New Arrivals: Midori 70th Anniversary Fountain Pen Sets

March 29, 2022

As Midori celebrates its 70th Anniversary, it’s releasing a range of special editions from its product line, and the first to arrive include these limited edition Midori MD Fountain Pen and ink sets. Last year Midori released their own MD fountain pen in a color scheme designed to match the overall MD aesthetic, and for their 70th anniversary, they’ve released a transparent version of the fountain pen sold in a set with a converter, a cartridge, and a 30ml bottle of either grey, blue, or orange ink. (You may note that these color options are the same colors Midori offers in their colored pencils - points for continuity!)

Midori 70th Anniversary fountain pen sets are available as of this morning in the shop for $65. I only have a handful of each color and as with past Midori anniversary products and special releases, they likely won’t be around for long.

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of Midori and all other brands we stock. In addition to the fountain pens discussed here, we carry the full range of Midori MD notebooks, writing paper, pencils, and other desk accessories, including fountain pen friendly sticky notes and planner stickers that allow you to transform any notebook into a planner, and more!

I’m well into the “second half” of my current work notebook, and actively considering what I want to use next. I may have to opt for one of these bound Soumkine notebooks, with the tall slender format and the mustard cover.

Sunday Reading for March 27, 2022 (Plus, Introducing a New Feature!)

March 27, 2022

Reading Journal (via KraftyKats). If you’re finding yourself overwhelmed with notebooks and looking for new and varied ways in which to use your pens and stationery, a reading notebook (or a commonplace book), is an excellent way to work through your backlog.
On Keeping a Commonplace Book (via Notebook Stories). Commonplacing has been receiving a lot of attention recently, huh? Even from the New York Times?
How I End a Journaling Notebook (via mnmlscholar). Do you review and index your completed notebooks? I don’t, but probably should.
Onoto Scholar (via Dapprman). People are raving about the Onoto Scholar, a lower-cost version of the well-reviewed British fountain pens that are slowly making an impact here in the U.S. and into the broader pen community at large.
My Personal Pens: Leonardo Momento Magico (via S.B.R.E. Brown). Despite exceptional reviews, I can’t get my head around the Momento Magico enough to add one to my personal collection. I think I’m too sold on the standard-size Momento Zero.
Icon, Maker, or Luxe? (via UK Fountain Pens). Why do we keep certain pens in our personal collection, yet pass on others even if we agree that the pens themselves are excellent? I’ve not examined my own behavior in this regard, but as always, Anthony has some astute observations.
Take Me Out Tonight: Pelikan M205 Petrol (via A Fleeting Ripple). I never found myself getting into seriously collecting the Pelikan M205 series, but they have a devoted following (especially if you love color-matching pens to inks).
TWSBI Emerald Green (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist). TWSBI’s inks don’t get the attention they deserve, IMHO, because they’re somewhat basic colors yet behave quite well and are extremely inexpensive. You can check them out here.
Today I Got To: ______ (via From the Pen Cup). As always, I enjoy Mary’s periodic posts. I absolutely need to find a way to make sure I’m able to write for just a little bit each day.
Monarca Inks Part 3 (via Well-Appointed Desk). Monarca Inks are now in stock at a range of stationery stores including Amarillo Ink, Vanness, and Dromgoole’s. Jesi has the last installment of a three-part review featuring my personal favorite, Mar Caribe (a bright Turquoise).

In Case You Missed It…

This week was my first full week back from pen show + family vacation + extended work trip + daylight savings time, and it was a bear. In the intervening two years of more or less not leaving the house or traveling to locations where I stayed put for an extended period, I apparently forgot how exhausting travel truly can be. That said, I did manage to get back on a regular posting schedule. Hopefully you all enjoyed my post “Join the Dark Side: Grades of Pencil Graphite from HB to 4B” in which I discussed my preference for the “B Side” of the graphite spectrum, as well as my re-review of the Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age fountain pen, which has drawn a lot of commentary on Visconti’s seemingly inexplicable inability to resolve quality and consistency issues with their nibs. Finally, early on this week I wrote a short post on different types of paper I use for letter writing, and why I’ve chosen to stock them in the Curated Shop.

Midori MD Cotton is a favorite paper for pencils.

This Week in the Curated Shop

We’re still sorting and posting a huge restock of Midori, including a huge lot of MD and MD Cotton writing pads, as well as Clairefontaine A5 Clothbound notebooks and Triomphe paper. We’ve substantially built out our stock of high-quality graphite pencils and erasers over the past several weeks, and of course have restocked on the ever-popular Caran d’Ache 849 ballpoints, rollerballs, and Fixpencils!

Caran d'Ache

Soumkine Planners

Midori MD

Pencils

Introducing T.G.S. “From the Archives”!

There’s a wealth of back content here at The Gentlemen Stationer (I have been writing this blog/website/whatever it is for eight years now, and much of it belies categorization in something like the Fountain Pen Review archive. I thought it might be fun - for me as much as you all - to dive into the back catalogue and pull out some of my favorite deep cuts. One per week, perhaps with a little bit of updated commentary as applicable. This week’s somewhat randomly selected choice is Travel Tips: Packing a Writing Kit for the Road, published in January 2020 before, well, “things happened.” Reading back through this brought up a lot of feelings, because I remember this extended trip well, and also because when I hit the road this past month I used a similar travel setup due to my recently purchased travel gear being essentially like new.

The More Things Change, The More They're The Same: The Visconti Homo Sapiens Revisited

March 26, 2022

Back in 2017, I reviewed a Visconti Homo Sapiens “Dark Ages” fountain pen that I purchased at the D.C. Pen Show, and while my impressions of the pen were generally favorable, I ultimately moved on from it due to usability concerns. The 23k Palladium nibs that Visconti used at the time wrote far too wet for my preference, making it extremely difficult for me to use the pen at work, even with an “extra fine” nib that Mike Masuyama had ground down even further. Though it wasn’t a particularly difficult decision to sell this pen, I still found myself admiring the Homo Sapiens, with its comfortable size and shape and unique texture. When I saw that Visconti had moved away from Palladium nibs and back to 18k gold, I snagged a standard “Bronze Age” pen on sale. While the experience hasn’t been perfect, I do intend to keep this pen as part of my personal collection.

For the most part, my previous review of the Visconti Homo Sapiens remains accurate, and I would encourage you to start there for background on the pen design and overall usability and build quality. In short, the pen itself has not changed, other than Visconti has now made it available in many new materials. As noted above, however, I wanted to take the opportunity to update the review to reflect the new nib, as well as updated impressions of the filling mechanism now that I have a Visconti Traveling Inkwell.

Visconti Homo Sapiens 18k Nib — The Visconti Homo Sapiens 18k nib. Certain of the new models have a 14k, but the Bronze Age is 18k.

Visconti Should Stick with the 18k Nib

In my personal opinion, the 18k gold nib is a huge upgrade over the previous Palladium “Dreamtouch” nib, at least for those of us who use our fountain pens for everyday writing. While still a wet writer, the 18k nib writes a much more usable, consistent line, and I’ve not experienced nearly the same amount of bleed-through as with the Dreamtouch. That said, my “extra fine” Visconti nib lays down what I would consider a “fine-medium” line, or even what many might consider a medium in a Japanese pen. If you like to go much narrower with your nib sizes, you’ll need to have the nib ground. (More on that below.)

Visconti Homo Sapiens Extra Fine Writing Sample — The “extra fine” nib on the Visconti Homo Sapiens writes a broader line than some might expect.

The Visconti Homo Sapiens is a large pen, and doesn’t post. I find the combination of size and material extremely comfortable to use.

The Visconti Traveling Inkwell Is a Recommended Add-on Purchase

If you recall from my previous review, one of the critiques I had about the Homo Sapiens was ink capacity. Despite Visconti’s use of the vacuum “Power Filler,” it was hard to get a full fill. For example, I was barely able to get the filling system to take more than 1ml of ink - little more than a standard converter. While there are many tips and tricks that people use to get more ink into their Homo Sapiens fountain pens, the best method is to use Visconti’s Traveling Inkwell, which creates a seal around the section and allows you to invert the inkwell above the pen while you’re filling, maximizing the volume drawn into the barrel. (Just remember to hold on tight, lest you inadvertently create an “ink rocket”.) Since I last reviewed the Homo Sapiens, I’ve picked up a Traveling Inkwell, and I can confirm that it does maximize the ink capacity. While the pen still doesn’t hold as much ink as the Pilot Custom 823 or even the TWSBI Vac700R, you won’t need to refill as often, a point helped by the fact that the pen no longer has the ink-gushing Dreamtouch nib.

Alas, Visconti Nib Quality Control Remains Maddeningly Inconsistent

When Visconti switched from the Palladium nibs to the 18k, there was hope that it would improve the consistency in the “out of the box” writing experience. I had no such luck, and still had to have the 18k nib adjusted by Mark Bacas (who discovered that the tines were actually bent into a “wave” shape). While the pen is an exceptional writer now, it still required an after-market nib adjustment, which at this price point simply should not happen. The Homos Sapiens Bronze Age pictured here retails for $895 MSRP, with most retailers selling for around $715 street price. It is entirely unacceptable for a pen at this price point to have serious nib issues, especially things like bent tines, and even though Visconti accepts returns, I always end up avoiding the delay and inconvenience by simply sending the pen off for work myself, especially where there’s no guarantee that the replacement pen will write any better.

Look, I’m not a Visconti “hater”, even if I’m not a Superfan. I have no axe to grind agains the company, and I enjoy their designs, with two expensive pens in my personal collection that I purchased with my own money. Moreover, my experience is consistent with other reviewers. It still frustrates me, however, to see the price of these pens climb ever higher without corresponding improvements in quality control, with the company likely banking on the fact that people will like the unique designs enough to overlook the continued nib inconsistency. Nib issues on Visconti pens have persisted for years, and even it QC is anecdotally “better” with the gold nibs than it was with the Dreamtouch, Visconti has a long way to go. Yesterday I did an unofficial (and admittedly unscientific) Instagram poll, and 36 out of the 60 respondents reported that their Visconti did not write correctly out of the box (approximately 60%). Is that possibly overstated? Sure, since there’s a bias towards those who experienced problems with a product being more willing to report an issue than people who didn’t. But that’s a lot of people who bought expensive pens, and it does reflect my own experience. The three Viscontis that I’ve purchased myself (disregarding those sent to me specifically for review) all required nib adjustments for issues ranging from the minor (inconsistent flow/baby’s bottom) to the major (bent tines). As one nib worker messaged me in response to my post, “Visconti keeps me in business.”

The finish on my Visconti Bronze Age is already developing a patina, which will look even better as time goes on.

Takeaways and Overall Impressions

I guess it’s true that “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” While Visconti has updated the Homo Sapiens to include new colors and materials, and has moved to a gold nib that I find much more usable and pleasant to write with than the old Palladium Dreamtouch, it’s hard for me to recommend that anyone purchase a Homo Sapiens new, unless a nib adjustment is included with the purchase. Viscontis can be exceptionally good pens, and their designs are gorgeous, but if you’re looking to make this kind of investment you will be better served, in my opinion, by purchasing on the secondary market and budgeting for a nib adjustment. The Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age shown here, as noted, retails for around $715 and can be found at most authorized Visconti dealers.

Visconti Homo Sapiens Size Comparison — The Visconti Homo Sapiens compared to the Montegrappa Extra 1930 (right), and the Lamy 2000 (left).

I purchased this pen with my own funds, for my own personal use. I was not compensated for this review, and this post does not contain third-party affiliate links. The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Old Favorites in the Daily Carry — This week’s daily carry/desk setup is a combination of new and old. Clockwise from left: Traveler’s Notebook Standard in Blue, Lochby Quattro Four-Pen Case, Write Notepads Reporter’s Notebook, and WMS & CO. Desk Pad.

Thursday Drops: Old Favorites and Gently Used Updates

March 24, 2022

Our curated retail operation has expanded fairly quickly, but I want to be sure not to lose sight of the original brands that we continue to stock, though I haven’t exactly done the best job of promoting them recently amidst all the new arrivals. Among other things, we’ve recently restocked on Write Notepads, Book Darts, Clairefontaine, and more. I’ve also marked down some additional items that remain in the “Gently Used” section (including inks)! This last batch of Gently Used items has sold fairly quickly, and I’ll be working up another sale in a couple of months once I finish my ongoing office renovations. Happy Thursday! The weekend is almost here!

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands shown here. The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

“Open Box” Ink Sale (via T.G.S. “Gently Used”). About quarterly, I try to clear out my pens and inks that are getting less use than they should, and put them up for sale in the “Gently Used” section. T.G.S. Patreon subscribers always have first crack at any sales before items become available to the public, in addition to many other benefits.
Write Notepads Classic Hardcover Notebook. These casebound journals make an excellent choice for a commonplace book, personal journal, or any other situation where you want a long-lasting hardcover notebook that will look great on a shelf, in perpetuity. Now available in both dot grid and lined versions.
Write Notepads Weekly Planners (Undated). The undated planner is a severely under-sung piece of gear that I use every week in one form or another. The Write Notepads version is a versatile, full-sized landscape notebook that allows you to plan your week in detail, take notes organized by day, or simply brainstorm in a chronological fashion.
Midori MD 1 Day, 1 Page “Codex” Notebook. I’m always amazed at the ways in which people describe their use of the Midori MD Codex. It not only makes for an excellent personal journal or undated planner, but it’s also apparently popular in creative writing classes where people use it for a poem-a-day, morning pages, and the like.
Rhodia A5 Webnotebook. One of the best “basic A5 notebooks” on the market, the Rhodia Webbie is in stock in all three colors (black, orange, and silver), in both lined and dot grid varieties.
Clairefontane 1951 Clothbound A5 Notebook. What’s turned out to be our most popular Clairefontaine notebook is back in stock in all colors! These retro-style clothbound notebooks feature lined fountain-pen friendly Clairefontaine paper.
Clairefontaine French-Ruled Paper (Notebooks + Looseleaf). We remain stocked up on my favorite paper of all time, Clairefontaine’s Seyes-ruled, or “French-ruled”, paper, available in both notebook form and looseleaf. Looseleaf is an import order, so we’re down to just a few variants remaining.
Kokuyo Sketch Books, Trip Books, and Accessories. These cult favorite Japanese hardcover pocket notebooks are long-time shop favorites, and many people don’t know that they come in colors beyond green, and there are dot grid “Trip Book” versions available! We also recently added this cool bookmark template that allows you to mark your pages with shorthand symbols to track different things if you use this (or any other notebook) as a mini-journal.
Caran D’Ache Editing Pencils. While the red/graphite editing pencil is one of my most-used stationery items, the highlighter/graphite combo is also exceptionally good. We sell these individually and by the dozen, and judging by how many dozens we go through, there are dozens of us out there. Dozens!
Book Darts. Finally, we’re fully restocked on Book Darts, in all finishes and quantities, as well as the bookmark sleeves.

Grades of Graphite Pencils with Writing Samples

Join the Dark Side: Grades of Pencil Graphite from HB to 4B

March 23, 2022

Over the years you tend to settle into those stationery products that really work for you in your day-to-day life, especially with consumable items like pencils. I go through a fair number of pencils regularly, and as I’ve been cleaning up TGS HQ in preparation for some renovation work, I’ve been taking stock of what I’m using most as measured by what’s on my desk and, with regard to pencils, what’s clearly been sharpened dozens of times. On the pencil front, I definitely have a strong preference for darker graphite.

Understanding the Graphite Scale

Here in the United States, we’re accustomed to seeing pencils designated in grades numbered “1-4”, starting with the No. 1 pencil as the softest option available and the “No. 2” as the standard writing or office pencil. (No. 3 and No. 4 pencils feature much harder cores and lighter lines, and are actually fairly difficult to find in the wild.) Once you break into the world of specialized pencils, however, you realize that the subtle variations are endless.

Outside of the United States (and increasingly inside the U.S.), graphite pencils are graded on a more detailed “HB”oriented scale, which measures the ratio of graphite and clay in the core. For example, an “HB” pencil is balanced between clay and graphite, and typically serves as your No. 2 equivalent. From there, pencils are graded as “B” through “10B” for softer, darker pencils that contain more graphite, and H through 10H for harder, lighter pencils that contain more clay. (Of course, there’s also the outlier “F” pencil, which is the equivalent of the rare “2.5” pencil and sits somewhere between HB and H.) For the uninitiated, this grading system can be quite confusing, especially if all you’re looking for is a writing pencil that’s slightly harder or slightly darker than a standard No. 2/HB.

Grades of Graphite HB-4B Writing Samples — While you can definitely see the progression in darkness as you move up the “B” scale, there are slight variations between brands. For example, the Camel 2B is slightly lighter than the dark Mitsubishi Hi-Uni 2B.

Which Pencils Do I Use for Actual Writing? F through 4B

For the best balance of smoothness and legibility, I prefer pencils that fall on the darker side of the “HB” designation, typically a 2B pencil. (You may recall that I stocked up on a bulk order of 2B pencils back in November.) As long as I use paper with a bit of texture, which tends to hold graphite better, I don’t necessarily have issues with smearing, especially if I’m using a higher quality pencil from Tombow, Uni-Mitsubishi, or Caran D’Ache. That said, I’m willing to live with a touch of smeariness in exchange for a darker line, hence why I will even use 3B/4B pencils that many people find too soft for everyday writing. I also find sharpening pencils to be relaxing and a good “focus point” if I need to take a break at work, so the need to sharpen softer pencils more frequently doesn’t bother me.

On the harder side of the scale, I find “H” and up too light and scratchy for everyday writing. In addition to legibility problems, the feel of harder graphite doesn’t appeal to me. I will occasionally use an “F” grade pencil if I know that I want to be writing somewhere without ready access to a sharpener.

Grades of Graphite: HB Though 4B — You can tell which pencils see the most use by the length and the “teethmarks” from my Carl Angel 5 sharpener.

Favorite Soft Graphite Pencils

In addition to the Camel 2B, which I wrote about late last year, favorite soft-graphite pencils include the Mitsubishi Hi-Uni 2B, the Staedtler Noris 2B, the Tombow 2558 in B, and the Caran D’Ache Edelweiss in 3B. While I can’t actually peg the grade (since Blackwing doesn’t disclose it), the “Soft” original Blackwing is said to be around a 4B, and I regularly use that pencil for writing. Though it still requires a fair bit of sharpening, it has remarkable point retention and a lack of smeariness for graphite that soft.