but if you're a ballpoint/pencil user, these colorful little notebooks are a lot of fun to use (and collect).

Planners. Even if you're not a "planner person," consider one of these. I don't use planners in the traditional sense, and use my iPhone to handle my schedule, but I still find it very handy to keep a "date book" to log certain things and do short form journaling. My recommendations here would be the same for work or for school:

A5 Filofax. My go-to when I was in college/university because of how customizable it is. If you don't want to shell out the money for an actual Filofax, Day Runner is another option that I've used, especially when I was in school.
Hobonichi Techo. My current choice, that serves a combination of personal and professional uses. The One-page-per-day format works if you don't have a crazy, ever-changing schedule. You may want to hold out and start this one in January, as the 2017 version has just been announced.
Traveler's Notebook. Many people use the Midori planner insert for the Traveler's Notebook so they can use it as a combined planner/daily writer.

Wood case Pencils. I typically reach for a woodcase pencil before a ballpoint pen, especially if I'm editing or I need to write very small. Pencils are in the midst of what seems like a renaissance, with new products being issued regularly. My current stalwarts are:

Palomino Blackwing 602. Based off of the classic Eberhard Faber pencil, and emblazoned with the slogan "Half the pressure, twice the speed," Palomino's version of the Blackwing 602 holds a point for a very long time, while still leaving a dark line.
Forest Choice. A super-cheap, very high-quality pencil that will make you abandon your Ticonderogas for good.

Mechanical Pencils. If mechanical pencils are more your style, Rotring and Uni tend to have the high-end market cornered at the moment.

Rotring 600. The classic hexagonal barrel, German-made mechanical pencil. If you need one mechanical pencil, this is it.
Uni Kuru-Toga. The Kuru-Toga has a proprietary mechanism that rotates the lead as you write, keeping the point sharp. An excellent, relatively inexpensive mechanical pencil option.

Of course, there are many, many more options for all of these categories, but I thought it would be a fun little exercise to compile this list of recommendations since everyone's getting ready to bring summer to a close (prematurely, IMHO). Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links.

Build and Writing Experience

Overall Impressions and Takeaways

Where to Buy

Design Overview

Pricing/Value

Takeaways

Where to Buy

Further Reading

Sunday Recap

Overall Show Impressions

Pleasant Surprises

Biggest Disappointments

Further Reading

Friday

Saturday

More Later

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