Curated Shop Update: A Shop Redesign and Lochby Cases + Notebooks!

Over the past weekend I took care of something that was a long time coming, and redesigned the shop in a way that not only makes it more navigable but provides some much needed room to grow in a way that’s not cluttered and confusing. Going forward, the T.G.S. Curated Shop will have four main product pages: Pens and Pencils (+ Refills), Curated Paper + Notebook Systems, Curated Desk + Reading Accessories, and Washi Tape + Enamel Pins. You can check out the new shop landing page here, which breaks everything out by both section and brand.

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Introducing Lochby Cases + Notebooks

Also, please join me in welcoming Lochby to the Curated Shop, with their full range of notebook covers and pen cases made from durable, vegan-friendly waxed canvas! The current lineup includes the Lochby Field Journal, an open-sided notebook case/organizer capable of holding up to six slim A5 refills using a combination of front and back cover slots and four elastic cords. The Lochby Pocket Journal is a zippered case that holds up to two 3.5” x 5.5” pocket notebooks, along with cards, etc. (It will also fit a passport.) Both the Field Journal and the Pocket Notebook ship with one 72-page Lochby refill, which contains fountain-pen-friendly 68gsm Tomoe River Paper, with additional refills available for purchase separately. The Field Journal refills are available in Dot Grid, Lined, Plain, and Planner (6 months) rulings, while the Pocket Journal refills are available in Dot Grid, Lined, and Plain versions.

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Lochby also makes two dedicated pen cases: the Quattro four-pen case (which actually holds four-plus pens if you use the outer slots), and the Lochby Tool Roll, which can be used to hold anything from pens to bike tools to art supplies to whatever you might want to carry around with you. My favorite aspects of the Quattro are the offset pen slots that prevent unnecessary contact between pens when the case is closed, and a soft liner, both of which help protect against scratching.

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The entire Lochby lineup is attractively priced, especially given the quality, ranging from $39-$59 for the various cases, $8.99 for the A5 Tomoe River notebook, and $5.99 for the Tomoe River pocket notebook. You can check them out here, along with the rest of our carefully curated selection of products.

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of Lochby and other brands we stock. By shopping with us directly, you are supporting original content, pen reviews, pen show events, etc. from The Gentleman Stationer. If you would like to support us even further, please consider checking out the T.G.S. Patreon Program, which offers access to online meetups, exclusive discounts and pre-orders, and more!

Sunday Reading for February 13, 2022

1. Pen Addict 500 (via Pen Addict). A huge congrats to Brad and Myke on 500 episodes! It’s crazy to think it’s been that long.

2. Pen Review: Platinum Curidas (via Macchiato Man). The Platinum Curidas, remember that? I need to break mine back out, and see if the cracked feeds are stable or have gotten worse and need replacement.

3. Journaling I (via InkSharks). What’s your preferred notebook for journaling? If you enjoy Tomoe River Paper, the Nanami Paper Seven Seas is an excellent choice

4. A Perfect Pen (via A Fleeting Ripple). The Lamy 2000 might be, for me, the perfect pen. I love reading stories about how like-minded people first discovered it.

5. Pen Collecting and the Curious Art of Curation (via mnmlscholar). There are many different ways to curate a pen collection, depending on what you want each addition to bring to the table.

6. Rocking Out with the Tibaldi Bamboo Trio (via UK Fountain Pens). Tibaldi, a Montegrappa “sub-brand”, has been making a name for itself by showcasing interesting materials in unique shapes.

7. State of the Art: Material Snobbery (via Comfortable Shoes Studio). Material snobbery is one of those things that subconsciously takes hold, and it creeps into other areas beyond art supplies, like stationery (i.e., notebooks). Do I really need a better notebook, or is the one I was going to use perfectly fine?

8. Taccia Spotlight Forest Eye Review (via Pen Addict). Kimberly reviews one of the steel-nibbed Taccia pens, and it’s a great reminder that the nibs are made by Sailor and excellent writers.

9. My New Whatever Journal (via Well-Appointed Desk). I’ve also started keeping a “whatever” notebook on me most of the time, where I don’t worry about what goes into it or whether it has any sort of consistent “theme” or dedicated use.

10. How I Select My Next Ink to Use (via Too Many Inks). I love reading about other people’s systems that they use to ensure all the inks in their collection get cycled through. Read Part II here.

In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog I reviewed a new A5 Leather Notebook Cover/Portfolio from Harber London, a brand I’ve never used before. I also posted my thoughts on the Drillog dip pen, a Kickstarter project that took off last year and garnered a lot of hype, but final results seem mixed at best. (Note: Drillog reached out and has offered to replace my nib. They looked at my writing sample and confirmed there is likely something wrong with the pen.)

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This week we’re happy to introduce Lochby to the Curated Shop!

This Week in the Curated Shop

In order to set up the shop for future growth, you’ll notice that things have been reorganized a bit, and you may see similar changes going forward. Our selection of pens and pencils, paper (including notebooks and notebook systems), curated desk and reading accessories, and washi tape and enamel pins are now organized on their own discrete pages to make things easier to navigate and give us room to expand. Check out this new format here. On the restock side, we are fully loaded up on most models of Caran d’Ache pens and pencils, including the latest Nespresso Swiss Wood Collaboration, and we just launched Lochby with their full range of notebook covers and Tomoe River refills!

Lochby

Caran d'Ache

Desk and Reading

Washi and Pins

Consider Joining TGS Patreon for Access to Monthly Meetups and First Dibs on Gently Used Stationery, Exclusive Products and More!

For some additional fun, and to help support the blog consider joining the Patreon program. Patreon supporters receive special pricing and early access to product releases and collaborations such as the T.G.S. x Sunderland pen, in addition to other benefits. You can read more about T.G.S. Patreon here. This year I’ve introduced monthly online meetups, which take place on Friday or Saturday and have been super enjoyable. The Patreon membership also has “first dibs” on my regular gently used stationery sales.

My Experience with the Drillog Metal Dip Pen: Hype vs. Reality

For those unfamiliar with Drillog, it’s a Japanese CNC-machined dip pen designed to look like a drill (hence the name) and advertised as being machined with “aircraft grade precision” (hence a hefty price tag). The pen launched last year on Kickstarter, and with as much hype as this product received, I couldn’t NOT back it. I’ve had my Drillog machined dip pen in hand for a few weeks now, and wanted to provide my initial impressions of this niche product that, while certainly interesting, I unfortunately can’t recommend until the manufacturer either works out the quality control issues or provides additional clarity on what ink and/or techniques need to be used to get the advertised performance.

As a preliminary note, I backed this product on Kickstarter and paid full price for it with my own money. I was not asked to review it or promote the Kickstarter in any way. You’re reading this as an unvarnished review from someone whose information comes from personal experience and the Kickstarter page, with no communications with the manufacturer.

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My experience with dip pens and calligraphy is rudimentary at best, so I came to the Drillog as a true novice, and mainly saw this as a tool that could help me sample inks and experience writing with more “high-maintenance” formulations without having to worry about cleaning them out of a fountain pen. I was especially intrigued by Drillog’s claim that a single dip can “fill a sheet of A4 paper with writing lines”, even though I could never really see myself actually using it for that long of a session. So does Drillog live up to the hype and promise? In short, no.

The top two writing samples were done with Ink Institute’s “Cat at Dawn,” a shading ink that’s on the watery side. The top paragraph was written with the Drillog, and I circled in red the two points at which the nib ran dry and I had to re-dip the pen. The middle paragraph was written with a glass pen, using the same ink. The last paragraph was written with Noodler’s Blue, a slightly thicker, more saturated in that performed better, but I still didn't get close more than a quarter page.

“Ink Retention Structure for Uninterrupted Writing”: I’ll start here because this is what drew me to the Drillog in the first place. I write very small and like to take notes and make annotations in tiny handwriting, so there was something attractive about the (theoretical) ability to quickly switch inks and play around with different colors in my journals and notebooks without having to flush and refill multiple fountain pens. And to be honest, the Drillog does allow you to do that, to a point. My issue is that despite testing a half-dozen inks with this thing, I’ve never been able to get more than a quarter page of writing out of the .5mm Drillog, much less the full “A4 page” touted by Shion, the manufacturer. That’s similar to what I get out of a $25 glass dip pen, which writes a much wetter line and lays down more ink. I’ve also experienced consistent hard starts and other problems with getting my Drillog to write, often having to dip the pen multiple times to get it started. Upon close inspection, the tip of my pen appears ever-so-slightly bent or curved, and one side of the pen won’t write at all because ink doesn’t flow through the grooves. While I plan to reach out to Shion to request a replacement (or an explanation), I’m disappointed something like this made it through QC at this price point.

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The drill-bit-like grooves in the nib are designed to hold a large volume of ink and, theoretically, allow you to write for a full A4 page before having to re-dip the nib. I’ve been unable to duplicate that in real life.

Ability to Use All Sorts of Inks and Easily Change Them. Drillog doesn’t expressly represent that the pen is intended to be used with fountain pen inks, but let’s be honest, that’s why many people ordered this pen and there needs to be more transparency around what users can reasonably expect. Jacob (writing at Fudefan) has done more extensive testing with the Drillog, and remarked that the nib appears to be sensitive to surface tension/ink viscosity, with certain inks performing better than others. Drillog also has a proviso on the Kickstarter page stating that “the area that can be written on may change due to the ink drying up.” I don’t know what they’re specifically referring to here, since there’s no context for the statement, but I suspect that because many fountain pen inks are water-based, with varying degrees of viscosity, surface tension, and saturation, thinner ink formulations may dry out on the nib before you have the chance to write the nib dry. This could be the source of the issues I’ve had with my pen, though I suspect that it has more to do with a manufacturing issue given the hard starts and scratchiness. Given the massive discrepancy between what I’ve experienced and what was advertised, I can’t get past that, especially where I can get similar performance in a less expensive product.

Performance aside, the Drillog is visually stunning, and a gorgeous piece of machining.

Comfortable and Convenient Nib Holder. I give credit where credit is due, and one area where Drillog did a nice job was the design of the nib holder. I opted for the longer round barrel, as opposed to the spiral or grooved designs, and I love the cap, which means that I can transport this dip pen easily to pen shows. Honestly, this is why I’ll probably hang on to the Drillog - so that I can sample different inks after hours in my pen show notebook. That said, you can find inexpensive capped glass dip pens by Moonman and other brands for much less money, and even if you have to buy a few to find one that works reliably, you’ll have spent much less money than on the Drillog.

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Takeaway and Final Thoughts

I hate to say it, but I consider the performance of my Drillog dip pen to be unacceptable for the price. At ¥25,692, which equates to roughly $225 at today’s exchange rate, that’s a huge premium for a dip pen that promises performance based on precision engineering - the source of the astronomic price tag - but fails to deliver a writing experience consistently better than much less expensive options. If I paid $50 for this pen, I might say it was “ok” and recommend that people pick it up if they’re interested in using it for testing inks or are looking for a machined dip nib with a very small tip that might be advantageous for certain types of lettering and other artwork requiring a great degree of precision. That said, I’m not sure what this offers the typical writing and ink enthusiast over a glass pen or inexpensive traditional XXF calligraphy nibs, other than the Drillog will last much longer and comes with a capped holder (which is quite cool).

This purchase was intended as an experiment, and I went into it suspecting the Drillog would likely not live up to the lofty promises, having read a handful of online reviews and comments similar to my own. Still, I expected more than this. I’ve also had the opportunity to test a handful of early-release “tester” Drillogs sent to other bloggers and reviewers, all of which worked much better than the one I received. That leads me to suspect that these review units were subjected to a higher level of QC testing than the ones that ultimately went out the door to paying customers, which is disappointing. A quick scan of the comments on the Kickstarter page confirms that I’m not the only one who’s had problems. I’ll be keeping on eye on Shion and Drillog to see if there are manufacturing tweaks made to a “version 2.0”, and whether they offer to take back any malfunctioning pens. So far, I’ve not seen any outreach in the Kickstarter comments.

UPDATE: Following this review, Drillog reached out, confirmed that it looks like something is wrong with my pen from the writing sample, and offered to send a replacement. I plan to take them up on it and will report back on how the new nib functions.

Disclaimer: As noted, I purchased the product featured in this review with my own funds, for my own personal use. All opinions expressed here are my own. This post does not contain affiliate links, and I was not compensated in any way for this review.

Folio Review: Harber London Leather Notebook Cover

I have an extensive collection of leather notebook covers and folios that I rotate through semi-regularly, and even more have passed through my hands at one time or another for review purposes. Over the years, I’ve developed fairly strong instincts as to what I’m going to like or dislike, often before I ever have the product in my hand for review. Back in November, UK-based Harber London reached out to me to ask whether I’d like to review their Leather Notebook Cover, I initially hesitated, concerned that this particular product - though it looked very nice - might not be distinct enough from others I’ve reviewed to add to the conversation. Honestly, I’m glad I checked myself and went for the review, because this type of cover has a refreshing simplicity that gets away from the overcomplexity of many modern portfolio-style covers. As it turns out, I really liked it.

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The biggest selling point, to me, is versatility. It’s easy to swap a wide variety of A5 and “A5-ish” notebooks into this cover. (Shown here with the Life x Kleid A5 notebook.)

Design and Configuration

As I mentioned above, I’ve used many different leather notebook covers and portfolios in various configurations, and I have a pretty good idea of what I like and what I think will stick long-term. This particular product has a LOT to offer, and there are several design choices that could make it work for me, including:

• Strong Magnetic Closure. I’ve grown to dislike “zipfolios,” since they take a long time to open, the zippers tend to get stuck, and once they’re busted, well, your portfolio is more or less done unless the manufacturer will repair or replace it. It sometimes annoys me that the zippers also tear up the edges of your notebook, especially if you’re like me and try to push the limit of what the folio is designed to carry. The Harber London doesn’t have this issue, with two very strong magnets embedded into the front and back covers that keep the folio closed without having to work the zipper. It’s a design similar to the excellent Bellroy pocket notebook cover, only I a (much) larger size, and the pebbled cowhide leather is less stiff than Bellroy.

• You Can Easily Change the Notebook. I have three or four different A5 notebooks in rotation at any given time, mainly project-specific books that I don’t work with every day, but I occasionally want to take to the library, a coffee shop, or to the office to doodle in on my lunch break. Because the Harber London cover fits so many different A5 (and A5-ish) notebooks, it’s easy to swap in whatever notebook you’re using at that particular moment.

• The Cover Doesn’t Try to Do Too Much. So many modern portfolios have a multitude of pockets and loops ostensibly designed to allow you to carry everything from headphones to power cords to keys to batteries to — just stop. In an age when we’re already carrying far too many devices, gadgets and accessories with us wherever we go, I can appreciate a notebook cover/portfolio that executes its primary purpose well and doesn’t attempt to do more. An A5 notebook, a few notecards or a pocket notebook, some folded sheets of looseleaf scrap paper, and maybe a pen if your pen of choice is slim enough to fit in the pen loop/cutout - that’s more than enough for me, and honestly a bit refreshing.

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The Baron Fig Squire is about as thick a pen as you’re going to fit here. It’s an interesting design, but I’d honestly prefer a traditional-style pen loop, or just go full-minimalist and omit a pen loop entirely.

Build Quality

The Harber London Leather Notebook Cover is made from full-grain cowhide leather and crafted in Spain (though the company itself is based in the UK). It immediately strikes you as a high quality product, with soft leather, consistent stitching, and no flaws in the finish. While I personally prefer softer leather, if I had to express any single “concern” regarding quality, it’s that this leather might scuff easily if you carry this portfolio/notebook cover stuffed in a bag. That said, for many people scuffs and dings only add to the character your leather goods accumulate via regular use. Overall, I’m impressed, and given the positive reviews other Harber London products (computer bags, luggage, etc.) have received, I’m looking forward to exploring the rest of their line.

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The Harber London Leather Notebook Cover will even hold thicker notebooks such as the Cosmo Air Light A5 Folio from Atelier Musubi.

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The magnets are strong enough to hold the cover closed, even with a thicker notebook like the Musubi Folio shown here.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Harber London makes an excellent soft-cover leather folio. The leather is high quality, and the magnetic closure works much better than I expected, even with fairly thick notebooks. My primary critique would be the impractical pen loop, which I found didn’t really work for anything other than the slimmest gel pens and ballpoints. Since I don’t really use pen loops that often, and generally carry my pens in a separate pen case, this isn’t a huge issue for me personally but it could be for some people. I’d also love to see a larger A4-ish portfolio or pad holder in this same material.

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You can purchase the Leather Notebook Cover directly from the Harber Leather website. The A6 version is priced at £69.00, and the A5 version shown here is priced at £79.00. The price point surprised me, as I expected these to cost more. If you are looking for a leather cover that’s more polished than the rustic finish on alternatives from companies like Galen Leather, I would recommend you give Harber London a look. The company also has a wide range of briefcases, computer cases, luggage, wallets, and other accessories to choose from. Many thanks to Harber London for making this review possible.

This post does not contain paid third-party affiliate links. Harber London provided the Leather Notebook Case featured in this review free of charge, for review purposes. I was not otherwise compensated for this review. The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

New TWSBI Inks: A Comparison

TWSBI recently released five new colors to round out its “1791” collection: Tangerine (Orange), Navy (Dark Blue), Grape (Light Purple), Forest Green (Dark Green), and Crimson (Red). The new inks nicely complement the existing six, so I thought I’d post a photo showing a comparison of all except the greens. (I’m low on those at the moment and didn’t want to crack open a bottle for sampling, but the new “Forest Green” is darker than the “Emerald", which has more blue in it.) Which is you’re favorite? I’m torn between the “Crimson,” which reminds me of Kaweco Ruby, and the “Tangerine,” which to me is a more traditional orange than the classic “Orange” that has a reddish tone. We stock the full line of TWSBI Inks in the Curated Shop, with the 1791 series starting at $6.50! We also recently received a shipment of TWSBI Fountain Pens, including the Vac700R “Iris” edition, the TWSBI Vac Mini, and the TWSBI Diamond Mini.

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“Grape” was a pleasant surprise - it’s a mid-tone purple that’s lighter than the “Royal Purple,” and also shows some shading. New inks on the left, original on the right.

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of TWSBI and other brands we stock. By shopping with us directly, you are supporting original content, pen reviews, pen show events, etc. from The Gentleman Stationer. If you would like to support us even further, please consider checking out the T.G.S. Patreon Program, which offers access to online meetups, exclusive discounts and pre-orders, and more!