New Arrivals: Anterique Ballpoints and Lamy Pico Pocket Pens!

April 11, 2023

Following the announcements of new fountain pens, clutch pencils, and more, it’s ballpoint week here in the T.G.S. Curated Shop! A good ballpoint pen has become one of my core everyday writing tools, and as ballpoint ink technology continues to improve, you no longer have to deal with the stickiness and smearing of traditional oil-based ballpoint pens. We’ve recently added a line of pens from Anterique Stationers of Japan, which use an excellent .5mm “Mach Ball” low-viscosity refill and comes in two different formats: a vintage-inspired click-pen design, as well as an upgraded “Brass Edition” with a machined brass barrel. As an added bonus, the parts of the Anterique pens are interchangeable so you can create your own perfect color combination. Standard pens start at $5.50, with the Brass Edition priced at $29.

For this week’s “Currently Inked” video, we looked at both the Anterique lineup and a bonus surprise that arrived in the mail from WMS&Co. I’ve been more active on the Youtube Channel recently, so please give a follow there if you enjoy the video content, which will include more “hands on” demonstrations than is possible here on the blog.

Over the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed that we are now authorized retailers of select pens from Pilot, Kaweco, and now, Lamy! The first Lamy pen has arrived: the Lamy Pico pocket pen, which is an excellent EDC pocket carry option that extends from a compact 3.5” to a full 5”. We reviewed the Pico years ago, and it’s held up so well that we wanted to add it to our curation. Available now in multiple colors for under $40.

The Lamy Pico is simply one of the best Pocket ballpoints available.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

Sunday Reading for April 9, 2023 (PLUS a Weekend Shop Promotion!)

April 9, 2023

2023 Atlanta Pen Show Recap (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). Atlanta is always a great regional/local pen show, and if I hadn’t just spent a month traveling basically nonstop, I definitely would have gone for the entire weekend. Kimberly’s recaps are spot-on and thorough.
In Defence of Writing by Hand (via KraftyKats). Despite our best efforts here, the world continues to digitize. Personally, I think the key is to do so thoughtfully, and to maintain an analog space in your life where it makes the biggest difference for you.
Using the Hoard (via From the Pen Cup). What better way to preserve the art of writing by hand than using your notebook hoard!
Il Papiro J2 Notebook Review (via Blake’s Broadcast). I love marbled paper. Enough said.
Early Thoughts on the Conklin Mark Twain Crescent Filler Fountain Pen (via Fountain Pen Blog). I’m not a huge fan of modern Conklin pens, but at the same time I’m glad this particular model continues to exist.
The Kaweco Student (via Left Hook Pens). Kaweco’s student pen has developed its own following, and I’ve enjoyed the weight and shape of the section in the past.
Ink of the Week - Kaweco Smokey Grey (via Fountain Pen Love). I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Kaweco inks are extremely underrated.
Ellington Pens Review (via SBRE Brown). Ellington Pens get the SBRE Brown treatment.
How To Distinguish the Upcycled from the Wood-Cased Noris (via Bleistift). I haven’t written much about Staedtler’s decision to move to an “upcycled” - read, Wopexified - version of the Noris. This makes me sad, but I guess on a certain level it’s inevitable.
Notebook Review: Cortex Sidekick Notepad (via Well-Appointed Desk). I’ve been wanting to check out the Sidekick for some time now, but at $40 each, the price has served as a bit of a barrier. I’m not above spending on expensive notepads and notebooks, but at this price, the page count for the dollar amount has me a bit concerned, especially since that’s before taxes and shipping to many areas. That said, Cortex Brand products are well-designed and of excellent quality.

In Case You Missed It….

This week on the blog - and on the until-now-semi-dormant Youtube channel - I spent the week getting caught up post-pen show. I wrote a short piece on five things that you can do to help introduce new users to nice pens, and I also took a look at the Kaweco Sketch Up Clutch Pencil, one of the many new Kaweco products we’ve recently added to the shop. To kick the week off, I filmed a short video titled “Currently Inked”, which was a quick look at two pens that I inked up for this week: the Pilot Custom 74 and a vintage Parker 51. I’ve decided to start working on some more video content since there are certain things that can be difficult to show/explain in writing. These will be posted both to Youtube and to Instagram Reels/Stories, though I’m not sure about frequency yet.

WEEKEND PROMOTION: Spend $50 in the T.G.S. Curated Shop and get a free Anterique Ballpoint Pen in one of the five colors above. Spend an additional $50 and get a pen in a different color. These pens are excellent, and I plan to make them a fixture going forward. Valid through Sunday. **[For those who missed the promotion, the Anterique pens are now live in the shop!]**

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop

There’s been a seemingly never-ending wave of shop arrivals, mainly due to orders placed back in January and February when I was taking several buying trips and thinking that these would all be staggered somewhat. Turns out that all the new products arrived at once and I still have more to go! This week saw a huge TWSBI restock, including some additions of “last call” items like the Diamond 580 ALR “Punch Pink” and AL “Rose”, plus a restock on the ECO Saffron and newly arrived ECO Persian Green. The biggest news dropped Thursday, with Kaweco arriving in the shop, including Sport fountain pens, Sketch Up Clutch Pencils, and Inks! Stay tuned for more big news on our expansion this week.

Kaweco

Pilot Pens

Iroshizuku Inks

TWSBI

Consider Supporting Us Via T.G.S. Patreon!

T.G.S. Patreon is currently the only non-shop means of support for the site, and features not only access to meetups and early gently used sales, but more exclusive content. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. In addition to purchases from The Curated Shop, Patreon allows us to continue to grow the site without relying on advertisements and affiliate marketing. If you’re interested in meetups and exclusive content, or simply supporting the site, we greatly appreciate your support! Our next meetup will be at our typical time, which is the third Saturday of every month at 8:30pm U.S. Central Time. Details are circulated through the Patreon feed, so Patreon members should be sure to sign up to get updates/alerts.

Why Clutch Pencils Are So Versatile: The Kaweco Sketch Up Clutch Pencil

April 8, 2023

When I decided to stock Kaweco, it wasn’t necessarily to carry their iconic Sport fountain pen (though it’s a favorite). It was the “Sketch Up” clutch pencil. While I’ve previously written about clutch pencils / leadholders like the Caran d’Ache Fixpencil - which is geared toward writing and originally designed as a wartime replacement for the standard woodcase pencil - the Sketch Up uses thicker 5.6mm leads intended for drawing. How can you use one of these pencils, if you’re not an artist or sketchnoter? Let’s take a look.

The brass version of the Sketch Up is shiny when new, but will develop a cool patina as it ages.

Intended Use No. 1: A Sketch Pencil for Drawing

As mentioned, the first use for a clutch pencil like the Sketch Up is as a drawing tool. Each pencil ships with one 5.6mm 5B lead, which is very soft and very dark, perfect for blending. What it’s not great for is writing, unless you write very large, but again that’s not the intended use. I’ll take this opportunity to discuss the main question people have regarding this pencil and its refills: Whether you use it for drawing or writing, how do you sharpen a lead this big? Use the excellent integrated sharpener inside the cap, which unscrews. While I don’t really bother with sharpening when I’m using clutch pencils for highlighting because I like a broader edge, the cap contains a good lead pointer. For a demonstration of how the clutch mechanism works, and how to sharpen using the cap, I thought it would be easier to do short videos, which I’ve linked to here.

The Kaweco Sketch Up loaded with a pink highlighter lead.

Intended Use No. 2: A Highlighter/Drylighter

My own primary use case for the Kaweco Sketch Up is as a highlighter. I’ve long favored so-called “drylighter” pencils over traditional liquid ink highlighters, since they don’t dry out, don’t bleed through thinner paper, and work better with less-waterproof inks like fountain pen ink and gel ink. The Sketch Up serves as a nice, compact refillable highlighter that’s a more sustainable option than woodcase drylighters or plastic highlighter markers. Most brands sell highlighter refills for their clutch pencils in addition to standard graphite, and Kaweco highlighter refills are sold in packs of three.

I wrote pretty hard here to try to get it to smear, and was only able to get the slightest smearing on the still-wet gel pen. For everyday highlighting I’ve found these to be great.

Not-So-Intended Use No 3: A Dip Nib Holder

I may get into a bit of trouble for promoting an “off label” use of the Sketch-up, but what had me the most excited about this product was the ability to use it as a holder for my Kakimori Brass dip nib. I love the idea of carrying a dip pen with me to meet-ups and pen shows, but longer handles are inconvenient and portable versions such as the Drillog are expensive and perhaps don’t lay enough ink on the page. Many people use dip nibs for drawing as well, adding to the versatility of the Sketch Up as an art tool. To see how the Sketch Up works as a dip nib holder, check out this short video.

The Sketch Up is handy for sampling fountain pen inks, such as the Kaweco Palm Green shown here.

A couple of people have asked whether or not the Sketch Up will fit dip nibs other than the Kakimori conical-style nib. I’m not a heavy dip pen user other than this particular tool, but I did experiment with a Zebra G and it seems to work. I make no representations otherwise, YMMV. Also, I do feel a need to issue a disclaimer: The clutch mechanism on the Sketch Up is made of metal. When using this pencil as a dip pen, be sure to clean and dry the mechanism after use, and try to minimize any ink or water leaking into the interior of the pencil. Otherwise you may see some corrosion.

The Sketch Up fitted with a Zebra G dip pen nib. (And that crazy grey ink in the bottom right is Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-Same. I just realized how good that looks….)

Takeaways and Where to Buy

I plan to keep the Kaweco Sketch Up in stock alongside other clutch-style pencils such as the Caran d’Ache Fixpencil and perhaps a few other styles. I’ve long carried one of these as a key highlighting and annotation tool, and the added versatility of using this particular model as a portable dip nib holder for playing around with inks at pen club and pen shows is an added bonus. I may even break out the 5B lead from time to time when I’m drawing with my daughter.

The Sketch Up fitted with the Kakimori Brass dip nib.

The Kaweco Sketch Up starts at $21 for the “Softfeel” black and yellow model (which I chose for my own carry and which is shown in most of the photos here), and runs $38 for the brass version, which will develop a nice patina as it ages. As mentioned, the T.G.S. Curated Shop carries both the pencils and the Kaweco lead refills in both the 5B graphite and the highlighter versions. We are now authorized Kaweco retailers and look forward to stocking more of their pens, pencils, inks and accessories going forward!

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

Thursday Drops: Kaweco Sport Fountain Pens, Kaweco Sketch-Up Clutch Pencils, and More!

April 6, 2023

The big news this week is that The Gentleman Stationer is now an authorized retailer of Kaweco! We currently have pens from the Classic Sport and the Skyline Sport product lines, as well as two models of the “Sketch Up” Clutch Pencil in Brass and Black/Yellow SoftFeel. We decided to start with the Kaweco Sport because quality pocket pens are something I value, as well as a product category that has been very popular with our customers. Look for more versions of the Kaweco Sport and other products from the Kaweco line to arrive soon.

The Kaweco Sketch Up Clutch Pencil in Brass.

As we announced earlier this week, we have fully restocked on TWSBI, including some of the last ALR “Punch Pink” and AL “Rose” Diamond 580 Fountain Pens, which are being discontinued and probably won’t be available again for some time. (TWSBI does tend to rotate colors every few years, but there’s no guarantee that these exact shades will reappear.)

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

Kaweco Classic Sport Fountain Pens. How do I not own a “Bordeaux” Sport yet? Sometimes the original flies below the radar, and for me the Classic Kaweco Sport is one of those pens. At only $25, these pocket pens represent great value. Kaweco cartridges are available separately.
Kaweco Skyline Sport Fountain Pens. Now I DO have multiple Skyline Sport fountain pens in my own collection, and have owned basically all of these nontraditional, more muted colors over the years. My daughter picked the Mint Skyline Sport for her first pen.
Kaweco Sketch Up 5.6mm Brass Clutch Pencil. It’s shorter length prevents the brass from being too heavy, and the finish will patina nicely with age. Refill with 5B Kaweco graphite leads, highlighter leads, or swap in a brass Kakimori dip nib?
Kaweco Sketch Up 5.6mm SoftFeel Black and Yellow Clutch Pencil. When I saw these pencils on the “discontinued stock” rack in New York back in February, I had to have them. For whatever reason, this “SoftFeel” rubberized material won’t be made going forward, per the distributor, and I love it in the Sketch Up. Get them while you can.
Pilot Custom 74 Fountain Pens. Now available in all colors, Pilot’s 14k workhorse features the high-capacity CON-70 pump converter for one of the best all-around everyday writing experiences under $200. Pilot nibs are astonishingly good, and the “Blue Stone” pen hasn’t really left my side for the past week.
Pilot Custom 823 Fountain Pens. If I ran Pilot, I’d make the Custom 823 more of a focus, because it’s that good. The high-capacity vacuum-filling system can be a bit intimidating to look at, but it’s fairly simple once you get the hang of it. Check out this Youtube video for a demonstration.
TWSBI Diamond 580 AL Rose Fountain Pen. I screwed up and sold my original red TWSBI 580 many years ago, and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the AL Rose come back out. I nearly missed picking these up again for the shop.
TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR “Punch Pink” Fountain Pen. The “Punch Pink” TWSBI 580 features the textured ALR grip, and has a reddish-pink hue that’s somewhere between a true pink and a red. “Punch” is actually a good name, now that I think of it….
Pilot Iroshizuku Fountain Pen Inks. In addition to Pilot pens, we’re happy to add the Iroshizuku line of bottled fountain pen inks to our store. These are some of the best all-around inks on the market, and the wide array of unique colors are based on the scenery of Japan.
TWSBI Fountain Pen Inks. We have all of the TWSBI bottled inks and cartridges available once again, including the six-bottle sets of the 1791 inks!

Introducing Newbies to Pens, step one: Don’t start with pens!

Five Things You Can Do To Introduce New Users to Nice Pens

April 5, 2023

This is a bit of a different post this year, following up on trips to three different pen shows (Baltimore, Arkansas, and - this past weekend - Atlanta), all of which had a large contingent of new users. If you saw me at the show this past weekend, you probably noticed that I had my own “new user” in tow, as my nine-year old daughter accompanied me to her first pen show (well, really the first pen show that she can remember). It was a big hit, especially judging from our haul below! I thought it might be fun to do a post in which I discuss my own thoughts on introducing new users to this passion of ours. And if you’re a new user yourself, hopefully you can find something here that might interest you!

Start with Paper. There are many more people interested in notebooks and planners than there are people really into pens. I’ve found that one of the best ways to show someone why I’m so passionate about stationery is to ask them to write with a good notebook or writing pad, and compare it to the paper they’ve been using that they either stole from their office’s supply cabinet or picked up for a couple of dollars at a big-box outlet. My favorite brands for this sort of experiment are Maruman Mnemosyne and Clairefontaine, since these brands are less intimidating both price and design-wise, making newbies less nervous about using them (and buying more).
Start with a Non-Fountain Pen. Retro 51 is a great “gateway brand” for nice pens, featuring both fun designs and a quality refill. (My daughter’s first pen was one of Brad’s Shiba Retro 51 rollerballs.) Ballpoints are also great. At this year’s San Francisco Pen Show, I ordered personalized Traveler’s Company Ballpoint Pens in limited edition colors for all of my family members, and they were a huge hit. Again, the goal here is to start someone with a pen that’s not intimidating and where there’s little-to-no learning curve from something that they’re already familiar with.
Give Someone a Pen from Your Collection. If they’re insistent on trying a fountain pen, give them a pen from your collection that you’re not using anymore. One of my colleagues at work bugged me for weeks to let her try a fountain pen, and I finally decided to just give her a Lamy Safari that I had at home and hadn’t inked up in a while. She loves it. For someone who hasn’t used a fountain pen at all, and is on the fence about them, gifting that person a pen may work out better in the long run because you remove the frustration that might result from someone feeling like they “wasted money” while they figure things out.
Take Someone to a Smaller Pen Show or a Beginner-Friendly Store. This is especially important if you’re trying to introduce a child to fountain pens. Smaller shows tend to be easier to navigate, and aren’t so large that they’re overwhelming to new users like D.C. or San Francisco. Vendors and attendees both seem less stressed, and can take the time to explain things to children (and new users in general). If you have a local “beginner-friendly” store - meaning that the store has both a friendly, helpful proprietor as well as products available for people to hold and try - that’s a great place to start. For this reason, the Arkansas Pen Show is an excellent show for first-timers, as you have both the show itself and Vanness Pens available to visit locally.
Don’t Treat Your Pens as “Ultra-Precious” Around Others. I always keep a Platinum Preppy, Platinum Plaisir, or TWSBI Swipe fountain pen inked up and available for people to try if they ask. I also make sure that people see me using my stationery, whether it’s my beat-up Traveler’s Notebook, or my ink-stained Nanami-paper Café Note and Lochby Quattro. Anybody who visits me at my house is free to sort through the piles of stuff I have in my office, with anything truly fragile or valuable put safely away to just avoid the issue entirely. If people see pens, paper, and related accessories as tools to be used in the real world, as opposed to fussy fetish objects to be collected and babied, they’re more likely to develop an interest themselves.

That said, you may want to just disregard everything I said above. My daughter visited the Atlanta Pen Show and after spending an entire day there wanted nothing other than vintage dip pens, and eyedropper fountain pen, and inks with extreme shimmer and sheen.

To read more on my pen recommendations for beginners, check out the T.G.S. “Best Pens” list, which is in the process of being updated for 2023 and should be slightly refreshed sometime this month. Also, if you’re interested in learning more about paper (and specifically, fountain pen-friendly paper), check out this post, which has a vibrant comments section with tons of recommendations in addition to the brand that I discuss. Now excuse me while I’m off to ink up someone’s new eyedropper….

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases through the T.G.S. Curated Shop and Pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. This post does not contain affiliate links or paid third-party advertising.