Thursday Drops: Restocking Old Favorites

We’re entering the “June lull” between new product releases, when everyone has finished up with school, work (hopefully) slows down, and people prepare to take vacation. Personally, it’s been a hectic past few weeks and I’m looking forward to some time off next week. Since I will be on vacation, orders placed between Saturday, June 11 and Saturday, June 18 will begin shipping the following week. What does this mean? If you want something delivered as a graduation or Father’s Day Gift, please get the order in during the next few days. I will do one last shipment the morning of Saturday, June 11.

As I mentioned on Tuesday, we recently received a huge restock of Midori MD products, and are also fully stocked on Caran d’Ache, Write Notepads, and many more favorites.

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands stocked.

1. Midori MD 70th Anniversary Fountain Pen and Ink Sets. These literally sold out in a day last time, and we’re already running low once again on certain colors. For their 70th Anniversary Midori has paired a special color MD fountain pen with three inks that match their colored pencil set (grey, orange, and blue).

2. Caran d’Ache 849 Black Code, Original, Gold Bar, and Brut Rosé. The four “Pop Line” ballpoints were some of the first products I stocked in the shop, and I recently re-upped for the start of gift season. We also have Gold Bar and Brut Rosé mechanical pencils in stock - the Black Code version sold quickly but we will get more.

3. Caran d’Ache Fixpencil and Fixpencil 884 (Colors). Another “launch product” from the T.G.S. Curated Shop, these 2mm leadholders were the original “mechanical pencil,” developed in response to wartime materials shortages. We also carry replacement leads in HB, B, and 2B hardnesses.

4. Caran d’Ache x Nespresso Swiss Wood Pencils. While the Nespresso 849 pens are unfortunately out of stock (at least until the next collaboration), I managed to snag another shipment of the Swiss Wood Pencil Set.

5. Caran d’Ache Swiss Wood Gift Sets. One of our most popular seasonal gift items, this pencil set contains three Swiss Wood pencils in different , a sharpener, and a high quality eraser.

6. Midori MD Journal A5 Dot Grid. This dot grid version of the classic Midori MD A5 notebook always sells out quickly, and we fortunately were able to get another shipment in quickly.

7. Midori MD A4 Notebook. The largest of the Midori MD notebooks, only available in plain/blank paper. We also stock the durable paper covers.

8. Write Notepads Memo Pads. These letter-size memo pads have easily become my favorite paper for everyday writing. I prefer dot grid, but the Cornell-style “Meeting Pads” and the lined versions are also incredibly popular.

9. Write Notepads Classic Hardcover Notebook. If you’re looking for an exceptionally classy gift for graduation or Father’s Day, look no further than this hardbound notebook that features Write’s excellent lined or dot grid paper.

10. Revamped Washi Tape Page! Be sure to check out our revamped page of washi tape, pins, and more! We recently reworked the page to list each tape individually with better pictures, and also listed nearly a dozen new patterns.

Enjoying A (Sometimes) Expensive Hobby Amidst Economic Uncertainty

I haven’t bought a lot of pens lately. Part of that is of course due to the fact that I’m finishing up multiple home repair/construction project that’s occupied a lot of resources and torn up most of my leisure space, but the other part is that, well, things aren’t looking so bright for the ol’ economy and I tend to react by downscaling hobbies and generally tightening my belt. So how do you stay engaged in a hobby you love while still trying to act responsibly? As someone who’s been a pen enthusiast through at least two different recessions - including the “Great” one - here are a few observations I’ve made over the years about staying connected to the community and enjoying my stationery even when I need to scale things back.

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A handful of lower-cost pens I’ve been enjoying recently, including the Platinum Carbon Desk Pen, a Platinum Plaisir, my TWSBI 580 with a Mark Bacas “Predator” Nib, and a good old Bic Clic.

1. Focus on Using Your Stash. And most of us have one. When I was packing up my office prior to construction starting, I was astonished/embarrassed at the amount of ink, paper, and pencils I had accumulated, and immediately started sorting through it, giving paper and pencils away to family and friends and setting aside others for incorporation into the rotation or review/giveaway on this site. It’s amazing how much headway you can make even in just a couple of months - I do use a lot of paper between my day job and the website, so I’ve made progress to the point where I’ve had to replace stuff I need for work.

2. Scratch the “New Stationery Itch” with Less Expensive Items. My own recent stationery purchases have focused mainly on paper, as work is still busy and I find myself actively using notebooks and writing pads at a faster clip than I was previously. I’ve also rediscovered the joy of less expensive pens and appreciating good value where it can be found, whether it’s the insanely good extra-fine nib on something like the $13 Platinum Carbon Desk Pen or the fun colors available in the TWSBI Swipe and ECO lines. This has definitely informed how I stock my own shop, making sure that most of what I carry remains accessible to as many people as possible across a wide range of price points..

3. Have Nibs Customized! Honestly, discovering the joys of nib customization completely changed my outlook on this hobby. I very rarely find myself selling or parting with pens I otherwise enjoy simply because the nib doesn’t work for me. Even the most complicated of nib grinds usually cost $50-60 - less than the cost of a new pen in many cases, and it comes back tuned and adjusted to your personal preferences! I’m in the middle of a larger review project in which I’ve sent out a dozen or so pens to be ground by several different nib grinders, and plan to review the various offerings as they come in. I’ve also created a resource page where you can access all T.G.S. content relating to custom and specialty nibs.

4. Sell or Trade Pens and Inks. Slack, Discord, Reddit, and Instagram are full of communities eager to help you offload gently used stationery, and often you can maximize the value of your unused stuff by trading with somebody else. Pen clubs, meetups, and pen shows are also great venues for meeting other people and seeing what they have to offer in person before you agree to a deal.

5. When You Do Shop, Shop Intentionally. These are fraught times not just for consumers, but for business owners struggling to stay on top of rising costs and inflation. It’s more expensive than ever to run any sort of business, much less one based on the sale of relatively low-cost items. In short, if you want your local pen shops or favorite online haunts to stick around, be sure to patronize them rather than automatically looking for the lowest-cost option. Often the difference between supporting a smaller, family-owned retailer and a high-volume discounter or big-box store is only a couple of dollars, and small purchasing decisions can have big implications for what the community looks like going forward.

How do you stay engaged in the community during those down periods when you have to take a break what can be a consumption-focused hobby? Feel free to drop me a line via e-mail or our various social media channels!

This post does not contain affiliate links. The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Midori 70th Anniversary Fountain Pens, and Midori MD Notebook Restock

For good reason, Midori MD products have sold like crazy around here, from the standard MD Notebooks and writing pads to the newly introduced MD Notebook Light to this year’s 70th Anniversary Five-Year Journals. Sold so well, in fact, that we’ve been out of stock on some of our shop favorites, like the Dot Grid A5 notebook, a fresh shipment of which will be arriving today. This shipment will also include a refresh on the 70th Anniversary Fountain Pen Sets, each featuring a grey Midori MD Fountain Pen with one of three special inks in Midori’s signature colors of grey, orange, and blue (the same as their colored pencil set). Quantities are very limited on the latter, with only a couple of each color. Happy shopping!

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The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We appreciate your support!

T.G.S. Summer Giveaway, Round Three: Courtesy of Sunderland, Penwell, and Musgrave!

It’s still all-aboard the giveaway train around here, and this week I’m clearing out some more prototypes and review samples that deserve to find a home in someone’s daily rotation. I have three exceptionally good giveaway items this week:

• T.G.S. x. Sunderland mk1 Prototype Rollerball Pen. While the final version of the T.G.S. signature mk1 features a matte black and red finish, this prototype version features a polished finish. While we decided to go in a different direction for the pen that went to market, this one still looks great is a fully functional Sunderland mk1 for you to use as a daily writer. Read more about the Sunderland mk1 here.

• Penwell Traveler Pen Holder. This portable Penwell features a matte white finish with brass hardware, and comes in a zippered travel pouch.

• Assortment of Musgrave Pencils. The team at Musgrave, my local Tennessee pencil maker, is kind enough to periodically send me items to give away. Our final giveaway prize will be an assortment of Musgrave pencils, along with a high-quality sharpener so that you can put a fine point on your writing!

As per the usual, enter using the Gleam widget below, which also contains the full terms and conditions. In short, the giveaway will run all week until Sunday, June 12, at 11:59pm U.S. Central Time. Once the giveaway closes I will randomly select three winners. While this giveaway is open to participants worldwide, I may not be able to ship to your location due to legal restrictions or prohibitive cost. If cost is an issue, I will reach out to let you know and give you the option of covering a portion of the shipping costs.

This post does NOT contain paid third-party affiliate links. With respect to the giveaway, I don’t personally use any of your information for marketing, etc., but since Gleam is a third-party I’d encourage you to refer to their privacy policy.

Updated "Resources": Custom and Specialty Nibs

I’m traveling this weekend, but during a bit of downtime this morning I finalized my latest update to the site resources: a page aggregating all of the previous reviews and posts on specialty and custom nibs. I plan to supplement this as I work my way though a longer ongoing project in which I’m taking the time to compare and review different specialty grinds from many different pen companies and nib grinders. Honestly, this project will probably never be complete, but since nib grinds and nib customization have become such a huge part of the “experience,” I figured a resource like this would be helpful. Enjoy!