Reviews Revisited (2023): Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo (Moonlight) and Yama-Budo (Crimson Glory Vine)

April 19, 2023

I’ve been feeling a touch overwhelmed lately, whether it’s the pressure of juggling my work schedule and family responsibilities, or just the sheer volume of stuff I have sitting around my office waiting to be listed and shipped or taken over to the warehouse. Sometimes when this happens, it’s comforting to go back to the basics and ignore the latest-and-greatest, a quick flashback a time when my collection/accumulation included just a handful of pens and five or so bottles of ink. (Hard to believe this was only ten years ago, right?!?) For my first couple of years in this hobby, the two “nicest” inks I owned were Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo and Yama-Budo, both of which are still mainstays of my collection.

While I wouldn’t necessarily think of blue-black as having a direct correlation to “Moonlight”, for some reason the name works. The night sky just after dusk, perhaps?

Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo

Why do these particular inks have such staying power? Part of it is nostalgia, for sure, but honestly they’re just good. Tsuki-Yo, to me, is a more interesting version of classic Waterman Blue-Black. The name of the ink translates as “Moonlight,” and while it can certainly pass as a standard blue-black ink - making it an excellent choice for the office - there’s just something about this color that causes it to stand out. Maybe it’s the slight red sheen, the hints of teal, or the vintage-style shading? The ink has never given me any problems in any pen or on any paper, and I’ve come close to using up an entire 50ml bottle. (Well, I’ve used about 2/3 of the bottle, and I expect I’ll finish it this year.)

I angled the swatch to get a shot of the slight red sheen.

While Iroshizuku Inks aren’t known as “super-sheeners,” you get the interesting visual effect without any smearing that’s so prevalent with other sheening inks.

Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-Budo

While Yama-Budo isn’t my favorite overall color (it’s an offbeat burgundy-purple-magenta hue with some gold sheen on certain papers), I have a soft spot for it because it was my first “adventurous” ink color. For such a bright ink, it’s also incredibly well-behaved, and while you always have to be cautious in using reds and purples in stain-prone pens such as clear demonstrators, this particular ink cleans out easier than most. Yama-Budo doesn’t get used nearly as much as Tsuki-Yo, but when I do ink it up, well, I kick myself for leaving it out of the regular rotation.

Gold? Green-Gold? Whatever it is, it only appears on certain types of paper. I see it most on Tomoe River and the Col-o-ring paper here.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Fountain pen ink colors and ink brands can be driven by trends, and fall in and out of favor, but the colors in the Iroshizuku range stand up over time and regularly make their way through my own rotation. Pilot has done an excellent job of selecting a range of interesting, unique colors that can still serve as everyday writers, and they add to the lineup every year or so.

Tsuki-Yo takes on a different look in different nib styles. The top sample is a wet medium stub; the bottom is a medium architect from Mark Bacas. The Yama Budo writing sample is with the Lamy cursive calligraphy nib.

I’ve written a fair bit about Iroshizuku Inks over the years. If you’re curious about reading more, check out my prior reviews of Tsuki-Yo and Yama-Budo, as well as my series on exploring the Iroshizuku line: Part I (Kon-Peki, Shin-Ryoku, and Yama-Budo), and Part II (Asa-Gao, Murasaki Shikibu, and Aji-Sai). I’ve not yet made it through the entire line of Iroshizuku as intended, but now that I have access to all of the inks, well, let’s go!

As I recently announced, we are now able to offer you Pilot pens and inks directly, including the entire Iroshizuku lineup. We currently carry the 50ml bottles of ink, priced at $24. Over the past couple of years I’ve been performing some updates on the site, which includes pruning and updating older content that’s out of date, so you will likely see more “Reviews Revisited” posts in the coming months. It’s been a fun experience to see how my thoughts have changed over the years, and often how my thoughts and opinions haven’t changed much at all!

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold, including Pilot, and is currently supported solely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. Many thanks for your support and patronage!

Happy Tax Day: Olive Traveler's Notebooks Have Arrived!

April 18, 2023

Hopefully everyone is having a not-so-stressful (and fully refundable) Tax Day, at least for those of us here in the U.S. To “celebrate”, we received an initial shipment of the new Olive Traveler’s Notebook Covers in both Standard and Passport sizes, along with the matching pen holders. Note that the Olive notebooks are available as options under the general listing, as they will be part of the standard lineup going forward and are not limited editions. We did not receive a large initial allocation, so apologies if they sell out quickly, but we have ordered more and expect a second batch, hopefully soon. (We also restocked on the Standard size in Blue, so those are available if you’ve been wanting one but found them out of stock.) Enjoy!

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all products sold, including Traveler’s Notebook products and accessories.

Currently Inked for Monday, April 17, 2023: A Demonstration on Swapping Lamy Nibs

April 17, 2023

Happy Monday! As I mentioned last night on Instagram, I wanted to do a quick video demonstration of how to change the nib on a Lamy Safari/AL-Star/Studio/LX. It’s typically a pretty straightforward process, using the technique of wrapping a small piece of cellophane sticky tape (Scotch Tape for those of us in the states) around the nib and pulling it off. I say “typically,” because as you will see in the Youtube video, sometimes things don’t go according to plan. On one of my Lamy Studios, the nib simply would not come unstuck, so I ended up pulling the entire nib/feed assembly and sliding them together into the section of another Studio. (It’s not as scary as it sounds. You really have to manhandle any of the lower-priced Lamy pens in order to break them. All of my gold-nibs survived the process shown in the video, but for good measure do practice on the stainless steel version first!)

The Lamy “Cursive” Calligraphy nib features narrower downstrokes and slightly wider cross-strokes, similar to an architect grind.

Lamy Replacement Nibs (Including the Cursive Calligraphy nibs) Are Now Available in the Shop

Yesterday I announced that the T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized Lamy retailer! We carry the full line of Lamy 2000 models (fountain pen, ballpoints, rollerballs, multipens, and mechanical pencils), select pens from the Safari and AL-Star lineup, and all of the refills. Look for us to add additional items in the future. As I note in the video, we stock stainless steel Lamy replacement nibs in most sizes, as well as the Cursive Calligraphy nib, which is ostensibly intended to write cursive script such as Chinese and Japanese characters, but is ground similarly to an architect/Kodachi/Naginata-style nib. If you’ve been interested in trying one of these nib styles, but have hesitated to sacrifice a pen on a nib grind that you don’t know you’ll like, one of these nibs could be a relatively inexpensive experiment. I’ve enjoyed it enough to swap the cursive nib onto two of my personal pens and will be definitely writing more in the weeks to come.

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

Sunday Reading for April 16, 2023

April 16, 2023

Lamy 2000 Classic or Hype (via Dapprman). Well, given how much time I spent updating my inventory with the new arrivals this weekend, I certainly hope it’s the former. (It is.)
Montblanc Meisterstuck 149 with Calligraphy Curved Nib Review (via SBRE Brown). Montblanc has come out with a LOT of stuff that interests me lately, this one included, but alas my wallet has other plans.
Meet Your Maker: Renée Meeks, Scriptorium Pens (via Pen Addict - Caroline). One of my favorite custom pens is the Scriptorium Balladeer that I had commissioned years ago. Which reminds me, I need to break it out….
Fog: Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-Budo (via A Fleeting Ripple). Yama-Budo, from Pilot’s Iroshizuku ink lineup, is one of my favorite inks and one of the first “nice inks” I bought for myself when I was getting into the hobby.
Quality Simplicity Is Hard to Pull Off but Makes for Fabulous Notebooks and Reading Tools (via mnmlscholar). Relatively simple products, well-designed. Enough said.
Rohrer & Klingner Sketchink Emma (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist). Add these permanent (or at least water-resistant) inks to the list of inks I need to actually try.
Sailor Ink Studio 573 (via Fountain Pen Love). There are absolutely so many colors in the Sailor Ink Studio lineup that you can’t reasonably try them all. That said, every time I see a new one, I want it.
Sailor Manyo Dual Shaders (via Mountain of Ink). I’m a big fan of Sailor Manyo Haha, so these other double shaders are intriguing.
What, me worry? (via From the Pen Cup). I love this, and it’s probably something I need, to be honest.
Traveler’s Company Notebook Accessory 030 Brass Clip Review (via Pen Addict - Sarah). Of all the Traveler’s Company accessories, this is probably a top seller for us. It’s infinitely useful, as Sarah points out.

The Tibaldi Bononia Vintage, which I reviewed this week.

In Case You Missed It…

Well, I’ve FINALLY made some progress in digging out from under my backlog after a month of pen show and other travel. The big news is that this week I updated the “Best Pens” list, which is an annual tradition now that T.G.S. is NINE YEARS OLD. (I really can’t believe it’s been that long.) While the changes to this year’s list are pretty minor, I’m going to continue these annual updates, and may even add some new categories. I also reviewed a pen that I brought back from the Arkansas Pen Show: the Tibaldi Bononia Vintage, a gorgeous piston filler with an oblique medium nib. Finally, those of you who subscribe to our fledgling Youtube channel may have noticed that I’ve begun posting videos again, some linked through the reviews, others that stand alone. Each Monday, I’ve been adding a longer video titled “Currently Inked,” in which I discuss what I have inked up for the week, new arrivals, etc., and sometimes post a demonstration or extended commentary. Check them out if you haven’t already!

Some of the various iterations of the Anterique Ballpoints available for purchase in the shop!

This Week in the Curated Shop: Almost There But Not Quite!

Despite my best efforts to space things out, basically all of the orders I’ve placed in January and February have arrived at once. This week saw the arrival of more Anterique ballpoints, both standard and the upgraded “Brass Editition.” These pens have sold well, and to much acclaim, so I’m going to build out my selection and continue to stock them in the future. The biggest and most exciting news is that we are now also authorized Lamy retailers, in addition to Kaweco and Pilot! It’s taken nearly all of my effort to list this stuff in a reasonable amount of time, and I hope to finish over the next few days. We really appreciate all of your support!

Lamy

Anterique

Kaweco

Pilot

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.

Pen Review: Tibaldi Bononia Vintage Fountain Pen (Oblique Medium Nib)

April 15, 2023

Funny story - I was initially drawn to this particular pen at the Arkansas Pen Show, having been “forced” to sit next to the Vanness Pens table and eye these two Tibaldi Bononia vintage fountain pens all day on Saturday and most of the day on Sunday. Specifically, I kept eyeing the “Pomegranate” version, with its wine-colored crushed ice/stone acrylic, but I couldn’t get past a perceived problem with the nib. At least three different vendors looked at the tipping, and all of us concluded that while it wrote “OK,” the tipping on the nib was lopsided. Deflated, I walked back to the table and put the pen back in the box, at which point I noticed the large “OM” (Oblique Medium) on the price tag. (It also appeared on the nib, but none of us noticed that either.) I dipped the pen, angled the nib as intended with an oblique, and the pen wrote perfectly.

The two materials shown here are “Pomegranate” (left) and “Honeycomb” (right).

Self-deprecating humor about us “pen experts” notwithstanding, this story is also revealing simply because it never occurred to me that a modern company, much less Tibaldi, would release a pen with an oblique medium nib. Once fairly common stock nib options, but increasingly rare, oblique nibs are useful for those who angle their pens as they write. This particular nib is a “right-footed” oblique, with the nib tipping angled on the right side (like a right foot) to accommodate someone who rolls the pen to the right as they scribble away.

The Tibaldi Bononia Vintage is available in stock oblique medium nibs (shown at left) and a factory stub, which I believe is 1.1mm (shown at right). You can see how the tipping material on the oblique is slightly angled.

It’s a fun lead-in to a review of an excellent pen with well-executed vintage styling. Italian penmaker Tibaldi has a long history, and in recent years has mounted something of a comeback, reissuing modern versions of pens from its archive such as the “Bononia” model. (“Bononia” is the Latin form for “Bologna”, though Tibaldi is not headquartered there, was founded in Florence, and is now headquartered in Bassano del Grappa near Montegrappa, with which the company shares common ownership.)

I love the low threads on the section, which make it easier to grip the pen comfortably. These threads are also short, and allow you to cap/uncap the pen quickly.

Of all the pens in the Tibaldi lineup, the Bononia holds the most visual appeal for me personally, but with relatively sparse distribution in the U.S., I’ve never had the opportunity to see one in person. I ended up borrowing two of the limited edition “Bononia Vintage” models from Vanness for review, mainly because there’s an open spot in my own collection for a streamlined/torpedo-shaped pen that hasn’t yet been filled, and I like the size of this particular pen more than something like an Oldwin, which while gorgeous, is probably too big for me to use regularly.

What I love about this design:

The short barrel threads are located at the end of the grip section, down near the nib. Not only is the pen quick to cap/uncap (1-1.5 turns!?), but there’s little to no contact with your fingers as you write, unless you grip the pen VERY close to the nib.
The piston-filling system feels high quality and holds an adequate amount of ink. I’ve been writing regularly with this pen for the last week or so, and it still writes a wet line with no sign of slowing down. I’d estimate it holds 1-1.5ml of ink in the barrel.
The Bononia posts deeply and sits well in the hand posted or unposted. The acrylic is gorgeous, with a lot of depth. Despite some added heft from the piston system, which feels like brass, the pen is well-balanced even when posted.

Back to the nib: One complaint I’ve heard about modern Tibaldi is that the nibs tend to dry out, and write on the drier side in general. This was my experience with the steel nib N.60 I reviewed a couple of years ago. I had no such issues with the oblique nib on the Bononia Vintage, which is 18k gold and is paired with a plastic feed that delivers steady ink flow. I’ve written with this particular nib on multiple papers using Caran d’Ache ink, and had no problems - the nib lays down a wet line, generally smooth with just a touch of tactile feedback. (Note: I also wrote with the stock stub, and found it a less appealing drier writing experience, though stock stubs can be temperamental with my handwriting, especially if I’m trying to write fast.)

I love the line this nib writes. The writing sample shown here is done in Caran d’Ache Klein Blue (limited edition) Ultramarine, which is no longer available. I’ll be writing more on Caran d’Ache bottled inks soon, as we intend to add them to the shop. The paper is a Midori MD Cotton notebook, which has become my preferred paper for ink testing, if not for writing in general.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

The Tibaldi Bononia Vintage is currently still available from select retailers, including our friends at Vanness Pens. Priced at $695 MSRP / ~ $495 retail, this isn’t an inexpensive pen by any means, but at the same time the price isn’t outrageous for a piston filler with an 18k nib. Personally, I’m torn on whether to go ahead and purchase this pen. It’s a gorgeous piece, and I’ve long wanted a medium oblique nib in my collection, but at the same time I’ve bought a TON of pens lately, and I’m somewhat drowning under the weight of my current collection, bothered by the fact that exceptionally good pens simply aren’t getting used. That doesn’t change the fact that I love what Tibaldi has created with the Bononia Vintage, and look forward to seeing more higher-end pens from this manufacturer that draw on their rich archive of classic designs.

The Tibaldi Bononia Vintage (left) compared against a Pilot Custom 74 (center) and a Lamy 2000 (right), two commonly available fountain pens for size reference. Also, you may notice that I’m writing with a Midori MD Cotton Notebook inside a MD A4 Paper Cover. The F3 size fits the A4 cover - at least the paper one.

This pen was loaned to me by my friends at Vanness Pens for review purposes, at no charge. I have not otherwise been compensated for this review. The Gentleman Stationer is currently supported entirely by purchases from The T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. If you enjoy our content and wish to support us, please help us stay ad and affiliate free by shopping with us or becoming a member.